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Saturday, October 20, 2018

The Quilt - finished!

I really DID get my quilt finished - the one for my son's 40th birthday. It's amazing that I actually completed a project! I'm just a little late getting the pictures posted. My son's birthday was Sept. 13th.... we finally made it up to Astoria where he lives, on October 12th - better late than never right? Due to my husband's illness and me not feeling well with my bouts of vertigo, we delayed our trip, but finally did make the 5 hour drive. It was a BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT weekend for the drive.

Mt. Hood from the car.

Heading down from Mt. Hood to Hood River. Great places to camp here!

Mt. Hood on the way home...... this is part of the glacier that tends to flood in the winter and cause huge landslides over the road. This entire gravel area is usually full of rushing white waters.   We need some snow on the mountain!
The colors of trees over the mountain were stunning... but I never did stop to take any photos! What was I thinking???

We had a great time visiting with my son and his fiance (Miss T.), and her son. They are "officially" engaged and hoping for a wedding next summer! I'm so excited! It will be my son's first marriage and he has found a wonderful, loving lady.

We celebrated his birthday with pumpkin cheese cake. Yummy! Opening of his gift (finally)........


He got teary-eyed when I told him all the strips were from 43 years worth of my sewing. I also made him a little photo book with pictures of various things I'd made, clothing for him, his dad, me, house decor, etc. Each picture had a piece of the actual fabric by it. He loved it!

We went outside for the best pictures.

Can you see that striped binding? Took me about 10 hours to hand sew it on.




Close-up of the binding. I love the "racing stripe" look. He was a motorcycle racer in his younger years, and I thought the black and white stripes would remind him of the race flags.

My sister did a BEAUTIFUL job of the quilting on her long arm machine.

Look at that beautiful border my sister quilted!

Reverse side of quilt. I used fabric I've had for at least 10 years, meant for a king quilt that I've never made! Glad I finally found a use for it.

Here is the quilt on our bed - before the trip to Astoria. It shows the block quilting really well. I chose the designs of the quilting from looking at Pinterest for ideas.
My son has already told me they are going to use this for their main quilt, on a new King bed they will be getting soon. It is supposed to a "queen" sized, but it fit really well on our own king bed also.

PUMPKIN CARVING:

While at my son's house, we did some pumpkin carving. I haven't carved a pumpkin for at least 20 years! Needless......... it was very fun and I enjoyed it. Only the girls and her son carved.. the two guys watched..... party poopers!


I used a pattern, which I've never done before, and carved a castle. I've never done fancy carving..... it's quite an art now, with people painting them, inscribing them just below the surface, etc. I always just did the triangle eyes, nose, and mouth with teeth. It was fun to try something different.


Notice the nail in the head on the left-hand side pumpkin? Of course, that was her son trying to make his pumpkin look gorey... he also added some blood oozing out! What a kick.
NEW KITTY:

There's a new kitty in my son's family. He brought to the mix a big orange tom that he already had...... and now they've added a sweet little gray kitten. Her name is Willow and she's a doll. My son's fiance and her son are both allergic to cats..... but somehow they are managing to enjoy this sweet little kitten (taking their allergy meds every day!). Miss T. said she's never felt such love for a little kitten before as she never could even get close to them. I'm happy that she can enjoy this very special bond with Willow.



While in Astoria, we also made a trip to Miss T.'s store in town, called Terra Stones. She moved her store from across the street in a big old, ancient building... to this smaller, newer building. What a difference she said the move has made. She has much more business as she's now on a corner, and her store is on the "sunny" side of the street. It's very modern and classy looking.



Very popular bear - many photos taken here as all of the customers love it!

My son built many of the glass cases (stands) for the store. This carved wood was around a skylight in his bedroom at his dad's house growing up (the beautiful house that was just sold recently). I was so surprised and glad that he salvaged those hand carved pieces (by his dad) for the store.



So many gorgeous and unique items in the store.



Gourds carved by a local craftsman.
My vertigo is somewhat better as I've been having some "Epley Maneuvers" by a local physical therapist. It's a maneuver where they have you turn your head, and then they lay you down really fast - you lay there for 30 seconds, and then they sit you up really fast. There are several different ways they perform this maneuver. He says I still have a little residual "floating" of particles in my ear, which are still causing me some lightheadedness, but not the horrible dizziness and nausea I was having. I'm so thankful. I can live with this and hopefully it will go away on it own.

Now that the big project is done (the quilt), I'm ready to head back to my paper crafting!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. It is still GORGEOUS here with temps in the 70's, and blue sky and golden days. I'm not ready for snow or winter yet.

