Nic Nac Quiltiac & More

New Blog

2011-10-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

This blog has moved. My new blog is Yak Yak Art. Simply put, I love making art and talking, thus the name! Click the link above or click here to go to it!
Thanks everyone! D~~~~

Flower Play

2011-02-15T15:10:00.003-06:00

In between trips to the nursing home (Mom is not doing too well), I've been trying to find a little time to play. It's so relaxing, and gets my mind into a different mode.

Below is a very busy and very colorful canvas that I finished last week.

I got carried away playing and playing and playing as you can tell!

I couldn't stop!

I was having a blast so I kept adding and adding and adding!

Too colorful?

Not for me.

Fun?

Without a doubt.

Overworked?

Yeah.

I did say I couldn't stop!

12-Step Program needed to know when to stop?

Perhaps.

Created with puff paint, tulle, Sharpies,

a little collage and a lot of machine stitching.

I don't know if I'll back this one

and make it into an art quilt.

Doubtful.

Have a Creatively Colorful Day,

D~~~~

Work in Progress

2011-02-04T15:24:00.006-06:00

This is a peek at a project I'm working on during this icy, snowy, frigid week.

I cannot believe that it's Super Bowl week here in North Texas and we're having the worst weather we've had in 20 years! I really feel for all the good folks who have worked hard planning this event for the last four years only to have the weather put a huge damper on so much of it--cancelled parties, cancelled flights, and lots of other issues. As I write this I just heard that ice has fallen off of Cowboys Stadium injuring six people, one critically. Yikes! I hope they're okay!

Hopefully, tomorrow and Sunday's weather will be better.

That said, I actually love the weather but I do wish it would have waited another week.

Wishing You Many Snowy Creations,

D~~~~

P.S. Go Packers!

Canvas Love?

2011-01-28T20:22:00.002-06:00

I created this 9" x 12" art quilt on canvas using acrylic paint, collaged tissue paper, and decorative stitches. It was so fun to do too! I made it with Valentine's Day in mind but in the process I discovered that I love working on canvas so I think I might name it something like "Canvas Love!"

I really need to get into Photoshop and figure out how
to remove the background (showing on the sides).

Please ignore it for now!

I have an idea in mind for hanging it that's a little bit different. I need to experiment with it.

I only have three more pieces of canvas in my tablet. When I go to buy more, I'm going to get a variety of sizes because I will definitely be using canvas regularly! This was oh so fun!

Many Happy Creations,

D~~~~

Highly Prized #2 & #3

2011-01-25T15:52:00.000-06:00

Last week, my Mom who lives in a nursing home now (due to Alzheimer's), ended up in the hospital for a couple of days. Even though I visit her often at the nursing home, I was reminded just how highly prized she is while sitting with her at the hospital so I took my sketchbook with me and did some sketching.

The sketch cracked me up from the beginning!

I had the bed looking like one of those

race car beds for kids so I decided to go

with it and contribute to the whimsy!

Of course, it doesn't actually look like her

but she'd be happy to know she looks younger!

Like the first sketch that I posted on January 16th, the one below was started with Diana Trout's Drawing Doodle Game which can be found here. I highly prize color so this time I started with purple dimensional paint on canvas. The rest was done with acrylic paint and Sharpies. It sure was fun!

Creative Sketching,

D~~~~

Highly Prized

2011-01-16T12:48:00.001-06:00

I'm participating in The Sketchbook Challenge and this month's theme is Highly Prized. There are many things that I highly prize like my family, friends, pets, home, etc., but in this sketch, I went for something a little less obvious--my morning coffee.

I watched Diana Trout's Drawing Doodle Game video on her Hububbery blog which you can find here if you are interested. I used Diana's fun random drawing without crossing any lines (although I did cross in one spot a bit) for the aroma of the coffee. I thought filling it in as she did in the video would make this too busy but I may have to try it sometime.

I don't have any sketching experience but as I understand it, we are to have fun, and that's what I am doing. In the process, I am learning and will continue to do so.

Happy Sketching,

D~~~~

All About STUFF (and SNOW)!

2011-01-09T13:28:00.003-06:00

I've been packing up the studio/office to move out to the garage. Even though it may be a month yet, I'm excited and I want to be ready to go so that once it's completed, I can move right in!

Geo started last weekend. After some inside tasks as shown in the post below, this is what it looks like where the garage door used to be! He got to this point in only three days! I'm lovin' it!

Moving out there entails packing up mostly all the STUFF below! Two closets where about 75% of the stuff goes with me. As you will see, STUFF was everywhere and it was/is all a bit overwhelming but I am making lots of progress! YAHOO!

If these closets were rock stars they would be:

Supply Closet #1 Unplugged

and

Supply Closet #2 Unplugged

More STUFF!

And even more STUFF!

Oh and more STUFF!

Oh but wait!
More STUFF!

And this is how far I've gotten!
STUFF packed and ready to go!

But there's still this STUFF.

And some STUFF left on these shelves.

There's also this STUFF to go through!

I've learned a lesson about color! I love color but I will not paint my new walls bright like I did these walls. I want to hang lots of colorful artsy STUFF on the walls, and I think they will look better up against neutral colors!

Here's what the closets look like now!

The first is mostly office supplies.

There's room left to grow too!

Yeah, cause we need to accumulate more STUFF!

Speaking of snow!

This is what is going on outside,
making me a very happy gal!

Backyard

Taken off the front porch.

Many snowy creations my friends!

D~~~~

Happy New Year All!

2010-12-31T18:21:00.000-06:00

I have not been a very good blogger this year for many reasons. Quite a few of those reasons have been resolved, and I'm looking forward to being a more active blogger in 2011!

First, I plan to participate in The Sketchbook Challenge which starts tomorrow. I don't know yet what my exact level of participation will be but I will create at least one thing to contribute each month--maybe more. Does that sound a bit sketchy? If so, I am off to a good start! In any event, I'm curiously awaiting the reveal of the first theme tomorrow!

Another thing I am absolutely thrilled about for 2011 is that, as I type this, my dear hubby is enclosing the garage so that I can move my studio/office out there. Woo-hoo! I am so excited that it calls for several exclamation points!!!

The part I am not so excited about is the overabundance of STUFF that I have to go through to move out of my current creative abode. Even though the room may not be completely ready for a month or more, I started going through STUFF in this overflowing room today.

I am concerned that if I stay in this room sorting, clearing, trashing, etc. for very long, I may never be seen again! If you don't hear from me soon (especially since I have vowed to blog more), please send in a posse after me, preferably one with boxes, and excellent sorting and organizing skills.

Here are some pics of the garage conversion progress.

I wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Blessed New Year!

May it be your most creative EVER!

Many Happy Creations,

D~~~~

International Quilt Festival ~ Houston

2010-11-10T11:57:00.006-06:00

As usual, I had a blast at the Int'l Quilt Fest in Houston. I'm always thrilled by the amazing eye candy, astonishing craftsmanship, abundant vendors, and buzz of activity!

For me, it truly was a party!

There were picture frames

Pashmina Scarves

Beads and Jewelry supplies

more beads

and jewelry supplies

Jewelry

and more jewelry

Lace, stones, and baubles

Baskets

Purses and purse making materials

Santas

Christmas stuff and more

A photography and haiku exhibit.

(I just read on another blog that photography was not allowed here but I did not see any "No Photography" signs.)

And Dolls!

(I could not read the doll makers names because the info was too far behind the rope. I didn't bring my binoculars either or I would have happily added their names! There are some that can be read though.)

I have recently developed quite an affinity for dolls, and I plan to try my hand at doll making in the next week or two!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up, the quilts!

Wishing You Many Happy Creations,

D~~~~

Quilt Fest and a Question

2010-11-05T12:22:00.001-05:00

I'm on my way to the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I'm very excited and I can't wait to get there! When I get back, I should be to a point where I can actually start creating again. It may not be until the end of next week but hopefully it'll be soon because I miss it!!!

On another note, does anybody out there have trouble uploading video to Blogger? I am using an iMac computer and iMovie to make short videos but I cannot upload them for anything. It's very disappointing and frustrating. I am doing it just as the directions instruct but it's just not happening. It sits and sits and sits. Then, eventually I get an error message. I've searched help in iMovie and on Blogger and gotten nowhere. I've even tried uploading through YouTube but that doesn't work either! I can post the movies to YouTube with no problem. I'm seriously considering moving my blog or starting completely over with a new one on Typepad or Wordpress. Any suggestions or information will be greatly appreciated.

Many Happy Creations,
D~~~~

The Blogger Blues

2010-09-18T07:36:00.000-05:00

Am I the only person that is NOT too fond of the Blogger changes that added a Designer Template? It's not that there is anything wrong with the Designer Template, it's just that I love the free backgrounds from the website, Cutest Blog on The Block, and it appears that using these backgrounds is now a top-secret operation known only to those folks who are Internet savvy, blog savvy, Advanced Blogger savvy, HTML savvy, Google savvy, or just plain using salve!

I have been trying to start another blog and use a lovely and free CBOTB Autumn background. After much frustration, some fit throwing, and more confusion than is normal for me, I almost have it! ALMOST! As in, close but no cigar! So, to date, I have the CBOTB background on there but there seems to be a semi-transparent area where the posts go that I cannot get rid of even with bad breath or B-O! And dont think for one minute that I haven't tried both of those aromatic tactics!

I have "transparent" selected for the three areas in which it offers them in the new and annoying Template Designer--the background sides, the header, and the post background. The background sides and header work fine and dandy but does the post background? Nooooooooo! (I often like to answer my own questions.) If I can perhaps overcome this attitude-altering issue, I would be on the road to successfully posting on this new blog but I am at a loss at the moment.

The new blog, The Mumbo Jumbo Journal, will be mainly for posting light-hearted little stories about every day experiences and observances, quips, quotes, maybe more. I may be making some changes to my Smiles for Many Miles blog at some point too. I've been wanting to start a sports blog (well, mostly football) for well over a year now but have never been able to come up with a name I like. Hopefully, I'll come up with something one of these days!

Some of the issues I am having may or may not be related to the fact that I have been working on an iPad right now because we are traveling. I know the issue with the post background is NOT due to the iPad but some other issues are! When I first started working on the iPad, I couldn't even get the keyboard to come up but the next day it popped right up so here I am! I am not able to change the font style or size as far as I can tell so I will have to post this the ugly way it is but I don't have to like it!

In addition, I cannot center my blog name on the new blog because I cannot get to the "Add CSS" feature in the Advanced section for some reason. It showed up the other day, and I thought, "Oh good, there's where the CSS is to center the title. I will come back and do that tomorrow," but when I went back it wasn't there! Actually, it may be there but the iPad wouldn't allow me to scroll down far enough to where it should be. At first, I thought it ran off with the keyboard but since the keyboard showed up I'm pretty sure it's a lonely fugitive suffering out there in the cold cruel world all by itself, and frankly that's what it gets for abandoning me!

I guess I won't know if these issues will be resolved until I get home and use my real computer. For now, I think I will have fun. We stayed in Gatlinburg the night before last, and I love that store-lined little village! Yesterday, we went through the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains and then got on the Blue Ridge Parkway atop the Blue Ridge Mountains which is part of the Appalachians. The entire day was quite spectacular, and I was in heaven! Last night, we stayed in Boone, North Carolina, and today we will get back on the Blue Ridge Parkway for another staggering dose of gorgeous eye candy!

If you're interested in seeing the problem I am having with the post background area on my new blog and have any suggestions for removing that white section, here's the address: www.mumbojumbojournal.blogspot.com - Please feel free to check it out!

I always go back and read my posts after I post (even though I've been over them repeatedly while composing), and I ALWAYS find more changes. The iPad will not let me edit posts for some reason either so if there are any changes needed or if something sounds like I wrote it in the dark on another planet, I won't be able to edit it until I get home.

