Thanksgiving Blessings!

We enjoyed spending Thanksgiving with our two daughters, one son-in-law, and three grandchildren.  This is something which we haven't done in a few years as we are usually in our motorhome in Palm Springs this time of year.  The only thing which wasn't so great is that our son-in-law Nick, Mandi's husband, wasn't with us as he is serving a tour of duty in Afganistan this year.  We thought of him often and prayed for his safety and know that next year he will be home to celebrate with and enjoy his family!

The three grandchildren, Ethan, Caleb, and Pearl, got along famously.  We know that Pearl enjoyed the company, because she did not tell anyone that it was time for them to go home, which is what she had done in the past!  We celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday, as our children had other family get togethers on Thursday.  Mandi cooked all day and provided us with a wonderful feast which we enjoyed for the following four days.  The grandkids got to make candy necklaces, watch a movie and eat lollipops with Grams one day.  Aunt Carly and Uncle Nate took them all sledding twice, yeah snow!  We also made some ornaments with lots of stickers and glitter glue.  The boys and Pearly watched monster truck videos on the computer with me a couple of times (one of their favorite things)!



'The making of a Snowman'




Jewelry Making 101!



Storytime with Mom, Aunt Carly



'This is way too much fun'

It was hard to get everything squeezed in that we wanted to do, so on Sunday morning before departure, we got to feed them ice cream with sprinkles and whipped cream for breakfast.  I know that was a first for them and who knows, it could become a tradition!  We are truly blessed to have such great children and grandchildren.

FFFC 'Garden Globe'

The challenge for November was to do an abstract piece using just one shape.  I have to admit that this was a difficult challenge for me as I have not done an abstract piece per se, even though I have been quilting for a number of years.  I have seen a lot of abstract pieces which I have coveted, and have contemplated playing with the style, but had not followed through.  I am not really in love with this piece, but I will definitely play with this concept in the future.  Thanks for pushing me outside of my box.

That being said, I decided to use circles as my shape, and fit it into my self selected theme of botanicals.  I used some of my photos and some from the Morgue Files and played with them in PSE 9.  I applied a free action (which I downloaded from the web), called Crystal Ball to each of the photos and then printed them onto fused fabric treated with Digital Grounds.  I then fused and cut out organza and the black and white circles.   I quilted the background with circle motifs prior to placing the fused pieces on top (after several attempts to find a suitable placement).  I used gel pens to add some bling to the flower globes and then stitched everything down.  I then did some bobbin work (my first time) on the globes using some Razzle Dazzle from Superior Threads.  I thought about adding some beadwork or paintsticks on the background circles.  Any and all suggestions are welcome.