Flora's Bee Crazy Quilter

happy valentines day!

2012-02-13T22:24:00.000-06:00

I am working on my february BJP project but I've run out of plane white beads to finish it, so I have to wait a day or so till I get the car again. poo!

but I have a bunch of little things close to completion.

Hearts that I want to make a wall hanging out of and a little piece, I think,
I may cut in half and use for 2 cell phone/dream purses, and a few other things
I need to finish and put out on Etsy.

not that any of them are ready for this V-day! *sigh*

just goes to show I need to start on holiday things far in advance of said holiday!
Live and learn! I am not as proficient as I though I was!

I still get stuck halfway through a project and can't seem to think my way out of the corner.

I need a new brain, this one is defective!

oh well, enough complaining, if I am to get anything out for Ostara, I need to start right now!

Crazy Quilts are Quilts too!

2012-02-02T19:59:00.000-06:00

kitty RR

my1st attempt at CQ

Thearica at Pigtales and Quilts has a cyber show that features nothing but crazy quilts!

kitty RR#2

my work for barbara RR

my work for barbara W

So, in the spirit of thinking "outside the box" this year I have entered.

the beaded portion of my belt

Though I don't quite know what I have entered,

my work for peggy

other than a place where more people can come by and see my blog

2011 BJP

(which is nice;)

my sun box

there are prizes and since I never win at these things anyway,

inside lid of my box

I am entering for the eyecandy!

box for my son

so far, many of my favorite quilt artists have entered as well,like
Pat Winter, Nancy Eha, Kerrykatykackes, Leslie at pinyon creek, Gerry Kruger and many more!

Imbolic box

sun and moon boxes

I need to say something about myself here and my growing obsession with CQ.

picture frame

I have been embroidering since I was 5 or 6 and I come from a long line of seamstresses.

shabby chic box

movie star purse

my mother and grandmother taught me to appreciate the hand made and handwork.

CQ is the right fit for me with few hard and fast rules and lots of scope for imaginative uses, from small bags and wall hangings to clothing and full size bed covers.

Big Island adventure

I am still a relatively small fish in a very talented pool!

our X-mas stockings

Cq of my BFF's daughter

I regularly feel rather like wayne and garth genuflecting at the knees of my heroes shouting "I'm not worthy!I'm not worthy!"

Witchi-poo#3

hearts and hands for Sendi

I love creating "functional art" that is small pieces like my witchy-poo hats or cq covered wood boxes.I try to tell a story with my blocks, though that has been a bit muted this year, I want to be getting back to that.

DD#2's cq do

I'm also obsessed with beads and leaned the "Indian way" to bead on a loom and free hand and have made almost all of my presents to close family and friends since childhood.

Sharon Boggins encrusted class

I stumbled into sane quilting when I was pregnant with my first child and the obsession took off from there!

witchi-poo #2


niece Lily's memory bag

I "discovered" applique when I was pregnant with my second child and CQ when pregnant with my third (hmm, seeing a pattern here!) and have never looked back.

Every RR I enter in CQinternational the more I learn from these talented generous women and I'm trying my best to be a sponge.

lancelot

My goal is to create a large CQ piece depicting my favorite fairytales. so far I have 3 panels finished, so yeah, that one is gonna take a while!

Fools Gold RR

2012-01-28T06:56:00.002-06:00

I have joined the "Fools Gold" RR with Gerry it starts on Feb15th and I'm soo excited!

I have dabbled in glodwork before,I've wanted to try more but haven't gotten arountuit so this should be a good kick in the pants to get going on that!

I bought these two books for the occasion, this one just looked so interesting I had to try it and the one below I've been coveting for a while and now is as good a time as any..

I've looked through both of them and there is gorgeous eye candy in both of them but the first has more" how to do it" in it.

both are sumptuous and informative
the second having more history and the first having more of a beginners feel to it.

and here are the blocks I will be sending out to Janet.

I though goldwork would stand out excellently on a field of burgundy.

I'm hoping for jacobean flowers and bugs!

I can't wait to start!

ORTS

2012-01-26T20:55:00.000-06:00

or as I like to call them, threads too short to use.

this array of beads struck me as interesting neat and tidy rainbow colors waiting to be used in some novel way.

I'm trying to look at things with a new perspective

instead of doing things in the same old way

what i'm working on now

2012-01-21T20:26:00.000-06:00

the peacock is getting closer to done just one more layer of feathers

hears the tail from a different perspective.

a close up of the lower body

and head

look how pretty from the side!

another 2 purses down!

I call this one "Drama Queen"

the little blue spider

a close-up of the dragonfly

and the panseys

and here's murmaid

I'm pleased with how the fish came out but I'm not sure about the rest.

Now for the new year

2012-01-13T01:20:00.000-06:00

Ms twitchy whiskers

This lovely little girl is Jubilie, our rescue kitty. and the newest member of our household.
she is still getting used to her new roost and is still looking for her fellow cast-outs.

every day she gets less skittish and more used to the noises the house makes.

cat ball

She has also decided several spots are now "hers"
My daughters bed is one of those spots

This little paisley is my first installment to this years BJP.
white for the missing snow of this winter

I've decided to make a paisley for each month this year.
each one 2-3 inches.

I have decided it's about time I did something with this dress.
so I am going to embroider things all over it, this peacock is the first.

closing out the old year

2012-01-10T17:31:00.000-06:00

closing out the old year by finishing off things begun at the beginning of 2011
I have 3 more little purses to finish, this one is the fist of those.

I love how the pansies turned out!

Here are all of the 2011 BJP's together,
My Mara is sanding in for "Beautiful you are my world"
which I gave to my friend Laura-Lee for her birthday.

the "moon" and "Time" are my favorites.

peacocks comment

2012-01-02T14:46:00.000-06:00

Peacock left a comment on myBJP2011
"I totally understand the frustration of something not turning out the way you envision it... but sometimes the way that it turns out instead has a different but equally important beauty. Is it possible that this tree falls in that category?"

very definitely!
I started out with a slightly different vision and ended up with this tree which is not diminished by my inability to make it "right".

most of my frustration with this particular piece was how long it took me to finish!
I kept loosing interest in it.
then I would feel like i HAVE TO work on it and I don't think I have to tell anyone, how inhibiting to creativity that particular feeling is!

so now that it is done the question is, do I like it?
yeah.
I know uninspiring answer but I do appreciate the things I learned from doing this project much more.

happy new year!

2011-12-31T22:31:00.002-06:00

Happy Solstice!

2011-12-24T12:15:00.003-06:00

Happy Holidays!

christmas stocking fr Lydia

2011-12-22T14:38:00.000-06:00

in the beginning

I started with Lydia's favorite color green

added jingles

it jingles!

lots of sparkly and a turtle

there had to be a turtle

Add caption

Voila!

a stocking for Lydi!

with gingerbread and snowflakes

a poinsettia

daisies and a key
(of knowledge, to my heart, part of the family crest)

more snowflakes and

Mele Kalikimaka!

all hung by the chimney with care!

taking advice

2011-12-08T17:01:00.001-06:00

Especially Gerry's advice, when Cqing is always a good idea.

the more input you get the better your own ideas are in the end!

just think of what the golden age of reason would have been if there had been no salon's for the intellectuals to talk, argue and share idea's?

Think of what Art would have looked like if not for the coffee houses and bars in paris and elsewhere!

nice but not stunningly beautiful.-not that I am comparing my little things to any of this mind you I'm just ruminating.

anyway, I took Gerry's advice and added a fan to the yawningly empty brown patch and a nest with birds above it.

I give you the side-by side comparison

sewing and coughing don't mix!

2011-12-06T19:21:00.001-06:00


looks like a cqshop barfed on it!

Ok, so, walking pnumonia isn't fun, especially over a holliday!
I have been trying to plug along through a stuffy nose, shaky hands and coughing myself insideout.
my friends sewing and coughing don't mix!

ort's jar

half the time you loose your place and the other half you loose the needle, it's just badness.
I'll live, that prognosis is good, though I'm still coughing, it doesn't make me want to take a nap anymore!)

I got my FFT RR#16 block back and is it lovely!
I'm just going to add a thing or two and it will be perfecto!
I also worked on the changes Gerry suggested for the blue/brown block
(Isn't she the greatest!)

I added a fan to the yawning empty brown space and added a birds nest with two glass lampwork beads, I got in my monthly embellishments package from Eveningstar designs.

those are great if you need a random stash boost!
Carolyne sends out a selection of ribbons, lace, beads, silk ribbon, buttons, charms, silkies and all sorts of fun stuff!

it's totally random and a lovely little surprise in your mailbox once a month!

I get nothing for promoting BTW.
I just love her cqclubs and she is a lovely person to have gotten to know over the years.

we put up the tree this weekend and it looks fabulous like it does every year! it does need one more string of lights though, i ran out of them at the top of the tree so when they blink the whole top goes dark!
I started a stocking for my DD she requested I make her a new one this year, in apple greens with a turtle on it! so far so good!

