Heading to Houston!

Finally, after many years of wanting to go to the International Quilt Festival in Houston, I AM GOING! My friend Nanette invited me to go with her to work the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative Booth this year. As some of you know, my daddy had Alzheimer's and this is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. She and I made rucksacks for the booth staffers to wear on the floor of the convention center so people can find us. The rucksacks were made from a pattern called Quilter's Rucksack donated by Bethany Reynolds. Most of the fabric was donated by Mark Hordyszynski except for the front patch pocket. They are pieced from leftovers from the purple patch project. The little bee charms are in memory of AAQI's founder Ami Simms' mother, Beebe Moss who passed away last year from Alzheimer's. For more information about the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative visit the website at http://www.alzquilts.org/ Thanks, Nanette not just for inviting me, but for your efforts to help raise money to end this dreaded disease.

He's Here!

Conal is here! He decided to come early, I guess he was anxious to meet his big brothers! He was born Saturday, August 22nd around 5PM. Mom and baby are fine.

Below is a link to a video his daddy posted on youtube if you want to see him in action. I have to warn you to not leave your speakers up too loud, he has a set of lungs like his Uncle Kevin.....LOL Oh, and he's not a blonde. Neither was I when I was born, so there is still hope for him...hehe!

Been a while.....

Thought I'd stop by and give a short update. I've been busy, hence not blogging. I've made some stuff, a fun apron for a friend, some tote bags, some ATC's, yadda, yadda the usual dabbling projects of a mixed media fiber artist, who...well I see a lot of chickens! I also took a few cool classes since I was here and bought a longarm quilting machine. Yep, you read it right, a longarm. So..........I've been practicing. I'm not to the point yet where I am ready to load a quilt top but I'm getting there. I plan to use this in mixed media art quilting as well. As you can see it takes up a goodly amount of my studio space! I'll be back later with pics of some stitch doodling I've done. Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S. Conal Xander, the new grandmonster, is due in one week! WOOT! Can't wait to meet him!

Indie Business Breakfast: Raleigh - Join me!

Saturday, June 06, 2009 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET) Raleigh, NC

Indie Business Breakfast: Raleigh features a discussion with a wildly successful artist, EC (Lisa) Stewart of ECStewart Designs. The morning will start with Eat, Meet and Greet, followed by Indie Business Revolution overview, then Q&A for our special guest, followed by open networking. This event is brought to you in conjunction with the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild.

For more information go to: http://indiebusinessbreakfastraleigh.eventbrite.com/

My first mail away ATC swap...

Okay, this is just a quick blog I decided to do because my poor blog has been the red-headed step child of my life. I am participating in an ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap on Facebook where the cards have to be based on a catchphrase, song lyric, or some such saying. I decided to do it because.......if I don't keep working at making "art" I will never get better at it. ATCs are the perfect way to experiment with techniques.

My three phrases are: Motherhood is not for Wimps! or Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be WOW-boys, (in case you aren't familiar, WOW is a very addictive online game,) a play on the Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson song. A Stitch in Time Saves 9 and Hold on to Your Dreams!

If you haven't made any ATCs...maybe you should! They're fun and take very little investment.

Okay NOW, here is Carol's tote!

