In loving memory of Caroline

I am one of those people that strongly believes things happen for a reason.

The day that I was making the backing for the magnolia quilt, I cut  the material wrong.  I do stink at math but I have NEVER EVER made such a mistake that I had to stop what I was doing and go out and buy material just to recover!!

I was so upset but knew I had no choice but to head out to Hancock Fabrics (I QUIT JoAnn's but that is another story) and hopefully find just the right material for the backing on the magnolia quilt.

When I arrived at the store, I saw the big sign...batiks 50% off!!  Big sigh of relief because batik is expensive.  Of course, I could not leave with JUST the backing, I had to have some other pieces because after all - it was half off and they had some pretty solid colored pieces that I *needed*!!

I really like Hancock, for one they are a Mississippi company but mostly, the people there sew and it is nice to be able to talk to the person that is cutting your fabric and bounce ideas off of them. (unlike the OTHER place).  As the girl cut the fabric, we talked about the magnolia quilt - I had some of the fabric scraps with me and she helped with the color selection.

After I chose the fabric(s), got them cut, I headed to the register.  

Before I made it to the front, a nice lady stopped me, she had overheard me talking while my fabric was being cut.  She had an idea for quilt and wanted to know if I could make it for her.  It was going to be a very special quilt for her daughter.  

It was going to be in loving memory of Caroline and the quilt would be made of all of the scarves Caroline had worn.  

Like any *girl*, Caroline was a fashionista.   She loved her scarves and would pick one out each morning and patiently wait for it to be ironed to a crisp triangle and once tied around her neck, off she'd go, dressed and ready to greet the day.  Caroline shared the same birthday with her *skin big sister* and this quilt was to be a big surprise, presented to her on their birthday in September. 

This took place before my beach trip so when I returned, Lisa came over, brought the scarves and we talked about how to best put the quilt together to bring out the scarves.  My initial idea was to sew them together as a whole, then cut them apart but once I started looking at it, I decided to cut them apart and randomly sew them together.  The goal was to have them as triangles since that is how they looked when Caroline wore them.

I took the month of June off while Lexis was here.  When I returned home from Mississippi, I jumped into the project with both feet.

It did not take long to get them sewn together.  The next step was to trim them up.  The scarves were 20 inch in size.  To get them all down to the same size, I used my big 16 1/2 inch acrylic square to trim them.

 All pinned together and ready to sew

 What is a project without a nosy 4 legged helper

Up on the design wall and ready to sew together.  Since Lisa's office was so close, I had the unusual opportunity to have the person I was making the quilt for come over and have a look see before the sewing began.  I love the diamond shapes embedded within the quilt top.

 Even Chewie came up for a visit to see what was going on.  BeeBee just wanted to play in the bag.  

Tallulah came up for a visit too!!

As I was rolling the quilt onto the frame, I looked up and saw the ears. 

 Watcha doing  - can I help... 

Ohhhh what is that....it was a piece of thread...How did she see that little speck???

On the frame and ready to go.

Once quilted, it was ready for the binding.  I took the cut off pieces and randomly sewed them together for the binding.  It came out really nice.

 All finished!!   Notice who is checking it out.

BOO!! 

 I had some scraps left over so I also made a lap quilt - I could not bear to waste those beautiful scarves!!  Again - loved the embedded diamond shapes.

 The backing for the quilt was a blanket that Caroline and her skin sister snuggled under together.  I had not done anything like that before but it came out really well!!  
Caroline had a t-shirt that said - I'm the Little Sister.  I took it apart right in the middle and put the shirt onthe back so that when her skin sister cuddled under it, Caroline would be giving her a hug!!

You know who just had to check it out!!

Both quilts have been delivered and this is one quilt that I hope to keep up with.  Usually I make them, love them, then send them on their way but this one is very special.  It is going to - I hope - fill a void in a little girl's heart left by the unexpected loss of her best fur friend.  The presentation of it is still a couple of weeks away.

Now back to why things happen for a reason.

Lisa had been trying to get to Hancock but her schedule kept changing and at the last minute (if I remember correctly), she had time to run by there on the way to her next appointment.

Lisa also had a white boxer named Heidi - my boxer Tallulah is also white.  She also believes things happen for a reason.

Had I not unexpectedly cut the backing wrong on the quilt and had Lisa's schedule not had an unexpected lull, we would have never been in that store at the exact same time.  I'm glad it worked out like it did!!

My Slushie Summer

During the month of June, my neice was here with me.  We had the best time and she got to do and see a lot of things.

The first full day she was here, I took  her to the Georgia Aquarium.  We had a great time.  It was her first time to see big fish and she loved the whale shark!!

