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.

More progress!

Before I get into some of my projects I've been working on...check out the Valentine post card my friend, Carol T made me. Carol has been working in pencil/watercolors/drawing and becoming more than proficient in this medium! She's has taken and continues to take online classes and sure is having fun at it! I can see where it's less mess/fuss than quilting or dyeing/painting fabric! Thanks, Carol!










So here is another FMQ piece I did for the challenge I posted on. I've actually put some binding on this piece (9"x12") but haven't taken that pic yet. I added the circle type feather which was fun to attempt! Some of my feathers look a little funky but it all just takes practice. I haven't been doing much FMQ'ing lately due to beading and baby (Kalee)! Good to have this challenge so I get back in the swing of it.
And for those who follow my blog, you might remember my Georgia on my Mind piece I started for our Master's Exhibit. You can see how it was started or progressed on my old post here.
I had a few minutes (ha!) to kill the other day so I layered the piece and I've started quilting around each of the stained glass pieces (ok, I don't know what else to call them!). I'm still not sure how i want to finish off the quilting on this. I may even do some stab stitching in areas rather than FMQ'ing but who knows.
I do use spray adhesive to sandwich my layers but decided I best put in some safety pins as I haven't a clue when I'll get back to working on the piece. Reason being, I did stop at the bead shop yesterday (The Bead Strand - best bead shop around!) and picked up a clasp to put on my beaded loom bracelet.
Something interesting I found while doing this piece. For my first few pieces, I've used Fireline (6 or 8lb wt) to use for the warp and to sew beads on. The last two pieces I've made on the loom I've used Nymo thread (D)...both of these turned out a lot stiffer than the ones I made using Fireline. Now you'd think the Nymo thread would have a softer feel to it....so I'm going to make another bracelet using this same pattern but use the Fireline. At least I'm thinking that's the only difference I did!
Well, off to bath Kalee so she'll be pretty to meet her cousin!! I'm looking forward to spending time with my sister and her friends! She and Nancy are planning a dinner party for ten people Monday night! Should be fun!

Small world

Yes, it is a small world isn't it. On Tuesday I was invited to do a trunk show at an Art Quilt group in Summerfield. I had such a nice afternoon spending time with another talented group of women. They were very receptive to seeing my art work and I was so happy they shared some of their work with me.
As it turned out, I was talking with one lady about her shibori fabric (pic below). Her name is Kay Sorensen, and as we chatted, we decided we must 'know' each other through our blogs (which was half true). The other half turned out to be our connection was the group quilt, To Market, that we both contributed to!!! Is that funny or what! I'm so glad Kay remembered because I might still not have made the connection. I knew Kay's name from her blog and of course her work. She was also kind enough to post on my trunk show! Thanks, Kay!!! So nice to 'meet' you again!
Kay's shibori fabrics were REALLY nice! She said she had lots more and I'm sure she did! This next piece was from another member...and I apologize as I didn't take notes on who made what!...it's a cut-a-way piece that each member did one month.
Another monthly project was using leaves that were preserved with glycerin oil.
Beth, who invited me made the fabric box cover on the top/left. I didn't get a chance to get a better picture of it but it was nicely done. She took a picture and then did watercolor on fabric then a log cabin design around it. Nicely done as were the other pieces you can see.
And this technique was something I hadn't heard of. You take soda ash soaked fabric, then sprinkle dye power mixed with some table salt and sprinkle from a salt shaker! Look at the pattern produced! I have to try this for sure.
The Art group were so nice and I wished I had more time with each of the ladies but it was Valentine's day wasn't it! As it turned out, we ended up going out for dinner with two other couples...spontaneous really. Bob and I don't go out for Valentine's day..just too many people...but fortunately for us, we eat early here in Florida so we missed the 'rush'!
Tomorrow I'll post some of my projects I'm working on and I also have to upload pics from the guild meeting I attended last night. Another small world story!!

