Hand stitching, at last!

Can you believe it!  I'm actually doing some hand stitiching at night with Kalee around!!  This is the progress on my Georgia on my Mind piece for the Master's exhibit.  I already stitched around the black stain glass areas by machine and now want to finish it off with stab stitching here and there!  You can see my 'redo' of this piece here.  This is the reverse applique method my very talented friend, Susan, taught me.  Once I get back into my 'groove' I hope to make another piece using this technique.  It's so portable!  I've been carrying this piece around since last spring!
Perhaps, I should knock on wood, cross my fingers, make sure all the stars are aligned properly...because the past few nights Kalee has been really good and not bugging us continually!  We still throw her toys and play with her but she'll play on her own or chew her bull stick(s)!  Fine with me!!  I get to do my favorite hand stitching!!  It's been a little frustrating for me to just sit and watch TV!  UGH...I feel like I'm wasting so much time.  I've also been able to play Words with Friends on my IPOD.  I'm so hooked and believe it or not so is Bob!  I downloaded the game to his facebook page (he doesn't have IPOD) and he's hooked as well.  We've been playing each other, my sister, Nancy and our DIL in Indiana.  It's so funny because as long as Bob is playing he's staying awake and not sleeping in his chair!  AND he's sleeping better at night!  Go figure!
I'm really ahead of my to do list for packing up so on Sat. Carol and I are headed off to grab a Starbucks coffee then off to an art show at Top of the World, another gated community.  There's paintings, sculpture, etc. so should be a nice morning out.  Then off to dinner at Jan and Larry's for their annual crab fest!!  YUM!!  Hopefully, I won't be so stuffed on Sunday to post pics of our wonderful evening out!!

Just darn busy!

 I have managed to finish a peyote bracelet for Verna, which I'll deliver tonight or tomorrow.  I love the color of this piece and I think Verna will like it (she already saw it in progress as I needed to measure her wrist). 

So this week, I've done some packing, scrubbing of floors, yada, yada!  I'm actually ahead of my to do list for the week so that makes me feel good and lessens the stress of leaving. 

Tuesday night we met with our friends, Carol/Tony and Peggy/Sammy and had a fantastic dinner at Pavarotti's!  OMG!  The 'knots' are to die for!!  Pizza dough rolls smothered in butter and garlic!!!  I don't even use butter on my toast or bagels but let me tell you I will soak up this butter!!!!  Bob and I are having left overs tonight from that meal out. After our dinner on Tuesday, we headed home to take Kalee on a golf cart ride then we headed down to the pool area at the club house to listen to one of Bob's buddy's and their group sing and play guitar!  What fun!  This is Howard singing "I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore!".   What a hoot of a song!

  All of the guys were really good and we could have stayed longer but we left at 8:30...poor Kalee hadn't even had her dinner yet!  She survived and it was a really fun night.

Of course Wed. was our last 99 cent margarita night!  We met Carol and Tony for dinner and yum!!!  I had my three tacos and Bob had his Alambre!  Yes, we had leftovers so that's for Monday night!  I already had some leftover Alambre's from Bob's last meal in the freezer so I just added to it!

And just some of the beautiful homes here.  Bob and I took some pictures as we were driving Miss Daisy, I mean Miss Kalee around the other afternoon!

The landscape on this house is beautiful!  I'm not great at taking the picture of it but I love the plants!  We are going to miss our Florida living and friends!!

Half Way Point(s)!

Yep...lots of half ways going on in my life. First is we are half way through our winter 'vacation'. We'll be leaving mid April to head back to Michigan. January seems the longest month then the time in Florida flies for us. It's been another great year and I certainly appreciate being here. Miss family and friends but not the weather...although, I was just informed by my son that he was taking off for a Trip to Israel yesterday! He didn't want me to know before hand as he knew I would worry! Go figure! He was right! It's a work related trip but there are several tourist days for sight seeing. They are in a group so I'm sure he'll have safe travels and get lots of pics!
So...my butterfly is half way done...BUT...I always work my beading in a hoop...but...and here's the big BUT...this time I didn't. I'm not sure why I didn't use the hoop and now I also know why I always have and should use a hoop. My background fabric has distorted a lot. More than I can fix with blocking, steaming or stretching the heck out of it! So, I'm going to have to cut away my wings, re quilt a background piece, repaint leaves and flower then attach my wings, add the body then I can be finished! So maybe I'm not even half way done with this piece! DUH!

