Trippin' Blues

Right off the batt (pun intended) I have to give credit to crazy mom quilts for inspiring me to do this top.  I saw a lot of versions of this design, but hers was so yummy-delicious, I just had to give it a go myself.

Well, it was a LOT OF seams, including plenty of twisted ones joining the blocks together, but I've (almost) finished my Scrappy Tripalong quilt top.

single blocks sewn into units of 4 where possible...42 blocks

I didn't realize how long this craze has been around,(the post I linked to was put up in 2005, and the tutorial was a repeat from 1999 !) so I guess I wasn't 'in early' like I thought, but I'm sure glad that I got wind of it at all.

Just in time, a sunny day for picture-taking...mind the wind !

I haven't pieced anything with this many pieces in a very long time, and it was good for me, but I am SO VERY TIRED !  I just kept plodding after it the last few days until it was done.

But looking at it on my bed, (and LOVING IT) I can see that I indeed do need to add borders to the length of this top.

Lottie snubbed me this morning when I woke up....she had been banished from the room yesterday while I assembled all of the single blocks into bigger units.

The sides really don't need anything more, so I may just go with top and bottom borders.  I definitely WON'T be piecing 6 more blocks to add to it !

I'm also thinking of using a polyester light batting, like I did in my Blushing Bloomers quilt.  That is the best feeling quilt to sleep under !   I started out quilting with polyester batts, then switched to cotton ones for a more traditional wrinkle and look.   But I'm back to practical, making quilts to USE, and I love the feel of the poly.  Since I plan to just ditch quilt this one in both directions, I hope that the polyester batting won't let the top layer 'slide' in front of the walking foot.

I found, by searching online, that the foot I'd like to try is the Brother SA188, and it sells for around $50.00.  I saw it on another site for $39.99, but the photo was too small to share here.  If you know of a much better deal on it, let me know.  I still don't know if it would fit my Singer and my White, but I may try one out sometime.

For now, though, I won't be ordering one for the next couple of weeks, as the trial is scheduled for February 13-15. 


"Praise the Lord........Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.   When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.   Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them---the Lord, who remains faithful forever.  He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free."              

 Psalm 146: 1,2-7

Getting back to the 'travelin'

You'd almost believe she'll help, huh?

I now have my stack of blocks ready for layout.  It's been a wild few days, rearranging furniture and rooms, doing this and that, while squeezing in a little bit of sewing when I could.

evidence of pawprints !

Lottie says that she's going to help, but that hasn't been the actuality usually when I start to lay out blocks.  Somehow they wind up skewed or generally squished with pawprints !

Anyway, I attempted a partial layout last night, and really had trouble getting seam allowances to oppose the way I wanted........and no, I didn't do like I said and lay it out and THEN press.  Oh, well, I may go for a different layout if I have too much trouble. 

But first, I need to go and get some potatoes all peeled and cut up for the potato soup I hope to have for lunch.  A rainy winter day, a new quilt layout, and hot soup, topped with cheese, red onions, and bacon..............wow, sounds like a great day a comin'.  Thank you, LORD !

Trippin'

If you've missed anybody recently, they've probably been on the same trip that I have taken.  Generally, I miss the quilting rages that seem to take the internet by storm, and only stumble upon them much later, making mine in quiet anonymity.

And, admittedly, I won't be the first to finish on this one, but I have succumbed to the allure of the Scrappy Trip-Along.   I cut out enough strips to make 42 blocks, hoping for a layout of 6 blocks by 7, measuring 72 x 84.  I figured that I would then add a 3-inch border all around, bringing me to finish the top at a measurement of approximately 78 x 90 inches.

Then I started piecing blocks, and found myself cutting more strips as I changed my mind about the color layout.  I'm not even pressing the finished blocks until I see where they go, so that I can make the seams oppose one another.  If you follow the instructions for pressing that are given in the tutorial, for me they automatically oppose if you turn the block one way, and they don't if you spin the same block 180 degrees.  I'm not disparaging the tutorial........I think that it is brilliant.  I would never have attempted this project without it.  This is a LOT of 2 inch finished squares !

So, anyway, that's where I've been hiding...........

   There's not much else I could do around here, anyway. 
We had warm weather last week, with buttercups and hyacinth coming up out of the ground, and then over the last couple of days we've had our first ice storm of the season.

