A few weeks back, my Dad sent me an email.

When I read it, my jaw dropped to my chest.

Let me start with a little back story.

My Dad has never really known who his father was.

When we study his/our genealogy, we know much of his mother’s ancestry going back to the 1400’s in England, and including very early pilgrims to America (mid 1600’s).  My grandmother always told us that her line was related to the Boleyn’s (of Anne Boleyn fame) and thus relating us to Queen Elizabeth I.  I’ve never verified the connection, but it would be super cool if it were true.

But his father’s side is a blank.  My grandmother would never, even when she was dying, share any information about my father’s paternity.  As he’s gotten older, it’s a fact that has bothered my Dad more, despite his occasional joking that he is a Royal Bastard ; ).

So for his birthday this year, we gave my Dad DNA testing.  If he can’t know his father’s name, maybe we could, at least, know what part of the world we come from.

There was much speculation in our family about his origin.  My Dad is a handsome guy, with dark hair (before his grey) and hazel eyes.  My sister guessed that we might be Greek, since we all love Greek food ; ).

My Dad’s hair used to be so dark, many of us all thought she might be right in thinking Mediterranean.

So you can imagine our surprise when the email came with a comprehensive analysis of my Dad’s paternal DNA:

87% Irish!

WHAT!  Shut the front door!

Can I tell you how fun it is to find out I’m almost 25% Irish!

It’s been quite a buzz at our home…  Lily said, “I’m a little Irish and so is Finnegan (our dog)!” (He is a Wheaten Terrier.)  Ben suggested we make Irish stew, one of his favorite meals, to celebrate.  He’s even writing a country report about Ireland for his 6th grade class.  I’m thinking an Irish Chain quilt is a must on my to do list.

Isn’t technology amazing?  We now have this wonderful connection to our past by just a little DNA.  Wow, is just about all I can say.

A couple of weeks ago a few friends and I got together to make zippered bags.

One of our friends, the very talented Erica (from Pink Suede Shoes) has been making lots of zippered bags lately, and I’m so glad she was there to guide us through.  While I was super excited to make a bag, I was not looking forward to the zipper.

The last and only other time I attempted a zipper was for a costume.

I ended up at my mother-in-law’s home, at my wit’s end, to ask if she could help me get this “#@!!% zipper in.”  OK, so I really didn’t swear in front of my mother-in-law.  She is a very proper Southern woman and would have been offended.

With Erica’s guidance, we were all able learn how to make our bags, zippers and all.  And I didn’t even swear once.

We used the awesome tutorial for Open Wide Zippered Pouch from Noodlehead.

The wide opening is completely awesome, since it makes it easy to find all your doodads in the bottom of the bag.  I really love the inside pocket for my little things.

As you can see, this bag is my new on-the-go, half-time hexie, doctor waiting room, boring meeting buster bag.

It’s perfect for my hexagons….

and for this little applique I just started working on.  It’s a block for the Sweet and Simple quilt for the Alpine Quilt Guild that they are donating to the Festival of Trees for Primary Children’s Medical Center.

My girls spent 5 long months in the NICU at PCMC, and I am so happy to be making this block.

I am incredibly grateful to the brave and talented nurses and doctors who work at Primary Children’s.  This block will definitely be stitched with love.