Good-by to February and the Daily Thing!

Daily Thing: Mobile

(I was inspired to attempt a mobile after looking at this Flickr group. There are some really cool variations in this pool.) I was going to add an apple, a boat, and a car - made the same way with bright fabrics over Timtex. Howevah'--- I don't much like the letters, so this is probably the end of the mobile project.

Maybe I'll try again with some needle-felted items like these flowers or pincushions I made back in 2006. I think maybe some needle-felted creatures (birds, butterflies, weird insects) or even needle-felted letters would make a cute mobile.

Friday Miscellaneous

Crabby Old Lady lists some of her annoyances with websites and blogs. I have to admit that I agree with most of them.

I have one more Daily Thing to do, but it isn't finished, and I'm taking some time to fold and organize some fabric; I'm hoping that my cutting table is still underneath that pile.Sometimes it is fun to just mindlessly fold fabric, knowing that I'll be better able to locate things when I want them (I know, I know--it never lasts long). One aspect I enjoy about this activity is re-discovering fabrics that I love and have forgotten; even questioning certain purchases can be amusing. Deciding how to organize the fabric is sometimes a challenge. Previously, I had the blue solids grouped with blue prints, green solids with green prints. Now all the solids will be grouped together. Then there is the question of putting homespuns, toiles, batiks, flannels, etc. together or grouping them by color as well.
There will be a strange mixture of methods in my madness, but right now, if I can just get things folded and put away neatly, it will be a big improvement.

Amelia sent me a copy Application for Permission to Date My Daughter that Chris sent her. Very funny. At the moment. Chris might not find it as amusing in 15 years when someone really does try to date his daughter.

excerpt:

ACCESSORIES SECTION:

A. Do you own or have access to a van? __Yes __No

B. A truck with oversized tires? __Yes __No

C. A waterbed? __Yes __No

D. A pickup with a mattress in the back? __Yes __No

E. A tattoo? __Yes __No

F. Do you have an earring, nose ring, __Yes __No
pierced tongue, pierced cheek or a belly button ring?

(IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION

AND LEAVE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. I SUGGEST RUNNING.)

And:

When would be the best time to interview your:

father? _____________

mother? _____________

pastor? _____________

As my father used to tell me, "What goes around, comes around." Chris and Amelia will have to deal with all of the problems they caused their parents. Fee and I are quite familiar with the problems of daughters and dating--with both Erin and Amelia.

I love this quote:

Gardeners, scholars say, are the first sign of commitment to a community

- Anne Raver, author and columnist for the New York Times

Thread Drawing; Lost & Found

Daily Thing: thread girl

Black thread on muslin, over raw-edge dress appliqué, a little colored pencil in the hair and face, fabric paint on shoes, and micro pen for nose, mouth, and outline of shoes. The eyes were a problem with the free motion stitching (she looks as if her mascara were running, and she is too young for mascara!), so I switched to the micro pen for the nose and mouth.

Rain, Rain, Go Away (I've got new sandals!)

detail

I like doing the thread drawings, but have no idea what to do with them when finished. Some have become post cards, some are part of small quilts, but I have 2 old ones and the 2 new ones just stuck up on the design board.

This article about the habits of Happy People introduced me to a new word: eudaimonic . "Cobbled from the Greek eu ("good") and daimon ("spirit" or "deity"), eudaimonia means striving toward excellence based on one's unique talents and potential—Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life."

I like the idea that "striving toward excellence" rather than achieving excellence is what is important. Don't you think that eudaimonic well-being is what is involved in the process of creating? And while the product may be important, the process is really the key?

The other day, I looked and looked for this little bag of rat tail satin cord. Could not find it. Today, I look and there it is, hiding in plain sight, pinned to the design board with all kinds of miscellaneous items!
I ordered this apron pattern over 2 years ago and even bought the material (very autumn-y). Some day I want to make it because I really love the smock -like style. When I do get around to making it, I imagine I'll shorten it considerably and maybe add extra pockets for various sewing items.

I'm not much liking the changes to AOL email.

Some Favorites

Here is a quilt that I love. And another one. They are so cheerful. (From Crazy Mom Quilts)


Daily Thing: O.K. I was playing with the embellisher, and this is all that I could manage. I finally just gave up and decided not to waste any more time on it.

I'm glad this challenge is almost over because I 'm finding it to be more and more of a chore. On the other hand, participating in the challenge has been good for me, forcing me to get in the sewing room each day. Not that the daily things had to be sewing or textile related....

I must clean up and put away some stuff in order to make it through the next couple of days. My cutting table is piled high with material that I've pulled out, contemplated, and then discarded (read - swept to the side, not folded and replaced).

