America the beautiful, the buzz of the bees...Being thankful and being blessed!

What a great country we live in, I am reminded daily of the freedoms we enjoy, and so appreciate all of it.I know I am so fortunate to live in a clean community, with safe water to drink, one which is relatively crime free, where I can walk at night without fear, and am never afraid of the noises in the night! Something I will probably never take for granted again.

Well this month has flown by, not enough done, more plans that I'd like to get accomplished...but I am so thankful for the blessings in my life. In the past month or two, we have reconnected with friends from over 35 years ago, seen our two youngest grandchildren reach new milestones, first birthdays, walking, learning new tricks and DS2 and his Emmikins are expecting another bundle for us to love. Life is pretty grand at the moment. Have to share, a photo of the Professor in wonderment at all the bees buzzing in the trees while still in bloom. Then my friend showing the table topper she made and I quilted for her. She also did a charity quilt which I quilted for her. There is also a photo of another friends "Farmers Daughter" quilt.... I adored the colors of this scrappy quilt. I had the privilege of quilting it for her.

Then this wonderful applique quilt, an extremely talented lady here did and permitted me to quilt for her. I enjoyed each of these projects... for different reasons. Loved the color combinations, or the pattern...or just looking at the beautiful quilts while I put a design on them. I really am a blessed woman.

My little leprechauns and ducks in the garden...

Well better late than never...in sharing these pics of the kiddos in their St. Paddy's day finery....they look too cute...or am I biased. I am missing one of the Princess in her finery...but had to post these anyway. Of course we had to have some comic relief.... those bigger kids are so funny. I had to post a photo of the ducks who used to raid my garden regularly when I lived in South AFrica!!! I miss them.... and if I thought I could keep them from wandering off... as i don't have a fence around my home now, I might get one or two. I have done a couple of customer quilts this past week...but no pics to post. I can't figure out which folder I put them in... ah technology. I am hoping to quilt for me tomorrow after work, I have two I have been working on... maybe can finally put my DD blocks together. I only did a throw of 18 blocks, but only got round to cutting the setting triangles today. I was lucky enough to go to a quilting time with another guild,they did Bugs in a jar. I opted to do only 20 of the jars..and did small ones at that. It is partially assembled so hope to put that together and get it quilted. And in other exciting news...my DD in law's Seamingly accurate is featured in Quilters Home magazine for April/May. And to think I knew her when..... Hope you all had a great weekend. I certainly did! PS-- Hunny Bunny over at her new place is having a giveaway. Go have a visit!

Spring break getaway, Irish memories, Oklahoma State fans and the Wee One....

I have been away for a couple of days and seem like I haven't been able to catch up on my tasks... but had to share a photo of the Professor, wee one and his dad all showing their support for the Cowboys, Oklahoma State Cowboys of course!And the Wee

one is definitely growing up...he is over a year. We were able to see his this past weekend as the PRofessor and Son in law are planning on the deck we hope to add to the house in the next few months. It is spring break and a weekend away was the best staycation we could get. It was fun, to see him walking and all sorts of new tricks. But it was back to the grind today...for both of us. I have just pinned in another quilt, and wanted to share a photo of another finished one, the simple triangle block was started in South Africa with a Craft friend, Anike's, discarded curtaining squares. I received about 30 of the mostly red ones. I was nice and waited for all the other girls to choose first. I initially thought to make a little picnic quilt...but as I decided to use another friends discarded jaquard pieces, leftovers from curtaining, it became bedsized and none of the outer borders which I quilted with a feather border, match, but they are all similar curtaining fabrics. I really had fun doing this one, but now I need to find some of the burgundy fabric, to make binding. It is on display at the fabric shop. But took this photo at quilt guild a couple of weeks ago. I also finished this customer quilt.It is quite contemporary so I did something a little different in each block, these stylized feathers that "circle" each block. It is a queen sized quilt...and took a bit longer than I had initially thought, but she liked it and I did too. Finished another two, but forgot to get photos... so will have to post those later. Have a few more to complete but the pace is just where I want it to be. I am wishing each of you a Happy St. Patrick's Day, I have asked the children to send me photos of the grandkids in their Irish finery, I had to send all of them hats or headbands to wear.... to celebrate their Irish heritage. Although I couldn't see them in person.... so still waiting on those pics. Had to add a few photos taken in Ireland where we went for our honeymoon...even if it was 31 years late! This next photo was taken looking from the top of Blarney Castle, I so enjoyed every day we spent in Ireland. My favorite place may have been Kilarney. But loved Galoway and all the quaint villages we visited away from the touristy areas. The Professor went above and beyond to make it special for me. He even drove the Ring of Kerry, and took me to the Dingle Peninsula. It was all fabulous. Had to kiss the Blarney stone... of course.

It was every bit as I pictured it.Even to the heavier accent of the people who live in the west. We drove all the way to the western coast. The Cliffs of Moher were stunning. I loved it all..... so thanks for sharing my little trip memory..... and top of the morning to y'all!

