I Like Thursday #76 -

It's always fun to look at old photos, isn't it?  I love this one of my husband's family, taken about 1953 or so.  We could date it because his two youngest siblings aren't in the picture, so not born yet.

Mike is the little guy sitting on his dad's lap.  I had to put this photo in today, because today is my MIL's 90th birthday!  Happy Birthday, Mom!  She is a pretty amazing lady.  Even though many things in life are much harder for her than they once were, she still lives in her own apartment, by herself, with those of us who are nearby to check on her on a regular basis.  She raised 6 kids, owned her own business, and worked until she was 80.  And has always treated me like one of her own, something for which I am very grateful!

I like this photo, too - sent to me by my niece who lives in Florida.  You might recognize one of my Project Quilting pieces on her table.

As I was making it, back in February, it seemed liked I was always thinking of my niece and her family.  They actually live in Puerto Rico, and love their life there,  but because of the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico last fall, they had to leave and have moved temporarily to Florida.  I know they are dreaming of returning to Puerto Rico, so somehow this little piece felt like it belonged with them.  I know they were surprised when it came in the mail!  Kind of fun to do that sometimes!

A favorite blogger of mine is Carole, who blogs at From My Carolina Home.  I enjoy her blog because of her variety of topics - quilting, card-making, decorating, gardening, and travel.  Lots of good stuff!  Plus, Carole is a very generous quilter, and last year even sent me this sweet quilt (unasked for!) for a charity I was also donating to at the time.

Recently Carole posted about a charity drive she organizes every year for a local women's shelter called Safelight.  Read her post HERE.  She is collected donations and items for some bags that are given to women who come to the shelter with nothing and need even the smallest and simplest of personal items.  

The post includes directions for making a simple quilted sunglasses case and cosmetic organizer for her Safelight drive.  I decided to make a matching set of them - and had them completed in an afternoon.

You can't tell from this photo, but the two pieces are made from the same two fat quarters of fabric - I just reversed the outer and lining pieces.  They are fun and easy to make, and would make great gifts for friends, too!  I'll be sending these off to Carole this week!  If you'd like to participate in Carole's charity drive for Safelight, be sure to check out the post I linked to above.

While making these, I used my roll of fusible batting tape to use up some smaller pieces of batting.  I've used up a lot of smaller batting scraps this way recently, and I really like how easy it is to use.

Another good book this week!

This one takes place in South Africa in 1976.  Definitely a place I don't know much about!  The fictional story set in this place and time period is pretty fascinating!

Hope you're having a great week!  I'm joining in with all of the Thursday bloggers at Not Afraid of Color.  Thanks, as always, to LeeAnna for hosting!