Yoga was no easier tonight. Whew!

Sewing and Yoga

Yesterday, when Amelia brought Bryce over for me to keep, she brought this dress and a package of onesies. Could I make a skirt that is attached to the onesie (rather than the ones with the elastic waist that slipped on separately like I did before)? I think so. I'll try.

Daily Thing: Dress
Amelia liked this material that I used for Max's quilt and Bryce's bottle snug, and I had enough left to get a strip just long enough to make a little skirt. Of course, the purchased dress has a thermal knit skirt, and I had to use woven fabric. It might have been better if I'd had a little more for a more gathered look. There are a few small pieces of this fabric left, just scraps, and I still like it.

It definitely needed a little something up top, so the heart appliqué. When Amelia arrived again about 4:30, the outfit was ready to go.


I'm still trying to get caught up on my book reviews on the book blog and all of my blog-reading -- Bloglines was not working yesterday.

Went to yoga class again last night.

I can do this: Ha, ha, ha! Not in this live time.
But I can do this:

I didn't post yesterday because I was too busy with-- among other things-- yard work. Once again, I postponed the majority of the fall clean up and the the garden looked beyond bedraggled.

Daily Thing: pillow
I saw something similar somewhere, but I'm not sure where. My rendition didn't turn out too well. I may try again...or not. I hate stuffing stuff--the seams were perfectly rounded until I got sloppy and stuffed the pillow man too quickly with handfuls of polyfil at a time.

Daily Thing: zucchini breadMmmm. I love it. I substituted apple sauce for half of the oil - less fattening, healthier. You can make a complete substitution of apple sauce for oil, but I just went for half. It was a great breakfast!

Today's daily thing? Shoot, I really don't know. I'm baby sitting today...

When I went to JoAnn's on Saturday, they had bamboo batting. I'm so inordinately fond of my bamboo socks and bamboo is so environmentally friendly that I decided to try it. I bought the crib size package for $13.95 at JoAnn's, but the source I linked to has the same size for $19.49. A bit pricey either way, but a considerable difference between the two sources. The batting is unbelievably soft. From my previous bamboo-related posts, you may remember that I sang the praises of bamboo. Forgive my repetition, but here it comes again: bamboo products are naturally antibacterial, chemical free, and wick moisture from body; bamboo plants absorb 2/3 more carbon dioxide and release 2/3 more oxygen than any other plant on earth.

I can't wait to try it!

While looking for something else, I found this water color I did about 6 years ago when I was involved in mail art.

Woman Admiring Khia's ParrotI corresponded with another mail artist whose 2 daughters were often involved. Fiona sent me the parrot stamp made from one of Khia's drawings. I drew a Picasso-esque lady admiring the parrot (on a 4 x 6 water color postcard). That is the actual stamp "on the table"...dated 2002. I love that little stamp!

Gonna' Do A Runner

Daily Thing: runner

This took as much time as it takes to run 4 straight seams, and then...

O.K. I never thought about the backing. All of this began with the cloth napkins and kept expanding to use up all of that fabric. Which I did. I have nothing, however, that will serve as a back. The runner is 6 ft. - and I think a solid brown will be my best bet.

I have another project that I cut out last night and sewed up this morning, but I need something for it, too. A trip a fabric store or two is in order.

After the project that is in the works (and the table runner, I guess), I have something in mind to use up some of these bright scraps which vary in size from just right to very small.

It's a Set

Daily Thing: final pair of napkins


Below is the entire set of napkins. Two of each. Boy, I wish I'd had more of the flower print. However, I now have 8 new napkins, 5 matchy coasters, and a table runner in progress. My table will look much better, and I'll be glad to dispense with paper towels for napkins.

Scrappy Coasters

Daily Thing: coastersScrappy coasters from the left overs. My favorite fabric was all gone, but I still managed to get five coasters out of the other scraps. The rest of the larger pieces of fabric and the pieced strips will be used in the table runner.

The yoga class has left me with the knowledge of muscles I didn't know I had. Whine... Not that I'm going to abandon the cause over 443 sore muscles! Oh, no, I'll be back for more!

I've really enjoyed Quilt Month over at Sew, Mama, Sew - if you haven't visited, go take a look.

Button, button, who's got ...

Remember Marie's Dorset Buttons? Here is another link to some on her site. The one below is the one on the banner she sent me , and you can see the velvety quality of the thread she used. I knew I wanted to try them, and I finally got around to making a few. What fun! (Although, I did find it a bit wearing on the wrist.) I haven't embellished them with any beads yet and they are out of pearl cotton and lack that velvety touch.