Carol's tote bag has been delivered! I think she likes it. The next one is for me and then you, Dana! Then I think I'm done with this style of bag. On to something else!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been a while since I blogged as I have been SO busy. It's been a really good busy. I've been working on some scrabble tile charms. I learned how to use Ice Resin (thanks, Deb for inviting me to go to that class with you.) I made my friend Carol a nice tote bag with matching key ring thingy, but it's not been delivered so I can't post pics yet. Oh, I played around with some felted sweaters and cut them up and made a scarf. Gee, I can't remember all I've been doing. I think I need to quit worrying about what I'm going to say in my post and just do it so I don't get so far behind. LOL I also took a week long trip to Florida and went to my beloved Goodwill Bargain Barn with the bins full of el cheapo fun cast offs that us altered art- mixed media folks love and got a few treasures. My tribe, the CMMAG, held a Valentine ATC swap this month so those kept me busy for a few days. I am tickled to pieces with the ones I received in trade. The creativity in this group just amazes me! I have never met such an uber talented, generous, just plain fun group of ladies. The energy in the group keeps me on fire to create, something I need. I'm not good at expressing how I really feel but let me just say, this crowd really lights my fire, rocks my boat...whatever! Anyway...before I get gushy I want to post some pics, as promised, to share with everyone the ATCs. The top two pictures are the ones I received. I haven't learned how to embed or link to Flickr but I will in time. For now this will just be a picture intense blog post....LOL! Just think about me sitting here waiting for them to load...hehe The bottom five pics are the ATCs I made. The last two pics were cards made for samples to show kids of military personnel the "what/how" of making ATCs for an art project sponsored by the maker of the ATC blanks. Thanks to them for thinking of these kids! Okay, now I'm going to try to blog more often, with shorter posts. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Please leave a comment so I know you were here at least....hehe

The girls' yoga bags

For Christmas I made my girls (Cindy, my DIL and Hayley, my other son's GF) yoga bags. I used a pattern from a sewing magazine for guidance on size and such (since I don't own a yoga mat.) Then I made some upgrades such as lining it with a slick fabric to allow the mats to slide in easily since they are kind of rubbery. That was a bit of a challenge since I hate sewing slippery stuff. I also added D-rings on the straps to give the girls a place to snap on their keys or gym pass, or some such thing.The bags have 3 nice roomy pockets on the outside as well. Of course, alcohol ink came to the rescue when the white string on Hayley's bag looked starkly out of place. I love that stuff! They seemed to be very pleased. I just wonder how many of their friends will want one. Ha - they can learn to sew!

Rainbow Connection?

Your rainbow is shaded violet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Seven Things About Me

Okay, since my friend Jeanne Rhea tagged me back on November 29th, I've been trying like heck to come up with seven things about me that you may not know. Pretty hard task since I talk too much and I am an open book. I made a list in my constant companion notebook and added things as I thought of them, and boy it took me a while! Now, I can't say my seven will be all that interesting but here goes:

1. There was an attempt made on my life before I was even thought of, as my mother had her tubes tied and wallah here I am. Stubborn thing I was and still am. I was told I was an accident. I prefer to think of myself as one of those fun things that tell us...we are not in control.

2. I was raised on a 180 acre farm in Florida that was homesteaded by my grandparents, I've seen chicken's necks rung, cows butchered, hogs scalded (oh how I love cracklins',) not to mention many animals born. My job was feeding the chickens. Yes, I have "been" in an outhouse. Two different ones as a matter of fact, our neighbors, also a farming family had a "two-seater." Lynne, my neighbor, best friend in all the world and their granddaughter, and I thought it was the most fun place to play. My great-grandparents homesteaded in Florida as well and my great-grandfather built the first school in Polk County and it is named after him. To this day one of the original benches is in the front office of the school that took the place of the old building he built on the same site. However, they were from Bertie County, NC. Hmm.....must be one of the reasons my heart is in NC. Tarheel blood in me, even though I qualify as one of those rarities, a Florida Native.

3. I am a sheet snob. I hate sleeping on anything but 100% cotton sheets. I have been known to take my own linens with me to a friend's house (although she doesn't know that) I would take 50 year old cotton sheets over the modern day, pilly-feels like sandpaper-no-wrinkle blends any day! A great day at a thrift store for me is when I find a vintage sheet, pillowcase or tablecloth in pristine condition. I guess its part of my love of fiber and why I have been known to go in a quilting shop just to fondle the cloth. hehe (Nanette understands I am sure!)

