Wow!   A few weeks ago there was a discussion on the QuiltDesigners Group over on Yahoo, and  internet friend Diane Harman-Hoog of Quilters Keep Learning was prompted to do a quick search on me on the internet.  Diane, you see, is a maven of family genealogy (spelling?).  In just a few days, she had traced my dad’s family back to the Patrick who immigrated from Ireland in 1857, and my mother’s family back to Switzerland and Germany to 1590!!!!!!!!  She incredibly generously sent me a TON of information (and discovered that we have a common ancestor in Edward Plantagenet!) and did this extensive family tree:

Dad’s family is the little cluster on the upper left portion.  All the rest of it is my mom’s family, which has been in the US since the late 1600s.  I had NO idea I had family ties to the Netherlands, Switzerland or Alsace-Lorraine (now France, previously Germany)!  Here’s that corner of the chart:

And here:

And then there were tons of records including my dad’s 1921 passport application.  I printed out over 100 pages of history into a binder (photo at top).

THANK YOU DIANE!

In early May, Virginia Spiegel brough her multi-year campaign to raise funds for cancer research through her FiberArt for a Cause to a close with a final Collage Mania sale.  I was lucky to nab two of my favorite collages by North Carolina artist Grace Howes!   I selected them as gifts for my husband for his birthday.  One reads Faith, the other Trust…because I trust him implicity and completely, and because I have faith in him.   Happy Birthday Dear!

The collages themselves are 8 by 10 inches, and are mounted on stretcher bars covered with batting and batik (11 by 13 inches if I remember correctly).  Interestingly, despite the clear similarities in the two pieces, it was difficult to find a single fabric to use that played nicely with both collages.  In the end, I chose a black with wheat/rust/ochre from my stash. I sure hope Grace likes what I’ve done!  You can visit her web site at Red Barn Studios...

Thanks Grace for donating these wonderful collages! We’re so happy to have them in our home.

It was a good day!   Eli came in early to snag Pigwidgeon (the pug) who had snuck out of Eli’s room and come into ours, and when I said hello, his first words were Happy Mother’s Day.  When I asked what he wanted for breakfast, he said “whatever you want, it’s mother’s day!”  What a sweetie!  Since it was a bit late, we decided on Blueberry pancakes.  YUM!

Paul and Eli had gone to the store and suprised me with a balloon this year, and the flowers…two!  A beautiful soft pink, lovely-scented lily (in the back) and a bouquet with my favorite yellow (I think Eli likes the spider mums, too)

and some of the coolest roses I’ve ever seen:

Then we went to the early show (less expensive) of the new Star Trek movie, which is AWESOME!  I’m not a rabid trekkie, though I did enjoy the original show (which was hoakie even back then).  But this new/re-do, which tells how Spock, Kirk, Uhura, Chekov, Sulu, Bones and Scotty all met, is as awesome in its own way as Casino Royale (which is probably the best Bond movie of all time).  Anyway, it was a wonderful day.  Thank you to all three of my boys… I love you all!

Eli, our younger son, came home with a TON of graded papers and whatnot just before the April vacation.  Amidst the social studies, writing and math, was an art project from (I think) FCS (Family Commercial Sciences or something similar, what used to be called Home Ec).  Mrs. Burwell (FCS) and Mrs. Andersen (art) are great friends, and get together some AWESOME projects for the Camden-Rockport Middles School students.  Personally, I’d like to TAKE the art classes!

Anyway, the project was to create “Your Personal Portrait Flag.”  The handout notes “One way we communicate is through symbols.  Symbols can be ancient or modern.  A flag is a type of symbol that consists of several parts that represent different meanings.”  The sudents were to sketch their personal flag, reflecting on “four different aspects of you and who you are.”  The students were to answer these questions (taken from the handout):

1. 1. Interests-what things do you love to do?
2. 2. Abilities or skills-what things can you do well?
3. 3. Values-what is really importnat to you?
4. 4. Personality-attitude toward life, ways you behave, etc.

The students then answered the question, learned a bit about design and composition, were to find/create symbols, transfer the designs to fabric, paint the designs, then iron, sew and hang their flags. On the back of the handout, the child listed 1-4 items for each question, then came up with a symbol for each reply.  For pets, Eli drew a cat and a pug, a saxaphone for his music, a soccer ball and goalie gloves for sports and soccer skills, trees for his love of being outside.

How COOL IS THAT???? I want to do it!   At this point, I have to get some work stuff done, like a pattern ready to go to the printer, the first panel of a possible commission done, and other “must do now” stuff, but I think this would make an AWESOME journal quilt type of project….or even something larger…. great creativity stuff!  Hooray for Mrs. Burwell and CRMS (again!).

That is guitar-speak for really crazy wicked wild guitar playing, I think of the heavy metal variety.   Yes, it has been eons so I decided I should blog about the boys.  We will NOT tell them that when they were young I referred to them as C.O.U. (Center of the Universe), as they already think they are.  Just because it’s true doesn’t mean we need to let them KNOW that, after all one is a teen and the other will be (sigh, sob) soon, and we all know about teenage attitudinosity.  Still, they are both pretty cool.

Recently, it was Easter.  Here is Eli searching for his eggs:

And here is Joshua, searching (Not!) for his.  I guess at 15 one is too cool to search for eggs? So to make up for it, I’m helping Eli eat his 100 percent share of the eggs.  Ahem.  Plump goes the Mommy.  Anyway….

And HERE, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, video camera, Joshua’s uploading to YouTube skills as well as guitar, is the teenage beast shredding, with a perfect take on the first try.  If you are over 16 and/or not male, you may want to make sure the speakers are turned down a bit…..

Later this week, Eli’s latest artwork…..now I’m going to pop the lasagna in the oven and enjoy the first balmy day since last October or thereabouts!