this and that

A while back I started this project

If you were with me then you may recall that it is an afghan knit in pieces

I'm using recycled yarn -- cotton from a sweater that was the DH's and acrylic from a sweater that was my daughter's

(YEAH RECYCLING!)

anyway, I hadn't worked on it much for a while -- a row here, a row there -- usually the last thing I picked up in the evening and then promptly feel asleep mid-row!

so last night I finished this block -- its number 4

on to block 5 soon -- maybe



This is my wild and riotous spending for the month

A whole $11.97 (including shipping)

it arrived yesterday -- YIPPEE!!

the plan is to use it as my exclusive repository for the family history data that I'm entering on the computer program

I had in hand already a 256MB one and a 128MB one, but I wanted a dedicated place just for the family history stuff, and since the 256MB was already in heavy use and the 128MB was just not big enough for all those files, photos, documents, etc., I decided to treat myself.

so -- I'm off and running!!

from the "I'm not done with this project yet" list

Remember this?

Way back in January I was working on this pink bear with the cool beaded feet

and I reached a certain point (as I do some times) and got STUCK!

Could not figure out what to do next.

(suffering from that "I know what I want it to look like I just don't know how to get there" thing)


Well, yesterday afternoon I decided to have a go at putting a face on her.

Here she is!

I used amber glass eyes, and the nose was done in the usual way first then I added all the beads over that.

and had to re-make the ears to get them to a size and shape that I liked

looking good!!

So today we begin the process of creating her "frock"

the plan is to dress her in a dress made of a lovely floral print (that had pink and sort of teal patterning) with a white eyelet apron, then there is the basket of beaded berries and the amazingly realistic if unusually large and bright colored bees to add to the whole effect

So no doubt you're thinking "you haven't worked on this thing since January -- why now?"

well, there's nothing like creating a deadline for yourself to get you moving

I've been filling in forms to enter things in the State Fair, and it occurred to me that there might be a category that I could enter a bear/animal in -- and there is, in the same area that dolls go in

Voilà! Instant self imposed deadline

(and I think I was just ready to work on it again)

The baby quilt got "sandwiched" together yesterday too, so I can begin with the quilting today -- it’s a good thing

time to get moving

goin' to the birds

The first of the patterns has been drawn up on freezer paper -- let the stitchin' begin!!

This folks is supposed to represent a Pionus Parrot (if you'd like to see some AMAZING pictures of the growth of one of these, check out this site and go to the baby bird section. When they are hatched they are all beak! Fascinating.

but I digress -- the color coding is a new item on the actual freezer paper patterns -- I'm hoping it will be helpful in keeping the piecing straight.

Only 102 pieces in this block!!

Raphael now has both wings

Finished up the last piecing on this last night, so now its on to some much larger pieces that should go quicker

I find that the more of this I do the better I get at it. When I first started working on the wings of the first of the angels panels I thought I would never get it finished

(Hopefully this is also good preparation for all those feathers I'll be putting on birds!)























the name's not Mary
I may be contrary
and my garden does certainly grow!

what we have here are the two little rows of green beans (ok, some of them are wax beans and until they make beans we don't know which is which, but it's alright); the biggest of the anaheim chilis (there are about half a dozen of them on the two plants); the first (male) blooms on the pumpkin and one of the several (about 5) tomatoes

Last night we had the first "harvesting" out of the plantings -- the DH used some of the basil in a great fish dish (Yes, I'll be posting the recipe on Hattie's Kitchen today!)

Today we'll be doing mowing of the back yard and spraying for insects -- it seems there is some kind of little lawn bug that is investing our area and turning the grass brown, so we're going to try to head it off before we have to replant the whole back yard!

into the fray!!

Why I need a design wall

to make it easier to take these kinds of pictures! These were taken on the living room floor, which means they appear foreshortened, and there is always the danger of a big black dog wandering through and laying down on them!

The top for the baby quilt is complete.

It is actually a crib size quilt, a bit bigger than the standard baby quilt.

