Nevertoolatetohavefun

Quilting and UFO's

2011-01-19T13:11:00.003-06:00

This quilt (wall-hanging) is one that I started before 2000. It is a Thimbleberries design. Marie Henry had a shop in Little Rock called Stitches and she gave some awesome classes. This quilt was one of them and I really want to finish it. All that is left is two brick borders and the binding. The quilt will just not "leave" me alone.

Maybe if I do something on it everyday the progress will encourage me to keep going and get other things done. Inertia is not a virtue.

Snow Effects

2011-01-16T08:36:00.005-06:00

This little snowman was the first one that Gianni built the day it snowed. Since that day things have really gotten behind and full of the extras in life that we cannot plan for and know of in advance.

Yesterday I came into my sewing room and pulled all the cards to catch up. What was funny was the one I pulled for yesterday was "Play With Kids". Well that is a no-brainer for me. I had the pleasure of spending the day with my grandson Will. He keeps me busy and on my toes because Mawmaw is his favorite "toy". We play Wii, well he plays I watch. You know those games are just too hard for me to move fast enough. But one thing he loves to do more than anything is ART. Drawing is his favorite. I am trying to get a box of just stuff for us to use to make ART when he is here (or when Gianni is here) so we can play. That is another sorting job for me.

Last night I went to a surprise birthday party for a friend who turns 80 next Friday. She has 7 children and they live in AZ, IND, NJ, FL and AR. All came but one DIL and a few of the grandkids could not make it. One of the DIL's organized the whole event and invited Bobbie's friends. We were the surprise, she knew about the kids. It was so much fun to meet such a neat, caring family and share in the joy of Bobbie turning 80. By the way she looks more like 60 than 80. Her plans for her birthday on Friday is to be at a place in Florida that serves $10 all you can eat lobster on Friday nights. Wish I could be with her. She and I love seafood.

Today I get to work at the antique mall, sorry to say there is no time to shop, but it is fun working there and being around people. Just no time for creativity today. Someone out there be really creative for me. God does want us to use our creativity, he gave it to us.

Snow and Snow Angels

2011-01-10T09:38:00.002-06:00

You know that Arkansas does not usually get such a beautiful snow like we got yesterday. We had to close Blue Suede Shoes Antique Mall early and by the time we did the driving conditions were already bad. Luckily my daugther lives in Bryant where it is located and I had packed a bag to stay with her in case of an emergency. This was an emergency. By the time I drove over the overpass and into her neighborhood I was totally washed out. All of the mall employees got home safe, which we can be thankful for that.

Gianni went out to make a snow angel and play. Mama and Daddy joined her. This is Gianni making her snow angel and her and Tonya together.

This morning it looks like we had about 6 inches and she is out to play some more. I believe that the house is the place for me. Old bones you know!!!

Creativity

2011-01-06T10:48:00.004-06:00

This year I have been talking about Choice Cards. What they are is a pack of 52 cards from Lynn Gordon entitled "52 Ways to Nurture Your Creativity". Well my really needs nurturing or a "foot in the behind". So each day I have chosen a card to share with you too. Maybe this will help your creativity as well as mine.

Yesterday the card was "Do It Wrong". Well that isn't a problem. Wrong is the usual way I end up doing it, but I refer to it as improvising. Doesn't that sound better? Usually I can envision a project, but somehow it never reaches my idea, is that doing it wrong? Well the best thing is "keep trying" and quit being my own worst critic.

Today my card was "Live Dangerously" - oh my!! I thought I was too old for that????

Not sure how to fulfill this card unless I paint in an unventilated room, which is not what I want to do for sure.

Anyway I am having fun seeing which card I pick each day. It may not be very creative, but it is making me think.

God is Good

2011-01-04T21:34:00.002-06:00

Today God was so good to our family. This darling is my granddaughter Gianni. Her and her Daddy were in a rollover accident this afternoon. They both came out of this accident with very little injury. Gianni got a bump on her head and they may both be sore, but what a miracle that God gave us today.

My choice card today was "Step Back". I am stepping back and thinking how blessed that I am.

Hard Choice

2011-01-03T18:43:00.002-06:00

My choice card today is such a hard one. "BE DISCIPLINED" . Now there is just something wrong with that being me. Discipling my kids was hard, even harder for me to discipline my grandkids. Can't you see why? Now my goal is to discipline MYSELF!!! Well maybe this is the year to really give it a try. The choice card is telling me to have a rigid schedule - come on guys I am a Gemini. No way. But since I would really like to get some things done, then maybe this will work. Well the year has just started. Let's see what happens. Any pointers will be helpful.

2011-01-02T19:09:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! My first two days of choices are "ASPIRE" . It is good to have a healthy ego, not a huge one, but a healthy one.

Today's thought is "Have a Fan Club". Okay ya'll are it. Maybe I can make us proud this year and really, actually do something and not just "THINK" about it. Wish me luck!

A Day With The Grandkids

2010-08-13T11:00:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a pre-back-to-school day for me and the grandkids, Gianni and Will. We went to Chuck E Cheese!!!! Okay school starts in Arkansas in the hot August day of the 19th. This was a place to play in the cool. I grabbed a table next to the games, sat down with my magazine and let them go. My job was to watch the front door and exits and keep up with the tickets from each child. They had a fun day and I had a relaxing, though noisy time reading. A good day all around. Next week school starts and maybe I can start having fun with adults or kids my own age???

2010-08-08T21:09:00.002-05:00

It has been a really long time since my last post. Not that anything is wrong, it is just that I have been so busy living my life and having fun that I have just not stopped long enough to share with anyone what has been going on. Let me just summarize (because it would take too long to write it all). My life has consisted of Will and Gianni in sports and just hanging out with them. Will and I are doing great on art and Wii. He played baseball at the first of the year. Gianni and I quilt, sew, play games and she is heavy into softball (go Thunder Black). Her softball is pretty much year round. Bill and I don't miss a game.

Traveling is my other favorite thing to do. I went on a 2 week trip by bus to "The Low Country", which was too short of a trip to Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. Both places are on my list to visit again and see so much more of while I am there.

Some friends and I spent our week at Cedar Hill, TX again at The 1890's House there.

Another friend and I went to Biloxi, MS to the Antiques Roadshow. No you won't see me on TV, but we had a great time and I got some good news about my great grandmother's quilt and my cameo collection. We went through Vicksburg and that is another place that is on my go back to list. During our trip we didn't miss any antique malls, or flea markets. My friend Brenda is the owner of Blue Suede Shoes where I work a couple of days a month and have booths. She navigated and I drove, so we didnt' miss any of the many malls on the way there and back.

Okay I guess everyone knows I am okay and really just having fun living a full life. I want to thank God for every day that he gives me and the joy that all the people I love brings into my life. I will try to do more blogging. Thanks for reading this short summary.

I Had to Have the Bird

2010-03-29T21:58:00.003-05:00

Have you ever seen an item at a flea market or antique mall and kept passing it by, but it wouldn't get out of your mind. That is what this little metal bird was to me at Blue Suede Shoes Antique Mall. Everytime I was in there working or just looking around I would pick it up and think it needed to "fly" home with me. So last week I gave in and brought it home. Now where did I want to put her. Well it happened that the same week I had gone to some yard sales and found this little pottery bench for a quarter. Don't they look cute together on my mantle.

When I told my friend Pat (www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com) about the bird (before I bought it) she emailed me back that she had a vision of me leaving the mall and white birds flying around my head. We thought this was so funny, but you would have to know us to know it was funny. Anyway it made me decide that the bird was meant for me. This may begin a new collection for me of bird and bird related things. Birds have always been special to me.

I hope ya'll enjoy looking at my little shabby chic bird as much as I do. Everytime I look at it, I smile.

The Rest of the Challenge

2010-03-22T09:53:00.003-05:00

Okay this is the rest of the challenge pieces that were done by the friends in our quilt group. There have been request to see what others have done. Of course I posted mine first. Sometimes you just have to "blow your own horn", especially if you really enjoyed what you were doing and like the results.

The first one at the top is Kelley modeling the apron that Pat (http://www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com ) did. Now Pat was really working out of her comfort zone because Kelley gave her black and white fabrics in her bag. If you go to Pat's website you can see how her colors differ, if you don't already know.

The second is a wonderful needle case that Sherry did out of some bright fabrics I gave her. She said I didn't give her enough to work with, but what she made is perfect as far as I am concerned. Sherry's is our crazy quilt maker so you know that these bright colors weren't necessarily her palette either.

The last one on the top row is a dressed doll that Jim made for Pat and as usual was done so excellently and creatively. He has more doll heads that he wants to dress. Now Jim can work with anything that you throw at him.

The Daffodil Pillow was done by our artist Bibi for Jim. She paints and that is definitely her strong point. Her dolls are so creative and she loves to experiment. Bibi made a box also out of fabric, but I did not get a picture.

This bottom one is what Kelley made for Sherry. Kelley's favorite pattern ever since she took a class from Alex Anderson is this little postage stamp and so the fabrics that Sherry packed in her sack were perfect to make this little wall hanging.

We all had so much fun with this challenge that we are planning on doing another one soon.

Thanks for looking and have fun!

Quilt Group Challenge

2010-03-19T20:09:00.002-05:00

Our monthly quilt/beading group decided to have a challenge. Everyone was given a bag and ask to put items in it for us to trade the next month. It was an "itty bitty" bag, but we were able to put quite a bit into the bag. The trade was done randomly so no one knew who got whose bag. We were instructed to take the contents of the bag, plus we could add items to make something for that person using the contents of her bag. Okay does that make sense?

Anyway I got my friend Bibi's bag and decided to use her items to make this crazy quilt. The middle flower is copied from an old postcard onto Jacquard's Silk for Ink Jet Printing.

The top picture is the back of the crazy quilt pillow/hanger and the second picture is the front.

We all had a lot of fun with this challenge and the results were amazing from each individual. Later I will post the other challenge results.

Thanks for looking. Comments are appreciated.

Friends Make You Feel Good

2010-03-02T08:59:00.003-06:00

This lovely heart pincushion was given to me by a very dear friend this weekend, because she knew that I was very upset and she wanted me to feel better. Well, how can you NOT feel better when someone out of the goodness of their heart gives you a handmade gift like this? Thank you dear Pat - a better friend no one can have.

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-13T20:50:00.004-06:00

This cute little Valentine is sent to all of you for a very sweet, happy Valentine's day. I found this little jewel at the antique mall where I have booths and where I get to work a few hours a month. The problem is when I work, I don't have time to shop!!!! Alas!

The inside of the card says:

DON'T WRITE TELEGRAPH
DON'T TELEGRAPH
GO IN PERSON!
(THAT'S MY MOTTO AND IT GETS RESULTS)

Snow Again & Quilting

2010-02-09T19:49:00.005-06:00

This picture is of my crushed gazebo. We had about 5 inches of snow, very slushy, very heavy snow. The snow was beautiful and for us Arkansans very confining. There is just no going for us old folks. Our snowflakes were huge most of the time and fell quickly.

Being confined to the house has been really nice. I have gotten some much needed rest and some of my quilting projects done. What I have done I can't show because it is part of a mystery quilt that our guild is doing. I have mentioned it before. When it is finished I will be able to post.

Bill, my husband, has been home this week. He goes into his computer room and I head for my sewing room. We each have our own end of the house and it works out well. I guess we are practicing for the day he finally retires.

Tomorrow I hope to be confined again so that I can do some more projects. Maybe something shareable.

Think Red Today

2010-02-05T10:37:00.003-06:00

There is a lot of talk about "red" today. It is Heart Day and the heart is something that is on my mind a lot - if I let it. You know you read all the articles about how to prevent heart disease, but they need to write more on what to do once you have it - not that I would probably follow them that much anyway. Apparently I ignored the ones before, although mine is probably a hereditary condition with unknown factors.

May I just say again how blessed I am each day that God gives me to spend with family, friends and even acquaintances. It seems that I still have purpose in life or God would not allow me to still be here.

So today, have some fun, think RED and remember me and all of those who are stuggling with heart diseases.

May all of you have a blessed day.