Happy Turkey day!

2011-11-24T01:49:00.000-06:00

go get stuffed!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

BJP-Or mind can hide

2011-11-17T19:28:00.000-06:00

yipes! I can't belive it's almost turkey day!
and it's been a LOOng time since I updated (or did anything with) my BJP stuff *bad Flora*
didn't we just start this year?

anyway this is my november contribution called
"Or a mind can Hide"

as you can see her thoughts are spilling out all over the place!

I liked the contrast of the sky blue and the crystal clear being like thoughts
sometimes we are lost in thought

or we lose our train of thought

very seldom do you have a clear thought with a good idea attached to it

and some Ideas are brighter than others

but we are always thinking

all day long or thoughts are cascading over one another in a constant flow

Sharon Boggins encrusted crazyquilt class progress

2011-11-14T13:51:00.002-06:00

Not sure I'm done with this one yet.
I have spent a lot of time lurking in this class and not participating mostly because i have been dealing with a "brain cloud" issue.

rife with muzzy thinking or just flat out can't manage to rub two good thoughts together and didn't want to inflict my incoherencies on any one else I didn't have to!

I was ,however, paying enough attention to follow along and I have to say these are a talented group of ladies!

I'm not very good at photo-as-you-go, as anyone who has read my blog will attest to! It's a failing.

I get into my "Zone" and the piece is done before I realize I haven't taken any pictures of it!

I did finally post pictures of what I have been working on as i lurked in the shadows. I would love a little advice on what to do with that bare brown corner.

I was thinking of putting a bird in a nest there to complimenting the bird button on the other side but i don't know!

here's the whole thing so far I don't know that corner needs something!
Gerry Help!

FFT#16-update

2011-11-05T20:54:00.000-05:00

I finally sent Kathy's block back to her.
being the last person to play on a block has as many challenges as being the first!

I felt the need to "bring the room together" on this one.

all the ladies did a wonderful job on their little corner of the block but it was all so linear I felt the need to blur the lines.
I added a BIG yellow spiderweb to contrast the little bits of yellow that were scattered here and there and the spider echos the wonderful magenta of the top right corner patch,

I also extended the trailing leaves from Barbara's (R?) down into the pansy patch at the bottom and

last but not least I added a pink and purple dragonfly to the top right, to hide that hard end of the lace and draw the eye down into the center of the block

I hope you like the result.

basic CQ flip and fold tutorial

2011-10-29T11:14:00.001-05:00

mark your foundation with a 1/4" seam

Ok, someone form the nubi side asked if I could do a tut on how I do basic cq flip and fold.

add fabrics around your focal point

this is in response to wanting to know how I did my witchy-poo hats.
I know the piece I'm showing you all "how to" is not a witchy-poo hat but I do them all pretty much the same way, so here it goes!

pin down and sew

start with your muslin base (calico for you oversea's)
you need at least 2" to overhang outside your fabric square
(or whatever shape your sewing) for the hoop, if you use one,
then mark the outside line, this is the line where your fabric stops.
then make a line to mark a 1/4"-1/2" seam allowance.
(which ever is more comfortable for you)

trim your edges

this is the seam you DO NOT under any circumstances put any beading, buttons, metal embellishments, etc.
you can embellish and bead up to this line but no farther.

if you go beyond this line with the hard embellishments, you can't turn the seams or sew through them on sewing machine, without doing damage to yourself, the machine or the cq piece your working on and sometimes all 3!

flip and iron

I have already made this mistake, a few times, no need for you to suffer!

I like to mark these lines with a sharpie as the odds that your going to see them through the fabric are very small, unless your working with a lot of shears, in which case you should have a layer of misty fuse or another comparable stabilizer beneath that for endurance.

do it again!

now that you have marked your foundation its time to sew down the fabrics.
you will want to start somewhere in the middle (not like I did, at an end)
to better work your way around the piece.

start with an off cut focal fabric, fabric picture not a silkie.they are to delicate. I like odd shaped pentagon, the 5 sides give you more diversity in patches.

don't forget to trim your edges

I start with one of the longer edges, so you don't end up with teensy weensy bits. place your next fabric, wrong side up.

pin at at least 2 points and sew down. when using slippery fabric like silk or velvet pin more!

flip the fabric over and iron your seams.
I like to use a little spray starch on
the back for stabilization with slippery or thin fabrics.

ironing each patch is key

you also want to trim any bits that overhang or slop over.
rinse and repeat until your whole block is filled up!

I have used a dark thread so hopefully you can see it in the pics
here is the back of my piece, so you can see how the seams look this way

finished block all trimmed up with it's corners pinned

(almost no one shows you the back of their work)

when your done filling in the block you want to do 3 things

sew the zig-zag and 1/4" seam allowance from the back

1) make sure all your corners are held down with pins
2) sew around your outside edge with a zig-zag stitch, trim the excess fabric
(this is why you need to use a sharpie to mark your edges)
3) then sew a 1/4" to 1/2" seam allowance with the longest straight stitch your machine will do.

finished seam work and edging

completed block

now the fun stuff begins! time to figure out which way is up and what you want to put on your block!

I hope this is helpful.

for you newbies out there welcome to our the wonderful crazy world!)

Sharon Boggins on line class

2011-10-19T00:46:00.000-05:00

I am taking Sharon Boggins encrusted crazy quilting class on line so for the next 6 weeks I will be working on a block or two for it and hopefully getting a few other things done. I have the usual backload of stuff that needs to be worked on "RIGHT NOW!" and other things I have been putting off because I'm just lazy, or busy, or distracted, or all the above :)
and then there is the Yule tide just around the corner, aakk!
here's what I have so far,

witchy-poo 3

2011-10-10T19:48:00.000-05:00

This one is more off he traditional black witch's hat

i also tried for more uniformity in color so the hat wasn't to garish,

with just enough color to grab your attention

i love how the besom turned out don't you?

when we were in Pennsylvania dutch country for a vacation I remember barns having these sort of circles painted on their sides for protection from evil spirits

this embroidery run reminds me of corn fields just before they cut them down for feed

and one musn't forget the wise old owl or spooky cat

Withi-poo 2

2011-09-30T11:53:00.001-05:00

another witchi-poo is done!

now i have 1 more to finish and a small something-I haven't decided yet what it should be.

any suggestions? it's a 6" square approximately

just as colorful as these lovely darlings

but what should it be?
Purse, table mat, wall-hanging?
I don't know!

anyway as you can see this one is much like the other spiders, dragonfly's, witchy sayings, pumpkins

these are fun to make, they are about 12"high and 10" in diameter any size tussy mussy pattern will do (i used a dinner plate for the brim!)

then get out all the creepy bugs and spiders you can find and go to town!)

I lined these as well so in theory they can be worn all one would need to do is sew in a hair band or combs.
they are just big enough not to look silly!

and homecoming is coming up with all the dress drama and OMG! that that entails. it's to be semi-formal this year which means all the girls are wearing formals and all the boys are wearing what they can get away with!
dd's date has decided on skinny jeans and combat boots with the union jack on the toe and she has decided on a very nice midnight blue velvet with spangles and silver shoes. somehow I don't think he's going to win this one!)

here comes the sun

2011-09-23T13:39:00.000-05:00

Remember the beatles song, here comes the sun?
I was singing or humming it the whole time i stitched this piece!

I put a nice big spiderweb on the side because you can't go anywhere in the garden with out walking into one!

I started this sometime in march and we had nothing but rain, rain, clouds and cold till august so no wonder it took so long to finish!

who can get inspired to sew sunny when all you have is overcast cold and dreary.

I covered it with a dragonfly a butterfly and loads of flowers

to remind me of bright sunshinny days that are so few and far between here and all the more precious for that!

witchi-poo mini

2011-09-20T19:36:00.000-05:00

well I've finished something and boy am I pleased with myself!
not as pleased as if I got more done but pleased none the less!)

I've made another witchi-poo hat this time 1/2 size.
more for decorating than wearing though I suppose you could,
it's not that small!

it's more of a cutsie version than my original but that one was for me and this one is for whomever gets to it first when I post it to ETSY.

it's got a little of everything though, a spider

bats flying

a dragonfly curling around the top

some yellow SRE roses on it and on the brim

seam treatments, embellishments and beading, OH My!

soul can hope

2011-09-17T19:04:00.000-05:00

I am going to be bouncing around the verses from here on out because the tree part is going to take longer than I anticipated and I may mash the rest of the verses into less pieces.

i haven't lost interest just time due to life stuff, which is what I thought would happen.

the verse for this piece is
"which grows higher than soul can hope"
And I thought the bird does a better job at showing the "soul hoping' concept than it did the "whatever is done" concept.

so I embroidered the body first

and then the wing, beaded it and attached it

then I added the tail, stuffed it and put a pin on the back. it still needs some dangly beads for the tail but I haven't found the right ones yet.

CQI FFT#16 RR update

2011-09-08T15:31:00.000-05:00

just finished my part of Peggy's FFT #16 piece.

