Library Quilts

Our library sits in a very historic 1800 building and until a week ago the inside even looked like you were still in the 1800's! The inside has finally been painted, new carpet and lights installed!!! There were always holes in the walls and peeling so I started to donate some of my project quilts to cover those same holes. I picked up the quilts to clean for them and I'll take back this week. So I thought I'd share some of my donation quilts I've made over the past few years.

This quilt I designed in 2005 while we were in Florida and it hangs behind the front desk. If I remember correctly it's about 45" square or a little larger. AND yes, I took this pic while the quilt was on the floor..just lucky my feet didn't show!
This is a closeup of the tree. I photo transferred pixs of books...I think I was trying to relay they were falling from the tree?? Hmmm I don't really remember but that sounds good!

Just a closeup of the bunny block, which I thread painted.

This is a quilt I made for our guild challenge in 2001 and I took a 2nd place. The theme was nursery rhyme and I couldn't decide which one to do so I did several! It's around 20" x 20". This was the first quilt I donated and they put it in the children's section.

Closeup of one block...

This was a Robbi Jo Elkow pattern. My friend Carol T and I took a class from Robbi in Huston around 2003??

This is a Lenore Crawford pattern from her workshop last July (2009).

Again, my friend Carol and I took a workshop from Velda Newman around 2001 or 2002. It was so much fun and I had to buy her book. This is from a pattern in her book that I finished that same year.

I won't show these pieces anywhere so they do make good wall hangings for the library. Our head librarian, Kara, is always so happy to get them and tells me everyone enjoys looking at them.

And of course, 'Sybil' saying "hey, mum, where's my food!" He comes up front every time we walk in the sewing room! what a hoot!

Bob power washed the deck yesterday, so it's all ready to touch up some areas and paint the deck floor. Today I'm going to a local market for some goodies and then we'll do windows when I get back. I'm beading and working on some hand stitching for the South of the Border exhibit so those pics will be later this week. Beading my fish is taking lots of time! Using delica's again which I love, love, love!!!

Temp has been in the 80's past week and expected up to 89 today! gotta love that air conditioning! We open windows in the a.m. and turn the air on later in the day. I love having the windows open...but don't like sweating either..plus, the air helps Bob breath easier.

Not much to show

Last night was our CCC fiber meeting. One of our members has been kind enough for the past two months to show our group how to make an artist idea's journal. yes, it did take some of us (hmmm) two meetings to finish! They are made with decorative file folders and papers (your choice). This is my journal...
And the inside which contains some of my 'doodling' and other painted papers. I did keep some papers plain so I can either 'doodle' or paste pics into!
I showed my fish quilted piece the other day..this is the front...
and this is the back. I just covered the fish with a freezer paper cut out then I rollered (is that a word??) paint on top of the entire piece. I hope to paint the fish sometime this weekend.
Here are some rings I made with the kids this past week using the shrinky dink. They are really fun to do and I actually like wearing them.
OK, so Sybil is doing GREAT!!! Every time I walk in the room he swims over and up to the top! Waiting for food! He's in his new bigger bowl and doing great! Even Bob watches this $4 fish (as my DIL calls him).

So an update on another 'member' of our family! My amaryllis is growing!!! Yippee!!! Actually, it looks a little weird! Won't tell you what I think it looks like but it's lovin' his new home!! It's grown at least 6-8"!
Bob's golfing today and actually yesterday was his first day of golf since last Friday. Poor guy's cold has really kept him down. Let's hope he gets rid of this cough as it's buggin everyone, even the dog. He coughed so hard last night, poor Mandy flew up out of a dead sleep barking! And she never barks! Kinda funny but at her age (mine too!) it's not good to be startled like that!

Bragging time about Ian!

CONGRATS, IAN!
I received an email from MJ (our DIL in Indiana) regarding the awards night at Ian's school this week. And guess who got some GREAT awards! Ian was #1 in his class ranking for academics! Isn't that fantastic! He also got several other awards and we couldn't be more proud of this young man (who by the way is having a birthday the end of this month!).

MJ said they had rec'd a call from school letting them know he was in the top 10 but didn't know he was #1 until last night. A pleasant surprise that's for sure but not a total surprise! MJ said she and Ron are so proud of him and they should be. What an accomplishment from lots of hard work!