~Marilyn~

22 comments:

  1. The quilt is beautiful and it made me teary eyed when I read what you wrote on the back. What a wonderful gift. xo Laura

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    1. Thank you Laura! I know he'll appreciate it so much as the years roll by. I just commented on your blog too! xoxoxo Marilyn

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  2. Oh wow Marilyn, your quilt is HUGE! I can only imagine how much work that was . And your note to your son was so heartfelt and meaningful, I just know he’s going to treasure it for many years.

    xxx

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    1. Thank you Doreen. It did seem alot bigger than I had first planned! They are actually going to use it on their (soon to be purchased) new King bed and I think it will fit perfectly. My son always accuses me of making him cry, every time I give him something (a card, etc.)... and I surely did not disappoint this time! xoxoxo Marilyn

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  3. Oh Marilyn I am tearing up thinking of all the love and work and years of memories you put into this special gift for your son. What a great heart and so much talent you have to gift this to him. This will be something he can treasure and hand down some day to his own kids. How exciting your son is engaged and getting married next summer. Lots of wonderful blessings happening for you and your sweet family. It was a joy to read your special post tonight.
    Hugs and Happy Weekend.
    Kris

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    1. Thank you Kris..... I feel so good that the quilt is done and I got it given to my son! I truly wanted something he would treasure forever. And yes... I'm VERY excited for the upcoming wedding. He's never been married so this will be a fun and wonderful event. Hugs.. Marilyn

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  4. Happy Birthday to your son and congrats on his upcoming wedding. That quilt is just phenomenal!!! What a special gift- a lifetime of memories! Loved the note on the back, too...also saw your pumpkin carvings and am glad that you are getting some relief from the dizziness. xo Diana

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    1. Hi Diana..... thank you for your comment. I do tend to be very sentimental and mushy when I write things, especially for my son. And yes.. the pumpkin carving was so fun.. I hadn't done it for probably 20 years at least. And I'm surely looking forward to a wedding next summer! xo Marilyn

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  5. Marilyn, I'm so moved reading about your treasured quilt and your son's sweet reaction. This is truly the most precious way to show your love. Hugs, Autumn

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    1. Thank you Autumn. I did so love making this quilt, and love it so much that my son got very emotional about it! That was my goal! He always accuses me of being so mushy and making him cry.. and I didn't disappoint him! LOL........ Marilyn

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  6. I absolutely love this entire post! What an outstanding and meaningful gift from your heart to your son's from his birth to now and onto a new future where they absolutely will sleep under a blanket love!

    It's no wonder they all loved it so much! And what a lovely, lovely family. I'm just so happy for all of you that love and connection have come full circle in your life and in this fabulous quilt. And your sister's quilting is perfect and really added a lovely, lovely extra nice touch. Family love all the way around, stitch by stitch. Awesome!

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  7. My goodness, Marilyn! Where do I start? The quilt is BEYOND AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Truly a gift of a lifetime that you made for your son, and what a blessing that he was so thankful and appreciated it so much! I just loved the idea of also making him an album to show him the meaning of the pieces of fabric in the quilt and how incredibly gorgeous all the stitching was that your sister did! And the tag on the back is priceless, what a beautiful way to share the beauty of all the work that went into this quilt, and what an incredibly amazing treasure it is! I LOVED the pictures of Mount Hood, oh my! What a beautiful stunning sight to see! So much to love about your exciting weekend, you must still be so thrilled and happy with it all. I hope you start to feel better soon, because I'm sure making this quilt took a toll on your health! Love and appreciate you so much! Hugs :)

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    1. Wow Marilyn.... beautiful comment! That definitely was a labor of love and so glad I actually finished it! It was so memorable giving it to my son and seeing how much he appreciates it. Hugs... Marilyn

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  8. Marilyn, that quilt is absolutely outstanding and what a wonderful gift and keepsake for your son. I love is reaction, you can tell her truly appreciates all the work that went into it and that he loves his momma! Congratulations to him and his fiancé. I wish them the best in their new life together...how wonderful!!

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    1. Thank you Kim. I'm so glad I actually finished it.. I'm so good at procrastinating and have so many WIPs in my stash. One day I would like to finish them all, or give them to someone who will! Have a wonderful week! Marilyn

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  9. Oh my goodness - your creation is just gorgeous...and the most thoughtful gift I am sure he could have imagined receiving from his mom! I could almost see his tears of gratitude through the screen. ♥

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    1. Hi Carrie..... thank you so much and it was certainly a labor of love... one I'd wanted to do for years. I've lugged those quilt scraps around with me through at least 10 or 11 moves! I still have many left, enough to make us a king quilt and probably two more smaller ones. Onward ho I say... more work to be done.. but I enjoy each and every block that I make. Take care........ Marilyn

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  10. The quit is gorgeous and you certainly did finish a very big project! I sure your son appreciates it soooo much! Wishing him and his fiance much happiness! Your sister quit is beautiful too. The note on the back was priceless!

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    1. Thank you Cathy! Now I'm thinking of what quilt I want to make next! May not start until after Christmas though.. but I want ones with pinks for our bedroom. Marilyn

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  11. Your quilt is so beautiful and such a treasure trove of memories for your son! What a loving and lovely gift! I enjoyed reading this happy post, such great times for your family. XxX

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  12. Thank you Helen! Yes a treasure trove of memories... I like how you put it. I'm so glad I finally got it made. My next quilt will be much simpler with BIG blocks! Marilyn

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