A Wonderful Surprise and Another Finish

 Let me set the scene...

It's Thanksgiving morning, DD and 2 grands came early to help get the bird in the oven.  With that complete, the side dishes ready to bake, granddaughter (Lump) from Kansas, here visiting with her mother, arrives to spend the afternoon with us.  I'm gathering the Thanksgiving dishes and flatware, pulling out the serving spoons when I look up and there in real life is our son from Kansas standing in front of me.  I latched onto his neck and he held tight while I sobbed.  I haven't seen him since June.  When I finally let go I realized his wife was standing behind him.  Another hug and more sobbing.

Next, it's dads turn.  DS walks into the living room without saying anything and stood in front of his dad until he looked up.  Another locking hug and hold on while dad sobs.  He hasn't seen him in a year.

Any of you that have followed along with our story know that DS and Lump lived with us for 4 years before moving to Kansas in August 2020.

What a wonderful Thanksgiving surprise.

They stayed until Saturday morning and then headed back to Kansas.

The quilt that I had on the frame when they arrived was for their second oldest.  So I got it finished while they did some Christmas shopping and they took both of the oldest girls' quilts home with them.  One got the Morewood Mystery QAL made with black and white fabrics and the other got this Morewood Mystery QAL made from my stash.

I love the after quilt on the back as much as the front.  I used up all of the fabric.

This is #11 of my PHDs

I have surprised myself at what I have accomplished this year.  With a little encouragement (thank you quiltinggail.com) and a lot of determination, I am amazed.

I'm hoping to complete one more before the end of the year.  Not sure how that's gonna go.

Wishing you more stitchin time than I will have.

Rose

Linking with:

Oh Scrap

Purple Curves for a Dear Friend

 I can post this before she gets the package because until it arrives she doesn't know about my blog.

My dear friend from high school had a daughter with epilepsy. Her daughter is no longer with her but her memory will never go away.  Another memory that will never go away is the one of those horrible gran mal seizures.  Because of this she pours herself into Epilepsy Awareness.  November is Epilepsy Awareness Month and she wears purple every day for the month.

On October 30th she posted this picture "in preparation for her purple month."

She is dedicated!!  This year she is having a fundraiser if anyone feels inclined.  Asking for contributions is way out of her comfort zone.

She is also an avid reader.  What better gift to give a reader (besides a book) than a quilt to wrap up in while you read?  A quilt that I made for her in memory of her beloved Bean and in honor of her dedication to epilepsy awareness.  I sew hope she enjoys it.

The pattern is Metro Rings from Sew Kind of Wonderful.  I also copied their quilting pattern.  I'm thinking about doing this quilt again with a jelly roll that I have on hand.  It took 61.5 hours from start to finish.  Part of the reason it took so long is my inexperience with FMQ on a longarm.  And my longarm is actually a sit down machine on a carriage so I have to use the foot petal.

I managed to complete this on time because I have been isolated with COVID19.  Being fully vaccinated, I believe, kept me fully functioning.

This is the second quilt completed on the Gracie Queen frame that wasn't meander.  It turned out beautifully.

I wish I could take a good picture of my quilts.  The color does nothing for it.

Wishing you more stitching time than I will have.

Rose