Also, Kayla had a great yr @ Ball State, making the deans list first semester & all A's and B's second semester. "That's the result of tons of all-night studying! " to quote MJ. Kayla has such good study habits and her accomplishments at school show this as well. I didn't have a recent picture of Kayla to post but I'll have to work on that. She's going to be starting her summer job as a life guard.

Kayla and Ian have been given such a great foundation from MJ and Ron, I wouldn't expect any less from their children. They have provided such a great spiritual, moral and understanding on how our daily actions affect our lives. Great parenting, Ron & MJ! Congrats to you both as well.

Bob and I were talking about what great parents each of our kids are. It's not easy now a days to provide all that kids need. Work, home and outside influences are not easy to balance when raising children but each of the 'boys' families have done this.
So again, a
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to IAN and KAYLA!!! We love you both and share in being proud of your accomplishments!

Yes, I have been doing art work

Those who follow my blog may remember my fish doodle that I drew up as my June BJP inspiration. Funny, how I thought of a fish WAY before my 'fish' week with the kids! Anyway, last week before I did the babysitting 'thing', I drew my fish outline onto a piece of hand dyed fabric. I want this fish to be really bright so I'm using this lime green piece. You can see the outline that I FMQ'd. I have to tie off my threads then I'll quilt the rest of the background leaving the fish as is. And no, I don't take my threads to the back and tie off. I tie my knot on the front and then put my needle back into that stitch, through the batting and up to the top and cut off. This is a technique some long arm quilters use and I like that my 'knots' don't show on the background or on the back.

Again, before I left last week, I had this piece of fabric I had dyed and I thought it would be a good piece to quilt to see how I might want to quilt my BJP. I had the entire piece quilted last Wed. so yesterday and today I hand painted the front. This piece measures approximately 19" x 19". Can you guess what colors my fish BJP is going to be for June??

I'm going to also hand paint the back of this piece because I want to put it in my Art Diary (see my widget at the top of my blog). I'm thinking I might use the roller to paint over the piece, with the exception of the fish which I'll hand paint different colors. Just playing with different painting techniques and getting ideas on the beads I want to use to bead June's BJP.

I also had a stamped piece that I had done using my own hand stamp (made in Dijanne's online lino cut class). After some FMQ'ing I thought it would also be good for Ami's Art Quilt Initiative, so I'm going to finish it off and send in for my 2nd donation.

I'm now beading the edges and then I'll add some beading on the quilting design as well. I don't like the edge that shows in the middle so hopefully it can get covered up with some beads. See, I have been doing art before and since my babysitting gig!

I just know 'curious minds' want to know how "Sybil" is doing. He's doing good! I was a little worried because he hasn't been eating so today i went to the pet store and got him some blood worms. I've read that these are well liked by beta's and it worked! He ate 3 of them!! Yippee!!

You can see the little blood worm at the top.

Here he is going after his last worm!

I also bought him a thermometer so I know what the temp of his water is, a new net, a new plant for in his bowl and a turkey baster! I mentioned that I've read lots on the internet for taking care of these little guys..well, they recommend using a turkey baster to remove pellets or worms that they don't eat within a few minutes. Helps to keep the water clean. I also bought a gallon of drinking water (no minerals in it) to use when I change his water. He's actually a cute little guy and I hope his fins grow back. Looks like he had a bad hair cut!

Day 3&4- the saga continues....

Yes, I survived but you'll have to read on about Sybil!.....

So where do I start for day 3...Auntie picked us up Sat. a.m. and off we went to do some shopping at Papa Jo's and Tradder Joes. A few other quick stops then Auntie treated us all to lunch even with a headache! Poor kid get migraines like her 'mum' and was just getting a headache. After Auntie dropped us off kids played outside and Amber took lots of pictures as did I. Those will follow at the end of this post.
So, after a great dinner of pizza prepared by Amber!, and a monopoly game which was dominated by Nick (aka Money Bags) we got ready for bed. But before we retired for the night, grandma came up with a plan to keep the cats from knocking on their door and waking us up. check out the picture below! don't laugh! It worked! Everyone slept until 7:00 a.m. with NO noise from the cats at all! I replaced the cat door with a pillow which would allow them to knock all night long! I didn't hear a thing! Even Nick was impressed and he doesn't impress easily!

