Vacation

We have been in CA for a few days now and it is so good to be with family again. At this moment I am in Sacramento learning a lot from my 10 year old niece Melody. She is an expert in all things that make one beautiful. She thinks she knows a lot about making oneself physically beautiful but she has also passed on some wisdom about being a beautiful person as well. She is quite the fashionista and very wise for ten and I think you would appreciate some of her wisdom too.  So here goes some of her best tips;

1. Save your coffee grounds ladies, mix those grounds with olive oil into a paste and rub that cellulite away. It tightens the skin and removes that dimple look.  Dimples are cute on minky fabric but not on your thighs.

2. Having a tough time waking up and feeling fresh after a long night of quilting?  Put two spoons in the freezer the night before and upon rising put those cold spoons on your eyes and pat your face until they come to room temperature and you will be refreshed and ready for a new day.

3. Are your lips chapped and in need of just a touch of color without a lot of cash?  Find your jar of Vaseline and put just a touch of eyeshadow or blush mixed in for a very effective lip gloss and lip repair.

4. What draws you to a person? Melody feels that if one has a ready smile and can get others to laugh too really makes you totally likeable and a beautiful woman.

5. There are many more nuggets of wisdom I've learned but last but certainly not least for today is that the most beautiful women are those who are not trying to be someone they're not but who are comfortable with who they are and live the moments of their lives happy in there own skin.

There you have it. The wisdom of Melody. Live beautifully!!!!

Dee

Flying!

How the days do fly.  It's hard to believe it is July and I'm flying out tomorrow for my retreat.

The week with my former student, Alex, was great.  They kept him pretty busy at water polo camp but the time we had was fun. Having a teenager in the house again was such fun.   It is always good to have someone come and visit.

The last few days have been crowded with getting all the last minute details taken care of for the retreat and our time away from home.  The new "to do" list is pretty much all checked off.  I am so excited to return to CA and my children I can barely stand it.

My brother has been moved to a rehabilitation facility and the outcome looks quite promising.  PTL!

May your days be filled with abundance,

Dee

A Visitor!!!!!

Choosing fabrics for the next project.  I'm going bright.

Finally getting my pears quilted.

It has been busy days with teaching.  I love being in the classroom and experiencing the process of learning something new with the students.  Yesterday was kids day.  We made beach bags and they all did really well.  They all looked like beach bags when we were done.  Yeah!

On Friday we picked up a former student of mine from Dublin, CA at the airport.  He will be with us for a week visiting and participating in a water polo camp at the University of Michigan.  It is so fun to have him here, to show him a part of the country he hasn't been to and see how much he's grown and changed since he was in my Jr. High class.  

A week from tomorrow I will be on a plane myself headed to CA.  Can't wait!!  It will wonderful to see LeAnna and Brett and attend the wedding of a dear friend's son and one of Brett's good friends.  The wedding is in Bakersfield in two weeks and then back to Livermore area for teaching and then on to the retreat.  I like the busyness of the days ahead.

The following quote is my reasoning for my "stash".

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, 

or believe to be beautiful.

William Morris

Blessings,

Dee

It's Monday!

It would be so nice to send some of our rain to AZ and to other areas in the Southwest.  Heavy heart tonight for the families of the firefighters in AZ tonight.

The many days of rain have given me the opportunity to get a lot of things done that I needed to.
Quilt for "Quilting in the Garden" completed and shipped off to CA.  check
Retreat prizes finished, packaged and prettied up.  check
Fabrics chosen for retreat demos. check
Instructions for newest pattern written out for Robin. check
Supply lists and descriptions for the next quarter of classes I will be teaching completed.  check
Two small quilts quilted.  Yes, I actually did it myself. Yeah!  check

Today was a fun giggly girl kind of day.  I loved it.  My neighbor and a friend from college days who I have had the pleasure of reconnecting with here spent the day together. The purpose was to help my friend decide on a layout for quilts for her siblings and mother.  She was recently given a number of blocks her grandmother had made in the 30's but hadn't made them into a quilt and she wanted to gift her siblings with a quilt made from these blocks.  She is not a quilter (yet) so my neighbor and I had a blast bringing her into the world of quilts and quilt shops and buying fabric whether you needed it or not.  There was a lot of laughter and flying fat quarters.  We may be banned from that particular shop.

Have you brought a newbie into the quilting world?  How did that go?  Tell us your story.

May you be blessed in many ways,

Dee