Punk, no one even remebered the angel so they have no idea. But I think I do. My MIL was very close to her mother, Dovie. My MIL was a fantastic embroiderer and one piece she did, she had some buttons put on that came from her mother's old clothes. I'm assuming this may be Dovie's jewelry. Here's some pictures of my MIL's stitching. She traveled miles away once a month to go to her Guild meetings at 80 years old! Now I own about 15 of her pieces of stitching. And that is just a small portion of her work. Here is a 3-D sled she did, I have it hanging in my LR because it's too pretty to hide.

Thank you all for your comments (except for vhehn - seriously, if you want to tell me I'm an idiot (or, conversely, that you are the smartest person in the world), why hide it, just tell me you think I'm a moron and be done with it. You don't know me, and you assume that I'm throwing away perfectly good (and hard-earned, mind you) money because I'm a d*mb*ss. If gloating in front of someone who's down is the way you roll, I'm so glad I don't know you in person.) - 15 hours after the initial discovery of "OMG, it's happened again" (and the resulting pit in our stomaches), our anger and sadness has mellowed a bit, abut we're both intent on salvaging this situation in a professional and drama-free manner. I probably haven't chewed on the situation enough, but after digesting your comments and putting all the pieces together, I'm inclined to do the following: 1) wait for her response (except I really really really want/need to know if we submitted, and/or if we're submitting on Monday, omg......), 2) unless there's a fantastic reason why Friday didn't go as agreed, request an off-site coffee meeting with the architect and synthesize your comments in to a conversation that says, basically: look, we think you're a really talented architect [she is!], but it's clear you're extremely busy, and maybe too busy to devote the type and timing of attention on our project that we need. It's causing us a lot of unnecessary stress and heartburn, especially this early in what we know will be a stressful year and a half [between the rest of planning and the build]. We see a couple of good solutions: a) now that you know how difficult the slipping of schedule has been on not only the timing of our project but on us personally, if you'd like to continue working on our project, we'd like to continue working with you, but we need hard milestones. [and then discuss the milestones, timing, etc....maybe these need to be in writing.....]. 2) if you're just too busy and don't see that changing, we'd be disappointed but would be willing to transfer the plans to another architect to complete - do you have any that you'd recommend? How do we properly transfer the plans? As you can tell, I do soft-pedal rather than throw blame in situations like this - I'm very willing to be firm, but it needs to be in my own voice, and unfortunately (I guess), that's my voice when dealing with people that I actually like (err, you "heard" my other voice above, when responding to others!). chisue - thank you for understanding, and yes, she's licensed, has a nice boutique business, and is actually really talented. she just sucks as client service. We found her as a referral from a neighbor who has (in our opinion) the prettiest new build in the neighborhood - we live in a 50's era rancher town on quarter acre lots in a part of the country where that's considered really big - most of the Bay Area is on 4000-5000 sq ft lots). To his credit, he DID warn us that while she's a terrific architect, she'd be "tough to get a hold of, as she's very busy" (maybe that was neighbor-code for "she'll miss every deadline"). dixiedoodle - agreed, I'm not planning on getting any $ back, so that's not what I'm after. Actually, for the $ we've paid thus far, we ((heart)) the house plan. Yes, in hindsight, the comments that translate to "they're more important than you" are, at best, inappropriate. At the time(s), it seemed more like casual chit-chat. feedingfrenzy, sue36 and sovra - thank you all - your comments and thoughts are the basis for the planned conversation. We actually *would* like her to see the plans through, just need to figure out how to tell her that we can't continue this way, it's too painful. I will go post this in Conversations to see in M-A has additional thoughts. What do you all think of the planned conversation, and how would you tweak it?