I am half way finished with Georgia on my Mind. I've stitched inside each of the leaded glass areas. Now to add some hand or machine stitching (hand is what I'd like to do) then bind the piece and I'll be finished.
I did have a minor setback yesterday when I started this post. On Saturday I didn't feel so hot and had some swelling around and under my eye. More than normal! By Sunday a.m. the swelling was down into my cheek and I felt crappy! So after Bob left for golf I headed off the the Quick Care office. Ended up I had a temp of 100 (who knew!) and was given a diagnosis of URI/sinusitis/ear infection. I left the UC and headed off to pharmacy (which is another long story - had to go to two places!) then back home to start 3 different meds. I'm feeling better today but still not 100%...but then do we ever feel 100%.
I did take Kalee on a walk this a.m. I felt bad as she had to be like a grown up dog and just sleep yesterday...yea, well that didn't work out so well. I think I was up and down letting her outside in the afternoon more than I laid in bed! So off to quilt and paint a background piece!! Have to do something productive today!

Frog time!

No I didn't have too many margarita's last night! What you see is what we saw and I was lucky enough to get a picture of! This is a new form of frog jumping!
Actually, this is what I saw when letting Kalee out last night. When we rented the other house in Ocala Palms several years ago, we'd always see and hear lots of frogs around the end of February. This is the first year we've seen them at Larry's in the 3 years we've been here.




Actually, one of these little fellows joined us in the bedroom the other night! We were laying in bed and Bob said "something is wet"...turned out it was a little frog that jumped on his arm! So after a little "hide and go seek" with a frog, we finally found the little guy and 'encouraged' him to go spend the night in the lanai! The next morning he was let out to join his frog mates! Thank goodness Kalee hasn't seen these little guys yet...actually, she has but it's been on the street and they don't look as good as our house guests!
It's very breezy here today, slightly humid and temps suppose to get in the 80's but it's suppose to cool down (in the 70's! That's a cool down!) so all is well. I have to upload some many pics and I'm way behind but just too busy "for pin curls" as they used to say! Anyone heard of that saying before? Maybe my great aunt just made it up...anyway, this gal better get in the shower and get her day started!

National Margarita Day? & beading!

So who knew! There's really such a thing as National Margarita Day! As it turned out we did go to our favorite Margarita 'fountain' last night with Carol and Tony. We just didn't know we were celebrating anything! We had lots of laughs and good food and drinks, as usual.
But because I didn't know February 22nd was National Margarita Day, we are all going out again tonight! Jan and Larry are over and our foursome has turned into a night on the town with several other couples. So it looks like it will be another margarita night! Fine with me!

I started another cuff on the loom in black and white AND I'm using 6lb Fireline and Silamide thread. I can already feel this is going to turn out more flexible than my last cuff. So I'm thinking it could be because of the 8lb fireline used in the warp??

Sherry from Createology suggested I might do some research on the FireMoutain web site. Sherry thought she remembers seeing some tips/hints on the use of different types of thread and use of Fireline. Thanks, Sherry! I'm going to check that out.
My pics are out of order...I was going to show the cuff I finished but here's the binding I added on my FMQ'ing challenge piece. It was actually one of the fat quarters that Beth gave me (from the art quilt group in Summerfield). I usually put on a contrast color binding but decided I just wanted to keep this piece 'quiet'! It's small enough to use back home in one of the rooms to set something on!
So here's my cuff finished and the ring I made to go with it. The colors are prettier in person. Very rich with the different shades of gold.
Well, I best get moving...I did do some cleaning and two loads of laundry so far...but I'm much prefer to be beading...so that's what I'm doing next. Later I'll take Kalee on her 'long' walk then shower and get ready to celebrate Margarita Day, one day late! Life's tough but someone has to do it! And if you didn't know about Margarita Day yesterday, go have one (or two) today! Birthday's can be late so why not celebrating a holiday late!