Happy Trails for now, (I can't center that either but life is good so who cares)!
D~~~~

Colorado Rocky Mountain High

2010-07-06T17:25:00.018-05:00

George and I were on vacation in Colorado recently. After five wonderful days in Durango, we got a wild hair and decided to drive to Colorado Springs. I posted it on Facebook and one my friends commented, and suggested we to go to Manitou Springs. She added that it was at the foot of Pike's Peak and we could ride a train to the top. We love trains so as she suggested, we went to Manitou Springs, and I absolutely loved it! It's a cool, artsy, funky, little urban village, and it was quite a treat!

This shop, Safron, had a

creative little awning!

It wasn't open when I took the picture.

I didn't get the opportunity to

go back and browse either.

Check out the lively

painting on this shop window.

They sell mandolins (or an

instrument that looks like a mandolin)!

A pottery making contest was

taking place under this pavilion!

Contestants were going to

town on their pottery wheels.

I don't know what kind of bike this is

but it was a lovely shade of green

and quite an attention grabber!

One of the many colorful shops!

Oh how I love color!

This little luggage vignette caught

my attention at a rest stop in Texas!

I nabbed this jar of buttons in an

antique shop in Pagosa Springs!

I love this find!

We had to head back to Texas late that afternoon, and if we wouldn't have had tickets for the train, I would have loved to hang out in Manitou Springs all day! We rode the Cog Railway to the top of Pike's Peak, and I'll be posting pics on my Smiles For Many Miles blog soon. At the moment, I'm still working on getting the Durango pics and info posted there.

Fresh Off A Colorado Rocky Mountain High!

D~~~~

Latest Project

2010-05-18T14:39:00.003-05:00

It sure has been a long time since I posted on this blog! I've been doing other stuff! All kinds of stuff too but I'm finally back to working on the project below.

I'm anxious to finish it so I can start on my next project. I painted the bedroom a couple of weeks ago, and I want to make stuff to go on the walls!

Happy Stuff Creating Y'all!

D~~~~

P.S. Can you guess what the word of the day is?

Creative Cues~Rich and Stem

2010-03-30T10:44:00.007-05:00

The Creative Cue word posted on the Three Creative Studios blog last week was Rich. As soon as I saw it, I had an "Aha!" moment as I remembered that I had the perfect item with which to create a small art quilt.

For those of you who don't know, my hubby works for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Fort Worth where they print U.S. currency. They don't print coins, just bills. Tours are open to the public, and I took one several years ago after which I purchased the little bag of shredded money below in their shop. When I saw the word Rich, I knew I could finally use some of it.

Am I the only person who hoards stuff like this thinking I might be able to use it on a project? If you hoard too, you might relate to this; I spent most of last week looking for it off and on! I asked myself, "What good is having all these odd trinkets and worthless little nothings if you can't find them when you need them?" I didn't answer myself though (like I usually do) because I wasn't sure I'd like my answer. When I finally got down to one last drawer, I was really feeling disappointed because I knew that it definitely wasn't in there! But of course, it was! Note to self: The next time you're looking for something, look first in the very last place you'd look for it!

The quilt is 8" x 8", and I used about $20.00 worth of the shredded money to make it. I have to say that I'm quite disappointed that I added the paint to the rectangles on the $ sign. It looks awful and truthfully, the picture looks even worse than it does live! Of course, I'd pick NOW to take a decent picture! Tee-hee-hee. I didn't even want to crop the black background out of the picture to make it an even closer view for fear of causing eye injuries to any readers observing the paint gone awry! LOL.

I added the paint because I wasn't happy with the stitches or my choice of thread color used to stitch the tulle down over the money. I thought the paint would add dimension, define the symbol, and hide the stitches. It absolutely would have if it was applied on the quilt like it looked in my mind!

On the positive side, I'm really happy with the text! I love it, and I will definitely do more text the same way that I did this text.

A few weeks ago, I sketched the picture below which was inspired by the Creative Cue word Stem.

Now I'm going back to work on the project that I was working on prior to the Rich quilt, however, I must tell you that this week's creative cue word is Tip, and Tip is tugging at me. I may have to sidetrack and do it! Still deciding.

Wait, I lied. Tip was before Rich. In any event, it's tugging at me!

Have a greatly creative day,

D~~~~

Work in Progress and New Stuff

2010-03-13T10:24:00.005-06:00

I've been quite the neglectful little blogger these days but that's just the way it goes sometimes! Here's my current work in progress.

Monday

Today

I'm anxious to start sewing on it but I'm not sure how soon that will happen. I need to work on it a bit yet, and the grandudes are coming to stay with us for a few days next week. I'm looking forward to their visit!

The work in progress is being done on the island table in my studio. I tape freezer paper to the counter top, tape the fabric to the freezer paper, draw my design, and paint away. I bought the easel below for my next project so that I don't have to tape it to the table. I think I'll tape the fabric to foam core board or something of that nature, put it on the easel, and do my painting there.

I spotted this cute little screwdriver when George and I were in the Sears tool department the other day. I told George that I loved it so much that I couldn't wait to get home and screw something. So far, however, I have it displayed on this little easel doing nothing.

BUT I'M HAVING FUN LOOKING AT IT!

Wishing you a Creatively Fun Weekend,
D~~~~

2010-02-11T10:20:00.002-06:00

I requested this book for Christmas and received it. I thought I'd take my time going through it and create an art quilt from each chapter. This first chapter is Fabric Weaving which I have done before but not with the wavy cut so I opted to do it.

Here's the quilt.
I call it The Hearty Tornado.

I just noticed that the colors match the ones on the front of the book. I wish I'd have cut the orange strips a little bit thinner though. Oh well, it was fun to do! The next chapter is creating texture with tucks which sounds interesting. I'm trying to decide whether to start it right away or do another project I have in mind. Decisions, decisions!

Creatively Deciding,
D~~~~

Creative Cue

2010-02-06T14:12:00.003-06:00

Over on the Three Creative Studios blog, a word is posted each Sunday to help inspire creativity. The project started the first of this year, and it's called Creative Cue. Participants can interpret the word with a sketch, drawing, art quilt, photograph or whatever they prefer. It's a casual project in which participants can contribute every week or just once in awhile--whatever fits the individual! We then post a link to our blog in a comment on their site so others can visit. I have done three so far, and they are ALL in this one post.

Since my sketching/drawing skills leave a lot to be desired, I thought this was a great opportunity to get some practice although I don't know as though that's what I'll do each time. Truthfully, only two were sketched. The last one is hardly anything that required actual sketching but I couldn't resist the humor.

WORD: EAST

I live in Texas but I was born and raised in South Jersey so when I thought of East, New Jersey immediately came to mind. The sketch is colored over with colored pencils and gel pens were used for the text.

WORD: HEEL

We were traveling so I put my shoe up on the dashboard and started drawing. Again, colored pencils were used.

Okay, this one is lame as far as sketching or drawing go but like I said, I couldn't resist the humor.

WORD: ODD

Now that I have these posted, I'll try to post as I go from here on out.

I look forward to a new word tomorrow (and the Super Bowl)--Go Colts!

Creatively Cuing,
D~~~~

Look at this Mess!

2010-01-28T11:46:00.006-06:00

Are you familiar with the email that goes something like this:

You start out to open the mail, and notice the dog biscuits next to it which reminds you that you haven't fed the dog so you immediately go to feed the dog but on your way, you see the pile of laundry that you meant to throw in the washer two hours ago. You opt to do that this very instant but before you can, you notice the screwdriver laying next to it which you've been trying to find for a week now. Oops, need to put that up right away so I'll know where it is but on the way, you discover that the water is boiling for the macaroni that you were going to make about 20 minutes ago, and so forth and so on... Anyway, you get the idea!

Well, the mess in the pics below and this day so far are a classic example of that scenario! I just noticed that the pictures actually do the mess justice! Come to think of it, I actually wish this room really looked like that in person!

In fact, many of my days lately have been like that email but I shall overcome... just as soon as I find more of the fusible that led to the ironing debacle that triggered the mysterious tracing tablet hunt which instigated the messy massacre of writing implements and set off the electric pencil sharpener disaster which then produced the great eraser discovery and of course moved me into a position so that I could see the computer which naturally reminded me that I haven't yet posted the remaining pics from our Indy trip on my SFMM blog yet (and if I'm gonna do that, I might as well do this) and ...oh Geez Louise! Actually, I don't know any Louises but if I did...

that's what I'd say to them!

As I was finishing that last sentence, my DH called and asked me to set up his email on my computer because his computer bit the dust. See what I mean? I can only laugh and I hope you'll laugh with me!

Giggling In Creative Confusion,
D~~~~

No Creative Blog Post!

2010-01-22T10:32:00.002-06:00

I hope y'all are having a happy 2010 so far! Aside from the Dallas Cowboys losing in the playoffs, I've been having a good year (all 22 days of it!)

I don't believe I've gone this long in the past without posting something creative on this blog though. That's not a good start but we'll just ignore that little tidbit. I've got several things going on but, for some odd reason, my brain is jammed at the moment! I think I'll try banging my head on the wall.

Have a Great Weekend,
D~~~~

Wiggle Tree

2009-12-28T10:40:00.005-06:00

My, my but I've been slacking off on my blog lately. I've been so busy with the hustle and bustle of the holidays that I haven't been doing much creating. I plan to fix that this week and I can't wait!

In the meantime check out this funky turquoise tree! It's four feet tall and called a Wiggle Tree. I love it! I saw it before Christmas, and went back the day after and bought it. The picture doesn't really do it justice but you get the idea. It looks like something in a fairy tale that should have an elf standing next to it. Actually, I love it so much that I'm thinking about leaving it out and making it a Valentine's tree--red hearts, beads, bows, etc. How's that sound?

I also, got a 2-1/2 foot purple tinsel tree. We'll have four or five trees to set up around the house next year. Yahoo! I'm about to go shopping now and look for holiday sales. There's a tall white one that I want but there was only one left the other day. I'm hoping it's gone!

Wiggling Turquoise Smiles at You,
D~~~~

A New Magazine-Art Quilting Studio

2009-11-30T17:29:00.007-06:00

I love this new and very inspiring quarterly magazine by Stampington & Company. This is the premiere issue (dog not included). The next issue comes out tomorrow, and I hope it's easier to find than this issue.

I had to order this one off their website. Since they have so many other easy-to-find popular publications, I'm hoping this one will be amongst that group! Maybe at... oh perhaps Barnes & Noble! We'll see.

Have a creative and blessed day!
D~~~~

Three Recent Projects

2009-11-10T10:12:00.003-06:00

Here are three small pieces that I've worked on lately. Each is acrylic paint on canvas. Some machine stitching is used on the eye piece and the pumpkin is ink. Ribbon and a decorative stitch were used on the clock. It's a start!

The pumpkin might go in the UFO pile for awhile and the clock too but I'm not sure yet. I want to start a football blog, and I think I might focus on that for the time being.

Have a creative day folks!
D~~~~

Cuffs & Hangers

2009-10-26T13:09:00.002-05:00

I made two more cuffs using Jill Amanda Kennedy's article in the 2009 August/September issue of Quilting Arts magazine as a guide. They're fun to make although I did many things differently than the instructions in the article. I had planned to embellish with beads but my short attention span is much too anxious to move on to making art quilts. Perhaps I'll bead them up one day in the near future but for now this is their current state!

The purple is paint.
The loop is yarn.
Everything else is thread.

When we were in Fredricksburg for Cody & Jen's wedding in May 2008, I bought two of the cutest little hangers, and I cannot find them anywhere. I've searched high. I've searched low. I've searched far and I've searched wide. No hangers!

I thought that these elusive hangers warranted a stop in Fredricksburg during our trip to Koyote Ranch where I hunted down some more!

They're not exactly like the
others but very similar.
Aren't they cute?
They're only 5-1/2 inches wide.

