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Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Things Lost, Things Found, Things Repurposed!


Well, hello there!

My giraffe!  I found my giraffe!

I’ve been searching for it high and low since moving fully into the Quiltville Post Office.

I thought it must be still in the basement studio in Wallburg when it couldn’t be located in the basement studio at the cabin.  It was neither.

But I hadn’t been able to locate it at the QPO either – and then last night as I was drifting off to sleep after a very busy day of appointments, and a 100 mile drive to Virginia I let my mind wander back.

I flew home from San Luis Obispo on a Sunday night – and the next day, the Longarm Doc came. It was a furry of packing and shuffling and loading and moving – where things went really nuts was the fact that we ended up heading to Virginia THAT NIGHT instead of the next morning so we could get the machine set up and send The Doc on his way -


Directions from Stick n Stitch package


Trimming excess away before the big rinse.


Dissolving the rest away!


Blocking on a towel.

I had remembered rinsing the Stick n Stitch off of my embroidery (Boy was that slick!)  and drying it on a towel…and then…where did it go from there?

Evidently I took the dried stitchery and the fabrics to go with it and threw it in a bin of brown strings for transport to the QPO!  Where it has been buried under other string bins since July.  It’s been close enough to touch on so many occasions, my knees so very close to it as I quilted my own quilts, Kim’s quilt, and Mona’s quilts over the past few weeks.

My brain is a sieve. but what was lost is now FOUND and I am ready to get some fun pieced borders on this – it needs to be ready for our Kenya trip coming up, and I need to prepare the other stitchery kits for my Kenya travelers as well.  Weeee!  October is getting closer all the time!

If this works well as a carry around hand project for my travelers, I think I’ll do others as well – we have a Christmas Market tour in Bavaria/Austria coming up in December.


Things re-purposed -

Remember the huge spring storm that flung my glass table top over the railing smashing it to bits – because I – like a stupid dunce – didn’t remember to shut the umbrella before leaving the cabin?

The Hubster has mad tile setting skills!  I dare any breeze to now take THIS table and send it over the edge.

But also notice that there is no hole for an umbrella..LOL!  Lesson learned on that one!

We used the table frame underneath, tiled a table top and framed it with wood edging that he stained.  Those corners are mitered!

And it is much more usable than the old round glass one – There is actually ROOM on the table for eating outside, where before we had to do everything buffet style, and only bring the plates outside.


So glad to be back where mornings are cool!

It was 65 this morning at 7:30am.


Revisiting the OLD -

This was our home for the 5 years we lived in Burley, Idaho.

You know that saying where “You can never go home again?!”  The Hubster is in Oregon visiting his brother, and he flew into Salt Lake to play golf with some friends, and drive up to Idaho and then further on to Oregon, stopping in Burley to visit some other folks we knew from when we lived there.  Yes, he is a social butterfly.  LOL.

He drove past “the old house” and then sent me the photo saying “You really don’t want to know…….”

I loved this house.  It was built around 1914, still had all the original built ins in the living room and kitchen – the window seat in the bay window of the dining room – my first long arm machine resided here – in the basement. I loved its double lot (I had a huge garden and did tons of canning.) and tree lined streets in walking distance to the Post Office, park, library, schools, grocery – it was even walking distance to the Dairy Queen where we often strolled on Saturday evenings in the summer. (My Buster Bar penchant was born in Burley!)

There used to be big bushes of bleeding heart on either side of the front steps - I loved them dearly.

This was where I lived when we FIRST got internet at home - I discovered quilting email lists and chat rooms and life forever changed!

There was a $1.50 movie theater also in walking distance, and as money was always tight, my purse held plenty of contraband to keep hungry boys happy.

To the folks who live there now – it’s nearly September, so you may as well leave the Christmas lights right where they are, you can consider yourselves ahead of the game.

No, you can never go home again – but seeing this photo and talking about it has brought up so many wonderful memories. And then that strange feeling of hindsight as you tell yourself. "You've come a long way, Baby!"

