More than a month of news... flowers, people and quilts..

It has been awhile since I last posted- longer than I intended to leave my blog- Somehow these last weeks have flown by...At times, I could not sit down to write- my heart was aching for the tragic events that happened in Newtown Connecticut.I have spent many years working with young children. I still can not describe the sadness and grief that took hold of me in mid December as the story of those children and teachers came over the media. We hugged our students and said our prayers and wrote words of condolence to somehow come to terms with the senseless loss of those beautiful little ones and dedicated teachers. Sometimes there are no words... I have been finishing projects and was very busy at school as well as fighting a cold and cough that often arrives just before Christmas break. These beautiful orchids were sent to Bruce and I from my school staff in remembrance of Bruce's mother. They were a stunning arrangement that graced our table for days. We appreciated the thoughtful cards sent by others that were of comfort after her passing.

Bruce brought home these gorgeous red roses with some babies breath for my birthday. It was a quiet birthday but as always, it was marked with a dinner out and something special. This year we went to see a concert - a band called Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. They had some guests with them that included Murray McLauchlan, Matt Anderson, Janiva Magness and Amy Helm( Levon Helm's daughter). It was a great concert - my favorite was Matt Anderson- His voice reminds of the lead singer of the Committments band. He has a great album called Coal Miner's Blues..

A recent photo in Christmas red that my mom took...

And some poinsettia plants that grace our table each Christmas season. We decorated our wedding reception with poinsettia plants as we were married on Boxing Day(December 26) I also received a beautiful plant arrangement that has a poinsettia plant in the middle of it.

My students wrote letters to Santa in late November and one day just before Christmas break, Santa arrived at school with some special presents for each of my students. It is a wonderful afternoon that reminds one of the specialness of the holiday season. There is nothing like the magical experience of Santa Claus as seen through young children's eyes.

Dusty the dog likes to be close by us all the time. Recentl, she got a little too close to one of the roller chairs and ended up with a sore paw. We took her off to the vet to make sure that her foot was alright- which is was but her ears were not so we got some ear medication for her.

Mars didn't want to be left out- she is a senior cat who was having her own health problems. Off we went with her to the vet and came home with some antibiotics for her too.

Here they are sleeping peacefully together- it is a rare occurrance these days. They both a bit of a diva, so it is hard to convince them that they both are equal pets. My money is on Mars- she really does own the house(even if Dusty disagrees with the concept). LOL

Our son Kevin celebrated his 25th birthday in December. This photo was taken awhile back- we often Skype him and I love this photo of him laughing at something that he was sharing with his dad. Happy Birthday Son- We are so proud of you and love you very much.

We spent the first part of this holiday season with my parents. It was lovely to have a few days with them. I hadn't been to see my folks since September so that is quite a long time between visits. It is nice that they have a computer so we can Skype with them too.

Bruce and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary on December 26th. We had a lovely time in the mountains in the summer where this photo was taken. If you get a chance to visit the Canadian Rockies do- it really is a beautiful spot and very majestic. On this day, the temperature was cool and gray. The sun on the rocks is particularly spectacular!

Last year my brother and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. I thought it was about time for another quilt for them. It took me longer than I would have liked but I was pleased with the finished product. I spent Christmas Eve day quilting and binding the cream and blue quilt as well as the pink pansy quilt below. I don't recommend marathon quilting. A dozen hours later I finished the two quilts. However, I was thrilled to have completed these two quilts.

I will show you the back of this quilt and the labels next time...  The  back is a wonderful pansy fabric that a friend had in her stash. It really makes this quilt. It was a gift for a friend who celebrated a special birthday. Her favorite flowers are pansies and she was thrilled with it. A big Thank You to my friend Linda for being so generous with her stash. It worked perfectly for this quilt.  As you can see, Mars approved of the quilt too.