After we finished visiting the fish, off to shopping we went.  After  the first couple of days of her visit, I found that this kid LOVED slushies, Hello Kitty and could hula hoop better than anyone I have ever seen!!  She could walk from one end of the deck to the other and never stop!!  It was impressive.  Oh and she giggled - A LOT!!

Our second week together, we hit the sewing room.  She picked out material to make pillow cases for her brothers and cousins.  She also started a box of scraps to take home and to sew on while she was here.  It was fun to have a little two legged helper in my sewing room - even if she did talk non stop!!

 She was a natural at the machine!!

 Kept a list going of the pillow cases as we got them finished

 She used the step up to be tall stool and is a really good at ironing!!

 What is a day in the sewing room without the 4 legged helper!!

 She had great taste in material - I loved this combination!!

I have a sizzix fabric cutter and we made crafts one day - it was a lot of fun and yes....I had a Hello Kitty die!!

She was here the weekend of the Mississippi in the Park events.  She got to experience several firsts that weekend.  She attended her first professional baseball game, learned how to do the tomahawk chop, saw her first professional fireworks display, rode the MARTA train and last but not least, got to meet Otis Nixon (my favorite Braves player) and...talked me into not one...

But TWO $5 slushies!!

It was great having her at the Braves event, she was our little ambassador.  She sat at the table greeting everyone and making sure that they had a name tag and bought a raffle ticket for the Magnolia quilt I donated (it turned out beautiful!!)

 Our little ambassador hawking the raffle tickets and giving away fans

Making sure everyone had a name tag - she was an instant hit with everyone.  

 This was funny, she was presenting Otis with an official Mississippi in the Park fan and he signed it and gave it back to her!!  He was such a nice guy. 

 She was hard at work early the next morning at the park.  It was a HOT HOT HOT HOT DAY!!  106 in the shade!!  She went right to work putting the sponsor stickers on the fans. One thing about this kid, she needed very little direction and understood the FIRST time what you wanted her to do.  

She comes by organization naturally - didn't even have to ask her to do this!!

She got her face painted in Ole Miss colors (where she wants to attend college) then sat with me for a while under the tent.   We had a small fan and tried to stay cool.

Enjoying  a fabulous piece of Sugarees caramel cake!!  YUM.  Notice Tallulah is under the table, poor baby it was just too hot for her!!  Once she finished her snack, back home they went - she had already made friends with the little girl across the street and had a play date.

The Magnolia quilt did very well - even though it was 106 degrees in the shade, people were very generous and we raised $1240!!  

We had other exciting times while she was here.

An emergency trip to the dentist to fix a broken baby tooth.  She snuggled under one of the first quilts I made years ago and was all comfy watching princess movies.

She and Tallulah were such sleepy heads!!

We went to the mall shopping - all I am going to say about this picture is she told us her first day here -->quote" I don't eat chicken" end quote... 

 Yep - another slushie...Quik Trip had them for 49 cents all summer and if we were not making (healthy) smoothies, we were getting slushies.  Everytime we left the driveway, she'd ask, are we going by a Quik Trip!!

 She and Tallulah became best buddies.

 All too soon, it was time for her visit to come to and end.  I was going to take her home on the train but "somebody" didn't get the tickets in time and they went sky high so I did a round trip in one weekend.

It was a wonderful June.  She never whined, begged for anything or cried because she didn't get her way.  Such a joy to have around.  I admit, I spoiled her rotten and enjoyed for a few short weeks what it must feel like to be a *gasp* grandma...oh did I really just say that!!

Once she went home, it was back to work in the sewing room!!

How I spent my summer vacation (obviously NOT blogging!!)

My goodness - where did the summer go!!  I must say, it seems like just yesterday, I was celebrating my anniversary, having a Memorial Day cookout and stressing over whether or not my embroidery machine was going to be repaired in time to finish
the t-shirts, towels, quilts and the butterfly panel AND I still had to pack for my beach trip!! 

Oh my where oh where do I start.  

How about where I left off in May - the week before the trip.

Well, before I start, I'd like to say that today (August 29th) I am thinking about the lives lost in my beloved state of Mississippi.  7 years ago today, Hurricane Katrina devasted the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  It is sadly still called the forgotten coast.  New Orleans was just as deadly however to this day, they still take front and center stage, it is like the direct hit on Mississippi never happened.  Most people may not realize that Katrina hit Mississippi full force and knocked Waveland right off the map with Bay St Louis not far behind.  Today Issac (below) hit and thankfully it was not as bad.  I still want to retire there and continously look for a home that I can fit all of my machines into!! 

If I repeat anything from a previous blog, consider it a refresher ;-)

The butterfly panel turned out beautifully!! My little sister loved it!! 