I added a spray of summer buds made with variegated yellow and pink flower dyed cotton bullions and a few bees to the center of the block.

I wanted to add a few more bugs but didn't want to take up Kathie's space.

a nice big dragon or butterfly wold look lovely somewhere!

well and duly

2011-08-31T13:22:00.000-05:00

Now that my girlfriend is well and duly married, I can show you what I made for her!

I started with this wonderful picture of her daughter Sophia at the beach.

then I added this great piece of lace I had left over from my sons box, they look like sea shells don't they.

some birds in a cloudy sky

seashells and rocks on a sandy beach

more lace to extend the cloudy sky and the surf.

and gossamer wings for Sophia the surf fairy!

I wanted to keep it simple but elegant

Because she is simply elegant and allays has been!

then a frame for hanging

It's just a little thing.
I hope she likes it.

2011-08-30T19:05:00.000-05:00

I've finally finished something! yea!
this little hawaii piece is a wall hanging.
it's 6.5x 6.5" and can be hung easily anywhere!
going to Malibu for the weekend,
see you later with more fabulous fiddlings!

new stuff in the works

2011-08-18T23:19:00.000-05:00

I've got a bunch of new stuff in the works!
lots of projects to finish up and new ones to start.

but first I have to finish the wedding present I'm making for my oldest friend.
she is getting married in Malibu on the 27th and I just started on it, I have to finish it first!
I've had the Idea for it for a few months now, but with all the other things and the girls and life and whatnot, it's been hard to get started on it.

I will post pics of this piece after we get back from the wedding.
but the other stuff you can see now!

I have little witchy-poo hats for the serenity shop and hawaii themed boxes

a wedding themed box, and a few other bits and bobs.

lets see if I can get these ready before halloween in time to gear up for the christmas season!

FFT 16 RR

2011-08-15T14:02:00.000-05:00

Barbara r's square done!
i hope she likes it
I asked Barb W if she didn't mind if I took out her water and re did it,
as I couldn't find the same colorto extend what she did.
I added a tree and butterflies to frame the couple

and mirrored the flower bed along the bottom.

Birthday boy's navy box

2011-08-02T14:20:00.001-05:00

here is the finished block before making it into a box.

I'm quite pleased with how this one came out.

I got nice and fancy detailed with out getting too "girlie"
the goldwork is done with cheep christmas braid and elastic chord.
be careful using the elastic stuff because it real easy to pull to hard when going through the fabric and puckering your work. it's best to pull out a little extra and couch it as you go around, pulling in the exess when you have gotten to the end. that way your not working with a wadded, puckering piece that wont stay flat. the styalized fish was a bonus find at my local bead shop in country villiage.

I love how the lacy bits make the waves look "foamy" I added some clear opalescent beads to add to the "choppy wave" feeling.

why is it so hard to add a little extra to these braids? it seems like every time I do I end up staring at it for a day trying to decide what to put there to make it "go". since I didn't want to get to fancy with it, I stared at it a lot!

my favorite spot on this piece is the "ships wheel" detailing across the top just enough bling to satisfy my need to layer stuff but not enough for my son to wig out!

and heres the finished piece what do you think?
appropriately manly for a 20 year old?

should I do a tut on making a top into a box?
let me know by leaving a comment.

going commando

2011-07-21T21:19:00.001-05:00

in a manner of speaking.

Adam on the leni at his dad's

That's me in the window

My DBF has taken the camera with him to Hilo to visit his dad, who is seriously ill.
so I am without picture taking abillity for a week.
so y'all will just have to wait for pictures of my new stuff.
I'm almost done with the navy and the sun box top so those will be coming soon.
and I have started some small hawaii themed pieces and I was thinking of doing some small table top versions of my witchy-poo hat for the Sunshine serenity shop at countryvilliage here in bothell.
there are about 4-5 I'm still not sure what they will be yet.
but I'm bee buzzy! and if it keeps raining here I'll be productive too!)

Agaust BJP

2011-07-11T08:13:00.001-05:00

This one is called Whatever a sun has sung

I used stiff stuff for the first time instead of felt and woo, woo!

does it work nice!

I still need to put the back and the bells on (so it sings)

But it is done

I wanted lots of movement on this piece to represent solar flares and the constant movement of the sun
but also how the sun "sings" to us here on earth.
it warms us and keeps our planet in the perfect orbit for life to exist

2011-07-09T13:07:00.001-05:00

So here is my work on Barbara Warner's Hanki CQ for the FFT #16

I only did two heavily embellished seam treatments because I didn't want to overwhelm the delicacy of the overall piece

this is the top corner

and the lower corner by the belly of the bird

and the left corner

the bird is an embroidered motif done in DMC cottons and sparkle threads on felt I followed Gerry K's tutorial here.

this is a closeup of the beadwork at the tail

and here is the whole piece together
I tried to balance the colors with white, yellow and blue being the main colors using the red, pink and green as accents only.

this is my first RR in CQI how'd I do?

Grey challenge is done!

2011-07-07T11:50:00.000-05:00


naked block

well that was a challenge!


finished block

keeping to one colorway is hard for me.
I generally like to go all over the place with my colors
and this was a learning experience too!
I tried Gerry K's advice that button clusters need to go somewhere,
and tried my hand at spiderweb roses
-note to self, 4mm ribbon not good for web roses
unless they are tiny!

We had a wonderful time at the Kirkland fireworks!


the teddy bear was rambunctious

jumping around and scaring people

Mara couldn't stop wiggling and giggling which made everyone else giggle and laugh!

it was all she could do to catch hinm

it's almost worth the time and aggravation of escaping kirkland in the inevitable traffic jam afterwards!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-03T22:08:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July holiday to all of you out there in bloggerland!

I have survived the first week with my girls (there are 7more with the littlest)

let me tell you what the 4th means to me,
I declared my independence from my ex-husband on this day.
after 20 years in a bad marriage forever making it a very special day to me.

and now my family is further splintered but to the good this time.
my son is embarking on his own life in the world and leaving home for the military.

my eldest daughter after the worst year of her young life full of horrible clashes with her father and his rather dictatorial controlling ways has decided to move in with me in Seattle and finish out H.S. here. Yea!!
It leaves my youngest at home alone with her father but she gets along with him better than anyone else in the family does being his baby girl.
I don't anticipate the clash of personality with her that there was with #1 DD. #1 DD is and always has been an opinionated, loud, curious, wonderfully interesting, funny, handful!
and dad is, well think Hosni Mubarak without the country and you have an idea of how living with the ex was.
some people work well within that system some do not.

anyway this all makes the 4th a special day to me,
so go enjoy the fireworks!

grey challenge

2011-06-25T21:13:00.000-05:00

this is how the grey study started off looking.
I soon decided that that shiny piece was too shiny and must be muted!
just putting something over it didn't seem to work
so I took that seam out and re-worked it a little.

this is what it looked like after I fixed it and added a little bit of trim.
the dark lace toned down that shiny piece nicely.

for me the challenge has been to keep it all in just one colorway and not let it spill out into all the others. though I did turn up an amazing array of greys in my stash!I really didn't have to buy anything!

t a good start I worked on this while Pat, Donna and I had our first ever Crossroads CQ meeting.

we meet in front of the Jo-anne fabrics.
Wednesdays at 3:00pm.
everyone who can come is invited.
the more the merrier!

I like how this seam treatment turned out.
the ribbon is couched to keep it from curling up on the edges
but otherwise its threaded through that cheepie plastic silver trim.

I found a few greys in my stash!
do you think I have enough to finish?
Ok, so I cheated, I bought some beads and the grey silk ribbon,
but I had the rest!

i will also finish the mourning heart for Hideko since it is in the same colors anyway.

some of what I've been up to

2011-06-20T13:41:00.043-05:00

here is some of what I've been up to lately.

i got inspired to make up a whole bunch of new base

pieces for boxes and small wall hangings.

got the fft #16 RR pieced, marked , packaged
and sent out Tuesday, too!

I also re-worked the grey study.
I didn't like the shiny, shiny at the top of the piece so I made it smaller and worked in a piece of dark grey lace to cover most of it.
now the shiny is muted and not the only thing that catches your eye.

I made up a mourning heart for Hideko

and a Navy piece for my son who is taking his ASFAB
(don'cha love military acronyms?)

I've started augusts BJP but I can't seem to get motivated to do much on it.
It will probably languish until the last minute.
the monthly journal aspect is starting to loose a
little steam with me but I want to finish it.
the BJP stretches me in an unfamiliar way and I like that!

big hawaii

2011-06-17T03:40:00.031-05:00

Finally finished this wall hanging, it's only been like 3 years!

boy do I know how to procrastinate or what?

some of you may recognize this from a CQ for newbies RR

way back in 2008 this is how the block came back to me.
this is what they looked like before I really got to work on them
And this is what they look like now

I have added a lot of details from each of the blocks taking elements from the other pieces and adding a few more of my own to blend the four parts into a cohesive whole.