FMQ Challenge Tutorial with Diane Gaudynski

I posted about a week or so ago on a monthly FMQ challenge that is being offered on SewCalGal's blog. Of course I had to sign up for it!
This month's tutorial was by the wonderful quilter, Diane Gaudynski. I've always love Diane's work so I was pretty excited to study her tutorial and get started making feathers!
This green piece is the first practice piece and I actually quilted it on some silk dupioni that I happened to have in the half dozen pieces of fabric I brought with me! I have no idea why I did bring it to Florida but I really love the look. Diane has an entirely different way to 'draw' your feathers which I like. You're not going over stitches twice like you do with some of the other methods.

Next I had a piece of hand dyed brown fabric so I started feathers on it too.
This is the back of the piece. This fabric is a piece of hand dyed that I used wood chips to acquire a pale beige color. It looks more white in the picture but there are areas that are 'tan' and beige.
And here is the piece all finished with some hand dyed fabric for the binding. The sun was shining so bright the pic is a little glossy! It does look nice on the marble coffee table so I think I'll just leave here for Larry and Jan.
I am really happy with the feathers and the technique Diane showed us. I love feathers but don't really use them often in my pieces but who knows...maybe I might incorporate in one of my art pieces after all!
Yesterday I went to a Deb Web community in Summerfield and did a trunk show for an Art Quilt group! I'll post pics tomorrow when I upload. It was such a nice afternoon meeting so many nice women!! Thanks again, Beth for the invite!
Kalee and I took our walk so it's blog/email time then hopefully to do some beading or more feathers!

Valentines from my friends!

Check out the great Valentine's I got from some of my friends!!!

How about this little girl!!! My friend, Susan, made this card from a picture on a Hallmark Valentine card! Isn't she the cutest and doesn't she look like Kalee!!! I just love this Valentine!
















This next one is from my friend, Mary, back in Michigan! Mary does a lot of hand stitching and I love the saying! "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is Silver and the other is Gold"! Mary is so clever and I love this one too!!
And this one is from my friend, Lois Ann, who now lives in Italy!! LoisAnn is a wonderful artist and of course the wine glasses are perfect aren't they!! LA is so talented...check out how she blends her colors and her stitching. Love it!!
These are some watercolor sheets LoisAnn sent me with notes on the back. Aren't they beautiful!!! The feathers are beautifully done and the 'southwest theme' is perfect for me!!!
























Thank you each for my wonderful Valentines!!! I'm so fortunate to have such special friends!!

Just getting back to normal...well, kinda!

Yes, my life is getting back to somewhat normalcy! At least 75% so! I did get a lot done this past month so I'm happy about that. Now if I could only do some hand work or beading at night watching the boob tube...but I do owe it to Kalee to play and sit with her as well...especially if we go out for dinner. I always feel guilty when we get home so it's play time!
My beaded loom piece is coming along and I love the pattern. I just might have to make another one in the same pattern. Just not sure of the colors I'll want.
And...I happened upon a free motion quilting challenge on SewCalGal's blog. She's having a different machine quilter present tips/technique/tutorials monthly. I just signed up so of course I'm already a month behind...but I did manage to complete the January FMQ using a leaf stitch which was shown by Frances Moore. February is Diane Gaudynski.
This is my little piece...nothing special just playing with using Frances' leaf pattern.
I posted on some BD presents I rec'd in January and one of those was a small beaded piece my friend, Marilyn, gave me. She said she thought I could use the beads. She took this piece from an old purse she had. Well, I couldn't take apart the beads because I thought the design was so nice. So I painted a small canvas board, then attached the piece using the holes that were already on the piece. I think it turned out not too bad and I'm going to give it back to Marilyn as a present. Marilyn and John are always so generous having everyone to their house for dinners. This is a small gift for sure but "waste not, want not"!!
So off to make a lemon pie now...then dog walk...then get ready for another night of eating out!! NO, I am not complaining!! Just lovin' Florida! Temps are suppose to get down to high 20's tonight but back up to 60's then 70's again next week. Cold for the Ocala folks but beautiful weather for this Michigan gal!

