Wayne Sneath, wherever you are...
Thank you very much!! Across the aisle from my Uncle Greg's quilt- at the Chicago Quilt Show, there was a very interesting quilt. It's the tiny little stars on the top. Decided I needed a picture to share with you all. In case you didn't know it, there are strict restrictions about taking pictures of the art quilts at quilt shows. The traditional quilts are open to pics. Typically. So I stand back and snap a picture of this one... there came a deep voice in my ear, "That'll be $5." I about jumped out of my skin. I figured that $5 was a pretty reasonable penalty for taking a forbidden picture. The guy starts to laugh when he sees my startled expression. This was his quilt and he was getting a kick out of people's reactions. This quilt was called "Singing In The Rain." One of the center blocks(1") in the stars had a tiny couple with an umbrella. The cornerstones in this quilt were 1/4" squares- just to give you an idea of the scale. Well, Wayne and I struck up a conversation- one thing that Sarah and I have in common- we can talk to anybody, and frequently do. I'd say Wayne is about 60 years old and he described himself as a novice quilter- been quilting 4 years, he said. I'd say he's some kind of prodigy novice! The following two quilts are also his. He's from Northfield, Illinois. He was a delightful person. Very Charming. The Singing quilt reminded me of Lucy, and Dawn.

I've been playing nursemaid, these past few days. The three youngest angels have a been quite sick, but they have been so sweet I hardly mind being up most of each night. They share a room and I am so hopeful that they are the only ones to succumb to it. I don't know how I'll avoid it. Eva says, "Don't forget to wash your hands, Mommy!" She's a little mother hen. The "bb's" complicate things for me. Shouldn't be a big deal, the stomach 'flu. 24 hours of misery and then on the mend. Doesn't seem to work that way- it's the ER or the ICU and I really don't have time for that, right now! I've got places to go and people to see! So I'm running around trying to get everything done as soon as possible so that if the "last minute" becomes the "impossible to get it done" I won't be completely forlorn. And you know how it is when you are surrounded by sickies- it's hard not to feel the need to sleep with a bucket, 'cause you know you feel a bit "off" yourself! So far, so good. Waking each morning, intact. shew! Taking my vitamins and getting out in the sunshine. DH felt sorry for me, today, and even took me out to lunch- been stuck in the house for a while. Not something I actually mind, but it's nice to eat a meal I didn't have to cook. Yes, Sarah, we went to Ming's.

So things I'm doing...I finished Aunt Eva's quilt, Marianne's quilt, Michael and Rosemary's quilt, 8 rows done on Sarah's quilt(5 to go), the flower girl dresses are coming along. I just can't bring myself to work on them for too long at a time. They take a lot out of me. Need to sew the crinolins in and hem them and then still need to put the zippers in. hmm. Oh, got the flower beds weeded and even planted a bunch of tiger lilies. You see, the field next to ours has thousands of Tiger lilies by it. And every year, the farmer mows them down. Never gives them a chance. So I figured that if he wants them gone, I could do my part to help. So DH and DS #1 & #2 go down there with shovels and dug me up a few. Not even a drop in the bucket. He still has plenty to mow all summer long. But I planted them around the outside of my garden fence. The girls helped. And I cleaned my room- I once heard someone say that the condition of the master bedroom was very telling- as if it were a judgment that you don't value yourself if your bedroom is a disaster. Well, it might just mean that you put everything else before your bedroom. And I even cleared a path through the closet. And I scrubbed two toilets(Until you have 6 sons, you can't begin to imagine how filthy... I know I have never seen a more disgusting sight in any gas station, in my life!) I let them have it!! It had better not come to that EVER again. Then there was the 3 bathroom sinks and the 1 whirlpool and the 1 bathtub. And 5 loads of laundry. Would have been more, but I got a little discouraged after DH left his chapstick in his pocket! That stuff just leaves these oily little marks all over everything and it all has to be sprayed and put through, again. I didn't have that much fun doing it the first time, and I kinda lost my momentum. Now I'm headed to bed so that I'll feel all fresh and ready to go when they wake me up at 2 am. Nighty night!