Pictures of My Yard

I got the last of my lilies planted tonight, finished up by flashlight, lol. It is getting too hot to do any planting, but I haven't been able to do much during the regular planting season with my eyes like they were then. Anyway, the yard is showing itself off in bits and pieces. These are my favorite for the last few days.
Not sure what these lilies are called, but they are multiplying at a rapid rate.

This is my rabbit that hides in the flower beds, lol.

Peonies from a few weeks back. They don't bloom long, but here again, at least they are starting to grow some.

More of the lily "farm" in the back.

My amarylis has finally bloomed completely. It won't last over a couple of days and then it will be gone, but it is so gorgeous while it is blooming.

Closeup of the white lilies

This is the bed I planted the lilies in tonight. Pulled up some of this stuff because I am not sure what it is, but Miss Muffet is hiding behind the roses, which are blooming again.

And that's all for now I think. I will try to get my quilt stuff I have done posted in the next day or two. Hope everyone is off to a good start for the weekend!

It Certainly is Bright Out Here!!

So this is what it looks like in the sun. I feel like I have been on an extended walkabout, only, in my case, it would probably be called a sleepabout. I want to thank everyone who has inquired as to my eyes and how I am doing. I am much much better. Not healed completely; there is still some inflammation going on. I have an interim pair of glasses with updated lens and that has helped.

So far not much sewing going on; I am trying, and I am sure gettting good at ripping. lol. I do have some quilty things to show, but today is just gardening and grandchildren.

When we moved into this house 6 years ago there was only a patch of bedraggled orange lilies in an overgrown area in the back side yard. I had 2 weeks to find a house and this was the one that suited us the best for the criteria we needed.

The yard we left behind in Texas was just beautiful. We had moved into a new house there and I had landscaped the yard over a period of about 5 years or so and I had planted flowers etc out the wazoo. I still miss that yard. Anyway, all that to say that this yard has taken lots of patience, trial and error, and downright screaming to get it to the point it is at. I am still not finished, but some of it is coming together.

These are some of the mature lilies I planted 2 years ago. They will bloom in another month. And we always plant geraniums in these long narrow pots every year.

These are 22 new lilies plants I just received. I order my daylilies from Oakes Daylily Farm in Tennessee. They are always huge and I have never had any problems with them. This bed will have mostly pinks and purples in it. I don't know whether they will bloom this year or not, but at least they are in the ground.

Verbena in the front by the walk. Planted last year and has really grown.

This is in the front yard. The Stellas are going great guns and that pink flower is an Amarylis. I love them. In Houston I had about 10 of them. They aren't supposed to grow here, but I stuck one in the ground 2 years ago after it had bloomed in the house, and lo and behold, it is blooming! I am still jumping up and down. It hasn't fully opened yet, I will take another picture soon. This bed has lilies and Gerber daisies and some some other stuff I don't remember, lol.

This is the beginning of my irises. I order 6 from Better Homes and Gardens last year, and this one was the first to pop out. They have finished blooming for the year, but I am going to try to plant some more for next year.

This is the orange lily mecca. We have transplanted lilies twice now, and they are so thick I need to do it again. Some of them are almost 5 feet tall.

And then, poor Ms Katy has a broken arm. She fell off of a picnic table while playing. The ortho doc had to put 2 pins in her bones right above the elbow. She is going to be fine, but that has been quite an ordeal all the way around. I don't have a picture of her in her pink cast, but her mother has promised me one. And this is one of the things that has kept her mother from giving us a rundown on the CF Great Strides and a picture of the quilt winner. Hopefully soon. (Are you out there, Dana, and reading this?)

This is Jackson, my oldest grandson. He just graduated from highschool. I was trying to get a decent picture of him, but as grandsons are not good subjects for pictures, he wasn't allowing me to. So this will have to do. He is going on a Mediterranean Cruise this month and is very excited about it. He will be going to OU this fall so I will probably see a little more of him than I have been.

And that is enough dribble for one night. Hope everyone's week is going well!

Please Take a Moment......

to honor those who have fallen and those that are now in harm's way. Say a prayer of thanks that they were and are there to protect us. May God bless them all.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I just wanted to wish all Mothers, regardless of age or generation, a wonderful Happy Mother's Day! I hope it will be the beginning of a year full of joy for your whole family!

The Winner! And Cotton Candy

Hello all - this is Dana posting on Mom’s blog. And the winner of Katy’s Hope II Quilt is -

Katia, from Edmond, Oklahoma!

She is a teacher at the girls’ school and an absolutely lovely person. More about her later!