Daily Thing: Dorset Buttons (made yesterday)



Another Daily Thing from yesterday: the pieced strips for the table runner.Yesterday was busy. Spend over an hour with Laddie. (Gosh, it is so great to have him so much closer!) Went to the bank. Sewed. Cleaned. And went to a yoga class.

Marty came while I was with Laddie because it was time for his pacemaker check, and Marty does that. When we were leaving, he mentioned that he and Robin were taking yoga at the Wellness Center. I've been debating joining the gym because it is so close to the house, so I decided to go as a guest and take the class.

It. Was. A. Challenge! I've done nothing for the last 6 months and the class provided a wake up call. I was fine on the flexibility, but the strength was another story; my legs were shaking, my bad shoulder aching. Still, when it was (finally) over, I felt that wonderful sense of relaxation. Robin and I then sat in the steam room for 20 minutes. Whoa! What an evening.

Second Set of Napkins and Spring Cleaning

Daily Things: More NapkinsTwo more napkins done. Doing the hem and the mitered corners for these takes more time than I would have thought. When I finish the next set, I'm going to work on a table runner. I've already begun piecing some of the small strips that were left over.

Then if I decide to make another set of coordinating napkins, I think I'll leave them raw edge and let them ravel in the washing machine.

I loved Jane Ann's post about cleaning out the closet and simplifying. Check it out. It really is that time again, isn't it. Yesterday, something started me thinking about hoarding, and I walked around checking my closets which are full of things that have just been put away, out of sight. The idea of going through all of that STUFF made me so anxious that I opened a book to escape! But, truly, books are part of the problem. They overflow the bookcases, are stacked on top of every flat surface-including the hearth, and are threatening to take over.

And the sewing room! I have so much clutter in there that I can't find things I know I have. Which leads me back to the statement: It's that time again. Spring cleaning. Clutter removal. Organization. Simplification.

Yesterday, I was overwhelmed. Today, Jane Ann's post reminds me that it is one step at a time; that even if I never finish, it is necessary to begin.

A Little Coordination, Please...

Daily Thing: Napkins.

I'm trying to be a little more environmentally conscious, and one thing that has been on my agenda for a while is the switch to more frequent use of cloth napkins. I looked over my stash and decided on several fabrics that will coordinate. One reason they need to coordinate is because most of my stash consists of 1/2 yard (or smaller!) pieces and only two15-16" napkins can be cut from one half yard.

No problem with that because for daily use, we only need 2. On the other hand, if I have 2 each out of coordinating fabrics, the table could still look nice for company. So I now have two new napkins out of this material. With more to come.
I've been trying to catch up on blog reading, but gosh, I never quite seem to succeed!

Daily Thing, Space Opera, and a Meme

Daily Things that I used as PIF's. All of them have been received. Here is the lavender I scooped into each sachet.
I tired out fairly early (concerning the chores), but contented myself by reading the majority of the day. It was a such a pleasure to sit without being disturbed-- completely immersed in the adventures of Honor Harrington in Honor's War by David Weber. Weber's Honor Harrington series is considered space opera (Space opera is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing powerful (and sometimes quite fanciful) technologies and abilities. Wikipedia).

The HH series is a "subset of space opera that overlaps with military science fiction" and deals with Honor and her role in the Royal Manticoran Navy. The series is often compared to C.S. Foresterer's Horatio Hornblower series. Larry Niven, Stephen Pournelle, and Frank Herbert (Dune) are also authors of space opera in the military vein. Most familiar of all space opera would be Star Wars (I can hear the music every time I see the words).

I've been tagged for the 7 Things Meme again by Marie and Nana B. and have had a difficult time coming up with 7 more things. It was hard enough last year.

Here are the simple 'rules' for this round of tag:
1. When tagged place the name of the person and URL on your blog
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 7 things about yourself
4. Name 7 of your favorite weblogs
5. Send an email letting those bloggers know they have been tagged!


1. I'm a voracious reader and always have been. Love both fiction and nonfiction.

2. Science Fiction is one of my favorite genres. After the above paragraphs, that shouldn't be a surprise. :O

3. In recent years, I've become almost addicted to bread puddings. As a child, I would never even taste bread pudding because it brought to mind that awful white bread I hated. Such a shame to have been so prejudiced and to have missed out on all of the opportunities to appreciate the finer things in life.

4. My food of choice as a child was the potato -- fried, baked, mashed, scalloped. Hated anything green or colored.

5. Now, my favorite foods include spinach and eggplant. Go figure.

6. I'm always interested in self-improvement, but more in theory than in practice.

7. I'm a dreadful procrastinator.

This is a fun and interesting little meme, so I'm tagging anyone who would like to play.