Snow, Ice and Quilting

2010-01-30T20:31:00.003-06:00

This is my igloo car after the southern ice storm because ice and sleet was all that dropped. here.

My front door was so iced over I could barely see out and it wouldn't open all the way. So what do you do when the weather won't allow you to go out?

Well I decided it was time to visit my sewing room and work on some blocks for projects I have started this year. This is my 6" block for a Mystery Quilt that the Saline County Guild is doing this year.

Then I had to do a 12" block for the same Mystery challenge because this quilt is not a mystery to me since I am one that is working on the project with my friend Fay Poe.
The block below is a finished block for a $5.00 quilt that is going on at Pinwheel fabrics (our local quilt shop). If we finish each month's block on time and take it on the due date and time to the shop we get the next block, pattern and fabric at no charge. Of course the fact that when I turned this block in I spent $80. in the shop doesn't count. The pieces are cut and ready to sew together for the next block and I will show it later.

It has been a very enjoyable snow day. I had a lot of fun playing in my sewing room today.

I'm Okay

2010-01-29T20:45:00.002-06:00

A few people have emailed me that they were wondering if I am okay since, as you can see it has been last October since I have posted. I am not sure what has happened except time and things keep getting in the way. There are no new pictures to share, no projects to record, although I am doing some quilting.
Most of us in Arkansas are in the throes of an ice/snow storm and if we are smart we stay in the house and build a fire. That was what I did today. Sadly my tummy decided to act up today and so I didn't feel like working on anything. I slept most of the day, read and watched "If Walls Could Talk" and my taped cooking shows. Maybe tomorrow I will wander back to my sewing/craft room and work on a couple of project blocks I want to keep up with. Take a few pictures and share them.

Houston Trip Part II

2009-10-29T11:53:00.002-05:00

Before going to Houston, I had such fun making the first Button Buddy that I had to make another. This one is all done in plastic buttons and although I gave it to Gianni, she has left here for safe keeping.

The other picture is a few things I picked up on the way home from Houston at an antique/junk mall in Nagadoches, Texas. I probably did not spell that right. It was a very good mall and held lots of treasures, but the coffers were low after the IQF show.

I could not leave this young man without any relatives. You know you find lots of sweet little girl pictures in books to use for images, but little boys seem to be rarer unless they look like Lil Lord Fontleroy. The 2 small crochet pieces may work on those candlestick pincushions I hope to make in the near future. They will be put on the top to cover where the seams come together.

The sweetest little vase in green was too cute to resist. Sorry, Pat it is in my kitchen window with my other green objects. Maybe I will show that in a future post.

Houston Trip IQF

2009-10-23T10:09:00.004-05:00

At the last minute I decided I could not miss Houston this year after all. On Wednesday the 15th I traveled half-way to my sister's house in Henderson, TX and then drove the rest of the way to the IQF show on Thursday. Lola (my GPS) and I made it fine - she took me straight to the George R. Brown Convention Center and to the valet parking.

The picture above was the entrance I walked into - a Fairyland of quilts. It was one of the most beautiful sights to my eyes!!! The quilts were spectacular, inspiring and no display was any greater than the other. You had to see them all and I did three times while I was there.

One of the great things that has been added to IQF is the Make-It-University (MIU) headed by the Quilting Art's Team. They do a fantastic job of organizing. The Open Studios where you can see the Artist who contribute to QA and see them work their magic with their favorite techniques. MIU also gives 25 lucky people per session the opportunity to work with these artist. You put your name in a fish bowl and be there when Pokey Bolton pulls them out - then when they call your name - your scream and everyone moves out of your way so you can get into your seat. I don't know if they moved because I was screaming or just because I was coming through. (I did remember to say excuse me - mother would have been proud). I only put my name into 2 bowls on Friday - and joy I got both of them. One was the postcard using images, gel stamps, and Misty Fuse on a postcard. The other one was using the wonderful TAP paper images on a journal page. I even came home and immediately stitched it down and put a back on it. Unusual for me to finish things.
Every year when I leave Houston, I say it will be my last year - it is just so tiring. However, this year I decided to drive down again next year, if I am physically able. It is just the most wonderful place to be and to have fun.

Button Buddy

2009-10-05T20:51:00.002-05:00

Hello, I know you haven't heard from me in a while, but I have become overwhelmed with life and all that goes with it. Not meaning to be morbid, but I come here every night and can't think of a thing to say.

But see my little "button buddy" he kind of got me going this week and I wanted to show him to you. He is not mine. I did him for a friend who provided her buttons to make him. She had tried and couldn't do it so I tried for her. It surprised me how easy it is to do. There may be one in my future too.

Exciting and Long Week

2009-08-22T08:28:00.002-05:00

What started out as a normal last 2 days before school started ended up being entirely different. Sunday night when Tonya brought Gianni over to spend the night chaos broke out. Gianni slammed her thumb in the car door. The thumb is on the left and that is her toe on the right, Both should have pink polish. Her and I got about 3 hours sleep during the night because she was in such pain. We iced and we had Tylenol, we sat up and propped it, we laid down and propped it, etc. The next day we went to the doc. Thankfully it is not broken, they gave her a metal splint to protect it and all is much better. It still looks awful and she will lose that nail.

Tuesday after a decent nights sleep the cousins wanted to spend the day together at Mawmaw's house. Being the great Mawmaw that I am I agreed. We went to McDonalds and then took our lunch to the park. All is well with these two unless they are doing something competitive. They both want to be ahead and being young have not figured out how to be gracious losers yet. It was a good day, but hallelujah school started here on Wednesay.

Wednesday I rested and rested. Well don't you think I deserved some rest? LOL I did sit and hand quilt the initials on Will's quilt so now I can take it to the machine and quilt the nine patches.

Thursday I worked on my BowTie Quilt and only have one corner left to put on. These are 2 inch squares put together individually (not strip pieced) so it is a little slow. This is such a fun quilt and I love the colors. It has 7" borders.

Friday I had lunch with my friend Kathy. She has been taking care of her husband who had knee surgery and she really needed a small break. We went to work on our booths at Blue Suede Shoes Antique Mall.

So you can see it was a busy and hectic week, but on reflection there was fun in there too and I honestly can't say I was ever bored.

Growing Things -Or Not!!!!

2009-08-16T17:34:00.004-05:00

It has come to my attention that I DO NOT have a green thumb. The tomato is one of 4 that has shown up on 4 plants, supposedly to be grown on the patio. False advertisement. I have watered, worked, and babied these 4 plants and they hate me.

Now on the other had these beautiful dianthius (sp) were not planted by me, well they were, but I planted them last year. Pansies (or was it petunias) came up by themselves earlier this summer. Now these beautiful plants have come up on their own.

It has come to my attention that I need to allow green things and flowers to be grown by others and I should leave them alone. Thanks goodness for farmer's markets and Wal-mart.

My Life in Catch Up Mode

2009-08-15T08:30:00.002-05:00

Okay, I don't blog all the time, I do think about it, but my life is in full throttle mode most of the time, especially now with summer and the grandbabies.

Gianni has been here all week, sewing squares together on her new sewing machine. She does an excellent quarter inch and is a whiz at the "frog stitch". Since she is 7 we are not getting too technical, we don't have a lot of time left since school starts Wednesday. She has had a lot of fun making doll size tops and small pillows. Although I am in the sewing room with her, right now I am totally comfortable letting her fly with the sewing machine, although I did let her do quite a lot by herself Thursday while I did other things in the room. She is very careful.

Grandson Will had the swine flu this past week, but he got medicine right away and has not had fever since Wednesday. Thankfully I had not seen him for a week before because they had been on vacation. Nasty stuff and really need to stay away from it if at all possible with my heart problem.

Last night I got to go to see Julie & Julia with my friend Renee. She has 5 grandkids and I have 2 and we are both equally involved with all of them. A night out together to see a show and eat is a privilege and joy. The movie reminded me to blog for me- not for any readers - although the few I have I love to get comments from. But blogging is a way to talk to myself and no one worries!!! The movie is good, but not quite as good as I thought it would be. I would have liked to see more of Meryl Streep - she did an excellent Julia Child.

This week I hope to get more done in my sewing room that will finish a few projects. And I will do that as long as I am having fun!

Sewing with Gianni

2009-07-31T21:12:00.006-05:00

Well it has finally begun. Gianni is now learning to sew at age 7. Wednesday I went and purchased a nice Kenmore for her to learn on and for me to take to workshops. It has needle positions and several decorative stitches. Mostly today we worked on mainly sewing straight. After about 3 hours of learning to thread the machine, fill a bobbin and sew a straight line she picked out some 5" squares from my stash.

Here is what she got done after about 3 hours. The blue one is a flying pig and the other one is a frog. Later we will adding some more squares to make some 9 patches. These 5" squares came from swaps I had done several years ago and they have really come in handy for little ones to play with and pick out colors.

Gianni ask me if I was going to teach Will to quilt? Well that depends on if he wants to and his Daddy thinks it is okay. I really think he should at least learn to thread a needle and sew on a button - necessary skills for any young man. We will look at that road a little later. Right now he is content to come over and just hang out at Mawmaw's, play Wii and PS2 and play with little men and cars. He gets to do that on Monday - we have a play date!.

Gianni and got dressed and went out - we were starving by 12:30 so we went to Red Lobster for lunch. That little girl can eat. She had a salad, the cheese biscuit, popcorn shrimp and fries and Choclate Wave for dessert - glad she has her Daddy's metabolism.

We left and went to an estate sale. She got a dolphin and a turtle to sit on her shelf at home. Then we went to see Jim Gatling's petit point and needlepoint exhibit at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock. What an awesome exhibit and it is not near all of his actual collection that they are showing. Gianni liked the miniature doll furniture -she thinks it is Barbie furniture?

It was a full day and a lot of fun to share all of these things with Gianni. As my friend Pat says - we are making "memories".

A Relaxing Trip

2009-07-29T08:28:00.003-05:00

It has been a while since I have been on my Blog. Maybe I got TOO rested on my recent trip to Cedar Hill, Texas (a Dallas suburb). A group of 6 quilters went on a littel retreat and it was one of the best times I have ever had. In fact my Dr. suggested maybe I should move there, but he knows I won't leave the family, especially the grandbabies. The place we went is the 1890's House (www.1890quilters.com). Oh how I hate to tell you that because I want it all to myself. You may take up to 8 people there to rest and to create. Our happy group of 6 did both. The first picture is the The Sewing Cottage and it is fully equipped except for your sewing machine and fabric, etc. By the way paper artist, mixed media artist, etc are welcome also. The house has been in the same family for 4 generations and is extremely well maintained and clean.

This is one of the 4 bedrooms. Each room has 2 twin beds. There are 3 bathrooms, two upstairs and one downstairs. One of the bathrooms has a clawfoot tub, but alas I didn't get that room. Maybe next time.

You can see that 3 of my friends are enjoying the parlor. We kept waiting for the farm family to come home and greet us it was that authentic. The dining room is next to this room and then there is a fully equipped kitchen. You bring your own food and can cook if you want to???? There are LOTS of places to eat within 5 miles, so we did breakfast there, one other meal and ate one big meal. And for you who have to have special coffee, I reccommend the White Rhino in Cedar Hill.

This is all 6 of the happy retreaters on the last day, standing on the wonderful back porch, where we had been visiting and talking about coming back on that last day. Don't we look rested and happy and having fun. I really can't wait until I can go again.

Blessings to you.

Flea Market Shopping Finds

2009-07-07T20:49:00.004-05:00

Is this not the cutest little egg cup. I bought 3 of them on a recent trip from Springfield, MO back home to Little Rock. My sister Martha and I went to Springfield to meet our brother Eddie at an ABA meeting he was in charge of. We made the most of our trip and I picked up all the finds you see in this post.

I found 2 bundles of beautiful wool for less than $2.00 each for these rolls. The green swan salts I thought were delightful and they look really nice for sale in my showcase at Blue Suede Shoes.

The teacup has my favorite color flowers on it and it will end up in my china cupboard with my mother's Tea Rose dishes. These delicate tea cups just say elegance and the joy of sharing a cuppa tea with a friend.

