Star of Africa

 

It started as a board game.  The African version of Monopoly perhaps?  I don't know, I've never played it. 

 

 

It turned into an international quilting blog block swap.  (Say that 10 x real fast!)  Last April was my turn to be queen of the bee and I asked for blocks that would fit in this quilt.



I asked each bee member to make a 10.5" block. (10" finished)  Set in a traditional Trip Around the World quilt made from 5.5" squares.  The finished quilt would be roughly 85" x 85"

This month my blocks started pouring in from around the globe.  (Which is quite a treat!)

First in was....

 

Patti from Saskatoon BC Canada!  Look at that sweet swag!  Thank you Patti!!

 

 

A few days later I heard from Fiona Duggan in the UK.

 



 

Yesterday it was Benta, also from the UK

 



 

 

I want to thank all of these lovely ladies.  You packages were perfectly timed.  I pray that my parcels have equally poignant timing when they arrive at their destinations.

I'm Not Dead....

....just very busy.

I can't believe the boys start back to school next week.  Where did the summer go?!

Noah in  Monmoth Caves, Kentucky

 

My oldest heads back to Big Spring, TX tomorrow morning.  Don't worry if you don't know where that is.  It is a freckle on the backside of west Texas...but a freckle that Noah calls home when he is not here. 

My middle boy, the Titan in the photo, starts his Senior year of high school on Monday.  He just told me that he has been given a starting position on the JV football team...as well as a spot on the Varsity squad.  He is very excited.  I am too.  He has worked very hard for the past 4 years to earn those spots.  Please pray for my boy - he is having issues with his heart.  We've been to the doctor and are assured that there is no structural defect.  He is okay to play ball.  BUT he needs to have something called an EP study and likely ablation to correct the problem.  He will be benched for two weeks at the beginning of the season.  The procedure is on September 10.  Pray with me that this is a done and done thing and my boy gets to live a full and exciting life that includes his favorite sport.

 

The youngest - will be a Sophomore this year....and is the least of my worries...until next summer when he turns 16 and starts to drive.

Business has been crazy.  I have a constant flow of customers bringing their wonderful quilt projects to me.  It is a treat to get to share in their creativity and joy as they make things for the people they love the most. 

My latest pattern is well underway.  The directions are 90% complete.  I and my Minion (lol  a.k.a. Mom) are busily building the quilt so that it is ready for a big reveal on September 16.  It is all cut out AND Mom has two rows of blocks made with two more rows in hand to build.  Be sure to come back on the 16th....I think we will have a give away that day...sponsored by the good people at The Fat Quarter Shop.  

He, he, he  go ahead.  Click on that link!  I made the quilt that they have in the picture.  The one they are selling kits for.  I made that quilt, not one like it, that actual quilt is my handiwork.  How cool is that?!

I have been asked to judge a quilt "competition"

 

The completion is the brain child of Fiona over at the Celtic Thistle Stitches.  Head over and check it out!  I can't wait to see what everyone makes.

AND this Saturday I will be teaching my Wobbly Web quilt over at Happiness is Quilting.  Scraps is lobbying to go with. .... They have asked me to teach S'more Mountains in November.

So life goes....and I wonder what my role is in it...and think perhaps I have stumbled upon a career, but more on that later....the next time I come up for air.

Happy Gladiola Day!

 

No, it isn't another "Hallmark" holiday.  No need to rush out and purchase a card for someone.  I'm just feeling quiet and reflective...kind of like that strip on the edge of a dark highway.

 

 

Today is the 86th anniversary of the day my grandparents wed.  I told you a little bit about Nanny a few months ago.  You can read more about her here. 

The story is told in my family of an anniversary celebrated in Paris France soon after my parents married.  (I know because I have often heard how my four grandparents went on the honeymoon to Europe while my parents stayed home - house sitting.)  Nanny and Pa were traveling with my father's parents.  My four grandparents introduce my parents to each other in the cradle.  Literally.  It wasn't a strange thing for the four of them to be traveling together. 

 



 

For whatever reason Pa had to leave early and would be separated from Nanny on their anniversary.  Before he left he tipped the bell boy and asked that he use part of that money to bring flowers to Nanny on August 8.  My grandfather traveled home and left his wife to finish their grand tour with his good friends. 

 



 

When the day arrived Nanny did indeed receive flowers for her anniversary.....she received so many flowers that the hotel didn't have a container big enough to hold them all!

 



 

A few days later Nanny, not wanting to give up the generous gift of flowers from her beloved, carried a bunch with her....in a trash can....through Paris.

 



 

Thus started a tradition of Gladiolas on August 8th....a tradition that was kept alive for years by my grandfather and for 13 years after his death in 1987.  It got me into no end of trouble with my mother...but was much appreciated by my Nanny....my first and best, best friend.

 



 

Thank you God for sweet memories to share with friends near and far, and for the lovely people you placed in my life to create them. 

Smore is always better!

Welcome to my side of the mountain!



Today my quilt, S'more Mountains is being featured on Moda Bakeshop.  It is a jelly roll quilt that pays tribute to all of the places and spaces that my Dad designed for camping!  My Daddy worked as a landscape architect with both the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts of America.  He designed camps all over the great country that is the United States of America.

I had a great time playing with "S'more Love" by Eric and Julie Comstock.  I enjoyed myself so much that I've designed another quilt with it!

"S'more Rows" is a sampler quilt featuring several different types of piecing.  It will end up looking something like the picture below.  The finished size of this quilt is 72"x 84"

During the month of August I will write up directions and firm up my schedule.

The party starts in September.  On September 16 I will post fabric requirements.  After that I will share a pattern for one row on the 16th of each month for the next 7 or 8 months until the directions are complete.  (The 16th of October would have been my Dad's 79th birthday!)

I've lined up a couple of sponsors....The Fat Quarter Shop and Happiness is Quilting.  I am not sure what they are planning, but knowing them it will be good.