To the self I was back then - Could you have ever imagined you'd end up where you are now?

This morning I am hitting the ground running – there is a STACK of mail to go through.  There are orders to get out.  But I’m in my happy place and hope to be sewing by evening time…..

Also:  I wanted to mention that due to the increasing annoyance of spammers posting really FOUL stuff to the comments section of my blog posts, I have switched to screening ALL comments before they are posted.  

I apologize if it takes some time before your comment shows up, I just can't see any other way to deal with the garbage, and it takes longer to clean it up if I let it post, than to just approve things as they come in as I am able.

Thank you for your understanding!


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Sometimes we have to face it, we can't control creativity it needs to follow its own direction!

Nine in the middle quilt from my book Adventures with Leaders & Enders now resides with my sister and her family.

Have an awesome Tuesday, everyone!


39 comments:

  1. So glad you found your giraffe! Now you won't have to start over. I'm jealous of your cooler temps. It's already 77 here with 85% humidity, along with another heat advisory issued for today.

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    1. Connie, You must live in Kansas. lol

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    2. I was thinking the same thing! LOL Topeka, KS

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    3. lol That was a couple of hours ago. Now it's 91 in Topeka and feels like 101.

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  2. I bet your giraffe giggled every time you walked by. He sure is cute smiling at you out of that box. Have a great day today!

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  3. ......The giraffe is even cuter after bath !!! Your homes improve with your special touch ...that is obvious !!! The QPO was almost 'gone' and look at it now !!! Have a wonderful cooler day. Quilty hugs!

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  4. table looks great, glad you found your giraffe, he's sew cute. Also thank you for screening for spammers, some people just have to much time on their hands. Love reading your updates as well

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  5. I love your quote of the day. Our early years were much like yours and it pains me so much to see some of the changes in places where we used to live. I no longer "drive past"- it hurts too much to see all our hard work undone. And...as for your quote of the day...I let my dad talk me out of studying history in college and I chose something else that was a terrible fit. I dropped out and went back to school in my 40s (and kept going until I earned a PhD in HISTORY). In 1997, I went to Toronto (Canada) to see the Broadway musical "Ragtime." That play affected me so intensely, I chose to study that specific era- and today I teach college students about the 2 hours that changed my life in one day. Some of my students come back to me and tell me my class changed their lives as well. It amazes me that being open to what is all around us can be life changing if we simply live in the moment. Thank you Bonnie for taking us along with you on your journey and reminding all of us to take advantage of every moment and every opportunity <3

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    1. This sounds like my history. I let my mother talk me out of going into nursing out of high school and went toward something for me was a disaster. She said I was too tender-hearted!?!?! After my last child started school when I was 40 went back to college and got my RN and it was what I should have been doing all my life. Loved it! Thanks for letting me go back in time.

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  6. I wondered about some of those posts and wondered if you didn't have an admin to remove them, then when i posted came in addition to 'reply' a 'delete' ... hmmm, wondering if i had inadvertently obnoxed peeeps... didn't see it on any other post, and then the latest screening. Sorry you have to do this, but understandable in light of the high-jacking of your blog. Loving all the pictures, glad you found the giraffe, must have missed the part where you lost her...Sadie looks so so happy that mama's home! Mama prolly is too... smiles and hugs from Cats in Carlsbad CA

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  7. I understand your heartbreak about seeing photos of your old house. My first home recently went into disrepair and foreclosure. I was so sad to see some of the windows boarded up, landscaping overgrown with weeds, and inside trashed. Not everyone places the same value on their possessions. I look back on where we were and where we are now and smile.

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  8. Good to find lost things. Hubster did great on that table! In your Happy Place, the best place to be. I don't mind the Comment Moderation. I get a email saying my comment was blocked. I have no clue how to fix that.

