Grandma Lil

Grandma Lil had her 96th birthday this year.  She is an amazing woman.  She is tough. She survived the death of  2 children and 2 husbands, brothers and sisters.  She is soft and loves her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  She is harsh and critical; don't give her a present she has no use for....She is tight lipped and you can confide in her.  She is verbal. Sometimes it's not fun to hear what she has to say.  She has taken care of each of us in her very special way.  When the girls were little she had a child sized grocery cart that she let them use to "go shopping" in her pantry.  There were many times that those "shopping trips" were life savers because we were short on cash......"Grandma, the girls would say, "Mommy is out of this and needs some."   She has what we call the "Grandma Lil whisper!" You know that whisper. Everyone within 25 ft. hears it....and it's generally not something everyone within 25 feet should  hear!  She is generous. She has a biting tongue.  She had a cabinet we all loved.  It was filled with candy, gum, chips...everything you don't need, and you never left her house with out a trip to visit it. 

Grandma Lil now lives in a nursing home.  It kills me that she has to live there but she is in Ohio and I am in Texas. 

In December, just before her birthday, we visited.  She is the same grandma she has always been...just a bit older.  I need to repeat myself more often and sometimes just a bit louder but she is still the same.  The Grandma Lil whisper is even louder. The biting remarks a bit grumpier but her love and kindness still radiates.  She looks exactly the same as she always has!

This year at retreat I decided, at the last minute, to make Grandma Lil a birthday pillow.  I had none of the birthday  fabric I wanted to use.  No fusible, no fiberfill and nothing to use for a backing.    In other words, I was completely  prepared! Enter friends!!!! This one gave me fabric, that one fiberfill and another the backing.  Together we stitched together a little pillow filled with love.

She loved the pillow! She especially liked the fact that my friends helped to make it special.

Friends and family....it's what it's all about!

The Place with Eyes

     I made this long ago for my father.  Ice cream is in our family. Our entire lives, no matter the event, we went out for ice cream.  Lazy Sunday afternoon, my dad would say, "Hey Elaine, Let's go for a ride." Off we'd shoot to look at boring boats, cars, or other things kids "love."  However, after the boredom, we'd end up at one or another place for ice cream.  "Want to go out for ice cream?"  Or as we said in front of the dog, because she knew what it was or my little brother before he caught on....I-C-E Cream.  Buy a new car? Ice cream. Recital, Band concert? Ice cream.  

       After the girls were born, an ice cream shop opened  that put little candy eyes on the cones.  They loved to go to the "place with eyes with grandma and grandpa!" The ice cream tradition continued through their recitals and concerts.  Sometimes the place with eyes, sometimes not.  A number of years ago, as adults, they went to Ohio for a visit. Naturally grandpa had to take them to the place with eyes! 

When I bought my first sewing machine that "made letters," I made this little quilt for my dad.  It's interesting to see my attempt at binding and how I attached the one border the wrong way but, he happily hung it in his work room for years!  The outer edge has all of the reasons and places we went for ice cream.  Of course, the cones all have eyes!

It makes me sad that this little wall hanging lives at my house now but, in a way, also happy.  I know my dad enjoyed looking at it as much as I do now.

Twister memory quilt

I don't post for months and then boom! Multiple posts in one day. 

This is a little quilt I made for my sister.  Her husband died last year after a long battle with brain cancer.  I used his shirts to create this memory quilt.  I made a second one for her father in law. 

At first it was just the act ofmaking a quilt. Soon however, it became much more.  It was healing to create it. 

We have had many losses the last few years. Last year both Dan ( my b-i-l not husband) and my father died.  It was a rough end of the year. 

I hand bound this quilt, something I rarely do.  It gave me a chance to think about Dan, my sister and niece.  It was cathartic.

I'm so glad  I thought to take his shirts home with me . 

RIP Dan Karlen.  We will miss you.

Sent from my Galaxy S®III

"Tea"m JCC! School begins

I had an absolute blast making these little packets for each of the teachers at our school.  The idea started here .  I thought the little homemade sugar cubes were adorable!

After alot of thought, contemplation, pestering my daughter and shopping for a mold, I hit on this great star mold. 

Here are the sugar cubes I made! ( I baked my finished cubes in the oven.  I didn't want them to fall apart! They were fairly sturdy once they cooled).  They were super simple, fast and sooo cute! I added vanilla to the white ones and they smelled (and tasted) delicious.

Now, how to package them... They were too cute to just put into a ziploc bag.  Luckily I had these great bags with a pocket in my stash!

                                     

 Honestly I wasn't sure what to do with them from there....Luckily, wee were deep into watching the Olympics and the rest just CLICKED! I had a million tea bags........"Tea"M JCC!  I made made the tea bag wrappers and  filled the little bags ....

.......created a little label and viola! An inexpensive, fairly quick gift to share with the staff at school!

               

 (ahem.....it seems my spell checker, my brain, my daughter, my husband and I all cannot spell Olympic correctly! Unfortunately, the bags were made, photographed and distributed ~BEFORE~ I caught the spelling error....SO EMBARRASSING!!) 

Spelling error aside, I loved making and giving these little treats!