dotty, love your crocus and the city scene

The 5th member of my family, Molly's partner of 10 years, is very ill. Rob has meningitis and encephalitis. This gentle giant is in scary shape. My daughter is there 24/7 and I keep her company with hand sewing. I will do a crazy 5 pointed star, I think. My quilting is more "modern", than "art" I think...?

so sorry to hear of rob's illness. it is tough when the men we love are stricken. they do represent, at least to me, a buffer between us and the real world. i'm saying this badly, but we often take for granted their strength and vitality, and it is so difficult to have that 'rock' threatened. i hope it all works out for molly and rob, and he makes a full recovery. i will keep you all in my heart and thoughts. if i lived closer i would bring you one of my world famous tuna casseroles. if i can help in some real way let me know. ( you're really lucky to get out of the tuna casserole thing! i used to make them really well, but not so any more. c'mon, tuna casserole ? 3 yr olds can make it, and i can't? something is wrong with this picture!). molly and rob are so lucky to have you there. stay strong! miracles happen all the time!

News?
 

Any News? I am thinking of you and hoping you have good news for us all. If I were there I would be bringing you our favorite alcohol--pisco--a divine grape brandy that would help calm your nerves and make life a little nicer.

This month's goodie
 

Well I got busy with our 5-5-5 challenge. I needed a housewarming gift for new friends who just moved to Chile and bought a house. He is a musician so altho it is hard to see the music fabrics in the border were pieced in 5's. Then I did 4 other blocks each of which I limited to 5 colors- and boy was that hard! I sure wanted to reach for a few other colors to finish those longer strips.

Then quilted and quick hanging corners and out to the party. So I no longer have this in the house and I sorta miss it....bg.

that's really nice suzi!! is this for one of your husband's band members? i like the way you used the 5 theme!
my efforts for the next few weeks will be toward making lapquilts for the victims of moore, oklahoma. i know there's a thread started under donations if anyone would like to help, too, they are, i think, asking for completed lapquilts. you probably want to check with the thread and see if there are any hints, or other requests. this is a great time to donate to the red cross as they are the first responders and will be there for quite a long time, the devastation is beyond belief! they are still pulling people out of debris. the elementary school had 75 people in it and they have been pulling them out , mostly children. in a tornado the best places to be are underground or in a building such as the school. schools are engineered to stand up to tornadoes, but this tornado was stronger than an ef4 if it could decimate that building. ef4 is usually the strongest tornado. tornadoes are rated after they hit since there is no way to take measurements in the tornado itself. it is rated based on the damage it does. an ef4 leaves a house in rubble but would not destroy a school engineered to withstand it. an ef5 takes the rubble with it and can blow down just about anything. the difference in wind strength is from 200mph (ef4) to up to 300+ (ef5). from the devastation and by those parameters, at least part of this tornado was ef5. the pictures are just heartbreaking!
dottie--i hope things are going alright for rob, and he is improving. our thoughts and prayers are beamed your way!

Well guys! Are there any projects to finish up for this month's challenge? If so then we'd love to see them all (mostly) done. :) Especially if they are then being donated to help any of the major relief efforts going on right now.

Next month's theme is approaching..................

Our of my QB buddies lives in Moore, so I am quilting for her community too. At home, our Rob is being transferred to a teaching hospital with a highly rated neurology dept. Very stressful. I have made a mountain of yo yo's, English paper shapes, and knit baby hats, while visiting. And I took up the 5 challenge to paper piece a Family Star. Will finish it up and take it to Rob & Molly.

Dotty-- That 5 pointed star is gorgeously 3D.
Bet if Rob can see it from his bed regularly it will lighten his misery. And I sure hope Rob gets better in the new teaching hospital. I imagine your stress level is still on max--have you gotten a nice massage lately? It might help to release some of the tension you must have everywhere.

My sincere hopes for a more positive outlook on things in general. Keep your spirits up with your continuous creating. Your generosity to others is fantastic but normal for you I know. And keep us posted please.

JUNE CHALLENGE

I have found a great resource to inspire the dye hard art quilt fanatics. I just found it myself and love the many ideas in it. So let's try a path that has been taped out yet allows great flexibility.

This is also SUPER for all you lurkers out there who don't know how to start or what direction to head in.

This is a free video with absolutely fun ideas and demos. This month watch this and then try something demoed. It can wind up being a give away for charity or a masterpiece for the wall. Up to you. But promise yourself to push open a new door and to express whatever it is you are feeling and thinking these days in fabric trying one of these techniques.

http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/shows.php/episode/906

Looking forward to seeing what we get and how you like the resource.