Ocala in the news!

Yes, Ocala is in the news a lot lately...not only for one of the Bachelorettes (she was/is from Ocala) on the Bachelor TV show but...
Cyndi over at Beading Arts posted on requesting bead shop owners or bead shop clients to let her know about local bead shops! Well, you know how much I just love The Bead Strand here in Ocala so of course I sent her information. Cyndi posted on our wonderful bead shop on her blog today! Check it out here! I think it's so great that Cyndi is promoting our local shops! It's funny, because I don't shop online for beads! Go figure! I shop for most everything else and I would if The Bead Strand had online shopping (which they may in the future!).
We do need to support our local bead shops (and other local businesses) so that's why I spend the $$'s here in Ocala! I knew there was a reason I was spending so much money during the winter!
I'm really looking forward to seeing other local shops that Cyndi posts on. You might also be interested so make sure you join Cyndi's blog(s)! and follow her so you don't miss anything. She always has lots of tutorials and tips to share as well as free ebooks and those you can purchase! I have several of her ebooks and reference them. Thanks, Cyndi!! Can't wait for the next bead shop post!

Vist with my sister!

I'm hoping this will become my 'annual' visit with my sister in Florida each year! Sure beats one of us driving 6-8 hours from Michigan to Pennsylvania! My sister and her partner only live 114 miles from Ocala so it's an easy trip...especially while listening to a book on my Ipod! Kalee slept the entire way, which was a good thing! She and her 'cousins' played the entire time we were visiting!
My sister, MaryAnn, made dinner for 10 of us and the dinner was wonderful!!! We had "pork" (NOT! actually chicken, which is another story); fingerling potatoes, asparagus, the best salad ever, grilled shrimp and rum cake for dessert (made by a wonderful neighbor). The company and food were SO good and we had more laughs than I can remember! although, usually my time with Mary Ann and Nancy end up in laughs so last night was another one of those nights!
The lanai was all set with the table setting and there were two heaters so everyone would be comfortable at night! They were perfect! This is Nancy's mom...she and Kalee became good friends.

We started off with appetizers, one being bruschetta which was made by a neighbor! And Christmas sausage, roasted pepper dip/crackers and I'm sure more that I don't remember! I have to apologize because I won't/don't remember every one's names so I'm not putting any ones names down on this post!!

Here we are out on the lanai having dinner. You should have seen the sunset in person! It was beautiful!

I arrived around noon on Monday and Kalee got to meet her cousins! This is Sherry introducing herself! The dogs were a hoot! You can see more doggie pics on Kalee's blog here.

And this was my little girl when we got home. She's still taking it easy and sleeping more than she's walking around! Maybe we need to get another puppy to keep her busy! Hmmmm now that's an idea!
Thank you MaryAnn and Nancy again for a WONDERFUL 24 hour visit!!! I had the best time and look forward to our next visit.

Busy days keep on coming!

Yep...busy days for sure. On Thursday, I did a trunk show for one of the local Ocala quilt guilds, Country Road Quilters. What a nice group of ladies!! I was busy presenting and forgot to have someone take pics with my camera...but I did get a picture at their show and tell of Nancy after my presentation. This was a cool quilt she made...forget the method but I loved it!
Nancy was kind enough to ask me to do my trunk show (some of my work is on the table) and I'm so glad she did.
I'm going to go back and perhaps join this group while here in Florida. I won't be an active member by any means but I'm sure I'll enjoy meeting more of the ladies and seeing their show and tell. They had some wonderful quilts shown!! One in particular was a huge redwork piece that was amazing!!!
Now on to yesterday! After I got home from puppy class, Susan and I attended the Fiberart market place at the Villages. They had over 50 vendors who displayed yarns, fabrics, embellishments, dyes...you name it and they had a vendor selling it. For such a small amount of vendors (compared to IQA shows), you certainly could find something to buy! Actually, Susan and I both thought it was a perfect amount of vendors to walk to. Not too many and not too little...just right!
I didn't take pictures of the crowds near booths...wasn't sure about taking pics...some vendors had signs up so I didn't want to get arrested! But I did find some black sateen and black Pimitex along with some Radiance fabric! Also, June Coburn had a booth selling her silk screen stencils, which were really nice! Some great Asian designs and beautiful silk fabrics. I did buy a bottle of the robin egg blue deColourant. I have the 'regular' color remover and used it last year or the year before here in Florida...just can't find the exact post (yet!). So I'm looking forward to using the deColourant and replacing the black with some blue! I'm thinking of using my thermofax screen from Sally to print w/black on top of the blue! Confusing but I can see the idea in my mind! Hopefully I can share when it's all worked out!