The backing is all seamed together too and ready for me to do the "sandwich". I hope to get that all done before quilt group on Friday so I can take it with me to work on there.

And work has begun on this one too!

I'm still working on fabric selections of course, but I'm ready to start making the freezer paper patterns for this one now. (this entails taping the drawings to the patio door, taping the freezer paper over it and tracing)

Nearly finished the second wing on Raphael last night, and one of the two new openings in the Angel Lace necklace is surrounded with beads and the other one started.

Yes, the projects are moving right along!

This morning after several days of treating the back pain I did walk a short distance (about half of what I had been doing). Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be back to my full distance again.

But for today there is laundry to do -- time to get to it

fabrics for backing -- and to "paint" with

This is the fabric I bought to put on the back of the baby quilt -- I just love the whimsical print with the pigs and cows and chickens and SHEEP!!

Yes, and here are close ups of the two different sheep poses -- AWWWWW! aren't they cute -- and so "kid like", that I think this is going to make a great back for the lambs

Yesterday I started cutting the yellow strips so I can get the top all pieced together -- maybe today!


While I was in the store picking up the quilt backing, I found these lovelies too -- more "paint" for the parrot quilt.

And I can report that I'm now joined at the hip to my scanner as I've been cutting and enlarging and printing out parts of the pattern for each of the many birds that are in planning for this project.

mmmmmm, I don't know what part of a project I like best -- the planning or the finishing!

Fortunately my back is beginning to feel better, so hopefully soon things will return to what resembles normal around here

time to get back to the web site work------

just when you thought we were done cutting holes

two more get added!

This piece had been working under the title of "Earth Angel", but now I've renamed it "Lace Angel" as the background looks more and more like lace!

As I was starting to work on this yesterday, the DH said to me "what do you think about putting in two more tear drop shaped holes?"

It took me all of about half a second to say "Good Idea!!"

so here we are -- now I need to work the two new holes with the proper sequence of colors to bring them to the same stage as all the others then we'll see just how much else needs to be beaded -- or cut -- who knows!?

And at long last Raphael is flying on one wing

(and a prayer, no doubt)

probably flying in circles --

still lots of wing feathers to go here, but it's looking good

Yesterday afternoon I made the trip to the fabric store (to get a batting), and actually stumbled upon a fabric to use on the back of the lamb quilt! (just when I had quit looking for one) Pictures tomorrow (I washed it and need to press it before I take a picture)

In the same trip I found more pieces of fabric to use for the bird quilt, and this morning I spent considerable time enlarging the drawings so we can get started on that one.

This box of loveliness arrived on my door step on Thursday afternoon --

just one problem -- they substituted a color, so now we're trying to figure out what to do next -- meantime, I may not actually NEED that one skein they substituted, so it may not be an issue at all --

I'll be figuring out the pattern and knitting a test swatch to see where we are here (I just don't want to get within 2 inches of finished and run out of yarn!!)

One of the biggest time eaters in the world is maintaining a web site.

I have been working on a totally new version for about a month, and have now reached the stage where I need to clean off the server (I really don't need to have graphics of pieces that I sold 3 years ago still out there!) and start over.

Since I have had so little traffic to the site in the last few months, I decided to do the drastic thing and just put up a "pardon our dust" panel until I get it finished (hopefully by the end of July)

So this is what you'll see there for now -- and I'm working on it!!

time to get to it---

making lambs

TA DA!

the center block is now complete!! Oh yippie

So hopefully today or tomorrow I can get the blocks trimmed and the top stitched together (the rest of the top is yellow and I'm going to stitch it on the machine)

I was in my "stash" the other day and I think I have the fabric to back it, but I will probably have to go after a batting -- we'll see

Guess I'll have something for "drag and brag" at quilt group next Friday

Meantime I can report that I'm over 25% through the quilting of the log cabin quilt -- moving right along


LOOKIE!!!

we have a tomato!!