These are small handmade doilies that spoke to me. Don't you think they will look pretty as little toppers on those pincushion candlesticks I plan on making.

Anyway I wanted to share my finds with ya'll. My sister and I had a wonderful time on this trip together.

Does This Need A New Cover?

2009-06-28T18:55:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday some of us went antique/flea market shopping in Morrilton, AR. Their downtown has several shops to choose from and we tried to hit several. I think everyone of us came away with some new treasures. I know I did.

This rocker sewing caddy called my name. It was made by a local company in Morrilton, probably not that long ago because the address includes a zip code. When were zip codes required? Anyway, old or not, it has personality.

Now my question - do you think I should change out the seat cushion. It does not seem original and I thought about using wool to make a new cover. Do you think the wool will give it character?

Thanks for letting me ask for suggestions.

Springfield Trip and Family

2009-06-25T21:49:00.002-05:00

I got back last night from a trip with my sister Martha (blue striped blouse) to Springfield, Missouri. Our brother Eddie (white shirt) is Director of Meetings for the American Baptist Assoc. He is a very busy person this week and we were lucky to have been able to even have breakfast with him and his son Neal (blue shirt). Eddie's job is to make sure that all goes smoothly for the approx. 3,000 people who come to the yearly meeting. He does an excellent job because he has had it for many years.

Martha and I did get to go to a local flea market on Tuesday and then on the way to and from Springfield we stopped at every flea market and antique mall that we could. There were some wonderful bargains we found. When I get the energy to unwrap and sort everything I will be posting pictures.

This is the first trip that Martha and I have had alone and we had a wonderful time. We enjoy a lot of the same things and we both love our brother and nephew.

The blue house was seen outside and across the street from our hotel. There is nothing so beautiful to me than an old Victorian house that is renovated and well kept. This one is either apartments or a Bed and Breakfast. The blue looks so cool amongst the surrounding trees and this year we need all the cool thoughts that we can get. The heat and humidity this year is pretty bad and this is only June. I may continue to have fun, but it will be more inside than out.

Pincushion and Yellow Flowers

2009-06-16T21:46:00.003-05:00

My friend Pat at www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com/ taught me and our friend Kelley how to make one of her pedestal pincushions. It was one of the most fun days at the nest. This is the first one that I made and I see more of them in the future and somewhat different. The pincushions are almost like eating candy you can't just make one. Yes, this one has a tag on it to sell at my flea market showcase at Blue Suede Shoes Antique Mall. Hopefully someone will love it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Now about the flower pictures. Everyone has been blogging about their beautiful flowers. Well this is all I have!!! As I have mentioned before my thumb leans toward the brown shade. The pansies came up all on their own left over from last year. Of course the most beautiful flowers are wild flowers and that is what the yellow black -eyed susans are. I appreciate whatever flowers God gives me to look at and appreciate, even if I have named them wrong.

Now that school is out most of my time has been spent with Gianni. We have a state softball tournament this weekend and then softball is over.

Monday I make a trip to Springfield, Missouri so maybe I can find some interesting subjects to take pictures of for the blog. Have fun and stay cool!!!

New Computer and Memphis

2009-06-10T11:37:00.001-05:00

Now that I am back with a new computer and my pictures have been downloaded I thought I would share with you a few of the pictures from a recent day trip that I took with Grand Escape Tours. We went to Memphis. No we didn't go to Graceland, but we hit some other places that surprised me in how interesting they turned out to be.

First we visited St. Jude's Hospital - not the actual hospital, but where Danny and his wife are buried is a building with history of Danny Thomas and how St. Jude's came to be. There are so many success stories there that is so uplifting. I know there are sad stories there too, but their efforts are working miracles in the fight for curing cancer.

After lunch we set off for the Memphis Botanical Gardens. A large complex of various type garden settings. One more beautiful than the other. There is an impressive rose garden with so many types of hyrbrid tea roses, even the Princess Diana Rose. The rose pictured here is not it - I don't know now which rose it was. The heat had reduced some of the beauty of the gardens, but one garden, the Japanese garden was a reflection of beauty. You can see one the elements, the red bridge with the swan floating in a Koi pond.

Now the one place you would think - yuck!, turned out to be the most interesting stop we made. Set on the Mississippi is a converted Civil War Hospital into the National Ornamental Metal museum. The strange bird on the right is an idea of what type of metal is done there. Various metal artist show their work there and there is an apprenticeship program for metal workers and blacksmiths. The gate where you entered was done with a rosette design that various metal artist were ask to design and make a rosette for each space. Of course I had to take pictures, the butterfly was one, a psychiatrist couch, various Texas symbols, a teacup with a hand, just to name a few of the designs.

I know I sound like a tour guide, but this was an interesting trip and I love to share my pictures.

This post could have either been my trip to Memphis or my weekend at the ballpark with Gianni . I promise I will get back to flea markets, art and beading when state tournaments are over, but I am still having fun.

Just a Note

2009-06-09T08:56:00.000-05:00

Still no pictures because my new computer just arrived, but I am not quite up and running yet, as we have spent another weekend in the bleachers watching granddaughter play 12 games of softball. They placed 2nd in the District in "C' class, so in 2 weeks it is off to state tournament. Gianni is staying with me to rest up for a few days, but her Daddy came and got her early.
Yesterday I did get to spend some time with friends Pat (www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com/) and Kelley (you have seen pictures of her here on the blog). Pat gave the program at our guild last night (aren't we lucky!!!!). Before the meeting we visited and went to Olive Garden for supper. It was a very pleasant time with friends, something we all need.
I hope to be able to have pictures my next post so stay tuned.
Ya'll have fun now.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY

2009-05-28T16:39:00.000-05:00

No pictures, my computer that had all my pictures downloaded crashed on Monday. It crashed so hard the Geek Squad cannot revive it. Hopefully they have been able to get my hard drive information and pictures onto a "whatever" to put into the new computer my husband had to order for me.
Anyway, today is birthday number 59. Now most women wouldn't be blaring their age across the internet, however girls, I am just so blessed to be here.
Last night I spent the night at my daughter's house so I could take Gianni to school. The first sleepy face I saw was my daughters, followed by Gianni's and then her Dad before he left for work. Before coming home I stopped at Cracker Barrel and treated myself to French Toast, while answering phone calls filled with HB greetings.I picked up my grandson Will and he came over to play for a couple of hours. Then my friend Kelley and I went and had a very nice lunch in downtown Little Rock, followed by a little shopping at Hobby Lobby and Joann's.
Tonight both grandchildren have ballgames and we are going to make parts of both of them. That is a birthday in the life of me!!!!

What its All About!

2009-05-25T08:07:00.000-05:00

This is how I spend my time right now. Art, quilting and other things are put in second place when it comes to my family, especially the grandbabies. We are all about ball season this year. Will is playing games during the week, but has not had but one tournament this year. The boys are so much fun to watch, especially when they are 5 and 6 years old. He is really developing into quite the player.

Gianni has been playing for a year and a half now and loves the game. Her daddy, Jack is one of the couches. This Saturday we went to a local town, Cabot, for an Invitational National 8U Softball Tournament. We played 3 other teams in our "C" class. The wonderful thing we played 5 games and never lost a game. We won the big trophy!!! I believe the picture says it all. As my friend Pat says, "moments".

I Got A New Toy

2009-05-13T10:49:00.001-05:00

This is my new toy. A Janome Memory Craft 6600. My dear husband let me buy it when I was in Paducah because I could get it for such a good deal. Today is my day to play with it and see where it can go.
There is a funny story about this. When I was in Houston in November last year I decided to stay through Saturday although my friends went home that morning. It was my goal to try out every brand of machine and look at all the features, etc. Quilt shows like this are a great place to shop because all the brands are there and you can test drive them all if you desire. My DH did not know that I wanted a new machine. Mine was a good machine, a Sears Kenmore that was made by Janome. It has served me well for 10 years and my daughter-in-law Megan now has it at her home.
After a day of searching (well some shopping on the side as I went up and down the aisles) I decided that the Janome was the machine for me. They had a good deal,not near as good a deal as I ended up getting in Paducah, but of course I didn't know that then. So I called my DH and after our hello's and I miss you, I asked "Were you planning on buying me a new sewing machine"? His reply "No, have I bought you a new sewing machine"? Well if I had known he was going to answer that way, of course I would have already bought it and ask for forgiveness when I got home. My plot was foiled!!! So I came home a little unhappy, but with a mission.
He knew I was not happy and that I was determined to sometime soon try to get that machine. Unbeknownst to me, bless his heart, he started putting back money to surprise me with getting the machine before this year was out. Sweetheart that he is. Anyway, when I called him from Paducah Quilt Show with the same deal, he was prepared and told me to get the machine.
So friends I am going to play with my new toy today.
The weather here is suppose to NOT be rainy today. Sorry, it isn't raining - it is DRIZZLING!!
What can I say? Play anyway.

Rainy Days and Web Feet

2009-05-11T21:48:00.000-05:00

Do you wonder what these pictures have to do with rainy days and web feet?Well it is the one day we have had sunshine and we were blessed for it to be on our monthly Art Day. The 1st Thursday of each month a group of us meet at Pat's studio The Bird Nest (www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com/) . This is a picture of The Nest. Now you may think she was doing laundry that day, but that is some of her vintage garments that she has collected over the years for their beauty. She decided to decorate with them that day and they were a pleasure to look at.

We were able to take our lunch and eat outside in the beautiful sunshine. I almost ate a tiny little spider, but was able to swat him away in time. We had a cooling breeze, good food and great conversation. Sorry to say the rain returned before Kelley and I made it back home to Little Rock. It was so wonderful while we had the sunshine.

I called Pat today to see if her feet were beginning to web, since I feel like mine are. The rain is really beginning to be a little depressing and I don't function or feel very artsy when the weather is blah!!! But since I took pictures of our sunshiny day, I think I will enlarge one and remember what the sunshine looks like. I remember that we can appreciate the sunshine more, if we have a "little rain".

January BJP08Update

2009-04-30T19:51:00.000-05:00

My inspiration and my January Bead Journal Project finally got done. Yes, I do realize that this is the first day of May. My time has been taken up with both my grandchildren playing ball, a trip to Paducah and life. My muse is silent, I think because of the yelling at the ballfield, that yelling is Mawmaw when Will and Gianni do well. The picture above is a play day that Will and I had in January. He loves to paint.

This is the inspiration for January - Will's finished painting. The lines were done by running a toy car through paint and then onto the paper. He really loves to do that and really I tried it, its fun.

This is my beaded project inspired by the painting. Lots of beading colors to choose from. I mixed the sizes of beads on this, not just seed beads, but a mixed lot of blues that were all shapes and sizes.

It was fun doing this one and I have the materials ready for my next beadproject. Time and my muse will return. Ball season ends in June and it will be too hot to be out and about so I look forward to having some fun beading soon.

Paducah, Kentucky

2009-04-21T05:48:00.000-05:00

Today is a special day and I hope a special couple of days. Some friends and I are off to Paducah to the Quilt Show and MOST importantly to Hancocks!!! It has been about 4years since I went and so it will be almost new to me. The town is my favorite part - yes even above the quilt show. To walk its streets of so much history and to see the old homes and downtown buildings still standing. Paducah is a peaceful town to me. Well since I can't travel in my PJ's I will sign off and get dressed.
Off to have fun!!!!!

Quiltmania Projects

2009-04-13T22:17:00.000-05:00

Recently I posted about a quilt retreat in Ferndale. We had Monday thru Thursday to work, visit, create, visit, eat, visit, well it was a retreat with a lot of old friends and new. I had 2goals during this time and made both of them, plus added one. The first
picture above is a paper-piecing class I took with Pat Wade. She is a wonderful, patient teacher, which we all need and want when we take a class. Won't this make a wonderful wallhanging?

The one goal I had was to get started on granddaughter Gianni's quilt. She chose the brown fabric with pink, off-white and green polka dots when we went to Cincinnati, Ohio last summer. There is a quilt shop in Waynesville, Ohio that is wonderful. This pattern will be a double pinwheel from Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day Series (right!!!!). Anyone out there get a quilt done in a day - I want to meet you!.