 I think that these storms' effects are so pretty; they just fill me with wonder at God's majesty........and prompt me to call upon my heavenly Father to protect us from any harm that might come from breaking limbs, and slippery roads !

So, be safe, keep warm, BE THANKFUL, and sew something pretty !

In search of a walking foot......

On the 28th of December, 2012, I performed a Google search, looking for a walking foot to fit my old Singer sewing machine, as mine had begun to push the fabric along in front of the foot, rather than move it at the same speed as the feed-dogs.  I kept winding up with tucks or pleats when I would come to a cross seam that had already been quilted.

Well, I really wanted to find a foot that gives you a good view in front of the needle, so that you can stitch right in the ditch easily.  I found one on Annie's/Clotilde site; I chose to order it because I could see that the opening slot in front of the needle started out a  little wider, then tapered .   It wasn't a BIG opening, but it was better than any that I had come across.  They offered free shipping, so I placed my order, paying via card.

The tracking number that they gave me was for Fed-Ex, which means that they bring it to a post office and drop it for USPS to finish the delivery.  Well, this meant that you couldn't actually track the item all the way.  When it didn't arrive the day they projected, I had no idea how much longer it would be, because you couldn't find out where it was.........what's the use of the tracking number?  Anyway, blessedly, it DID arrive one day later and was very well packaged to prevent damage.

Unfortunately, as soon as I opened it, I could see that it wasn't the same foot that I had seen pictured on their site.  The slot in front of the needle opening was very narrow, all the way through.   I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, and give it a try.  I quilted on a little quiltie that I basted up for the trial, and had SO MUCH trouble trying to tell where the seam was, that I was very disappointed.  The fabric didn't bunch, like with my old foot, but I couldn't keep my stitches close enough to the seamline, and I really couldn't tell when I had reached a corner, ready to turn.

I promptly looked up their customer care service on their website and let them know that the picture did not represent what they were selling, and that I felt wronged........(remembering the old 'bait and switch' practices of long ago.)  Well, they responded that their pictures showed exactly what they sold, but that I was welcome to return it for a full refund.  Not wanting to sound snarky, which I kindof DID, I said that that wasn't the point....much time had been wasted and they still didn't own up to the mistake.

So, I managed to get a good photo of the foot that I had received, and made a collage photo showing their photo, my foot, and specific text pointing out the differences. 

sorry for the blur, this is not the picture that I sent them, but notice the white plastic on the end of the needle-clamp arm, and the black mounting clamp, plus the hole in the rear for a guide

This is the photo from their site...notice metal arm for needle-clamp. white mounting clasp, and no hole for guide.  .

The next morning, I received an email acknowledging the mistake and crediting my credit card with a refund.  They even told me to keep the foot they had sent, and they said that they had forwarded the picture to the appropriate account manager .

This is a generous reply, and I appreciate the customer service.  I hope that they will take the time to change the photo on their site.



But WHERE can I find a walking foot to fit my old Singer that has an opening to be able to see where you're going ?    I've seen a wonderful one that fits an Elna, I think it was, that is totally wide open in front of the needle hole, but I think it cost around $50. and who knows if it would work on this old Singer 15 !

 Oh, well, atleast I can do just straight-line quilting with this one, like channels of quilting, without it pushing up pleats.
And I finished the little quiltie.........FINALLY..........I pieced this thing YEARS AGO !
It measures 18 inches by 19 inches, and has a thin polyester batting.  Again, it is a pattern that I drafted up in my notebook........no clue what the inspiration was.

  

But.........the search goes on......

Rose block, drafted for use

Having had quite a bit of interest in the Rose pattern that I used to make the Christmas Roses table runner, I went ahead and attempted to draft it up for sharing.    I have been told that when it comes to quilting, I sometimes speak a language of my own, so if you do not understand anything about my cutting and minimal piecing instruction, feel free to let me know in a comment.  I'll try to translate what I meant.

If you want to copy the photos and can't, I will email them to you.  Just let me know.

Click on photos to see enlarged view.

By the way, my brother and sister-in-love DID really like the little quiltie and put it directly into use.

Happy New Year !

Hubby and I have been married 36 years tonight, and hoping for many more good ones ! 