Check out my 'barricade'! After a good night of sleep, kids and I are sitting on the couch talking about how great grandma is on her 'cat' plan when we hear THUMP! Actually, it's the FISH BOWL THUMP! AGAIN!!! Amber forgot to close her door..so off we go running to her room. There's water all over her bed along with the fish bowl! Empty! Shades of Sammy and the funeral are coming back to me again!! Amber's freaking out...I'm on the floor looking for the fish but he's no where to be found. We take off the bedding and mattress pad because I'm thinking this fish must be in here somewhere! Of course, I'm afraid if I don't find the fish it's my grand daughter who's going to be named 'Sybil'! I can see her waking up some morning and staring at a dead fish! Yikes! So we keep looking but still no fish.
Back downstairs to put the bedding in the washer and I thought I better go back up and take one more look! Keep in mind at least 5-10 min. have passed since the first THUMP. I had amber get the flash light and go on the floor. She starts yelling "grandma, he's in there".."in where" I say!! "in the floor register" "The WHAT" I repeat! Sure enough..here's that little bugger lying quite still in the very edge of the hole almost ready to slide down! I yell for the 'spoon' again and pick the little guy up and he starts swimming around! Talk about a fighter!! Now I look at him and he's really getting to look quite ragged plus he's got a sticker from an earring or something stuck to his body! It's a flower! A fighting fish with a flower sticker on him! Geezzzz so now I'm trying to remove this sticker from him! Have you ever tried to remove a sticker from a little inch and a half swimming fish! it's not easy believe me but I got it off him.
So back to putting fresh water in the bowl and trying to get our little fish settled down. Wait..that's me who needs to settle down. I think I'm getting more traumatized then the dang fish!
So guess where the fish is now! AT OUR HOUSE! Amber and I thought it best 'Sybil' came home with grandma. It's hard for her to remember to keep her door closed, which I totally understand!
Now Gracie has another friend..oh, forgot a quick story about Gracie! Bob got up about 4 a.m. the other morning and thought he saw something run across the floor! Of course you first thought is a mouse...nope, it was Gracie! She was sitting on the floor by the night light! So here's Bob at 4 a.m. getting the bird on his arm to put back in her cage! guess she fell off and of course being dark just wandered around the house! Bob said she's been quiet for a few days but she started to scream when i came in the door so I think she's just fine. Oh, Bob isn't..he's got a bad sore throat, no fever, but cough, cold...
Back to my weekend....after the latest 'fish' incident and making sure the door to Amber's room is CLOSED, kids put together a herb garden kit Bob and I won at Art Van's. I had them each put their name and the herb they planted. Hope they grow! After this we went to the park not far from their house and had a good time. Had our lunch then kids wanted to put on their suits and have a water pistol fight. Only problem, they can't find their new water pistols, so grandma improvised and gave them some water bottles from the recycle bin and told them to have at it! They started to play but I squirted Nick and he decided he'd rather play with his cars and a friend. So poor Amber didn't have anyone to squirt...except me! Yep, grandma and amber had a water fight. It actually felt pretty good since the temp was up to 81. Because i was still in my Capri's, I told Amber to only squirt water on my legs. I told her I didn't want to get my underwear wet. She said "did you only bring one pair, grandma" "No", I said "I brought a pair for each day but I don't have any extra with me". "Oh" she said. It was funnier hearing it than writing it! Guess you had to be there!
We did finish the water fight and went inside to change and just had sat down when Mom and Dad came home! So that ends my baby sitting days this week...I ended up with a Cherry Pie from Traverse City, dark chocolate covered cherries and a fish! Can't beat that with a stick, can you!!! thanks kids for the memories this week!!! I have to say I did love every minute of it!!

Grandma instructing Nick on skateboarding! Hey, I don't just bead and quilt you know!

Looks like a pro doesn't he!

This was a group hug! I was helping two of the neighbor kids on the skateboard as well. Yes, I play softball, ride a skateboard and other grandma things!

I forgot on Sat. the kids and I made shrinky dink rings..you'll have to look at my last post for Day2 to see sites for instructions. I'm too lazy right now to look it up and link! This was our stamping onto the shrinky dink material.