The bottom picture will be the border blocks. The top picture is the inside blocks. In between I am going to use the green as an accent color. Haven't gotten that yet, but since I get to go to Paducah next week, surely Hancocks will have just what I need. And won't the search be fun?

The other goal I had was getting the backing done for my grandson Will's quilt and getting it basted. That has also been accomplished. If I could only get as much done here at home as I do at a retreat, life would be wonderful. However, at a retreat there are no piles, of dirty laundry, no phone calls, no television and not very many interruptions, except to eat,visit, play, eat, visit, play. Well you get the picture. If you ever have an opportunity to get away with friends, do it. Life is too short not to have fun.

Some Quiltmania Pictures

2009-04-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

Last week I had the pleasure of going again to Saline County Guild's Quiltmania. Our guild has been doing this retreat for several years.
Above, seated is one of the teachers, Royce Stoker who was teaching Seminole Patchwork, which she is well known for. The next day Pat Wade did a class in Paper Piecing, which I will show later. That was the class I chose to take and so enjoyed getting perfect little pieces.

These two ladies have been in our guild for many years and have helped me on several occassions. Bobbie is in the plaid shirt and Billie is in the denim. It just dawned on me they both have boy sounding names. I talked Bobbie into taking the paper piecing class with me on Tuesday.

Everyone has their own table to put their sewing machines and cutting mats,etc on. You can see they cluster, there were several of these clusters around the room. You get there early and you get to set up a clusteror joine one. We all do a lot of roaming around visiting and oohing and awing at each others work. My next post will be of some of the work that was done there, but I wanted to show Cabe Hall where we are so blessed to be able to meet.

This is my friend Kelley busily working on her binding for some crazy quilt placemats she made earlier. She came out just to spend the day, which was an option if you didn't want to stay there all four days. Ferndale where it is held is a lovely drive of about 15 miles from Little Rock. It is so enjoyable to have someone cook for you for 4 days where you can concentrate on friends, quilting, and most of all having fun.

AWOL - Arkansas Women on the Loose

2009-03-24T21:07:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a wonderful short retreat - a good get-away for the ladies and one male quilter - Jim. The first picture is our quilter from Hawaii- now I never fully understood why she was there other than she was a friend of one of our Arkansas quilters. She was fun (won the sock contest) and does some awesome work. What Donna is holding is a quilt she made in the shape of a tent to commenerate her camping experience.

Now this is my good friend Kelley and one of my two wonderful roommates. Kelley is standing in front of the baby quilt she is doing for her first great grandchild to be born in June. Kelley is not one of those who stays up all night or even tries. I have been with her on many trips and bedtime is sacred. She also never sleeps past about 5:30, but will nap when necessary. We have wonderful times on trips and take care of each other. She likes it when I drive (especially through fog, rain, storms, snow, etc.)

This is dear sweet Pat (birdnestontheground.blogspot.com) and she has written about AWOL far better than I can. Pat and I sat next to each other through the weekend. It is our first experience at being roommates and she is delightful. I hope to be her roommate many more times. However, she is one of those who tries for an all nighter and friend that I am I try - I say try - to keep up. We made it until 2 a.m. , which was great for me. Pat is not a big sleeper, but after 2 a.m. it doesn't matter!!! Yes, I can answer and respond in my sleep. She never knew.

Not only did we have a quilter from Hawaii, but we had an old friend and a new friend come all the way from Texas to join us Arkansas women. (We may have to rename this retreat - it is not all Arkansas). This is Debbie and Marilyn. Debbie used to live here in Little Rock and left many friends when she moved to Texas, but as you can see she has made many more in Texas. We are not surprised. Fun, cheerful and very creative. We love Debbie and you can tempt her with purple fabric - in fact anything purple. She is known as "Purple Princess".

Well this is a few of those who attended this weekend. You can see the state of the room. Retreats are so much fun. I finished my BJP08 for February, but until I get it beaded around the edges and the back on it, I won't be showing it on my blog just yet. It was well received my those who were there.

Ya'll have fun!!!

AWOL Update - Monday

2009-03-23T11:20:00.001-05:00

This weekend I went outside of Little Rock, AR to a retreat for members of Arkansas Quilt Guild. It was held at this beautiful location at a place called Ferndale.
The first picture is a building called Cabe Hall, which is where Iwill be next week for a 4day retreat with the Saline County Guild "Quiltmania" retreat. That will be a story for another day.

This picture is looking from the meeting building over the little lake there, looking at the hill behind. Next week I want to take these pictures again to see how much has brightened in a few days.

This retreat is actually a 4-H retreat, designed for kids and adults to come for a weekend, a week, or a few days of learning, friendship and having fun (which you know that is the key word to my life). These statues of children represent the 4-H motto of "Head, Heart, Hands and Health. This is the newest education wing added to the original building. On the other side of the main building is the rooms for participants to stay in - usually 3 to a room. All of our meals are provided. I love the idea of 4 days without cooking or wondering what to eat. It gives you more time to get involved in your projects.

This is just a full view of the meeting room wing.

Today I wanted you to see the setting we were in for the weekend. Next I will give you some inside views of the women and Jim who were on this retreat. Needless to say there was little sleep, LOTS of laughter and some beautiful work done. Later.

Quick Post of Fun

2009-03-20T08:40:00.000-05:00

This will be a fast post, if I don't get too wordy. Yesterday was our Thursday meeting of the Beaders group. For you that don't know we have been meeting one time a month since 9/11. The picture on the right is of Pat Eaton (www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com) who is a very dear friend and one of the nicest ladies you could ever know. Our friend Jim Gatling (unbeknownst to Pat) sent us a paper doll that he had photo shopped her head onto. He wanted us to surprise her with a paperdoll since that is what our next Art Day is about. The doll on the left is the one I did and the one on the right is the one that Jean did. Pat thought they were hilarious.

Now the other picture is the print and the items that were sent by another very nice lady Sharon K. Tomlinson (www.allnorahsart.blogspot.com) . Pat got me hooked on Sharon's art, which was not hard once I saw it. Sharon made an offer to the 1st six who ordered a print from her the other day, that she would send a few extra treasures. Boy did she deliver!!! I received this awesome package yesterday. Thank you Sharon. My print is "Sometimes Creative", which is so appropriate for me. My creativity comes in spurts and sometimes sputters, but it does try to keep going. I let life come first and creativity second - need to work on that one.

Well I am off (yes mentally too) for a weekend retreat called "AWOL - Arkansas Women on the Loose" = Jim. Jim is our resident male quilter and we so enjoy having him - he is also a dear friend. We go to a place called Ferndale, outside of Little Rock. It is a beautiful retreat site and I will try to take some pictures to show when I come back.

Okay so much for the quick, but it is all fun. Next time.

Our March Art Day

2009-03-18T20:57:00.001-05:00

The first Thursday of every month a group of us get together for an ART Day. We get together to have fun and to learn something new in the art media.
In March we decided to work on inchies. Everyone chose how they wanted to make inchies. Paper, fabric, painting, etc.
Above from left to right are Sandy's finished inchies from paper, paint and collage pictures. Next are the pink ones that Bibi did from cloth. MaryLou did the last set. She was practicing her embroidery skills on her sewing machine and cut the piece into inchies. A very dramatic effect, and I believe she has skills. Everyone's turned out different and reflected the various
taste of the group.

Above and from left to right is Sandy, Kelley(in green shirt), group picture of Bibi standing and talking to Pat. MaryLou is sitting in front and Sherry is behind her. Now the other picture is my inchies before decoration. Guess Ihave a little more work to do to get all these inchies decorated. The day before I got enthused about free motion quilting on fabric pieces I had sewn together. The Art Day I got the idea to cut it all up - in fact I volunteered to cut some of the others inchies. These will be decorated with beads, buttons, rick-rack and anything else I can find that is small and can be attached for decoration. Actually I did get 3 decorated, but didn't take a picture.

Another Art Day will be the lst Thursday in April and we are doing Paper Dolls!!! Can't wait to see how that one turns out. But we will be having fun and enjoying everyones time together. Fun is where you find it!

Flea Market Business

2009-03-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

These pictures are an explanation of why I have not been blogging lately. This is my flea market booth at a place called Blue Suede Shoes in Bryant, AR. Several

years ago my friend Renee andI had a booth and it was a lot of fun - until------eBay took over and some construction on the freeway made it hard for people to find the mall we were in at the time. This one is mine only and in a different location. I had forgotten how much work is involved, especially in the initial set-up. My taste are ecletic so there is no telling what you will find in my little shop at any one time. It has done well this first month, so we will see. My friend Keri is going to set up a booth in the same mall and I know she will have lots of things I like so my profit margin may hit bottom!!!!!

Since I wrote last I have been busy with friends and our "Art Thursday" day that I will try to post about later. We had a lot of fun doing "inchies". Also I have taken a quilt class from Flavin Glover - nothing to show for that day. It was a great class, but I was not a great student. She did show the class my block and remarked it was one of the most "unusual" she had ever seen??? Is that good? Oh well- maybe I can do better at home.

To my beading friends I am really trying to get January done and get to work on February. It is coming along, but slowly. Having the eye problem for 4weeks really took its toil on my working time. I am just thankful that the retina has healed and I can see. The beading is so soothing to do and so satisfying.

Today is a special day. I am meeting some old friends (Vona and T.E.) for lunch. We have not seen each other very often in the 23 years, since Bill and I got married. Vona and I did so many crafts together, we had so many cups of coffee together and spent a LOT of time together. We both moved a way from our old neighborhood and lost touch. She has retired from her job now so I hope we can renew an old acquaintance. She is into quilting now so I am taking her to Pinwheel Fabrics after lunch. I think T.E. is going too. He was always interested in what we did together. He used to joke that he had 2wives after my ex left me with 2 children. Anytime I needed something fixed around the house he was always willing to help. The 3 of us went on a couple of trips to Dallas together that are a story unto theirselves. They are a wonderful couple and I am so proud to call them friends.
Well everyone have "fun" today and I hope to write again sooner more than later.

Beading Project - November

2009-02-24T12:31:00.001-06:00

Finally I am back to beading, the eye is doing fine and hopefully tomorrow is my last doctor's visit.

This picture to the left is my inspiration for the November beaded project above. In November 2008 my granddaughter, Gianni was in a parade in Benton with her ball team. It was dark and the lighting was not good where we were standing. The picture is how the camera caught whatever float went by. I liked it, I liked the colors and it gave me an inspiration for my November project. Hence a beaded, blurred parade picture for November.

My drawing talent is not good so I use these photos are my inspiration. I am now working on my January project and hope to have it done soon so I won't be so far behind.

The retina detachment has been a nightmare, but thanks to a God who heals it is so much better now. Hopefully this won't happen again. Thanks to everyone for your sincere concerns and prayers. Blogging can give you some wonderful friends.

Another Art Day with Friends

2009-02-08T17:58:00.000-06:00

We had another ART day with friends. Pat got the gang together and we played in the Bird's Nest all day Thursday the 5th. The only requirement in our club is that we have to do something of the "artsy" nature. It is not a just sit and visit day - although we do a lot of visiting, laughing and having a lot of fun. Everyone brought materials to share with each other. Don't you think that makes it more interesting and surprising. The page above is an idea for a Journal Page (this Thursday's group was do a journal page- I do as I am instructed) I decided to do a journal on fashion. Now I am NOT a fashion nut. 2 maybe 3 times a year I shop for me. Go get clothes to cover me and pep up my wardrobe a little. I am happy in jeans and a nice shirt, sometimes a skirt for church, and comfy clothes at home. Usually at home I play in my PJs or sweats all day. But fashion over the years interest me. And last year I watched a show on BRAVO (Ithink) called The Fashionistas and have had that word stuck in my head ever since. That will be the name on the cover. I think this will be a fun journal project. Think of all the different styles of clothing. It may go on forever!!!

