Stepping into Glory

 

Dad's earthly walk is finished; he has fought the good fight;

2 Timothy 4:7

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

The night before his passing I stayed all night with him and tried not to be grumpy and tired (not  knowing it would be the last time.)  Every time he cried out I'd say "I'm here, dad..." and he'd settle back down. And then the next day, he was gone from this world and stepped into Glory.  We were expecting it, but somehow it still took me by surprise.

Psalm116:15

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.

Dad is now with his Redeemer.  I can rest in the fact that all is OK....but, how I will miss him!

On The Road Again

With my dad in convalescent care, my sister and I have been taking turns sitting with him, tending to his needs (competent help in care facilities is scarce, to say the least.)  There is no time for anything but sitting with dad, and work.  Every other past time has been put on the back burner for now. No Quilting, No Ukulele and No Gardening.

 

But, I did get a little reprieve this week with the annual software forum in Lincoln, NE.....YEAH
(sorry, sister, adding to your responsibilities.)

I decided if I did not live in KY, NE would be a nice place to live.

While there, of course, I spent some time with my college roommate, bestie, Cori.  We always have a few good laughs and a couple of good meals.  This visit was no exception. 

And I even managed to work in a visit a very nice quilt shop.  

Country Sampler - Click Here
Follow the link and visit their website.
It's a nice experience, even on line.

What a NICE shop!  Nice fabrics, nice displays and really nice people!  This would easily be my favorite place to hang out if
I lived in Omaha!  And, even though quilting is on hold for a time (because of dad) I still managed to spend almost $200. 
Oy, Vey....

I am not a Halloween fan, but I really like Halloween fabrics.  So, I could not resist buying fabrics to make this throw quilt.

Not Halloween fabrics, per se, but Halloween colors.

This will be for my nephew's daughter, JayCee.  Since their visit this past summer, I've been watching for a quilt pattern
I thought she might like...she is 13.

Front Row (L to R):  JayCee, Abby, Jason
Back row:  Sister Joy, B-I-L Mike, and me.
Our family tradition, breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the last day of the visit.

 Other fun displays in the shop.

Vintage Sewing Machines!

If you are passing through Omaha, I highly recommend a side-trip to the Country Sampler!

After a few days in Nebraska, it was off to California and some R & R with my babes... and a visit to In-N-Out Burger.**

The burger is almost bigger than Catalina!

(L to R:  West, Catalina, Gabrielle, Cash, Presley)

Good food for the tummy, and good company for the soul. 
Soon enough it will be back to the every-day responsibilities of real life.

**This burger chain is very popular....long lines to order food.  And, I've heard it is a great place to work.

Detour

 Just when you think all your ducks are in a row and life will get back to normal...

 

 

 

Just over a week ago my 91-year-old dad fell and broke his arm.

 

This Labor Day weekend was all planned out to take a quick trip to Little Rock, AR to visit a friend....
and maybe a quilt shop or two.

Instead I'm  running back and forth to the hospital (and he is now in the rehab center....), sitting with my dad....
One good thing out of the deal I'm getting all caught up on my episodes of Wagon Train.

On the FeTv station, if you're interested.

At this point we have no idea what to expect....surgery is not an option so it is wait-and-see.

Gearing Up and Setting Goals

 

 

 

 

Here we are, the end of August and
dare I even think it

 

 

I must admit, however,
I don't have any big quilting plans
that must be finished by Christmas this year.

 

 

That's not to say things are not gearing up for a busy time in the next month or so:

*Labor Day weekend I'm traveling to Little Rock, AR to visit a long-time friend, Annette.
        Annette and I go way back to Portland days when our children were very young.

      *I'm hoping this trip will include a few Quilt Shop stops.  According to the internet,
        there are a few shops in the Little Rock area.

*The daughter is coming for a visit with her main squeeze the week after I return.

*An annual software conference happens later in September in Lincoln, NE.
        *This will include a visit with my college roomie, Cori and her D.H.

*Then it is off to Calif to visit The Babes for two whole weeks!!
         While I do NOT miss Calif in any way, I desperately miss the people left behind.
          I cannot wait to see them.

 

I've already called Faith, my Calif LAQ to see if I can get on her list.  The plan is to take one top and the Quilting Auntie memorial wall hanging to Calif with me and have Faith quilt them while I'm there.  There are LAQs here in the area, most certainly, I just have not searched them out yet.

UPDATE:  From the time I started this post to today my plan was to have created more blocks for Pat Sloan Summer Soiree QAL that I started in June, 2021, assemble it and get it ready for Faith to quilt while I'm in Calif.

I got all the fabric out and started to cut fabric to make three more blocks.

 

But, life happened...my dad fell and broke his shoulder....my days and nights have been spent at the hospital. 
Now I do not know what will actually get done, or when....we will see.

Blast From The Past

 

We all have 'em....projects that go cold.  Then they are tucked away in a cubby or a box somewhere ...
out of sight, out of mind.  

Occasionally we might dig one out and start working on it and
wonder-of-worders, actually finish it and others we pass along to a new home.  

 

 

I did a lot of passing along when I moved from CA to KY earlier this year. 
One project I started when 16-year-old Cash was born and never finished....
Snugly Bugly, by Amy Bradley.  
I passed it along where it was more appreciated.

And, this past week, the same thing happened to me!

Charlotte-the-Tall sent me a package....

Remember the Glorious Hexies?  

 

 

 

 

Charlotte and I started these in 2016.  Read Here

She's done some, I've done some. 
Then she decided it was time to bless someone else....ME!!!

Accomplishes two things: 1) gets them out of her cubby and
2) breathes new life into my hexies!  Win!!  Win!!

 

 

 

 

These are the Hexies Charlotte-the-Tall completed.

Here is the entire group!  I'm so excited!

I'll be traveling soon and will be taking these along.

 

 

 

And just for fun!  Here is a picture of a woman who not only finished her Hexie quilt, but entered it in a show.  
(I don't know her, I saw this on FB, click HERE.)

Receiving these has given me new inspiration.  Thank You, Charlotte!

And Just Like THAT

 

Cash is 16!!!

 

Asking a Quilter to Mend

 

It started out innocently  enough...the sister asking me to fix one of dad's shirts

.....then it was another shirt

....then it was dad's britches, then another pair of britches.
(That's what they say in Kentucky...britches...instead of pants. 
That's what I say now, too....)

....then it was replace a zipper in my niece's dress... a hidden zipper. 
I'm surprised I even remember how (I did watch a YouTube video to refresh my memory. Don't you LOVE YouTube.)

But these are the gifts we give our family and those we love, besides quilts.

P.S.  Watching this documentary will change your mind about mending.  HERE