Their purpose:
I'll make some small art
quilts to hang from the clips!

Creatively Hangin' Out,
D~~~~

My First Cuff

2009-10-05T14:50:00.003-05:00

The August/September 2009 issue of Quilting Arts magazine contained the article below by Jill Amanda Kennedy. I had to give the cuffs a try.

Here's mine.
The width of the cuff is 2".

I didn't follow her directions exactly.

I used fusible fleece instead of
heavyweight interfacing, and
I covered the scraps with tulle.

I have six more fused and ready to go. I want to try different things on each of them. I think I'll make them thinner too. I'm working on another project that I want to complete before I play with making the other cuffs.

Have a creative day!

D~~~~

The Long and Winding Abbey Road

2009-10-02T15:43:00.007-05:00

This quilt arrived on my doorstep today. I made it in January for Quilting Arts' Magazine's Rock On! challenge and they were returning it. The magazine had a lot of cool and creative entries and I loved the challenge.

Obviously, it's named The Long and Winding Road and it's the Beatles. I'm thinking Ringo might have the mumps!

This is the back.

(I blurred the address and phone number.)

Rock on!
D~~~~

Almost Ready for Calligra-Fun

2009-09-17T16:26:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I signed up to take an online class taught by Martha Lever. It's called Calligra-Fun and it's offered through the Creative Workshops website. I'm anxious to get started but I have to wait for some of the markers to arrive. I had a few of the necessary supplies on hand but I wasn't able to buy some of the markers locally so I ordered them off the internet today. I hope they get here soon because I'm excited! I'll post pictures eventually.

Happy Creating!
D~~~~

I Was Just Wondering...

2009-08-31T15:55:00.010-05:00

This place is in Denton, Texas about
12 miles or so from our house.

I'll reiterate--it says: Mable Peabody's Beauty Parlor & Chainsaw Repair Night Club. Yes, that's truly what it says! Click on the picture to enlarge it if you can't see it clearly and don't believe me.

I can't help but wonder what goes on in there. Is there a process you go through when you enter? Do you arrive early with a broken chainsaw, drop it off, go to the beauty parlor to get gorgeous, and then mosey on over to the night club for a drink and some dancing? Do you pick up your good-as-new chainsaw at closing time or do they bring it to you in the night club?

Is the chainsaw your membership? If you arrive with a perfectly good chainsaw, do they break it? If you arrive with no chainsaw at all, are you turned away?

Do the same employees work in the beauty parlor as in the chainsaw repair department and the night club department? What if a stylist reaches for their cutting hair scissors and accidentally grabs and uses a chainsaw? What if?

What happens if a fight breaks out at closing time? Will it be chainsaw mayhem? Can the fighters be charged with OCSWI (Operating Chainsaw while Intoxicated)? Can drivers get a DWIWCS (Driving While Intoxicated With Chainsaw) when they leave? Will there be a need for concealed chainsaw laws in the future?

What if they're repairing a chainsaw and it gets away from them? What if it flies through the beauty parlor and reverse mohawks all heads in its path before buzzing on into the night club department and reverse mohawking all those people too? Did you ever think about that?

Just what if?
D~~~~

You Should Be Dancing, Yeah, Dancing, Yeah...

2009-08-28T17:08:00.006-05:00

I've been working on this little quilt off and on for awhile (mostly off) and I'm glad it's finally finished. The entire time I worked on it, the Bee Gee's song, "You Should Be Dancing" from Saturday Night Fever discoed through my head! So much so that I even went to YouTube and watched a video of them performing the song in Melbourne, Australia in 1989. Click here to see the video. Without a doubt, "You Should Be Dancing" had to be the name of the quilt.

Here's a close-up of the featured dancers.

I actually liked the quilt a lot more until I took a picture of it. I think it looks better live and in person but maybe that's just me!

I learned a few things along the way too and that's always a good thing.

It's 8-1/2" x 11" and made using commercial fabrics, craft metal, eyelets, glass paint, a stamp, yarn and beads.

Dance, Dance, Dance folks!
D~~~~

Rhoda is Finally Finished!

2009-07-31T14:43:00.005-05:00

Actually, I finished her a couple of weeks ago but this is the first chance I've had to post it. The butterflies are made of craft metal and the edges are sewn down with a satin stitch. Their markings are glass paint and the antennas are mizuhiki.

Size: 12" x 12"

I haven't put a label on the back yet but I think maybe the official title will be "Night Moves with Rhoda and Friends."

D~~~~

A Summer Giveaway!

2009-07-10T08:48:00.004-05:00

Who doesn't love free stuff? I know I do! I received the Two Creative Studios e-newsletter today which is published by Terri Stegmiller and Sue Bleiweiss, two very talented and creative ladies. They are having "A Summer Giveaway Event," and the prizes are very cool. Please check out their newsletter here and their website here.

You may remember that I was taking Terri's online class entitled Faces on Fabric and Rhoda is the name of the art quilt I was making (see the post below). Due to health issues with Mom, I wasn't able to keep up with the class but I am happy to say that Mom is doing much better and I am working on Rhoda again! I hope to be finished very soon and will post when she is complete.

I highly recommend Terri's online class too! It was well laid out, the instructions were detailed, and she was always available to assist as needed via the Yahoo group. I plan to take another class from her in the future after I catch up on Rhoda and some other projects.

I also regularly read and love Terri and Sue's blogs. Terri is extremely talented at creating fabulous art quilts and Sue is a pro at making journals/books and the like although they both create other things too. Their art always makes me ooh, aah and smile! You can read Terri's blog here and Sue's blog here. Please check out these happy links and have a creative day!

D~~~~

Rhoda Has a Face (with Make-Up Too)!

2009-06-17T15:07:00.006-05:00

Here's Rhoda's BEFORE photo!
No color, no personality,
just a dull and lifeless gal!

Here's the AFTER!
Okay, so one eye is
bigger than the other!
She can't help it.
She was born that way!

Now that the painting on her face is done, I can move on to the other elements that will be on the quilt.

Be Back soon.
D~~~~

Finally Creating!

2009-06-08T16:22:00.003-05:00

Look! I have finally had time to be creative! I've been playing with craft metal; embossing, stamping and painting with various mediums. For now, however, I am putting the craft metal on hold because I need to finish Rhoda. She is long overdue!

This is all craft metal
(even the black).

D~~~~

The Moving Wall

2009-05-12T13:33:00.004-05:00

On Mother's day, George and I wandered up the street seven miles to the Pilot Point Town Square to see The Moving Wall, a half-size replica of the Washington, D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It's been touring the country for almost twenty-five years now, and Pilot Point is the only Texas town that it will be in this year.

George at the wall.