Today I spent the afternoon quilting- I have now quilted this poinsettia quilt. I hope to trim it and bind it in the next couple of days. It has been a productive holiday and I am not finished yet. I have another quilt that I want to get quilted and I need to make a couple of block of the month blocks. I also need to get some baby quilts made up and there is always some school work to do. I am glad to have these days off to get caught up to myself...LOL I would love to sort some fabric upstairs so that the fabric was better organized. There are too many piles of unsorted fabrics and it makes finding fabric a challenge- a fun one but never the less still a challenge.

I got a package of wonderful fabric bags from Sue that I won in her blog hop giveaway. We use fabric bags for our Christmas stockings at my folks so I know that my mom will love them. Thank you Sue- it was a special prize. Today is the last day of 2012. I hope that 2013 is filled with many good things for you and your loved ones. I would like to wish everyone a year of good health, happiness and prosperity in 2013. Warmest regards, Anna,

Celebrations and " Just Because."..

Summer time flowers need to include Lilies- Stargazer lilies( the ones with the pink centers) are among my favorites..They were also the wedding flowers of the dear couple in my last post, who will soon celebrate their wedding anniversary.. Anniversaries and birthdays should be celebrated.... More about that later...

In early June, my spouse and his friend,John, travelled way up north to Yellowknife area(15 hours drive)_ to see the Transit of Venus. Here they are, having a celebratory drink after successfully viewing some of the 4 contact points, where Venus seemed to cross the face of the sun. (By the way, there are some significant sun spots to be seen these days and solar flares that can be viewed, through welder's glass.)

Bruce brought back this lovely memento for me. It is a piece of the Canadian Shield with a silver bead representing Venus crossing the sun's face.I love it's beautiful gray green color.I do not mind that they took some artistic license with the Transit angle. In today's post, a pair of earrings to match the beautiful pendant, arrived at our door. Bruce knew how much I loved the pendant and thought I should have the earrings" just because."..

Alberta continues to enjoy some very hot weather, though, we had a bit of respite today from the heat,as we had some serious rain yesterday. I am not very productive in this hot weather, but did manage to get a new quilt cut out. It is a Moda Bakeshop free pattern. You can see the spiral like blocks in the picture. I am not sure how it is going to work out because the cream is quite stark in the two blocks I have made. The pattern is called "Etchings Quilt by Andrea Harris".

I have managed to make a few pendants and continue to knit the frilly scarves.I gave away a few of them last week, when I met with some long time friends for dinner. It was fun to see which pendants and scarves my friends liked best. These are a few of the leftovers. It was my turn to do something fun just because....

This is my forlorn looking Babylock quilting machine- I have another quilt to quilt, but right now, it is too hot upstairs in the gables of the house( even with the fans on) to consider quilting.

I did finish up the Sunset quilt- You can find the pattern here Sunset was originally done on a light background so the contrast is quite different. I made the binding for this second one,quite late one evening, when I could face the heat of the iron. I just need to add a label to this quilt. You can see a bit of the backing in the photo.

My dear friend, Valerie who celebrated a special birthday last Thursday, gave me this gift" just because"... She said it is a Happy Summer present - She knows how much that I love tea pots and this set is very funky looking-It is made by a potter named Eva Gordon. I do love it- it is a treasure just like my dear friend.

July is a month of celebrations for our family and friends. We have a few friends that have birthdays this month. As well, two of nieces and nephews, our good friends Valerie and Alister, and, my parents, all celebrate their Wedding anniversaries. Today is our nephew and niece, Jamie and Sarah's, 7th wedding anniversary. This Tilted log cabin was their wedding quilt... It is a log cabin (1 1/2 inch strips) framed by some wonky tilted strips. It gives the effect of spinning logs. I loved the way this quilt turned out. The happy couple are enjoying some time travelling down south together. Happy Anniversary Sarah and Jamie- may you enjoy many more happy years together.

