Feeling a Little Spaced-Out?

Here's a "SPACED-OUT" quilt for you...

Yes, that's right. Spaced-out Amy Bradley's Planetary Party quilt!

And speaking of spaced-out...

Attending my high school reunion a couple of weeks ago reminded me how much the Vivian of 1978 is quite different than the Vivian of 2008. (yes, that's right! you do the math! It was my 30 year high school reunion!)

When asked at the reunion, "So Vivian, what do you do for a living?"

My answer, "Well, I quilt for a living."

The response, "What, you sew for a living?"

My answer, "Yes, that's right."

Why were they so surprised? You see, Vivian of 1978 was anti-sewing, baking, and all things domestic. Alot's happened since the Vivian of 1978 roamed the halls of Troy High School in Fullerton, CA. Those were the days I lived and breathed Led Zeppelin, The Who and Queen......always looking for any way to have fun. I believed the more puka shells the better. I spent my spare time working on my tan down at the beach. I was pretty spaced-out then...seriously!

I wondered if attending my high school reunion I would have a "Peggy Sue Got Married" experience. You know, pass out on the floor and find myself in 1978. What fun that would have been!

I was not at all like the Peggy Sue character of that film. I think I could relate more to the Michael Fitzsimmons character, the spaced-out beatnic poet. Favorite line: "I'm going to check out of this bourgeois motel, push myself from the dinner table and say, "No more Jell-o for me, mom!" Classic! (Go rent that Francis Ford Coppola movie again. You know you want to!)

This would have been me in 1978. Peace, baby!

That's right. Puka shells make you look cool, but nothing beats a great pair of purple shades!

At the reunion one of my friends said that she remembers me always laughing and smiling...check out these teeth!

Yes, that's right. I was kinda spaced-out...

Here are a few photos of the reunion. Another friend said she remembered the time I hid in the trunk of a car just to see Shawn Cassidy! I said, "Hey, I blogged about that just the other day!" Then I thought...that's the legacy I left? I'm remembered as the girl who hid in the trunk of a car to see Shawn Cassidy??? Pretty pathetic, I'd say!

Seriously though, I look back at those years and can't say I have any regrets. I had so much fun and made such great friends. How blessed I've been! (the spaced-out girl on the left is not so spaced-out anymore...here I am with my good friends Karen and Kathleen.) Peace baby!

*********

PS: On the Amy Bradley quilt you see, I switched to some variegated YLI thread. Tension problems solved! My longarm is happy. And when my longarm is happy, then Vivian is happy too!

My Friend Rebecca

"When such a friend from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee."

Karen Lynn Davidson, Hymn 293

My dear friend Rebecca passed away last Sun. morning. She was surrrounded by her family. It was peaceful. It was spiritual. I will miss her. I made this quilt for her last year as she began one of her very difficult rounds of chemotherapy. The people at church signed the quilt. In the center of the quilt I put this scripture:

"...for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left...and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." D&C 84:88.

A couple of weeks ago when I went to visit Rebecca, I saw the quilt on her sofa. That made me happy.

Here she is last year at our church Halloween party. She looked great as a blonde. In all the years I knew Rebecca, I only knew her with very short hair or no hair at all because of her chemotherapy treatments. She battled ovarian cancer for 3 years.

Rebecca was one of the most spiritual women I have ever known. To know her, you would never even know she was sick. She always kept up a great attitude and always seemed so happy. She was beautiful inside and out.

Rebecca loved to dance. Here she is at Daughter #1's wedding reception last year dancing. See her there on the right? (Daughter #1 and my BabyBoy are dancing together on the left.)

Here she's dancing and dancing. She wasn't dancing with anyone in particular...just herself. It was a beautiful summer night on the dance floor covering the tennis court. The weather was perfect. The music was great. I'm so glad our photographer snapped these pictures with Rebecca in them. We will always treasure them.

And this is how I will always remember Rebecca...teaching the children. We worked together in the Primary (children) organization at my church. I snapped these pictures one Sunday morning. I don't remember why, but I'm so glad I did.

