Fifty is Indeed Nifty!!

Especially when I have such nifty Quilter-Friends!

The other night when DH and I were headed out to dinner, I opened the front door to leave the house, and walked right IN to this HUGE BOX left on my doorstep via UPS!

HOLY COW! How did the driver not give himself a hernia just lifting this thing!

I had been given the heads up because, well, you know you can’t blog about ANYTHING and expect it to stay secret! Read Bingo Bonnie’s Nap Time News post HERE!

Uuuuuhhhh…so I’m guessing this box weighed close to 40 lbs. And I decided to wait until Sunday because that is the day that Jeff and I were celebrating!

So the box sat in my dining room waiting til Sunday, and when we returned from the movies Saturday afternoon, we stopped at the mailbox --- and it was CRAMMED FULL of all this other mail, and I knew something was up!

I forced myself to wait until Sunday morning to open up all the goodies. And I cried. And I squealed. And I read each card and each note and ran my fingers over each block and piece of fabric, and soap and chocolate ---and cried some more.

You guys are really too great. You really are. I’m so happy to have you in my life from wherever your corner of the globe is.

And yes, I started at the top of the pile, leaving the big box for last….and there is no way to get this all in here…so here are glimpses. If you sent something, you might see it! I’m thanking you all from the bottom of my heart for making this birthday such a memorable special one for me! ((The dots are where I blocked out addresses—though mine is out there due to my website, I didn’t think you’d want yours to be!))

Birthday blocks! Special “50” ones! And fabric, and chocolates, a starbucks gift card and soap and lovely cards….How do I capture this all?

I have the distinct feeling that there will be another orphan block quilt to commemorate my 50th year this year! In fact, Lori was just emailing me about doing a 50th birthday quilt, all of us that are turning 50 this year and I said I didn’t have TIME ---uhhhh..well, now I have the push and the plan!!

Love these blocks! There are cheddar bow ties, several stars in all their variations, and a cute birthday chickie!

There are spare parts commemorating Orca Bay, and several cute Tea Mugs! An appliqued heart --- on top of….OH NO!!

Just when you think you’ve seen EVERY Millenium fabric that could have possibily been printed in 1999 --- Here’s another! What a fun way to turn 50 --- I think I’ll have to throw all these in here too!

Trying to get a bit of EVERYTHING in the photos…I love the “50” block! I think that’s gotta go front and center, don’t you? THANK YOU!

And that big box?!? Thank you so much, Bingo Bonnie! DH looked at me like…WHAT?!? Why do you need MORE shirt parts? Well – these are different than the ones I have! Does that make sense to anyone else? I’ll have fun using these. I want to re-do my Sister’s Choice quilt using all shirt prints ((And maybe cheddar or Poison Green)) And call it Brother’s Choice because I have all boys! This just might get me started!

My heartfelt thanks to each and everyone one of you --- you know who you are! Awesome doesn’t begin to describe you!

And with this post – I’m off to Florida for my visit with the Venice Quilter’s guild! It’s a fun week with a Happy Scrappy Houses workshop, and a My Blue Heaven workshop --- we’ll be up to our elbows in scraps and living it up in the Florida Sunshine!