This summer holiday began with our schnoodle dog, Dusty, needing some serious attention from the vet. She was clearly uncomfortable, and Bruce took her in to be checked out. Some serious money changed hands to get a golf ball sized bladder stone removed from this little 20 pound dog. She is now nearly recovered - She can no longer eat dog treats, and must eat special dog food so that we can lessen the chances of her getting another one. Her night time snack now is pea pods, bits of apple or carrot- Even old dogs have diet restrictions LOL.. We were astounded at how large the stone was, and wondered how long she must have had it- poor thing... Dusty also has an appointment with the groomer this week, so that she can have her summer s hairdo. She must be desperately hot these days and will be glad to be have her curls shorn...

Did you check out the blog hop on Jane's site. It was a fun hop and I know that there will soon be a Christmas one going on. One of the best things about the blog hops is that they can introduce you to some great little projects and new to you blogs...
This is the beginning of week 3 of summer vacation- I best get going on my projects if I want to get some more quilts finished..I am enjoying the time spent with friends and family - I hope that you are too... Happy Quilting and Creating.... Until Next time... Warmest regards, Anna

Flora and a Quilt Workshop...

If you have visited my blog before, you are probably aware that I love flowers. Presently in our home, we have a few kinds of flora blooming. These beautiful pink lilies are from Valentine's Day. They are stargazer lilies, and have some pretty babies breath with them(The babies breath has stayed reasonably well, considering Mars the cat's, penchant desire to eat it. She also used to like to eat any dried flower bouquet that she found in her travels around the house! Aren't the lilies pretty? The Christmas poinsettia does not seem to know that her season is over- she still looks gorgeous. I love the pretty pinky- red edges to her leaves..
And not to be left out, the Christmas cacti in our kitchen window continues to be covered with buds and blossoms. The flowers are fantastic- this photo does not do their rich color justice!
Below are some of the lovely things that were on the table waiting for me, on Valentine's Day. Bruce and I had a wonderful dinner at a local Cajun House. The food was yummy and the company divine. One thing that he found for me was a new issue of the quilt magazine, The Quilt Almanac. It has some terrific patterns in it. A couple of them piqued my interest.

I have been looking for a new quilt pattern to use with a coffee cake of batik fabrics. ( A coffee cake is just like a jelly roll -2 and a half inch strips only in comes in a box.) Don't you wonder who came up with all these different names for the precut fabrics? ( jelly roll, honey buns, layer cakes, turnovers, etc) I rarely buy precuts, but I really liked the colors of the batik coffee cake, they were a great price and I thought they would make a great quilt for someone. It will, if I ever find a pattern that I like, to go with the fabric. One of the reasons I think that I have struggled with it, is because I usually choose the pattern first, and then, find the fabrics to go with the pattern. Reversing this process of fabric before having the pattern, has really mixed me up.... So I am still looking... What about you- what do you choose first - the pattern or the fabrics?
Mars loves quilts but it appears she also liked the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. Perhaps she just wanted to lay on Elizabeth's quilt one more time?
I was so happy to have finished Elizabeth's quilt and was able to give it to her before spring time. I hope she will enjoy it for many years and know she is wrapping herself in a loving hug. To me, quilts are like wrapping the people we love in the warmth of a big hug.
Last week, a dear friend and colleague, Peggy celebrated a special birthday. She is a special lady and my classroom partner. We are so fortunate to have her at our school and I celebrate the many gifts she brings to us all. Happy birthday, Peg!
I thought it must be time to show you something new- This is my new project- it is a lattice scrap quilt that I started in the fall and then ran into some cutting issues (or so I thought) I am left handed and sometimes,I find using the angles on the ruler a challenge. When I laid the first pieces of the this block together, I was sure that I had really done a poor job of cutting. This past weekend I went to a quilting workshop, and got some assistance from my friend and mentor Linda. She had me sorted out in less than 10 minutes. Before I knew it, I was off sewing happily for the weekend. The net result was 25 blocks. I am still toying with my layout choices. I don't know whether to make one big quilt or make two quilts - one bigger and one twin. There is a hitch- not enough fabric for borders if I make more blocks. I am not finding it easy to find something to put on the outside of the blocks that will not take away from the central design.. Decisions , decisions... While I was busy making blocks, some of my other quilty friends were making some wonderful pieces...Wendy is going on a trip to China soon. She went looking for a travelling bag and couldn't find what she wanted, so she came home and created this lovely piece. The fabrics are gorgeous and its a great design... Have a great time in China, Wendy!
Here is one of the quilts that was worked on at the workshop. I love the colors that she chose- its a limited palette and the quilt turned out beautifully.
Linda worked on some blocks for a new quilt- she used every shade of green imaginable and they all looked great together..
One of my quilty friends found this very fun piece in a local thrift shop for the princely price of 3 dollars. It is such a funky design - Someone created such great liberated trees ...