I think I did an ok job what do you all think?

2011-06-13T14:42:00.000-05:00

I'm getting ready for the summer invasion of kinder,
my girls are coming to visit for the whole summer!
one is coming to visit and the other my oldest girl is coming to stay!
to say I am excited is a vast understatement!

she has had a rough time adjusting to her father and then there was
"the Rumor"
this was an anonymous tip someone called into the school, accusing her of sleeping with a teacher. not the teacher slept with her mind you, she slept with him. this was my first tip that the whole thing was BS, aside from talking to her and getting "EEW! hes like 28!" and "I have a boyfriend" I know my girl, she may be boy crazy but she's not an idiot!

anyway, this prompted an uncoordinated DCFS, CPD, CPS investigation that took 3 weeks of ~~bumbling and harassment~~ interviews and "observation" only to come up with nothing ( i could have told them that!)
and they never found out who called it in either!
you would think making false accusations and causing 3 weeks of resources to be wasted on a bogus investigation would have prompted them to at least find that out and get back their pound of flesh.

my darling ex, who loves to make mountains out of molehills, decided she was guilty until proven innocent and grounded her, instead of listening to her and trusting that she wasn't involved in what they said she was.

this is after 2 years of treating her as though she were a mini version of me.
to say that she has had enough is putting it lightly!
and if that weren't enough the "rumor" got out and is making her life miserable at school
she was ready to burn down every bridge she has there and run away from home!
I told her to put down the torch, take a deep breath and start fresh here.

so lucky me I get my girlies back! at least for the summer!
here's hoping the weather cooperates or at least gets warmer!

BJP whatever a moon has meant

2011-06-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

I started this piece in december it was one of the first pieces I envisioned for this years project and was one of the many visuals that lead me to pick the poem to use in the first place.

Junes poem phrase is "and it's whatever a moon has meant "

in nature based religions the moon holds a very important place. she is always female and always changing.

maid, mother and crone are very important cycles in the human experience as well.
we all hit most of these stages in our lives at some point.
the moon points out that even though it is a constant in our night sky it is always in flux just as we are.
the moon helps us count the days and lights our way in the night.
despite science making it possible to walk amongst the stars and on our moon it's self, it has lost none of it's magic and wonder.

WTF is up with the weather???

2011-06-08T13:39:00.001-05:00


DBF on the deck friday

It's flooding in the midwest,
burning in az and boiling everywhere else
and here its 50* and raining, AGAIN!

this past weekend we had 3 days in the upper 60's with
beautiful sunny breezy weather (I even got a little pink!)
and now I'm freezing my butt off in 2 sweaters and
wooly socks and the furnace just kicked in.

it's freaking JUNE!

so I ask in all honesty WTF is up with the weather!!!!

I'm thinking of building a fire (and pouting)

Butterfly purse

2011-06-06T08:05:00.000-05:00

got another purse done and out there.
this one was a little bit of a challenge as parts of it were too white.
did i do a good job of toning it down or does it just look muddy now?

Big Island

2011-06-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

I mounted the little Hawaii piece that I finished last year
and named it "Big Island".
I love the way it looks and I can hang it or show it this way!
Gerry is right it's very convenient!

I also finished another box, this one is a small round papermache` box with a bead embellished moon and goddess on the top.

I liked the pattern so much from "whatever the moon has meant"
that I did it again, only a bit larger this time.
I'm also working on finishing the big "Pineapples and palmtrees" piece.
I know, I know that one is so old it should have finished itself by now!
but I mean it I'm gonna do it! and mount it too! you'll see!

Look what I found!

2011-06-01T17:58:00.001-05:00

Look what I found!
we stopped at an estate sale on the way back from dinner one night and they had these in a box with a few more. I wish I could have gotten the others but they only took cash and I only had $10 so I got these aren't they lovely?
only a little yellowed and frayed but you can see the name of the cigarettes they came from.

this is my naked block for the grey challenge for CQI
It's not 12x12 but other than that i followed all the guidelines.
they wanted 5 different textures and they want you to use glass metal and fiber. otherwise everything should be in shades of grey only
I need to find some silk ribbon in grey tones, everything I have is coloriffic.
grey shouldn't be to difficult considering the weather around here lately! Rain, rain, rain!

BJP-beautiful you are my world

2011-05-29T13:11:00.000-05:00

May BJP is done! woo whoo!
Done and mounted!
whew I thought I'd never get that one done!
now I'm glad I did some of my projects ahead of time It gives me a little breathing room for life and other stuff! ;)
not that that is going to last very long!
july is the last of my work aheads
so i will have to be extra vigilant not to get behind!

boy that one took a bit of doing.
I kept looking at it thinking, "whelp, that don't look right!"
It seemed too crowded and smooshed together all by it's lonesome

so I put a CQed boarder on it in all the navy fancies I could find and it opened right up!
I then took a page from Gerry Kruger and followed her tutorial on making finished blocks.
there you have it! done!
and before the end of the month too!

there is a ton of symbolism on this piece, each paisly representing a different aspect of what we are capabe of.
all our dreams and aspirations, that swirl around us at all times and we have but to reach out.

I also made this piece big enough
(I hope!) to be a base for all the other pieces to gather around. as a connector for the poem in its entirety. Gee I hope it works!

2011-05-16T19:41:00.000-05:00

as promised here is a batch of the stuff I've been working on.
this purse isn't quite done yet but it's off to a good start!

very butterfly-ee. it still needs something else but I can't see it right now so I'm going to put it aside for a bit and see if anything floats to the surface.

I must say this box looks much better now that it's done. I wasn't pleased with it for the longest time!

there still may be a little too much going on but I can't see that it matters now.

I covered the inside with the pink spots in the top and a bright blue spot for the bottom.

my favorite parts are the cuttle fish and the seahorses on coral

I love how this one turned out! the dragonfly is very dramatic don't you think?

the inside is covered with olive velvet and the same silk the dragonfly is on for the top.

the covers on these next few are old samplers I had lying around.

the two orange pouches are big enough for eyeglasses.

the little ones are dream pouches.

you put something you want to dream about a picture or a wish or fragrant herbs and hang it from your bedpost or put it under your pillow at night.

you can also write down something you don't want to dream about on a piece of paper.

I haven't put handles on all of them yet.

what should I do to finish the eyeglass pouches?

I finally stopped fooling around with this purse.
I have decided to call it rapture. not for any religious feelings on my part it just seemed to want to go that way!
you can decide if it's religious or not
have you ever had a project dictate to you how it wanted to be made?
it's very unsettling if you ask me! mouthy projects and opinionated purses that's me! ha!
these will all be put in my etsy shop at some point in the next few days.
I have been working to finish and mount my may BJP project work on july's and start on another purse or two. buzzy, buzzy bee am I!

the muppet show

2011-05-15T23:11:00.000-05:00

I love the muppet show!

I know I should be showing you all what I've been up to for the last month and I will , I will get to this eventually I have BIG news and fun stuff to show off and I have been procrastinating doing it.I've been a little busy with family stuff and life in general. I'll get there just bear with me-get it! BEAR?

I love every thing about it from it's hackneyed, second hand jokes, to the over the top zany goofiness of it.
I love every ragged cliched corner
from fozzie bears awful jokes to dr. bunson honeydews failed experiments
sweetness is my favorite monster
and one of my favorite bits was gonzo's "mouse-i-phone" even though Monty Python did it first with the mouse organ dr teeth, animal, alice and floyed were the best band and boregard-the-janItor cleaned up the mess, of which there were many.
go to netflix or your local best buy and watch it again this is good old-fashioned funny stuff, treat yourself to the giggles.

visit

2011-04-18T10:19:00.000-05:00

my kiddies are coming to visit for their spring break, so not much will get done this week.
I have a bunch of things that are in the works so there will be more eyecandy later.

this is one of my favorite pictures of them together.this was taken almost 13 years a go! babygirl is a week old, big brother is 7 and sistagirl is 3.

I have lots of "touristy" things to do and their favorite meals planned I can't wait!

that was a puppet theater then it turned into open mike night at the BR. they are all 2 years older here.

here is the picture postcard version of starved rock
(add another 3 years)

this is what it's usually like!

it's all fun and games....

I am blue-gray today

2011-04-14T11:24:00.000-05:00

It's so easy to become depressed here in the great northwest, when the weather has been put on constant drizzle for weeks, the sky is gray with black roiling clouds and the temperature is is cold, wet damp and clammy all at once.
when all those places and people I know well are in Chicago and I am here in the gray drizzle. I know-I know I wanted to come here and truth tell, most of the time I don't mind being solitary, I don't mind that I am the only other person I know in washington and I do love it here but....
I have no freinds here. no-one I can call up out of the blue and say lets go do..
no-one I can run across in the store and chat with over this and that.
I need the sun to come out and play, for today, I am blue-gray .

