Look At ME!

Look at me!  I'm doing a long arm quilting class!

Our local quilt shop offers these classes periodically--my friend

and I signed up--hoping it will be something we'd like to do

for our stack of unquilted tops! 

Yes!  I can do this!

Once you've taken this class you an rent the machines by the hour

to do your own top--

Handi Quilter is the machine and there are three different styles in

the work room.  This is the one I worked with.  It all sounds so

complicated to see this machine and think I can do this!

Make sure it's threaded right!  First Step!

Needle Up--power on!

Now to load this with your practice work!

Our informative instructor, Jessica, gave great

clear instructions

Oh look--a computer to keep you on track!

Something else to learn for my feeble mind!

We're on and ready to go-- begin--stitch and guide that

head across your field 

I like this panel--

look at all those quirky lines!  It was fun!  I was in the 'zone'!  

Gourd Art

Gourd art involves creating works of art using Lagenaria spp. hard-shell gourds as an art medium. Gourd surfaces may be carved, painted, sanded, burned, dyed, and polished. Typically, a harvested gourd is left to dry over a period of months before the woody surface is suitable for decorating. 

Every year we are fortunate to view one of the best Gourd Art Exhibits at Kerr Arts and Cultural Center in Kerrville, Texas.  If you can not visit in person, you can take a virtual to virtual here.

May 14 – July 3

Award Winners

Best of Show
Cliff Dwellings by Becky Klix

Southwestern Category:
First Place: Story Teller by David Cleaveland
Second Place: Beep! Beep! by Blanche Cavarretta
ThirdPlace: Three Dancers by Roy Cavarretta

Sculptural Category:
First Place: Strong Medicine by Roy Cavarretta
Second Place: Topsy Turvy Sunflowers by Marcy Holmes Wheeler

Fiber Art Category:
First Place: Blue with Pine Needles by Paul Butcher
Second Place: Goldstone by Sharon Harrison
Third Place: Green River Antler by Jill Robinson

Contemporary Category:First Place: Tropical Paradise by Sherry Nelson
Second Place: Septarian by Jill Robinson
Third Place: Green Pine by Jeanine Williams

Carving Category:First Place: Pomo Treasure Basket by Becky Klix
Second Place: Pueblo Homes by Lynda Smith
Third Place: The B-Tree by Marcy Holmes Wheeler

Mixed Media Category:First Place: Deer Country by Sherry Nelson
Second Place: The Villagers by Jeanine Williams
Third Place: Emergence by Crystal Ziemann

What We Need Now!

Elefantz gives us a stitching pattern--pray as you stitch

that ALL this storm will calm down and become sunny

skies again.

 Make a block or two to give as comfort for someone in need!

or just because. Or make it for Quilts of Valor

You can also request quilt of valor for someone who has been touched

by war here.

Somewhere I Got Lost

I got lost!  somewhere around row #5 near the double nupps--

but, I kept on knitting.  Of course, it will turn out alright, I said

as I still didn't have the correct stitch count on row # 7

"Throw in a lifeline" the notes declared!  who needs a lifeline??

not me, I said--I'll be perfectly fine--then when the stitch count

went really wracky!  I knew I was in trouble--only one thing to do--

rip, rip, rip!  and with NO lifeline to fall back on--

carefully, rip back--your work must not be moved

Now to pick up all those stitches without dropping any

and--of course, the stitches are picked up backwards--

best thing to do is knit into the back of the stitch and it will

correct itself--right facing knit stitch! yay!

All 65 stitches back on the needle--throw in a lifeline now???

would be smart--who said I was smart--not me!  

BAck on track!  and guess what--the reason I was lost--

it was an I D ten T error!  That meaning Me not reading

the pattern right!  

ok finished for June--waiting on July!  

Marled Yarn

Marled yarn hats 

Some of my marled yarn--years ago during a silk spinning workshop,

we learned how to marl yarn--we had several single thin yarns, and

our instructor suggested plying 3, 4, or 5 singles together and

guess what?  you get a marled yarn.

most of my single yarns become marled as I ply from a ball--

center pull and outside yarn.

YAY! Finished Stuff!!

So happy!  So Glad!  I finally got motivated to do some UFOs

There are sewing projects and knitting projects

Bonnie Hunter's latest adventure "Unity Quilt Along" Quiltville

Had step 8 last week--I didn't do that last step; just ready to end

with step #7 and call it quits-it's big enough for a queen size bed--

will think about adding borders otherwise, I like it as is!

Holy SMokes--this looks so good when photographed.

when I work on something for awhile, I don't know if it's going to turn

out like I want it too.  But, this did just find using fabric from my stash.