Spring has yet to appear - the groundhog did warn that there could be 6 more weeks of winter, in some parts of the country. It has snowed the last couple of days, but the temperatures have been so mild, so it is melting off quickly.
Work is about to get even busier. This week, I am busy with some assessments with my students, after which, I need to complete the second term report cards. Next week's agenda includes our annual teacher's convention. The convention is always a great time: a chance to see old friends, attend some good sessions and to play in the shopping area.

Recently Bruce and I went to see the Titanic exhibit at the Telus world of Science. The exhibit had crockery and items that they had brought up from the sea floor off the Titanic. In April it will be the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ship. We all got to pretend to be passengers on the ship and were given a passenger's ticket- I was one of the fortunate ones. My passenger's ticket was a baby that ended up being the last living survivor. Bruce's boat passenger's ticket was not so fortunate, and did not survive the boat's disaster.. We also saw the Imax film Titanica which showed them retrieving the items from the ocean floor. It was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

There are new giveaways on the blogs and lots of interesting posts to read. However, for the next couple of weeks, I have to focus on my work- I will stop by when I get the chance. I appreciate the comments that people do leave- please check and make sure that you leave a return address so it is possible to reply to any questions or comments. No reply blogger will send a response into the internet ether so you may need to adjust your settings.

Take care of yourselves until we cross paths again.
Warmest regards,
Anna

Special days and colorwash....

Do you like colorwash designs? It is not as popular a techique these days, as it was a few years ago. Recently, I had a friend say that she didn't enjoy creating colorwash and was not going to make anything ever again that required using two inch squares. I quite enjoyed this technique once I got the hang of it. At first, I had lots of trouble sorting values of fabric, which is the real trick to making a great colorwash. This particular pattern was also made easier, by using a fusible grid to lay out the squares, prior to sewing. The pieces stuck on the grid but were moveable prior to heat pressing them in place. This Colorwash quilt was made for my grandmother to celebrate her 85th birthday. The central medallion block has 30 X40 2 inch squares. The quilt resides in my home these days, as my grandmother passed away in the fall of 2003. Sometimes I wrap myself in it, when I want to feel close to her again. She loved the quilt just like she loved us all- all encompassing and unconditionally.

You may have noticed that Mars the cat likes to test out my quilts- She was not at all interested in the cat mats, that I posted about last post. We were quite surprised by that, as she is often the tester of all my quilts. Here she is on Elizabeth's quilt, before I finished binding it. Notice the perfect donut shape Mars made and how neatly she fits in the circle areas! This quilt for Elizabeth is now complete- including the label which I put on this afternoon.

Winter has arrived here in Alberta- Last week was very cold and we had indoor recesses for the whole week. The temperatures dropped and the wind came up - when those two combine, it means long days for everyone at school. We play lots of movement games, dance and use the smartboard to keep us busy during our break times. I was glad to see the mercury rise today and am hopeful that my kids can get outside to play.
This morning, Bruce saw this hare hopping about in our backyard. He is a big fellow and often likes to reside under our deck in the backyard. He is pretty hard to see but you can find him right under the post that is close to the bottom of the antennae. We live fairly close to a ravine and the river valley and often see hares hopping about the neighbourhood. There coats change with the season- white in winter and brown in summer. Mother Nature has some amazing tricks for helping keep animals safe from their predators.