Here in my deep Paisley dream

2011-04-04T18:45:00.000-05:00

may is mostly done now I just have to put a border on it and mount it on something sturdy.

the phrase for this months BJP is "I want no world for beautiful you are my world my true." this was originally going to be my concept piece for "whatever is done by only me is your doing" but I felt it was not right, once I let go of trying to force it into that place, I got the idea for the other piece and this one came into focus. funny how that happens!

Our inner beauty become manifest.
the paisleys are representative of our thoughts and dreams as through them we are capable of creating our world. (I've been reading Jung again, can you tell?)

I was thinking about halfway to finishing this project that it would make a wonderful set piece for the other parts of the BJP.
so with that in mind I'm going to wait and see just how large I need to make the border to accommodate the other 11 parts.

fishing for compliments

2011-03-31T20:04:00.000-05:00

not that I am really! I just wanted to share the progress so far on mays BJP
if you haven't guessed yet ...it's a fish

I haven't quite figured out the tail yet
but it will come to me.

have found that i seem to get my best idea's in dreams.

over successive days I work out the details and then gather things.

I puzzle out the details as i'm working.

oh and check out the fin on this baby, i'm rather proud of that! it's the first time i've ever worked in 3d.

Hearts and Hands For Sendai block is finished!

2011-03-27T19:34:00.000-05:00

well here's my contribution for better or worse to the hearts and hands for sendai quilt project. the cherry blossom tree is my favorite part.

i love the serenity of the girl brushing her hair i thought sendai could use a little about now.
The butterflies are symbols of the soul and hope for the future.

What can I do?

2011-03-25T13:13:00.000-05:00

"What can I do?"

As a quilter and a stitcher

I have found a project that,

"I can do to help".

Here is an excerpt from the blog

http://crazyquiltinginternational.blogspot.com/.

This project will be dedicated to helping those affected by the earthquake tsunami disaster in Japan. Per Hideko Ishida's request, all quilts will become a part of an exhibit in Japan where money will be raised by viewing the quilts. Ultimately, these quilts may be auctioned and the proceeds given to a charity designated by Hideko Ishida, our Japanese CQ Sister! We will keep everyone informed as time progresses. This project is open to the quilting community at large! You may track details on the Crazy Quilting International blog, http://crazyquiltinginternational.blogspot.com or the ICQA Facebook page http://tinyurl.com/4h3x28a .

Theme: Friendship and re-building of a country

Finished block size: 8 inches

Colors: Jewel Tones

Style: traditional or crazy quilt blocks will be accepted

For traditional quilt blocks, there are no pattern restrictions. The only requirements are the size and the colors. Finished size is to be 8 inches (20.32 cm). Please allow a half inch seam allowance. Colors are jewel tones. No restrictions to the type of fabric used.

For more information please,

click on this link

http://crazyquiltinginternational.blogspot.com/2011/03/hearts-and-hands-for-sendai.html

for the full details.

BJP-update may project

2011-03-21T19:13:00.000-05:00

i'm starting on May's project now so hopefully I will finish befor the end of the month.

I'm still looking for the blog with the paisleys in the header so if you know who please let me know there was something there that tickled my braincells and If you've ever had tickled braincells you know it's makin' me a little more bats than usual 0.o! I really want to find it again!

anywhoo, I started may's in hopes of finishing it by may the progress so far is satisfying. I'm not terribly pleased with the purple triangle paisly but it had to hide partially under the bit of lace so it was going to be a bit on the odd side anyway.

i have two more paisleys to finish and some seamwork to do it's the other two paisles that are giving me agita I can't seem to find the right balance of beads

Finished a pink and blue box

2011-03-16T20:20:00.000-05:00

I tried out a couple of new techniques here one was the gathered ric-rac in Alli Aller's crazy quilting book and folded ribbon roses.

i have always been a little intimidated by folded ribbon roses and I still am a little. there must be a trick to making them so you don't get that square look.

i lined this one simple with the same pink cotton I used on the outside as the white box looked too stark to leave plain.
so now I have three boxes and two purses to sell in my ETSY store when I get it up and running hopefully by the end of the month. I want to do a little more research on it an get a better banner together.
But I think it's gonna happen.

i'm going to try not to panic or obsess or any of the other silly worry-wort things I usually do when I jump in feet first.

I figure I'll give it 6 months to see how it goes and if it doesn't work out it doesn't work out.

Hearts and Hands For Sendai

2011-03-14T15:39:00.000-05:00

I am participating in a project to raise funds for the recovery of Japan. The quilting community as a whole is welcome to participate! Traditional and crazy quilt blocks will be accepted! I am posting the guidelines below for those that are interested in joining in. Please contact her with any questions you may have. I look forward to working with everyone! I know this will be a fabulous project upon completion! Stay tuned here or at the CQI blog for updates on blocks as they come in!!

Hearts and Hands For Sendai

This project will be dedicated to helping those affected by the earthquake tsunami disaster in Japan. Per Hideko Ishida's request, all quilts will become a part of an exhibit in Japan where money will be raised by viewing the quilts. Ultimately, these quilts may be auctioned and the proceeds given to a charity designated by Hideko Ishida, our Japanese CQ Sister! We will keep everyone informed as time progresses. This project is open to the quilting community at large! You may track details on the Crazy Quilting International blog, http://crazyquiltinginternational.blogspot.com or the ICQA Facebook page http://tinyurl.com/4h3x28a .

Guidelines are as follows:

Theme: Friendship and re-building of a country

Finished block size: 8 inches

Colors: Jewel Tones

Style: traditional or crazy quilt blocks will be accepted

For traditional quilt blocks, there are no pattern restrictions. The only requirements are the size and the colors. Finished size is to be 8 inches (20.32 cm). Please allow a half inch seam allowance. Colors are jewel tones. No restrictions to the type of fabric used.

For crazy quilt blocks:

_ Cut foundation at 9 inches (22.86 cm), piece the entire foundation.

_ Baste a line at 8 inches (20.32 cm) to stop embroidering

_ Do not add beads or charms past 7 ½ inches (19.05 cm)

_ Zig zag edges to prevent edges from fraying.

_ Add your name and address on the back of the block.

_ Mark the block with “UP” to show which side is the top

_ Prefer all fabrics used be “fancies” (ie: silk, satin, taffeta, velvet) but if you have

some kimono fabrics or other oriental themed fabrics in your stash you are

welcome to use them.

_ All beading MUST be double stitched and knotted with BEADING THREAD!!!

NO exceptions!!! These items will be handled a great deal and beads, buttons,

charms are among the first to begin to loosen. Embellishments – may be done

by machine or by hand.

_ Lace and other motifs are acceptable and must be securely attached

_ Trims are acceptable and must be securely attached

_ SRE is acceptable

_ Tatting and crocheted butterflies and dragonflys, etc are acceptable and must

be securely attached

_ Please sign the back of your block

Please refrain from using any reference to the rising sun as this has political connotations in Japan.

If you have any questions, at any time, please just email me or call me; Leslie pinyoncreekq@q.com . All completed projects will be mailed to me no later than June 30, 2011. Please contact me for mailing address information.

We are asking for an entry fee of $10.00 dollars for each block. This fee will be accrued and forwarded to either Hideko or a charity of her choosing. This is to generate funds to help Japan as much as possible.

Funds can be sent vis a vis check, money order (payable to ICQA) or Paypal, icqa4u@yahoo.com. Please check gift for the donation. I appreciate everyone’s participation and look forward to seeing all the fabulous creations!

march BJP done!

2011-03-14T15:16:00.000-05:00

well i had a major course change concerning my march project, were the concept changed completely!

this was the original concept

with the bird grasping a key in it's claws, up untill yesterday when the key broke!

I hate when that happens, except when it happens and I get an even better idea!

so now I'm back to using the dogtag concept with feathers and beaded fringe. since the phrase this month is "whatever is done by only me is your doing my darling" the fringe represents that which has influence over me and that which i influence.

you will notice that the bee has three fringe elements coming from it and the remaning two don't.

that's because this represents my children. it is for them I "do" have done and will always do.they are the reason i can laugh in the face of adversity and go on. they are represented by the ladybug, the dragonfly and the snail, (i'm the bee BTW) the butterfly represents my DBF, the pyramid with the eye of horus represents wisdom and knowledge and the key represents the mysteries I have yet to discover

Here it is all together. I still don't know whether it will be a barrette, a pin or a necklace, I'll take it one step at a time shall we?

Starting March BJP

2011-03-03T21:17:00.000-06:00

I'm swiping an idea from Gerry over at Olderose and Susan over at Plays with Needles and showing you how I come up with my own ideas'.
I do this in a variety of ways you see creating for me is sometimes a chancy thing, it doesn't all come to me at once, sometimes I have to go a huntin' but most of the time I get inspiration from books, paintings and other peoples blogs. a snippet of this a smattering of that, then drawing them in my sketchbook, where I try to organize (if you can call it that) the things that come to me or I just come across by chance.

I've finally come up with an idea for my March BJP phrase "Whatever is done by only me is your doing my darling" It started out with an Idea for a tattoo I had of a bird in flight over a garland of daisies and roses with a dogtag held in it's beak stamped with "what ever is done by only me" and numbers important to he and I.

