She's Gone off the Deep End

Well yes, you might say that. I have been practicing, pretty free form, using up some fabric which I have collected. It's a bit newish so not sure it qualifies as 'using my stash'. But it certainly qualifies for my coloring outside the lines. These are colors that I might never have put together and I'm not known for being an orange girl. But take a look and see what you think. Orange, blue and purple bigger squares with the smaller ones picking up the colors in the bigger blocks. And then those two oranges seem to be calling to become some sort of border. Gracious me!



Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day. MD appt. in the morning. I'm going in for a cortizone shot in my right shoulder (torn rotator cuff from a fall before Christmas - and trying to avoid surgery). Some have said "piece o' cake" and others that it "hurts like the dickens". So I am hoping for the former. Dutch conversation lesson in the afternoon and then Dutch class night school in the evening (Nederlands les). Friday we leave to take DD and 3 wonderful grandbabies to the ocean for the week-end. My S-I-L has to work, so it will just be 3 adults and 3 kids - that should work out quite evenly, yes? So far the weather man is predicting so-so to pretty good weather. Keep your fingers crossed. And then it's almost May. I can't imagine. Happy week-end.

My Apologies

I seriously goofed. I am very sorry. I was "interviewed" by Mommi (Acouplewhiles) but didn't follow all the directions. I managed to only follow them half way. So here is what I missed:....

"so if you would like me to interview YOU, here are the instructions to continue...
1. leave me a comment saying, "interview me."2. i will respond by emailing you five questions - I get to pick the questions.3. you will update your blog with the answers to the questions.4. you will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.5. when others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions."

So would you like to be interviewed?

I paid my dues!

Those dues would be the ones that we all must pay to the "Clean Bathroom" Club. On hands and knees, with my bucket of PineSol, I scrubbed behind the toilet. I find that a quick swish often will suffice, but as I'm expecting houseguests next week, it was time for the "full meal deal". Having completed that task, I can now move on to much more fun things.

I mentioned the Church huge 'rummage' sale. I had one especially grand find:

This wonderful brass lamp, about 17" high, to the top of the harp. Now just to find a perfect shade and I'll be all set.

Friday afternoon, we left for our week-end away with the RV group. We headed east, over the Cascade Mountains to the little town of Cashmere. It is known for its fruit orchards: apple, pear and cherries, especially. They are not really into bloom quite yet, but well on their way. There was a peculiar sound during the night, I kept thinking it was helicopters flying over. I learned in the morning that those are the modern-day windmills that the orchardists have to keep the frost off the blossoms/fruit that are just starting. [Someone who knows more about this than me, please chime in!] A great fun week-end. Now to some more chores, but I can feel righteous knowing the bathroom is sparkling!

Happy Tuesday.

Busy and forgetful

Apologies for being otherwise focused. I responded to the "interview" option and then haven't posted my responses. So here goes:

What is your favorite vacation spot?
The Big Island (Hawaii) is sure pretty swell. I really love the smells and the birds.

How do you see yourself in 10 years?
I'll be getting older but would love to be traveling around the U.S. in a comfortable motorhome - getting to see all the places that I've missed so far.

What would you like to accomplish before you die?
It wouldn't be an activity or skill, but rather I would like people to say of me "She was a classy lady". That would seem to be the highest compliment. [and maybe my points will be perfect!]

Favorite t.v. show?
I'm not much of a TV person. However, in recent weeks I have been enthralled with the Discovery Channel program "Planet Earth". Amazing!!!

Favorite Sound?
The ocean


Thanks for letting me play this little game. Makes one think.

Life comes in Waves

Quilter's Anonymous cuts flannel for premie quilts. Members are encouraged to take home the makings and sew them up. Many, many are given away each month to two Neonatal Intensive Care Units, locally.

Blocks for May block swap at Quilter's Anonymous. Fun and easy pattern.

I've included these pictures just to show that I haven't been sitting around. AND I'm not going to get to sit around for a couple of weeks - those life waves are heading to shore right at the moment.

I agreed to 'head up' the Bakery at the up-coming church Superfluity Sale. I did remind the over-all chair that I was actually going to be out of town, so am trying to get all my ducks in a row before I hand things over to Claudia. I will work the pre-sale night, Thursday night, and then she will take over for Friday and Saturday. I think I've bought all the things I need for the set-up except hot cups - we don't do styrofoam. Meanwhile, Friday noon we will leave for our second-of-this-year RV week-ends. So I need to be thinking clothes and food (a potluck Friday and Saturday nights) and whatever else we might need. Next week I need to work on my homework for my night school class (Thursday night - which I'll miss this week) as Friday we are taking my daughter and family for a week-end at the Ocean. It is my DD's birthday and it seemed like a fun adventure to get away, no TV or telephones, easy shared meals and Grandma to help look after the kids. At least I surely hope that is how it turns out - that's the plan. Phew!