When I got finished with my main journal page, then it was time to just do a little playing. So I took a piece of watercolor paper and painted it purple (I'm into Mardi Gras colors). The little curves and dots are the pop-out parts from a paper border Sandy had brought. I was going to use the border, but it didn't work and I had saved the pop-outs in a jar. The lines are taking the edge of my brush dipped in gold paint. I won't ever be all that "artsy", but as long as I have fun trying, then that is all that matters.

This would be a good time to give you an update on my eyes and thank all of you for you caring comments. My gas bubble is still floating around protecting my retina. The doc has done 2 more laser procedures because he found a whole cluster of tears below my retina. He also put a bridle on the repair spot. Tomorrow (Monday) he will check the left eye again and he plans on doing an ultrasound on the right eye to check and make sure the freckle he found is not melanoma. Still not able to do close up work, but I can read, write, plan and do cut and paste. I am so anxious to get back to my beading projects and quilting. Especially getting back to my BJP08 projects.

Fun is where you find it!!!

Eye Update

2009-01-30T08:06:00.000-06:00

My doctor says my retina is coming along as it should. I only have to stay upright with my head bent for 50% of the time and can sleep "laying up" propped on pillows. That is a blessing. However there was another tear on my eye that had to be repaired with a lazer. Now picture your eye as a pincushion and you will get the effect of that procedure. Sorry TMI!!! Anyway he has also discovered a problem with my other eye that will be addressed when we get the left one repaired. I can read some and may try to journal next week and play with BIG stuff. I go by and look at my beads, but right now they are kind of a little colored blob. Next Thursday I hope to go to a new little ART group that some of my friends have started. Last month if you remember we did painting, well this month we are going to do a journal page - I can paste, glue and sew big so it will be a wonderful break from the house. My friend Kelley is going to drive us to Pat's house.
This is my slow down period and the weather has been stay at home weather anyway. Of course I would like to be doing stuff, but one step at a time and patience!!! Thank all of you who have given me encouragement.

Forced Time Out

2009-01-28T20:05:00.001-06:00

Just a note to let my readers know that I am temporarily not blogging. Friday I had emergency retinal detachment surgery and hopefully am on the road to recovery. It sure does take the fun out of having fun, but God is in control and I know that I am in his care. Hope to be back soon.
Brenda

A Day Out to Play-January 20, 2009

2009-01-21T11:32:00.000-06:00

Tuesday I had to go to the heart doctor for my 3 month visit. It was a pleasant day and a very reflective day. While waiting for my appt. the TV in the waiting room was on showing the events of this historic day. A new day for America. In my mind today we were not races of people, but a united people with a glimmer of hope for the future. Now I am not political, but as Americans I believe that God does instruct us to pray for our leaders and I urge prayers for President Obama.

After a pleasant lunch with my daughter Tonya I went to Hobby Lobby and Michaels to add to my ever growing art supplies - ones I hope to use.

Then I headed to a local flea market to see what I could find. Above you will see (well sort of see) a pattern from 1970. I love it - the guy on the bottom with the moustache is awesome. There was a booth with buttons above and below, plus some others. I found some paper doilies (sad to say no plastic ones) and a postcard of the Statue of Liberty, which I used in a collage today.

These 2 old books will also be used in a collage. Gregg Shorthand, do you remember that? This one was printed the last time in 1916 and the dictionary is from1945 - we didn't have as many words then.

This lace is wonderful and skinny. Hearts are something that I love and this one is a collage heart pin that may show up in the future for an "H" collage book I want to make. See I do have plans - execution may be my downfall, but I am learning.

These are glass buttons with metal. The buttons came in lots and may be shared with a button group I belong too since there are so many of each. A few that were metal bears and western objects were so little they did not photograph well.

I love going to the flea markets and adding to my stash. It is one of the times I do have fun.

December Bead Project

2009-01-21T10:10:00.000-06:00

Well December bead project is finally finished in January. The holidays and my schedule make it hard to do this every month, but I am determined to keep going. To know that others are also struggling can help - so you out there that are stuggling - keep on going. This is for each one of us and everytime I finish one it is a true joy. My grandbabies both want them, but I have told them not until all 12 are finished, then we will talk. One note I have done my beaded border on all 4 sides now, but did not take another picture.

I picked the seahorse because in December, 2007 I saw my very first one in an aquarium and was fascinated. They have a relative called a Sea Dragon that is more awesome than this and you should look it up on the internet if you have not seen one.

The next one I am doing is going to be either November or Januray. I will decide when I am finished with that one, because I took a picture the other day I may want to do for January. Decisions, decisions. It is so much fun to take a photo and see beadwork in the details.

ART DAY - Fun with Friends

2009-01-09T19:25:00.000-06:00

This picture is a group of my friends who decided under the leadership of Pat (http://www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com/) to start getting together the first Thursday of the month and learn something new, spend fun time together and see more of each other.

This is the results of the first First Thursday Art Day (held on the 2nd Thursday because the 1st Thursday was New Years Day). We decided to do abstract type art and were invited to Pat's daughter's house (http://www.kellyvanhook.blogspot.com/) who has become a wonderful artist and is selling her work in her etsy shop and other venues. Her sense of color is awesome.

This is a picture of Pat our fearless leader. She inspires us all. She cheated - she didn't really do abstract, hers looks more like embroidery with paint. I hope she shows her piece on her blog.

This is all of us holding up our work and smiling for the camera. A fun day was had by all.

A Cold Icy Day with Grandson

2009-01-05T20:55:00.000-06:00

I wanted to get my project for December BJP08 done by now, but as you can see it is still unfinished. One thing I have learned is that 5 inches square is over ambitious, but I am committed to that size so you just keep on beading. I do love to see the colors as they unfold and the more I bead the more I want to bead.

This is what is looks like out my backdoor this afternoon. It rained all day, but because the ground was warm from 70 degrees on Saturday and the temp never got above 33 today the rain froze in the air on the trees and shrubbery. It is pretty, but it was wonderful day for staying inside.

Now this piece of art work is not mine. It is my grandson's art project we did together today between games of Wii Mini Golf and PBS.org on the computer. Will loves painting. For Christmas I gave him and his cousin Gianni art easels and they have really enjoyed using them. They each got a bag of every kind of art suppies I could find. Earlier in the year Sam's had a book on Kids Arts and Craft ideas and I purchased 2 copies. One for Will's Mommy and one for me. Will found his favorite page today - painting with Hot Wheels. We each got our own cars and paper - we shared paint. One note: if you try this be sure and don't get one of those cars that if you roll it backwards,when you pick it up the wheels spin forward. The paint will spray and fly. Just thought Iwould clue you in on that secret.

It was a fun day and again it was one of those memories we want to make with our grandkids. Ya'll have fun now.

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T19:51:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to post a short note to tell everyone Happy New Year. I am really looking forward to 2009 and getting my creative juices going. Yesterday (after keeping my sweet granddaughter for a week) I decided it was time for a ME day. There was only one estate sale and I hit it. Went to Michaels and shopped and treated myself to Olive Garden. Then went to 2 antique malls. Later when I have time I will post my treasures- some great mixed media items.
Today all day I have worked on my December beading project. It is getting there and I have my idea for the one going back to November. Plan on working hard to catch up. Tomorrow grandson is coming over and will be here until late Monday so there won't be much time for me again, but that is okay. This is memory time for those grandbabies.
Happy New Year again to all.

Friday Playdate Update

2008-12-29T11:41:00.000-06:00

Some of you may have read the post a couple of weeks ago when I took a day off and went to visit my friend Pat. Now I don't work, all I normally do is play, babysit some, read and do stuff in my studio, so taking a day off is not quite right.

Pat and I visited for a while then we decided to go out and eat lunch. There is the neatest flea market where Pat lives that has a variety things. I am always jealous of what she finds there to do her work with, so off we went. You know friends should share their sources and their bounty sometimes.

These are the pictures of a few of the wonderful things I found. At the top are 2 beautiful floral handkerchiefs. Hankies take me back to the days of my grandmother and my aunts. They never used "tissue" and a lady always had a hankie with her for any emergency.

Don't you love the second picture of the wonderful leaves and rose? The colors are so vibrant and these are soft. They are definitely going into a future media project or a crazy quilt, which I have been wanting to do again. The other picture is - I think- they used to call them candy dishes, not sure if that is right - you sure weren't generous with you candy if that is what you offered. Anyway, I remember my Mother had one and I loved the little wagaon with the horse pulling the wagon.

This last picture is some cut up hexagon quilt blocks. The dealer either cut up a very bad Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt or she bought it in pieces. Pat got some of these too, so we will probably do something with them in one of our "old fabric" creations. I also got an old Needlework and Crafts book with an article about buttons and trims and there was an old single volume of an encyclopedia from 1937. Pat got a copy of another book in the set. We loved the artwork on the cover. Not sure what to do with it but it begs to be used with its yellowed pages.

Pat and I had an enjoyable day and plan on having many more to come in 2009.

I hope that everyone has a creative and happy New Year too. Just remember to "have fun"

Christmas and Family

2008-12-23T21:55:00.000-06:00

Do you ever come up with a last minute gift idea? Well this picture of my two sisters, my brother and my Mother has been sitting on my desk. This is the last picture that we were all together in July, 1997. In the back is me, the youngest, the middle is my sister Dotty, then my sister Martha. In the front is our Mother and next to her her is the eldest, my brother Eddie. I took the picture and scanned it, ironed it to 10 1/2 inch piece of fabric and made these little pillows to give them as an additional present. Our Mother passed away on December 15, 1998. My brother lives in the house that was Mother's home and we still have Thanksgiving and Christmas there.

What is funny about then and now. When Mother was alive everyone of my siblings would bring a dish or a dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas. All they would EVER let me bring was cokes and the stuff to make cheese dip. During the 54 days that Mother was in the hospital before she passed away she told Martha and Eddie not to worry about the food at holidays - Brenda will take care of making the food!!! Now I was floored when they told me this, but just as Mother said, I have been very involved with the preparation of the holiday food. I go to Eddies at 7in the morning and prepare most of the dishes we eat - using Mother's recipes that she gave me before she passed away. Now that is a Christmas miracle!!

The greatest miracle of all is the greatest gift of all - the Baby Jesus - that God gave us - God's only son. But then Jesus gave us the greater gift by dieing for our sins - not His sins- but ours. He took our place so that we would not have to die in our sins. May you all have a blessed Christmas and remember "The Reason for the Season".

December Bead Project - Tease

2008-12-17T17:06:00.000-06:00

This is a tease for the project I am working on for December. The beading on the seahorse has been started, but like many others I am wayyyyy behind. Now if you wonder what seahorses have to do with December, again it involves my granddaughter Gianni. In December last year right after Christmas I drove her Mom and her to Dallas after Christmas so her Mom could work on an out of state project for her company. Gianni and I got to do fun stuff while Mom worked. Her and I went to our very first (for both of us) aquarium in Dallas. Seahorses were one of our favorite things.

November is not even an idea so I will have to back up and figure that out later.

Now to share a bumper sticker I saw today:

"Things only get better with age;

I'm approaching magnificent"

Have fun and laugh a lot.

Giveaway and Busy Day

2008-12-11T20:50:00.000-06:00

No pictures today - I have been busy working on Christmas gifts for my beading group friends.
They aren't much, but I wanted to make everyone something. My tree is up and partially decorated, but I still have work to do. Got to get out my candy recipes and work on them, but tomorrow I am going to spend the day with a friend. That is part of having fun, spending time with friends and I want to make more time to do just that.
Now to the giveaway.
Go to www.lifeinacordwoodcabin.blogspot.com and see a very neat giveaway. I hope she picks my name.
Before I go I want to tell you about last night. It was my husband's company Christmas party. The owner of his company usually picks a very nice place for us to eat. This year it was a place called The Butcher Shop and Steakhouse. My favorite thing to eat out is Prime Rib. However, since my daughter-in-law is appalled at watching me eat what she considers "raw meat", I have not had one in quite awhile. I respect her wishes (that is why I am a much loved mother-in-law). Well lucky me - it was on the menu - it was as good as I remembered. It was a good night.
Not as much fun as I would like to have, but you can always find fun whereever you are.