Susan and I arrived home around 3, I took Kalee to the dog park and let her roam around then back home and into the shower to get ready for dinner with Carol & Tony to celebrate their anniversary. These two just don't change! I have several pictures of the two of them like this I've taken over the years and they all look alike!! Must be the good livin'!
We ate at Harry's Seafood Grille and it was amazing!! I had crab cakes and salad which were wonderful!! Bob had the deep fried shrimp and I think there were at least 18 pieces of shrimp!!! I ate 3 of his shrimp and they melted in your mouth! Some of the best shrimp I've had! Of course, because we were celebrating, we had dessert! Bob and I had bananas foster which was GREAT!!! Carol and Tony shared chocolate bread pudding and they said it was delicious...guess they get that dessert when they come to Harry's. Bob and I will certainly go back and of course get the bananas foster. We haven't been getting dessert out lately but we'll make an exception when we go to Harry's for sure!!

The start of another project

What started out as a simple, small project Friday ended up being not so. Isn't that always the way! I have a great lady who does my hair here in Ocala. Louise is a hoot and we always have such a great time chatting about life, men and, of course, dogs! Louise is a certified training who volunteers at a 'no kill' shelter here in Ocala two days a week and 2 and 1/2 days she does hair in her own salon.
I thought I'd make Louise a small hanging (12"x 14" - or close to that!) for her shop. the lady to the right is the design on her business card and I thought she was perfect for fusing.

So off I went the other day and scanned in the card and enlarged it and printed it off. Simple enough...then I traced onto some freezer paper, then ironed the freezer paper onto some fabric I had already fused with Misty Fuse. When Susan and I went to the quilt shop that was going out of business I did pick up two fat quarters, one being a black and the other one a red print.

Here she is fused onto the background. Doesn't look black does it! Well, when I started to stitch down the fused pieces...what a mess...white threads from the back started showing through and it just looked down right bad! UGH...I did email the Queen of Fusing, Melody Johnson, for some tips or suggestions. Thank, Melody!!! This was her response:

"It sounds to me like your fraying fabric is a looser weave and that may be the biggest hurdle. I don't sew small pieces down, or for that matter large pieces either. It ruins the effect. I am not a fan of Misty fuse and really suggest only using Wonder-Under, regular. I did make several Matchstick quilts, using both cotton and silks and never stitched a single thing down. Too much work!"

Well, duh! Not having any of my own hand dyed or batik fabrics with me, I stopped at one of the local quilt shops today and picked up some black batik, pink fabric and b/w for the binding. I'm not going to stitch down the fused pieces, per Melody's suggestion. They seem VERY stable and I did use Wonder Under this time instead of the Misty Fuse. Heck, it's going to be on a wall and not washed or touched...and if the pieces fall apart, I'll have Louise let me know and I'll repair when we're back in town. I have to get some batting tomorrow so I can quilt the piece and possibly take over to Louise this coming week or next week. Her salon is only 2 miles from the house. I'm much happier with the piece and like the pink way better than the red print fabric. I just put a small sashing around the pink to set it off then add the b/w fabric for the binding.So funny story about our day trip on Thursday to the quilt shop that was closing...no bargains here! The fabrics were only 10% off as were most of the notions, patterns, etc. But we all stood in line anyway! These pics are out of order but you can see where we had to stand in line to even get in the store (last pic!).
I did pick up some crystals in reds and maroons that were on sale. I use this every so often in my art work and I actually remembered to bring my tool for heat setting them!