So, you-all keep up the good work and I will likely be able to post in about a week and a half. And, see what you have been doing.

Marne - aka Nana

Many thanks

Thanks for taking the time to make comments. It's so fun to know that someone really is reading. Also, apologies for my lack of skill with strategic page lay-out. Friend Christian and I are spending tomorrow working on that very thing - so next week you should see a new and improved Nana's Quilts blog - or at least easier to read and have the photos laid out with appropriate captions.

Happy week-end a-comin'. I'm making Preemie 'quilts' for Quilters Anonymous and making some flower basket blocks for exchanging. So, no I'm not just sitting around, you know. ;->

Photos to go with most recent post

Friend Shirley's quilt entry in the quilt show.

Very clever 3-D purple leaves seemingly scattered over the top of the quilt.



Many, many various Asian prints make up this stunning wall hanging. I had seen it made up at In the Beginning, before it closed.



Purple square in a very unique setting, with multiple pieced strips on the sides. I had not seen this done before.





Jello molds across the bottom with other interesting things that "go with". And then just a few other brightly colored pieces that called 'my name'.

Many of you seem to know how to nicely place the photos and labels. I will need some tutoring on that. :-)

Mostly week-ends

Because I am now retired, almost all my days are week-ends. Oh, it's so lovely. But it is especially fun when the "real" week-ends come and my working friends get to play, as well. On Saturday my quilt buddy Ronda and I took off for a full day of shopping and looking and "ooh-ing". She picked me up at 9am and we drove north. Stopped at one lovely quilt shop in Smokey Point. [We did arrive a bit before they opened so stopped for a coffee, of course!] I managed to find several things I couldn't live without. I'm making a surprise/goofy gift for a friend. The fabric I had found is a pale green background with molded jello. I found a number of things to "go with". (the photos are on the other computer, so will add those in a separate entry.) We then went on to Sewers Dream, and again managed to find several "can't live without 'em" items. We arrived in Anacortes about 1:30pm. And it was high time for lunch. Good food, slow service. Finished up about 2:45 and headed off to the Fidalgo Bay Quilters Show. Some really impressive work there. Then our friend Shirley invited us to her home where we had tea and snacks and got to see her personal "trunk show" of quilts she had made and others made by her mother, grandmother and aunt. We finally headed out the door about 6pm, oh so tired but quite sated with food, drink and QUILTS! [bevredigen, for my Dutch friends]

A wonderful week-end day.

Lovely spring day with attitude adjustment :-)

Here is the "trouble some" charity effort. But I am having a better attitude about giving it away and having to "let go". So it has gone to a good home and I think they will enjoy it. They commented that they like things that are made by friends/acquaintances. So enough.

Some drink coasters I just finished. The green ones are frogs and the tan are tea bags. As I said, it is a lovely spring day. We haven't had enough lovely days yet.




Seattle spring is ever changing weather - yesterday some women I met said they awoke to snow. Not here, thank goodness. Yellow tulips from friends in den Bosch, the Netherlands. Camellia's outside the dining room window. Enjoy your day!

Are Charity Quilts worth it?

I have been fighting with myself since last evening. A group from our church held an auction to raise funds to be sent to New Orleans - to continue work helping folks wth rebuilding. Clearly a very needy cause and something that I feel good helping with. So I made a lap-sized quilt - pretty cute if I say so, myself. String pieced, scrappy, different colored squares with a black border and rainbow striped binding. Because it was sewn onto muslin, I didn't use batting, but backed it with flannel. This is the second year that I donated a lap quilt.

The decision was made to put the quilt in the silent auction, instead of the live auction as it was last year. In the end, the quilt went for $126. I am working to not be arrogant about the whole thing, but at that price my efforts paid about $3-4 per hour. [In the live auction last year, the quilt raised well over $300.] So the argument with myself, obviously, is do I continue to support the cause, with quilting, even if my donation raises a reasonably small amount? I did purchase things at the auction and contributed in that way, so maybe I should just get over myself and call it good.

Thoughts?