It's Alive!

I've decided to live. A couple of days ago, I wasn't certain it was worth the trouble, but now that I've emerged from the shadow of the virus, living seems not only a likely, but a decidedly pleasant option. Actually, things were much improved yesterday, but I was still so tired...and all of the stuff I have to catch up on overwhelmed me. Today, almost anything seems possible, and if not probable, at least not too discouraging to tackle.

click to enlarge

The above cartoon is not accurate for several reasons, but it made me laugh. Fee was out of town, and I told him not to come home until I was well, whether he finished what he was working on or not. (I sure wasn't up to having him come down with it and having to take care of the world's ultimate moaner and groaner and most pitiful patient ever!)

So, now I'm off to make a list of some of the things that have been neglected and to see how long my energy and enthusiasm for mundane tasks and chores can be maintained.

Not sure how this unintended vacation from the Daily Thing will play out, but even if I don't catch up, I think I'll continue playing.

Daily Things and Long Naps

Daily Things #11 & # 12 -- Two more bottle snugs. I'm sort of catching up. My energy level is following that bio-rhythm schedule and is quite low. I took a long nap this afternoon; sat down to read a little and ended up sleeping a lot. But...at least my house is clean! Well, except for the sewing room which looks as if it has seen recent tornadic activity.

Pay It Forward Gifts~In the Mail

Click to enlarge.I got all 6 packages in the mail yesterday and most of my errands completed. When I got home and got all of my groceries put away, Amelia called and asked if I could come help out. She was deathly ill with a stomach virus and a cold and literally couldn't take care of Bryce. Chris had been nursing her and caring for the baby all day, but he had to fly last night. So I packed a few things, put Mac on his leash, and the two of us went to spend the night.

Poor Amelia. She was pitiful; Bryce, on the other hand, was in a great mood and was a pleasure. Mac was busy trying to figure out his place in the pecking order with Amelia's dogs, but I'm not sure he ever succeeded.

This morning, Amelia felt human again and able to venture away from the bathroom. Still a little weak and very tired, but thankful to be through with the stomach virus.

I got home a little while ago, showered, fixed a sandwich for lunch, and am now contemplating what I can make to catch up with the Daily Thing I missed yesterday. Something very quick and easy...

Storms, Errands, Daily Thing #10

It is storming here. This is one of those days when I have to get out for several errands, not just one or two. Although, if this keeps up, I'm going to have to re-think at least some of them.

The Post Office run is necessary to get those Pay It Forward gifts in the mail and a book to Jill, one of my book blog friends. And Nellie, I'll get your gift out soon.

Daily Thing #10 (for Monday) - I was too tired to take the picture and post this last night, and I wasn't very pleased with it either. I should have left the 2 leaves solid; as outlines, they don't look that good, too much empty space. Michelle over at Studio 256 is having a book giveaway. Quilt books! Michelle designs bags and teaches classes on Joggles about making them. Visit and enter for a chance to win.

a little of this, a little of that

Daily Thing # 10 (for Sunday) a thread painting with a little colored pencil. For today's Daily Thing, I carved a stamp; I'll take a picture tomorrow, but it didn't turn out too well. I carved away too much.

Yay! I have the PIF's ready to mail out tomorrow! I almost changed my mind again, but decided I needed to make a decision and stick to it...so they are packaged and ready to go. I'll post a picture of these after the recipients let me know the envelopes arrived.

I put the names of those who gave suggestions for what to do with the hearts into a jar, and drew out...Nellie . Let me know your snail mail address, Nellie, and I'll get the gift out to you (maybe when I make the PIF mail run tomorrow). Thanks to all of you for your suggestions!

Daily Thing Catch Up

I'm going to have to play catch up today as I didn't make anything yesterday.

Daily Thing Challenge (Day 9-or Saturday's Thing) -- These "bottle snugs" are what Amelia and I discussed the other day. Bryce is going to a day care nursery several days a week and her bottles need to be identified. Although her name will still need to be written on the bottle, these little quilted snugs will make Bryce Eleanor's bottles easily recognizable. Last week, Amelia and I were chatting and thought this take off on the coffee cuff would work . I'll be making a few more. Yesterday, I attended St. John Berchman's Lenten Service with Amelia and Bryce Eleanor. It was a beautiful service and very uplifting; the cathedral itself is so beautiful that I spent a lot of time looking at the ceiling and the stained glass windows and thinking about the importance of beauty and ritual in spirituality.

After the service, we girls met Fee and Chris for lunch. With mimosas. Several. Then Fee and I drove down to Raft Bayou and enjoyed the beautiful spring-like weather.