For the past 2 years Rebecca has been taking care of her little granddaughter Abbey. Now another granddaughter is on her way. Her daughter is expecting in about 8 weeks. I like to think that here on earth Rebecca took care of one granddaughter and there in heaven she's now taking care of the other granddaughter.

Rebecca will be greatly missed by many people...and especially by the children in our little Primary.

Revised, Inspired, Tagged, and Taking Off

Revised...

First I must say...yesterday I posted a blog entry and the very last thing I said was that I was going to a Lakers game. We got to the Staples Center and I looked down at the court from our friend's suite. On the floor it said, "Los Angeles Clippers." Oops! Sorry. (Actually I didn't watch the game much...just chatted away with our friends. Did the Clippers even win?)

Here are our friends outside the Lexus Club. Our friend showed us some of the rennovations they are making to the Staples Center complex.

Below is a view of the work being done in the area. It's going to be awesome!


Here is my DH (seated) watching the game from the suite. He loves basketball!


Here's where the ladies and I sat in the suite, enjoying the good food and good conversation.


Oh, was there a basketball game going on?

As we left, I snapped the picture below. We had such a nice time.

~~~

Inspired...

A few weeks ago I listened to a Podcast at Craftypod.com that really inspired me. It was about "Afghans for Afghans." If you like listening to Podcasts, I highly recommend that you listen to this one. I decided to contribute to the cause...making afghans for Afghans. Here's my first one. If you want more info, check out their site here: Afghans for Afghans. Now, I know it's not quilting, but I haven't crocheted in years. I forgot how much I enjoy it. ...I also forgot how to wind up yarn. At first I had a big 'nest' of knots! Frustrating, for sure!
Finally I had my BabyBoy help me unwind the wool yarn into balls. See, my progress below? It's a baby afghan going to Afghanistan!

~~~

Tagged...

I've been tagged once more. This time from Wendy at The Running Quilter. Believe me! I don't think I'll ever run out of weird and random facts about me! This time though, I thought I would share 7 weird or random things about me and quilting!

And as you read the 7 things, please enjoy pictures of a recent quilt I worked on.

1. I have a hard time throwing things away...especially quilt related. Therefore, my scrapbaskets are overflowing and my bookshelves of full of quilt magazines and books!

2. I don't like to sit and do binding on quilts. Daughter #1 was married last July and I am just NOW getting the binding done on her wedding quilt.

3. I won a blue ribbon at a local guild quilt show the first year I got my longarm.

(notice in the picture below...The Purse Dog always getting into the picture!)

4. I had a quilt hanging in the Road to California.

5. I started a log cabin quilt for Daughter #2 when she was 8. I started quilting it by hand. It still sits in a closet unfinished. She'll be 21 in June!

6. I've seen "How to Make an American Quilt" at least 100 times.



7. I love the smell of 100% cotton fabrics. That's why I hang out in quilt shops. It gets me high. Just kidding! Really, I do love them though!

~~~

Taking Off...

I'll be gone until next Sun. I'm going up to Utah for the LDS General Conference, my DH's mission reunion, and to visit Daughter #1 in Tremonton. I will make sure I bring warm clothes! I will try and stop by a quilt shop or two, of course!

Have a great week!

Like a Sailing Ship

Last week a woman I had known since I was seven years old, passed away. Gwyn and her husband were dear friends of my family for many years. She was kind and always cheerful. She loved giving to others. At her beautiful service, a former Bishop (pastor) spoke and shared these words:

"Where did we come from? Why are we here? And where do we go after this mortal existence? By understanding a plan, it can bring peace to our souls. I would like to share a story which will help answer these questions...

'There was a sailing ship which docked in a beautiful blue lagoon. This ship was prepared for travel and on a beautiful clear day spread its brilliant white canvas sails in the fresh morning breeze and sailed out to sea. Those on the shore watched her glide away magnificently through the deep blue, and gradually saw her grow smaller and smaller as she neared the horizon. Finally, where the sea and the sky meet, she slipped silently from sight;

and someone said, 'Look, she is gone.'

'Gone where?' someone asks.

'Gone from sight--that is all.' is the answer. 'She is still as large in mast, hull and sail, still just as able to bear her load.'

We can be sure that, just as we say, 'Look, she is gone,' someone else says, 'Here she comes.'

The novelist and sailor Rossiter W. Raymond said, 'Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.' On earth we view death from the perspective of one who stays behind, much as a person views a long journey when we send someone else off rather than going ourselves. We put our friend on the train or plane and wave goodbye, only able to imagine what the trip is like and what the friend will find when he gets where he is going."