It has evolved into this bird holding a key in it's claws, stamped with "whatever is done"

the key is stamped, I have shaped and bound the tail and started the bird body on a felt base, instead of my usual muslin because Gerry recommends it and her birds and bunnies are wonderful! I've never tried doing it this way, having always thought it would be too bulky but with Gerrys tutorials I decided i would give it a try the next ime I had a motif like this to do and I need a bit of extra bulk to this birdie.

as you can see I've started on the outline of the body of my bird with a tight chainstitch and have the wing standing in line next. I plan to embellish the wing heavily with beads then attach it to the body separately to give it more stability and a little extra padding, though I haven't quite decided what to do with the wing yet I've gotten this far on inspiration so the rest of it can't be far behind!)

snow today gone tomorrow, maybe not

2011-02-25T11:53:00.000-06:00

The weather around here can be unpredictable, we are surrounded by mountains on all sides, Mt Rainier to the south, Mt Vernon and the Cascades to the south, Mt baker to the east and the Olympics to the west, the you throw Puget sound in the middle of it all and fun stuff happens.
so I have gotten used to rain, wind, rain, sun, rain, rain, Squirrel!
(just seeing if you were paying attention!)

snow pellets!

wednsday I got up, looked out the window on to a typical gloomy overcast day, wandered to do my business, got a cup of coffee, turned around to look out the window again to find it had snowed an inch of snow pellets! DUDE!
it all melted by noon, no biggie.

Thursday it snowed till noon and melted by 3 so I went out to get some groceries, I was 45 minutes in the store. by the time I got back to the car there was a light dusting on the ground. by the time I got up the hill I couldn't see the lights of the oncoming traffic! eek!

poor rhodies out my front window

still fluffing

Not that I'm complaining, mind, I know people have been getting socked this winter with the white stuff but I'm at the top of 2 mile long, 450' hill and just an inch or two louses things up around here so bad, you'd think it was Armageddon! and today we got temps in the teens, which turns the roads into ice rinks. with more snow predicted for this afternoon.
I'm making suppa tuscana!

brr!

Me thinks it's time for a roaring fire, hot tea and lots of sewing! he,he!
I like this!

My Dear BF and a critter update

2011-02-21T15:22:00.000-06:00

it was my dear BF's birthday lat week.
he hates it when I make a big fuss over it.
but it his BIRTHDAY I can't not make a fuss!
so this year I toned it down just a little.
I made him Tacos for dinner
and a german chocolate cake with lots of
coconut filling, heavy on the chocolate.

and I made him a present.
nothing big just a little thing to let him know, I'm glad he was born.
cause that's why we celebrate birthdays yes?

I used a batch of transistors that were lying around after a motherboard project of his and fiddled with them, added the heart key hole and placed it in a small shadow box.

then took some Fimo and made a heart box out of it stamped it woth swirlies a clock face and some meaningful words and baked it as per instructions

added a fan motor a resist indicator and more transistors on the heart bead and glued it all on with E-6000 (I love that stuff!) there are pictures inside of us then and now, but they don't photograph well so I didn't include them here.

the heart fits inside the box and the box is small enough it fits inside your (his) pocket.
like I said just a little something.

the critter has made off with one of the candles off the candelabra in the organ room, this time I can't find it.
Hmmm. I think it's time to go nuclear on it's fuzzy butt!

doing the odd stupid thing

2011-02-16T14:49:00.000-06:00

you know how you feel right after youv'e done something fabulously stupid?
I'm there.

I'm not generally into self mutilation but I do, do the odd stupid thing every now and again. usually it's a live/learn sort of thing, this time I was just being lazy.

we have a lovely fireplace and I do love a good fire.

while making kindling from chips too small for the woodpile,
i cut myself along the knuckle of my left pointer finger with the ax.

don't get all wobbly on me it was just the little 3lb hand ax and not the big ol'12lb solid steel one. my DBF just sharpened the damn fool thing too.

but boy howdy! OWwie! I forgot how much fingers bleed!

I doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would and it's all bandaged up, disinfected and what-not but its all swollen and discolored. eew.

note to self-#3478.6 wear gloves next time, dummy.

A picture frame

2011-02-12T10:54:00.002-06:00

I have finished this picture frame and I love the result but it took so long to finish!

do you have endless debates with yourself?

over which color red tread would look best here or there and if i'm going to go through that, I'd better go through this.

then there are the distractions of organizing, clearing, separating those beads you just mixed together by accident and oh I need something from the store, it's 4 days into a project that should have taken 2 at most!

So now I have 2 boxes a little purse and a picture frame to put up on my fictitious ETSY site, can you open an Etsy store with only 4 pieces?

then the debate of what to charge for them because you know your never going to get out, what you put into these pieces.

no one would pay that much for a smallish box so what to charge?

then for me final procrastination point to not opening a store for my things,
and it's on my mind because it's that time of year again,
how do I figure out my taxes for it? boo scary!

I think I'll go make more boxes instead!

BJP-wherever you go

2011-02-09T10:34:00.004-06:00

Wherever you go, I go my my dear.

Februaries part of the poem is done, though I can say I don't like the result as much as the idea that garnered it.
I was thinking of 2 pair of footsteps on a garden path but I couldn't find footprints in charm form that weren't baby feet., so I made 'em out of sequins.
which turned out ok but the result isn't stunning,
it's kind of blah.
there is always next month!)

mystery critter

2011-02-02T18:47:00.005-06:00

I have a mystery critter.

time for my dog eared hat, violin and pipe!

I noticed after we came back from chirstmas vaca that one of the candelabra candles was on the foot pedals of the organ AND it was chewed around the top. I noticed those same chew marks again this am. and it has me wondering.

I remember this happening some time in the summer also though I can't remember when and I didn't notice chew marks on it that time.

so I have a critter and I don't know what it is, other than it has two tiny front teeth.

yes, know, it could be a mouse. I thought of that,but then why would it be eating only these two candles?

and not any of the other candles around the house?

and how is it getting up there in the first place?

the candelabra is very tall and I don't know of any mouse
or rat, for that matter, agile enough that can climb a wrought iron, 5 foot, candelabra or jump the two feet from the chimney vent to get there, do you?

if you do please keep it to yourself my night mares are strange enough with out that in them, thank you.

not to mention get into the cabinets and eat the ramen
noodles through he bag like they usually do when they get in?

hmm?

so what could it be?

could be a bat trapped in the house living off bugs in the night
and hanging about in the chimney vents during the day.

that would explain why we haven't been inundated with spiders this winter.
though why haven't we heard it flying about the house at night?

Ok you can't hear them squeaking, they are ultrasonic after
all but they would have landed on something by now and
knocked it over don't you think?

the next big Q is how do we figure it out?

now if it is a rat or mouse type critter I have no problem
going all Dalek on their furry buts, but I am less inclined to kill a bat.

they do after all perform a service of bug removal and i'm all for that!

my DBF has suggested we set up a web cam or rig the camera to a motion detector to catch the perpetrator in the act ( geek-boy in action!)

I have to get this figured out by spring break or we will have the daddy of all freak-outs, when one of the girls or the boy is sleeping in the organ room
(he-he-he, you said ORGAN, he-he-he)
Anyway,
like i said I have no problem killing a mouse critter but I don't want to kill a bat.
all vermin are not equal one serves a purpose.

SO, anyone have any better idea's?

many little boxesand BJP update

2011-01-25T21:57:00.003-06:00

I have made a few of these little boxes over the holidays and everyone who sees them loves them.

I am wondering if it would be a good idea for me to open an ESTY shop, most of what I do is small bits and pieces.

like the tree box it's 2.5"x4.5"x3"high is cloth covered and has a green satin cushioned interior

but i don't know if there is a market out there for my little boxes.

I have discovered I enjoy making these little boxes they are relatively easy and depending on the box size fairly quick to finish.

See i even made myself a label!

these two are the small ones.

the yellow one is just a little longer measuring 3.5'x5..5"x3.5 high, also cloth covered but no cushion inside.

I also finished "Whatever a moon has meant " for the BJP but it's spot doesn't come up untill june. looks like I need to get going on the ones I have been putting off.

tho the january piece is done and so is aprils i need to finish "wherever you go" for february and come up with a decent idea for "whatever is done by only me is your doing my darling" for march.

so to ESTY or not to ESTY?
I've gotta fund this fabric/bead/ribbon/lace addiction somehow!

mom's place

2011-01-20T12:32:00.010-06:00

the last leg of our journey was to my mom's place in Chicago. here's mom

finally open the presents!

where art and music are every where

the silliness knows no bounds

ahh! whats that!