Wine and Chocolate?

Yes, chocolate and wine do go together! Very well, actually! Last night Peggy, Sharon and I attended Art Night at The Artisinal Dish. The Dish is only 2 miles from the house so no excuse not to go, right! It was a really nice evening having a glass of wine, girl talk and chocolate! Well, Sharon did have carrot cake, which was really good! Peggy and I split The Dish's famous chocolate/chocolate chip cookie. OMG this cookie is the best! It's not too sweet, which you would think with all that chocolate it would be. It went perfectly with our glass of wine.
Anyway, there were several artists there (Celeste Adler, Sally Ann Lyle, Lou Petty, Erin Wismer, Linda Ballentine Brown, and Laura Dellaporta) who are all local, from Ocala area. They displayed acrylic painting, pencil, oil, watercolor, jewelery (one made jewelry from horse hair and they were awesome) and hand dyed/painted silk scarves and place mats. The place mats were painted on canvas material and quite interesting...hmmmmm an idea coming I can just tell!
The Art Night was a nice end to a day with Susan, Verna and Jan to do our quilt shop and lunch 'thing'. We started out at 9:30 a.m. headed to Trenton and the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shop and Cafe. This is the nicest quilt shop and the cafe food is fantastic. Trenton is one of the longest 'treks' we take while in Florida (about 50 miles!) from Ocala Palms, so we usually only go once. But it's worth the trip. A very quaint town with antique shops, embroidery/stitching and a stained glass store. A very nice and fun afternoon...it was nice to take "Ethel" out for the afternoon...that's an inside joke! A story I'll tell in another post sometime.
So today, I've taken Kalee for her long walk, a 3.10 mile bike ride, home to do laundry (on my 3rd load!), washed all the floors, took shower and now I'm having lunch (yes, I can multi task!) then I'm off to sewing room and playtime!

More Valentines

I think I'm finished with my Valentine wishes for 2012! I mailed off about 12 today so that puts me over 20 (again). I made these from note cards and fused fabric that I tangled on. Have to do something with all that fused fabric, right! Some don't have fabric and only tangles that I did using a Prismacolor illustrator pen. Really nice! Just like the micro pens but quite smooth and stays firm. It comes in different sizes but that's for another post!
Until then, off for bike ride (already did the Kalee walk and dog park)! Dinner with C & T at Harry's tonight! Have to 'ride off' some calories so I can eat more tonight!

Post card process

Look what I won! Cyndi over at Beading Arts had a give-away this past month. She was giving away eight Studio Series books by Lark Publishing and I won the Art Tiles book! The book is so interesting! It's a collection of ceramist's work and each page has a stunning piece of artwork. THANKS, Cyndi!!! I received my book yesterday and couldn't wait to look at it. Some of the pieces look like art quilts...you have to read the description to know they are made of terra cotta or stoneware! Amazing pieces.
Now to a process...I had an email asking if I mailed my fiber post cards and yes, I do. Over the past several years, I have only had one fiber card not make it to the person...and I believe it was due to using the wrong zip code. You would have thought wherever it ended up they would have 'changed' it or took to the post office but...
So as far as my process...my fiber cards usually have batting or felt as a backing (that's the black on my cards this year you see in the pics). After backing, I'll machine or hand stitch or bead depending on my design.
I like to use Sulky Totally Stable for my label, which I paint with some diluted Setacolor paint or I'll use oil pastel chalk (not crayons) and wipe with water to just color the Sulky. You can see the paper has been painted with purple.
In this picture you can see the black felt which I used for my backing so I could sew the heart designs and bead. Next, I cut the cards to size, which this year was 5" x 7".
I cut the Sulky Totally Stable pieces to 8 1/2" x 11" (I buy Sulky by the roll but you can buy them already cut 8 1/2"x11") then iron to a piece of printer paper. One word of caution, do not use a hot, hot iron! I put my iron around a 3 setting and press gently...just enough to adhere. If the iron is too hot when you try to remove the Sulky it will stick and tear.
I have my post card labels in a word document so the entire greeting and address can then be printed on the Sulky. I have two labels per sheet, which I cut out but I leave all the excess edges on. Next I take a label and center it on the back of my card and iron it on. Next I will trim again to size. At this point, you're only cutting the Sulky.
Here is the back of one card, yep, it's for my sis! Now all I have to do is sew some decorative stitching around the edges.
That's the process! I usually work in a production line when doing my Valentines. I finished all my cards last night and today I'll take to the post office so they can be hand stamped. Most of the time they only take up to a 50 or 60 cent stamp so it's not much more than a regular card. I do enjoy making these cards and even make some other than just Valentine's Day.
If anyone wants the label, just email me and I'll send my word doc to you. It's easy to make up.
And just so I have it documented for my own 'memory'...I rode my bike 3.01 miles yesterday! I've been riding my bike again for the last week or two and yesterday reached my 3 mile mark. That's the distance I was up to last year when we left! I should be able to do more than that this year! Let's hope!!

