In search of a bouquet...so bring some spring flowers in to our world.

It is wamer and windy today....the daffodils are nodding in the breeze.


These are at the house next door. As much as I am tempted, no one is living there, but I will not pick any!

Our daffodils are not as advanced....but there is still the promise of things to come!

Meanwhile, I DO have a million flowers in our back yard! I call them "Quaker Ladies". They are tiny and blue. Very quiet but lovely. [I think the neighbors treat their lawns with chemicals and don't have this little early spring flower.]

They really are too small for a bouquet, so, I wander across the yard and find the periwinkles are opening! I picked a few. The little glass candle holder will make a great vase for their tiny short stems!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming in from the March winds, I will be working on my mixed media collage class.

These are freezer paper stencils which will be used soon....

and this is a background, acrylic paint on gessoed canvas. You can see more of this on my collage blog.

Projects of the moment....

This litte gift bag was sewn following these directions. So cute and 2 sizes are given!

Birds are appearing in my work as usual! These patchwork backgrounds and appliqued birds are recent examples.

I have also just signed up to do a mixed medium paper and cloth class with Jane La Fazio. This on-line class will keep me in new projects for the next 6 weeks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have been on a waiting list for this book at our local library. Yesterday, it was my turn!

I am really enjoying it, a young mother's story of how her life changed as her yoga practice progressed.

In this issue, I discovered 2 articles about Japan. The first is about applique artist,Misao Wada. I LOVE her work!

Here is an excerpt from the article in Quilt Mania-" Misao Wada lives in the gorgeous little historic town of Takayama (three stars on the Michelin guide). It is five and a half hours from Tokyo by bus, close to the west coast and a stone’s throw from the mountains. Everything is quiet and serene there, except during the two large spring and summer festivals when throngs of tourists turn up. Apart from these events, life is peaceful, which attracts many artists. Poets, painters, and craftsmen make the name of the city that was founded around the 8th century. Misao is famous there both for her poetry (it holds a big place in her life) and for her textile work, a topic we are particularly interested in today. We found this exceptional woman, again thanks to Dominique Greliche as she had produced a small exhibition in Limoges, France, a few years ago. Misao was 20 years old when she met her mentor, forty years ago: Ayko Miyawaki, a great Japanese textile artist and adulated wife of a famous painter. For 10 years, until the death of Ayko, Misao learnt from her how to combine the subtlety of a detail with the technique of practically raw appliqué, how to capture the pure essence of a subject (that is the most interesting part of the work) and how to reproduce it by free hand cutting each piece (no template!!!), how to work in layers and develop an eagle eye to be able to select just the right printed scrap of old fabric (her only material) to breathe life into the subject. (…)
You can read more about this article on the issue N°80 (November / December 2010) "

The second article was about another Japanese town, and a very special shrine there. There are fesitvals and celebrations for expectant mothers and children.[they have a collection of children's patchwork kimomo from the last 300 years!] The patron and protectress of these, goddess Kishimojin, is depicted holding a pomegranate in her right hand. And I learned that pomegranates grow in Japan.[There is even an "indigo pomegranate" in the art work..]

So I began work on an art journal page or two.....and they connect to this month's theme for the Sketchbook Challenge of "overflowing". I am overflowing with information and inspiration. [Click on the photos to see the pages larger!]

I'm trying to cook something new today, potstickers! The recipe has a high rating and my mom loves these, SO we will be chopping and mixing this afternoon. [thank goodness for food processors!]

One ingredient in the mix, was "rice wine". So that was the perfect excuse to buy this beautiful blue bottle! And of course, trying a little of the sake will also be a new experience!

Now, I am wondering what else I should have on this menu....off to do some research!

Here we are at the last day of February!
I had planned to participate in the monthly Sketchbook Challenge (see button on the side of this blog) and the month whose theme was "Opposites" was nearly gone.
Yesterday, in church, I heard "Worry is the OPPOSITE of Faith".....that started my wheels turning....and this morning, I pulled out a sketchbook and set to work. Mostly this is cut and paste with lots of random journaling thoughts.

I have a page about how it feels to be wrapped in worries and cares....isolated. I used the brown daffodil bulb as the visual theme. Even though it is dry and brown, there is a lot of potential there.

Across the page, I have my "FAITH" page. Mostly cut and paste from my art and magazine photos. The missing quote is "I don't believe, I know" ---Carl Jung. It shows the bulb's future as it developes and blossoms.

My "art" journals are not always wonderful pleasing works of beauty, but since I am a visual thinker, this method, getting it out here on the page, calms and centers me and often gives me insight into what is going on!
Now, off to add this to the Flickr group for the challenge and tomorrow,March, we will have another theme to deal with!

Early spring beauty....

I did not grow these, they were the last blue iris bouquet at a local shop.

I "needed" them for a watercolor session tomorrow. My friend Lizzzie and I will be enjoying them.....now you enjoy too!

Also...

Relax, Breathe and Sleep....

