Thanksgiving and keeping track of what we are doing, making, remembering!

 All in all, we probably don't Give Thanks often enough.  That's where a Gratitude Journal comes in handy.  I don't have an official journal, but this should do!!

The first journaling I did was a Quilt Journal of all the projects I made.  I started quilting in 1974 So - there's a lot!  The projects I made multiple times were shown once or in a pile!  I've made hundreds of Christmas stockings!!  Always a favorite!

I started my quilt journal because I thought I was losing my mind (not completely wrong!) and I wanted to remember the stories of my quilts when I was in the Rest Home!  I love looking at it.  Updating it when quilts are 'released into the wild!'  I highly recommend keeping one.  So easy nowadays, on the computer (in Word) - Voila!! A copy for anyone who wants one!

I don't like any of the commercial Quilt Diaries.  They get too specific in my view.  I'm a scrappy quilter - don't know the 'designers' names'.  I try to take a picture; year it was made, measure it and then write about why it was made, if someone said something about it ... things in my life. 

Best Buds

2012
22 x 18

 I started with a photograph of Miss P and Mr M, 2 of my (5) grandchildren. LuAnn put it in Photoshop, she reduced it to lines and printed it on cotton fabric. During our class we colored the picture with fabric crayons, fabric markers and then painted fabric medium on it and picked border fabric. I have to admit, it was a year before I was brave enough to machine quilt it. I'm pleased with how it came out. Now for the next 3 grandchildren!!

Then I've started making email letters for family birthdays.  I love looking thru all the photos and reading old Blog posts.  It's so easy to take it for granted.

It all started when our DS, A turned 40.  40 memories (in no particular order).  They are not easy, but once you get started you end up with more than '40' memories.

12. On Folsom street you played "bye-bye" with Grandpa McGrew by climbing into the living room bookcase; waving bye-bye to him and shutting the sliding panel on yourself!!

Then to my DH for our 36th anniversary!  Remember to make it "G Rated" other family members will see it!

16.  Husker games, I have to admit, I'm a fair-weather fan, seriously!  Did you know I bribed the kids to go to the games in bad weather???  Oops, I thought you knew! Never mind!

Then my DD, L.  They all got a numbered list of my memories - it made for some "That's not how it happened!"  And "How did you know about that?" conversations

Some kids are 4-legged

Then, during COVID it was so hard to stay 'connected with our GKs'.  Email was our friend.  I started taking close-up pictures and sending them to the GKs to guess what it was.  They even sent some back!  I posted them on this blog and quite a few followers and friends played along.  But it did go longer than expected ... both COVID and the game.  After weeks and weeks, P turned to her mom complaining, "Nana sent me a picture of the dining room chair!"  Yes, but it was artistic!!

 

For guessing                  PS Always take solution picture at same time!

Even on a Mom's Day long ago, I gave my daughter a card for me!  Told her I wanted to hear from the kids 'why I quilted'!  The kids were a little young to write it themselves, so their mom 'took dictation'.  I'll never forget DGS, M's response:  "Who knows why Nana does anything!!"

Then I made Mom's Day and Dad's Day e-letters to send.

Other duties as assigned!

P and I have been active in the Quilting Sweatshop lately.  I put together the Monkey Business quilt top and handed it in for the Hospice.  When asked whether I wanted to bind it, I said I would so I could get a picture of it finished for my Quilt Journal.  SO now, I've been volunteered to show it and encourage quilters to keep track somehow!  (As my Mom always said, "No good deed goes unpunished!")

I had my QJ all up to date when I was "Honorary Guild Member" at the show in 2018.  Sadly, I haven't kept up, so this will be a good excuse to bring it up to date again.  How? You wonder:

Well, I'm a list - maker.  So each year in a designated notebook I write down all my finished projects and the size.  I always (I hope) take a picture of the project, with the recipient if possible.  Then when I have time (oh, sure!) I start the description page with what I remember.  Sometimes it's long, sometimes, short.  But it usually grows as I think on it.  Wish me luck!  AND if you don't have a journal in your life ... it's time to save those memories!!

We're BACK!

 But first I must show you the article I saw:

To be honest, it went on to give some really weird Jello salads to make.  None sounded good to me - but my cranberry salad is WAY BETTER than canned cranberries.  Just saying!

I was at the Bandon Quilt Retreat and had a blast!  With the Bayshore Babes anything is possible!!  The food is delicious and most days we had a 'chocolate smorgasbord' of assorted chocolates to keep up our energy and spirits!!