Thanksgiving, Christmas & All That Fun

2008-12-09T22:24:00.000-06:00

As you can see my grandchildren get to have a conversation with Santa Claus one on one long before Christmas. Thanksgiving Eve we have a meal here at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house then on Thanksgiving we go to my brother's house (which happens to be the house I grew up in ) and eat and get together with the other family members as they pass through. This good looking

Santa Claus is my brother-in-law and he does Santa gigs from Thanksgiving until the Christmas Day. My Gianni and Will think it is wonderful that Santa (aka Uncle Donald) is there for them. Gianni wrote a story for her class about having lunch with Santa. She had a picture to prove it.

To my bead project friends - I am working on December - need to go back and figure out a November and bead, bead, bead. This time of year is so busy for all of us. My tree is up, but undecorated. No candy has been made and I have been sick with a bug. Why do we stress ourselves out??????

Well tomorrow is another day and maybe I will get to feeling better and get more done. To be honest - I am not having fun - but my mind is made up - that will change tomorrow. A new day!!

Ya'll have some fun for me and I'll catch up.

October Bead Journal Project - Finished At Last

2008-11-18T10:19:00.000-06:00

Here is my October Bead Journal Project - finished in November. Now you know what is next - start November. This year I am learning that a 5 inch square may have been overly ambitious, but I am committed. The size at least gives you a larger prospective to work with, but it also takes more time. However, I usually do my beading at night while watching TV with my husband and that makes it more enjoyable.
This project was obviously about fall - one of my favorite seasons. In Arkansas we have a wonderful display of fall leaves from one end of the state to the other. They sparkle as they show their last "hurrah" before winter.
I did not limit to just one bead size or shade. I threw a couple of different types in the same colorways on my surface and just started echo beading. It sparkles more than the picture tells.
I can't wait to start on November.
I am so glad I started this project - it is FUN!!!!!

Quilt Classes Can Be Fun!!

2008-11-16T20:05:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I took a wonderful quilt class from Tom Russell. Above is the quilt that Tom made and that the class was all about. Tom taught us how to relax and string piece on freezer paper. The picture is of me holding up 2 of my blocks - I actually got 9 - 6 1/2 inch blocks done by lunch time using this method.

This is a picture of the flowers he also taught us to make from fabric we made by just sewing pieces of fabric together. Around the perimeter of the big circle we stitched jumbo rick rack to really make our flowers pop. My colors are from feedsack reprints because I wanted a really scrappy look. Others did some beautiful purples, greens, oranges, browns - there is no limit to what you can do by using this string piece method.

If you take even your smallest scraps of fabric and sew them together you can make wonderful pieces of fabric to cut other things out of the results. No waste - in the style of the Amish who use even the smallest pieces.

Tom is a good friend and is a wonderful and fun teacher. There were 18 to take the class and everyone went home satisfied and wanting to do more.

I have challenged myself to have fun and learn. So far the classes I have taken have not disappointed me in any way and have made me want to continue to do more and to keep up the quilting and mixed media.

Time with Grandson

2008-11-13T11:49:00.000-06:00

This little fellow is my grandson Will. You know I told you I only have 2 grandchildren. Will and I are pretty tight and I count myself as one of his #1 people in his life. One of his favorite things is just coming over to Mawmaw's house and playing all day. Sleepovers are a good thing too.
This picture was taken at our favorite (well his favorite) place to eat - McDonalds!!!! We went yesterday after I helped out at MOPS at church. No I didn't go to church and help mop. MOPS is an organization to help out mothers of preschoolers. The mothers can drop their little ones off with a group of caregivers for 2 hours. They eat, talk, have a speaker on an important topic to them and a devotional. The important thing is they can relax for 2 hours and not worry about children.
Back to Will - we go to McDonalds because one of the few things he will eat is fries and chicken nuggets. Second he can play and run around inside and his Mom and I can talk and continue to get to know each other better. Megan is my daughter-in-law and we get along really well. We both love my son and my grandson and each other. It works out really well.
Yesterday I played my first game of air hockey - I got thoroughly trounced at 10 to 3. The reflexes may want to have fun, but the reality is they are really slow. Of course Will would not had as much fun if I had beaten him, so it works out well.
Any day spent with Will or Gianni is a good day. Yesterday was one of those days.
Remember - have fun!!!!

Special Times with Gianni

2008-11-10T09:26:00.000-06:00

One of the things that I enjoy more than anything is spending time with my grandchildren. Recently in October Gianni's 1st grade class took a field trip to a place called the Family Farm. It is a wonderful place to go and see all the things that children love.
This is Gianni at their petting zoo. She captured a baby chick. At this place they tell you all about miniature and Shetland ponies, they have the little farm train pictured above. A real Indian tepee where the youngest daughter tells stories. You can ride a wooden merry-go-round that is twisted on a pole and then let go. They have a swing that they push up a hill and let go - it hits a barrier and bounces you up and down. The kids got to do a hayride and pick a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch. It is a wonderful fun place to take kids.

Yesterday Gianni and I went to see Madagascar 2 and had a wonderful time. She misses seeing me everyday now that she goes to a different school and I don't pick her up everyday. With her softball and other sports she stays really busy during the week. Gianni has a lot of sleepovers with friends on the weekend. We are super close, but we do miss each other now that she is growing up. It just makes our time together more precious, because she is precious to me and has been a total joy in my life since the minute she was born.

Next time I will tell you about my other grandchild Will and how much he means to me. You will be glad to know I only have 2 grandbabies. But this "blog" is really for me and you are invited to come along for the ride.

Houston Trip Over

2008-11-06T10:12:00.000-06:00

I am combining my Friday and Saturday time in Houston to one post because I don't want my readers to fall asleep and be totally bored.

This bag is my Friday half-day class taught by Jenny Rayment from the U.K. She is funny, fast paced and totally organized. This was a whole day class that she taught us in 3 hours and almost everyone got the bag done, even me!! It is a small elegant tote bag and is so fun to make.

Friday afternoon it was my time to begin shopping. Now with all the vendors there you can spend a bundle - unless you get organized and pace yourself. My object was to look for those things I could not buy locally at home and I would have to pay shipping to get them to Arkansas. This is a picture of some of the wonderful beads, threads and other things to work on in the upcoming year. Angelina fibers, Angelina film, Lutradur, TAP, beads and some variegated threads. My friends Jim and Tom encouraged me to be creative and get "out of the box". Tom recommended Sharon Schamber products (http://www.sharonschambernetwork.com/)

to help me get free with my machine quilting and to make it easier. She should know what works with her Best of Show win at Houston. Pictures DO NOT give the quilt true justice.

I purposely made a picture of the bowl of beads - actually "bead soup" The artist who create these ideas are so generous in sharing their ideas. Quilting Arts magazine had a "Make -It University", which I did not attend, but during the day they would have different artist from their magazine demonstrating their articles or books. During the week
I had the opportunity to meet a few of them. One of these artist Frances Holliday Alford shared her love of "bead soup" with me. You can find her Christmas wreaths Quilting Arts Gifts magazine Holiday 2008-09. Thank you Frances for you assistance.

I hope you have had fun on this trip with me to Houston. Maybe you will get to go someday too. But if not there is so much out there to play with and even in your own back yard. That is where these artist sometimes got their start. So "have fun" - you know it is never too late.

Day Two at Houston

2008-11-04T14:40:00.000-06:00

Day 2 at Houston I took a class. If you ever go to Houston Quilt Festival there is a class for every technique imaginable. You can bead, applique, paint, quilt, and best of all to me this year - mixed media. The class was an all day class hosted by Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine and the instructor was Lesley Riley of the magazine. It was a perfect opportunity to PLAY and have FUN!!! Use mixed media things in the right way and not have to buy everything that I wanted to try.

We painted on watercolor paper, fabric and Lutradur. Let me first of all say Lutradur is the bomb and paints so well. It adheres to Angelina fibers and can be burned and melted in a controled way. Just a plug for Lesley. She has book coming out in January, 2009 entitled "fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur" A must have book to play and use this wonderful stuff in your art.

There were several other products I was introduced to that are so versatile and fun. TAP is a transfer artist paper that can run through your copy machine. You use a gel medium to transfer from the paper to fabric, Lutradur, watercolor paper,etc. The transfers come out in color or in black and white depending on how you printed them. The lady in dark green was transferred to cloth. The flowers are done with a molding paste, stencil and watercolor paper. Let them dry and then paint them. The little shapes are a combination of Kunin felt, chiffon, Lutradur Wonder Under together, burned, accented with gold and cut into shapes. I want to put a backing on this piece and do some beads.

Lesley told us something that I appreciated about gold - she said "it is only an accent, it should not be your main color". Another new item I used, that I had never used before and will use again is oil pastels. They give you controled color and can be blended with just a damp application of water. You can use them to color the TAP and then use the gel medium to transfer onto your base.

The picture at the very top of my page is all of the leftovers that I still can play with on another day.
Still more to come about my wonderful trip.

Going to Houston Day 1

2008-11-03T19:55:00.001-06:00

Welcome to my view of The Houston International Quilt Festival exhibit hall. This is taken from the round windows on the 2nd floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center. Let me assure this is is just one section of the hall. It does not include all

of the vendors and shows none of the beautiful quilts on display.

The hall starts at Section A and goes through L or M - from the front door to the back of the hall.

Then you begin with aisle 100 through 1200. Each aisle is jam packed with vendors from antiques to embellishments. If you want it you can find it here.

This is one of those things you have to experience for yourself. I am sorry I cannot show you the quilts, but copyrights prevent me showing you the great pictures I took. The DAR had an exhibit on some of the earliest quilts ever made. There were traditional quilts, art quilts, mixed media quilts, miniature quilts, etc. You get the idea.

Going with my friends also made the trip memorable. I have not been since 2004 so it was almost like the first time I ever went - 1996 I think. Jim, Kelley and I flew from Little Rock to Houston together with Nancy and Ann. We stayed at the wonderful Hilton Americas that is attached to the convention center by a skybridge. Tom joined us later at the Hilton. When we arrived our rooms were not ready for occupancy - that seems to happen no matter when you get there or where you stay. We had the bellhop service watch our luggage and went to the hotel restaurant to eat supper. It began our time of talking, laughing and just having an all around good time. The show actually previews at 5,but it was close to 7 by the time we finally got to the show. It seemed as if the crowds were down this year, since it was easy to see the quilts and get up and down the vendor aisles. You just can't go from vendor to vendor or quilt to quilt with someone, so we would start out together and eventually part to go our own way at our own pace.

I will continue my story later. There is a lot more to show and tell.

I Have Been Tagged

2008-11-02T20:20:00.000-06:00

Now this is not what I wanted for my first blog after coming back from Houston Quilt Festival, but I have been tagged. Carol and Sabine I am sorry that this is late, but I have been gone for 4 days.

To be tagged you tell 7 things about yourself and tag 7 others. So here goes - you know it is suppose to be fun.

1. I was born in St.Louis,Missouri at an early age. After 6 weeks my mother brought me to Little Rock, Arkansas.

2. My brothers and sisters are my cousins!!! Let me get this straight - my great uncle adopted me - well you figure it out.

3. At age 50 I found out I had a half brother - we met that year and have stayed in touch ever since. His adopted Daddy wrote about us in his book published this year.

4. My favorite color is blue, but lately I have been buying green and yellows to make bead soups.

5. I love to read and have (when I was younger) read an encyclopedia. Mom would buy one each week at the grocery store and I would read it during the week.

6. I was a quilter before I was a beader, but don't the two mix well. I also knit in the winter.

7. Because I enjoy being around people so much - I never get a lot done. If someone says let's go,I'm gone - I love to travel.

Well that is 7and I hope I never get tagged again because that is all I know.

Next I will be blogging about the Houston Quilt Show- all I can say is WOW!!!!!!!