Between the arrow and George's informative finger is Kenny Mokuau's name.
Kenny was our across-the-street neighbor when we lived in New Jersey. He was a friend and mentor to Sue when she was young. He was killed on January 22, 1969 when Sue was 11.

~~~~~

Take away the ugly orange construction thingy, and this is a really neat Texas Bluebonnet mural. It was on the square too.

D~~~~

FiberArt For A Cause

2009-04-29T10:43:00.002-05:00

Click the link below or here to view 39 pages of small fiber art collages that will be auctioned off May 5th through 7th with 100% of the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. I've been through all 39 pages and there are some really cool ones!

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/CM2009Collages1.html

D~~~~

Rhoda -- A Work in Progress

2009-04-10T11:41:00.003-05:00

I have had an opportunity to work on the Faces on Fabric quilt for the online class today. I wasn't able to keep up with the class due to life in general and the class is over. I have all the lessons downloaded, and Terri Stegmiller, our wonderful instructor, was kind enough to leave our Yahoo group open for four to six weeks so those of us who are behind can catch up. That's my current goal!

Originally, I was going to reproduce the drawing of Starr but she had 20 pieces of hair. I thought Starr would be a bit too ambitious since my time was becoming more limited and it is my first quilt of this type.

I decided to create Rhoda.
She only has 9 pieces of hair.
Here's the drawing.

This is the work in progress. Bear in mind that it's larger than the finished piece will be. It'll be cut down on all sides. I don't know if you can see it or not but I have three places marked to add butterflies made out of craft metal and the background is dark because it's night. I've never seen butterflies at night but who cares! Of course, this can all change but it's where I am at the moment.

D~~~~

Life is Like a Box of...

2009-03-24T14:18:00.003-05:00

This is the quilt I made for Cloth Paper Scissors 2010 Calendar contest. The theme was "Life is Like a Box of ...". For me, life is like a box of sunshine so that's what this quilt is all about. Some days the box is closed and things are not so good. Other days, it's half open and that's when times aren't necessarily bad but could be better. Most days, however, the box is open wide with the fiery sunshine beaming brightly. Wouldn't it be nice if we could call up a company and buy a box of sunshine to open when we need it?

The flames were made by embedding various yarns, threads, Angelina fibers, and embroidery floss into craft felt on my needle felting machine. I then cut the piece apart using a rotary blade with a wavy edge, arranged the flames on the quilt, and stitched them down with a decorative stitch.

The quilt didn't get selected but I am neither surprised or disappointed. It was so much fun to make and that's a reward in itself! Sounds corny but it's true!

D~~~~

The Studio Today

2009-03-11T14:08:00.005-05:00

This is pretty much what's going on in
the studio on this rainy, dreary day.

D~~~~

More Drawings

2009-02-28T14:43:00.002-06:00

Sonja

Wild Wilma

Natalia

Starr

While drawing this gal, One Life to Live was on the TV. I paused on the character Starr Manning and tried to draw her hair. She's my favorite so far.

Cher

I don't know why but when I went to name her, Cher was the first thing that popped into my mind. She doesn't look like Cher so I have no idea why. After all, it's not like she's wearing a sequined headdress and a skimpy outfit or anything. That might be another drawing though!

D~~~~

Faces on Fabric

2009-02-26T07:02:00.005-06:00

I am taking an online class entitled "Faces on Fabric" from one of my favorite quilt artists, Terri Stegmiller. Check out her blog here. A good way to see her work is to go to her etsy shop. For my friends who aren't familiar with the computer, it's down the left side of the blog page (about four items down)--click where it says, "Please visit my etsy shop."

I've been wanting to do faces for a long time. It's the one thing I remember drawing as a kid and even an adult--long before I became interested in art quilts. As you can see, our first lesson is sketching faces.

Below are some of the drawings I've done so far. Since they're in pencil, the lines may be a bit light but you should be able to click on the photo to enlarge it. These were my first practice drawings with no hair or necks. They cracked me up so I wrote names next to them.

The girl at the top of these two reminds me of a character I've seen while Preston and Triston are watching cartoons. I think she might be on Scoobee-Doo but I'm not sure. Actually, I think I'll name them all. So on these, the top one will be Hannah and the bottom Anna.

Olivia

Sue Ellen

Rhoda

This last one is Mary. Anybody know where I got these last 3 names--Sue Ellen, Rhoda and Mary?

When I first put this hat on Mary's head, it looked like a bowl! It was intended to be a knit cap (in case you can't tell) so I tried to remove the bowl look by adding the zigzag design and the lines. It looks much better now. I think I need to work on mouths.

I'm loving this class! Terri's instructions for drawing are excellent. I'll keep sketching and eventually have to pick out one of the sketches to reproduce in fabric. If I was to pick from the sketches above, which one do you think I should reproduce?

I look forward to the next lesson on Monday when we create templates for our pattern and make fabric choices.

Have a great day everyone!

D~~~~

It's February 14th and that means...

2009-02-14T08:14:00.005-06:00

it's Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

(Sorry the photo is not better--too many shadows.)

These roses were on the counter when I got up this morning along with a Valentine's card. I love George's creativity too. He took that pitcher down from above the kitchen cabinets to put the roses in. He's so sweet.

In addition to Valentine's Day, I'm 56 today. I don't know whether to say Yikes or Yippeee! I think I'll go with the positive--YIPPEEEE!

D~~~~

I Did Say..

2009-02-11T14:45:00.004-06:00

Yes, I DID say that I was going to do a 6"x6" quilt a week this year but I did NOT say which weeks!! Did I? No. Geez Louise. Okay seriously, would you believe that I'm stuck in a time warp? Quilthog Day?

Okay, the truth is that I found out by trying to do a 6"x6" quilt a week, it detracts from projects that I really, really, really want to do much,much, much more. Projects that I either want to be bigger than 6x6 or that need to be bigger. In addition to all that, my Mom has been here and will be staying with us more and more so I need to tend to her needs.

In any event, I found myself in a rush to finish the pitiful 6x6 quilt below so I could start something I really, really, really wanted to do much much much more. Originally, I thought I'd really, really, really embellish this one much much much more but in my rush, the side stitching went awry. Once that happened, I decided to leave it as is and call it done. Okay, done is not the title. The title is SB43. Perhaps it should be The Ugly, The Flawed and The Annoying SB43?

This 6"x6" quilt is called HeartFelt Happiness. The heart is needle felted with various yarns and Angelina fibers. I made the yellow heart awhile back out of polymer clay. This was my first stab at doing a project on...

this needle punching machine that
George gave me for Christmas.

For those of you not familiar with a needle felting machine, it has five needles that punch the yarn, roving (whatever fibers) into the fabric. It doesn't use any thread like a regular sewing machine.

It's very fun!

Here's a work in progress.

Also February 8th was the first blogiversary of my other blog. The blogiversary for this one--February 9th!

Time really does fly when you're having fun.
D~~~~

Pink Saturday

2009-02-06T19:14:00.007-06:00

I haven't participated in Pink Saturday in awhile but I thought of a couple items that were post-worthy so I wanted to participate and share them this week.

My friend Marcelyne gave me this cute little rabbit figurine for Christmas many moons ago. It's been at least 20 years. Isn't it cute?

And here's another cutie! This rabbit vase was given to me by my friend Cindi not very long after I received the one above. My son Michael gave me the Mother's Day helium balloon around 1992 or '93? I cannot believe it hasn't deflated in all this time!

To see more Pink Saturday posts, click on over to Beverly's blog--How Sweet the Sound. There are 139 of us participants listed there so you can really go pink today if you'd like.

Happy Pink Saturday all!

Fat Quilt Organizing

2009-01-24T08:19:00.007-06:00

First off, you may have noticed that I am already off of my 6x6 quilt-a-week schedule, and if you didn't notice, you know it now! Between a quick trip to Indiana, making a rock 'n roll quilt for Quilting Arts' "Rock On" challenge, and re-organizing fabric (and other materials), my 6x6 quilt schedule has gone awry but that's okay, I'll continue that journey and maybe even make up the ones I've missed.

I had fat quarters in these long tubs (below) on the pull-out shelves. (George made this storage for me out of our old entertainment center). The other day, after spending a lot of time searching for one fat quarter in particular, I decided that this storage method had to go. The fat quarters were standing vertically and unless they are packed tightly, they slide down underneath and into lost la-la land. It happens all the time.

(The top two drawers were fat quarters.)
I mostly sorted the fat quarters by
color but some are by style.

Then, I drug a set of shelves out of the closet to put them on but I quickly realized that I didn't want to go to the floor every time I need to look through the fat quarters on the bottom shelves. Plus, I wasn't sure they were going to fit. After some thought, I turned it sideways, took the shelves out, and put it on a work table. Sure enough, they didn't all fit but changing the orientation gave me room on top as you can see. This isn't a long-term fix but it works for now.

And if you haven't seen it, here's the
back side of the entertainment center.
George added shelves for ribbon, etc.
Hubby did a good job, didn't he?

I have more re-organizing to do but for now, I'll quilt.

D~~~~

New Year's Resolution Art Quilt

2009-01-06T16:49:00.006-06:00

I made this art quilt today. As you can probably tell, I had some issues with it (especially with the overcasting stitch) but overall I'm satisfied FOR NOW. Why is it that I can test a stitch on a piece of test fabric and it works great but as soon as I use it on my project, things run awry! Oh well, I guess that's just part of it.

As you can see, it contains a list of my New Year's Resolutions, and it's actually the beginning of Resolution No. 1 to make a 6" x 6" art quilt a week. Will I make 52 of these babies this year? Highly unlikely but I think I'll come close!

The photo isn't very good--sorry about that!

D~~~~

Christmas at Uncle Norman's House

2008-12-24T11:05:00.007-06:00

In 1995, I wrote an article about a childhood Christmas memory of Uncle Norman's house in a newsletter that I created for family and friends entitled, Smiles For Miles. Every year, I reminisce about the few Christmases we enjoyed at Uncle Norman’s for they are fabulous memories! I wanted to share the 1995 story with you all on this wonderful 2008 Christmas eve.

CHRISTMAS AT UNCLE NORMAN’S
A Heartfelt Remembrance

Turning into the long, blacktop driveway of Uncle Norman’s farm in the country means the end of our long drive. Traveling from Deptford, New Jersey to Glen Moore, Pennsylvania seemed to take ten years but it sure was worth it. Uncle Norman’s house was always an exciting destination!

The driveway ahead extends up the right side of the well-groomed front lawn, with a few slight curves along the way, and snow flurries begin to fall in our plentiful view. The size of two football fields, the front yard to our left gradually inclines until it ends at a wall about four-or-five feet tall, and built out of boulder-size rocks. When snow covered, this extensive front yard looks like a giant cotton blanket, and the wall is used as a launching pad for sleds.

Perched above the wall is Uncle Norman’s white ranch-style house with cool French doors and yellow shutters beside the windows. On the right side of the house are three full-length picture windows. They take up the front, side, and back of the house.

A thicket of active winter woodlands swishes and whirls with the wind along the opposite side of the front yard. Alive with the warm shades of winter, these woods extend from the street to far beyond the back of the house.

It seems that our overloaded station wagon barely fits through the narrow driveway as we continue to climb to its end. After passing several gas lamps and nearing the driveway’s end, we slow down on the side of the house to observe the package-lined Christmas tree flashing brightly in the middle of the gigantic window. This is the last splendid attraction before finally coming to a halt next to the made-for-kids jalopy on the gray, gravel parking area in the back of the house.

We’re greeted by Aunt Edie and Uncle Norman while Honey, the Great Dane, is in the house barking her head off. Her husky roar competes with the whistling winds as it ricochets off the hard-wood floors and all around the countryside. Auntie Druck, Uncle Jim and Cousin Jimmy are already here and standing in the window watching Mom, Dad, four kids (or maybe five by then), Christmas packages, and a hoard of other terrorizing items slowly disembark. And Uncle Jiggs--well, he is somewhere, probably hiding from us!

In the field to the right is a large area where Aunt Edie grows a well-balanced garden in the summertime. Just past that, lies a pink and white stable, encased in a corral. Trigger, Belair, Missy, and Scooter, the four horses, hang their heads over the edge of the corral as if to say, “Hello!” For a moment, I wonder if Uncle Norman will take us for a ride around the farm in the made-for-kids jalopy, but the thought is quickly dismissed in favor of Christmas presents and snow.

Upon entering the house, a variety of heavenly aromas greet the nose. It is evident that Christmas dinner will undoubtedly be yummy. In the small, quaint, galley-style kitchen, the counters are lined with an assortment of foods undergoing different stages of preparation. It smells as if each dish is fighting to win the Blue Ribbon at a state fair by producing the strongest and most delectable scent.

The living room is almost as big as the outdoors! The many couches, chairs, and tables have been carefully arranged to provide a cozy atmosphere. The most interesting piece of furniture is the forbidden chair, an ancient rocker which is the throne where 97-year-old Mom-Mom Strang sits whenever she is awake. The three oversized picture windows keep everyone well acquainted with the events outside, particularly today’s snowy weather.

The remainder of the house consists of ordinary rooms with old-people furniture, except for an architect room where Uncle Norman draws using special pencils and giant pieces of multi-colored chalk. Of course, in an effort to torture us kids, this room is also forbidden!

After a whole two seconds in the house, it is our job as children to explore the packages underneath the tree and see who they are for. Each one of us is secretly hoping that every package is for us, and of course, that is not the case. Rats!

Staring at the tree and the packages, the day drags on... and on, and on, and on, and on. We worry that we will never get to open any packages. What if the grown ups have forgotten? We ask them often if it is almost time but they don’t seem to care. Frolicking in the conversation and laughter of their boring adult world, it is clear that they haven’t a clue about what is important in life!

At last, Christmas dinner is served and finished, and gifts are finally passed out. Once they are all opened, Uncle Norman emerges from the back of the house with one last package. It’s from Uncle Norman to the Richter kids (oh boy, that’s us)! The box is alive, and in moments... surprise! The cutest little beagle puppy emerges. Only a short time ago, our other beagle, Buster, died. In fact, we returned home from a trip to Uncle Norman’s to find him lying on the floor in the kitchen—dead! (He had been sick.) We decided to name our new puppy “Joy,” but Mom said her registered name would be “Richter’s Pride and Joy.”

By now, it’s dark and the world outside is blanketed with several inches of thick fresh snow, a signal that it’s time for a sled or toboggan ride. In moments, everyone is nested atop the snow-covered rocks anxiously pleading for their turn to glide down the massive front yard. Two on a sled and three on a toboggan, we take turns. One forceful push down the wall from Dad, Uncle Jim or Uncle Norman enables our vehicle to rapidly zip into the darkness and carry us non-stop all the way to the quiet country road. Auntie Druck’s contagious laughter is particularly joyful and memorable as it bounces up and down in the night, slowly fading as she zooms farther and farther into the dark. Aaaha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

At the end of this special Christmas day, one thing is for sure--wonderful lifelong memories have been created, and for me, they are memories that will always be treasured, and never, ever forgotten!

~~~~~~~~

Uncle Norman died in Huntsville, Alabama on March 27, 2003 at 92 years old. Sadly, I hadn’t seen him since I was a child, probably 1963 or '64. After moving from Pennsylvania, he lived in Key West, Florida for many years before settling in Hunstville. When I wrote this article, Auntie Druck called and asked me how I remembered such detail. I guess it was etched in my brain. Good times just seem to stick! My aunt decided to track down Uncle Norman because she wanted to send him the newsletter and she did. It warmed my heart BIG TIME! Uncle Norman and I had some communication after that for which I am very grateful, along with the many memories that he, Aunt Edie, Uncle Jiggs, Mom-Mom Strang and Honey provided!

A little background on Smiles For Miles if you're interested:

My first two Smiles For Miles newsletters were written when I was living in Florida and missing everyone in Texas in November and December 1988. It wasn’t until 1994 that I published again, and I published quarterly that year. In 1995, I wrote three SFM's, and in '96, two. They were quite random after that and often during the holidays. The last SFM newsletter that I printed and mailed was done in 2004.

Currently, my other blog, Smiles for Many Miles takes the place of the original newsletter. Not only does it save on paper, envelopes and stamps because the blog is free but I am able to keep up with events as they happen. Oh technology is sooooo wonderful!

George and I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!

D~~~~

New Ornaments

2008-12-18T12:08:00.003-06:00

We bought two new ornaments at Pier One last night. I wasn't able to get a very good picture of this one because the flash kept reflecting too much but it's really a very pretty green. The text is frosty looking and it says Merry Christmas on the opposite side.

This one is beautiful.
The picture doesn't really do it justice.

D~~~~

Pink Saturday

2008-12-12T18:52:00.008-06:00

Beverly over at How Sweet the Sound is hosting Pink Saturday today. For my pink participation, I am posting some of my pastel pink Thomas Kinkade ornaments. They also came in a pastel blue and off white but of course only the pink ones are appropriate for today so here goes.

There are many more but I didn't have time to do them all! Oh well, maybe next week.