I apologize for posting this so late in the day. I've been busy with Cotton Candy. But before I get to that I must say a huge “thank you” to everyone that purchased quilt chances. Thank you for supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and also for your kind comments and words of encouragement. Close to 1,000 tickets were purchased! That is huge! We also want to express our sincere gratitude to Cindy for making this beautiful quilt. Hers was truly a gift from the heart.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the Great Strides walk for CF in Oklahoma City. It is an annual event and this year I had the bright idea of sponsoring a cotton candy booth. Which means I arranged to rent the machines, enlisted the help of high school students to run them, and will be setting up and tearing down tomorrow. Sounds fun, right?

Have you ever seen a cotton candy machine up close? They are HUGE, and I rented TWO of them! Luckily they did fit in my car. Of course, I didn’t want any surprises for the actual event, so once I got them home I set one up in our yard to test it out. Much to the delight of the girls…..

You can’t imagine the mess this stuff makes. After the test run, the machine had to be cleaned, disassembled, packed back into the car. Oh, and cleaning the machine correctly involves a pair of pliers. But yes, I am still married. DH might grumble a bit, but in our 20-some years together he has learned that I’m gonna do silly stuff like this and so in the end he always jumps in to help out. What a good sport!

You all have been so kind to let us hijack Mom’s blog for a bit and I promise it will be back to your regular programming soon. Mom got new glasses today and although she is still supposed to be resting her eyeballs, she can see much better. Many blessings to all of you!

Hello all - this is Dana's Mom posting. I was just going to write a note on "our" blog to tell everyone thank you and it was so wonderful to see the response from so many quilters and bloggers and other people who are helping to get rid of this awful disease. As Katy asked her mother the other day, "So when do we get a cure, Momma,

And many, many thanks to Cindy for the gorgeous qult. Dana said the lady was thrilled to pieces. She hasn't had time to present it to her, but told me she intends to do so on Monday and has promised pictures. I will hold her to it. I wanted to go to the actual drawing today but was not able to, and am hoping she told pictures of that.

I can actually see somewhat this evening. The left eye where the stitches are is still a little blurry but Doc says it will be a couple of weeks before that completely heals. I have temporary glasses to get me through to the first of June. By then my left eye should be ok again, hopefully.

I hope to get a post or two in soon and start catching up with everyone. Again, many many thanks to all of you bloggers who passed the word and bought tickets! I wish everyone could have won, but there's always next year! And hopefully soon, there will be a cure for Katy and all of the CF's. Hugs!!

Ooops!!!!!!................

I was just laying there in the lala land of meds when I hear this very sorrowful sigh.....

and I am suddenly awake. All I can see is a little hole over my left eye and I know that I have a drape over my right eye.

Dr, what's wrong?

Well, we have a little problem, another sigh

What happened?

Sigh, Well, you must be mad at somebody, you were grinding your teeth and moving your head around, so I was sitting here waiting for you to settle down, which you did. And I started to make my incision and you jerked your head real hard.

So what happened?

Another sigh Well, I cut your iris by mistake and it just "squished" out. sigh

Now I am laying very still and not moving a muscle while I am asking her this.

So now what?

Sigh, well you are going to have to be very still while I fix this

ok

So I laid there and was very still and she slowly but surely repaired my iris that had "squished" out and replaced the lens that she was in there to do. The whole time she was sighing and telling me what a good surgical patient I was because I was being so still, and she was so upset that this had happened, and I kept telling her not to worry about it. I was more upset about her being upset than I was about the miscut, because I figured she could fix it, which she did. It really shook her up.

This is not supposed to happen during regular surgery;stuff like this happens only during trauma, and she sighed again..

I have no idea how long it took her to "fix" it all, but I was in the OR over 2 hours for a 15 minute operation, lol.

And bless her heart, she was a white as a sheet and really very upset.

This happened Tuesday, and Wednesday I was back in her office so she could see how my eye was. And, bless her heart, she sighed again and almost giggled when she looked in my eye, and then she said ooooh,, this looks great!

And apologized again, Everything was good, it would just take about a week or so before all of the trauma made to the cornea and iris cleared up.

Can you come back tomorrow so I can check the pressure?

Sure, I can't do anything else, might as well, lol. So back in there today and the eye pressure is very good, and it is healing and I can see a little more today than yesterday, thank goodness.

She used the model of the eye that was sitting there and showed me what she had to do. All I can say is wow! It is going to be at least a week, maybe longer before my eye returns to normal. I guess I will be doing a lot of sleeping.

