Sunday and Birthday Surprises from Jolene

Hi Everyone!

The weather down here in Southern Oklahoma is LOVELY today.  I swang on the back porch for over an hour just enjoying the coolness.  I was TRYING to clear my mind and fill it up with something else, so I took out a spiral bound steno pad to doodle on.  My doodling looked as confused and sad as my mind has been since yesterday.

But THEN:
Alooooooooong came Jo-le, ee, ene!  (Remember the song?)

She "untied me from the railroad track" and gave me something to smile about.  She told me she was going to make me smile today, and she did.  I was truly grateful too because I expected all my friends to tell me to take a flying leap into the Big Baby Crib because I am just too hard to please -- expecting people to call me when they aren't going to show up when they said they would.

So anyway, let's HAPPY THIS UP, and I'll show you the wonderful gifts I got from Jolene for my birthday which was August 4th.  She told me they would be late, BUT worth waiting for.  She was right!

You know -- if you read my blog much -- that I have been making Mug Rugs for the last several months since the Serg-a-Thon that Di and Deb came to.

Here are the ones I made for Di and Deb:

 And I made this one for my Mom on Mother's Day:

I was DEElighted to receive one of my very own from Jolene that about blew my socks off!

You may recall that Jolene just took 2nd place in the Hoffman Challenge quilt contest.  She is REALLY good!  I made a mug rug for her too to celebrate her win, but I didn't get a picture of it.

Here is the mug rug she made for me. Those are 1/4" half square triangles!  Yikes!

I love it, and I am using it on my nightstand.  I have had a paper napkin there for 18 years!  This sure is a whole lot prettier.  Diana pointed out that the "J" looks like a butterfly, and it does.

Do you all remember Erma Bombeck?  She was a real funny lady who got cancer and died way too young. She wrote an article before she died about all the things she WISHED she had done differently.  One of them was she wished she had USED all the pretty things she had bought or that people had given her that she put away inside a cupboard because they were TOO NICE to use.

That really touched me.  I am using my pretty gifts!

Jolene included two patterns for this so Terry and I can both make it.  Hopefully, we will have a play day again SOMEday.  Terry is always SO BUSY!  Look at this teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy paper-piecing pattern!!!  I may just have to start without Terry.  I want to try it.

She also bought me two things that I have wanted for a looooooooooooooong time, but I have been waiting for them to go on sale.  I don't think they ever will.

I was so surprised to see these!  They go with my Accu-Quilt cutter.  Remember the one that Terry and I bought?

And, of course a pattern to use those on.  This is a table runner, and I really like it.  I will make one soon.

And this wasn't a birthday present, but I want to show it to you.

As you know, Terry, Jolene, Diana and I are the Cuatro Quilters participating in a Friendship Swap of 720 Half Square Triangle Blocks.  I asked the three girls to please make me a little label/sign to put in my quilt.  This is the first one I recieved.  It is so pretty on that fancy fabric.  I want to know WHERE to get some like that.  Don't know if it is a printed fabric or software that you print out your own labels with.  I'm sure one of my readers will let me know, and thank you in advance!

I want to color it.  Wonder if Jolene would mind.  I need a coloring project to concentrate on.

Have a fabulous, wonderful, blessed, happy week, my friends, and count your many blessings every day! Something GOOD is about to happen!

Hugs, Joy