2008-10-27T10:21:00.000-05:00

These pictures are a tease for my October bead project. Since the Arkansas Ozarks are known for their beautiful fall foilage, I chose a leaf to bead for my project this month. I have auditioned my beads after making my base. This is also another sentimental journey for me. My Daddy has been gone now for 25 years, but when the leaves began turning we would get in the car and head for Hwy 7 (The Pig Trail) to see the fall foilage. He dearly loved the state of Arkansas and all it had to offer for him. His love made me love it also. In my previous post on the trip with my son's family, I tried to instill this love into another 2 generations. It is never too late to have fun with someone!!!

The base is a piece of canvas gessoed, and painted with Lumiere Metallic Gold paint. Then I cut the leaves from a fall napkin that I had been given. After decoupaging them the small ones changed color, but they are just a base for me to bead to and the beads will change their color. Looking and experimenting with different stabilizers to use, I added a quilt batt scrap to the back of the canvas. This is not recommended by me, because I have had problems of the batting coming through the bead holes. A little frustrating, but I have pressured on. The center leaf is 1/3 done, so you can see there is a LOT of work left for me to do. Alas, the October project will not be completed because I am going to Houston Quilt Show on Wednesday. My beading time was spent with doing my grandson and granddaughter's Halloween costumes. Well my priorties are straight, just my timing is off!!! My goal is to be caught up by the end of the Holidays, which means I get to do 3 by the end of the year. Will that work? It works for me - LOL

2008-10-26T20:16:00.000-05:00

In October my son, daughter-in-law and grandson went with me on a trip the Eureka Springs. On the trip up there we stopped at The Natural Bridge, a local tourist attraction. The bridge is shown above. We had a pleasant quarter mile walk on a beautiful fall day. This is the first trip we have taken together since Will has been born, he is 4 1/2. Will was fascinated by the caves, but was very careful about bats - not that we saw any bats.
The leaves were not totally turned to their fall glory, but they were beginning to change just enough for it to be a beautiful drive up Hwy 65.

This picture is of Will and I on the trail.

Below is one of the big cats from the Turpentine Wildlife Refuge. They take in cats who have been abandoned or abused, as well as other wild animals. Some people get these animals and don't quite realize how large or "playful" they can become. The stories are really sad for some of the animals.

We went through the wildlife refuge on Sunday morning. We had time before we needed to head home to go to another zoo we heard about. This one is called the Promiseland Zoo and is located in the opposite direction as the refuge. You drive through this zoo and some of the animals will walk right up to your car. Caution is written all over the park to NOT roll your windows down more than 2 inches. That was not always the case with the brave boy and man in the car. We did not have any problems. We saw all kinds of animals. The bison and the emus were the most likely to come to your car, in fact we had to sit for awhile until a Mama Bison and her baby decided that we could proceed.

There is nothing like spending fun times with your family and this was definitely a fun trip. Will got to spend time with his MawMaw and Mommy and Daddy - off on an adventure - all on his own personal time.

2008-10-16T20:50:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I did a little flea market searching and found these lovely postcards. There are a lot of floral cards, which I couldn't resist. Included in this lot are two old black and white photos. I guess I should have printed a closer picture of the postcards so you could see them better. I hope to use copies of them in future projects - I refuse to use the originals - that is why my wonderful husband Bill bought me a wonderful new printer, scanner so I can print from the originals. The oval one on the left side is an old card of a Geisha riding on a rickshaw. It is called "A Pleasant Ride" and is a copyright of an 1905 print. This one should make lovely art.
The two black and white photos are my beginning of unknown relatives like my friend Pat at www.Birdnestontheground.blogspot.com/
The boys look like brothers and one appears to be afraid of the camera or he is an extremely serious young man. The one sitting has a grin on his face. The other photo is a family - their names are on the back. Reva, Enirich and Earl Nicholson - if they belong to you, please let me know.

There was an estate that was at the flea market in North Little Rock. This is a few of the buttons and belt buckles that I came away with, aren't they nice?
Next time I will try to take better and more detailed pictures, but I wanted to share my finds with you. Flea marketing is a great way to have fun, don't you think. It is a wonderful way to relieve stress.
Today I had more fun by being with my friends - the Knot Krazy group that I have written about before. We met in Morrilton at Jim's house. He has a new sunroom/den and it has completely opened up and changed his whole house. He has moved some of his pieces around and it has lightened up the whole house. It is still a work in progress. We had show and tell from each member and went to lunch. There is a local diner called The Blue Diamond and if you want the BEST fried dill pickles in the world -that is the place to go.
Driving back to Little Rock several of us stopped at a Hobby Lobby in Conway and shopped together - another great way to have fun.

Just Wanted To Write

2008-10-02T22:26:00.000-05:00

Just felt like writing tonight. It is a cool October night. Bill and I just got home from watching my daughter Tonya and son-in-law Jack playing a game of co-ed softball. Adults are really hiliarious when they play and are having fun. By the way their team won.
Today I began making Halloween costumes for Will and Gianni. It has been forever since I have put on a collar on a shirt. It will be along time before I do it again!!! It took 4 times to get it right and figure out what the devil I was doing wrong. Will is going to be a pirate and the shirt has a collar - not a good collar, but it is on the right way.
Tomorrow I promised my brother Eddie that I would come help him do our yearly "pear preserve" making. That means I get to peel and cut pears up all day. Eddie is 74 and travels often because he is responsible for doing all the ABA conventions every year. That means he has to travel a lot to view convention sites. But it gives him lots of miles and reward points. He was able to go to Vancouver last week and had a wonderful time. He saw some beautiful sights and went to Victoria for the gardens. That was the highlight of his trip. I get to see the world through his eyes and his pictures.
What I really want to do is begin my October Bead Project, but it is going to be put on hold to finish my Halloween costumes. This month is so full of things I am scheduled to do it is scary. And best of all - this month I get to go to Houston to the International Quilt Festival.
Well thanks for listening. Have fun - remember it is never too late!!!

September Bead Journal Project - Done

2008-09-28T17:35:00.000-05:00

Well if you look at this you know that I am a newbie to beading, but
I had a great time doing it and hope that those who see this enjoy my efforts. I have already (in an earlier post) noted why I picked the Twin Towers for my September project. The more I beaded the more I wanted to bead. All of the picture was beaded except the buildings surrounding the Twin Towers. I wanted them to remain in the shadows. Two problems I have are (1) the size and getting it right (2) finishing the edges. Right now I am going to call this one done - at the end - hopefully - I will have plan for what to do with my bead projects and finish them in an appropriate way. This one has ended up being 4 1/2 inches square, not the 5 inches I had intended.
The back is ultra suede. My friend Keri gave me some fabric she bought after 9/11 that had the New York skyline. I used a piece of that for the back to cover my stitches. It looks really good with the piece.
The top is done to simulate a US Flag and I thought that it added a lot to the piece.
Hopefully I will approve as we go along. Now I have 2 days to concentrate on Halloween costumes before getting started on October. Ideas are in my head for that one already. See ya'll in October.

Mail Art & Having Fun - 2

2008-09-26T21:45:00.000-05:00

I just had to share this story with ya'll regarding my mail art envelope. Today I took it to the post office. I requested that it be hand cancelled so it didn't have to go through any machines. The lady at the post office just stared at the envelope. She ask "do you want a regular postage label or do you want to use stamps?" Well being an agreeable person I told her whichever was easiest for her. She opened her stamp drawer and took out several stamps, held them to the envelope and then suggested which stamps would go best with my colors. It was too funny. It cost a whole 7 cents more to put the stamps on, but it was so worth it for the experience of seeing how the post office enjoys an artsy envelope. I hope during the journey a few more people get to smile along the way and most of all I hope my friend Mary Lou smiles when she gets it next week.

Mail Art & Having Fun

2008-09-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

My friend Pat (http://www.birdsnestontheground.blogspot.com/) does envelope art. If you buy something from her on her www.etsy.com site you might get an extra surprise. I can't promise, but you never know. Her items are wonderful in themselves, but she is a sweet person that will go that extra mile. Anyway she got me interested in doing some mail art.

I took gesso and base coated 4 envelopes. While I was at it I gessoed (is that a word) 2 books that I bought for $1 each at the used book section at Savers. They still need more gesso and lots of work. Back to the mail art, I digress. The fun part was using different paints - the one I completed was done in #565 Metallic Bronze a Lumiere Paint by Jacquard. The colors are shiny when they dry and just glow. The side paper is a copy of a paper out of one of the Stampington Magazines by Somerset Studio. I like to copy my images and use the copies in case I want to use them again. The picture is a postcard "Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec - A La Mia, 1891. On one of my flea market searches I found a book of Postcards from the Museum of Fine Arts. It contains 32 French Impressionist painters art work, so I have a wealth of cards to work with for future art. I added the woman in the oval frame from some other pieces of art I collected. My idea was the men in the picture had to be talking about something - what better for 2 men to talk about (especially French men) than a beautiful woman????? The papers were added with Mod Podge. Haven't we been using that for years. I used it in the 60's and it is still a good product today. You can use white glue with water, but I like the consistency of the Mod Podge.

This envelope will be sent to my friend Mary Lou with some information she had requested about paper piecing a quilt. I could give it to her in October when our Beaders group meets again, but I think she might enjoy a little regular mail. She used to be the Postmistress in her town so mail seemed like a good idea. I hope she has as much fun with the envelope as I did making it.

The other envelopes are painted and ready to be decoupaged. Inspiration for another day!

More Beading Comments - Part 2

2008-09-22T20:12:00.000-05:00

This is part of my work in progress. The main clouds are done in the crystal beads, accenting clouds will be done in a flat ivory. The towers are done in irridescent multi-colored beads to give them main stage in the story. I outlined in black between the buildings and the water. The piece was not working out to be a size I want to work with the rest of the year. At this point it was 4 x 5 inches when trimmed. I have thought all along that I wanted a 5 inch square piece to work on. It seems like a good size. The bottom water is beaded - not in the picture - but still quite a bit to go.

Since October is looming over the horizon, that means October and Halloween. There are only 2 grandchildren in my life. Every year since Gianni (she is now 7) and Will (he is 4) have been born I have made their Halloween costumes - except last year when I was having additional problems with my health. Gianni has been various things from a fairy to a witch. When Will - her cousin - was born I had 2 to do.
The first year Will was here Gianni was a witch and he was a scarecrow. Next year they were Raggedy Ann and Andy. This year Gianni will be a red devil and Will will be a pirate. October is also the International Quilt Show in Houston and for the first time in 4 years I am going again. My October project will be 5 x 5, but may not be totally beaded - maybe accents for that one, but who knows. On to September finishing.

Bead Journal Project 2008 - Part 1

2008-09-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

It is time for me to do a little posting on my 2008 beaded project. This project has been refreshing and relaxing to do and I can't wait until it is finished. Anyone who has read my blogs knows that September 11th has a dearer meaning to me -not just the tragedy of that day, but of going forward and building friendships. My personality does not dwell on the negative and tries to be positive as much as possible.
The picture below is a tour/postcard book from 1976 that my daughter found for me while we were on one of our infrequent trips to an estate sale together. She not one to accompany me on these days, but this was one of the rare ones that she decided to go. Now surprising to me she has started going every Saturday morning with her friend Amber to yard and garage sales. Go figure!!! She calls to let me know of her finds.

I chose the bottom picture for my beading project. I printed it on 100% cotton transfer sheet - not the quick fuse kind. Now I am beading directly on the fabric. The colors are varied colors of irridescents, crystal for the clouds, white for one of the lower clouds and blue crystal beads for the water. The other buildings are staying gray and in the background to make the Twin Towers stand out from those buildings. There are some other touches I plan on doing a little later.

This is an exciting challenge for me and hope that it turns out well. My goal is to improve my beading each and every month as we go along.

