Olivia's big girl quilt and a couple more geese......

I realized I actually didn't sign up for the "red white and blue" postcard swap so I made a couple more geese cards and worked on my little angels quilt! I think she will just love it. It is pink and has kitties, two of her favorite things. I have the top all pieced together, it is a twin size. I am going to add one more big border all around of the fabric in the background with the flowers and then the cat fabric is going to be a pillow sham. I will probably quilt it Sunday evening after work. I saved some fabric so when she comes up she can make a doll quilt to match. She loves her baby dolls, and especially her stuffed animals. She is going to be six tomorrow! It is hard for me to believe..Seems like my baby (her mom ) was just six....She and Daniel, my grandson have been scrapbooking, painting, sewing and making collages with me since they each were two. Olivia actually is an artistic little thing. She sits on a stool at my cutting table and works away. She also doesn't lose interest until her project is done. Last time they were here. she was working on a painting and her mom called in to see what she was doing... she hollered back,"just a minute mama I am creating art."! I thought that was so cute. Now on to my cats antics, which aren't so cute ...Straight out I'll give it to you...He is a cold blooded killer! I just recently started letting him outside because my kitty before him got killed by coyotes, but this was before we moved to a better place with out the coyotes...Well, Thomas has decided to bring me live things, in the house and kill them in front of me....so far there has been a bird, a huge mouse and today a snake which I didn't find amusing. Cooper the wonder dog, full of courage hides behind me and shakes. All 130 lbs of him! What is this need to kill things in front of me.?...I decided from now on, the screen is shut on the slider...He puts one thing in my bed, the cat is gone! I swear! Anyway, I work the next few days and then hopefully my daughters and the kids will be here for the Fourth of July....It is one of our favorite holidays so I am crossing my fingers!!!!!!!!

Green things and geese

I have had a couple of days off and I actually have been a bit on the lazy side! I have gone outside and leisurely plucked a few weeds, read a book, threw the ball a few times for the dog...you get the idea. Oh yeah and the naps! Why can a nap cure everything?....If not cure, make me feel better about it...I realized today that I have several projects due and I better get busy! i have red, white and blue postcards to make and my granddaughters quilt to finish...I have a few blocks put together but that is about it! the postcards I haven't even started! And then there were the fabric charms, oh yeah, more charms.......I finished them tonight and I decided I don't want to make any more. Been there, done that about 80 times. They are pretty though and nice and green. I tried to really go for different textures of fabrics. Like velvet and felt and organza. So they go in the mail tomorrow to my partners at "Fiber art Traders" and then I am done with charms! WOOHOO! A couple of days ago on "Fabric atc's one to one" we were talking about birds and I told the story of my crazed goose. My daughter bought two baby geese for pets and they loved her...You would hear their little feet following her everywhere. Well, one of them was brain damaged and had seizures, so I had a neighbor put the poor thing down. Well, the other goose, Named Petunia saw Lisa (my daughter ) out there and decided to hate her with a passion. This goose would stalk her all day long, running from window to window seeing where she was. All you would see was a white neck and a beady eye. I would have to distract him so she could go out the door safely...It actually was hysterical until he claimed part of the yard as his and then no ONE could go back there including me to feed or fill his swimming pool....He loved me like crazy till I touched the gate and all hell broke loose....I spent most of my time warding him off with a push broom. Anyway, we found him a good home where he was no longer the top goose and he is leading a happy life. My daughter was scarred for life of course, because she loved the stupid thing! haha! (This is sarcasm talking)....So anyway, I told this story and all of a sudden people want goose cards which cracked me up! So now I am making four of them for four different people in exchange for their versions. The fun part is I got to use my big playing cards I got at the Estate Sale where I got the hand! How fun is junk anyway? I just love it!!!! So up above all this writing is a picture of the charms and two of the goose cards....Want to trade for a goose? Let me know! Melinda

What a busy few days!!!!!!