Fort Worth Fabric Studio hosted this ultimate picnic sew along.

There will be a summer one and an autumn one--always fun! 

and you can buy the kits too if you wish.

Finished this hat! from handspun--don't know the fiber content but it

feels like rayon (don't know why I would spin rayon--that goes to the

fact I haven't placed spinning content on my spun fiber--shame on me!

This pattern was Orange Smoothie and named "Proximity Hat"--

easy knit--guess that's why it took me so long to finish!

Tiny!

Can we say tiny??  I like working normal size, but sometimes there are those patterns that require some tiny pieces.  I came across this website  take a look and you'll think I"ll never work that tiny--

our friend, many moons ago, knit a jock strap with toothpicks!  It was super tiny--she made it for her daughter's Ken doll!  It was great fun!

June Brings...................

What does month of June bring to your soul?  A newness?  A new beginning?  A chance for redemption?  Lost Love found?  Family togetherness?  Maybe all those things..
for me, June will bring a chance to begin NEW knitting patterns--maybe a new spinning fiber.

First off the chance to knit some mysterious fingerless gloves!

Designed by Erica Mount with clues released every week beginning June 1--oops!

Already late for this one--but there is a week to catch up.

My spinning wheel is going to freak out--I have some luxurious stuff to spin

50% tencel (which I don't usually spin) blended with 50% merino wool--that

makes this a winner for spinning.

Origami Face Mask DIY

This came up on my read one day--I enjoy doing origami and thought this was a super way to make a mask- from

These instructions and video are provided by Aplat

Patriotic Sewing!

Diary of a Quilter has the easiest way to sew a small 

patriotic US flag

these could be placemats, table runners, wall decorations.

It's quilt as you sew!

Check it out!

Here is another "Freedom" sewing adventure--designed by Charisma Horton

Love the look of this Freedom Quilt!  Why not use your stash!

Calling All Hands!

If you are anything like me, you want to help or assist during this

crisis, but you don't know what you can do?

Here are a couple of ways to assist:

If you are a quilter, check this out!

"What does love look like?

It has the hands to help others.

It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy.

It has eyes to see misery and want.

It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.

That is what love looks like."

Memorial Day 2020!

Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2020 occurs on Monday, May 25. 

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.

Early Observances of Memorial Day

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.

By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.

It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. And some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemoration was organized by a group of freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.

READ MORE: One of the Earliest Memorial Day Ceremonies Was Held by Freed Slaves

Waterloo—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

Concord/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

Decoration Day

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.

The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I.

Confederate Memorial Day is still celebrated in several states and will be on Sunday, April 26, 2020 in Florida; on Monday, April 27, 2020 in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi and on May 11, 2020, in parts of South Carolina. The practice of commemorating the Confederacy became even more controversial after massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015

History of Memorial Day

Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World War II, The Vietnam War, The Korean War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

Memorial Day Traditions

Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some people wear a red poppy in remembrance of those fallen in war—a tradition that began with a World War I poem. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because Memorial Day weekend—the long weekend comprising the Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day and Memorial Day itself—unofficially marks the beginning of summer.

Stuck!

Yes, I'm just like many of you--stuck!  Stuck with my motivation!  Stuck with my creativity!
Stuck!  Stuck!  Stuck!  Just like the scene from the movie "The Christmas Story"


I've heard from several of my friends that they are also 'stuck'--the mojo has gone or maybe, it's just lying low till we get moving outdoors again and away from our 'stuck' in lives!

Oh my word!  There are a zillion sites with motivation quotes!  I'm pulling out my hair--none of those quotes will help with this situation we are 'stuck' with!

So,,,,,,what do I do? I sit and watch videos--not very productive for sure!  But, at least, I"m not
stuck in my world for awhile....how is it in your world?????

It's A Kaleidoscope!!

Holy Moly!  It's time to make something quick and easy--

I'm breaking out the small double pointed needles to whip out

some kitchen dishcloths to keep me clean!

I've not had my year long projects close at hand--I'm almost

going crazy without needles in my hands

Then I came across this! Knitpicks has a "ton" of free--

yes!  free! dishcloth patterns--

my stash baskets are overflowing with cotton yarns.

choosing the first pattern will be difficult--maybe, monthly theme--

like May Flowers--  Like the purple Bellflower of the bright yellow

Sunflower--there are 52 free patterns--one for each week of the year!

Anniversary!!

Today is our 57th Anniversary--can't believe we have been together this long--there are good days and bad days, but throughout those times, we have worked together to get everything sorted out.

The photo is at our 50th anniversary vow renewal!  It was something crazy we did!  and it was fun times with our family-- Graceland Wedding Chapel was the location with "Elvis" officiating!