Finally some computer time!

I've really been busy doing other things so my computer time has been limited! Quite unusual for me but our life has been quite unusual since Kalee, hasn't it! But that's a good thing!
I finished and mailed off my fiber card to my secret Valentine back home. She doesn't do the blog thing so I can post her card here. I just happened to bring to Florida this piece of paper fabric I made a few years ago, so I tangled on it; added a suede heart and beaded using the rope pattern around the heart.

I like the paper fabric and thought I'd use this technique for my Valentines this year. A few weeks ago I made two sheets (you can see how I made the paper fabric here). So my time has now been "zentangling" my little heart out!
I had some time last night to work on the cards but I still have a long way to go. I'm also making up regular note cards for Valentines to send out special greetings to family and friends. Here are some of my paper fabric pieces in progress.
And while my friend was here one day working on her quillow, I beaded some more on my loom bracelet. It's coming along and I'll be anxious to finish it! Although, that does mean I'll need another stop at my favorite bead store to purchase the closure for it! Darn...he he he he
Bob is golfing early today in the annual super bowl tournament so he'll be home early. He's happy about that as Michigan and Michigan State are playing basketball @ 1 then the super bowl later (he'll be able to nap in between!). He has been golfing 7 days a week which is usual for Florida! Although, I don't think there are many 72 year olds who golf 7 days a week! He's feeling pain free and wants to take advantage of his membership. I think he's already got his money back!!!
Go NY!! Yes, I'm a Manning fan...Eli or Peyton...although, I have to admit Peyton on Saturday Night Light a few years ago was a hoot!!

More rings

Yep, I'm on a kick of making rings now. I've just run out of people to give them to!
I made these for myself the other day. the lighter shade is actually pink and crystal and looks quite nice on. I wear a lot of spring colors/green so I'll get lots of use wearing the green one.
The loom bracelet is coming along fine although, I switch back and forth from beading rings, to beading the butterfly, to zentangling to working on a new small quilt project!! Yes, type A personalities do wander quite a bit!!

My friend back in Michigan is having a BD on Sat. She received my zentangle BD card so I can post the picture now. I'm sure I'll forget on Sat. to post a Happy Birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Carol!
Carol and I met at a quilting class back in 2000 and have been 'quilting' since! Carol does beautiful work and has a quilt that is published in the Lark 500 Quilts Nature book that will be out this fall. Her piece is stunning so congrats goes her way for that too!
Today I present Louise with her small quilt I made and I get the gray removed from my head! Geezzz I'm also taking some pet supplies to give Louise that we don't use anymore. Louise volunteers at the no-kill shelter here in Ocala and I think they'll make use of some of the supplies.
Another beautiful day here in Ocala, although, my son called from Michigan yesterday and said "mom, it's 54 degrees!"...he wants snow for the kids as Nick is learning to snowboard and Amber got some skis. I'm sure the snow will come just hope it's not when we get home in the spring!! That's happened before!