When I was digging around in the scraps upstairs, I found these little treasures. Here is the first thing that I ever remember sewing, besides a half apron which I also still own. I made the kangaroo stuffed toy in Grade 7. One day when I was looking in some old patterns in a second hand place,I found this pattern and had to buy it. I doubt I will ever make the toy again but it was nice to have the pattern as a keepsake. I have no idea where the toy is - long gone for sure. The other patterns are some embroidery patterns that my mother liked to make, when I was a kid. She did beautiful hand embroidery and taught me a number of stitches like French knots and lazy daisy, as well as the necessary running stitch. I haven't embroidered for a long time but you do see lots of beautiful stitcheries in quilts these days. Perhaps I will do some embroidery yet. Hmmmm... The last pattern is my tree pattern that I started before Christmas, which I had misplaced. It is now with the rest of the quilt bits so I can continue when I get a chance.
When I was at my parents, I turned these two beads into pendants that now can be worn. I love the colors that the artist used to make them. I have left my camera at school, so I can't show you the finished project- Sometime soon, I will try and take a photograph of them. Beads are such a fun distraction when I don't have a lot of time to play. Quilting takes a block of dedicated time before you have finished product. Beading is a great alternative to feed my creative juices when I have less time and feel the need to make something.

Here is a link to an earlier post that I wrote about my beloved Gran I think of her often and miss her presence in my life. Just recently, one of the other bloggers posted about pink cake- I stayed with my grandparents many summers on their farm. While I was there, we regularly took food to my grandfather, who was working in the fields. My Gran was a fabulous cook who could make something delicious out of a few basic ingredients. One thing she often made was white cake with pink icing decorated with coconut. It looked so pretty and tasted pretty good too. Whenever I see pink cake I automatically think of Gran and her cake. Today would have been her 95th birthday...



Last evening,I was out to a Lunar New Year dinner. It was a fun evening that was a fundraiser for a local service group, the Rotarians. The money raised, was going to help women who were in need of a safe living place. For dinner there were 10 dishes. All were delicious with some interesting ones like shrimp with peaches, and a three seafood dish. They also had ginger beef and singapore noodles. Part of the event was a silent auction as well as a live auction. I did bid on a few items but was not the winning bid for any of the items this time. I went with some ladies from my school staff, great fun was had by all. Some of our students created some dragon pieces to be auctioned at this event. This lunar New Year is the Year of the Dragon. The Rotarians awarded some individual prizes to the various school students, as well as a donation to the participating schools. Their generosity is much appreciated.

Tomorrow we have a niece( she turns 30) and a nephew(turns 20) celebrate birthdays. Happy Birthday to both of them. How is it that I am old enough to have nieces and nephews that are in their early thirties... Yikes time does indeed fly by.. Next weekend we will go to our great niece's baptism.. January is full of special days it seems...

I have been having some trouble commenting on some blogs and finding that somewhat frustrating- not quite sure what blogger is doing or how to solve it. Does anyone have any idea what to do? In most cases I can get to the blog and read the post- I just can't leave a comment on their post... the screen is just white All suggestions gratefully appreciated..

Time for me to go and get finished some cutting for my new quilt project. I have had most of the quilt cut for a couple of months now and this project has risen to the top of my pile..Perhaps next time I will have begun to sew some of the pieces together...
Wishing you joy,
Regards,
Anna

What makes Life Awesome?

Some little vignettes of things that were Awesome in our life this past week.
Pink and White Snapdragons
Snapdragons do have a delicious fragrance- Their smell was the first thing that I noticed when Bruce found this bouquet at the grocery store. A funny story about the price of them: You could buy one bundle for 7.99 or get two bundles for 7.98 It truly was cheaper by one cent to buy two bundles rather than one. LOL
A Sleeping baby in a quilt:
Our niece sent us this photograph of Anni all wrapped up in her baby wrap. Doesn't she look cozy in it? The wrap design does work well in a stroller and a car seat.