FYI--If you can do this yoga pose (the plow), it is wonderful for helping with insomnia! LOL!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And of course, if you haven't seen "The King's Speech" yet, you must go right out and see it!

The best movie in years!

I find that I am always sewing for our daughter's children. So I found a way to sometimes sew for our son's "child". The sweet female dog named "Juniper" is a precious family member!
Here she models her Halloween "boo!" neck scarf.

And this month, her Valentine scarf! LOL! [Thanks guys, for sending me the photos! It always makes me happy to see any of you in one of my creations!]

************************************************************************

Orange Upside-down Cake

I love baking in my iron skillet so when I found this recipe,and having the oranges on hand, I had to make it! Another thing I love, is the use of cornmeal as part of the "cake". It makes it more rustic!

We found it even made a good breakfast this morning! [I always use less sugar and brown sugar than called for, AND I use whole grain for the all purpose flour.

************************************************************
My "ticker tape" crib quilt is now finished. It was a fun project. But funny thing, I still have piles of scraps! It is just impossible to use them all!

Today's projects will be to put a black and white polka dot binding on another crib quilt, and possibly to start on a applique of a raven silhouette for a pillow. Back with photo later...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are coral pink roses and my "ticker tape" quilt in progress!







Yesterday, I baked Ingrid Michaelson's recipe for flourless chocolate cake. [from Feb. 6th Parade magazine]

It is wonderful! a gluten-free treat for those who care! Perfect for Valentine's Day!

What ever treat's you need for Valentine's I pray that they may be yours!
BTW, we are delighted to have thawed out now and a week of sunshine is predicted!

Here comes the sun!



[Click on the photo to see more "sparkle" ! See the pink in the icicles???]

Photos taken as the sun was coming out this morning! It was hitting these icicles just outside the bathroom window, so I grabbed my camera! [ It was sunny yesterday too...and the temperature was minus 18! A record low for our city!]

Today should get above freezing and then the weekend will be warm! Yeah!

Mr. P and I are wondering about the HUGE icicles on our house and none of the newer homes...because we just got a new roof AND a new energy star heating system this past November...
SO, why is the snow melting off of our house and not others.....unless our heat ducts in the attic are leaking....so we will have to be getting back with the company which installed the central heat...hmmm.
Meanwhile, the icicles are record breakers too!

Special post for Kathleen!

Hi!

the quilt is called "Topsy Turvy". It was in the autumn issue of quilter's Newsletter Best Weeken Quilts magazine.

Today, our new computer is not working. This computer is not hooked up to our scanner or able to share photos....or I could scan and send the directions to you. [The photo is of something similar...more blocks fewer fabrics in it!]

I can't find a phone # for you (I will keep looking).

You will need 16 different 10 " squares.

Basically, you just stack the 2 10" squares of fabric on top of each other, face up.

Cut off a right and left side piece, leaving a long chunky middle. From this middle, cut off a top and a bottom piece.

NOW switch the centers. Stack all the pieces in such a way that you can remember where they belong on the block. GO to the sewing machine and sew these two blocks. Repeat until you have made 16 block.

Sew into rows of 4 blocks......quilt as desired!

*********

Note: I am back up with the scanner, here is the diagram!

backyard this afternoon

 

I’m trying some features from the new computer with this photo taken this afternoon. we have record snowfall! So Mr. P didn’t go to work today..first time ever to be stuck home by weather conditions!

Now, he drove down the hill to get groceries and got the car stuck a mile away from home….to be retrieved tomorrow, weather permitting!

Before the snow comes again (tonight).... I joined many of my fellow shoppers who were suffering from cabin fever and in need of some "resale therapy"...at the local thrift stores.

I was searching for pink...just need more of it this time of year!!!!

I must have looked at a dozen pink sweaters, only to remember that this one is already coming my way, as I "won" it on Ebay last week. [It is also on QVC (which I have NEVER watched!), item #A66504--in case you NEED one]

Two pink long-sleeved T-shirts did find me.....here they are in the background behind a pink dish of Dove Valentine chocolates and a "new" (thirft store) romantic historic novel. Yes, I am now ready for a snow day or two! LOL!

A day or so ago, I had just posted about making my heart pillow with the hand crocheted doily [on my "Lila's Quilt's" blog] when I saw a similar doily on Garage Sale Gal's blog! I like the way it is framed with the key..."key to my heart" obviously!





Both of us had found these doilies in the resale market, mine was in a thrift store here in Arkansas, hers in Minnesota. This tells me that there must be a pattern out there for this crocheted heart doily....I wonder how many are in the resale/thrift stores this month!


****************************************************************************
Later---after looking through more images on Google I found this crocheted heart for sale . Joggles.com also offers a similar heart in a 6" size....so "factories" in the far east are making these too...

More pink for February...

The folk art wedding quilt on the bed is from Robyn Pandolph's pattern.

The last row, to make the quilt wider, is 4 blocks which I designed. They are a lotus or water lily with dragon flies, two swans, a beehive and morning glories, and last, rock-a-bye baby with a cradle on a tree branch.