~~~

I liked what that man said. (I even asked him to email that story to me.) It comforted me as I thought of other loved ones who have gone on before me. I do believe that just as we say goodbye to these dear people, someone else on the other side is saying hello.

Here is Gwyn, left, with her mother on the right. Her mother is now in her nineties and they rarely lived 5 miles apart from one another.

Here is Gwyn greeting my Daughter #1 at her wedding last summer. I love this picture because it captures Gwyn's personality. Daughter #1 loved her very much too!

Here is my DH with Gwyn and her mother visiting at Daughter #1's wedding. My family will miss Gwyn very much.

"Everyone is a friend, until they prove otherwise."

Britney Spears is not my friend. If she were I would call her up and tell her to let me take care of those darling little boys for awhile. It's so quiet here at my house and I think I could hide them from the paparazzi. Then I would tell Britney to go and hide out for awhile and get her head back on straight. What happened to that girl? Poor little boys.

Do you know who is my friend though? :) Tim Allen. I was thinking about him the other day. Over the holidays, I enjoyed films, such as "The Santa Clause 1, 2 and 3", "Toy Story 1 and 2" and a surprisingly, enjoyable movie "Galaxy Quest." Anyway, I have referred to Tim Allen as my friend for years now. Here's why. You see, if I have seen someone famous more than once, I consider them my 'friend'. Remember how Marie Osmond is my friend? I think I've seen her four times. Here's why Tim Allen is my friend.

The first time:

I saw Tim (we're on a first name basis now, you know) at a Starbucks in Studio City. When Daughter #2 was 16 she took acting lessons in that area, so one morning we hopped over to Starbucks to get a couple of hot chocolates. The line was long and we waited and waited, along with other aspiring actors and movie people. Then all of the sudden a man walks in and he just goes right up to the front of the line and gets his coffee. The girl behind the counter looked like she was just waiting for him and on cue she said, 'Good morning, Mr. Allen.' He took his coffee, said 'Good morning' and left. Daughter #2 and I looked at each other and smiled. We didn't want to make a scene, but Wow, That was Tim Allen!

The second time:

Daughter #2 and I were Culver City for an appointment one day. Later, we had some time to kill, so we went over to Hollywood Blvd to do some window shopping. We were near Mann's Chinese Theater and we noticed a crowd across the street at the El Capitan Theatre. We wondered what was going on. I asked a passerby and they said that earlier that day was the premier of The Santa Clause 2. The reason there was still a crowd was because the film was just finishing and the stars were leaving to go home. So Daughter #2 and I decided we better go check it out. And low and behold, walking right in front of us was none other than Tim Allen. The picture you see below was the only shot I was able to get. I had a camera somewhere in my purse and fumbled around to try and quickly get that shot. Not very good I know, but there he was. (I'm sorry my friend, Tim, but you were shorter than I had imagined. But you looked nice, for sure.)

And speaking of friends...sometimes I'm not a very good one:

This past week I finished a fleece blanket on my longarm for the friend (and Miracle Worker) who did Daughter #2's flowers. Don't the flowers look awesome?Since I've always know her family to be big UCLA fans, I made a UCLA fleece blanket.

Yesterday I delivered the fleece blanket. As I handed it to her she said, 'Oh thank you, my husband will love it.' You see, it was her husband that attended UCLA! She went to BYU! If I had been a better friend, I would have known that!