And some of our rings! They're actually pretty cool! Except you can't wash your hands with the rings on. The ink rubs off...hmmmm

Our Cook for Sat. night! Amber did a great job making a pizza with a smiley face! Plus, it tasted great too!

Looks as good as it tasted!

Putting together their herb garden! Chives, sage, dill and cilantro!

Yes, Nick makes me nervous at times!

But so does Amber! Think they do these things on purpose!

Yes, I think they do! Not really..their dad had these kids climbing since they were 3!

Questions on May Flower

Hope this answers some of your questions on my May Flowers: (1) I printed the 17th century design onto my fabric using my HP printer. You can see the print on the orange fabric in the photo. I only quilted the outline of the entire piece not the center of leaves or the flowers detail - just the outline before I beaded any part. I use a small PVC hoop or just a small (very old wooden) embroidery hoop for all my beading.I think this keeps my work from puckering. I always use some type of hoop even if I'm just doing hand embroidery or stab stitch on my quilted art work as well.

(2) How did I attach the wires on the back side and what type of wire did I use? I thread 24 gauge wire onto a needle and use it just like thread. I first thread from the top of my work holding a small piece (3/4" to 1") of excess wire on the front; thread to the back and come back up to the front of my work; add my beads; and come back through that last bead with the wire just like normal beading but using wire rather than thread. I continue this until I have all the beading pieces I want. I then take my wire to the back and front a few more times then end up on the front of my work with 1/4" to 1/2" excess wire. I wrap this excess piece and my first excess piece of wire around one of the beaded pieces. I have tiny scissor clamps that allow me to twist and hide these wires. Sometimes I can even feed a wire back through a bead or two. I've yet to have any beaded pieces fall off. Yes, you do have some wire on the back just like thread but I usually cover it up with my label! I think if you click on the finished piece here you can see the green wire loops (click on the picture to make larger).

Whew! Hope this makes sense..if not, plz email me for more clarification!

Day 2!

Must just be a 'cat weekend'...Thursday night we forgot to put the cats downstairs so Friday they got us up early, but that's ok we had to get up for school! So last night we remembered to shut the cats downstairs. The kids forgot to tell me that they start knocking on their door at 5:15 a.m. to be fed! Cats knocking on their door! What's up with that! I thought all cats did was lay around and sleep or catch mice! I kept going downstairs telling them to go back to kitty sleep or else they would be going to kitty sleep! Nick finally fed them @ 6:10 a.m. But who can sleep after that...Mandy can! Didn't bother her a bit! She slept through the whole cat noise episode.
Well, so far the Beta fish survived another day, so far! Even with ANOTHER visit from the cat this a.m.! I put a mesh cover over the top of the bowl yesterday while he was in the grandma infirmary, but I just happened by Amber's room and saw AJ was lying on the bed and the fish bowl tipped over on its side again. Grandma panic set in...but this time we only lost a little water and the fish remained in the bowl! Thank goodness for that!
Auntie and I decided the poor fish is going to be traumatized and require therapy..hence, Auntie has named the fish 'Sybil'! I can just see the eyes on this fish bulge out when he sees the cat coming into the room. He's probably saying "oh great! Here he comes again...I better hang on. Maybe I'll pretend I'm not a fish and he'll go away!" Poor fish....
After school Friday we came home and played outside, no homework tonight. While Amber and her girl friends played, I was a pitcher/catcher/baseman for softball with Nick and his buddy. Yea, this 63 1/2 yr old was running around bases trying to get Nick 'out'! I told the kids they might have to perform CPR if this keeps up!

Thank goodness for Auntie! She and Uncle Jeff had us over for fish fry from the Legion Hall. Boy, was that ever good cod! Of course Nick had his hot dogs (2) and mac/cheese while the rest of us filled up on the great fish. Thanks, auntie and Uncle Jeff!! Plus, Auntie bought us blizzards to take home, so after kids took their showers we each dug into the blizzards. None of us could finish even half of them so we'll have them for dessert for the next day or two!
Today, Auntie is coming over to pick us up for a shopping day. We're going to Trader Joe's or Papa Jo's then to Barnes & Noble and who knows where else. When we get home, kids and I will go to the library then back home to make shrinky dink rings. These are so cool and fun to make. I made 3 of them the other day just to try out the technique by Alisa Burke. There's another tutorial by PlantJune that was quite good as well.
Surviving another day...the fish and I that is! Until tomorrow......