Sweet Old Vintage: Hosting a GIVE-A-WAY

2008-09-16T19:48:00.000-05:00

Sweet Old Vintage: Hosting a GIVE-A-WAY

Vanished Memories and Old Friends Revisited

2008-09-15T22:04:00.000-05:00

There are no pictures for this blog - hope ya'll don't mind. Recently a dear friend who I had lost contact with emailed me out of the blue. Vona and I have spent the last few days catching up via email and I hope that we get to see each other soon. You see back in the 70's and early 80's Vona, T.E., their son Tommy, Jr and daughter Teri lived across the street from me and my family. She was there when I had my babies, through my divorce and then when I remarried and moved away we lost touch - my fault - it is sad when you get too busy and don't take time for old friends. But I have never forgotten her and her family and how close we were all those years.
Our kids have all grown. Her daughter Teri was my favorite babysitter when the kids were little. I always felt safe when Teri and her friend Suzanne would keep my kids because they were so responsible and their Mom's were right next door. Now Teri has a little boy of her own.
Do you remember when neighbors were neighbors? I hope some of ya'll out there are still having those kind of neighbors. You visit over coffee, you share things with each other, you even sometimes take trips together. Ahhhh nostalgia!!!! Vona I do miss you living across the street.
During one of her emails she told me the house on our old street was gone. I knew that the neighborhood had run down and that a couple of houses had burned, but I didn't realize that the house she was talking about was MY old house - until today!! I drove down our old street, the street where I lived for 10 years with my then husband, where my babies came home from the hospital to that little house and where I lived for almost 5 years after the kids Daddy walked out one day. So many good memories in that house, some bad memories, but mostly good. Well the house is gone but I still have the memories and old friends. Thanks for reconnecting Vona.
God is good and just keeps on blessing me every day.

Button Group Friends

2008-09-04T19:33:00.000-05:00

A hobby I was encouraged to pursue is button collecting. Keri the one in the yellow started our group. On her left is Kathy, then Sally, Pat and Barbara. Jim is not there he was away in Oklahoma. Button collecting is a very addictive hobby, but the fun we have sorting through buttons is immeasurable. Do you know you can sort through a "poke box" of buttons thoroughly and the next person will always find a treasure or two that you missed. I don't do this for the value, but more for the joy of a beautiful button that was on someone's clothing a long time ago. Now Jim loves the new modern buttons and there are some unusual and beautiful ones, but I love the old ones. Especially the ones that tell a story or depict a story or character or a building. Being a lover of historical novels makes the button collecting more applicable. Keri provides her home each month for us to meet. We bring a lunch and visit and share. It is a wonderful group to be in.
You can sometimes find great buttons at flea markets and antique stores, sometimes you even can find them at yard sales. Of course with all things collectible the "hunt" is most of the fun. We put (well they do, mine are a mess) them on acid free cardstock to display them. Buttonbytes is a group that collects and shares buttons and has a wealth of information. They are on Google.
Also you can go to http://www.nationalbuttonsociety.com and get lots of information. Join and you get a wonderful booklet in the mail a few times a year.
Most of all you get to spend time with friends and isn't that what it is all about.

Traveling from Mississippi

2008-08-31T21:23:00.000-05:00

My friend Pat says I should post pictures, but I don't have any for today's post. Friday I went to Columbus, Mississippi because my husband's sister had surgery. She was able to go home on Saturday and is doing well.
Today I came home. It reminded me so much of 3 years ago when my husband and I were coming home from Gloria's house (my SIL). Cars flying by us - most with Louisianna tags. Those were the few people who were fleeing Katrina. Today was the same way. People with what belongings they could gather, going to where they did not know, and not knowing when they could go back home. My prayers are with these families this weekend - waiting for Gustav to do what Gustav will do. As I drove along alone I saw RV parks filled with campers trying to get in. Motel parking lots were filled with cars, with still more going into them. People in the small towns in the area were putting up signs and directions for shelters.
When I checked out of my motel in Columbus this morning the phone was constantly ringing. The poor young lady at the desk couldn't check out those who were leaving for having to answer the phone and say "I am so sorry, we are booked solid for 3 days. We don't have any rooms." I ask her if they had a recording for her to use. She told me that Best Western firmly believes in customer service and that they only want a person to answer their phones. What a wonderful concept. She also said that they do not believe in No Vacancy signs, so she would have to turn people away all day. Bad though it was for her she said she always tried to remember - especially the people who would get angry with her - that in their cars were their families and their few belongings. So she tried to be as nice as possible - no matter what. What a wonderful person she is. May God bless her.
Not meaning to get "heavy" with my blog, but sometimes you just have to remember that it isn't always about "fun".

The Treasures That Find You

2008-08-26T21:32:00.000-05:00

I have already told ya'll that Friday was a good day and that my friend Kathy and I found lots of good treasures. The 3 items in this picture were found at a place called SAVERS. It is like a Goodwill, but they price their items a little higher. The 3 items in the picture above are a little tin with flowers, a little purple pig and an orphan quilt that was on a miniature stand.
The tin I thought would be cute to put sewing items in and use the embossed lid as a texture for doing a paint rubbing later. The little pig has already found a home with a friend at church. She loves 2 things besides God and her family - pigs and purple. You just don't see both real often in the same pig. It called to me from the shelf when I walked by - I swear I heard it say "Take me to Lisa - Lisa is looking for me". How can you deny a purple fancy pig.

Now the little miniature quilt was the prize of the day. Made in love for someone named Sue in 1996 for her birthday by Terry. The tiny pieced triangles in the miniature flying geese pattern are done so well, they all have their pointed little heads. It is hand quilted. Now I have a friend Kelley who loves making these little miniatures and if she ever made me one I would treasure it forever. But this one from an unknown person has a good home now and will be displayed with care.

You know treasures are everywhere and when you go with you friends to look, the treasures will find you.

Searching for Treasures

2008-08-24T21:10:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things to do is to search for treasures. Friday I took a break from Gianni (her Daddy was in charge on Friday) and went to look for treasures. I took my friend Kathy. We love to check out the Goodwill and there is a place called Savers, which has bargains. On the way we saw a sign that said Garage Sale. Being a rainy day there weren't many and not many people out. Above is what I found at the garage sale. A purse, which is always a good thing. Now let me explain the bug picture. It is Kathy's fault. It is a Green Nymph Stick Insect. Now the plan is to take this apart and put insect buttons around it. I hope it doesn't come alive when I open it - kind of scary. And the quilt is a wonderful lap quilt. It was made for someone by their aunt and they were selling it. On the back it says:

To: Name ( I won't publish it)

From: Name (ditto)

"A heart full of love

And wings on which to fly"

May 20, 2006

The colors are bright reds, pinks and the back is a batik. It appears that some of the reds have faded onto the whites, but it is still a wonderful little orphan quilt that now has a home. It makes me wonder what will happen to the quilts I make years from now. Sold in a yard sale?? Oh well - you have to look at how much enjoyment you got out of giving the gift -not the final home of the gift.

We found a lot more treasures that day and I will share them later. Don't want anyone to go to sleep while reading my post you know.

Knot Krazy - Beaders

2008-08-22T19:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of a wonderful group of people who mean a lot to me. We meet once a month in one of our homes - now on the 3rd Thursday of the month.

This is the month that we met at Kelley's house - her picture is the one below (I hope). She is a dear friend and we try to see each other more than once a month. Going left to right is Sherry, Jim, Marylou, CarolAnn, Susan and Jean. Keri was there also, but somehow I couldn't catch her in the camera. Our dear friends Pat and Bibi were absent. We are a multi-talented group. Some of us quilt, bead, embroidery, creative mixed media, creative quilting, knitting, crocheting and anything else we can think of to do. Jim has a website http://gatling.gotmeonline.com/ , CarolAnn has a blog at http://quiltbythemile.blogspot.com/ and Pat has a blog at http://www.birdsnestontheground.blogspot.com/ . We love to share with each other. This group has been together since 9-11-01. What a date to remember, that days events happened personally, as well as internationally and will always be in our memory. We have one member-at-large. Her name is Nancy Eha at http://www.beadcreative.com/ and she started it all.

9/11 was a beautiful day. We had just finished a retreat at a beautiful facility on the outskirts of Little Rock, Arkansas called Ferndale. Nancy was our out of state teacher and she taught us the joys of beading that weekend. A dearly loved friend Sharon Heidingsfelder and her friend Marylou had already left that morning. Pat, Kelley and I were going to get Nancy and join them for a day of fun and site seeing before Nancy had a flight out that night. As we were carrying suitcases to the car we saw everyone sitting around the T.V. You know what we saw and as we sat there in total disbelief we didn't know what to think. Nancy, being a stranger realized that there were no planes to fly her home, didn't know when there would be and could not drive herself all the way to Minnesota alone. She had no idea what we would do. Well we bundled everyone up and went to Sharon's house to make decisions. We decided to get Nancy home - of course 4 women traveling together would be perfectly safe - ????? Nancy finally got in touch with her husband who was waiting to hear from her as he was packing his car. We agreed he would drive until he was tired, let us know where he was and we would make the rest of the journey to him. The next morning he called from Fayetteville and off we went to get Nancy home. We realized coming home together that life is too short not to spend it with friends and loved ones, so we formed our group and have been meeting ever since. It is - for the most part- a top priority in our lives. Some dear members have come and gone, but as a whole we are still together. Still having fun and still sharing it all!!!!

Harmony

2008-08-13T19:51:00.000-05:00

Harmony - I love that word. It is a good start to what I want in my life. I thought it was a good start to my having fun by playing with a word. This may (or may not) be a series of words beginning with "H". I found this (when I first decided to challenge myself) picture and quotes on the last page of a Woman's Day magazine. Since my photography needs a lot of work here is the quote:

"I always try to balance the light with the heavy - a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and the fringes" - Bette Midler

Not all things in my life are harmonious right now, but whose is? There is always a place for change - nothing is final until we die - then it is only final here on earth because I believe in eternal life in Heaven. Now I am not preaching - we all have our beliefs and that is mine.

This week I am watching a lot of the Summer Olympics 2008 and here we see a lot of the human spirit and the harmony of nations working together even in competition.

This is a small paper piece. The background is from copies of fabric I have in my quilting stash. The heart is glued on piece of scrapbook paper. Around the edges is part of my yarn stash. I also collect buttons and the buttons represent what I collected before I knew I was a collector. This is a very simple way to start your journey to fun.

Having Fun with Grandchildren

2008-08-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

This is for all of the grandmothers out there. An idea to share your art with your grandchildren. I needed a picture(s) for my foyer. My DIL Megan suggested that Gianni and Will paint something for me. What a great idea!!!! Now let me explain (and so you can know me better). We only have 2 grandchildren and according to my husband Bill - that is all we can afford!!! You know the grandparents job is to spoil the grandchildren and personally I take my job seriously! Anyway Gianni is 6 (almost 7) and will is 4 1/2. They are cousins but if you see them together they look like brother and sister.

Being the control nut that I am - the pictures had to be coordinated. I have their individual art hung in the foyer, but this was for a special time. I got 2 inexpensive blank canvas, chose a color to paint the canvas - my color was cocoa brown. Over came the kids. Megan and I put painters tape on the canvas, gathered the colors I wanted, squeezed them out on paper plates, handed out brushes for them to chose from and let them go. This is the results and I am really proud of having a "work of art" from my grandkids.

Let's Get Started - My first Blog

2008-08-10T12:31:00.000-05:00

Okay - my Blog is "Nevertoolatetohavefun" and thanks to a dear friend, Pat at Birds Nest on the Ground. She is also at blogspot.com and if I ever figure all this out I will link you to her. Her blogs are so inspiring - therefore - I have been inspired. This is my first foray into doing anything artistic that doesn't come with a pattern. Sewing, quilting, embroidery, knitting, crocheting - they all have patterns. Painting and doing mixed media has ideas and then you fly. My goal is to allow others to spread their wings and fly - have a good time - even if you never have before. This is a little ATC card that I started last year in a response to my friend Pat's request to trad. This is one of the 3 I made that is left. Pat got hers last month (no one said you have to rush to have fun). The other one my 6 year old granddaughter Gianni wanted. After explaining to her that she had to make me one to get one - I got one from her entitled "The Red Sea"(upper right). That was the story I told teaching her class in Bible School, so she made the Red Sea with hearts for love. My ATC has a lot of purple, green and feathers because it relates to my fascination with Mardi Gra. I can't tell you how I made this one because mine and Pat's friend Kelley and I worked on them a year ago. I do know that I love to collect feathers and I painted them and used them to press onto the page to give it a little interest.