It's A Mystery

Don't you love a good mystery? If so, I've got one for you. On Thursday I needed to stop at a Post Office to mail a package. Mr. G. and I were on our way to meet friends for lunch, I asked him to stop at a local hardware store along our route that has a Post Office located at a counter in the back part of the store. This particular hardware store stocks a treasure trove of merchandise, it's always fun to stroll around in there and peruse their shelves for items one doesn't normally see on a routine basis. Thursday's schedule didn't allow for any leisurely shopping, I barely had time to post my parcel and get to our lunch date on time. I had to wait in line, of course, for the postal clerk; there were two customers ahead of me. As I waited I glanced around the stocked shelves in the "Housewares" department, right next to where I was standing. My eyes fell on Pyrex baking dishes, the much sought after (by me), and practically impossible to find, 15" X 10" size! I posted here a while ago about needing one for a specific Coffee Cake recipe. There were three of the these pans, stacked neatly on the bottom shelf. Judging by the depth of dust on them it appeared that they'd been there for a good, long while. By that time it was my turn with the postal clerk, I mailed my package and left the store. After lunch I asked Mr. G. of we could stop back by the hardware store for me to pick up one of the baking dishes. He pulled up to the front and dropped me off. I ran inside to the back of the store, straight to that bottom shelf, they were GONE! I was completely shocked, I couldn't believe it. I looked around, in that same general vicinity, and found one; placed up on a higher shelf alongside some unrelated items. The dust had been knocked off the sides where it had recently been handled and moved, but the other two were no longer there. Now, owning one of these hard-to-find dishes became all the more important! I had to have it. I checked it over carefully to assure myself that there were no chips or cracks (knowing that it was the one that had been rejected), there weren't; other than being dirty, it was in perfect condition. I carried it, victoriously, to the check out. The man that waited on me scanned the bar code and said: "there's been a run on these today; someone just bought two like this one." I still can't believe my good fortune. I found something that I hadn't even been looking for on that particular day, in a location that I never would have even dreamed to search for it; and I almost lost my chance altogether! How long had they been sitting in that store? Why did I just happen to stop at that Post Office, that day? I have no idea, but I'm thankful that all the stars aligned for a happy ending. Timing is everything. My new baking dish has been washed and occupies its rightful a place in the cabinet alongside all the 8"x 8"s  and 9" X 13"s. Now, with nothing to stop me, I need to pull out that coffee cake recipe again and get busy! 

Life is Good!     

Whatcha Waitin' For? ~ Part 2...

These are a few orphan blocks and a strip of half-square triangles being auditioned on a black background fabric for placement. They're not mine. These blocks and pieces (there was also a tall stack of 4.5" squares) belong now to my friends, the B. sisters. These were included in one of many boxes of inherited items from their dear mother who passed away several years ago. When she took ill, parts and pieces of a quilt-to-be for her grandson were on her design wall. They were later taken down and stashed away with the other black and white fabrics that all resembled one another. Now that the B. sisters have created quilts for themselves from their Mama's scraps they've decided to turn their attention to finishing this and other quilts intended for the grandchildren. Last week they brought what they had here; we put our best detective hats on trying to figure out what their Mama had in mind with these blocks. I had the privlege of knowing this precious lady and one thing I knew for sure was that whatever she had been planning would have been precise and definitive; she always put forth her best effort. We finally settled on a design for an arrangement as pictured. The central portion will contain these blocks and a narrow border on either side will separate a pieced border of like fabrics. Of course, we're still not sure exactly what the plan was but we do feel confident that the original maker would approve. Then, there's that aforementioned stack of squares... another quilt for another grandson. We'll make this work; and, ultimately, all the grandchildren will oneday own a quilt made from their grandmother's fabrics.
As quiltmakers we all have the best of intentions. We hope to wrap all of our loved ones in quilts from our own hands and hearts; we also hope to live forever... but, sadly, that won't happen. The last thing we would want to do is leave puzzles for our family members to struggle with solving. I've learned a few extremely valuable lessons through working with the B. sisters, I would like to share them, and my "five step plan" with you today:
1.  Finish your UFO's; document and label them, and if they are to be gifted make a note indicating to whom and for what occasion. If you own quilts that were gifts to you from others document that too, your family may not know whose work they possess. Include your name, date, and where you lived when your quilt was made on every quilt label.
2.  UFO's waiting to be finished need to have all patterns, designs and notes included with them. This seemingly obvious task will save hours in the future... for you, whenever you get back to the project, or for whoever is blessed with finishing what you've begun.
3.  Clean out. UFO's that have no prayer of ever being completed can be discarded or donated; if this was a "process" piece feel free to let it go. You may not like it anymore, or ever choose to finish it, but your children would have no way of knowing that.
4. Take inventory of your finished quilts and assign them to loved ones today; if you're not ready to let them out of your hands just yet, put down your desires in writing so there's no confusion later on. You may think that they'll "just know"... believe me, they won't.
5. Take joy from the knowledge that others highly value and appreciate what you create!

No matter how young and healthy you are it's never too early to start on this five step plan. 
For me, the work at hand is crystal clear; I'd better get busy...

so, whatcha waitin' for?

Life is Good!

Where In The World, Vol. 2

We've had a great week, soaked up some warm and wonderful sunshine and returned home just in time to prepare for another go-round with winter weather, we have substantial snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Where in the world have we been? See if you can guess:

Life is Good!

Where In The World...

...have we been? We made a quick road trip this week, putting a LOT of miles on the car. As you can see, we took our canine companion along with us; Hannes is the perfect little traveler! Whenever we're ready to go anywhere he hops into his travel pouch and we're off!

I'll give you three clues to where we went and see if you can guess the location:

1. There is a McDonalds with the real golden arches there. Bad photo, but you can see what the weather was like the entire time! (I'm not complaining, it could have been SNOW!)2. The motel we stayed at believes in duplicity. "Why", I ask; who knows. Can't you just imagine saying (or thinking) the following: "Hey that looks good; let's put two of them up, exactly alike, side by side!" No.3. I bought this fabric and didn't need to pay any shipping charges!The best thing about long car trips is the handwork that I get done! I completed the binding on two quilts and finished embroidering strawberries on one more side of the never-ending tablecloth project.

Thanks for playing, did you get it? Stay tuned for another travel mystery next week~

Life is Good!