Sunday, September 26, 2010

Vacation is over




Bummer...vacation is over!  We visited Disney World last week...a first for me! We stayed at one of the Disney resorts, Port Orleans.  It was a lovely place, and it was great to be able to ride the bus or the water taxi around to whatever we were planning to do.  Favorite rides...Tower of Terror,  Aerosmith rollercoaster, and Soarin'..... I loved it, wore myself out and managed to come down with a cold on Saturday.  So today is going to be a quiet day for me...maybe get a little sewing in once my headache calms down. 
This is what is on my sewing table, a small quilt using 3"  Broken Dishes blocks.  Hope everyone is enjoying a nice fall day!

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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Thought for the day

I recieved this in an email today, and wanted to share...it is so true!

Lisa Beamer on Good Morning America - If you remember, she's the wife of Todd Beamer who said 'Let's Roll!' and helped take down the plane over Pennnsylvania that was heading for Washington DC back on 9/11.
She said it's the little things that she misses most about Todd, such as hearing the garage door open as he came home, and her children running to meet him. She's now the Mom of a beautiful little girl, Mary.
Lisa recalled this story:


"I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there.
With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, ' Class is over, I would like to share with all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment.
Perhaps this is the powers way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day. Her eyes, beginning to water, she went on, 'So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice.
It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground. Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted.
The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.
Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.
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Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Quilting the Quilt

This month, our Charming Gals Club is focusing on quilting...so far this is what I have finished.   This one is Reveille, made with Barbara Brackman's Civil War Homefront.  I quilted it with straight line grid quilting and put a small ric-rak border around the edge.  I decided that these little quilts are the perfect thing to practice my machine quilting skills with.  For this one, I used YLI Invisible Nylon thread on the top and cotton on the bottom.  I think I like the silk finish threads better for the bobbin thread, and will try that on the next quilt. To mark the quilt, I used the Golden Threads paper, and I do like that because it is easy to see and comes off easily.  Last week I ordered a new packet of border designs from them, and I am anxious to give them a try. 

And here is a little charity strippy quilt that I practiced machine quilting on.  Once again, I used the nylon thread for the top thread.  For some of the designs I used a washable blue marker and some I used the Golden Threads paper.  It turned out better than I had imagined it would...practice helps!

Jack decided he needed to model the quilt for me.  He likes to play in my sewing room while I am sewing, just give him some crayons and paper and he is a happy little guy!

This morning, I went to Caleb's school for breakfast, and to visit his classroom.  It was fun to see meet his teacher and tour his classroom.  I am very blessed to be able to participate in activities like this!

Hope everyone is having a blessed day...off to make an apple walnut cake and a pie or two...the apple trees are FULL of apples this year!
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