Oh! a hug! I can deal with a hug!

where everyone can just relax.

and fiddle about onthe computer some more

2011-01-17T23:23:00.000-06:00

at my DBF' aunt and uncles house the first thing you are greeted by after dorothy and deloss of course is jack.

then there is the family

followed by copious amounts of food
and lots of other fun stuff to do

and playing with jack

going for walks in the woods

playing computer games

more food

and throwing the ball for jack

my son on his computer

my DD#1 throwing the ball for jack off the back
deck for jack

eating, again

playing ball with jack

our lovely hostess Dorothy

playing on the computer....still

and playing ball with jack,
hmmm i'm beginning to see a pattern here...

and eating some more

and playing ball with jack

is there any food left?!

and playing

ball

with

jack!

2011-01-11T13:16:00.014-06:00

over christmas we went out to chicago to spend time with my children and Adam's family in Indiana while we were there
we visited a few places. one of which was the dusenburg museum in Auburn In. car-gasm!

Here we have my DD#2 in pride of place

a 1925 cord

a racing version of the 1908 cord. get a load of those colors!

a 1967 shellby cobra ymm!

a 1901 auburn touring car ,

it's more fashionable sister the roadster

and a 1902 version with a real trunk!

the rolls royce silver ghost,

we also went on the toboggan ride at Pokagon state park in Indiana

waiting for the toboggan

that's where we are going eventually.

trying to get a picture of #1 daughter is proving difficult.

#2 daughter is a camera hog however!

still no pic of #2

there she is! and look a smile!

the ride is fast!

you can fit 4 to a toboggan and they really stuff you on!

we went faster!

then back to Dorothy's house for more food and family.

and to play with the dogs,

if you don't give me the stick I can't throw it!

ME too?

seasons blessings everyone!

2010-12-21T12:57:00.009-06:00

looking at others blogs always makes me feel like such a slug!
you people are so talented! and fast!

I guess when it all comes together it seems like magic.
all my favorites seem to get a project done a week and I can't even get one done a month it seems. I suppose it doesn't help having things scattered around the house like I do but if I don't things get hopelessly entangled and I loose track of where I am and what I'm doing, so even though it looks like a mess, it's really organized chaos!)
Ok so not accomplishing much creatively in the last two weeks but getting steady progress done.

one of my work spaces is an old music stand layed out flat its very useful for beading as I can raise or lower it to my need and it has a lumpy surface so beads don't go rolling off the edge all the time.

here is the BJP so far, I am at the attaching the dangles part.

here is a picture of the back, I know most people don't like showing their undersides but it can be interesting.

I love how my little goddess' wings glow! This is actually two pieces, the wings were part of a dragonfly charm that was broken. the shop lady said I could have it since they couldn't sell it!
(tee-hee! gimmy!)
so i chopped off its little head, filed down part of the body with a round diamond file, soldered it to the back of the goddess charm and voila!
ain't she purdy!

my other workspace in the throws of creation also.
I need to straighten this place up!

my other project in production are some christmassy bits.
4 days before christmas and I still don't have a clear idea of what they will be.
I can't seem to get my head around them.
that's what I get for starting a project, with no clear Idea of who they are for or what they will be!

I leave you with the view from my living room, past the christmas tree, into the organ/sewing room.
I love the view out that window, particularly when the sun is shining through it.
it lites up the crystals hanging there and throws rainbows all over this part of the house.
I wish I could get a decent picture of them but sunlight is elusive.
Happy Holidays every one!

2010-12-09T00:43:00.004-06:00

I have started several new pieces in the last few days.
a small Purse cover and card folders,
I have also started another BJP piece called "whatever a moon has meant"
and finished a piece called "wherever you go" I haven't mounted it yet though.
it doesn't ;look bad but I'm not horribly pleased with the results .

on the homefront Christmas is approaching fast and we have tickets and a car reservation for our trip to Chicago. I'm looking forward to spending the week with my children.
we will be spending part of it in Indiana with my DBF's relatives and the rest of the time with my mom. I hope her water heater is up to the 7 people showering per night task!
must remember to pack warm + snowgear it looks like it will be a typical blustery Chicago winter.

I get soo spoiled here in the great northwest, with our 40*+temps and the rain that only comes after the sun goes down.I still have plants that are growing and we even got sun today!

BJP-Fate

2010-12-02T16:00:00.005-06:00

I knew I could figure Fate out if I just sat and cogitated on it for a bit.
I remembered the three fates of greek mythology the moirae and it all fell together.

clever rabbit!

see I knew that twelfth grade edjukashon would come in handy! *grin*

I'm working on "where ever you go I go" next.

still don't have anything for that "whatever is done by only me" line.
I'm waiting for another flash of insight!

BJP-heart

2010-11-28T17:47:00.005-06:00

Here is my first finished piece for the bjp. I know, I know, it doesn't start till January and we don't get to post picks till April.

*BUT*

I don't know what this year will bring and even if I have ideas I know there will be some points at which I won't wanna.
so I'm working ahead in anticipation of those time when I won't be motivated or inspired.

now does anyone have any ideas on how i can image fate
(the good kind not the bad kind!)
and the phrase "whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling" ?

I'm having the darnedest time with those two phrases

2010-11-25T13:41:00.004-06:00

this is the view out the back door onto our snow covered deck. just a light dusting for thanksgiving.
and look at all our wood!
that happy pile is just the branches and smaller pieces, we haven't even begun to split the larger rounds, some are3-4 feet across!

the last few days have been more productive I seem to have found my Mojo! yea!

I am in the delightful diversions RR, my first for CQI.
so I made a 10x10 piece. it's very monochromatic for me, i am usually more colorful than that but the girls were so quiet with their sand pails I thought any more would be to much.

I am also working on my BJP project.
i chose the E.E. Cummings poem; i carry your heart with me, as a thread to hang my project on. the poem has been one of my favorites and it really does tie together my life for the last year.

this first piece is rather self explanatory, as the first line of the poem it opens the listener to the inner workings of the authors love for this person.
at the very beginning he is telling us, twice, this person is so important to him he carries them in his heart.

I carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
I am never with out it
(wherever you go, I go, my dear and whatever is done by only me, is your doing, my darling)
I fear no fate( for you are my fate, my sweet)
I want no world ( for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has meant
and whatever a sun will allays sing is you.
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root
and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life.
which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and it is the wonder that is holding the stars apart.
I carry your heart
( i carry it in my heart)

new deck and an idea

2010-11-18T13:01:00.006-06:00

My deck is done! yea!
just in time for the rain. boo!
but it's so pretty! can't you just see the potential!
It even has a reinforced spot so I can hang my comfy chair!
I can see a nice table and chairs, hanging pots with trailing plants, pots with other plants, a fountain (maybe) a vine or two to overhang and dangle.
oooh! I can't wait till spring, so I can sit on my deck, have my morning cuppa and sew!
I love a blank canvas!
even the front stairs look nice!
and now I have a place to start thinking about my BJP project!

I'm a joiner

2010-11-17T10:56:00.004-06:00

I have joined both the BJP for 2011 and crazy quilting international.
now lets see if i can keep up!
I need a theme for my journal, something that will run the course of the whole project and link each one together.

which got me thinking, the last year or so has been a turbulent one, I divorced my husband of 20 years, with no place to go, no family support and a retail job that payed $800 a month and sucked time like cronos.
so instead of "ruining" my children's lives I left them with their father in the house they grew up in, with their friends and familiar surroundings.
I felt it would be less disruptive than pulling them away from everything they know and relocating 2000 miles away in washington. Right?

Did I do the right thing? could I have handled the situation better? was there another alternative? am I running away from my resposibilities and taking the easy way out? I DON'T KNOW!

so how do you make the right decicion when all the alternatives are bad?
I do think I made the best choice I could at the time.
I would never have done any of this, had the children been younger.
hence the reason for staying in a marriage, thats been dead for 10 years.
they are, for the most part, old enough now, to go out into the world and make some of thier own decicions.
I have always been open and honest with them, I have always answerd thier questions as best I can whith the information I have.
they may not like the answers and they were mad at me for a while but I think they understand why I divorced thier father the way that I did.
the older two ( one is going into the navy and the other is in H.S.) have come to understand that being a grown up means making tough chioces and that it's not always the most optimal choice, but it's the best choice you can make at the time.

so does this make me an awful, heartless person and horrible mother?
my EX would have me and everyone else he talks to, think so.
or did I make the best choice I could, given the circumstances?
I'll let time decide.

Blues today

2010-11-12T12:02:00.006-06:00

when I can think of nothing,
when my creative juices run dry,
I stand in a corner of my room,
dig deep into my stash
and play in color.

I have gotten through the purples, reds and blacks,
It seems appropriate that I am Ironing the Blues today.
smoothing , re-folding, stacking, organizing.
watching the crows hunt for critters in the lawn thatch.
It seems that sort of a day.