So seven years later, we remember our day in Las Vegas and our celebration of our love of each other and our joy of God Almighty who guides us each and every day!

Book List

Books!  What would we do without books?

I'm ready with another stack of books to read--maybe, these

will last through the summer--

depends if we are home bound often

Noah Gordon had a smash hit with his book "The Physician"--

sorry that I didn't read it--will keep my eyes out for a copy on Paperback Swap

In the meantime, I'm readying "The Winemaker"--setting is late 1800's in Northern Spain--

and of course, wine making is involved!  

Jennifer Chiaverini's "The Sugar Camp Quilt" will be a light hearted read --

taking place during years leading up to Civil War in Creek's Crossing, Pennsylvania

Jennifer has written numerous books about quilting and quilters--this one was

found on PBS

Another PBS book is Shari Lapena's "The Couple Next Door"

described as nerve racking unraveling--we'll see!

Historical on the agenda:

"Hidden in Plain View"--this is the secret story of quilts and the

underground railroads--movies have been made about this route

for slaves seeking freedom--it's time to see how they achieve

their goals with the written word.

"Cotton" by Stephen Yafa---The biography of a revolutionary fiber!!

So much to learn about a fiber I like to spin and so many of us

use in our everyday life.

Now, these books have already been read and set off  for someone else

to enjoy--Another PBS find:  Mike Blakely--author, singer-songwriter

presents two novels in one volume--"The Snowy Range Gang" and

"Vendetta Gold"--both western settings.

A new author to me is Jeff Carson and the first in his series set

in Colorado small town, "Foreign Deceit" --from the first page

I was pulled into this drama--of course, it helps that I love anything

to do with Colorado.  I plan to order other books in this series with

his hero David Wolf

John Sanford--one of my go to authors--"Masked Prey"--love

the Prey series with characters you journey with through

their trials and tribulations

No matter where we are  or what we do, Books take us into

a world of  adventure, sadness, joy, happiness, a place

where we escape if just for an hour or two.

Happy reading!!

2020 Stitch Along

Calico Patch is hosting a summer stitch along--this shows wool but

there is no reason why it can't be with fabric as well.

Check out their website to see what it planned.

Begins June 1 and runs through August.

Here are the list of designers that will participate and when

 June 1 – 7             Calico Patch Designs                          calicopatchdesigns.com

     June 8 – 14           Blueberry Backroads                           blueberrybackroads.com

     June 15 – 21         My Red Door Designs                          myreddoordesigns.com

     June 22 – 28         Red Button Quilt Co                            redbuttonquiltco.com

     June 29 - July 5      Rusty Crow                                         rustycrow.com

     July 6 – 12            Linen Closet Designs                           facebook.com/LinenClosetDesigns

     July 13 – 19          the cottage rose-Pattern Originals      cottagerosequiltshop.com

     July 20 – 26          The Woolen Needle                             thewoolenneedle.com

     July 27 - Aug 2       Through The Needle’s Eye                   needleseyestories.com

     Aug 3 – 9             Traditional Primitives                          traditionalprimitives.com

     Aug 10 – 16          Yellow Creek Quilt Designs                   yellowcreekquiltdesigns.com

     Aug 17 – 23          Sew Cherished                                    sewcherished.com

     Aug 24 – 31          Calico Patch Designs                            calicopatchdesigns.com

It Was Right In Front of My Eyes!

Since my sewing machine is sick and in machine hospital, I finally decided to sit at the loom and finish what I began several months ago--warping!  I hate warping the loom!  Weaving is a pleasure--thinking of the next project is a pleasure!  Selecting yarns is a pleasure, winding the warp--well, not such a pleasure, but it's not like warping a loom!

Okay, gal--sit down, begin.............................all that needs to be done is tie on loose end to the end  through the reed--that can't be too hard, can it?  No not really!  The warp for the next project is already there---get to it!  Motivation speech in my head as I walked up the stairs to the studio---------------------there it is--so daunting a task! 

These will be colorful towels for someone--

That wasn't so hard, was it old gal?!  Just took you a little of pushing to get you up

the stairs into the studio--

Staring me in the face was the window to the outside world--right there--

right in front of my eyes--

The world of nature!  and what? is that? I see?

A bird nest!!  Momma Robin appeared in my frame--

you could never tell there was a nest in the Magnolia tree

until she flew up and sat on a branch and three hungry little

mouths reached up to take the food--it only took a few seconds:

 she was off again in search of food for her little ones.

I thought, sometimes, we miss the most important things in our lives

and most often those moments pop up right before our eyes!