I have been working at the sewing store here on the island and the last few days, we have had the Western Washington shop hop.....Sixty stores participate and each store gives away a quilt block representing somehow the state. Then when you put them all together, you have a beautiful quilt....I went to the Shop hop last year. I have shown a few of the blocks on this blog before, I am hoping to put the whole quilt together soon. We made fifteen hundred blocks ahead of time, and went thru every one of them...I cut enough fabric for people buying it that right now I could go in to a quilt store and not be tempted!!!!! I made tote bags today at work using a serger which was pretty cool....all those threads intimidate me, but being able to make a really cute bag in fifteen minutes is awesome!

I have made some things...I painted and atc for the fine arts group. It is called "sunhat"....I saw a picture of this little girl in a book and she looked so sweet, I tried to capture her face. Not sure I did, but I like how it came out.

I also made a fabric flower pin which I have been wanting to for awhile. It didn't turn out quite how I wanted it too but on the other hand it took me five minutes to make. I want the material to have some body and cotton doesn't. Eventually I want to make some bags with these on them that you can take off and wear as a pin or leave it on the bag....

Today, on my way home from work there was an estate sale at a house I absolutely love and I thought "what a perfect excuse to see it!'" It is made out of stone and looks like the perfect English cottage looking out over the water. The whole yard is so beautiful too...These people have really worked to make it perfect. Perennials and lavender and roses everywhere....I went in the house and just fell in love....I COVET this house....If I built one from scratch, according to my dreams, it couldn't be more perfect...The problem would be getting me out of it...I would write, and take pictures and make things and never leave....I asked the lady why she was selling....She said she and her husband are moving into a condo in a nearby town!!!!!! GASP! I wanted to say "what are you crazy??????" she told me that in twenty years when my knees hurt, I would understand...I doubt it but I humored her. Anyway, as far as the estate sale went, I found treasures!!!!!!!! First of all, the HAND' sculpture...She laughed when I said I had to have it! I got it for five bucks and it is the coolest. It is a very old, old kidskin glove with pearl buttons stuffed then put on a brass stand with old costume jewelry and a dyed ostrich feather. Why do I like it? I have no clue, it spoke to me....I also found and old deck of cards, probably from the sixties that are the size of cabinet cards and she gave them to me...I know I can make cool things with them. I love the elephant on the back...I am becoming more of a pack rat which is scary....I come from a long line of them. The furniture in the house was all incredible too.....all antiques which of course I love....I ended my little venture by telling her that the house wanted me as much as I wanted it and if she should have trouble finding a buyer to look me up....she laughed. So did I...I could see she really enjoyed how much I loved it though...The character of it and the charm were amazing ! So I have a few days off and now it is back to things like weeding, and vacuuming and being grateful for what I have!

Another bird atc and a little yellow birdie...

I made these both for Judy Spencer. She is the one that made me the little blue birdie that I love. Mine wont hang straight no matter how many beads I put on it so I left it plain....I figure she can make it into a magnet or a pin....The atc is another one using the fabric/paper she made and sent me....I hope she likes it!

Today on the island the weather was very strange...It was pouring and cold then steamy and hot and now it is cold and the wind is blowing...I have changed clothes about four times....My flowers are growing gangbusters now though so I love that.

I have also been working on finishing the quilt that I posted a while back with the green and white and Asian fabrics....I bought some beautiful gold that has paper lanterns on it for the final border. It is getting there. I am going to do some fancy feathery quilting on it too I think. It may end up being entered in the fair too, I am not sure yet....So many projects and now my job at the sewing store! It is nice to be busy though...plus at the store I get to see all the things people are making and see all the new fabrics....coolness....

Under the stars........

This quilt went together so fast I am kind of surprised....I just quilted the heck out of it because I used stuffing not batting and it was pretty lumpy but I really like the end result...the flowers and the girl really have a 3d look which I like. The silver blanket is a piece of leftover something that I thought was really cool....A blanket of stars! I might actually enter this piece in the county fair....the quilt guild are the judges and it would be interesting to see their comments...If you enter a quilt, one of the coolest things is you get a written critique. My grandma entered the first quilt I ever made and gave to her in the county fair and I still have the critique from it....and the ribbon! It won second place, much to my shock and her delight. It wasn't based on technical skills, it was just so darn cute! I used some embroideries of the "three little pigs" that she had made in the 50's and used 40's retro fabrics in primary colors and pink to build a quilt around them....It is such a good memory for me as my grandma passed in October. I have pictures of her and I holding up the quilt and she was moved to tears by it...She kept saying how beautiful it was...Sweetness! I sure miss her!

