Dory, Winnie the Pooh, and Me

 “My brain tends to take the scenic route. Things come to the forefront of my mind sooner or later, it just takes time.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich

 

Ever wonder how things happen?  I mean, things happen but ever sit and wonder how they happened to you?  I have always had a great memory.  My partner thinks I only retain the things he doesn't and I make up the rest, but I have always had a sharp memory.  But lately I scare myself a little.  Like driving to a meeting one morning.  I get to a "T" in the road and my blinker is going indicating I am turning left.  And I wonder why I am turning left...why I am in this "T" intersection in the first place?  So I turn left because I think maybe I will know where I am once I turn left.  And then I remember I is how I drive when I am going to this meeting and move on.  But there was a few seconds there that I was totally lost.  And other times driving to someplace I have driven to many times and I can't remember how to get there.  So I make a mental image of the city, figure out a route, and head out.  Halfway there I realize the shorter, more common route is somewhere else.  I call this "new adventures in old known places."

I have been driving or flying down to southern California every three weeks since I came home (after a 2.5 month stay down in Mom's area) in August.  Driving is fine but I don't drive over the mountains in the winter, so I have been flying lately.  I bought my January tickets around Christmas time.  I was set to fly out January 22nd, to return home on the 27th.  While south, I will be attending with friends the Road to California quilt show in Ontario.  I received an email from Alaska Air asking if I needed anything for my trip on January 23rd.  HUH?  Sure enough, my tickets were for January 23rd through the 28th.  Who made these reservations?

Fortunately I don't have to remember much when I am sewing.  I have completed three quilts since I have returned from California.  I had finished the tops before I left at Christmas time but had not sandwiched and quilted them until now.  I hate UFOs hanging over me, but life happens and things wait.  All I have had energy for since I have returned is putting together jigsaw puzzles and visiting my son, who was hospitalized with an emergency--a cyst on his spleen burst.  Such a rare occurrence they could not diagnose it for hours and hours.  He is now at his home on modified bedrest until his body recovers enough to have surgery to remove his spleen.  We have been putting together puzzles last week.  He can sit up for longer periods of time without nausea now so video games are his entertainment, so I have more time to myself.

So the quilts are finished.  My cousin's daughter just had a baby.  They live in Seattle and love the Seahawks.  They named their little one "Hawke."  Of course this quilt is for this little fella! It is backed with Seahawks fleece for a specially cuddly quilt.  Unfortunately it won't arrive in time for today's playoff game against the Packers, but hopefully he can wear it during the Superbowl game!

These two quilts were made for donation to the Adopt-a-Family project 2015 at my college.  Both are patterns from this month's Easy Quilts magazine.  The first one is showcasing monster fabric.  They are all there!  Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein.  It is backed with the monster fabric.  It is lap-size, which is large enough for a 10 year old.  We don't get that many specifically boy quilts and this one fits the bill.  I call it Monster Mash.

The second quilt is one I started for my mother for Christmas.  I actually got the top all finished and then remembered she really doesn't like to use quilts for sleeping.  So I made her a hanging for the door to her room instead.  This one then became a donation for a teen.  We don't get as many larger quilts (this is approximately twin-size) for older kids, so this one--gender neutral--fits the bill.  I named it Not My Momma's Quilt.  LOL  So creative in my names, eh?

Now on to my next project.  My nephew and his girlfriend are expecting their first baby in February.  They are LA Dodger fans and asked for a Dodger-themed baby quilt.  Do you know how difficult it is to find LA Dodger fabric this time of year?   I decided to make the top out of Dodger colors and back it with Dodger fabric.  I didn't want fleece backing and I finally found some flannel I could buy by the yard.  It's is polyester :( and spendy, but it's my nephew :)  It will work.  The pattern is a simple 9-patch of multiple colors.  I will need to buy a few fabrics (only dark blue, light blue, white, with a splash of red and some grey) but mostly it will be out of stash and scraps.

Game starts in just half an hour...off to root for the Seahawks (if I can remember where the television is located...)!
peace~~~