Christmas Eve

I am lonesome tonight .  Yet I am so very blessed.  Kelley and Tim are home in Lawton, Ok, with their three beautiful, healthy, God-loving children.  They are going to bed, looking forward to surprises and laughter tomorrow morning.   They have become such good parents, providing a loving home and guidance, encouragement and discipline, comfort and security.  God lives in that home. 

Hubby is asleep here, in the recliner, and I am up.  We are well, we are warm, well fed, free, and saved by the grace of God.  If I have tears in my eyes, it is only natural to miss my babies.  But I am so very thankful to God for ALL of our blessings. 

As I get ready to turn in for MY long winter's nap, I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a most blessed and aware Christmas day.  Love the one(s) you're with...........(a leftover from my 70's upbringing).

"Christmas Roses" table runner quilt

 Miss Lottie Dah decided that I couldn't put up a tree this year, as she was going to EAT it, and pull off all of the ornaments !   So back into the box it went.

I got her a furry electronically-squeaking mouse that I let her try to find.  She had her whole head in the gift bag at one point, and eventually managed to get the toy out.  I haven't taken it off of the card yet, but I think that she's going to be quite happy on Christmas morning.  Whether Piper will let her stay that way for long is another question entirely !

 
Tonight I finished my favorite Christmas gift that I've made this year.   It is for my brother, John, and his wife, Deb.  I hope they like it.. My biggest test for a gift is whether or not I'd rather keep it for myself..............I SO would love to keep this one !

 I took the block that I shared with you last week, and pieced 2 more to go with it.

This one's center blended into the petal coloration, so I embroidered around it. for definition.

JodieAnn sent me more fabric for my birthday last month, and I used some of the pieces in the blocks, and I found that a bigger green print from her package was just perfect for a Christmas gift border.

I quilted in the ditch with my walking=foot.

I think that this runner will be appropriate for most any time of year, especially Spring and Summer, but I feel that the ribbony look of the border fabric is all the more fitting as the finishing touch for a present !  Thank you so much for these fabrics, JoAnn.........it's so nice to use something new and fresh. 

 And a quick shot of the back........I've since added a label.  The quilt finished at approximately 19 1/2 inches by 43 1/2 inches.

Kelley had a reduction surgery today, and is back at Grammy's for some TLC.  She came through the surgery very well, praise God.

We had a huge windstorm today as a cold front blew through........it pulled a piece of the finishing work off of the new porch roof, and blew several shingle pieces off, too.   Hubby actually felt our little home shake ! 

And tomorrow evening I'm going with a few people from our church to sing Christmas carols at the nursing home and at the homes of a few shut-ins.   I volunteered because I adored caroling with a friend when I was in highschool, and I sing ALL THE TIME, even though I don't have a singing voice !  But last night we had practice, and there were only 6 of us, with no music, and I was very AWARE of hearing my own voice.  I hope it goes well, and is a blessing ..............and more people show up to join us and help partially drown me out !

Goldie is home !

Praise God, back in September, in this post and this post I told you about a dear friend and sort -of family member who had been diagnosed with Cancer.  Well, she underwent radiation treatments, which shrunk the tumor, and has now been released to come home.  I got to go over to her house and spend some time with her on Friday, and she is in good spirits, able to get around in a wheel chair or a walker.  God is so good !........I just can't say it enough.

Quilting-wise, I haven't done much in the last few days.  I did attempt to piece a block tonight that I found drafted in an old graph-pad notebook that I've kept for many, many years.  I wanted to make a couple of these and turn them into hotpads, but I'm not sure now what I'll do.  It looks a lot better in the photograph than I could see in the poor light of my living room.   I might just have to try a yellow one or a pink one to go with it. 

Wow, seeing it here on the monitor, I think that it is quite beautiful !

Happy belated birthday wishes to my best pal, JodieAnn !  Your card is on it's way !

Polkadot Potholders

This batch of potholders is part of my Christmas gift for Rose's household.  I made them to match the three kitchen towels that I picked up for her.  If you're thinking that the monetary outlay for these gifts is minimal, you're right.......it's a tight year.  But I hope that the hand-crafted element lifts the gifts out of the cheapo/mundane !

I backed each one with the same fabric for unity.

Scrapping out the bindings was lots of fun !