Beverly has 107 participants today so hop on over to her blog and click on some of the links to see more pink postings.

Christmas Tree Ornaments

2008-12-09T14:08:00.006-06:00

The tree is finally up!
Here are some of my favorite ornaments.

The caroling lady had a
matching Santa. I think he had too
much egg nog because he was in a
wreck. He fell from the tree to the
floor a few years back.
May he rest in pieces.
I don't know how well you
can see this one. No, it's
not a snowman but an icicle man.
It was hard to get a
really good photo of it.

I love, love, love these two!

This piece of candy ornament
is really pretty

The photo doesn't do it justice.

This is a cutie too

Tomorrow, I'll post the tree.

If you're not interested in
seeing it, DON'T LOOK.
Tee-hee-hee!

D~~~~

New Camera

2008-11-24T10:23:00.003-06:00

I love my Canon Rebel but when I go to a quilt show or any other event that requires walking around a lot, it is quite cumbersome to carry so I got a new smaller, purse-sized camera. When we were in Houston for the quilt show earlier this month, we bought a small Canon at Best Buy but I didn't like it so we exchanged it on Saturday. Here's the one we exchanged it for. It's much more user friendly and I love the color!

I've only taken... uh, like one picture... BUT SO FAR SO GOOD!
D~~~~

Wintertime Friends Progress

2008-11-21T15:43:00.007-06:00

I've been quilting the Wintertime Friends wall hanging. I'm not very good at free motion quilting, stippling in particular, probably because it takes practice and I haven't had a lot of practice. I'm thinking a long-arm quilter might be quite helpful but it'll be awhile before that happens. I love to use decorative stitches for quilting too, and I do so whenever possible. I'm about 3/4ths of the way done with it. Here are a couple photos.

I used decorative stitches in the beard and on the tan part of Santa's coat and hat. I decided to make the coat corduroy because it would be easy to do by just stitching straight lines there. And I thought it was appropriate.

The sky has more decorative stitches--silver metallic stars all over and I did some stippling around them.

(You can click the photos to enlarge)

For the snowman, I selected a decorative stitch that resembles a snowflake. White metallic thread with a tad bit of pink shimmer in it is used and blue metallic thread on the blue edges. Those outer edges and the snow on the ground probably need more quilting but I'm not sure exactly what kind. I'll have to think on it.

I hope I get it finished real soon so I can get back to art quilts!
D~~~~

Houston Quilts

2008-11-06T15:04:00.004-06:00

Here are some of the quilts from the Quilt Fest in Houston last weekend.

This is cool.
I like timepieces.

Below is info on the artist that made it. I like to give credit to the artists but I didn't get info for all the pictures I took. If there were too many folks in my way, I moved on.

I love this one!
The colors are great!

I love this whimsical quilt too!

Again, I was drawn to the colors.

I thought I had a info on this artist but
I don't. I do remember it was made
by a man. In fact, I think it was two men.

I almost missed this one and George pointed it out. That's a zipper opening between the buildings. Very cool!

ATC Trade at Houston Quilt Fest

2008-11-03T09:41:00.010-06:00

We're back from Houston and we had a great time. As usual, I loved it! I traded the ATCs I made at the Cloth Paper Scissors booth which was fun. Mine were Valentine ATCs.

I started with a piece of muslin about 14" x 14" since I would be cutting it down later using a 12-1/2" x 12-1/2" ruler. On top of the muslin, I placed batting (same size) and laid out strips of fabric on top of that. The strips were between 1" and 2" because in the end the ATCs would be 2-1/2" x 3-1/2", and I didn't want strips so big that the entire card would be one fabric. Once the strips were laid out, I took it to the sewing machine and randomly sewed decorative stitches, hearts and words. In addition, I added hearts and other shapes made out of craft metal and stitched on them. Oh fun!

The photo below shows strips with decorative stitches and hearts. I hadn't added words yet.

(Click to enlarge if you want a closer view.)

Once the sewing was done, I cut it to a 12-1/2" x 12-1/2" square, and then into 2-1/2" strips. This photo only shows a few strips because I had started cutting the strips into 3-1/2" cards and I forgot to take pictures of the strips until there was only a few left!

This shows them all cut into ATCs. At this point, I did a little more stitching wherever I thought it was needed.

Finally, I added a pink backing, and did an overcast stitch around the edge to finish them off. Then, I ironed muslin to freezer paper and ran it through my ink jet printer to print labels which I then fused to the back. (The label info included the title, my name, city, state, blog address, email address, and where I was trading them.)

I used metallic thread on all but one, and when it was all said and done, I only had time to complete seven but that was plenty.

Here are the ATCs that I traded.

And here's the ones for which I traded mine.
I love them!

Later this week, I'll post some of my favorite quilts from the show.

The Impressionists and Houston Quilt Fest

2008-10-29T19:19:00.005-05:00

My sister Linda and I went to the Kimbell Art Museum in Forth Worth today to see the Impressionist exhibit. It's on loan from a museum in Chicago and closes this weekend. I was happy that we made it because I've been wanting to go since it opened in June. It was very cool, very interesting, and we both enjoyed it. Sorry, no pictures folks--they weren't allowed.

Last year Linda went to the International Quilt Festival in Houston with me. She's not a quilter but she went to keep me company and we had a good time. This year, hubby is accompanying me. He's gone with me two or three times in the past. He likes to look at the quilts and embroidery machines. Well, actually anything electronic and he's there!

We leave Friday morning and I am excited. We'll attend the show Friday and part of Saturday, then head home around 3:00 or 4:00. I hope to be back in time to catch some of the Texas vs. Texas Tech game Saturday night. Hopefully, all of it! Both teams are good but Hook 'em Horns!

Since there were no pictures from the museum, I am posting one of two ancient relics--Linda (left) and me, taken two years ago. It's also a picture of the side of Brandy's face (Linda's daughter).

My ATC project didn't go as planned but I should be able to finish some up tomorrow. If I have time before we go, I'll post photos.

More soon.
D~~~~

Yikes! What a Mess!

2008-10-19T16:17:00.006-05:00

I'm making ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) to trade at Make it University which is held by Cloth Paper Scissors magazine at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. It takes place the end of this month.

The Quilting Arts/Cloth Paper Scissors Editor's blog says that we are "strongly urged to bring ATCs with any kind of holiday (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas) or entertainment theme (movies, music, TV shows, favorite quotes or lyrics)." They'll have a wall full of them and there's no limit to how many we can trade. I'm doing Valentine's day since it's also my birthday.

Anyway, this is my mess as my ATCs are under construction! I'll bet I'm not the only one that makes a big mess in the midst of creating!

Also, I removed all the stitches from my Wintertime Friends quilt as mentioned in my last post. I'll probably work on it next.

The Blank Wall and My Wintertime Friends

2008-10-05T13:14:00.008-05:00

Here's a picture of the big blank wall above the couch in our living room! Ever since we painted it, I have wanted to make something for that wall but I haven't been able to decide exactly what I want to make.

With that wall in mind, I had an "Aha!" moment yesterday. I realized that I have an unfinished quilt top in my closet that will go great on that wall for fall and the holidays.

Anyway, it's the Wintertime Friends quilt top below. This isn't something I pieced together. It was manufactured as one piece. I purchased it several years ago right before Christmas thinking "Oh, this will be fast and easy!" It went straight into the closet until I got it out the next year. I looked at it, thought about it, and put it back in the closet.

Last year, I got it out again, only this time, I actually started working on it. I added batting, a backing, and started to quilt it. At that point, I decided it needed borders so I purchased fabric for a border. That was as far as I got and back in the closet it went!

When I drug it out of the closet yesterday, I immediately realized it's all wrong, wrong, wrong! This is both good and bad! The good thing is two fold: 1) It's good that I could tell just by looking that I used cotton batting, and 2) the fact that I now know cotton batting is not the best thing to use for a wall hanging is also good. It wasn't long ago that I would NOT have been able to identify the batting by merely looking at it nor would I have known NOT to use cotton.

It's also bad for two reasons: 1) The borders need to be on before I attach the batting and backing, and 2) I started quilting it. Yikes!

So in order to do this right, I have decided that I need to take all of the quilting out and start over! We're talking miles and miles of stitch-in-the-ditch quilting. If I had not stitched in the ditch, I probably wouldn't start over but I can stitch in the ditch again and it'll cover any stitch holes that are left from removing the stitches. I plan to do other quilting besides stitch in the ditch but I'll start out that way. Since stitch in the ditch is stitched where the seams are, and this has no seams, perhaps it shouldn't be called stitch in the ditch?! I'm stitching on the lines so I guess it could be called stitch on the lines quilting. Whatever!

Right now, the stitches need to come out! Then, I'll add the borders, cut a piece of polyester batting, make the backing bigger, put my quilt sandwich back together, and start quilting.

Everything I did to this piece was done on my old sewing machine and I'm excited to use my new one for this project. It should be quite fun! My old machine was not fun at all which is part of the reason that I kept sticking this project back in the closet, and after discovering all these mishaps, I'm sure glad I did! I'll post the finished version on the blank wall when it's done.

Isn't it cute?
It'll be cuter once it's done!

D~~~~

The Finished Art Quilt

2008-09-28T13:39:00.010-05:00

I got sidetracked with other things around here, and didn't finish my art quilt until yesterday. It's 10-1/2" x 11-1/2", and the name of the piece is obvious from the text on the front. I named it that because it looks like these guys and gals are happily dancing! So 1-2, Cha-Cha-Cha your way on down to the photos below.

The following three pictures are
close-ups of different areas.

The hearts and flower are cut out
of soft embossing metal.
I love, love, love that stuff
and will be using it a lot.
Sewing on it is fun!

Angelina Fibers are sticking out
around the flower and each heart
(underneath the beads).

I hope you like it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Texas rancher met up with a Wisconsin dairy farmer. The two men began talking about their land and the milkman told the cattleman that he operated his business on 125 acres. The Texan scoffed at such a small parcel of land. He said, "Yankee, that ain't nothin'. On my ranch, I can get in my truck at sunrise and I won't reach the fence line of my property until sunset." The dairy farmer snorted, "Yeah, I used to have a truck like that."

From Something to Think About by Raymond McHenry

D~~~~

Changing My Mind

2008-09-22T11:32:00.004-05:00

I added some beads to the art quilt but now I am changing my mind. I think some of the beads are too big so I'm going to remove them and use smaller ones. I also want to use a different color. I was hoping to post it by now but it'll just have to wait another day or two or maybe three. We'll see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's some motivational humor from Something to Think About by Raymond Henry:

Chi Chi Rodriguez, a professional golfer, cited an example of how his Puerto Rican accent can cause some things to get lost in the translation: "I asked my caddy for a sand wedge, and ten minutes later he came back with a ham on rye."

D~~~~

Sneak Peek

2008-09-19T16:53:00.009-05:00

I've been working on a small art quilt, and I'm happy to say, it's almost finished. I'm in the process of hand-sewing little seed beads on it with invisible thread. It's quite a tedious task, yet fun at the same time. It's getting easier the more I do it. It would be a lot easier if the thread wasn't so invisible but if that was the case, it wouldn't be called invisible thread. The picture is a sneak peek of part of it. I hope to be able to post it tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's quote from Something to Think About by Raymond McHenry is entitled Baptist Vices:

Two Baptist groups met in Europe, one from America and the other from Germany. At the dinner table several of the American Baptists began to smoke. The German Baptists were aghast. In fact, the Germans were so shocked, they almost dropped their beer.

I think that one's hilarious! D~~~~

Baby Attraction

2008-09-18T14:38:00.007-05:00

That's the title of the excerpt for today from Something to Think About by Raymond McHenry.

