Change, or not so much?

After my last post and the funny photo of my grandchildren, their mother produced some recent photos that I really need to share. 

 These kids are so funny! Well, to me at least. They are my blood, make no mistake! Some people develop humor as they grow, and some are just naturals! These kids are just goofy!

The first photo is reminiscent of this one from two years ago. Seriously, they make me laugh. (My life is an oxymoron)

Next we have our darling Kathryn, who just turned nine years old. Her mom just got a used freezer and painted it. Kathryn, or Katie as she now prefers, is modeling beside it. Love the color coordination!

Saturday I visited Olde World Quilt Shoppe. It is located in Cave Creek, AZ. I first visited the shop in February when Lisa Bonjean was there teaching. This is a wonderful shop! Perhaps one of the loveliest I have been in, and that is saying something! A bed laden with beautiful quilts is in one corner and in another is a big comfy couch, with old looking chandeliers adding a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The owner, Dee Grantham, above, is responsible for the beauty and style of this shop. I am very impressed with Dee. Not only is she talented, she is really a sweetheart!  

Now my friends, do you see anything familiar in the photo? Yes! my Button Bandits quilt with the crows is hanging in the back. The shop has been making kits for this and also Medallion Doll Quilt, on left, and they must keep selling out because they keep ordering patterns! If you want a kit for either of these call the shop (480-473-2171), I bet they will ship!

As you can see I am still in Arizona, where the temp is around 108 degrees and the grass is crunchy; the A/C struggles to keep the house cool and I struggle to not adjust the thermostat lower. Things change. Kids change, temperatures change and we try and keep up!

Button Bandits

I just want to remind those of you who may still want to take advantage of the *BOGO* sale at Patchalot Patterns that the sale ends Tuesday, April 30th.

Button Bandits has been a very popular recent design and it is back in stock! This whimsical little quilt combines simple piecing with wool birds and is embellished with buttons. Did you know that crows are attracted to little objects that they can pick up and hide? I know I have told this story before, but years ago my Great-grandfather Chambers had a large crow that adopted him. He would wait for Grandpa to come home from work and then hop off the roof and onto his shoulder and ride into the house with him. He would hide little things behind sofa cushions, etc. They discovered keys and other shiny objects in strange places and finally found that it was all the work of their feathered friend! These Button Bandits are dedicated to Grandpa's crow! 

 

2012 Patterns

As each day passes things occur to me and I often think, "I should mention this in my next post". But then I forget and am on to something else. While others have posts filled with wonderful photos of their works in progress my life has been filled with a constant barrage of computer work. What on earth am I doing? A little of this and a little of that with a load of laundry in between. I am happy to say that I have almost all instructions completed, or almost completed, for new patterns. Plus the covers are printed. This is a huge relief! 

 Here are the three new pattern covers. So glad to have them ready for market and also for anyone who wishes to order them. They will be on my website soon! patchalotpatterns.com

Button Bandits will be available soon also. Didn't the cover turn out cute? I took it on the floor of the deck. I have magnets coming also, so if you order this pattern it will come with a magnet of the same picture. I try to remember to include a magnet in each online order that shows one of my patterns, tho I haven't ordered them for all patterns. They are so cute on the fridge or where ever!
Oh, and I had to raise my prices a bit, but I eliminated the shipping fee, so it comes out about the same. Ordering is very secure as it goes through Paypal, and even if you don't have a Paypal account you can click on to order and Paypal will process your credit card. It is all out of my hands. Awesome! Am I too old to use that term? I will go back to saying "cool"! 

I seem to focus a lot on aging. I guess it is because that is all my husband talks about. He says things like, "when I am gone you will have to learn to manage the money". The other night I said to him, "Just so you know, I am not in a hurry for you to be gone". He said, "I know, you just want me in the other room". I have to keep him around because he makes me laugh! Laughter has preserved our marriage for almost 45 years! See? I told you I was old. Not like I really care. Except for...

Remember that voice issue that I mentioned a while ago? Well I saw a new doctor (one that would put Dr. Dreamy on Grey's Anatomy out of the running!) and he is recommending surgery. So come November I will be having surgery to put a wedge in my throat to force my vocal fold into place to correct my speech. More on that as the date approaches, but meanwhile I have purchased a voice amplifier to use at market in an effort to be heard above my normal whisper. Here's hoping that will do it for the short term.

Feel free to visit me on Pinterest. I have so many quilt photos on my boards it will make your head spin, and with Halloween coming up maybe you were hoping to learn that trick. I try to be helpful where I can.

Later quilt buddies!

Button Bandits

This is a little project that I made a while back and never showed, but now I am working on directions so I thought I would give you a peek. It is called Button Bandits. Did you know that crows love to find little objects and hide them away? Especially shiny objects. So Button Bandits seemed like the perfect name for this. Hopefully I will have a pattern all packaged up soon.

When I showed this quilt, Primrose Hill, last time I forgot to mention that my friend Mary Flynn from Quilt Hollow did the quilting for me. As usual, she did a fabulous job. The design is a beautiful overall pattern with flowers and swirls. It looks lovely. Mary always knows just what a quilt needs. It is a nice talent for a machine quilter to have, and one that I truly appreciate because I want my quilts to look their best. With Mary I never worry, and I have never been disappointed. Thanks Mary!

I was emailing with Libby today and we were talking about mis-matched things and how sometimes it is charming and sometimes it isn't. It made me think of my darling granddaughter, Becky. She doesn't want a set of anything. She loves everything mis-matched. She loves drinking out of canning jars, and no plates that match, etc. She cracks me up. The funny thing is that her kids match perfectly--she has twins! Ironic!

Here she is, the mother of twin boys. Sometimes when I look at their pictures I can't decide who is the cutest, Becky or the boys!

I am pretty sure that Micah is in the red and Grey in the gray. Don't quote me. They are 18 months old now, and wearing skinny jeans. Well what else? They are the coolest! Tho that is an ancient expression and I have no idea what the current term would be.

Later quilt buddies!