When I make these, I use leftover pieces of my cotton batting. 
Here is my layering process........

• Bottom layer-- fabric for back of potholder
• square of cotton batting
• square of denim pantleg square
• strips of cotton batting
• pieced or appliqued front of potholder

This makes for a very good heat-resistant potholder.  The others that I made were 9 inches square.  I made these three to measure 7 inches square. 

I'm thinking of making myself a square measuring maybe 20 inches or so, to put in the middle of the table to set hot dishes on, instead of using individual potholders under each dish/pan.

Also, here are a few shots of the finished front porch roof.   The 4 x 4 beams will wait until Spring to be painted, as they are pressure-treated.  Hopefully, I, or someone else, will be able to paint them white then.



































Today is sunny and in the mid 50's I'd say, so I'm able to use my clothesline once again.  God is SO GOOD !

Potholders....2nd Christmas gift set

After making paper-pieced cup and bowl potholders for one niece, I was told that the other niece had an
apple-themed border going around the top of her kitchen; so, I set out to design a foundation-pieced apple block.   But not liking my design, I drew up an apple to hand-applique instead.

Here's what I came up with......

 

I hand-drew this apple, and reversed the side that the leaf is on for each apple.

Then I hand-appliqued the apples, using needle-turn applique.

I found some  green kitchen towels to go with these, and amazingly, without having the potholders with me while shopping, the color of the towels is the same shade of green as this green fabric print.

Our weather has finally turned cold, so I got groceries a day early to avoid going out tomorrow.  Today started out around 55 degrees, but the temperature went down all day, and a fierce cold wind made it feel much colder.  Tonight is supposed  to reach 27, I think.  It's high time it was this cold, so I'm not complaining, praise the LORD.  We are warm and snuggly and the pantry is full.  My God supplies all of my needs as promised in His Word !

Oh, I almost forgot.......the crew came back this past weekend and finished out the front porch's roof.  Yay, praise GOD !.....but I keep forgetting to get photos.  Oh, well, the sun WILL shine again, and I'll snap a few photos.

I'm still living without a dryer, not because I can't afford a new one, but because I CAN live without one right now.  As I may have mentioned before, it was the washer that I was expecting to quit working, not the dryer; so, I'm giving the washer a little time, incase I need to buy a set instead of one odd appliance.   I dried a load inside today, and a load on the clothesline yesterday before the weather changed.

Daybreak quilt top finished ! Semi-tutorial

  I wanted to clarify how I pieced my blocks for this quilt top (Pattern I'm referring to is in this post).

Starting with the 10 inch blocks that were supplied with the kit, I stacked the four coordinating prints of each color range, and then I cut 3 1/2 inches in from each side, vertically, leaving a 3 inch piece in the middle

Having cut 1 inch wide strips of white, I left the strips whole, and chain-pieced the left 3 1/2 inch wide pieces to one strip, and the middle 3 inch wide pieces to a second strip.  After piecing these, I pressed the seams toward the print fabric, and cut the pieces apart, trimming the white strip even with the print fabric.

Placing these pieces back in the order that they were cut apart, I then joined all three print pieces back together (with the white pieces now in-between).

Now, I turned the blocks one time, so that the white strips ran horizontally, and cut these blocks in just the same manner that I had originally cut the 10 inch squares......3 1/2---3---3 1/2 .

These pieces were then chain-pieced to white one-inch strips just exactly the same way as the first time around,  pressed toward the print, cut apart, and reseamed to make the finished block.

The square in the upper right hand corner was lined up with the 2 3/4 lines along the white strips, horizontally and vertically.

At this point the block was oversized, so, realizing that the block is supposed to be 9 inches square  before assembling the quilt top, I found the centerpoint of the center square, and trimmed the block to be a perfect 9 inch square.  I would never have gotten that nice of a block if I had cut the block down to begin with as the pattern suggested.  I'm not disparaging the pattern creator,........I'm just saying that this is the method that works more precisely for me, and I thought maybe it would help someone else to try this method.

After making the blocks, I then chain-pieced each block to the 1 1/2 inch sashing strip that goes between the blocks in a vertical row, trimmed the strips even with the blocks, and finished piecing each vertical row. 

The rest of the assembly was just made up of adding the 3 inch wide sashes between the vertical rows, and around the outside edge of the quilt top.

