granmas smart quilt

Our second great-grandbaby is on the way thanks to grandson Kyle and Allison!  I decided to try my first I-Spy quilt, so much fun to make and hopefully fun for the baby too.

Granma's Smart Quilt

 the beginning of a lifetime of

exploration and discovery

 made by 'great-grandma'

Susan Tidwell

 2019

  

a software blanket for

you to drag and drop along the way

a hotspot for cold days, your default address

your personal domain for a crash or a quick reboot

a fun chatroom, or a picnic surface for a byte of cookies

surf this cuddly browser, YOU are the driver of this search engine

scroll and find the patch of a cloud or spyware or red phish/blue phish

Ideas of things to do with the Smart Quilt 

(for the baby at an older age, or for Kyle):

FIND something with eyes

FIND something red

FIND something that starts with Z

FIND something that is in the sky

FIND something with wheels

FIND something to eat

ring around the Posey

Granddaughter Sarah and Matthew have been together since that first prom date way back in May 2010. This April they are getting married! Congratulations go to the happy couple, along with the traditional gifts of wedding quilt from Granma Susan and the handcrafted Chef Helper from Granpa Buddy! We hope you enjoy many many years of happiness!

the story

The Story of my Life

if  a Story is in You, it has to come out

As mentioned once or twice in the past, Buddy has lots of great stories, and over the years we have enjoyed listening to them and have encouraged him to write them down. Some day, maybe when I retire... he always says. Here is the latest attempt to inspire him to get started, not a homemade gift, but a last minute one with a personal note that makes it oh so special, thanks Sarah!!!

(for Buddy)

There are so many things passed from one generation to the next -- a beloved family home, land your family can build and grow on, skills and talents shared. But the most treasured of all is the story of family and the very special frame of reference each of us has to offer. Hopefully your upcoming retirement allows you the time to share yours! 

♥ Sarah

AND we all heard Buddy on Christmas morning say to Madison (of the bookbinding skills), "When I write my book, will you bind it for me?"

the crafting gene

hand painted coasters by Sarah

everyone knows granma Susan's favorite things: quilt squares

 love these hand painted coasters in bright colors!

The kids and grandkids are all being so crafty this Christmas! Making gifts instead of buying - maybe because it is much less expensive? do they know the handmade gifts are often more appreciated? For us, seeing the thought that has gone into the gifts is so rewarding, to see them think it through and plan and not wait until the last minute and run to Walmart for a gift. We are definitely loving this family crafting gene that has obviously trickled down to kids and grandkids !!!

Madison took time off from her usual yarn projects/gifts to make us very special gifts of little books which she made and did the book binding herself (thanks to college class). A bit of sewing was involved, making these very special handmade gifts, and of course the notes she wrote :

(to Susan)

Merry Christmas!

I took a class this semester that taught me how to make books. The two books you're receiving are two different styles of Japanese binding. Since they are Japanese, they are meant to be used from the left rather than the right like western styles. (The blue title strip is the top left of the book). They each had different sewing patterns to follow to achieve the design on the binding. I hope you love them and use them. Books are meant to be filled!

Made with love & just for you!

Madison

Christmas 2018

(to Buddy)

Merry Christmas!

I took a class this semester that taught me how to make books. The book you are receiving is a hard cover double pamphlet - this just means that it has two sections instead of one. I'd say you could use it to write down all your retirement projects, but it's not that big of a book!  J  I hope you love it & use it (for whatever your heart desires).

Made with Love & just for you!

Madison

Christmas 2018


Sarah has been very busy, too, hand painting the above quilt square coasters and repurposing old wood for an ornament:

salvage cedar made into ornament by Sarah

From the Labor Day remodeling project - removing the old cedar siding, replacing it with new, the very small pieces at the very apex of the back of the house were saved from the scrap pile - and made into a Christmas tree ornament. Great save, great job Sarah!

here's your sign

peacelovequilt

When your kids ask what you want for Christmas and you give them specifics - “a sign like this one on Etsy but too much $ maybe you could make one and here is what I want it to say and look like, and two generations come together to make it happen! #heresyoursign #patchwork #diy #teamwork

AND while planning this sign - the kids/grandkids asked Grandpa Buddy to cut a piece of wood for it, and can you cut 2 just in case?  Someone apparently remembered way back in the summer when Buddy said he wanted to put up a sign on the property 'Tidwell Forest'.

Great job everyone - 1) to remember that and file it away, 2) to get him to cut out his own sign, 3) painting and personalizing the sign, it is just what he had in mind!

thanks for the memories

Thanks for the memories….

THANKS to grandpa Buddy's boss for the annual end of year bonus and THANKS to Buddy for sharing it for the family trip, wait, that check hasn't come in yet…. Hopefully no jelly-of-the-month club for us this year!

