QUILT WORLD EXPANDING!!

For the past two or three years, this "project table" has appeared in the Pottery Barn catalog, and I have lusted after it.With a $1099 price tag, it wasn't going to happen. So.......I finally got a bit creative, and this is my new $170 cutting table.It's made out of three cubbie things from Home Depot and a 6' table from Sams that I took the legs off of. Actually, taking the legs off was Donna's idea. I was just going to fold them under and sit the whole table on top. She came over yesterday with her wonderful ratcheting screw driver to help me put this all together. I just love, love, love it. AT 37" it is the perfect height for me. I've spent the last two hours cutting out my next project, and no aching back.And I love the way Quilt World looks now. It makes me smile just to walk down the stairs. Good timing, also since the weather has turned yukky making this a perfect quilting weekend.

ANOTHER Birthday!

Toby is 3 years old today. Happy birthday, Toby! He's eager for the mail delivery this afternoon because he's sure he'll get lots of cards.Of course in the 2 3/4 years that he's been with me, he has taken over my heart. Unfortunately, Carmen is still convinced that he's the DEVIl CAT.Perhaps she's a little bit right about that?

Celebrate! Celebrate!!

A real celebration day. It's time to sing "Happy Birthday" to Calvin. 18!! And it seems like just a week or so ago that we took that picture of him and Abby on the porch in Chicago. Happy Birthday, Calvin.And.....It's St. Patrick's Day. This doesn' seem to be such a big deal around here. Maybe there are just fewer self-identified Irish here. But we did see Chicago's dyed green river on the news last week-end.I brought Barbara home yesterday. We'll stay here until Monday when I'll take her back for a Tuesday doctor's appointment to get her staples out. I have a lovely photo of her incision, but she says I can't put it on the blog. Maybe if it was on her arm she'd feel differently.We had snow on Sunday night in Topeka. But then it was over 70 yesterday. Just a little spring trick.Sandy visited us on Saturday and brought lunch from my all-time favorite Chinese restaurant which is in Topeka. (Go figure!) There was so much food that we ate for the entire day and then some.Sandy is coming here this afternoon after her meeting in Wichita. We'll have a girls night like we used to have so frequently when I was sick.

The Recovery

Yesterday I brought Barbara home from the hospital. She's doing quite well and is much more mobile than she was 4 days after the last hip replacement. My friend Donna made enchiladas that I brought up with me. Here is Barbara enjoying an enchilada dinner last night and looking quite perky.And here she is with her "get well" quilt.It began with some fabric I got when we were in New Mexico 6 years ago. The religious images are reflective of European and southwest traditions. They are called "retablos" and Barbara has done lots and lots of paintings in this style. Which, of course, is what I thought of immediately when I saw the fabric!This is a shot of it on the design wall. The photo below shows a detail of the fabric images and the quilting.I worked with the quilter to design a stitching pattern that included a cross in order to complement the images. All in all, I loved doing this one, mainly because there was no pattern and no plan. It just evolved step by step. What fun!

New Things

Barbara has a new hip. She got it on Tuesday and is doing very well. She thinks this time things are going a bit better than the last time, but getting a new hip is no picnic at best. I was going to go up today, but instead I'll go up in the morning and pick her up from the hospital when I get there.This isn't new!! No, but I thought I'd remind you of my old coffee table. And then show you my new one. It arrived today in a huge box. I was challenged with the uncrating and assembly for which they recommended two people. Oh, well, I am only one.The notion is that Toby cannot chew the corners on a glass and metal table. But that didn't keep him from claiming it for his own as soon as I got it put together.What a boy!

March-ing Along

It's March already, and that means the Garden Show. Barbara and Joe the Lawn Boy came down on Friday and we did the show.On Saturday I went back and did a 2 hour shift in the Master Garderners booth and a 2 1/2 hour shift at the Quilt Guild display. It's always so nice to be among the green and growing things when we're all so tired of winter and eager for spring. Lots of inspiration. But the weather continues to be cruddy, so no gardening yet.

Now the thing with Toby is, he LOVES his water dish -- so much so that he now has a second water dish that stays in my shower where he can't make water messes. Of course, I have to take it out each time I get into the shower. So, on one particular day, I took his dish out, put it in HIS sink, and forgot to take it out. I figure that nap time came and he couldn't get into his sink, so he went looking for another one.He has now claimed all three bathroom sinks as "Nap Zones."
Today is Barbara's Day, but NOT her birthday! She's getting another new hip this afternoon. Stephanie is with her for the surgery, and I'll be going up on Thursday afternoon to bring her home from the hospital on Friday morning and be nurse for a while. All good thoughts for Barbara today.