Life is what happens while you are making other plans

DH's Mom has been in a skilled nursing facility since last December. She was not in good shape when she entered, having rapidly declined over the course of a week, and we didn't think she would be with us much longer. Even the hospice doctor suspected she only had a couple of weeks left. Well, she has far surpassed our expectations, and it was easy to forget that her health was still fragile. 

My MIL was very entertained by little Maggie's antics last September.

Wednesday afternoon DH visited her, and though she was a little out of sorts, he didn't think there was anything  wrong. 
Thursday afternoon DH and I were heading to Salt Lake City (80 miles away) for a little early birthday getaway. We had stopped for dinner at a restaurant about 30 miles from home, and while there we received a call from DH's brother. 

DD#2's 4 children visiting Great-grandma on Halloween

The hospice nurse thought their Mom had suffered a stroke sometime during Wednesday night, and my BIL was heading over to check on her and would let us know her condition. We received his call when we got to our car after dinner. She was not doing well. We headed back, going directly to the nursing facility. We had been there about 90 minutes when she just quit breathing. That was it. She was on to a better place. How wonderful for her that she didn't have to suffer anymore. She had dealt with poor health ever since she took a fall four years ago and broke her femur.
She was a kind MIL, and a good grandma. She will be missed, but I know she is at peace, and I am happy for her. Life is fleeting. Be good to those you love, so you can let them go without regrets.

With the holiday looming, and relatives coming from Canada, the funeral will not be held until Saturday.
I will share what little sewing there is to show for the past week+, and then I will probably not be in blogland much, with family arriving, and Thanksgiving, and a birthday and a funeral all packed into the week.

When I posted my eclipse block I heard from Amy Loar that she had made two of this block design into mini quilts, one to keep and one for a friend. I asked if I could see them, and then I asked if I could share them. The reply was affirmative. Here you go.

Aren't they pretty? I know they represent the eclipse, but they also make me think of Candy Corn--probably because Halloween was not that long ago. :)
Thanks for sharing them, Amy!

This block design seems to be following me lately. I have previously shared this block from the same pattern, that was made by the late Jill Reid. I am hand quilting it, and I finally finished up the feathered wreath in the center. I am really enjoying this "slow-stitching".

 Recently DD#1 let me know that she would love to receive the Sasquatch quilt that she had seen online for their Christmas/Birthday gift. I can't remember a time when she hasn't had a thing for the legend of Sasquatch.

So I downloaded the pattern, ordered some fabrics, and I am signed up for this class that a local quilt shop just happened to be offering the Monday after Thanksgiving. We are to have everything cut and labeled before class, so I am trying to squeeze those preparations into a very busy time.

Because our birthday getaway was canceled Thursday, on Saturday we buzzed over the mountain to Village Dry Goods, where I picked up a few things with my birthday club coupon.
 
Imagine my surprise when I got that little Kim Diehl kit home and discovered it is applique. How did I not catch that? But it is such a cute little quilt--only 10 1/2 x 12 1/2". I'm pretty sure I will have to find another way to make it.

My usual birthday giveaway will have to wait until my next post. I haven't had a chance to prepare anything, and may not have until next week sometime, so check back.
Until then, I will pop in to read blogs if I get a chance here and there, but may not have time to comment until this week is over.
Keep creating,
Janet O.

Eclipse Block Repair

This is what I was shooting for the first time around.

I was trying to replicate this photo I took on our trip to Ririe, ID to view totality.

At some point I may still give a small Mariner's Compass a try, but for now, I will be satisfied with this attempt. Not sure what I want to do with it from here.
In case you have forgotten, this is what it looks like next to my first attempt.

 I got the fabrics all wrong in the QSTs on each side, that first time.

These are 6" blocks, unfinished. This photo gives you a size perspective.









The pattern I used is shown on the left.
It is from the book shown on the right.

 




The only other quilting I can show you is the finish on this little quiltlet . 
Made from the leftovers of the quilt my Mom named "My Happy Quilt", I named this one "A Little Bit of Happy".
I had shared that this is for my brother, who has had 4 heart procedures in the last 5 months. The latest procedure put his heart into normal rhythm and it has stayed that way for about 2 weeks now. He hasn't had a normal heart rhythm for years, but it went dramatically wrong when he suffered a very serious bout of E. coli poisoning. That is what triggered the need for all of these procedures. His advice to everyone is that you never eat a hamburger that isn't cooked completely through!




I do have another project near completion, but it is for my last swap of the year, so I cannot show you the whole thing. Here is a very small teaser. Hopefully I will have it quilted and mailed by next week, and then I can share it.






I will end with photos of our evening sky on November 1st (it has been a while since I posted). It was a colorful evening. This is the view at sunset looking east (not the actual sunset).

And now for the actual sunset in the west.

I was quite a sight, running back and forth from the front of the house to the back, to see which side had the brightest color at any given moment. :)

I have a major birthday coming up later this month. You know, one of the kind that ends with a zero. Don't know for sure exactly how I am going to celebrate (other than eating turkey, because it is on Thanksgiving this year), but there is usually something that takes place on the blog around that time. Stay tuned.

Until next time,
Janet O.