I discovered this little cutie while I was weeding and watering on Wednesday

there's nothing quite as rewarding as growing your own produce


For the next couple of days I'll be doing everything in slooooowwww mooootion --yesterday afternoon when we were out in the yard I turned to do something and got that horribly familiar "TWANG" in my lower back -- so if it goes as usual I'll be icing and heating (alternately) and wearing a brace and gulping down ibuprofen every 4 hours for a few days. Guess I'm sharing my dad's pain -- he just had an MRI on his back -- and I know he shared his genetics -- those degenerating discs in the lower back -- OUCH!!

more pictures from the "archives" --
this family group is my great great grandfather, his wife and three of their children -- he was a soldier in the Confederate Army, fought at Shiloh and survived to a ripe old age (he signed an oath of allegiance to the Union after his discharge at Shiloh and some of his siblings never spoke to him again) Can we say the stubborn in my nature runs DEEP!

I don't know who the cornet player is, but the fellow with the double belled euphonium (yes, its a real instrument, not something Meredith Willson made up for The Music Man!) is my grandfather -- WAY COOL!!

and under the catagory of strange circumstance: my grandfather (the one with the euphonium) was one half of the first graduating class of John Brown College. When I was in Canon City, CO, doing an art show in late June there was a group of 3 girls that stopped in my booth to look at my art and chat -- two of them had just graduated from college -- John Brown University!! (cue the Twilight Zone music!!!)

guess that's about it for today's ramblin' -- and about as much time in the chair at the computer that my back can take!

onward-----

a bit of work

moving along on this piece!

I still have not decided if I'm actually done cutting holes in it or not -- there are still places that I could do that

so far I like how it looks

work on quilts continues -- yesterday I spent some time with the premium book from the Colorado State Fair making a list of things that I can enter -- unlike most fairs I've been involved with, they won't let you enter more than one piece in the same catagory -- odd, but ok, I'll just enter in as many catagories as I can fit something into!

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time sorting through a hugh pile of papers and ended up with a large stack of paper that can be used to print stuff on the back of, a stack of trash and a folder full of documents/pictures/etc. that pertain to family history.

At one time I spent a lot of time (and $$) working on family history, getting original documents, reading census records, etc. -- even made a trip to Oklahoma and Arkansas to locate some family graves and talk to relatives.

The other day I discovered that one of the cemetaries we visited is now listed on line but the listing does not include our relatives -- interesting -- I will be contacting the list owner to see if I can correct the list

Anyway, I'm thinking its time to get back to some of this activity, and I'm going to start by scanning and writing to CDs these picture/documents/etc., so I can share and preserve them.

a weekend survived!

Saturday was HOT!

and I do not do hot well --

In preparation for the arrival of my daughter and son-in-law on Saturday, I decided to make a cake

This is the finished cake (before we cut into it after an otherwise odd dinner -- but we'll not discuss the cooking failures)

I should have known the rest of dinner would be odd -- I had originally planned to do the whole side of the cake with a basket weave pattern but I was busy running my mouth and messed it up then couldn't just remove it with a spatula as usual because I was working under the fan and it had already set up by the time I figured out the problem -- I TOLD you it was HOT!!

Aw well -- it did taste good, and I sent about half of it home with them to be eaten up (we don't need it all here!)













Even the dogs were hot.

(Why is it the "dog days" of summer? they hate it too!)

anyway, the black dog was a melting pile of fur (I'm melting....all my beautiful wickedness...must be the name -- Elphaba -- the witch!)

and even the usually busy red dog was just hanging out


I have now finished the fourth corner of the lambie quilt, so now its on to the bigger center block

Even though it was hot I did work on the quilting of the log cabin a bit more (that should confirm I'm truly off my rocker -- sitting under a QUILT when its over 90 outside!!), and I'm now in the wing pieces on the final angel panel -- and there was knitting on the Christmas project and afghan squares and a child's sweater for charity -- and more beads were put into the angel necklace too -- pictures soon, I promise

Today its the usual Monday chore -- laundry (ever notice when its hot there are more towels in the laundry? Every one of the 40-some kitchen towels and a lot of big bath towels too today -- more showers, more mopping up, more laundry -- and in the summer a dose of bleach in those towel loads to cut that musty, mildew smell)

at least this morning its considerably cooler!!

new "paint"

Earlier in the week I was all "gaa gaa" over the fabric I had found that I originally thought I would use as the base of the front for the new quilt we're designing.