West Virginia Folklore has a tale about a couple who called for a doctor late one night as the wife was ready to deliver a baby. The country physician turned the rustic farmhouse into a makeshift delivery room. The husband was handed a lantern and instructed to hold it up so the doctor could see. After a healthy boy was born, the man lowered the lantern. The doctor shouted for this new father to get the lantern up as he delivered another baby, this time a girl. The father was thrown into shock when the doctor once again insisted that the light be held up. He said, "We can't stop now, it looks like there's another one." The shaky father than asked the doctor, "Do you think it's the light that's attracting them?"

That's funny! D~~~~

Motivational Humor

2008-09-17T13:44:00.006-05:00

Here's an excerpt from Raymond McHenry's book, Something to Think About. It's the cool book below that I received from Jeanne!

AGING PRIORITIES ~ Two old golfing buddies were playing a water hole when one hit his shot into the drink. As the old-timers puttered around the pond to find the sunken ball, one of them ran across a talking frog. The female amphibian said, "If you kiss me I will turn into a beautiful princess." His partner heard the frog's proposition and was completely surprised when his buddy reached down, picked up the frog...then put her in his pocket. He asked, "Why didn't you kiss her?" The senior golfer replied, "At my age, I'd rather have a talking frog."

Cute, huh? D~~~~

A Wonderful Package Arrived Today!

2008-09-16T16:43:00.015-05:00

I received the book I won in the give-away that Jeanne over at Backyard Neighbor held to celebrate her 100th post! It's entitled, Something to Think About and it's by Raymond McHenry. It's a really neat book! I love it! In fact, in an effort to share it, I am going to start posting an excerpt from the motivational humor section every day or so starting tomorrow.

In addition to the book, Jeanne sent a package of really cute napkins, and a lovely set of note cards--10 to be exact. That was very sweet Jeanne!

When I opened the package, I was greeted with this card containing a note from Jeanne. The shoe is too cute!

And here's the book. What's cool about it is that I very rarely read novels.

I am more drawn to self-help and motivational-type books so this is right up my alley.

How did you know Jeanne?

The napkins!

And here is the colorful pattern. It's called "Home for Your Sweet Tooth!"
I am a huge fan of color so of course these are perfect! The festive little packages trimming the edge are cute, huh?

Here's the cards tied up in pretty pink ribbon!

Of course, I want to share each card.
Grapes and pretty pansies on these two.
Very cool!

I had to include the envelope on this one because it was equally beautiful.
I hope it's not hard to tell that the envelope is on the left.

Strawberries and pears!
The inside of the strawberry card has
a lovely border around the inside.
You can see a little of it at the top.

I like the marble-like meshing of colors on the card on the left. The sun card is representative of time. It has the months written in the inner band. They are in... oh perhaps Latin? Or Italian? Anybody know? I think the Romans created the months. It's hard to see but it says, "Martivs . Aprilis . Maivs . Junivs . Julivs. Augustvs . Septembris . Octobris. Novembris . Decembris"

After I opened them up, I laid
them all out on the counter.
I loved them all so I asked myself
which ones are my favorites?
The following three were my favorites.

The cool design, and of course,
the shimmer and shine won
me over on this one!

Love the heart and especially the sheet music here!

The colors are yummy on
this last one! I had to include
the envelope because it
was just as cheerful!

Thank you so very much Jeanne!
I love it all!
D~~~~

Give Me Your Answer True!

2008-09-06T15:54:00.007-05:00

That's the name of this 12-1/2" x 12-1/2" art quilt. Between things going on around here and our Labor Day trip, it seems like it took forever to complete it. In any event, I'm glad it's done.

The quilt background is muslin painted with Jacquard Lumiere. I drew the daisy on and stitched it in with a decorative stitch using copper metallic thread. I was pleased that I successfully filled in the entire design without issue because as soon as it was completely stitched, I had trouble with the metallic thread. I recently wrote a little humor about my metallic thread issues in a previous post entitled Metallic Thread Smackdowns in case you're interested. (I have to keep a sense of humor about these metallic thread issues and writing about them is one way for me to do that!)

The daisy is outlined with copper dimensional paint and the center dots are dimensional paint too. It's quilted with a decorative stitch and the border is a batik fabric cut with a decorative rotary cutter. It's fused onto the front and back.

The flowers in each corner are cut out of soft embossing metal, backed with fabric, and secured together with Crop-A-Dile gromlets. The center of the gromlet is colored in with dimensional paint, and topped with a sequin and bead. The flowers are placed atop a mound of tulle (gathered in the middle with a knot) and sewn on by hand.

The quilt is a tad bit cattywampus but I think that adds to the charm. I really like it! D~~~~

I Won!

2008-08-24T19:42:00.007-05:00

I wanted to say Thank You to Jeanne over at Backyard Neighbor. She did a give-a-way to celebrate her 100th blog post and I won the drawing! Yahoo! I'm so excited because she's giving away a motivational book entitled Something to Think About by Raymond McHenry! The subtitle reads: "Over 1200 entertaining stories, captivating quotes and memorable humor alphabetized and indexed for easy use." I KNOW I'm gonna love it! I am soooo looking forward to reading it. I also want to wish you a speedy recovery Jeanne! You're in my prayers. Thanks again! Oh and check out Jeanne's fun blog y'all. D~~~~

Rain, Rain! Don't Go Away!

2008-08-19T15:09:00.005-05:00

For the last few days, our weather has been unbelievable and fantastic for August in Texas! It's been raining off and on for several days, and right now the temperature on my front porch is 72. I am in heaven! Normally, we'd be hovering somewhere near 100 with no rain in sight. Oh how I wish it'd stay this way until Autumn or let's just start Autumn right now!

I took this photo a couple of hours ago out the back door. You can't really see the rain but you can see where it's hitting the hot tub cover. Oh and how 'bout that lovely wad of wires that hubby has perched on the hot tub.

Now back to working on my art quilt. D~~~~

It's another Fine Pink Saturday in the Bloggerhood

2008-08-16T06:43:00.009-05:00

When I was thinking pink, trying to decide what to post today, my stash of delicious pink ribbon immediately came to mind so I thought I'd share some of them. You might notice that I also threw a roll of pink tulle in there. I couldn't resist displaying it in this cute metal basket with little appropriate pink hearts.

Oh yes, I do love ribbon, especially pink. And sheer. And thin. And thick. And solid. And striped. And wired. And not wired. It's all love!

Thank you to Beverly over at How Sweet the Sound for hosting this Pink Saturday once again. See Beverly's blog for a list of Pink Saturday participants and go visit other participant's blogs to see what kind of pinkness they have in store for us today!

Have a good Pink Saturday and a wonderful weekend y'all! Oh goodness--when I wrote "y'all," I could suddenly hear Paula Deen saying it! D~~~~

Metallic Thread Smackdowns

2008-08-15T17:29:00.016-05:00

I was engrossed in working on an art quilt and then I got sick for a week. Yuck! I haven't been sick like that in years. I'm slowly getting back to normal so I'm a happy camper, or shall I say a happy art quilter. I'm now ready to get back to the quilt!

I was really loving the quilt when I started having an issue with metallic thread. Grrr! (That's probably what made me sick!) I had drawn a simple design and was filling it in with copper metallic thread using a decorative stitch on a painted 12" X 12" muslin sandwich. Actually, the design was completely filled in, and I was trying to do some French knots when the machine started to vibrate. The next thing I know, the needle goes up and every thing stops abruptly. The display screen has a flashing message that says, "Stopped for Safety Purposes!"

Safety purposes? Safety purposes! I didn't even know I was in danger! Every time I tried to resume, it'd go a few stitches and I'd get the same result so I quit. I was having visions of the machine beheading me--my head rolling across the floor bouncing off the wall and coming to rest next to a table leg. I hate it when that happens! I think it would also upset my two doggies tremendously. Or else they'd push me here and there with their noses and roll me around with their paws in a playful manner. Little traitors! Perhaps I should be wearing a helmet and a seat belt while sewing a metallic French knot? Who knows! I did clean out under the bobbin after I quit, and found a few stray tidbits of thread but nothing that I would think is a big deal.

Now I must tell you that with my fairly recent discovery of loving to make art quilts, also comes the fact that I have zero sewing experience. Okay, I lied. I had a tad bit of sewing in Home Economics class in high school. We're talking 35, 40 years ago! Also, took one class to make an Amy Butler apron and bag in February.

So anyway I'm teaching myself thread-by-thread, stitch-by-stitch, how to sew. Since anything goes for art quilts, I can pretty much make up my own sewing rules too as long as the machine will cooperate! Fortunately, I only have one sewing rule and that is: There are no rules. Perhaps that non-rule rule could be my problem but let's not waste time thinking about it!

Actually, I think my metallic thread problem could be that I used almost the entire spool. The remaining thread was loose on the spool when I pulled it off, and I am hoping that was the issue. I am either going to buy a new spool of thread, and see if I can do French knots with it, or do something completely different where the French knots would have been. Probably something different but I still need a new spool of copper metallic thread!

I must tell you that this isn't my first run-in with metallic thread either. We've had more than a few smackdowns in the past--sometimes I can sew successfully with it, most of the time not! Sometimes, I cannot even wind a bobbin with it. Sad, but true.

The heartbreaking part for me is that I really, really love metallic thread! It's slick, shiny, and holds my attention real well--danging there all pretty in front of me. I'm getting chills just thinking about it. Anyway, I gotta go now--it's 6:30--time to fondle my metallic thread.

I hope to be posting the still unnamed art quilt soon. D~~~~

Pink Saturday

2008-08-09T08:07:00.006-05:00

Beverly over at How Sweet the Sound is hosting another Pink Saturday. Thanks Beverly!

We purchased the picture below at an art auction on a cruise. It hangs in the dining room which is currently and temporarily an exercise room. I love the hot pink canopy.

Initially, I took the picture directly in front of it but I kept getting a reflection off the glass so I had to take it on an angle.

Also, thanks to my friend Woody for sending me the graphic below to use for my Pink Saturday signature. She has a lot of graphics and I'm happy that she passed this one on to me! Isn't it cute?
Does anyone know how I can get rid of the white background in the graphic using Photoshop? I tried decreasing the opacity but it changes the entire picture. There is a lock in the layers pallete and when I click it,it doesn't unlock it. The Help section says that if it's locked, it cannot be changed, only the background layer which is what I want to do. It's a bitmap so perhaps it's not editable at all? D~~~~

Brett Favre

2008-08-07T09:24:00.004-05:00

After all the speculation and controversy, the Green Bay Packers traded Brett Favre to the New York Jets. What a shame! After 16 years, they didn't want him back, and he's been so successful too. I really like Favre. He sure is fun to watch! I'm sad that things turned out that way but I guess that's the name of the game sometimes.

Several things have come out of this for me, 1) I will be rooting for the Jets a lot this year, but of course not over the Dallas Cowboys! The Cowboys always come first, and 2) In the midst of all this heat, it's actually starting to feel like Football season. I'm excited about it! The first of four pre-season games start this Saturday and then the season starts. Yay! D~~~~

Making Memories

2008-08-05T16:58:00.014-05:00

Preston & Triston went home today after a six-day visit. What a joy they were to have around!

We drew, colored, painted, sewed, made deviled eggs and cupcakes, drank hot chocolate, played Tiger Woods Golf, Madden Football and Cars on XBox, played Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Walkie Talkied, played with the games Paw-Paw downloaded to his iPhone and the recording feature, went to Cabala's, bought toys at Target, and with a mere Nerf gun we captured the Burger burglar, Pizza killer, Macaroni & Cheese bandit, Marshmallow troublemaker and more. And of course, they wrestled with Paw-Paw.

We made lots of great memories and here are some photos.

Coloring!

Licking the icing bowl.

Singing Happy Birthday to their cousin Cavan because they weren't able to go to his birthday party. They just got over being sick.

Hugging a moose at Cabala's.

Hanging out at the aquarium at Cabala's.

To ignore the 100+ temperatures, we drank hot chocolate several afternoons, and pretended it was snowing outside.

