Back to Quilting and Stuff

Ike forced its presence on us a month ago today. Seems life has been rather serious ever since. I read other blogs and am inspired by all that people accomplish, the diverse ideas that they share, the pure joy of looking at their photos - especially if those photos include pets (smile) and I'm thinking...all I've rambled about is Ike and I know folks are ready to just tune me out if they haven't already! My apologies, but that's just a part of my life right now. I wish a smaller part, but it doesn't look like it's going to fade anytime soon. BUT! I am working really hard at getting back to rambling about quilting!!

Yesterday I had the privilege of teaching a Square in a Square project - Ohio Star - at Cactus Quilts in Texas City. It was fun to play in the fabric and to share these fabulous techniques with my students. Love how everything starts out with a basic square and strips. No flip and sew, no marking, no cutting triangles... I'm thinking that perhaps I need to make another one myself - besides the class sample hanging up at the shop...My 96 yr old grandmother is now in a wheel chair at her nursing home - I'm thinking she needs a lap quilt! So I'm setting my thoughts on trying to whip one out pretty quick. Maybe later this afternoon - typically I take Sunday afternoons to piece and quilt for myself, but today I have a wedding to go to!! A fellow quilter!! If that's not a good Ike diversion I don't know what is!!


One more digression to Ike - Joyce from Kansas sent me the very first two Quilts of Hope -- quilts that will be donated to families effected by Ike. I am expecting a box from Ginny this next week or so, and then I'll get busy finding homes for these wonderful gives of love. I don't think Joyce will mind -- I want to share parts of her email...

Karen....you see, about 6 years ago I had a dog named Ike, who was a sweet yellow lab/golden retriever. During the hurricane news reports, I thought about how different in character my dog and the brutal storm were. So, in memory of Ike...I give to victims of another Ike. And my Ike was named after the dalmatian dog who was mascot for the fire truck in Abilene KS..and that Ike was named after President Eisenhower, whose home town was Abilene, near where I grew up...just a little trivia!

Well, whatever your reason, won't you find a way to help the Ike survivors down here??

A taste of Normality:

Last night my husband's extended family gathered to wish him a belated Happy Birthday. There are 14 of us in the "clan" and it's no small task to get us all together on a single date - only one nephew was missing for our finger-licking good time. (What else do good Texans eat, but fried chicken! -- well BBQ, but that's another party). Anyway, the weather was nice, it's still in the 80's here and as you can see, most of us are still wearing shorts and t-shirts. For the record the two "tall" fellows in dark shirts on the left are my sons, and the handsome fellow in the dark shirt on the right is my hubby. An all male family, almost. One granddaughter, the rest of us females are "married in" (smile). I married the pick of the litter, the oldest son, and have cherished almost 29 years with him...just thought I'd throw that comment in for free (grin).

Okay, so that's my ramble for today, a little more "normal" than "Ike" and I hope the proportions continue to balance heavier on the "normal" side in the future! Now it's time to get ready for a wedding!! Time to celebrate life, love, and the pursuit of happiness - with the hope of sharing contagious joy!
karen