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  9. i woke up at 7 am and it was alrady 81 come on fall

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  10. I understand your feelings about your house in Burley. The house I grew up in was turned in to a rental after my parents sold and retired to East Texas. I attended an annual conference in my hometown each summer, and one summer it was vacant and open. I enjoyed a slow stroll down memory lane as not much had changed inside, but the outside was a wreck. The next summer I drove by, and our house was GONE! wiped from the face of the earth. I nearly wrecked I was so shocked. It was a very emotional experience for me. On a happy note, YAY for found giraffe, better table, and being able to spend time in your happy place.

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  11. Bonnie you can't go home again but your mind can visit. Sometimes my mind is kind in memory but sometimes harsh and judgemental, but all the visits are dear in some way. So glad you found the giraffe! About the comments - it is sad that people can't behave.

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  12. I KNOW I didn't just read that you described yourself as "like a stupid dunce." So not true!

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  13. I just had my own experience with misplacing something. I looked all over the house for a little plastic baggie with a form and leftover Best Choice labels from when I sent the 3000 in for the the library. LOOKED ALL OVER! for the past three weeks. Found them next to the printer in a little plastic container with a blue lid. LOL
    I noticed that you had gone to approving posts before they post. Those darned spammers are just such a nuisance!

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  14. Last summer I had an opportunity to visit my mother's childhood home in Hamilton, OH, built in 1905 by my grandparents. The current owners have restored much of the original woodwork and maintained the Craftsman style. In adding a bathroom, they found a handmade doll in between the walls. My cousins and I were able to tell them who it had belonged to and her dates. She died at age 14. We have asked them to keep the doll with the house and they have put it in a shadowbox with the information. Sometimes the "old" houses can bring good memories.

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  15. Bonnie I love your giraffe. Is that pattern available? I have a friend who loves giraffes. Also I have used similar products to embroider with, save so much time not having to trace the pictures...just the "bees knees"
    Beth Button

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  16. Giraffe is adorable, so glad you found him (or her)!

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  17. Your hubs has ALL KINDS of mad skills!! You are a talented pair!

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  18. What fun you are having! What a FUN embroidery, where can we get the pattern? Long time no quilt-cam... soon?

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  19. I just read your facebook post and am dumbfounded about what some people do and say. What you do in your own time and in your place is really nobody's business. Please know that there are many more of us that look forward to your daily blog, posts and the occasional quiltcams than the rude people that think they own you. You are my quilting idol!

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  20. So proud to have been one of those early internet friends! Ignore (as best you can) those naysayers and do what you do so well. Onward and upward Bonnie, you are an inspiration to so many. �� Sharron

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  21. One of my closest friends is from Burley. Great things spring from that little town. :)

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  22. So pleased you found this cute giraffe, really looking forward to how you border him for your Kenya trip. Hope you’ll release it as a pdf I’d love to try him.
    We are on holiday I. Portsmouth uk at the mo and I have been tempted to look at our first home, but think I’ll leave that one after your post. Perhaps it’s better to enjoy the now and look forward to the future as I’m a much different person to the 21 year old just married and working out how to make my way in the world.
    Thank you for all the wonderful tips and tricks you share, love your morning blog and it’s so sad that there are so many spammers out to ruin things.
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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  23. Glad you found the giraffe! He is adorable. I was glad to follow your progression with the Sulky since
    I have a redwork quilt to start and plan to use the Sulky. I agree that you and your husband are very talented! Great team. Thank you for your travel blogs, I travel more with you thanI can get too. Your a very special person, Bonnie. Just be you. Hugs.

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  24. I so much enjoy starting each morning by reading your blog. Your ending quote always fits my thinking ALWAYS! You are amazing. Yes, look how far you have come since that little house in Burley.

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  25. It's interesting to go back to places we once called "home." My earliest memory of home is a place now burnt down and replaced, my longest memory of home is a house hugely remodeled and hardly recognizable as that place. The hubster and I lived in a variety of Army housing, both here in the States and in Germany. Homes we actually bought show lots of changes, both good and bad.
    I have come to think that home isn't a building, it's where me and mine are together and safe. The other places are now home to other folks, who feel the same way I did when I lived there....this is my soft place to fall, my little cave with a fire around which my family gathers. So should it be for everyone.