As I told her, I can be very still, but I don't have a lot of patience and I am bored stiff. Tired of sleeping or resting with my eyes closed. If there are spelling mistakes in here, sorry about that. I am typing this a little at a time.

Thanks to everyone who has asked how I am, and to all who have contributed to CF through Katy's Voyagers. We still have 8 days before the drawing, so it isn't too late to get your donation in. I promise, you will have numbers, lol.

I know I owe people a lot of followups on emails; I don't think they will get done for the most part. I just can't see that long. I do however, appreciate every one of them.

Now I am going to get off of here and close my eyes. They are itching something fierce. I am taking benadryl to help with the itching, and puttind prednisone drops in my eyes every hour and 2 other kinds of drops in them 4 times a day. Such fun~~~

I hope everyone's week is going a little bit better than mine has so far!

Just A Quick Note

Here's Pizza Girl herself, with her "shy" smile and dimples showing. She plays soccer. Watching 4 and 5 year olds play soccer is certainly a lesson in patience, lol.

I want to thank everyone who has made a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis foundation on Katy's Voyagers account. It is absolutely fantastic the response you'll have made. As the old cliche says, "we can make a difference".

The drawing won't be held until May 9th, so don't forget to tell your friends if you haven't already. Someone has to win that quilt! lol

Please let me know if you have not gotten your numbers, or if you have questions that have not been answered.

I know Dana had some computer glitches earlier in the week, and I haven't talked to her for a couple of days.

I haven't done much sewing this week with my eyes in the shape they are in, but my first eye surgery will be this coming Tuesday. I am so excited, I am ready to be able to see decently again; the downside to this is the good eye is the first one to be operated on. The other eye won't get its surgery for 3 more weeks, which is a bummer. But it won't be long!

Usually about this time of the year Aud starts in on "it's time to plant", and we wait until it is hotter than you know what before we ever get anything in the ground. Well, since I can't see, it seemed like the perfect time to plant flowers and clean up flower beds, so that is what I have been doing for 3 days, and I still have about 2 hours left. Then the front will be good to go for the summer. I will get the young man that mows our yard to do the back next week end. I was very pleased to see my azaleas come back in spite of the harsh winter, and the hard work we have put in this yard the last 4 years is starting to pay off I think.

I have lots of lillies that need to be thinned out, so if anyone wants any, just stop by, lol. I can't seem to ever get to that for some reason. Anyway, I have thoroughly enjoyed working in the yard, it wasn't hot at all for a change. I am so sore I can hardly move, but I am going to take a couple of Tylenol and that should help.

As soon as I get through, I will post pictures. I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Update: I have sent out raffle numbers to everyone who signed up through Monday evening! Thank you all so much for the overwhelming response. We are truly grateful for your support. Also, there was a slight complication on the eye surgery but the patient is resting comfortably and I know she will update you with her take on the day's events as soon as she can. Thanks again ~ Dana

Miss Katy and Cystic Fibrosis

This is my sweet 4 year old, 5 in May, granddaughter who unfortunately has Cystic Fibrosis. There is no cure at the moment for this terrible disease, and if you are interested in the facts about it I have a link on the sidebar that will take you to the CF website, and a montage about Miss Katy.

A quilt raffle is going to be held on May 9th for the quilt you see pictured in my header. It was made by Cindy and donated for this fundraiser. Please pass the word in the land of blog, and feel free to link to the CF site or here. The link on the sidebar takes you to a donation page and tells you how to get your raffle numbers. Thank you so much!

Every donation, no matter what size, helps find a cure for this dreadful disease sooner than later.

Update: Thanks to Kimberly at The Fat Quarter Shop for doing an article on Katy on the Jolly Jabber! I really appreciate her and everyone else that has linked to the CF site. Bloggers are wonderful people!

Another update: You know, I am looking at this picture of Katy and thinking she sure does look like somebody, and it just dawned on me, the young kooky girl in October Road that works at the Pizza Parlor? Doesn't she look like her? LOL!!! And those toes aren't bruised, they are painted with green and blue polish! ROFLOL!!!

Helping the Economy and Other Matters

Since I can't see worth a "you know what" to sew anything, I decided I would help the economy and spend money. But before I show you what I have been up to, I want to show you this.

This is one reason I never lose any weight. Aud whips up these pecan pies from scratch with Texas Pecans and they are always so good. Of course she puts twice as many pecans as the recipe calls for. DEE-licious!!!

My neighbor's redbud tree. Isn't it gorgeous?

This is the Maypole Fat Quarter bundle I ordered from The Fat Quarter Shop. Love, love, love this fabric.

