Visitors from the South

Yesterday we had dinner with my mother, brother and his wife and their son and his family. Also my son, Jim, was there.  It was a fun occasion at the Dearborn Olive Garden.  Mike and Julie have their hands full with their handicapped child, Miles. He sure is the cutest, happiest little guy ever. Avery, their daughter, is as smart as a whip and besides that she likes the bunny quilt and dresses I made for her.

Getting Ready for Christmas

I have all my Christmas gifts sewed.  Placemats and napkins and  pillowcases to put the gifts in.  (I don't like to wrap presents.) All except for a satin one for Molly. I finished the christmas dresses for the little girls. I liked them.  I wonder what I should wear.

Thanksgiving Day

We went to small town Ohio for Thanksgiving.  Mary had a delicious dinner. I brought the pumpkin pie and hubby made the green bean casserole and Jim made a chopped salad that was so good I intend to have him make it for Christmas too. We got to meet Mary's puppy,Pepper, who couldn't be any cuter and so affectionate. Mary looks really good.  I am sorry I didn't take a picture of her beautiful table setting or to show how good she is looking.

Dress-ups

My four year old grand daughters asked for dress-ups for Christmas. I had several pieces of taffeta and satin that great grandma had in her cedar chest. The fairy costume has a rainbow of taffetas in the skirt and a satin bodice.  I got the wings from Amazon. They came today.  I still have to make the headbands.  I bought flowers and a butterfly to glue on the headband.

      The princess dress is an orange satin.  The material was all in small pieces but I had lots of it. The hat is made of a tall party hat, ribbon and left over tulle from Mary's wedding veil.  It was really fun to do.

Annual Sewing Machine check up

Yesterday Hubby and I went to Ann Arbor.  I bought my Bernina sewing machine at the Ann Arbor Sewing Center. So even though it is quite a distance I take my machine there every fall to be cleaned and checked over. It makes for a nice drive and yesterday was a beautiful day. We went to lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, Shalimar, We even drove out to look at the Palmer house.  It is a Frank Lloyd Wright house which we had just attended a landscaping lecture about.

A finished Quilt

I finished my second quilt this fall.  This one is a winding trails that I made for Gretel. I started out with a snail trail pattern from American Patchwork and Quilting  the December 2015 edition.  But I assembled the squares as a winding trail instead. I machine pieced it. I wasn't real happy with their pattern sizes. I had a terrible time matching points. I then hand quilted it in circles. The first quilt I did this year is the log cabin I showed on Sunday October 16 with the cat in a laundry basket.

The Election is Over

Well, it's over. It is not what we hoped for but it is what we have. At least the turnout was good.

Charity Dinner

On Friday night Hubby and I went to a charity dinner for the Penrickton Center for the Blind in Taylor, Michigan. It is a facility that cares for children who are blind and have one other disability. They offer day care and boarding for children from Sunday night through Friday.  The facility is amazing.  They have top equipment and staff. The dinner was at the Dearborn Inn and was delicious. They also have a silent auction. I bid but only to raise the prices. I didn't win anything. At the end of the evening they had a comedian who was AWFUL. But otherwise we had a wonderful time.

    Last night we went to a volunteer recognition dinner at Tollgate Farm in Novi, Michigan. The dinner was sponsored by the Americana Foundation.  The food and company were great and we are all fired up to work there again next year.

Planting Tulips

A local cemetery has a beautiful tulip display every spring. When thee tulips are done blooming, they dig them up and give them away. 15,000 bulbs! The Master Gardiner Society sent us a note about it and we rushed over for some. Today Hubby was planting tulips wherever he could find space. I am anxious to see them next spring.