Hello Again, Hello...

Yes, it's been quite awhile once again. I wish I could say I've been uber productive, but alas, I have not. I've been working, trying to figure out when to just pull the plug and retire, and just generally making it through. I have also been listening to a lot of Neil Diamond lately. Last week I was told by the Spotify DJ that I was in the top 1% of Neil Diamond listeners for the week. Woohoo!!!!! What's even funnier about that is I decided on January 1 I was going to make this year my 50 Years of Frampton as Peter Frampton has been "my guy" since 1976. But so is Neil Diamond. My mom loved this guy. I married into a family that loves Neil. I have seen him in concert 3 times....he never disappointed. That's why I was shocked to find three of my friends that vehemently despise his music. I just don't understand it. I wasn't allowed to play him in my car when my friends and I would go to lunch. I do like to listen to music or watch music videos when I am in my sewing room. I did spend a lot of time watching the winter Olympics this year. Winter is my favorite Olympics...skiing, ski jumping, hockey, speed skating, ice skating/dancing, bobsledding....ALL OF IT!!! I grew up in the Adirondacks of NY and remember when the old 1932 rickety wooden ski jumps were taken down to make way for the newer concrete ones for the 1980 winter Olympics in Lake PLacid. I also remember going to Mt. Van Hovenberg bobsled track and standing on the spectator bridge at the endd of the track watchinbg the sleds come to a finish. But every time I turned on the TV, Curling seemed to be on. Never realized curling was such a competitive sport...then I read about the scandal(s) of cheating accusations. Made me laugh. Watching the tournaments brought me back to my college days in Plattsburgh when the guys (and a few gals) would curl at the hockey arena after a game. It was hysterical to watch. They didn't have the professional brooms or shoes they have now...Did you know you can have your sneakers converted to curling shoes? I suppose I shouldn't say I haven't been crafting....just not as much as I'd like. Attached are some pics of some things I have gotten pieced together. I need to get a couple of them done by April 15th for our Quilt Guild's 40th anniversary quilt show......

As you can see, I have become obsessed with this on point pattern for charm squares and mini charms. So much so, I have decided to make the pattern Simply Serene for the Quilt show. Here's what it looks like:

Here's where I am, using the Ebony Suite fabric line of charm squares:

I fell in love wuth this fabric and had to find the perfect pattern for it. I do have yardage for the back, so I'm super stoked about that. One other thing I did complete and present was a Quilt of Valor to an old friend in November. We haven't seen Greg since we moved to Ocala from Orlando in 1998. If anyone deserved this honor, Greg definitely did. This is my best one yet, I think. I love the flying geese:

More importantly, Greg loved it. I really do enjoy making these quilts for veterans. Another friend saw the picture and said it makes a guy want to join up just to get a quilt like that. Sooooo, I am also making another eagle quilt for a friend. The only condition was that I am able to display it in the quilt show in April, then he will get it. He said Deal. It will probably be more along the lines of the one I sent to Alaska in 2024. More to come on that later.... Oh one more thing. Last week, we did welcome our second grandson, Trace Thomas, into the family. Mom, baby and daddy are doing well. This is my son Tim and his wife Sarah's first baby.

Trace is the sweetest little bundle of joy EVER!!! I can't wait to snuggle him later on... That's all for now folks. Hopefully there will be less time between posts. Happy crafting and enjoy the day!!! Beth