And this is the pattern that I am going to make out of it. Both of these lovely items arrived from The Fat Quarter Shop this week.

My favorite book store, Amazon, delivered these two to me this week. Not real impressed with either one of them, but there are some interesting things in both. Hmm, that doesn't make much sense, but we quilters will know what we mean, right?

This is the backing for my Kaffe Fassett quilt. I ordered it from The Fat Quarter Shop a couple of days ago and lo and behold, of course, it is already here!

Here is my Kaffe Fassett quilt, ready to go to the quilter's. I was waiting on the backing. I think I can sew it together, that shouldn't be rocket science, right?


Here are some batiks I ordered from Stich-n-Frame just because they were the Thursday Sale items and I didn't think I had them. Out of the 7 I only had 2, not too bad, lol.

Isn't this a pretty pattern? I picked this up at The Savage Quilter. This is a new quilt store in Oklahoma City and it is very nice and inviting. The owner's name is Debby and she is very helpful. I couldn't resist this pattern, and it scares me...I think I am being drawn into 30's fabric!!! But there is no room in the inn for that kind of fabric! Hmmm...may have to do something to clear some room out. I also got the prarie paisley fabric there that I have a picture of further down.

This is the fq bundle of Sweet Romance that I got from Sharon. I have always regretted not buying this when it came out, so now I just have to decide what pattern to use to make it.

This is Prairie Paisley, of course. I am going to make that little patttern down in the corner. It is a neat pattern. You can buy it at The Fat Quarter Shop.
And this is my pincushion pattern I got at Oklahoma Quiltworks. It is made with tiny log cabin blocks and is paper pieced, which is not my favorite thing to do, but I love this pattern, and I want another homemade pincushion, lol. I am drooling for one. Now to find the time to make it.

Ok, that's all for now, folks. I am busting stash again, it jusn't isn't mine, lol.

Catching Up

I went to see the Eye Doctor on Thursday and my cataracts are ready to be removed. They have gotten bad all of a sudden so it is time to do the surgery. I have an appointment with the surgeon in another 2 weeks to discuss the details, and then hopefully I can get them taken care of quickly. The detached retina situation is just that, a continuing situation. I have to be vigilant, lol.

I feel like a blob, just lolling around a lot, close work gives me a headache and I can't sew very long at a time without things getting blurry. Rather frustrating.

I got my Hemming House kit from Fat Quarter Shop and have started on that. Need to take a picture of the book so you can see what I am doing. It is going to be a beautiful quilt when I finish.

I am also finished with the blocks of my Kaffe quilt. Forgot to take a picture of them before I took them down to mark the rows. I want to get this to the quilter before my surgery.

This is Block 7 from Piece and Plenty, finished at last. This one took a while, but it sure did turn out well I thought. It has been the hardest for me so far.

This is Maypole from Moda. I am so in love with this fabric. This is a jelly roll and 2 charm packs, but I like it so much I have ordered the Fat Quarter bundle from The Fat Quarter Shop. I also ordered their Green Batiks and they are gorgeous, but I forgot to take a picture of them.

I have no idea what I am going to do with it yet, but I will find something. I guess you could say this is my Mary Englebreit fabric, lol.

Don't think I ever showed you this. It is called Antique Serenity. Isn't it gorgeous? Have no idea what I am going to make with it yet. I have collected most of the Serenity fabrics so far. They are a bit unusual and that appeals to me.

Last fall, Nicole asked everyone what was on their bed. I think we need to do that again. Have you put a spring quilt on your bed? This is from the Moda line Faded Memories, and the pattern is from Ms. Rosie. It is called Heart n Soul. While I was making it I had another name for it, lol. I made it bigger than the pattern called for and it has about 1500 pieces in it.

I was asked to tell about my Bull's Eye quilt. I saw this quilt made up about 2 months after I started quilting in my LQS. So I started collecting fabric pieces to go into it. Some of the fabric was from scraps and some I bought specifically for this quilt. About 3 years ago I guess I finally made it. I just wish I had made it larger. But, I am collecting fabric to make another one, lol.

This is the book that the pattern for Bull's Eye came from.

Let's Talk About Patterns

How many times do you buy a pattern because the colors that the pattern is made with appeal to you? That is probably why you buy the majority of the patterns you buy, right? I think this is something that we as quilters have a tendency to do. So we buy pattern after pattern because it appeals to us colorwise, and before we know it, we have lots and lots of patterns. And when we look at them, a lot of them are variations of the same thing done in different colors.