Preston hugging Sally.
They both love the dogs.

Wrestling with Paw-Paw.

Listening to a recorded poot on Paw-Paw's iPhone.

Playing XBox.

Sewing on the butterfly Preston drew and colored for Mommy on construction paper after backing it with batting and fabric.

Below is my very favorite picture of Preston this visit.

And this is my very favorite of Triston this visit.

He fell asleep in the chair.

Here are some Triston Tidbits:

After taking a bath, while brushing his hair, I noted, "You are beautiful."

"No, Mimi I'm handsome!"

"Yes, you are and you're gonna have so much fun at school." (He's starting Pre-K on Monday).

"I know! All the kids are gonna like me and I'm gonna make a lotta fwiends."

The next day when I told Paw-Paw about our conversation, Triston added, "And I'm gonna be weal handsome when I go to school too!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mimi, do you know how to type, www. Cartoon Network.com?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

George, me, Preston and Triston were playing Tiger Woods Golf on XBox when Triston abruptly decided he didn't want to play anymore because he was tired.

He went to the love seat, carefully spread a blanket out, set a pillow up, climbed up there, laid back, and firmly announced, "Don't nobody wake me up til I say!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After buying Triston a Nerf gun, Paw-Paw told him to stand in the middle of the room, put the ends of two Nerf bullets in his mouth (they're several inches long), turn sideways, and don't move.

"Stand real still now Triston"

Paw-Paw then shot the nerf bullets out of his mouth from across the room. It was pretty funny. We all got a kick out of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did fall down on my blogger job by not getting pictures of them painting the boxes they made with Paw-Paw for Mommy & Daddy. I intended to but got engrossed in supervising and forgot!

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of their finished projects.

For more photos of their visit, see my other blog, Smiles For Many Miles.

My Pink Saturday Peg Board

2008-08-01T22:49:00.007-05:00

It's Saturday and Beverly at How Sweet the Sound is hosting another Pink Saturday. Thank you Beverly!

Here's my Pink Saturday post--a photo of the handy pink peg board in my studio. I had planned to post it in the future but that plan fell by the wayside because the picture I was going to share today disappeared off my hard drive and out of Photoshop. (Possible user error!)

In any event, I am in the process of rearranging the board which is why I wanted to wait but when I couldn't find the other picture, I thought, "What the heck!"

I love my peg board because it keeps some of the tools I use most at my fingertips.

To visit blogs of other Pink Saturday participants, click over to Beverly's blog, How Sweet the Sound for a list.

Our Fun Grandsons are Here!

2008-08-01T15:11:00.009-05:00

Our grandsons, Preston and Triston arrived Wednesday and will be here until the beginning of next week. We wanted to spend some time together before they return to school on August 11th. Where does the time go?

Last night, we colored, crumpled and washed over. The end result wasn't exactly as we planned but we sure had a good time!

Triston, 4 and Preston, 9

For more photos, see my other blog.
D~~~~

Whataburger Rerun!

2008-07-28T21:49:00.012-05:00

George and I went back to Whataburger yesterday—the site where we were officially crowned senior citizens! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click here to read my previous post, "It's Official!", about that jolting, dose-of-reality experience.

Anyway, we strolled into Whataburger, and there SHE was behind the counter; the woman (our age) who officially bestowed us both with the title “senior citizen.” She was bent over doing busywork underneath the counter, and it was only a few seconds before she popped back up. I didn’t really want to look in her direction but I felt the need to be polite so I carefully and slowly glanced her way. She stopped what she was doing, and looked back at me.

The second her eyes hit me, I heard a very loud cracking noise. It was my face! Wrinkles and lines were forming and running rapidly all over the place! It sounded like an earthquake or volcano was taking place right on my epidermis. I was sure that my face was quickly beginning to resemble a map of New York City, and there was no way to stop it! Ugh!

Thankfully, a kind and cheerful young lady approached from behind the counter, and the noise subsided. She happily asked if she could help us, and we ordered our usual—a breakfast meal, and a breakfast on a bun. This means, we only get ONE drink.

As soon as George paid for our order, the young woman turned on me. “Ma’am, do you want a drink too?”

It clearly meant that she was offering me the Senior Citizen Free Drink!

I quickly thrust my index fingers into my ears to block out the thunderous crackling that was occurring from head to toe this time. Even worse, my breasts plunged towards my knees about a foot like they just fell off a high-rise building, and my hip popped out of joint right there in the middle of Whataburger!

I was sure people were staring so I was afraid to look around. I tried to act nonchalant but that was impossible with so much going on. In addition, I was imagining the staff busy in the back trying to seniorfy our breakfast sandwiches by running them through a blender.

After a moment’s hesitation, and with fingers in my ears, I nodded yes in response to her question. Hey, a free drink is a free drink! George and I then wandered over to the condiment counter to stock up on the many straws we anticipated needing to consume our breakfast.

I’m think we'll start going to McDonald’s because my body can take much more of this place! D~~~~

Pink Saturday

2008-07-26T06:49:00.005-05:00

I'm excited to be participating in Pink Saturday! I was shopping with my friend Faye one day, and we came across this pink hat. We each purchased one to wear for the remainder of our shopping trip although if I recall correctly, Faye's was a different color. It was fun, and of course, I loved the color!

To view more Pink Saturday photos, click here to go to a list of links on Beverly's How Sweet The Sound blog. I haven't been through all the links yet but so far I'm lovin' the pink churches on Heidi's Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly blog.

Here's is my pink photo. D~~~~

We're Back From Indiana

2008-07-22T18:48:00.005-05:00

Last week, we spent several days visiting family in Mt. Vernon and Evansville, Indiana. As usual, it was great fun.

Notice the ghost on the side of my brother-in-law Randy's horse. The horse is appropriately named Casper.

I thought this was a neat view out the back door of Randy's shop although the photo doesn't really do it justice. It's so pretty in Indiana. Everything is so green and the trees are so tall! Right now, here in this part of Texas, the grass is brown, gold and brittle. And our trees don't get nearly as tall.

For more photos, see my other blog, Smiles For Many Miles
D~~~~

Rooster Window #3 and More

2008-07-15T08:04:00.007-05:00

I meant to shut my computer down again last night after having those issues but I forgot. When I came to the computer this morning, getting online was a no go even though my signal strength was "excellent!" Liar!
I shut the computer down for a couple hours and when I turned it back on, SURPRISE, it worked!
So, here's the photos I wanted to post.

Rooster Window #3.

Above and below are a day shot and a night shot of all three windows. It's the best I could do with the light. Oh sure, I could have gotten Geo's flood light on a tripod out of the garage and turned it on behind me but that would involve hiking over lawn equipment, navigating up, over, and around power tools (some of which are very large) and climbing up rather high to somehow pull it off it's perch near the ceiling. That, my friend, would mean putting my life in danger! Also, I'm lazy.
I didn't realize that when Geo gets his shop built, I might be able to take better pictures. Or we could purchase actual lights for photography one of these days. Do people actually do that?

Below is my bargain find at TJ Maxx that I mentioned in the previous post. It's another piece to add to my collection of glass poultry nic nacs. It was a mere $3.00! I think this blue eyeless wonder is really cute but the question is:
What is it? Is it a hen? Is it a penguin? Do you know what it is? If so, place your vote in the poll on the sidebar, or if you don't like any of those choices, leave a comment in the comment section telling me what you think it is.

I took the picture below up close through the glass of one of the roosters in the 3rd Rooster Window.
Isn't it cool? And pretty?
D~~~~

Blogger Issues, Computer Issues, Just Plain Old Issues!

2008-07-14T22:04:00.006-05:00

I attempted to post rooster window #3 tonight but when I tried to upload the photo, I got an error message from Blogger that said "Internal Error," whatever that means! I don't know and I don't care. I just want it to magically work! I immediately changed from Firefox to Internet Explorer but got the same message so I shut the computer down.

I did some packing for our trip, came back to the computer a couple of hours later, and fired it up. This time, I get a message that says "address not found," blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada! I can't even get on the internet let alone to my blog. Both Firefox and Internet Explorer won't let me on the internet but the icon at the bottom of my window says "Signal Strength Excellent." It doesn't seem so excellent!

I came to hubby's computer and getting on the internet is a snap! So the good news for me is I'm on the internet, and the bad news is that my photos are on my computer so I still can't post the rooster windows. Oh and I made a bargain find today in TJ Maxx too. I took a picture of it and planned to share it but it'll have to wait along with the other photos.

Right after, I got that "internal error" message, I got a call from Michael saying that Crystal (my daughter-in-law who's like a daughter) is in the hospital and going to have emergency surgery to remove her gall bladder either tonight or in the morning. Bless her heart! I guess she had an internal error too. Now I know what it is. Actually, when I couldn't upload the file, I did think, "Well, the gall!"

That being said, I need to go lay down and try to get some sleep. I'm waiting for Michael to call and give me details once he knows more. D~~~~

No Rooster Window #3 tonight

2008-07-13T21:32:00.004-05:00

Well, I was going to post my 3rd rooster window tonight but after three tries, I give up! I'm having difficulty with Blogger tonight for some reason. I'll post the 3rd rooster window and a photo of all three rooster windows tomorrow.

The project I was making for the Cloth Paper Scissors Tea Party Challenge is a no go. It's due tomorrow so I would need to complete it tonight and email photos of it but that's not happening. At first, I didn't like the project so I painted on it which greatly improved it but I decided that I needed to abandon the project for now and move on. We're leaving for Indiana on Wednesday and I have too much other stuff to do. I waited too long to start the project although it couldn't be helped. Sometimes life just happens and you gotta go with the flow. Oh well, next time!

My niece Brandy was going to stay with our four-legged girls while we are in Indiana but she has to teach a cheerleading camp at SMU so she can't do it. That means, they'll be going with us which is really no biggie since they've gone up there with us several times before. They do need grooming though especially Mitzi Mae. Since my regular groomer is not open tomorrow, I may have to take them to PetSmart to get them spiffed up and looking good. For now, I think I'll lay in bed and watch some TV. Have a good night y'all! D~~~~

Rooster Window #2

2008-07-12T20:49:00.004-05:00

Here's the three roosters on the middle window in the kitchen. It's not a very good picture though. I took one this morning to put on here but when I downloaded it, you couldn't see the roosters well at all! It was really sunny outside so all the light was behind them and it made them really dark. When I discovered it just now, I hurried into the kitchen and took a few more. As you can see, the sun is going down. These were a little better but still not great. You can see the flash from my camera and the overhead light behind me in the kitchen. I'll try to get window three in some decent light tomorrow!

Three Glass Roosters, Three Glass Roosters, See How They Sit...

2008-07-11T19:38:00.012-05:00

I couldn't help but think, "Three blind mice, three blind mice, see how they run..." only they're roosters. It's the exact same thing only completely different.

These three glass roosters are perched in one of my kitchen windows. The two windows right next to this window also have three glass roosters in each of them. Actually, some might be hens. I'm not sure. Should I know these farm animal details? I'll work on it. Three more are on their way to the blog tomorrow and the next day.

I've been jonesing to create but there's been too much going on lately. Today, however, I finally got started on a project. Yahoo! I'm hoping to complete it in time to send pictures to Cloth Paper Scissors for their Tea Party Challenge but we'll see. No matter what, I'm having fun! D~~~~

4th of July

2008-07-07T12:02:00.002-05:00

Here's our girls, Mitzi Mae (above) & Sally (below), chillin' on the 4th of July!

THE GREEN-WINGED FLY

2008-07-03T21:16:00.008-05:00

I was dyeing some muslin this evening when the words, "there's a fly in my soup" came to mind. Apparently, Mr. Fly's GPS wasn't working properly and he detoured into my little vat of green Tsukineko ink.

It wasn't long before he was dressed to kill in his mint green wings.
So I did.

It's Official!