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  26. Home is where the heart is both in memory and in actual time.A few years ago, I planted a yellow rose bush that was supposed to be a smallish size.It isn't! However, the scent of the roses is the same as a rose bush in the very first house that my parents owned. It just returned me to loving times in the past.
    Bonnie, you are so energetic and giving. I enjoy your blog everyday.Thank you for being you!!

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  27. I can totally relate to the memories. I lived in Ontario, Canada for many years as my parents were missionaries to the Iroquois Indians. I would love to go back and see the old house but I already know that it is gone. However, I have some good memories and my mother now lives with us. She remembers things that I don't and she is 94.
    By the way, I love what you do and the little sayings you put up every day. Some days they are what I really need to read and hear.
    God bless you and all your teaching. I wish I could sit in one of your classes as I know I would love it. I will have to put that on my bucket list.

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  28. Don't you just hate it when you know something is buried somewhere in your sewing room (my 2.5 x 6.5 ruler). I have been searching everyday for two weeks and come up zero! I refuse to buy another because it is in there laughing at me. Your giraffe is very cute and I learned about another product that you used to make it. Thanks for sharing info like this.

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  29. A little wait to post is a very small thing in comparison to muddling through nasty and inappropriate comments. I don't mind at all!
    So happy you found the adorable giraffe! I can relate to lost things found. I'm afraid my memory is slipping and I am always ecstatic when I find a lost treasure.
    Your old house is adorable. It has such classic lines. The town sounds like a magical place to live. I don't want to go home again. The house I grew up in was transformed into some mockery of a building and looks nothing like when I lived there and the traffic is so horrendous that it's hard to get there any more! Besides I love where I am in the moment, which is as it should be!

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  30. I drove past the house my kids loved that I shared with my ex. The people put up gutters along the front roof. They evidently don't believe in cleaning those gutters! There is a whole row of trees about 2ft high growing along the whole front of the roof!!! My ex would blow up if he saw it!! It looks like hair standing on end!!

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  31. So pleased you verify the comments - didn't notice rude ones, but plenty of spammers over the years. Although it means you still get to see the nastiness though, which is sad - nobody should have to deal with that.
    As far as the table goes - that's fabulous! Cool transformation. Giraffe went for a walkabout! Glad it turned up - I have to stop looking when I lose something because sometimes you look so hard that you miss it! The old home - I've not been back to my first homes as I was never happy in them - too far into the towns, but I see the last one often as I keep in touch with my old neighbours. My parental home I have been to and it hasn't changed at all - they've even added a gnome and when I told mum she was delighted. I have been to my maternal home and it is sad, the roses gone and everything paved over. The building is unrecognisable - it was a bungalow and my father made me a replica for a doll's house! I have the best thing to remember their home. But home is definitely where the heart is.

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    1. Oops - I meant my maternal grandparents bungalow!

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  32. I grew up in a town of 1500 people. We knew who lived in every house in town. There were only 2 churches in town, 1 grocery store,a hardware store, and no place to buy alcohol. My parents built our house in 1954 and moved away in 1978, but we returned there for my mother's funeral service in the church where we were raised. Later I drove my daughter down the street where I grew up, slowly passing by the house. Imagine my thrill when the current owner, a man who also attended our church, looked at us and said, "Leslie, is that you? Would you like to come inside and see your old home?" You bet I did! What a memorable experience.

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    1. What a lovely story, 'unknown'. Small places are the best, and I want to believe good people outweigh the bad. (At least, their lives and deeds do!)

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  33. I am so happy your found your projects. This giraffe is so cute.
    I love all quotes by Rumi.
    Your old house must have been very pretty. Yeah, this picture could be worse. My family's house in Maryland where we lived for a few years when I was a kid, was built new for us, but after we left in 1973 it had a sad life. I think it still stands but gosh, we have no control when we hand over the keys and take the cash on our way.
    Enjoy the rest of this week

    Comments can be very disappointing. What is with these spammers? Do they really think what they advertise gets attention?

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