Day 1!

After visiting with one of my most favorite ladies, Teresa (check out her writings here), I picked up the kids from school. Nick was going to make dinner of Mac & Cheese w/tomatoes and corn bread but decided he didn't want to cook. So big sis, Amber, stepped up and made the dinner! Amber is quite a good cook. Actually, she can't help it between her mom, auntie and I hope two grandma's!
We had a good dinner and a good night. Kids played outside and grandma worked with each of the kids & neighbor kids on the skateboard, did our homework, helped brush Mandy's teeth (yes, this is something we have to do) and they each read a little before turning off their lights.
Nick got up early this a.m. to feed the 'crying' cats @ 6:15a.m. and stayed up playing his DS games. Amber got up, we had our breakfast and then....and then..............
Before I talk about the rest of our morning, we need to go back to a year or two ago when my son and DIL went away and grandma was 'on duty'... that weekend, we got up one morning and the 'old' goldfish was dead! OH NO!! On my watch no doubt! Go Figure!!!! So that weekend, the kids and I made a box to bury the 'old' fish in, along with decorating the box and putting some papers and magazines for him to read while he was buried (don't ask! Just something I told the kids would be nice for him to have). Then we buried the 'fish' out back. Or I should say we had a FUNERAL procession!

Now back to this a.m. Amber was getting dressed for school and I happened to look over at her night table and saw where the beta fish bowl was laying on its side! MINUS THE BETA FISH!!!! Hence, a picture of what we were looking for above!
Flashbacks to a funeral were heading my way! Amber was freaking out...seems the cat got into the bowl which I understand happens from time to time (I actually, found A.J. up on her bed just a few minutes ago looking for the bowl!).
So everyone is flying around the room and I yelled "I see him!!! He's on the floor! He's not in A.J.'s stomach after all!!" So I pick him up and put the little guy back in his water...hair and what not all over his little body! Fins a little worse for wear! Poor guy! Poor Amber! Poor Grandma! Of course Nick is just kinda smirking in the background..nothing seems to phase him.
So I tell the kids, he's fine..let's get to school! Geezzzzz Please let's get to school so grandma can sit and assess the damage!
Thank goodness for the Internet! When I got back from taking the kids to school, I looked up Siamese Fighting Fish and their care (we only had tropical fish as kids and adults) and found out about their water, temp, etc. They recommended using chlorine tabs or bottled water! Yippee! bottled water...the kids have that! So I got a room temperature bottle of water, scrubbed out his little bowl and beads and put the little guy back in. He's in the grandma's infirmary right now resting with the door closed! let's hope he makes it. I did take a picture of him but didn't bring my usb cord for my camera to upload pics. So that's been my morning today! I think I'm ready for a Margarita rather than coffee...always on my watch! Stay tuned...I just have a feeling it will be an interesting weekend!

May BJP - May Flowers

This is my May BJP journal piece (8 1/2" x 11"). You have to go back to my April BJP journal piece. Its title was April Showers Bring...' Hence, the title of this piece is the rest of that saying 'May Flowers'..yea, not very original but who cares about a title anyway, right!

I have to say after creating my umbrella in April I didn't think 'flowers' would be very exciting to bead or design but I'm happy with the outcome. This design is from a 17th century embroidery design which was on The Textile Blog - this is the most interesting and educational blog!

Here is the larger flower closeup. It's hard to see but the green center beads are on wire and therefore are 2 dimensional. I love using this technique because even if a quilt is 'traveling' the more the wire scrunches and twists the better it looks.

And a closeup of my smaller flower. I used Lynn's edging technique again which I just love. If you haven't checked out her blog yet, you're missing out!

So now onto my next projects! I have my idea for June but I really do have some other projects that I need to and want to get started on.

Doodle time

I was telling a friend of mine the other day that I wanted to do a beaded fish for my June BJP. Off to search for a fish to bead! I found a coloring page with a fish on it (actually I found about 50 of them and had to make a choice!) and last night I started playing with some of the doodling to get some beading ideas. I won't start on my fish until the end of the month after I finish with May's BJP. My plan is to take May's BJP with me while I babysit this coming weekend. I have to finish up the edging and use some wire for the center of the larger flower.