Finally...it was time to gather my stuff together for the trip I have been planning for since the fall of 2011!!  I was so excited and yes, let the packing issues begin!  Seriously - I was going to the beach, I didn't need anything but flipflops and a bathing suit..but still...there are some things in life that will never change.

Over the month of May, I was buying pool/beach toys and snacks for the kids and finally it was time to get them all ready to go!!

Got the quilts for my little nieces finished too!!

I tried something different, on the binding, I sewed it with a decorative stitch - came out really nice.

 I used my frixion pens and drew designs, they sewed out well and the pen marks ironed off with no problem.

Now....Our wonderful beach trip - not in any particular order...

Cheap thrill - riding the elevator at the John C Stennis Space Center - on a side note, y'all know how I always make comments about hating math...Well...when I was buying the tickets, I told them we had SEVEN kids with us (guess I was counting myself)!!

Headed out for a bus tour of the NASA Space Center

Heading out to the beach with my precious nieces and nephews  all in a line.  The 7th kid is invisible...

Checking out the beach at night.

   Chair races on a hot summer evening at our hotel

I was never concerned about safety - we did after all, have our own sheriff!!  He was ready for anything.

Our little guy on patrol - he taught me a lot about police work.  He explained the difference between a shield and a badge.  He also gave tips to my other nephew about how not to be worried, there were always two cops together and he would be safe.  It was great.  He was very serious in his explanations.

Guess it was only a matter of time before he had to make an arrest.  

Having a picnic right outside our room 

 Playing hopscotch

 Wearing their t-shirts I spent hours embroidering!!  They fit perfectly!!

Austin is going to break a lot of little girls hearts!!   Those girls will break a lot of boys hearts too!! 

This probably my favorite picture.  The look on Austin's face is what summer is all about (far left) 

 The other three!!

Our towels hanging on the fence to dry.   They all came out really nice (even though I spelled Zach's name wrong ).  There sure were a lot of us!!

The crew wearing our shirts!!  In hindsight, I should have used different colored thread so the names could be read a little easier 

 I let three at a time ride with me.  We were headed to Mickey D's for lunch.

Yes - we are at Krispy Kreme and yes, we sugared them up really well.  Hey the HOT light was on, could not help myself. 

Sharkheads Store!! 

Now that is one big watermelon!! 

Yes, I resisted the temptation and did not push him in!!  

Katrina destroyed the original Sharkheads store, they managed to salvage this.  They finished the new store this summer!!

Checking out the hermit crabs 

I'll admit it....I was telling the kids not to play with them because they will pinch.  What do I do, I pick one up to take a picture and what does it do, pinched the dickens out of my finger, I dropped the poor thing and the kids just looked at me with big eyes and oohhhhhh I'm gonna tell looks on their faces...I told them, see this is what happens when you pick one up...

I LOVE rocks....it would be awesome if I could get a truck load of these for my flower bed!!

I love this picture too, they were all headed over to the laundromat - kids all in a row...

Waiting patiently for me to tell them they could go into the pool 

 All kids here - now they can go!!

Headed to the beach (after we dropped by the dollar store for sunglasses)!!

I took the three little ones to Mickey D's first - taught them how to dip their fries into ice cream.  That is the only way they eat them now!!   

Once I got back with the little ones, took the older ones for their own treat!!   

Our last day the clouds started rolling in!!  This was around noon or so.  It started raining about mid afternoon and did NOT stop!!  We had a wonderful beautiful week!!

The weather was going to be rainy the rest of the day!!

 My sister and I went out for supper later that evening.  Thankfully we got a table close to the building - it was pouring!!

Well - time to pack and head back home - she to central Mississippi, me back to Jawja.. 
 
One last photo together!!  Can't wait til next year!!

Stopped by the beach to say bye and yes - one of the kiddos came home with me!!  I was SO excited, in all the years I've lived away from home, no one has been able to stay with me.

We had a WILD ride home!! It poured, the average speed on the 70 mph highway was around 35!!

Stopped for breakfast and the entrance was flooded, had to wind our way into the back - the nice lady at McDonald's gave us breakfast for free!!

Oh I'll stay awake and talk to you!!  Asleep in less than an hour after we hit the road!!

Our normally just over 5 hour trip took a little longer in the awful weather!!

You're home - You're HOME!!  I missed you sooo much!!

SNIFF SNIFF WHO'S this??  I don't know that smell

Ok - I decided that since Chewie likes her, I like her too
Head butt love 

I'm sitting on my new best friend.

It was by far one of the best summers of my adult life.  I got to spend time with my sister, her children and their children, I spent three wonderful days with my best friend and the best part, I got to bring one of the creatures home with me.

Stay tuned for part two of my "Slushie Summer" 
We actually got some sewing done!!