Some quilt progress:
The music quilt continues to progress- albeit slowly. I am to the next border and not sure what fabric to use- Unfortunately, I do not have any more of the dark black multicolored musical notes left- I can find the same fabric line in lots of other colors (pink, blue, green and yellow but not black- I am going to make one last stab at it tomorrow, and see if I can find it at one of the quilt stores- if not, I am going to use one of the ones shown and hope for the best..

Lots of musical fabrics:
Of my current choices, I think I may use the black one with the gold musical notes or the black and red one- One thing that crossed my mind was to take the strips apart to use the one black fabric with the instruments but that would not be my first choice.

Having two beautiful god daughters who are like daughters to me:
My god daughters, A. and E. came along with their wonderful parents to have a barbecue the other evening. We were celebrating a few of their family birthdays.

A just because kind of gift:
E is showing off a bracelet that I made earlier this summer. This was the one she chose- She is partial to the color green and it looks lovely on her wrist. Before school was out, I made about 15 bracelets out of glass beads, stones and silver. E's bracelet is lentil shaped beads with gold foil in them combined with square black beads. Playing with beads is fun and a good alternative to times not spent quilting..


A silver locket:
On another note entirely,this lovely young woman is my other god daughter A. She just had a special birthday and I was thrilled to be able to gift her this vintage silver locket found on Ebay. It was the first time I had ever bought anything off e-bay and I was very pleased with the result.(It was kind of exciting to win the bid VBG) My parents gave me a heart shaped silver locket for that same age birthday and I still have it - though, mine is a little less shiny than this lovely one. I thought it was a nice tradition to start with these special girls in my life.


Buying something that contributes to a worthy cause:


Isn't this a beautiful piece of quilting? It is a piece that I bought from a local quilt store. It could hang on the wall or be used on our sideboard this fall. It is a batik applique and the money that I paid for it, will all go to the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society. I do not do much applique quilting. I love pieces that have leaves and fall themes. One hopes that these charities, through their fundraising efforts, will help provide the monies necessary for the researchers to find better treatments for all forms of cancer.
A friend's memorial celebration:
We attended a friend's memorial celebration on Friday afternoon. Our lovely friend Sue was 51 years old and lost her battle to a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Each time I go to a memorial celebration, I am reminded of the importance of making the time to spend with our friends and loved ones.
Memorial thoughts:
Some thoughts: Let the important people in your life know how much you love them. These events act as a reminder to treasure one's relationships and the special gifts that each one of us brings to the world around them. At the celebration, we saw friends that we hadn't seen for a long time. I sometimes, wonder where all our time goes. How is it that we only find time to go celebrate someone's life after the fact, rather than celebrating the person's life when they are still with us? Our friend Sue, was a quiet gentle person who contributed much to the lives of people with whom she crossed paths. May we all leave such a legacy. My last thought that afternoon was that life does seem especially fleeting and much too short...

Some final this and that:
Summer is moving right along- I am slowly finding my form and getting a few things done. I have met for coffee with two lovely quilt friends this past week, besides co- hosting a barbecue. It was so much fun talking about fabric,learning of new techniques but, more importantly, getting to know some new friends that have a passion for creating things. I never cease to be awed by the many talents that people are blessed with, and all the different crafts that one can explore if one has the time.
Summer reading:
I have been reading a few books- This weeks offerings are " Sarah's Key" and " The Postmistress." They are both a good read and take place during the second World War. Sarah's Key goes between the Second world war and current time. The other book that I discovered is" The Book of Awesome". I am not a big fan of short stories, but these little vignettes help one reflect on one's daily blessings, and celebrate the little joys of life. There is now a second book by the same author that is entitled something like "even more Awesome". If you need something to uplift you, you may enjoy these little readings.

I hope you have some " Awesomeness " in your life 'til we meet again.

Warmest regards,
Anna

September - the connecting roots....