Me and Shaka Zulu the Big Pineapple and "Burning down the house!"

Here are some lovley high school girls wearing their school uniforms. They were in line behind me at the Post office in South AFrica when we still lived there. Had to post a photo of me and Shaka, taken in front of the Elengeni Sun Hotel in Durban, South AFrica. He was a tourist "attractioin". But what a funny guy, and he did enjoy having his photo taken. And the Big Pineapple, located at the Pineapple farm near Bathurst South Africa, This pineapple is three stories high...with homemade Pineapple items on the ground floor, and almost a mini museum of photos and pineapple growing paraphanalia. It was so much fun to visit. It is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South AFrica, a bit of a drive from Port Elizabeth South AFrica. We had spent a lovely weekend at a beach house of friends, at Canon Rocks. Equally gorgeous. Good times and memories and one of the things we miss so much...the wonderful fresh pineapples from South Africa. But the real reason for my post is yet ANOTHER almost burning down the house...and for those of you who know me, no, this time didn't involve making french fries, or forgetting boiling eggs on top of the stove until they exploded! All over the ceiling, counters and cabinets in the kitchen. No, not this time.....but I did put on a pan of potatoes to boil for Potato salad...about 11:30 AM.... and then the PRofessor did come home about 12 and remind me we had dentist appointments in a small town about 3o minutes away...so we headed out the door.... sat in the waiting room, before we both had a dental checkup... and teeth cleaning...visit with the dentist.The professor needed a filling...and I needed way more than that...but it ended up being a consultation for WAY more.... we hit our home town about 3 and decided we were hungry...so stopped for a bite. And as we stood waiting to place our order, it hit me, .....er.... "had I turned off those potatoes?" Well the professor has been married to me for a long time, and lived through a small fire or "near" fire incident enough..that he just said to me, "Oh, crap, lets go !!!!!" So we drove as quickly and safely to our neighborhood.... and as we rounded the curve, we didn't see any firetrucks in the driveway....and I couldn't see smoke billowing out of the windows. We didn't hear the snoke detectors going off , so I ran to the door and threw it open...only to be hit in the face with a disqusting burnt food smell.... the pan was smoking...no water, potatoes burnt at leasts 1/4 the way through... so I grabbed the pan, and we took it outside .... but let me assure you, that the smell of burnt food is still there. In fact, I opened windows today, and turned on the attic fan...to suck in clean air...all day while I was at work. The Professor suggested ...burning candles.... now is that really what you suggest to someone who almost burned down the House!?????? I instead turned on the electric candle warmer...ooops almost forgot...it is still on. Until later!

A pattern giveaway.... over at Reanalily Designs...

Just a quick note, There is a great giveaway...over at my DIL's design blog, I have tested one of these patterns, Floating Bubbles... a very fun quilt and quick to make, and posted a photo of my work in progress in previous post. To sign up for an opportunity to win several of her patterns.... go to Reannalily designs and leave a comment.

More South Africa photos.... Another good day... snow in Mississippi

First a wonderful photo taken in Africa, showing how many people travel...to and from work, or to the grocery store...to town. They just cram into the backs of a bakkie( pickup truck) and they actually pay someone for this privilege. I always got a laugh when I spotted one of these crowded vehicles. They usually waved and smiled when I grabbed my camera. You will note that they drive on the opposite side of the road from us... a difficult thing to learn... and then relearn when I arrived home for good. I only drove on the wrong side of the road a few times here....but thankfully no one was coming... so all was well. Next up, I had to share a photo taken from the game reserve at the edge of Queenstown, where we lived. The little round mountain...was just behind our house..a couple of blocks away.The reserve had some wonderful giraffes and zebra. They also had several Rhino there. Always fun to see.

On the local front, we had a wonderful change of pace this morning.... woke up to snow... ON THE GROUND! Which isn't a common occurence here. The first we have had since we moved here last summer. And although we have had some wonderful warm weather, it actually snowed enough that it stuck. What a treat... and it had melted by this evening. So can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Its a good thing it happened yesterday evening...as I have quilt guild in the morning... hope to get some wonderful pictures of those talented ladies quilts! I also practiced more feathering on a customers quilt.IT is a darling Sunbonnet Sue quilt. She is an amazing embroiderer and appliquer. And let me quilt for her. I don't think she has ever had a machine quilted quilt before. I did feathers, SID( stitch in ditch) and outlined each little sunbonnet girl in blocks. My talented DIL, of Reannalily Designs, is launching two new quilt patterns...and I tested one for her. I did "forget" to cut all of the circles... I think I left out 6.... but this was a pretty quick quilt to do. I sewed it in an evening....and a couple of hours on the circles. She has a very cool technique to use, for the applique circles. I machine stitched mine on. and haven't added the border that she recommended ....YET, as I am thinking of putting another fabric, that I have to go and buy. But this was quick and easy to sew up. It makes a twin size with the border.

Memories from South Korea and ..... What a way to sew????