2008-07-01T17:40:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, it happened! It happens to everyone sooner or later. Well, usually later but yesterday’s later sure seemed sooner.

George and I went into Whataburger, and like we always do in fast food joints, we ordered one combo and one sandwich. In this case, one Whatacatch combo and one Whatacatch. We always share the drink and fries because: 1) we take in fewer calories that way, and 2) I’m not a big french fry fan but I eat a few. We paid the bill and the gal set two cups up on the counter (instead of one) for us to go get our drinks.

George asked, “You did put us in for just one combo, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” the woman replied, “But senior citizens get free drinks!”

Senior citizens. Free drinks. I was certain the world quit spinning for a moment because I felt the sudden jolt! The woman keenly noticed our deer-in-the-headlight stares and asked, “You are over 55, aren’t you?”

In unison, our heads bobbed up and down but we continued to gaze at her in silence. Finally, I replied, “Right on, in fact he was 55 yesterday.”

“There ya go and Happy Birthday!” she cheerfully exclaimed.

We each took a cup, and in our zombie-like state, slowly and silently trekked toward the soda fountain with our elbows bent, cups sticking out in front of us.

“Pahssshhhh, Pahssshhhh,” we filled our cups.

In my stupor, I glared down into my vessel full of diet Coke, and I was sure that I saw the words “senior citizen” written out in carbonated bubbles. I then turned to Geo and conceded, “Well, it’s official, we’re old!” He forced a nod in agreement, and I could tell that his lights were on but nobody was home at the moment.

I was certain that all the other customers could hear our rickety bones creak as we navigated the hard cruel linoleum Whataburger floor to carefully position ourselves in a booth. A few moments later, the very same woman brought our order to the table and I noticed that she was no spring chicken either.

When she left, I noted, “It must take one to know one,” and Geo nodded again.

Perhaps I’m mistaken but I thought that it was not long ago that senior citizen status was reserved for folks 65 and older. Somewhere along the way though, somebody has declared that 50 is the new 65. And of course, if that’s true, then 55 must be the new 70. (And we told our kids not to grow up too quickly!)

I recall (when I’m able to) being quite puzzled when I received a packet from the AARP right after I turned 50. It invited me to join and my spouse could join for free! So, because I’m 50 and he’s not, I pay to join and he doesn’t. It must be a penalty, fine, or some sort of age-related punishment!

However, the main thing that threw me was the meaning of AARP. I thought it stood for American Association of Retired Persons or something of that nature. I knew for sure that it had the word “retired” in it, and I knew for sure that I was not retired, but we joined anyway.

In an attempt to find out just exactly what AARP stands for, I just now looked through an AARP magazine, and I couldn’t find a thing! Next, I Googled it, and sure enough, I learned that in 1999 AARP was discontinued as an acronym. Now it’s basically just a made-up word—AARP—like harp but without the “h.” Apparently, they wanted to reach a broader audience so we no longer have to be retired to join but we must be 50. That explains everything. It was the AARP geniuses that declared 50 is the new 65. It probably secretly stands for Ancient American Relic People.

Since joining AARP, we’ve received the magazine every month for the last five years. I think that I’ve probably read two or three back when we first started getting it. They’re fairly thick, appear to contain lots of serious info, and they always have an over 50 celebrity on the cover. I intend to read them when they arrive but I never do. After yesterday, however, it’s occurred to me that perhaps I should at least thumb through them while I still have my eyesight!

Oh and as for Whataburger—George and I slowly gummed our food down and when we were finished, we eked our way over to the trash can, discarded our stuff, and wandered out into the parking lot hoping we’d still be able to find our truck. Thank God, we were successful.

Fabulous Tie-Dyed Piano

2008-06-22T20:33:00.016-05:00

George and I were in the Stonebriar Mall in Frisco today where we came across some shiny and quite beautiful pianos for sale. They were not in a music store or a piano shop though but a roped off section out in the mall. Now I don't know much about pianos (I can't even remember how to play chopsticks which was my big piano number as a kid) but they all looked like typical traditional pianos to me, except for this tie-dyed beauty. Wow! It was quite awesome, and cost a mere $100,000! Well, it's a mere $100,000 if you're Elton John. Can't you just hear him pounding out "Crocodile Rock" on those keys?

Zion Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, Texas

2008-06-17T14:48:00.011-05:00

My nephew got married in Zion Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg, Texas. I fell in love with the beautiful stained glass windows and the ever-so-colorful quilt hanging in the little entryway so I wanted to share them with you.

The reflection of the glass on the wall is pretty.

Naturally, this quilt grabbed my attention the second I laid eyes on it. I wish I could have gotten closer to take a better picture but I didn't have time to wait for folks to move out of the way. Oh well.

Jeanne's Fabric Birthday Card

2008-06-01T14:04:00.005-05:00

My sister Jeanne had a birthday in April. Below is the fabric birthday card I made for her. She'd been telling me there were flocks of red birds all over her yard every day. She was really enjoying them so I decided to go with a red bird theme for her. I messed up on it though. I used "your" when it should have been "you're." Jeanne never noticed but I know. And now you. Please don't tell.
(I really need to figure out how to remove the backgrounds on these pictures but that's for another day!)

Sue's Fabric Birthday Card

2008-06-01T10:25:00.009-05:00

At last, I'm posting again! I have a lot to catch up on between the two blogs. My sister Sue in Indiana had a birthday in April. Below is the fabric birthday card I made for her. Sue and her husband Randy have horses and are horse lovers so I thought that was the perfect theme for her card. I used leather for the horse and beads for the halter or maybe it's a bridal. I don't know much about horses so I'll just say the thingy around the head and face.

A Blast from the Past

2008-03-23T14:32:00.008-05:00

Now that I'm blogging, I wanted to share two small art quilts that I made awhile ago. This one (below) is entitled "Three Are Family" as in "I got all my sistahs and me!" I made it in June, 2007 and it's 12" x 12".

This one is a little smaller. It's called "Ropin' and Ridin' in Neon," and I made it in November of 2006.

Happy Trails

2008-03-11T11:08:00.004-05:00

Here's a 5"x5" mini quilt that I made to send into the Go Green! challenge for Quilting Arts Magazine. It called for using recycled materials. No new materials were allowed to be purchased but we could use what we had on hand. That's an easy one for me because I hoard tons of leftover STUFF.

To construct it, I started with a leftover piece of pink craft felt, and used and abused rotary cutter blades for the wheels. I wound strips of ribbon around the wheels and used dried paint splotches (which I save in a jar) in the center of the spoke area. I topped it with a bead and Mizuhiki is running through each bead.

The body is a strip of leftover sheer ribbon and dryer lint is stuffed underneath it. The dryer lint is topped with purple metallic paint. A stick creates handlebars, and the butterflies were cut off socks that were destined for the trash. The words Happy Trails are on a scrap piece of dyed fabric and the tail is yarns and fibers. On the back, I used a painted dryer sheet but it's not shown.

Birthday Card for Faye

2008-02-22T07:59:00.013-06:00

Above and below are pictures of a birthday card that I made for my friend Faye. For the outside of the card, I used the method for making mixed-media fabric-paper from The Paper Quilt article by Kelli Perkins in the May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. It basically layers torn decorative tissue papers and scrapbooking papers on muslin and is painted while still wet. I used metallic paints and further embellished by rubbing Angelina fibers into the wet paint. Once dry, I ironed it so the Angelina would shine and then quilted with metallic thread. The closed edge was bound by sewing on mesh metallic ribbon over a few spots of yarn, and the open edges are a sheer ribbon that I first flattened out on freezer paper with dried purple paint on it to grab spots of color here and there. The inside includes painted lutradur, decorative paper, ribbon and dried flowers. It's finished off with eyelets, fibers and baubles. I didn't love the inside but I did love the outside. Oh well, it's one more learning experience.

The Best Hubby in the World!

2008-02-17T17:46:00.007-06:00

Here's a picture of the greatest husband in the whole wide world! Take a gander. It's George ~ he's so awesome! One of the many, many reasons he is such a fabulous hubby is the birthday gift he gave me this year. He's always been a really good gift giver but he outdid himself this year.

Above right, is a picture of me with my birthday present, the Janome Memory Craft 6600 Sewing machine! As soon as I opened it, we set it up on the kitchen table and played---tried out some of the decorative stitches, wrote George's name, stuff like that. It comes with a one-on-one class to go over the features and I plan to take it soon. I am excited beyond words! Oh the possibilities. Stay tuned and I'll post my creations. Take care all.

Portrait of Preston

2008-02-14T21:39:00.021-06:00

This is one the first quilts I made. I traced the picture below it of Preston, my grandson to create the quilt. And of course, it's appropriately titled, "Portrait of Preston." The picture was taken Christmas 2002 when he was 3-1/2. He's 8 now.

Basic Sewing Class #2 and Sewing Machines

2008-02-13T08:17:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, I am taking a Basic Sewing class. Yesterday was class #2, and we started sewing on the apron. We put on the pocket, towel loop and bottom trim. We also put in pleats. Pleats!!! I did pleats and they weren’t even hard. Oh, I am sew comPLEATly excited.

I felt like a kid at Chuck E. Cheese, maxed out on sugar. Between the technology on the computerized sewing machine, and learning this basic and helpful stuff, I wanted to run around the room, bounce off the walls, and roll on the floor hugging my apron to celebrate it all. This is sew much fun! When the apron is complete next week, I’ll post pictures. I want to immediately make a couple more of these aprons at home while everything is still fresh in my brain. I don’t think it’ll be quite the same though since my machine is a 15-year old mechanical Kenmore but I need to practice what I am learning.

Geo and I have been scoping out new sewing machines for a couple of months now, and we're interested in a combination sewing/quilting/embroidery machine. I say "we" because Geo is somewhat interested in the embroidery feature. Although quilting can be done with any sewing machine, I think machines are classified as quilting machines because they have a wide-variety of cool stitches but I'm not exactly sure if that's the only reason. Perhaps it's a question we should ask. So far, we’ve looked at Janome, Brother, Pfaff & Husqvarna/Viking. The only popular brand we have not looked at is Bernina. Right now, the Janome Memory Craft 6600 is the frontrunner. We’re kicking around the idea of going with a sewing/quilting machine (the Janome 6600 mentioned above) for now, and buying a separate embroidery machine later. Since Geo is interested in the embroidery, I asked him if he would embroider. He said, "maybe." I guess we'll see.

I am both amazed and thrilled at what these machines do. One of the Brother machines cracked me up. To thread it, you pull the thread through these little guides and then press a button and an arm comes up, grabs the thread, and pulls it down through the needle! I laughed in disbelief. I think all the machines these days have some sort of threader on them but that particular machine was quite entertaining. A lot of machines cut the threads too--top and bottom! There are just so many really cool features and I look forward to getting a new machine! Have a good one day all.

Beginning Sewing

2008-02-09T18:13:00.001-06:00

I thought a good place to start this blog is to tell you that I am taking a beginning sewing class. If you read the "About Me" part of the blog, you probably noticed that I love art quilts, fabric and sewing. After winging it for years now because there are no real rules in art, I enrolled in a class at The Sewing Room in Frisco. It's five Tuesday mornings and the first class was last Tuesday. We're making an apron and a little bag that looks like it'd be good for make-up. I get to learn pleats and zippers, and just some good ole basic stuff which will be helpful. I'm liking it!

The sewing machine I have now is a Kenmore that I bought in the early 90's when I thought I would make some placemats to give as Christmas presents. Yeah right! I bought a pattern and made one but really didn't know how to put the binding on the edges. If I would have had exposure to HGTV, DIY, and all that stuff back then, I'd have probably taken off with this interest much sooner. Anyway, needless to say the sewing machine is mechanical and boy was I surprised when Geo and I started looking at sewing machines recently. Oh my gosh! I cannot believe what these computerized machines do but I'll fill you in on that in the next few days. For now, I'm signing off. D----