I ADORED working with these fabrics, so crisp and clean and pure of color.......even hubby kept commenting on how pretty it was.    Thanks JodieAnn for the fun commission !  I'll try to get it mailed off to you tomorrow, Lord willing.

Ask and ye shall receive !

I emailed JoAnn one day last week to let her know that I was ready to do another commission for her, and I mean, not more than 3 days later, a package was on my doorstep !

This time she sent a fun kit for a quilt top designed by "Me & My Sister" Designs, put together by Moda.  This is just RIGHT up my alley........I am thrilled to get to work with these fabrics and this design. 

But there is NO WAY that I would put the quilt top together in the manner that they describe in their instructions !  It would be asking for trouble, and, for me, there is no way that the blocks would be pretty and neat.  The way I'm doing it, making the blocks oversized, will allow me to trim the blocks up nice and square when I'm finished.  I just do NOT cut strips to the size of the pieces I'm sewing them to and try to make them come out even with my machine.  I sew the pieces to a strip, and then trim to fit.

Anyway, this project is already well underway, and I got 12 out of 20 blocks pieced after starting at noon today and working until 6:30 p.m.  Of course, I had to stop occasionally to fix, and then eat, dinner.

Mandy says that she fell on the steps of her trailer Friday night, and wound up in the emergency room with a cut to her face.  The weekend was awkward and lessons were learned, hopefully.  

Note:  KMart refunded the money they charged me for the order that they cancelled, and I found a much better gift, although a little bit more expensive, at Walmart.com.  Kelley will presumably be picking it up out there at her local WalMart tomorrow.                 

Beware of KMART online ordering !

Do not order from KMart online.

I placed an order in good faith on Cyber Monday, for my daughter to pick it up in another state.  The screen said that the item was in stock.  When I gave her verification information, a screen came up saying that there was something wrong with the order, and yet the order went through when  I gave my card info.  I received an order confirmation email immediately.  Now, today, I receive an email saying that the order has been cancelled .  Customer service tells me that the item is not only not in stock, but is no longer available, and that it will recredit my bank account in 3 to 5 days.  Then before I hang up the girl tells me to check back before Christmas for availability..........AS IF !

They should not take payment if there is a problem with the order, plus, now the other rep tells me that the item was NOT IN STOCK when I placed the order !!!!!!!!!   Then why did you charge me?   I'll tell you why,........so that they could gain interest on that money in their account for all the days that it takes to get it back in my account.  They may not make a lot of interest on my little ol' $76.20, but when they do this to thousands of customers, it becomes quite a nice little racket !

Rant over for now..............maybe more if I'm not credited before next Thursday evening.

Poor photos........

I mean, the colors are way off on the red/teal set, but, I enjoyed a good afternoon of sewing.

I made a couple of potholders for myself a few days ago, after realizing during Thanksgiving that my potholders were in BAD shape !  For mine, I used some blue and green scraps I had, mixed with Tufted Tweets couch print.

Then when I got the birthday package from Wanda Gayle, I saw that the fabrics she sent would be perfect in my niece's kitchen.

Here's a fuzzy photo I found online of the actual colors of the fabrics.  It's Lila Tueller's woodland bloom.

  So, today I paper-pieced a couple of patterns that I made up on the spot, and finished the blocks into potholders for part of her Christmas gift.

I hope to find some coordinating kitchen towels to put with these.

Next, I'd like to make a couple that would go with a kitchen decorated with an apple theme.

I'm 55 and life is good !

I've had a very nice birthday today.   As a matter of wonderment, I don't remember anyone outside of the family EVER making ME a birthday cake before, but ROSE did !   In fact, she made me TWO !   She and Josephine and the baby, Elizabeth, came up, ..... and hubby and I had cake and ice cream with them.

While they were here, my older brother called and he and his wife serenaded me with the birthday song.  I opened a fun package from girlfriend, Wanda Gayle, got a new commission from Jodie Ann, and hubby gave me money to spend on Connecting Thread's Black FridaySale.   I got to speak with my beautiful granddaughter who shares my birthday out in Oklahoma........she's 9 already !

Now I'm stuffed and relaxing in front of the computer.  Sadly, I noticed in my birthday photos that there's a bit more of me this birthday, so the celebrating needs to end, and the pushing back from the table must begin !  Anyone with me there? 