Now...I have to clean up the sewing room again so I can make yesterday and today's Daily Thing.

Tonight I will draw a name for the Give-away mentioned in this post. If you'd like to enter, just leave a comment about what to do with those hearts.

Wonderful Mail!

What a terrific surprise arrived in the mail! I was delighted to find a great package from Marie of Zquilts! I love surprises, and this was a special one.

Click to enlarge. Ooooh! Just look! Vintage buttons! Her own card made with one of her terrific photographs (and I have a real fondness for sunflowers), and one of the lovely banners she made. They are all wonderful, and I'm so touched! Thanks so much, Marie!!!

Below: the back of the banner and the back of the card with one of Marie's photos of 3 of my favorite thread paintings of her cats Bart & Chellie. AND here is a detail of the Dorset buttons Marie made for the banner project! I fell in love with these when I saw them on her site, so having one on top of everything else she sent...really special! I have no idea what my Daily Thing will be today. I've been looking over my list and trying to choose what to try next. I do know that I'm going to try one (or more) of those gorgeous Dorset Buttons at some point!

I've received the first disk in the second season of Slings & Arrows! I'm so excited and hope to watch it tonight as I do some hand work. I don't think I posted about this Canadian television series on this blog, although I did on my book blog when the first season arrived. I love Netflix!

Key Ring and Sewing Kit

Daily Thing - Day 8

The key ring, ta da! I had several of the metal rings, so the only thing I had to do was make the loop and attach it to the heart. Not a very good picture; focus is too blurry to see the quilting or the beads I added. Don't forget to go to this post and suggest some other uses for the hearts. I will draw a name on Monday for the "give-away."

Finished the WIP, I started a couple of weeks ago and then set aside. I shamelessly imitated this sewing kit I saw over at Facile Cecile; she makes such beautiful things and her embroidery is just gorgeous. Her lovely sewing kit made me long for a a prettier way of transporting my embroidery things. My version is much simplified, but I'm happy with it. Click to enlarge.

Hearts and Gifts and Positive Attitudes

Kay (Out of the Basement) suggested having a contest for ideas about what to do with the hearts I made. I think it is a great idea, so please give me your suggestions. I'll put all the names in a pot and send the winner a gift. Kay suggested a key chain, and I'm going to make one today! I think I'm going to make some more hearts, too.And on the topic of gifts, I'm almost finished with the PIF gifts! I've changed my mind several times after making one or two, but now they are all decided on and will be going out in a week or so. For some reason, I've really struggled with the PIF challenge this year, so I'm making a list of possibilities for next year so I don't have to repeat this years indecision.

I know I've mentioned Christine Kane's blog many times, but I keep finding useful, concise, apt information there. One of her entries from last year is titled Begin Your Day; in the post, she comments (I know, I know - it really is common sense, but I need constant reminders) about how important unconscious emotions and thoughts are to the formation of your day. To make a long story short, she reminds us that beginning your day with negative thoughts has an effect. Conversely, beginning the day with a positive attitude can also have an effect. One that we would all be happier with.

Sometimes, my first thoughts are about all of the things that I have to do, but don't want to do. And yeah, that can be a downer. On the days I wake up thinking about all of the things that I want to do and have the opportunity to do, my entire body responds in anticipation. There will always be things we have to do or don't want to do, but those things don't have to be our first thoughts or set the tone for our day.

Kane suggests several ways to begin the day:

Morning Pages (a la Julia Cameron)
Prayer and Meditation
create a Vision Journal
remind yourself of your Dreams and Goals
Yoga
Visualization
(you can read Christine Kane's entry here if you want more detail)

Cleaning, Shopping, Making

After a little conversation with Debby over at ...pieces, too... , I decided to spend at least part of my day cleaning and straightening. Shoving everything to the side for the next project really wasn't working too well. So I've alternated between cleaning/putting away and working on a couple of old projects.

Day 7 of the Daily Thing. Took one of the extra pieces I had cut for bookmarks, cut out hearts, then stitched the edges. Now...I've made hearts, but I'm not sure what I will make with the hearts yet. Bookmarks, brooches, barrettes? What? All I care about is that I completed the challenge of making something daily. A trip to JoAnn's for a craft knife and some plastic floss bobbins. Of course, the trip took awhile because I had to look at everything first, then looked twice around the entire store for the craft knife before finding it almost on the floor underneath the scissors.

Then by the library where I loaded up on books.

Tonight -- a little zest!
I found the zester and the apple corer at Target. Aren't the colors fun?

Daily Thing

Day 6 - Completed zebra. His tail doesn't show up much against the black. He has a pipe cleaner in his neck for support and flexibility.Now, what for tomorrow?