Here are a few of my father's beautiful lilies- some of which came from plants out of my grandmother's garden. She loved flowers- irises, lilies and pansies were some of her favorites. The frost has come and September has been wet and rainy. We keep hoping that we might have some warm days yet before we have the long winter season.


These last two weeks have been busy ones... This past week was the first full week of school; although I have been back in the classroom since the last week of August. My school kids and I are getting to know one another... My assistant and I have begun the necessary assessments that help us better determine appropriate programming for this group of children. Yesterday we had our annual "Corn Fest" where are families come to see the school and meet the staff. I have been laminating, photocopying and making new things for the classroom so there has not been much time/ energy to quilt.

Last weekend I went for a quick trip to my folks on Saturday. It was a spur of the moment trip that involved my 17 year god daughter A., driving her first long trip( 200 miles round trip). She wanted to see her friend, M., who lives is a bedroom community of the city in which my parents live. A. picked up her friend M., and they drove off to a local restaurant while my friend Val and I, went on to my parent's home to have lunch with my parents. My god daughter A., is the one in the middle. Val and I have been good friends since 1988. Where has the time gone? Our children have gone from babies to near adulthood. Val's friendship is one of the great gifts in my life. While Bruce and I have one adult son, her girls certainly are daughters of my heart. Her younger daughter E., is interested in sewing and quilting- perhaps one day we will make a quilt together.

While we were there, Val and my dad got talking about genealogy and family roots. My father took out some family treasures that my great grandmother Carrie- Belle brought with her, when she and her family moved to Alberta early in the twentieth century. She was a teacher on a reservation in the Dakotas. Carrie Belle was given these beautiful moccasins and pouches/ medicine bags by her First Nation families. The bead work on the moccasins is fabulously intricate and are greatly treasured by my father. One pair was made for a baby, while the blue ones were made for a woman. I don't know if my great grandmother ever wore the moccasins.
This week was also an anniversary of sorts for us. It has been 7 years since my grandmother Grace passed away in an accident. I have written about her before in an earlier post called " Remembering Grace". She was nearly 87 when we lost her- I miss her a lot- I was her oldest grandchild and I spent many happy times during my childhood with her and my grandfather on their farm. My grandmother was the kindest person I have ever known- she and my mother were wonderful role models in my life. They taught me the importance of caring and empathy.
Every post needs a quilt and this quilt was made for my grandmother to honor her 85 years. The quilt is a colorwash quilt with 30X 40 two inch squares. After she died, the quilt was returned to me.

Sometimes when I wrap myself in her quilt, I can remember how she smelled. Did you know that your sense of smell is one of your most lingering senses- that smells can trigger some of your oldest memories?

My blogging friend Michele just lost her father recently. Do go and check out her current post which is touching and eloquent- She has created a beautiful butterfly quilt.

This lovely photo sat on my desk at school for the last few years. It is a photo taken about a year before my gran's passing. It was taken on the farm that she so loved, and is of her and the two men whom I love very much - my son and my husband.

One of my husband's cousins sent us some terrific family photos of a family reunion taken in August. It came in the mail this past week and Bruce and I enjoyed looking at the pictures of family and reading about their connections in a family genealogy book. I love old family pictures and I wonder whether my grandchildren's children will wonder about their crazy old relative 100 years from now.
Many of my parent's generation lived in the same communities as their parents and grandparents. We are such a transient society these days that one's family is spread all over the globe. The internet and technology has made the world so much smaller and accessible to maintain and renew connections with family and friends.

The cool weather has brought fall colds to our home- unfortunately, my husband's developed into bronchial pneumonia. We are hoping that a heavy dose of antibiotics will cure the hacking cough. As for me, it wouldn't be September without some sniffles and a scratchy throat... Too much talking and small children seem to combine to bring a fall cold...

Thanks to all of you who stop by and leave your beautiful comments. I appreciate them more than words can say. When I can,I do so enjoy visiting my blog friends. It is always fun to see what is happening in blogland.

Until next time,
Happy quilting,
Anna