Another little downer.......the dryer quit again, and this time I think I'm going to have to replace it.  I hung a small load of clothes out on the line today, and the RAIN got them !  Bad time of the year to be without a dryer, but the LORD will provide, as he takes such good care of hubby and me. 

Thanksgiving was nice........

........Jeff gave me a nearly 20 pound turkey to roast, and I made all the fixin's to go along with it, dressing, peas, real mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, gravy, pies (chocolate and chess), rolls, cranberry sauce (from a can).   Jeff brought deviled eggs and a peach cobbler.  He came in time to eat with hubby and myself.  Then his daughter Mandy came with her boyfriend, and her son and daughter.......she brought baked apple slices.  Then, surprise-surprise, my brother, Jim, called and said that he was in town and wanted directions to my place !   So he came over and Jjeff came back and we visited and he ate too.  

     I got up first thing this morning searching for Black Friday internet sales, specifically Connecting Threads.  I ordered a collection of fat-quarters called Rivera II, (it's sold out, but it's the fabrics used in this wallhanging)and checked out.  Then I went back and found something else and by the time I called to see if they could add it to the first order, the second thing I picked out was GONE !  I wish I had atleast copied a picture of the quilt in the kit so that I could buy the individual fabrics to make it without the kit !  Oh well, it gave me an idea for a quilt out of some fabric I ordered 2 years ago on Cyber Monday !

Enjoy the rest of this weekend, and be safe if you're on the highway !   Be blessed !

Today was a beautiful Fall day

Made the mistake of going to bed, beat, at 8:30 last night so I woke up at 4:30 a.m., restless 'til 5:30 a.m. I got up and fixed coffee for hubby and self.  Around ten , I went to use the tiller, but it was hesitant to start, so I took advantage of the sunny morning to wash the jeep maybe one last time before I store the water hose for the winter. 

Then after getting hubby some lunch, the tiller finally started for me.   I got 2 full 3 ft. wide rows done before running out of gas.  I'll probably try one more time before draining the tank and readying the tiller for it's winter storage too.

Yesterday, I caused a short in my kitchen range while I was cleaning it for Thanksgiving's heavy workload.  The light that signals that a burner is turned on wouldn't go off after that, so I deemed it unsafe.  I've been wanting a new range for awhile, so that was a good enough excuse for me !!

I finally got myself a smooth-top range.  I feel like I'm going to have to replace my cookware too now, something that I wasn't aware of before this purchase,.  But my older pans are making marks on the top, so I won't be quite satisfied until I've done that.
But the oven performed wonderfully today when  I made biscuits and later, cornbread muffins.  I wish I could have gotten a white one, but stock is very limited in this little town.   However, the price was right, so I have what I have.  It actually looks alright, I just have to be a little more proactive about the super-cleaning, since every fingerprint, or even speck of dust, shows up grandly.

Mid-November already !

Wow, I just can hardly believe how quickly my life is passing these days !

Inside kitty, Lottie-dah

 I haven't done anything quilty since finishing Seth's quilt (technically, I HAVEN'T finished it, since I haven't applied the label, although I did choose it and sign it today).

Outside kitty, Marmalade

But, thanks to a reminder from Wanda over at Exuberant Color, I got my flower pots dumped today, now that everything has gone the way of Autumn.  It was in the 60's, I guess, and so nice for working outside in the sunshine.  I've been tilling up what I hope to be my garden spot next Spring, and I think that tomorrow might be perfect for doing another section.

The crew is coming back to finish the porch roof this weekend........we decided we'd be better off spending the money rather than letting the moisture get to the unpainted/unfinished surfaces.  Hopefully, there won't be ONE thing left to do to it when they're finished.  I borrowed a ladder to do some painting on it myself, and decided that their prices weren't THAT BAD after all.  I'm just no longer anxious to do painting over my head, up on a ladder...........no thank you !  Praise God.

I kept my grand-niece, Lissy, on Tuesday for a few hours and it is just amazing the difference that being in Head Start has made in her.  She talks up a storm and is so cute and funny.  And now, out of the blue, she just hugs my neck and tells me she loves me.....sighhhhhhh......do you think I miss my grandbabies a little bit?