I've been doodling the past few days on and off and here are some of my other efforts.

This one isn't finished yet, at least I don't think so. My plans are to put all my doodling into a journal so I can look back on different designs but I'm far from having enough for a journal, so far that is. Right now they are sit in my zentangle boxHubby and I are getting ready to run some errands. It's another decent day but Bob's trying to take some days off from golf to help his hip. Now he'll only golf four days a week...for a 70 year old I still think that's great!

Bragging Rights!

Not only is our grandson, Ian, a great balloon blower upper! He's also great at track! His mom sent me this email with his last race results:
Ian finished track season this week. He got second in the individual mile and first in the mile relay. They were 4 seconds away from the track record in the mile relay! Next yr he's on the high school team.
Congrats, Ian!!! Way to go!!! I was keeping his stats on my sidebar last year but 'grandpa' wasn't updating me all the time. The kids now have broadband rather than dial-up for Internet so I'm sure MJ will keep me posted more often next year! And I can't believe Ian will be on the high school team next year either! He does have a BD coming up the end of this month..boy, someone is getting old(er)!

And here is the other reason I'm bragging today! Yep, that's our girl, Mandy, resting! The next picture will tell you why!

Mandy received her certificate of achievement for her TDIA (Therapy Dog International Active) for accumulating 50 or more Therapy Dog visits. Yea, Mandy! She would most likely rec'd this award sooner if her 'mum' could remember to get the form signed for each visit!
I have to admit we haven't visited the local hospice since we got home from Florida nor attended any reading programs yet. We'll be starting back up shortly as I've discovered an easier way to pick up our 'little' girl (it's quite hard on the hands and shoulders). She weighs 28lbs so she's not light weight (although, I just tell her she's big boned and not fat!).

So that's all the bragging I'll do today! Off to finish some laundry and some beading, of course!

Beading, beading and more beading..

Most of us in Michigan are aware of Ami Simms and her Alzheimer's Initiative. If you aren't, do check out Ami's web site and either bid on a quilt of make one! It's for a good cause for sure. My friend, Mary, mentioned she was making another quilt to donate to Ami and I thought, heck, I need to make one too. So the other day I put this small piece (9" x 12") together and yesterday I did the beading on it. I call it 'Hope Lights up the Darkness' . I know there will be a cure for Alzheimer's some day so I like to think there is hope for this disease and others.

Just a closeup of the fused fern and beading that I added after the quilting. The fern design is by Patsy Thompson - I have two of her DVD's which are great!
Now for the edging! You have to check out Lynn's blog - Beading Heart Art . Lynn is a wonderful artist/beader and so sharing of her techniques. Lisa, from, Indigo's Beads had a post on Lynn providing a YouTube for a beaded edge. (Check out Lisa's beaded cuffs - I have too many favorites!)

I took Lisa's suggestion and checked it out! I like putting a beaded edge on my small pieces but I've just used a buttonhole stitch to hold the beads down. Well, I tried Lynn's technique and I love it! It's quite sturdy vs using my old method. Thanks, Lynn!!! And Thanks to Lisa for putting me on to Lynn! Such talented ladies for sure!!
Do check out Lynn's YouTube for the edging and another one for a zipper stitch. The zipper stitch is similar to the rope stitch but the way she lays the stitch down it does look like a zipper. Lynn's work is just beautiful and you'll see some of her pieces in the YouTubes.

This weekend I did finish one flower and started on another one for my May BJP. The center on this flower will be dark purple which should give the contrast needed for the lilac beads.

I didn't end up using a peyote stitch for the flower. I just couldn't get it to lay the way I wanted so I need to practice using the peyote stitch on fabric. It's actually easier for me to do a free form peyote stitch! Hmmmm Maybe that what I need to do is make a free form leaf or petal. Next project (maybe!). I just used the 'fish bone' stitch..at least I think that's what it's called...on my petals and most of the leaves. Yesterday it was raining all day and today it's just very overcast but it was 41 @ 7:00 a.m. which sure beats the 27 degrees we had for two days. Bob isn't golfing today either but it does give his hip a well deserved rest. I'm off to do some cleanup in my sewing room and perhaps bead some. I pick up grand kids from school today so I'll be leaving shortly.