Showing posts with label daughter-in-law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daughter-in-law. Show all posts

17 July, 2017

Forced Expulsion and Other Happenings

Bear with me through this post, it has lots of photos and a weekend update too. This was my the state of my sewing room on Friday. Being banished from the studio has resulted in a change of pace and tidier, better organized spaces in other parts of the house; not necessarily a bad thing! I have to admit, just looking at the plastic drapes, floor cloths and chaos in my favorite room gives me a case of the jitters. But, the face lift will be worth it. Freshly painted wall surfaces, ceiling and trim will revitalize the appearance of the room and recharge my creative energy when I return.
At least that's what I keep telling myself.
So, late last week I tackled dresser drawers and my closet. The closet was a MAJOR undertaking. It was in dire need of cleaning out and organizing! I did not take a before photo. Trust me, it was bad. I organized from the top down. Shelves first, and then hanging items. At long last all of the wire coat hangers (how do the multiply exponentially?) are gone, replaced by cleaner and quieter plastic hangers.
I used the one year rule for identifying items to be donated. Some items had taken up valuable closet space for ten to fifteen times that! Of course, keepsake items have been retained. But, even with those were carefully scrutinized first. I was ruthless.
This was the final result. I thought I was done. Neat, tidy, organized. I felt like my clothes could breathe again, I know I was breathing easier having this task behind me, it had weighed me down for a very long time. Speaking of weight though, if only those closet rods could talk!
The donation bags ready to go. You can't tell relative scale here, these are 42 gallon bags. I "borrowed" the bags from my husband's workshop. They are "contractor grade" plastic, 3 mil thick, they're very strong and sturdy. It's a good thing because I filled them and they were HEAVY.  I am thankful now that those closet rods never buckled, in all truthfulness they've had the largest load lifted from them. Wow.
About the time I was finishing up the closet I received a desperate phone call from our daughter. She needed some help with Lucy Ann, our son-in-law was traveling and she and Mason were on their way to the hospital, he was in need of an emergency appendectomy! As luck would have it, our son was in the car at the time, near the Capital City. Uncle Kyle to the rescue. He picked her up and brought her to us.
Here's Mason after his successful surgery. It was a textbook procedure and he was on his way home (yes, HOME!) two hours later. His Daddy arrived back in town just before Mason went into surgery. The surgery, performed laparoscopically, plus an otherwise healthy young boy combined to make this procedure, in essence, one of out-patient status. This seems almost unbelievable to me. Twenty six years ago his own mother was in the hospital for three days when she had the same surgery; and she didn't get souvenir photos of her procedure to bring home! Mason not only has photos but stories to share too!
Meanwhile, back at Chez Goodneedle, little Miss Lucy Ann had a fun sleepover with Nana and Paw Paw and staged a perfectly wonderful fashion show on Saturday, modeling her mother's old prom dresses! These sparkly sequined dresses, a pair of rhinestone-studded sandals and her imagination were all she needed for a great morning of dress-up fun. We returned her to her family later in the day, she was eager to get home and check on her big brother. 
Yesterday after church I showed off my now clean closet to my son and daughter-in-law. (Yes, I lead a very exciting life!) My daughter-in-law, after complimenting me on getting rid of  all those horrible wire coat hangers,  graciously informed me that I was using the wrong style hangers for my slacks. She pointed out how this style (above) has the vertical posts to stabilize them for the weight of slacks on the bottom bar. I had no idea! A few substitutions were easily made and I was in complete plastic coat hanger compliance! Am I the only one who didn't know this?
All is well.
And back in the Capital City: Legos and a lap tray. Let the healing begin.
Life is Good!

21 December, 2016

A Pieceful Glimpse

The cards are addressed and sent, the gifts wrapped, the cookies baked. What's left to do? 
Hannes and I want to express our sincere wishes for a "Pieceful Day" to you and yours... today and every day! Yes, my daughter-in-law has created yet another wonderful quilter's T that I am more than happy to model and market for her. These well fitting, comfortable shirts are long-sleeved, 100% cotton, pre-washed, tagless and all around wonderful!  Thanks to everyone who contacted me and ordered a "bobbin" shirt already, they are still available too.  I hope she creates a website so that I can link to it in the upcoming New Year and quilter friends can order simply with the click of a button from my side bar; but, for now, you can e-mail me for details, she has a fast turn around.
This cute spool motif is on the back of each shirt, your friends will recognize you coming and going! I hope to be back blogging with much more frequent regularity soon, very soon. My husband and I have been operating in a fog, so to speak, for the last month. All of a sudden that fog is lifting and it is Christmas! I have some stories to relate of recent happenings and, of course, photos to share. I'll be back. In the meantime: Have a Pieceful Day!
Life is Good!

10 December, 2016

I'm Here To Tell Ya

Think of this as a public service announcement: if I can serve as anything it will be as an example to remind you to check your bobbin level before taking off on a stitching marathon!  I've been there, bought the T-shirt too. 😉  If you're interested in getting a T-shirt like mine, email me, my sweet daughter-in-law creates them for sale. The cute logo on the back neck (below)  is equally compelling. Just think, you can be a walking billboard too... as quilters we need to pass along all the good advice we've learned the hard way, it's our obligation to the future. 
Life is Good!

17 January, 2015

Another Quilt Surprise!


The Christmas quilt that I surprised Mr. Goodneedle with wasn't the only surprise happening around here lately; Snowbird's been busy!  Our daughter-in-law wanted to make a king-sized quilt for her cousin's wedding. Leigh Anna put this vibrant Rail Fence top together (the couple chose the colors/theme) before Christmas and patiently waited for a day to load this big beauty on the longarm for some Loop-de-Loop quilting. We chose the Saturday after Christmas and she hit it hard... quilting all day long... did I mention how BIG this quilt is?
Right before dinner our son took a turn on Snowbird... this gift truly was a family affair!
After dinner, with the quilting complete, it was time to attach the binding; because the quilt was so large, and heavy, the ironing board and the cutting table were needed to support it as the binding was set into place for stitching.
The mega-quilt with binding attached, all ready for pressing back and hand finishing.
It was done in time and presented to the happy couple last weekend at their wedding.
Don't you just know it will bring a lifetime of warmth, love, and sweet dreams?

Life is Good!

14 November, 2012

Her First Quilt

Our daughter-in-law had Monday off, it was a school holiday;  she came here for a day of sewing and quilting lessons, she's a teacher (and a very good student). She wanted to stitch a Rail Fence quilt for the new baby using fabric salvaged from a seldom used comforter, plus some added fabric to give it new life! She sailed through the rotary cutting lesson and had a stack of blocks in no time. She arranged her blocks and excelled at the piecing and pressing steps as well. She's a natural-born quilter; I'm predicting that this, her first quilt, won't be her last!
By late afternoon our future granddaughter had a very pretty quilt top;
I love the colors, they're fresh and fun!

What was the most valuable lesson of the day?
Don't wear black when you sew!

Life is Good!

11 February, 2012

Feely Bags

I received an e-mail from my daughter in law this week asking me how hard it would be to make nine, 4" square, drawstring feely bags for her Pre-K classroom. The term was new to me, I had to do some research and found lots of information. Basically, it's a sensory teaching tool. She plans to use them in her Science Center; she already has rocks, bark, shells and other items to place inside the bags. Obviously, my answer was "not too hard"; but it was conditional, to claim her feely bags she must also take this container of scraps and snippets off my hands for her classroom Art Center. She agreed!
Life is Good!