THANKS to SARAH for her idea, "let's have matching PJs this year" and to MELISSA (and Target) for making that happen!

THANKS to ALLISON for making the official family photos again this year.

THANKS to MELISSA and CARRIE for creating the menu and grocery list and ordering it online for pickup at the Kroger(s) in Pigeon Forge upon arrival, and thanks to the folks at Kroger for having everything ready right on time.

THANKS to KEITH and DANIEL for all the cooking.

THANKS to MELISSA for the neat hot cocoa bar.

THANKS for the memories, the baby holding, the hot chocolate, the puzzle, the music, the coloring, the laughs and fellowship around the table. THANKS for the big table and the fireplace to gather around, for the Christmas trees and décor.

THANKS to RACHEAL and ISAIAH for bringing the entertainment (baby LILI).

THANKFUL that everyone had safe travels from places near and far. THANKFUL that all of our kids and grandkids are grown and have jobs and cars and can fend for themselves, they could all go places either together or separate, whenever and wherever they wanted (after a few minutes of car Tetris to get out of the parking area). A few places visited this weekend by some of us: Dollywood, Gatlinburg Aquarium, Laser Tag, Mini Golf, GSM Foothills Parkway, Ferris wheel at Pigeon Forge. 

Thanks to Dollywood Cabins for another great destination lodging experience. Staying at DW cabins has a lot of perks but the two that stand out are the 'length of stay pass' - for $69.95 per person you can come and go to DW as many times as you want for as long as you are staying in the cabin. But the best perk we think is the free parking at DW. Yes parking costs $15 per vehicle or you could all cram into the car with grandpa who has the Gold pass, but if you stay at DW cabins every vehicle gets a free parking pass (we had 7 vehicles). But not just FREE parking in the main parking area and ride the tram, but FREE parking up at the top of the hill in the special lot G with a short walk to the back entrance.

Thanks all y'all for another great family Christmas trip!

walking the line

this weekend we were out walking property lines, looking for corners, iron pins, flagging, because Kyle and Allison want to move to the mountains!

which house site to choose? 

Carrie wanted to make sure her site was marked clearly so no one would get it.

A beautiful day to walk in the woods, the leaves are starting to turn, the air is cool and crisp. And we are getting new neighbors!

greatgrandbaby quilt

We are excited to welcome our first greatgrandchild soon. 

A quilt needs to be made to mark the occasion. Young mothers have very specific ideas as to what they want, nursery design, theme, colors, etc. So when I asked Racheal, what kind of baby quilt she wanted, she said, "Woodland theme, a tree and a fox and leaves, a geometric look..."

so this soon to be GREAT granma gathered ideas from the internet :)

found this shared graph drawing of a tree and leaves, using triangles and squares and decided it was time I learned to make half-square triangles

and gathered fabrics from different stores, Joanns, Walmart, Fabric.com

played around with ideas, found a cute fox peeping from behind the tree - picture found online also 

added a little hand embroidery

sewed together in vertical strips, adjusting the strips up or down so the leaves would not be in straight rows - to look more natural, but really so I wouldn't have to line up all those seams :)

after I was pleased with the alignment, trimmed the strips to length, then added fox to go behind the tree trunk, and added a few borders to bring it all together

used my machine large zig-zag for quilting, another first, it went fast, just did vertical rows of stitching lining up with the vertical strips of fabric

and the requisite quilt label - another baby quilt done!

wedding snapshots

I have not seen the official pictures yet, but there are many unofficial pictures popping up on social media, and I will use some of them, thanks all!

The preparation - Madison helping the guys with strange buttons and pocket squares, Sarah helping Allison with makeup, Melissa running around decorating tables, Madison decorating the arbor, a true family affair.

I thought I would cry, had tissues in my pocket, but it was so much fun, the bride was laughing, the groom was laughing, and only got serious once during the ceremony.

The raindrops fell mixing with the tears, tears of joy and remembrance, as the story was told of the ring on her finger, the history of Allison's grandmothers ring that was now encircling her finger. But mostly tears of joy and laughter, so much laughter

The giggles and the nerves, the grooms ring almost going on the wrong hand, when "pssst Kyle" and he turns away from his bride and looks back to the crowd and several people lift their left hands and whisper LEFT HAND.

Allison held out hope for her outside ceremony even with threat of rain, and the sprinkles did not dampen her mood or spirit, she said it was "perfect".

The only time I did choke up a little, caught me by surprise, when the couple was introduced at the reception - Mr. & Mrs…. Okay it is real!

The party afterwards, the good food, good times, the little ones running around, dancing.

The sparkler finale sendoff was the perfect ending to a perfect day. 

Congratulations! Kyle and Allison 02/11/2018