But look what I found at Joann's! So I'm making another one. This one is for her! It's almost done and I'll take it over to her right away.

I'll work harder to be a better friend, I promise.

The First Day of Miracle Workers

As I get more pictures from the wedding, I'll post them. I did manage the snap a few shots Thurs. evening before the wedding. The first 'miracle worker' was my friend Derryl. I know him from Cranberry Quiltworks. He works with Gina Halladay and sets up the Gammill Quilting machines. I am lucky to have enlisted his help because he is usually on the road, picking up machines in Missouri or setting up and repairing the longarm quilting machines.

He put up the lights for Daughter #2's reception in the cultural hall of a church building in our area. I was so impressed. He had quite a system for doing this. I think you'll be impressed too! Check out these shots:

First we all check the strands of lights. Are they all working? Are any loose? We had family and friends help us with this process.

Next, Derryl climbs up the scaffolding to put up the center piece. And there he starts hanging all the strands. Notice we are all on the ground where it is safe. Derryl has done this many times before.

At one point, Nathan climbs up with Derryl to lend a hand. This boy is a rock climber, former gymnast, and is on the track and field team at Cal State Fullerton. It was no big deal for my new son-in-law to go up there and help Derryl. And notice I am still on the ground where it is safe? There's no way I was volunteering to go up there! Yes, even the groom had to help set up his own wedding reception. Remember, this was a do-it-yourself project.

Look, it's almost done! It's looking good.

While up on the scaffolding, Nathan (my son-in-law) and his friend, covered the basketball backboard with some black fabric. As a joke, they wrote "Skankey Love" up there in duct tape. Yes, it was a "Skankey Love" affair. My daughter traded her last name Love, for Skankey. Stacy (the bride) took a look at this sign and laughed. Then she said, "Let's keep it!" She was a good sport. So this was another part of our do-it-yourself decorations.

And here is the mother of the groom putting up the finishing touches on the canopy we used for the wedding cake. I got the canopy at Ikea and we added twinkly lights. It came out nice.

And here is the only picture I took of the ceiling during the reception. I think we had 300+ people there. I know our professional photographer got some better shots. Believe me when I tell you that it really turned out beautifully! Thanks to Derryl, one of the miracle workers.

To be continued...

Happy Thanksgiving to You from Me!

It's a beautiful day here in Orange County. The sun is shining and it's about 70-degrees. Lovely day. This is the first Thanksgiving in a couple of years that we are staying here in California. Last year we went to the Oregon Coast, where my family rented a lovely beach house at Rockaway Beach. Haystack Rock, near the beach house we stayed at.

Four brave explorers, Lewis, Clark, Stacy, and Todd in Seaside, Oregon.

While we were in Oregon, Daughter #1 was serving a mission in Portland. We didn't get to visit her, but she finished her mission and returned home just 3 weeks later. Here she is with one of her companions.

The year before that we went to Utah and visited the tiny town of Castle Dale, where my father-in-law now lives.

No, this is not my father-in-law's house. My son is standing on top of a pioneer house at the place where they perform a play called the "Castle Valley Pageant."

This year we are headed to the home of some dear friends in LaMirada. We are bringing the pies. So did Vivian bake her pies? No, I'm afraid those days are gone. (remember I'm no longer under the Martha Stewart spell.) I used to do that years ago, and my pies were delicious, if I do say so myself! Now I stand in line with hundreds of other people in front of the Marie Callenders and pick up my pies. No work at all. Oh yes, I did have to look their phone number up, dial it, and talk to a girl to tell her what pies to reserve for me! And then there was the 20 minutes waiting in line making small talk with other non-pie-bakers. I got chocolate creme, banana creme, pumpkin, apple, and razzleberry. Mmmmm! Good.

Today I hope you take a minute to reflect on your blessings. I am so grateful for all I have. The Lord has truly blessed me. This morning I read a great quote.

"Ours is the responsibility to show our gratitude by the actions of our lives."

--Thomas S. Monson.

I hope that the actions of my life show my gratitude. Have a lovely day.