Where is my Mojo?
I've lost it somehow,
did you set it down, somewhere and walk away,
only to have someone clean it?
I just had it a second ago.
is it on my head the, way father forgets his glasses?
can you find it, the same way you find your lost keys?
were did it go!
under the papers on your desk?
a coat pocket in the hall closet,
I know it's here someplace.
did it fall out when you went to get the mail?
under the bed, in the couch cushions?
I just had it!
the jeans I wore yesterday?
the wash machine?
a coat pocket, couch cushions.
no I checked there.
it can't have disappeared!
in the car, under the seat,
behind the bureau?
why can't I find it?
look in the fridge, just in case, the freezer too.
It's always in the last place you look

a bit of a circus

2010-11-10T16:15:00.010-06:00

for the last several days I have been host to a variety of workmen. We decided (after the last time I went through it) to redo the deck. the two contractors who have been doing that have been here at the crack of 8 every morning, for the last 2 weeks sawing, banging, nailing and measuring.

the framing is done and the pergola is up and except for the snaffu with home depot, in which they sent us someone else's order the first day, gave us the wrong stuff the second time, then took 2 days to come back and fix it. there have been no other problems there. knock wood.
we also decided since we were doing that we would have the garage roof ripped off and re done. there was a nasty leak at the back, where the addition starts, that the nobabs who owned this house before Adam, screwed up yet another, easy job and didn't install the flashing right. so we have had the roofers banging away on the garage yesterday, today and tomorrow.

we also had a few trees that were getting too big for where they were. Now Adam will usually climb up there with the saw and cut and thin the branches,that's monkey-boy in the tree last summer, when they start interfering with his satellite dishes ( he has 4!) But since these trees were a. too big and b. near house and power lines, yesterday we had the tree guys out to take down a few trees.
I have new respect for the tree guy! Despite the persistent drizzle to potential noah event, he took the 40-50 foot tall hemlock that was only about 4 feet away from the front corner of the house down and It took him all of about 20 minutes, to denude the tree of branches and cut the sucker to a stump!

the other trouble child was the pine by the garage, that one was a harder decision to make as the tree was healthy but it was throwing out roots that were making a hazard of the driveway and it was easily 80 feet tall! then there were two other bonus trees by the garage we had taken down too.
those were only 20 feet or so. to close to power lines and the back of the house and too tall for us to do on our own. so it's been a bit of a circus around here for the last few days!

so now we have tons of sun in the morning! the birds are a little upset with us, I think they will for give us when we finish landscaping the spot with some pretty brush, a few bushes and a smaller growing tree. it's so open behind the garage now that it will take a few days getting used to. it's so nice to sit In the sun, in my chair, and have my morning cuppa!
I can't wait till the deck is done so I can sit out there too!

clarification

2010-11-08T11:06:00.004-06:00

I'm not calling those who believe in a particular religion Wackos,
just those who feel the need to invade my sanctuary by ringing my doorbell at 0:dark30 on a SUNDAY morning and harassing me and mine on our beliefs!
I don't assail you in your home and tell you how to live your life. leave me alone!
I worship in my own way, in my own time & I don't need some half-baked, self-righteous, know-it-all to lecture on how I'm living my life wrong if I don't believe what they do! It's offensive in the extreme!

my dearest philosophy is Harm none, do what you will. my second is that, those who do not know thier history are doomed to repeat it! truth will set you free.
and it's not that I don't believe in God either (my grandmother & 4 years in catholic H.S.took care of that) I don't believe in RELIGION.

anything based on something written 100-200 years AFTER the actual events by, mostly, men. then agreed upon by, yet again ,mostly men-who BTW actively left out a whole bunch of other stuff-then went about forcing everyone else to believe what they did, is suspect at best. the overall death and destruction in the name of God is appalling.

I believe very strongly in the natural order of things. following the Earths seasonal panoply and helping it along where I can but I know my limitations.
I don't need some noobab to tell me how.
I leave you with a favorite quote by Alexander Hamilton
"those who stand for nothing, fall for anything"

why do I get all the wackos?

2010-10-26T15:14:00.004-05:00

Ok, so why do I get all the wackos?
why is it, every evangelist from here to the east coast,
wants to proselytize me?
and why do proselytize and prostitute sound so similar?
why do they all come to my door? on sunday? don't you people have church?
do I come to your house and ask you why you insist on worshiping a torture victim from 2000 years ago?
I'm sure he was a nice guy, he had a great concept but really once he died his followers subverted his message for their own gain.
the way all people who want power over others do!

I'm still mad about the crusades, joan of arc, the persecution and subjugation of women in general, the poor treatment of Galileo and suppression of other scientific knowledge over the years! heck, we could have been so much more technologically ahead by now, if it hadn't been for the church and their fear of progress!

let me just put it out there once and for all
I DO NOT Believe in Religion!
I'm sorry if that upsets some of you out there but that is how I roll.

do I believe in god? well as a concept it's nice but why pick one,
when there are so many to choose from?
and why, if there are so many to choose from, should I choose yours?
what makes your born again god so much better than allah
or the lutheran god or the budda?

when you come right down to it it's all the same god dressed up in different rhetoric. the church has missed the boat, if you ask me.
it's a school yard taunt "my dad can beat up your dad" says one kid "nu-uh!" is the witty repartee and then the fight begins. It's silly!
None of the major or minor religions have gotten it right yet.

Harm None and do what you will.

I prefer to believe in the Universe.more scope for the imagination!
"there is more to heaven and earth than is dream t of in your philosophy, my dear horatio"
says hamlet.
yes indeed, there is more out there to learn.

mental blockage

2010-10-24T13:47:00.003-05:00

I wonder if my mental blockage lately is due to the, all too real plumbing blockage we had under the house?

I can't seem to get my mind the rest of the way around this purse.

and every time I try to pick up something else it goes blah in my mind too.

so I go back to this purse and get another bit done but it's been like swimming in treacle lately.

I can't seem to work around it either. if I start something else it gets most way done and then sits in a corner.

where has my mojo gone?

2010-10-14T13:33:00.008-05:00

There is something comforting about having things on display in bowls,

some overflowing
some with just a few items.

pretty bowls,
plain bowls,

big bowls and
little bowls

saucers and baskets
shells and tea cups.

filled with comfortable little items tucked away

in odd corners of the house

to surprise and delight

or remind

bits and pieces
useful or not

It's a box!

2010-10-13T10:26:00.003-05:00

I finally finished putting the hardware back on the card box so my cards can go back inside.
I forgot to mark the holes so that was an adventure!)
the top of the box symbolizes that the key(well?) to life(dragonfly) is dreaming(moon) of change(skull)

the symbols on the inside of the case are special to me. the three as one, the sun signs of aquarius and taurus, my name in chineese, the moon and 3 stars, the blade of truth, the skull of change, the key, the left eye of horus, 3 bees, a besom, the trine and 3 feathers. 15 symbols 1+5=6 my favorite number, on a bed of green silk for nature and growth and red for passion and love.

so go, be in the world, do what you will and harm none.

something old, something new...

2010-10-05T20:04:00.004-05:00

you get the picture. there is something satisfying about finishing a project that looks just as you envisioned! I took some liberties with a pattern I've only seen once in a picture so excuse the lumpy weaving. I made this bracelet after viewing Susan's lovely stormy day bracelet over on Plays With Needles so take a look!

side project

2010-09-24T15:38:00.005-05:00

just a little side project to recover an old card box

I'm getting better at the beading aspect of this but still have a bit to go for any proficiency.

i love how the dragonfly turned out, don't you?
the wings are some diacrotic glass i found at garden of beading at country village, here in Bothell very cool

I am in crazy quilt happiness mode

2010-09-18T11:37:00.001-05:00

I am in crazy quilt happiness mode!
putting together little purses in different stages of made for my
"beginning CQ"class in october to demonstrate "how to".
fun , fun , fun!

this is my very first teaching gig and I'm nervous.

everyone says "oh just be yourself honey everything will be great!"

but I'm still nervous. what if they don't like me, what if I can't teach, what if I forget how to speak in coherent sentences AGGG!

ok now the panic attack is done I can get back to how I do this.

which are your favorites?
mine is the ballet girl and the brown lady so far. I love the saturated colors in the main black fabric and the delicate blues in the other. that will change as they get more embellished.

sketchbook cover done

2010-09-16T15:42:00.003-05:00

I'm done with the sketchbook cover.
and it only took about a month from start to finish!
I love the way the sunflowers came to life here and

the fan turned out very nice, here's the back

I do like my spiders!

the front turned out very well i think and the inside could have been better, more notes for next time.

sketchbook cover

2010-09-03T14:16:00.006-05:00

I am starting on a new project today, having noticed my sketchbook is falling apart and I don't wasn't it to, I am making myself a cover for it.
most of the pattern comes from Cassie Barden's book "The New Handmade" I say most because I can never follow a pattern with out adding my own little flourishes or it's a short attention span I haven't decided which.

anyway I am at the stitching over the top stage .

In all this I have also decided to rearrange and refold my fabric stash, so there is a lot of unfolding ironing and refolding to do.
It also gets me in tune with what I have and how best to use it.

I'm trying not to buy any more fabric but I'm never quite as successful at resisting as I want to be.
I have, however, kept it to a minimum of 5-6 fat quartes at a time. god help me if there's a sale ;)!