It is Finished!

Finally, I have finished my flip flop wall quilt. I removed the original fabric border....it was bright and fun, but just wasn't the right fabric. Then I found this Batik fabric that looked like watery bubbles and knew it was the right one. Quilters are a funny breed of people. We love fabric, all fabric, but don't always make the right decision the first time in the store. We go back again and again and buy more and more, until finally the right thing falls into our outstretched arms. Actually, I never met a quilt store that I didn't like. I want it all....so much to do and so little time!









So, I sandwiched the top piece, the batting and the backing and began to quilt around the flip flops in close lines to simulate the ripples you make as you step into the water. I thought the background fabric for the flip flops looked like sand on a beach somewhere. It was definitely not Florida white sand, but dirt somewhere.


What came next was a natural.
If I had beach, flip flops and an ocean...then I needed schools of fish in the water. Can you see the fish swimming along in the bubbles? They have tiny little glass bead eyes. It is finally done, because we have Net Flix and I can hand quilt while I watch chick flicks with "My Honey". When we get a guy "blood and guts" movie, I head for the sewing machine, since I have female sensitivities and can't watch tough stuff. I am so happy that "My Honey" loves Sandra Bullock movies!
P. S. I just discovered that you can left click on the pictures and actually biggify my quilty fishes enough to see their little beady eyes. Woo Hoo!

Where Have I Been?

The months seem to fly by when we are in Florida and I have very little to show for time spent. I read, follow my friend's blogs, sleep and occasionally sew. January was spent making this queen sized quilt, two pillowcases and two pillow shams, but I am going to take them to Ohio for my favorite long arm quilter to finish. If you notice the color scheme, then you will know that I made this one with my number two grandson in mind. He is in his fifth year with the Air Force and this seems apropos.
This year, we were struck by the astounding bargains in the real estate market, so we started snooping around with an eye toward finding a bargain for our son-in-law (who is able to retire from law enforcement at a young age). Turns out our daughter is not ready to make a move to Florida, so we somehow got carried away and made an offer for a really neat four bedroom home in Punta Gorda. Our whole Winter has been lost in the scramble to fill out the proper papers, show the proper money and since the end of January, we have been at the mercy of that miserable bank known fondly as "Bank of America". They are loaded with "short sale" homes here in the land of distress and sunshine. Since the government had bailed them out of their misery last year, we thought they would be happy to find a couple with some cash in their hot little hands who would take one of their losers off their books. They have six more days on our contract (they asked for an extension) and have not been in touch with the good news. I have been to Home Depot and picked out new tile, crown mouldings, light fixtures, but still don't know if we own anything. It is a new home, but needs some upgrades to make me happy. If everything goes through, we will drive home to Ohio and sell our condo there and then move to Florida as residents instead of snowbirds. All this has taken two months of our pitifully short lives, so we are noticeably anxious to get the show on the road. We need to see about having a pool put in and all sorts of things done, but instead of living our lives, we are waiting on the bench like third stringers.
Here I am with no excuse for not blogging and not much production from my sewing machine. I did finish a cute wall hanging (hand quilting) for a good friend, but I have to take pictures of it and get them posted. Instead, I have been so frustrated by the government escapades that I cannot blog without ranting. Forgive me, friends. I need to get back to what is important.... I want my children and grandchildren to know what I was all about when I am long gone.