After some consideration, we've decided that something darker and more subtle would be a better backdrop for the design of the front, and that beautiful stuff can be the BACK of the quilt --

now here's a first! Usually the back is the last fabric I purchase for a quilt -- but this works too!

Anyway, I was looking in the fabric store for fabric for the back of the baby quilt (I'm well into the last corner block which means we're closing in on needing the back soon). I didn't find anything that fits the requirements for that, but these other lovelies presented themselves -- more parts for the "still in planning" quilt

Yesterday, after at least 3 months of having absolutely no idea how I would finish a particular bear I had started I had an idea, so some time in the next couple of days, I'll be doing some experimenting with it to see if it will work (this will mean building a "test head" to try the eyes in because I do not want to mess up the actual head (I don't have any more of that fabric!)

I've also been thinking again about the pegasus/doll soft sculpture I had started during the winter -- working on "wings" in my head -- I want them to be fairly stiff so they'll stand out from the body -- I'm thinking stiff floral wire inside batting inside the cotton fabric -- and I'm thinking of painting the whole pegasus with a coat of gesso then a wash of color and some diamond dust -- we'll see!

Well, this afternoon some time my daughter and her husband will be here to spend the evening with us (they'll have to go back tomorrow afternoon), so I need to do a bit of "tidying" before the arrive -- oh yes, and decorate the cake I baked last night -- that should be fun -- we'll see if I still remember how!!

after a day of "radio silence"

today I have LOTS of things to "show and tell"

making some real progress on this piece

after working around the first two holes that I had cut in it, I decided that the design could stand two more

So, here we are, with at least two rows of beads worked around each hole, and I'm beginning some other design elements around the first set.

looking gooood!



finished another of the corner blocks for the baby quilt -- that makes 3 corners complete

And here is the finalized "mystery project" -- a totally washable baby safe lamb toy

it will go along with the quilt

a while back (when it was still winter) I had submitted this piece of jewelry (and the instructions on how to make it) to Interweave Press for one of their magazines

it arrived back on my door step yesterday afternoon with a "thanks but no thanks" letter

Oh look, just in time for me to include it on the website update I'm working on

the letter was a bit more encouraging than some of the ones I've gotten -- or maybe I was just not so thin skinned this time -- ok, one more letter for the "wall of rejection" and the piece of jewelry goes into inventory to sell













as you may recall from Tuesday's posting, the DH has completed the drawings for the next quilt we'll be producing, and while I was in Walmart (of all places!) I found this great 100% cotton fabric --

the hard part will be deciding which side of it to use -- the front, which has the great silver-y metallic patterning over the color -- or the back, which is equally attractive, just without the metallic look

this will be the main "field" behind the bird blocks -- awesome

(Oh yes, it was on the SALE table -- couldn't believe my eyes!!!)

Under the catagory of "pesto on the hoof" or "you come, I'll make lamb", we planted some herbs yesterday.

The sweet basil and the rosemary will be most welcome in the kitchen (and meantime, I need to keep the big black dog from EATING IT!)

This pot is one of my art treasures -- a friend from California did the mosaic work around the top rim and I've moved it from house to house ever since

Our theory for planting the herbs in the pot is that we hope to keep them alive through the winter by moving them into the garage

We worked in the back yard yesterday -- mowing, weeding the garden, fertilizing all the tomatoes and squash and peppers -- and creating the lovely "trellis" for the pole beans to climb on when they get tall enough (if you look closely you can see the first two little leaves on several of them)

Later in the afternoon a friend came over and brought his teenage son to help us finally remove the stump of the lilac bush that has been leering at me like a mad bull -- defying us to get it out of the hole -- it took them less than half an hour to do it -- Hurrah!

