Starting my Ninth Decade

 I celebrated my fifth sixteenth birthday.  (I do love the hexadecimal base system. )

Instead of a big party, I had several small ones.   

First, I had a visit from my grandson Jack.  He made a very quick visit from Minneapolis.   We had dinner at his Mom's house, cupcakes with candles, and he gave me a planter with an unknown green plant.  The planter is in the shape of a bull and the plant is kind of ivy-like.   It's growing nicely.

At the monthly  meeting of my Round Rock quilting group, the Pebbles@Round Rock, we had Texas sheet cake for me and Marilyn, who will turn 75 before the next meeting.

On  the day before my birthday,  my friends-of-long-standing Carolyn and Susan treated me, my daughter Martha, and my friend Susan to lunch at Gloria's, at the Domain.   We had a great time.    -

That afternoon,  Tiff's Treats  delivered. cookies from my son-in-law Luke.  Still warm.

That's them on my table with the planter  from my grandson Jack  and the birthday table mat that my friend Rita made for me many, many years ago. 

On the  morning of my birthday, my neighbor and friend Brady brought me a bag filled with goodies from him and his husband Daniel.  A purple plush elephant. Incense.  Body lotion.  Puzzle book.   That was a real surprise.   It's really nice to have neighbors that become friends.

There was a text wishing me a Happy Birthday from my first ex-husband (Dick) and an email from my second (David).

My grandson Aaron called from Louisiana, with several of his children chiming in on the birthday song.

My cousin Shirley, who is 89, called, as did my former sister-in-law Laura.

My sewing friends took me and Marilyn to Austin Creative Reuse on the actual day of my birthday for some shopping and a Tex Mex lunch.   Thank you, Linda, Kitty, and Jude!

My last celebration was lunch at the Top Notch, with my sister Diane, my brother-in-law Frank, and my niece-and-goddaughter Debbi.

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Turning 80 isn't so bad !

Cherrywood Challenge 2023

At last year's International Quilt Festival in Houston,  my daughter talked me into purchasing one of the Cherrywood fabric bundles for their yearly challenge.

The theme was Monarchs, and I had previously done a fragmented monarch butterfly.

The rules are pretty involved.  This is my submitted entry.

Sadly, there were 475 entries for the 200 available spaces, and mine was not selected.

Can't wait to see the display at the Festival in November.

Silliest Portrait Ever

I made this carrot as a wall hanging many years ago. 

While thinking about how to make my "Pfaces" more unique,        I created this one.

Makes me smile!

Blue Eyed Grass

 Earlier this summer, I discovered a street in my neighborhood that was lined with blue-eyed grass between the street and the sidewalk.

This is one of my favorite wildflowers.

Fun Crochet Project

Some time back, I crocheted a bright orange pineapple doily and put it on my coffee table. 

A few months back, my daughter bought a used Honda CRV with a wheel on the trunk  area. She wanted a fun wheel cover, so I made one for her.

Finally on my bed - Dear Jane Light

Dear Jane Light - started maybe 20 years ago.   I worked on it off and on and finally decided to tweak the design.   I substituted blank squares for half the blocks and spread out the border as well.  So it's so much lighter looking than the original Dear Jane.   And much less work. 

It received tepid reviews at the two    quilt shows that I entered it in, but I love it anyway.  It looks better on the bed than it did hanging in a show, anyway.

 

NACQJ Award of Merit

 I entered three quilts into the 2023 Chisholm Trail Quilt Guild show.   Although I won no Guild awards, I was given an NACQJ Award of Merit.  On the accompanying letter, it states that the quilt "represents excellence in design and/or workmanship".   

There were so many gorgeous quilts in that show and I am at a loss to say why mine was singled out, but let me tell you, I am one happy camper! 

Quilt shows are such a great  way to focus on finishing a project and on working to improve one's technique.  The critique forms give honest feedback on possible ways to improve and encouragement by recognizing good techniques and design choices.  

                    Jane’s mother wanted her to become a writer like her idol, Jane Austen.          Unfortunately, Jane is dyslexic.   She now has a thriving career in retail sales, as she has a good eye for line and color