First it was only two years ago...when the Professor and I had the opportunity to visit South Korea, during Cherry blossom time, to see our wonderful son, the Major, and his spouse...the Designer and all of our grandchildren at that time. What a treat. I had to share a photo of us taken at the Cultural Village in Seoul. You can see the tower, Wubang tower in the hazy background. What a lovely city to visit. I couldn't get over everything to see while we were there. And aren't those the cutest kids, trying to read the map...so that they could tell us the way to go???? Now it was all in Korean...but there were some very cool pictures to see on that map. We had a great time riding the bullet train... to Seoul. Fast and clean and smooth. I so wish we had a train like that to ride on here in the US. It was fabulous. On to other things, It got really cold here the other night...and I decided rather than turn the heat way up.... I would just snuggle under the cover.... and do a little sewing... what better way than to sew ...UNDER... a QUILT!!!The quilt is not complete...but it is my When oh When as per Tonya, I am hand quilting it in my spare time... the center is almost complete....finally. So when I get tired of sewing on the little featherweight... I can pick up the hoop...and hand quilt on that one. Well the Professor caught me like this when he got home from his evening class... and snapped the photo. What a guy!!!! I don't know if you can see it or not...but my DD .... first large block is in the lower left corner of the "Bed sewing". I still need to finish all the pink 9 patches... I am about halfway through with those... before I can finish the DD mystery from Bonnie at Quiltville.com. Had to post this photo of a fungly quilt a friend asked me to quilt for her. It is very old, looks like late 30's and 40's fabrics to me.... not sure who pieced it, but the fabric was very thin...and the backing fabric was actually pieced from old flour sacks! Some had even been mended... er darned. I wanted to try feathers as I am still learning them... and she was cool with whatever I wanted to try. And they turned out pretty well. I had to leave a photo of the back as well. Hope you enjoy seeing them.

Africa memories, Cape of Good Hope, Cricket... quilts and a gun toter too!!!

One of my favorite memories from a little over two years ago.... all part of a fabulous trip to Cape Town.... we had to go to the Cape of Good Hope with our dear friends, Frank and Jayne. And another photo of one of the wonderfully natural mountainous regions in the area we lived in for 4 years. This was taken from the veranda on the game reserve... it was a lovely place. This was Winter but so much fun to be there with friends. Then the beautiful giraffes we saw up close at the Kruger Park over the Christmas break..... Some very good times. Of course there has to be at least one humorous photo of the Professor in his Sport gear.... he wore this at the cricket match between Australia and South AFrica.... SA won huge..... at the Newlands Cricket grounds... What a match!!!!

The shanties I saw every time I delivered a box of books to the township Library in Ezebeleni as they were across the street from the library.

The man holding the machine gun...crouching in the parking lot of the mall... very scary the first time we saw this..but after a while.... you just get used to this ... kind of a "funny/crazy" thing!

I can not believe the crazy weather. we are experiencing here... yesterday.... we were cuddled under quilts... as in multiples of quilts in order to keep warm, then today.... it was shorts and 77 degrees...with another cold front coming in tonight...so back to coats and sweaters tomorrow. I wish we could have 8 months of todays weather...then some really hot...and some cold weather. Just not changing every other day. I shared some scrapbooking tips at our bi monthly quilt guild this week.... and what fun. Loved watching the ladies stamp on their pages...to enhance some of the quilt journal pages they are saving. They also shared some lovely quilts as well. I missed a few of the especially wonderful hand quilted ones that were there. The president of the guild is an award winning hand quilter. The quilt was pieced by someone else..but it hung at the Houston quilt show. It is stunning. I have never quilted a quilt like that one...so gorgeous. It was just published in a book.I can't remember the name...but think the quilt was called midnight in the garden. I really liked the Notre Dame T shirt quilt... It is really cool. ANd I adore hex quilts...this one is in progress... She does beautiful work.

I also had to include this navy,red and gold quilt that I had the privilege of quilting. And this super bright quilt that a friend made and permitted me to quilt for her. It is so vibrant... I don't think the photo does it justice. She also made this adorable table topper.... and I quilted it for her as well.

She also made this adorable table topper .... and I quilted it for her. I completed a UFO.... but it is already hanging at the fabric store...so will have to post a photo after I get a photo. I have one loaded on the frame now for a friend...Hope to finish it off tomorrow evening. I seem to be behind on all my projects at the moment. Just sewing step 3 on the DD mystery...but here is the stack of completed part 1 and 2's. I am doing a smaller wall hanging...Only committed to doing 1/2 of the blocks. So will be a throw for me. I am hoping to finish a new pattern of my DD in law. She is launching on March 1st. I am lucky to be a tester. I have only committed to 4 new projects this year...still determined to finish some from last year...and or past years. The professor has asked if my sitting under a quilt...with a sewing machine perched on a lap tray...sewing while sitting in bed has become the norm for me in the evenings. It has been some nights! On really cold nights I am hand quilting my "When oh When" quilt..... those pictures will be coming soon. Maybe when I finish the when oh when.... showing the progress I am making.