This is a new and strange plant in our back yard -- flowering pine

NOT

actually there appears to be a wild rose bush that was planted close to the pine tree when they were both little (why do people do that? Don't they realize the plants are going to GROW!?)

anyway, in reaching for the sun, the rose bush has turned into almost a vine, sending up long canes into the tops of the pine tree -- it does make an interesting picture



and from the garden patch, a "found object" -- a pretty blue marble

wonder if I can create a beaded net to hold it as part of a piece of jewelry -- like one that includes pieces of a blue bottle?

we'll see

After all of yesterday's garden activities my back is a bit sore today, so I'll be taking it easy -- just a trip to the local Hancock Fabrics (they are having a sale!) to look for something to use on the back of the lamb quilt and maybe some fat quarters to use for the bird quilt --

should be fun!!

Sharing the creative process

From time to time someone will ask me where I get the ideas for a piece of jewelry that I have done.

Since I've been thinking more about how that creative process actually works for me, I thought I'd share a bit of it.

This is a scanned picture of a piece of petrified dinosar bone that I got from a dealer at a recent show.

The actual piece measures about 3/4 inch by 1 inch, but through the miracle of technology I can scan and tweek to my heart's delight!




After scanning the bone, I lightened the colors, and made it BIG (printed out on a sheet of paper it is about 1/2 inches by 9 inches).

I already had a template for the bracelet I want to cover with beads, so I started looking for an interesting pattern area to use.

Once I found an area I liked, I used a Sharpie marker to outline the patterning. (see there toward the bottom left angling up)

and here is the pattern all drawn out on a piece of pelon.

Notice the large sort of rectangular space in the middle? That is where the actual piece of bone will go.

All of the rest of the surface will be covered in beads -- rusts, browns, golds -- all the colors I pick out of the pattern of the bone itself

Be sure to watch for progress on this piece!

One of the email artist groups that I belong to has been discussing journaling this week

Probably because of my own prior experience, when someone says "journal" to me, I think of what most people refer to as a diary (and my blogs ARE my diary!!)

But that's not what they are talking about really.

They are talking about using drawing and painting and collage and any other mixed medium they like to create a sort of picture journal -- something that I have not previously tried

So yesterday I decided to give it a try

My subject for entry #1 was the escapades of the Big Black Dog and a large black and white cat that had invaded her yard

Now I don't think my attempt is any thing other than very amateur attempt compared to what I've seen of other work, but it was kind of fun! So, I will try a few more.

Just in case you haven't been keeping track, right now I'm working on three different quilting projects:

1. Quilting a top for my sister (log cabin blocks)
2. A top for a baby quilt
3. Angel panels for a wall hanging

So, just to keep things interesting (let's not have time to get bored here!), yesterday the DH finished up the first drawing of the next quilt we'll be doing.

Nice, no?

This one of course will be built on the building blocks of what I've learned by doing the last one (the dragon that is) and should be a lot of fun in terms of getting to play with a lot of color!

mmmmmmm, nothing so exciting as starting a new project




Yesterday I made a trip to the local Hobby Lobby to pick up some supplies for a project or two

At the back a 2 yard roll of pelon -- this is the stuff I draw the beading patterns on and sandwich together with some warm and natural batting to stitch through, and I had used up all that I had

One skein of yarn from the "bargin bin" to be used to knit into afghan squares for charity -- my sister keeps me well stocked (she recently brought me a HUGE suitcase full!!), but when I can get a skein on the cheap, I add it to the color mix

An assortment of papers, stickers, etc., to use on a scrapbook project I'm putting together

And my reward for having been a good girl -- I have missed only one day of walking since I started on this program the first part of June (and that was the day after our show so it still included unloading the van, which is a work out in itself!). So, I bought one of my most favorite magazines -- and I might add that Hobby Lobby is the right place for this purchase -- a 30% discount is a great thing!! I have just begun my first trip through the magazine -- usually it takes me 5 or 6 times through and then I keep these for future reference. YUM!

So today there are errands to run (have to have the oil in the van changed) and web stuff to work on (I'm trying to do a bit every day until I get it DONE!) then it will be back to the beads and quilts and things

ONWARD!!