Happy Fathers day Dad!!!!!

I know my dad reads my blog so first of all, I just want to say "Happy faathers day dad, I love you and I am so glad that you are in my life! I couldnt have picked any one better!!!!xoxox

Now on to my project for today...I have been working on the pink kitty quilt and it is really cute. I think Liv is going to love it..I am trying to use different patterns of pink and black which is right up my alley, so it is fun to make...

Then tonight I started another art quilt called Under the Stars.....I saw something similar in a magazine and thought, "I could never do that." and just started playing to see if I could...It actually isn't half bad. the hands are very sad, but when I do them with the sewing machine I think I can fix them . Every time I draw hands, they look like crab claws....I didn't have any batting and I wanted to start quilting it so I pulled stuffing from a bag and started putting it in between the front and a back...it is very puffy so it is going to take some extreme quilting but I kind of like the puffiness too...since she is sleeping it is like she is on a mattress of sunflowers....I am going to put red buttons all over the bottom and quilt the sunflower with little tiny circles...there are so many things I want to do! I lie in bed at night and think about what I could be making....I really need to be finishing big quilts that I have started, but I get sidetracked! Although I am not so bad as some people I know...I am sitting on five quilts right now...and they really just need a border and then to be quilted. I have a quilting machine so I have no excuse other than I like to make the instant gratification projects too....

A pink kitty quilt and the real kitty....

It never fails...I start to work on a quilt and Thomas, the orange monster is right there rolling on it, sleeping on it, sitting on it..just being a pest and he does it Every time. I always lay blocks on the floor to look at the placement and he comes from nowhere, and plop....so much for that....I am making this kitty quilt for my little grand daughter who is six the end of this month. Olivia informed me that she outgrew her "little kid quilt"....She loves pink and cats and I saw this fabric by Lorelei and I knew it would be perfect...Now if I can just get the cat off it! haha........

Birds, postcard and an atc.......

Judy Spencer sent me the most wonderful little birdie! With beads even! I have to show it off and I am going to make her one in return. I have to make it up as I go, so it will be interesting. I also am not that great with beading. Not like her anyway. She also sent me some fabric paper that she had made in Artist Trading Card size...It is stiff, but cool and I still was able to make an atc with it and sew thru it. I am posting a picture of the card. It is the tanager card that says bird. She sent me that too, printed on a piece of vellum...It is funny how everyone who makes these little pieces of art, looks for stuff everywhere to put on them. I think she copied the picture from a newspaper...I love it and it was fun to use. I also made a postcard all in pink for a trade with Annelie in Sweden, who also loves pink. It didn't photograph very well, the color is off, but you get the idea. I call it pink petals. She makes beautiful postcards and I don't have one from her yet...Anyway, that is it for now! Enjoy.....

flowers!

There are new flowers popping up in my garden almost daily so I took a couple pictures. Someone who lived here before me planted a lot of perennials and it has been fun seeing what pops up....One kind of plant was in one spot of the front yard and it looked like lettuce....I wasn't sure what it was, but left it...Then more little lettuces popped up all around and then the big pods came out...They reminded me of "the little shop of Horrors" plant.....(feed me, Seymour!) It turns out that it is some kind of Oriental poppy and it is purple...i haven't been able to find it in any of the garden books.....I was calling it the mystery plant. Now it is the mystery poppy......I am posting a picture of the flower and the foliage and then a red rhododendron....If you have seen a poppy like this with lettuce looking leaves, just for my own curiosity, Leave a comment!

charms, sisters and fish

I had kind of a lazy weekend. I watched most of season four of the Sopranos on dvd and when I got Soprano'ed out, I made a few things.