4. I hate to wear shoes on my size 6 and 1/2 WW feet. Period. That's all I'm going to say on that.

5. I collect metal picnic tins. I think I have well over 40 if you include the Skotch Koolers. You can see some of them in my flickr album. Picnic Tins

6. I have three birds. Taco, a very talkative loud-mouthed Yellow-Naped Amazon, Wee-da-wee (she says this all the time so I named her that, I think she is trying to say "What are you doing?) a beautiful, sweet as honey, Lilac Crowned Amazon and then there is Blue, a beautiful and quiet, Rose Breasted Cockatoo, or Galah as they are called in their native Australia.

7. I really don't like to argue politics. However, I do try to keep current on what is happening in the world. I feel that politics, like religion, brings out very strong feelings for most and I like PEACE. Just because I don't say anything doesn't mean I don't know what's going on or have strong opinions. If you ask me straight up what I think I will tell you, but I won't say anything unless asked.

Okay, now I'm only about three blogs behind instead of four.

I tag Melinda, Carol, Cathie and Ophelia. Four bloggers that I think haven't been tagged. If you have been tagged I apologize.

Fooling around in Mama's jewelry box....

I used to play in Mama's jewelry box when I was a kid and get in horrendous trouble for it. Once I even sneaked some earrings off to school. Of course I got caught, got a whipping and that cured me. Cured me of sneaking it off anyway. I still loved to get into her jewelry. We were pretty poor so almost 99% of it was cheap stuff. I don't think she spanked me because of it being valuable, I think she just wanted to teach me not to be a sneak. It worked.
So the other night I was trying to get inspired to work on something else and decided to poke around and see what treasures would speak to me. They did. I opened the box and smelled my mother. I began to poke around and saw a few of Mama's hairs left from years of sitting on her dresser where she always brushed her hair and 'primped' as she called it. I found stuff that was in no way jewelry. Things she saved because she might need it. Or things for fixing something else. Things she didn't want to lose.
Mama used to make what she called ear-bobs out of huge buttons. Her ears weren't pierced until later. I even found her posts that match mine from when we both got our ears pierced, mine for the second time.
I look at all of this now and see new possibilities in my art. I have mixed emotions about using Mama's things in my work. But then I think of how resourceful she was and how encouraging she would be to me if she were here now. She was an artist, she just didn't have time to find that out about herself.
I started digging and found this cool tiny hourglass. She said to me - "Live life to its fullest! Time's a wastin'" Then I found this tiny cameo charm and remembered how much she loved cameos. I wanted to say "I love you!" to my mama, so I doctored up a miniature domino to tell her. I found what I think is a knit stitch counter- she didn't knit so I have no idea why she had this or where it came from. But it worked for my needs. Mama loved the color blue and she loved dolls, dressing them, fixing them up. She dressed one for charity every year at Christmas. So I added the little blue shoe I found with her treasures. I'm not sure if its a doll shoe or a game piece but her love of dolls and the color blue is what it reminds me of. It could have been from my Little Kiddles or something of that nature. All of a sudden for some reason I remembered these old, sterling silver individual salt shakers I had gotten at a garage sale, six in a bag for ten cents. Mama was with me and she said "Those are cute but what are you going to do with them?" Well Mama this is what I did! I hope you approve. It will keep you close to me when I wear it.


Footnote: I found a silver heart with the initials LF on it. I wonder if she remembers it. My sister would love a piece full of memories...so Linda Gayle Flynn Watson you're next!

Aiden....

My darlin', my helper,
Hot Rod, my angel, George

Liam.....

The baby, Mr. Grumpy, Scooter, my sweetheart, the Hulk....

Happy Thanksgiving...and a little dogma...

The other night I was reading and very much enjoying, my new friend and fellow mixed media artist Nanette's blogs. Something she wrote prompted me to write about something I'm really thankful for and it may surprise you. I am thankful that I almost died in 2004 from complete liver failure, as I have autoimmune hepatitis. The road back has been long and is still a "work in progress," but along the way I learned a lot of things. I won't torture you with all the yucky details that being sick entails, instead I'd like to tell you why I am thankful for it.