So if you're looking for a bargain, wait until the end of the month. I think they'll drop the prices more at that time. The owner is retiring and wants to spend more time with her grand babies. Folks are upset because there aren't many or any quilt shops in this area. Maybe they'll end up selling the business to someone else. Hope so for all the quilters sakes!

More progress!

I can't believe I got as much done as I did on the wing(s)! Might not look like it but there are a few hours of beading in this piece. Kalee and I have been out in the lanai over the past few days. In fact, I actually beaded for about 20 min. one day, in the living room, on the couch!, while she slept next to me! There's hope yet!
Today, I'm headed out with my friend Susan to a quilt shop that is closing..boo hoo. You always hate to see any store close and quilt shops need to sell a lot of thread and fabric to stay in business. Not sure why this one is closing but it will be fun to go on the day trip. I might try to find some fabric to dye, if the price is right. I didn't bring any with me this trip for a change! Temps have been beautiful here in Ocala...lovely day temps and night temps. Today suppose to get up to 75 but tomorrow it is suppose to be windy. Won't bother me but does affect the golfers. I'm going to try and do some screen printing this weekend, after puppy class on Sat.! I haven't had a chance to use the thermo fax screens Sally made me. Looking forward to playing..just hope Kalee doesn't turn red or purple or whatever color I using in the screens!

Slow Progress

Slow progress...but I did sit out on the lani with Kalee yesterday and beaded. Two beads being sewn at a time does require lots and lots of time! I have the orange areas finished and now I'm outlining the butterfly. I move around a lot when I'm beading because I get bored with one color. I am heading out to the bead shop to pick up a few shades of purples for the wings. I have enough black #15 beads so hopefully I won't spend too much $$!
Last night we had one of our favorite meals at El Toreo's! Plus, you can't beat their 99 cent Margarita's! They are the best...of course for 99 cents there isn't much tequila in them but Bob and I don't care. We love the taste of the mix! In fact, back home I use Jose Cuervo sugar free and regular to mix up a batch without the tequila! It's better than lemonade.
Temps got up to 57 yesterday and this a.m. back in the low 30's. Kalee and I didn't take our walk until 8:30. It's suppose to start 'warming up' to mid/high 60's and 70's by the weekend. Good sleeping at night for sure!

Beading again!

Yep, I'm back to beading! Yippee!!! Actually, I have my table set up in the 'sewing room' (which is actually a bedroom!) but I just want to work on some beading so no point in unpacking what I won't be using for awhile, right! I started beading my Colorado butterfly. His colors are black, purple and orange! Of course, I'm going to have to make a stop at my favorite bead store this week to make sure I have plenty of those colors on hand. A gal's got to do what a gal's got to do!
Temp was only in the high 50's today but with the sun it did feel like high 60's. Perfect weather for me (& my dog!).
We sat out in the Lani today. This was Kalee's play area.
And this was my 'play' area! I actually beaded while watching a movie on Netflix! And if you get a chance to watch the movie 'BUCK' do it! It's a documentary and wonderfully done. Buck reminds me of Monty Roberts who was one of the first 'horse whisperer'. Buck Brannaman is an outstanding person and his story is told so well!! My friend, who is a dog trainer, recommended the movie to me. Today was my 2nd time watching the movie.
Kalee and I are taking at least two to three walks in the community and also walking in the dog park. Now this isn't your normal 'dog park'. It's an open field in front of the community entrance. At one time, they were going to build condo's but elected not to. Hence, it became a meeting place for all the dog owners.
I took this today. This picture is facing out of the community onto the highway.
Ditto..you can see some of the white cement wall that surround the front of the community entrance (on the left). The entry way to Ocala Palms is beautiful and so well maintained. Flowers are always in bloom.
This is facing towards the gate house (on the far left) and the pond. You can see the swans in the middle.
A wider pic of the entrance into the community from the 'dog park'
We certainly love staying here in the winter. Everyone is so friendly, happy go lucky...who wouldn't be! You feel like you're on a 3-4 month vacation! Tomorrow we are expecting a cold spell so folks are covering their flowers and plants. After Tuesday, weather will be back in the mid 60's and on up. Even with the possibility of freezing temps, the sun will get the temps up quickly. 40 or 50 degrees isn't all that bad and now snow!