I made more fabric charms, I think the grand total is like 65 now. These little buggers are time consuming...I wont post a photo, but they are more of the green ones. I ended up signing up for two swaps and then the quilting arts submission. That is why I have made so many. What the heck I am going to do with them I don't yet know!

I also worked on an altered book for Saundra in my "Color me Silly" altered book group. Her theme is sisters so I painted a spread with watercolors, acrylics and details in a roller ball pen. I have already shown it to Saundra and she wanted to know if it was my sister and I....nope.....I saw a picture in a book and tried to make it look like the girls in the picture...It really doesn't, but I like how it turned out anyway. I actually did a layout that isn't purple or pink too! I am not much of a blue person but I have been trying to think outside of my own color box a little more.....

Then I made three "something beginning with F'" postcards for a swap.....F is for fish in this case....I tired to make them really secure because all three of these are going out of the USA...One to Lithuania.....I like to just send them as is and not put them in envelopes. That way they get the postmark, which I think is cool........

Well, I finished the bird quilt.....

I took a picture of it after hanging it on a branch on our old shed. I have added a lot of free motion quilting and some fibers...Short post tonight, I am going to go make some postcards!

I like making art quilts!

I started another one for the fun of it using stuff from a fabric and embellishment swap. I was trying to really challenge myself by making something from Autumn colors....then it turned into a tree with green, so I had to add a bird and a nest and then flowers and lo and behold....here comes the green and pink and purple again! I do really like it so far and have had fun with it. I have some big chunky antique looking gold beads that I am going to hang from the bottom and I am going to hang it from a cool piece of driftwood I found the other day at the beach. It is about 13"x 15" I would guess. I have all kinds of things on it so far, including paints and ink. I wanted to hurry and finish it tonight, but I made myself step back and take my time.

I also made a couple of atc's tonight. The mother Goose one I love! I have the book that it shows in the background. It was my grandmas and I CHERISH it! It is signed by her mom and she got it for Christmas when she was seven. I am a huge fairy tale fan. I just love them, still! Of course I love books anyway! I made mother goose for the "mothers" lottery on "Fabric atc's one to one...." I thought of Mother goose right away...I wonder how the whole goose thing came about?mmmmm. The other atc is hand drawn and painted with a roller ball marker, a pencil and watercolors and acrylic....I am really enjoying the painting thing. I cant seem to use one thing to do it though. I have to play and mix. When I was a kid, I always wanted a chemistry set...My cousin, who had everything would never let me play with his. All that mixing stuff. I like that! This atc is called, "what do you see?" ....It is a child, I am not sure if it is a boy or a girl but I am thinking boy. I also did a blind contour drawing of me standing in the mirror. This is a scary thing let me tell you! Blind contours are where you don't look at the picture while you draw! Mine is like a Picasso gone bad or on crack! I actually like it in a funny way but I am not going to scare anyone by posting it! haha.....Well, guess I better go fold laundry and get ready for bed...night all!

Meet Betty and two painted atc's.....

I finally finished all 38 of Mr. Jonny Mystery boy! Man, am I sick of his mug, arted up or not...haha...now on to Miss Betty 'Class of 1938......(her biography:)

Betty was a quiet girl and well liked by everyone. She excelled in Home EC and made all her own clothes. She was voted "Most color coordinated Senior of 1938."

After high school she married a local boy a few years older and settled down to raise a nice Catholic family. Her husband Bob, was always proud of his wife's domestic skills. "She could make any house a home." he was fond of saying. He ran the local hardware store and she had babies. Soon they had seven children and decided twin beds were the best form of birth control and allowed by the Catholic Church.

Sadly, Bob had an accident at work and Betty became widowed...Feeling brave, she decided to open a small decorating business with her insurance money. It was a huge success. With her eye for color and her bold ideas, she became much sought after in her own town and the city too.

Betty still lives in Gardner surrounded by friends, family and her sewing machine...Look her up some time if you are there, she loves the company.

the other two photos are painted atc's that I did tonight just for something to do....I needed to get out of 1938 and Gardner for a while..not that it isn't a nice place to be. Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!