I gave my sister her crazy quilt block birthday present today. She loved it, and we spent the day celebrating by going to lunch at a great Italian restaurant, then we just visited for hours. We even planned a sewing day to make some darling things for her granddaughters, which we have never done before. What a great day.

We live about an hour apart and we don't see each other enough. I was reminded today that it is worth making the effort. Sisters are special, and mine is very dear to me. She is 60 today, but when we are together we are not in our sixties, we are young again.

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James

A note about the frame: I purchased the bright green brushed metal frame and mat at Michael's. However, it squashed down some of the embellishments on the block. Michael's staff were not helpful, so I took it to a customer framer who said he would put in a second mat, with a spacer. When I picked it up, he told me that the frame would not accommodate a second mat, and he just put it in the frame in its mashed state. I picked it up this a.m. and did not have time to do anything about it. My sister decided that she liked it the way it was.

What I learned: If you don't want to spend a fortune on custom framing, go to Hobby Lobby or Michael's or whatever store you have in your area and buy a frame with the double mats already in it before you start the project. Make it to the specifications of the frame and then you can pop it in yourself. Even better, wait until they are on sale for 50% off or until you get your hands on a coupon for a big discount.

If you make many gifts, keep a couple of these around and then make the gifts to fit. Much less hassle and $$$ than custom framing.

I don't know what is wrong with blogspot today. The spacing in this message is all messed up in the preview!