When you're faced with what might be the end of your life you see things in a very different way. There is an urgency to "get it right." I learned that life is not about things, impressing people, or keeping up with the "Jones'". It’s not about keeping people in your life that bring you grief and heartache. I learned its okay to limit the people you allow in your life and the things you do, to those that are uplifting to you and the ones you care about. It’s about giving and helping those you can lend a hand to, expecting nothing in return. The joy comes in just being able to give in some way. It’s about the love of a child, that pure, unconditional love they give. During my recovery I was blessed with two grandsons, they've taught me a lot and have given me a reason to fight for my health.

I decided to put more people in my life who support me. I have no time for people who are "out to get others" and all that that brings. I learned that life is way too short for that. I found a great group of women (who knows maybe this next year we'll get some men, Layton?) that are supportive of my meager efforts to express myself through art. Each and every one of us want to help each other bring out the best in ourselves, and you rarely find that these days. SO.... having said ALL of that, I'd like to say a great big "Thank you" to all my peeps in the CMMAG. Just for being yourselves and "getting it" you have blessed me SO MUCH!


Okay enough of that, lets get back to creating and having FUN!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Roots.....

Charm Tote

This is a tote bag I made for my sister for her birthday. The fabric collection is by April Cornell for Moda and is called "Portugal." It is made mostly from a charm pack which is pre-cut 5" squares It is embellished with vintage pearl buttons that were my mom's. Some were left to her by an elderly dear friend, so I know some of them are quite old. I know that means a lot to my sister as we were both very close to our mom and miss her every day. It has many pockets inside. If you click on the photos they will enlarge and you can see the details.

Art of the Carolinas and the ATCs

Okay I said...more to come and I've been too tired to post because I had to recover from AoC! LOL Although it was an exhausting weekend I had a blast. I got to know several of the CMMAG members a little better and never a more supportive group will you find. I think we really made an impression on the folks at Jerry's as well. Anyway, I'm already looking forward to next year's event and just going forward with the guild in general. Great group of artists! You can learn more about us at: http://carolinamixedmediaartistsguild.blogspot.com/ and also by checking out some of the blogs I follow.

Cheers!

String Beans

I found this pic of my String Beans quilt and thought I'd post it. It is set but not quilted or bound. This quilt isn't the most traditionally beautiful quilt in the world but it means a lot to me because it was made mostly from scraps my mother left behind. I like the randomness of it, it reminds me that there is beauty everywhere you just have to look. I am quite proud of the workmanship of this quilt. It was a joy to make. Without too much effort all the corners are crisp and the setting lines are even. Hopefully after Christmas I can get it quilted and bound. My son Kevin will probably put dibs on this as he is my oddball, artsy child (25YO, yes Kevin I know you aren't a child but you will always be my baby) with the same sentimental streak as his mom. I'll keep you posted.

Becky's Book Spread

My friend Becky asked me to do a page in her book and this is it. The background is acrylics, gel medium (combed through) and then smudged with stamping ink. The texture came out great but was very hard to stamp on and a little more challenging to get glued-on papers to stick to. Each tag (in the pockets on the right hand side) is something that "Becky says:" She is an awesome scrapbooker and book alter-er.

Happy Halloween!

Today Aiden, Liam and I made a Halloween tree and decorated the porch. The boys are SO proud! I think we did a great job. Now to see if that glow-in-the-dark spider web really glows in the dark!

A quilt I'm almost done with....

The name of it is String Beans. I learned to make this from a class I took taught by Sonja Shogren. She is an excellent teacher who now teaches at the Bernina Dealer in Raleigh.
This is a pic of it without all of the sashing. I have since added the sashing and the borders and it is a complete top ready to be quilted. I'll try and take a pic tomorrow when there is more light.

Playroom pics......

Here are a couple more pics of where I "play."

My Playroom.....

I decided today that even though
my room isn't 100% done that I would go ahead and take some pics to let my friends see what I've been up to lately.