J kept bringing delicious snacks over telling me our room wasn't eating enough!  I almost always snuck them back and put them in front of her machine!  On the very first night R, for some reason, put Dawn Liquid dish soap in the dishwasher.  Its a good thing to do if you want to clean the floor at the same time!!  R has a great sense of humor and always helps clean up any mess.  Did you know that Dollar Tree stores have 5 different color mini bottles of Dawn?  It was truly meant to be - the next day when R left (finally) her sewing space we 'dolled' it up with 3 Dawns!  We all laughed about it all week!

P and I were pretty 'nose to the grindstone' when we were there.  Here's the selection of projects I worked on - on my design board.

Now don't get excited about how much I got done!  It was a 5 day retreat; we were cramped in the Subaru we were driving so I packed UFOs - almost all these blocks were already made.

Starting in upper left corner:  

Japanese Boro with fabrics and silk screens from Japan when P & I were there in January 2020.  I've been wanting to design this for years ...  add a triangular border or not?  You'll be the first to know!  

Across the top is a part of a kit that I got in a class at Portland Block Party in 2008(?)  I like the colors but not enough to make a quilt!  But I think it will look fabulous on my green dining room table!  I got the 3 blocks that were made together with the first of many borders.  Unfortunately, I thought the second border needed some pink in it - but didn't have any.  

Stripe Me Lucky is a pattern from Jen Kingwell's Posse - young designers that she sponsors!  I made this quilt last year for D, my grandson, one of the family quilts  to replace quilts that burned in the Almeda Fire while they were in Panama.  P and I loved it so much we cut and made blocks for each of us too!  Still love it and want to make a 70 x 90 couch quilt.

Along the right side:  Bonnie Hunter's Monkey Business.  It looks like a churn dash but isn't.  It's based on a 5 patch (not 9 patch like churn dash)  The corner blocks are twice as big as the middle rows are.  I loved BH's quilt but was not that happy with my fabric choices.  So I made it for our Hospice Charity quilts.  Ta-Da - just need to find a back and turn it in Tuesday to our chairwoman. Done-done.

Across the bottom almost "Annabelle's Quilt" pattern.  I tweaked it quite a bit! Very old UFO too.  I have all the blocks done and was sashing them together. And ran out of the beige-ings sashing.  Now I have bins and bins of "beige-ings" and wasn't going to buy any.  So - cut more sashings and Get 'R Dun!! is on my ToDo list!

The reason I hung them at home was - we left the day after we got home - and I didn't want to let them to be forgotten!!  Because DH whisked me away to Palm Springs for a week!  This year is our 50th wedding anniversary!! And a little get-away was needed after Covid, right?

We started with DD in Portland for 2 days.  Direct flight from there to PS!

We had a great time - especially at Sherman's Deli five out of the six days!!  It's our favorite, what can I say?    For Breakfast I recommend the Greek Omelette.  Lunch:  Pastrami sandwiches is always a must.  I swear there is a pound of meat on that sandwich!  

My second lunch was with my Newport friend who lives in the area now.  I ordered Stuffed Tomato with Chicken Salad.  And there was cups full of fresh fruit around the perimeter of the dish!  Cantaloupe, Musk Melon, Pineapple, Strawberries and Blueberries! Generally, I'm not a melon fan but I am now!!  Other customers even asked me what I ordered!!  It looked as good as it tasted!

After our 'light lunch' we walked around downtown and window shopped.  The Art Museum had some outdoor permanent displays.

  

Palm Springs' 28 foot Marilyn.  We saw a biker gang stopping by for selfies!!  And I was glad I did my toe nails before the trip - even the statues have painted toe nails!

Of course we did eat at other places too!  PF Chang's; a PD Mexican Restaurant and Castillo's.  Chang's is always good, the Mexican restaurant was so busy and loud - it was impossible to have a conversation.  And I have to admit, our food wasn't very good or hot!  

Oh, but, Castillo's was fabulous!  And old Italian restaurant with pictures of famous guests on the wall.  Just in our little corner we spotted Bob Hope, Florence Henderson, and a very young Joe Biden!  There was a piano bar that we could faintly hear.  They make their own Limoncello!  The food was out of this world!  We love Italian and on special occasions we almost always celebrate with Italian food.  Castillo's was a Top 10 restaurant and meal!!  And we've been doing this over 50 years!!!  I had Lobster Ravioli (oh my!)  and DH had Chilean Sea Bass with a side dish of very delicious grilled veggies.  

Our time was very low key - most afternoons were laying by the pool and reading.  I finished 4 books!!  It was marvelous!  And if you ever have a chance to fly into Palm Springs Airport - its a gem! Most of it is outdoors with Palm Trees welcoming you.

A sunset from our balcony in Palm Desert.

We are back home now - just in time to start a 7 day storm!  Sigh, but still good to be home!