My Beautiful Mother

It is with a broken heart that I share the news of my mothers passing. Over the last month her already frail health quickly deteriorated even more so. Momma passed very quietly and peacefully on Monday evening. I really want to share all the fun things she and I did together, all the things she taught me, all the ways that made loving her, admiring her and appreciating her so easy...but it breaks my heart to even share the news of her passing.
Throughout my blog there are many stories about Momma, those of you who have read for awhile will know that I love my mother, my bestest friend dearly~I don't even want to imagine how much I will miss her...

Picture Show, Life in the Pam Lane

Seems Blogger likes me again, I don't even have to sign in any more, I get re-directed to my dashboard each time so evidently I am back on their good list...I'm not questioning this as this arrangement suits me just fine.

Life, boy, it sure has a way of getting in the way of life from time to time, doesn't it? Someone very close to me has been very ill for a few wks, no explanation as to why...no answers. It hit me pretty hard. As a result I have come face to face with my own mortality. My grandmothers both lived into their early 80's. My mother just celebrated her 80th birthday. Hmmmm...with 25-35 years to go I wonder....what I could be doing differently...what priorities I need to re-evaluate. That sounds rather depressing, but I am not looking at it that way at all, I am looking at it as a challenge to be the best I can be, do what needs to be done, to stop putting things off until tomorrow. When I look back 25-35 years and see what I have/have not done I realize I need to make up for some lost time. This past week a friend sent me a card with this saying "Now that it is over, what did you do yesterday that made a difference in the world?" What a great question to ask myself each morning, what a great way to challenge myself each day.

Here are a few pics of recent things I have been working on that have not been posted as of yet...

August, December and March Snowmen Purplework BOM....6 down (minus the embellishments), 2 more started (April & September) and 2 waiting their turn. I have cut out the setting blocks (Broken Wheel) and will be working on those in the next few wks with the hope of getting a row or two done since January, February and March blocks are done. Antenna Ball update...in honor of Spring, Mr. Sun is on the car.

This is a donation top from Nancy, it was quilted during my first machine quilting trip. Barbara finished the binding. We had so much fun quilting around the shapes. Thanks Nancy!!!
Quilt top donated by Jeanne, again quilted in January. Thanks Jeanne!!!! Both Nancy's quilt and Jeanne's quilt have been added to my ever growing stack of quilts headed to AMOR Ministries. Check out Lydia's blog...she is my main contact with AMOR and does all of our trip planning into Mexico. What a wonderful woman, when I grow up I wanna have an unselfish heart like Lydia!!
Lucy and Me...this quilt was made on my new treadle...yep...every stitch of the piecing was done on "LucyLou". She sews really nicely and will sew even better after a good cleaning and oiling. Barbara (who I bought LucyLou from) said LucyLou has not been used in over 25 years, and yet I was able to sit right down and put this quilt together. I loved loved loved the process of treadling and was thrilled with how this first project turned out...can't wait to start a new project but will refrain until LucyLou gets a good cleaning and oiling. I ordered a manual and expect it to be in the mail sometime this wk.
This is Spinnin a Weave, I showed a pic of this last week but that was before it was quilted. Yesterday Barbara and I had our 3rd session of machine quilting. I took my Harlequin Weave to quilt but it is too too big to fit on the machine, which I thought might be the case so I took both this SAW and LAM along as back ups. The panto is one I drew up for HW but used it for these two Building Block quilts. I totally love the effect. Spinnin a Weave is a thank you gift to be given to the man who gave me his late wives cutting table. He just became a great-grandfather so I thought he might like to send this to the baby...if not it is plenty big enough for him to use as a lap quilt. This pic is a bit dark, I didn't use the flash (on purpose) so you could see the quilting a bit better.
My sister is going to be a Nana again (maybe today! I just got a call that they are headed to the hospital!!!) I made this coverall bib for Nana to keep at her house. I have made these coverall bibs for all of my great-nieces and nephews. They are quick to make, fun to use and really do keep young ones clothing clean, especially when they start feeding themselves. I have a few more fun prints to make up and will make some in a larger size as Gabe grows. These are front and back pics as this bib is reversible, it velcros at the neck and around each ankle.

With the weather warming up we are working a bit more in the yard each week. I am so ready to be outside!!! We tore the pond all apart so we could get the plants divided and re-potted, also installed a new filter system. The bonus in doing all of that is seeing our Koi and how much they have grown. We knew they had grown but did not realize until Friday how much!!! Wow! We might have to put in the new larger pond this year and transplant a few, I would hate to loose any of them due to over crowding.

Daffodils, iris are up. Trees are blooming. Grass is a beautiful green. The birds are tormenting the cat. The frogs are hopping in and out of the pond... AHHHH Spring...I love Spring!!

March Madness...our Ducks won their first game on Friday....and are playing again today. Unfortunately our Beavs lost their first game and are out. We will keep cheering our Ducks on.

So, there you have it a quick peek into Pam's-world-of-late. And one last pic if I dare....

Quilt Tester...Akira

whoo hoo yee haw....

....I am signed in....I may never turn my computer off now that I am actually signed in. This new blogger is NOT for the faint of heart and certainly NOT for me!!! It's been almost 2 wks since I have been able to sign in, a couple of times I was able to sign in but when I either tried to post or to comment I would get signed out....troublesome!!! OK, enough complaining...I am sure you are all as tired of hearing my blogger woes as I am of having blogger woes!!!