I know I am extremely guilty of this. However, I have finally started to try to pay attention to what the pattern actually is about. What combinations of half square triangles, straight cuts, odd cuts that look difficult, etc. is a particular pattern composed of. Is it a combination that appeals to me, or is it the color. Is it difficult and time consuming and will I enjoy doing it even if I don't do it in the colors the pattern is done in. Or, is it simple, and I can do it quickly and feel like I have accomplished something with not much effort, and I don't have to use the colors shown in the pattern.

I think these are things all of us should think about when we buy a pattern. Some of them are done in color combinations that don't always apppeal to us or show the possibilities of them.

Here is a perfect example. When you first look at this pattern you automatically see reproductions of some era of quilting, and you may just love it. But if you don't like that era, you may pass this pattern by unless you really look at it. It has lots of movement and is basically an easy 2 block quilt with setting triangles, and would be terrific for lots of color combinations.



Here is this same quilt pattern done in brights. See what a difference the colors make? Look a little closer at patterns, you might find the perfect one that has just the elements you are looking for. See if you can picture yourself making this quilt. Is it too easy, is it too difficult, does it have an element you want to add to your quilt making skills? Do you get really excited about making the pattern? Or, are you just looking for a quick quilt to make because you “had to have” the fabric you bought. I think you will enjoy your quilting more if you think about these things before you invest your time and money.

And this is my take on patterns, what do you look for when you choose patterns?

Wednesday Sew-in at Quiltworks

I haven't posted in several days. My eyes have been bothering me a lot and I have had them closed most of the time since Wednesday night when I started seeing ufos out of the right one. Today they are better, but tomorrow I am going to the eye doc if I can get in. Something is wrong, and I am hoping it is just acting up. He told me last year they were starting.

Oh, well, more of "the aging process", I guess.

Update: Went to eye doc. The cataract in my right eye is getting worse, my vision has changed, (lol, so what else is new) and my retina is trying to detach which is another thing that happens to you when you get older. The detached retina I just have to keep an eye on and hope it clears up or steadies. The cataract will probably have to be removed, and I go in for an update on Thursday afternoon, can't miss my Wednesday sew-in, and we will see dialate both eyes and see what needs to be done. Thanks to those of you that have posted here with your concerns.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have to show you my purchase for the week. Wonderful, wonderful batiks!!! I am going to use the one in the back for a background...it is just wonderful and will look super for what I have in mind. And look at that blue, I got some yardage of it, it is just yummy, and the green and gold isn't too shabby either, for that matter.



Every Wednesday from 9:30 to 4:30 there is a sew-in at Quiltworks in OKC. Most of the women that attend this have been coming to it for several years. I just started in February, but I know most of them and it is a lot of fun.

We laugh because the girls that work there always have something new to show us. If we like it they usually kit it and we buy all the kits before they get to the front of the store. Not really, but there is always something new and "have to have". An example is this one. It is going to be kitted and this will be the sample as soon as it gets bound. Isn't it gorgeous? Of course I don't remember what the fabric is, something like Sea and Sand maybe?

You can always call if you see anything you like. The walls you see here are in the classroom, but I believe you can get kits for about any of it if you like. Plus I have shown you some samples before.

The lady in blue (Verlinda) in the back and the lady in red (Charlcie) on the right work there. They are usually around to help us if we need it. And if they have time they work on samples while we are there. That is May oohing and ahhhing (in the yellow).

Isn't this cute?
This is the Barbara, the owner. She comes back and talks to us once in a while, and checks to see if we are doing ok. If there is something we want her to order in she is real good about accomodating us. See this scrumptious cake? One of the girls made it. It was wonderful, and had 3 different kinds of chocolate in it. Sorry, I don't remember now how she told us she made it. I will try to remember to get the recipe from her. Probably the best chocolate cake I have had in a while.
Some more of the quilts on the wall. See the Heart Crazies? The one on the right is a T Shirt quilt. This classroom is really wonderful. It will hold 18 people if they move out the big cutting tables in the middle. For the Wednesday group, there is usually a limit of 12, and most of the time all of the available places are taken.
I have managed to be pretty productive on the days I go. I have myKaffe Fassett blocks all ready to put together for my quilt. I will mark all of the blocks in each row to sew them together and do that at home. I don't have enough room up there to spread it all out.

And that is all for now. I hope the coming week is wonderful for everyone!

April Fool's Day

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY

Here's wishing everyone a great, gaggy day!!

And Happy Birthday to my own April Fool's Day Birthday Boy, my grandson Keith. He is 15 today. Wow, how time flies. This picture was taken last fall.



And here he is when he was just a little squirt, lol.