Keep in mind that every family is different and dynamics can change or be amplified after the death of a loved one. Estate law varies from state-to-state. I've included a link regarding Louisiana Estate Administration. I suggest you google Louisiana Estate Law to learn more. I am the executor of a relative's estate. I won't go into details, but it is still a huge mess and it's been almost 3 years. Here are a few things to keep in mind..... The conventional wisdom is that if there's a will, there won't be any problems. That is not true. In your case, your father could contest the will. Sure, the lawyers could say he won't be able to get anything, but the estate would still have to defend itself in the legal proceedings and court if it goes that far. Any expenses outside of "normal" probate expenses are not covered under the probate fees of an estate (in most states, the amount of money the probate lawyer and executor gets paid for their services are determined by statute). These fees will have to come out of the estate. And they can add up very quickly - just because your father won't get anything the estate still has to file motions and respond to what your father and his attorney file. Depending on your father, he could just drag things out to deplete the value of the estate. So depending on your father (and any other relatives or interested parties) they can contest the will and let me tell you that unfortunately I have found from experience that the costs associated with someone who doesn't have standing can get quite high. Just because there is a will, doesn't mean things will go smoothly. And, just because an attorney drafted the will does not mean there won't be problems. An individual can take a will they drew up to an attorney and have the attorney use that as the will (with or without changes) because "that is what they want done." The individual thinks that the will makes sense and that's that. Again, depending on the will, the circumstances of the estate, etc. the intentions of the individual will not be realized and there will be problems with the estate. Case law evolves and what was the "norm" years ago when a will was drafted may now have unintended consequences. In my family, a family member drafted a will and took it to a lawyer. It was a huge mess. In hindsight, the lawyer should have made suggestions regarding the wording of the will (for all we know he did and the advice was ignored). When wills are drafted, they sometimes are done without taking into consideration changes in family dynamics - the death and remarriage of family members, etc. The will was drafted at one point in time and it can be difficult to make contingencies for every possible situation in the future. From your post, it sounds as though your grandmother doesn't 100% understand how her wishes will be carried out by her will. In my experience with my own grandparents, I found that they had varying levels of understanding of how their will would dictate the handling of their estates, and in reality some of that did not come to fruition. It is your grandmother's estate and she can do what she wants. I don't know how your family dynamic is when it comes to discussing money, wills, etc. You could suggest to her that you both go to her attorney so you can make sure that her intentions are carried out properly. In my family, you didn't air your dirty laundry in public, and that included discussing these issues with an attorney. If your grandmother is more "old school" and this is the case, her attorney could be under the impression that everything is fine and there is not going to be a problem when in fact there could be major issues. I suggest you check if her attorney specializes in estates. Sure, any attorney can draw up a will, but you want one who knows this area of the law. If her attorney does not, then I would suggest to her she ask this attorney for the name of an attorney who specializes in estates or find one who does. If her attorney is not an estate attorney and he was your grandfather's attorney, friend, etc. she may not be willing to find another attorney (loyalty is great, but there is a place for it). I would use the analogy that you wouldn't use a cardiologist to deliver a baby to justify finding an attorney with this area of expertise. Since she has discussed the issue of the will with you, there's a chance she will be open to taking you with her to the attorney. IMHO I would think the lawyer would have given a copy of the will to your grandmother to give to you if you are the executor (in my case, I was named executor after another family member on two wills and I was given copies for my files - I guess different attorneys do it differently). This is about protecting your grandmother's wishes and making sure that she will be able to have the means to carry out her intentions if she gets into a situation where she will no longer be capable of making decisions. I hope your grandmother is doing well and her wishes are carried out as she intends. Good luck.

My Mama passed almost seven years ago, and I am still working on her fabric stash, but with materials used for quilting and also every other type of material one could need. I started quilting about a year before she died, and my first quilt was a Christmas gift for her, I finished in February. I kept company with her as I was quilting and she watched it come together, not knowing it was for her. She had always wanted to make a quilt, and had started the blocks for a Cathedral Windows, inspired by a friend when we lived in Missouri, as state just famous for it's cottage quilt industry. When one drove through the Ozarks, it was commonplace to see them hung out on clotheslines, to catch the eye of passers-by. She had also made some yo-yos but they disappeared sometime and I've never found them. I wish you much enjoyment with your new hobby. I think you'll find yourself close to her spirit as you work, as I find myself close to my mother when I am in my sewing room, handling the fabrics she had saved over the years. I have made about thirty quilts since then, really surprising myself since making ONE quilt was on my bucket list. LOL. Welcome to the forum, and my condolences as well on your mother's passing. BTW, that is one beautiful design you will be finishing. I also have a quilt cat who loves to lay on my blocks and scatter them too. He keeps me company each morning as I sew, and prefers my sewing room to all the others in this house.