So...what has Pam been up to? Well....how about this for starters HOOTMP in a flimsy state....

Hop On Over To My Pad

46x52

This is for me to keep at my house so will finish it off with purple buttons in the center of the pinwheels, which are 3-D. I never put buttons on donated quilts since I can not guarantee that a baby will not end up with the quilt making the buttons a choking hazard. I have a purple frog print to use as a backing. No quilting needed as 30 buttons will hold it together. Our granddaughter is forever walking in the door~getting a book, picking out a quilt and going off into "KatieBugLand" for hours...I am hoping she likes this quilt as much as I do.

I really enjoy perusing Debbie Mumm's site, I love the monthly craft/sewing projects that she posts and really liked this quilt. It is called Building Blocks but I am calling it Baby Weave because it is very similar to the Harlequin Weave that I just finished. Here is my version that I have named Spinnin' a Weave because of the fabric used. This is missing borders because I ran short of one print and hope to find a bit of the yellow when I go into town tomorrow. This quilt is a thank-you gift for the man who gave me his late wives cutting table (which is more than awesome!!). Tom has just become a great-granddad so this will be something he can give to the new baby.

Spinnin' a Weave
46x58 (when borders are added)

Hmmmm...what else has Pam been up to???

I have pretty much finished re-vamping MCM, that is for a time anyway. Our youngest son is moving back to Oregon in a few wks and he has promised to help us out with a few projects...Ed has a few projects in mind for outside in the yard and I have (at least (*¿~) ) one major project for inside. I want to pull up the carpet in MCM, we have beautiful hardwood floors under our carpet and I have always hated having carpet in MCM. So, in just a few wks I will once again be packing it all up and moving it into the livingroom...Ed is so not going to be thrilled, although he has been informed LOL!!!

I had a one week cutting party and then promptly filled the basket with scraps again...I still have far too many scraps yet uncut and would love to have that be a done-done project but as of yet that hasn't happened. I will keep plugging away at it.

Just as I was pulling yummy Orange Rolls out of the oven this morning, some friends pulled up with a treasure that I purchased from them a few weeks ago. I mentioned a new purchase back in January but didn't tell you what it is...today it was delivered and here is a pic of my new toy....isn't it beautiful? It is in perfect working condition and I took the time to sew a bit with it this afternoon. Several years ago I purchased a treadle that was in need of some work on the machine, the cabinet and the wrought iron base, I thought I was up for the task but soon found out that it was more work than I had time for so I donated it to a sale our mission group was having...they made more money on it than I had paid for it and it was out of my hair so I felt ok about it. Knowing how I love old machines, Ed was sad for me and told me to look for another one to replace it, one in better shape than the first one. My friend, Barbara and I were having dinner one night and she mentioned that her great-grandmothers treadle was going to an auction house in a couple of weeks...WHAT!!!??? NO WAY!! There was no way I was going to let her great-grandmothers treadle get out of sight....before we finished our salads we agreed on a price and the deal was sealed! I did a quick bit of research and the best I can come up with this machine was manufactured between 1834 and 1868, although Barbara seems to think it might be a few years older than that. I will keep searching until I come up with as close to accurate date as possible. She has lots of history to share with me and I have asked her to write it out so the history can be kept with it. There are all kinds of fun things in the drawers, tools and attachments that are so big and bulky it is no wonder so many women could not take their beloved machines when they traveled from the East Coast to make a new life on the West Coast (which is part of the history of this machine). Currently this is sitting in the diningroom, in front of the patio door~looking out over the back yard, as soon as my niece comes to get my grandmothers sewing machine (which I have enjoyed owning for 20+ years and I am now passing on to her to enjoy and love) I will move this into the livingroom. Until then I think I will come up with a simple project and make something (maybe new accent pillows for our bed???) on this old and very loved machine that has joined our household, and my ever growing collection of older machines.

Today I received word that after May the LQS I rent quilting machine time at will be closing. I am sad as I have so enjoyed not only the experience of machine quilting but the travel time and time away from the normal routine of my days as well. The shop owner is facing some serious issues with 3 very ill family members and is no longer able to handle the shop as well as what her future will be requiring of her. Next Saturday, March 17, I will be quilting my Harlequin Weave and plan to rent the machine in April and if it is available will rent it one last time in May before the shop closes. On the other hand a gal here in our teeny tiny little town has offered to rent her machine for the same price ($40/day). Not sure it is something I will do, but we shall see. Another option is for a group of us to purchase a machine together, which we have all talked about for years but no one has done anything about. LOL push is coming to shove and maybe we will do something about it now, maybe not. None of us wants to own a machine, but all of us want to use one LOLSpring has arrived in our teeny tiny town...I am totally loving the color that is cropping up here and there around town. The flowering plums are very pretty and pink. I thought our crocus' were done but these little guys popped up this wk, a nice surprise for me as I love crocus and IMHO they just don't have a long enough blooming season. Daffy's are blooming all over the place.

OK, let's hope Blogger will play nice and this will actually post...if so, I think I will try to read a few blogs...if not...just send the men in the little white coats my way.