Its July Already!

And my mother in laws apron hangs here. In the Studio North, freshly purged and organized. I found 2 aprons that belonged to Margaret, my husband's mother, one was usable. I pressed it and am passing it on to my daughter. The other is all used up. I pressed it and hung it in the studio. The beginning of my rotating exhibition.
All my fabric has been gone through, eleven bags have moved on for others to use. It took A LONG TIME! I was pokey about it. It was so overwhelming, too bad there is no before picture.
I decided to put notions in clear jars that I got from Ikea. I could write a poem about how I feel about Ikea.
Button jar
Big zipper jar
Little zipper jar
Trims jar
Snap & fasteners jar
Elastic jar.
Recently my sister and I discovered Japanese sewing magazines! Wow! Our lives seemed transformed! The designs are made for my aesthetic. I made one apron and one dress.

Cloud-less Sky

There is a nice quilt shop in Trenton, Florida. It is in the old Cocola (thats how its said) bottling building. I love the icicles on this sign. I didn't buy any fabric! They have loads of it; old timey, batik, asian, floral, even 108 inch fabrics for quilt backs! I didn't buy anything. I think I've got the Re-User Itch bad! Its my favorite! I love to use what has already been used or make due/do? with what I have. I did go to Hospice House and got a great linen skirt for $4.99. I wish I could have made a sound track when I was there.
There was a woman playing the piano singing gospels songs as if she was already in heaven. Her voice was loud and true. The experience was absolutely remarkable. One song after another. Sometimes there would be applause. She was having a great time on that piano. There were 2 pianos for sale that day. It would be a shame if one of them sold. I hope there is always a piano for her to play and sing as if she was already in heaven.

Holding a bubble

On the eve of Spring Break I look at the list I have been working on for 2 weeks of what to do with my endless days. Tomorrow is 'town-errands day' so that I won't have to leave the yard much after that. I want to get to Trenton's quilt shop just to browse.
I have been thinking of Jerry Cutler's thoughts on being a painter and finding a "Self-Sustaining Aesthetic". I'm afraid my self sustaining aesthetic is wobbly and as a matter of fact the search for a self-sustaining aesthetic has kept me from painting. I just like to paint.
So I have a wild hair.
My plan is to get some practice painting portraits of dogs. I saw a flyer at the vet's office last week advertising paintings of pets. I think thats a great idea. I remember hearing of another painter doing that same thing with portraits of people; she would charge $75 and if you didn't like the portrait you didn't have to pay. What a great way to get practice! I have no interest in working through a portrait to make the patron happy, I just want to learn what there is for me to learn from painting.
I need to put this on my spring break list. Then I will post the flyers in vet offices. Dogs only. Shoulders and head. From a photo. 16 x 12 or 18 x 24. $100.

More Sigrids

Just fresh off the camera!

Welcome Sigrid!

I have sorely neglected this blog. Our remodel is done. The wedding is over. Today begins spring break for me in our house. Last spring break the house was in de-construct and today it is done! This remodel has made me fall in love with our house and yard and sometimes I wonder how it can be so that this is ours. It has taken our lives so far to get here.
The orange blossoms are blooming and I can smell them from the window.
We have a new puppy. Her name started out as Fifi, but it is now Sigrid. Dan found her while on a walk. She was just a puff ball, actually a soggy puff ball on that morning. Someone had dropped several of these pups around town. People who found them took them to the vet. We came back for ours and now she lives with us.
I need to take more pictures. I used to love my camera.

Kitchen Walls!

Color goes on them today! I have waited so long. Well, I chose a buttery white b/c the white plaster looked so good I wanted something with just a tint. Perhaps we can put our kitchen cabinets back up this weekend and almost have a working self-enclosed kitchen.
I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and was horribly seduced by a little black chandelier for $49.99. I still might take my 40% off coupon and skip down and get it. But I have been planning to make one out of a bike wheel. There was a little bike long forgotten under the house. One of the carpenters saw it and pulled it out for me. I have so many beads and wonderful things to hang from the spokes AND I have a light kit from IKEA so I am already! I'll keep you posted. It will be SO fun. I want to hang it above my work table in Studio Up.

Here are some inspirational homemade chandeliers:
Bike Wheel
Coffee Stirrers
Eye Glasses

At Hobby Lobby there was a bountiful assortment of letters to hang on the wall. My favorite. AND many were half off!
Check out this cookbook: Back of the Box Cookbook.
Its my other new favorite! I got it at the library and have put it on my Amazon Wish List for later. No boxes of jello or cups of pulverized potato chips, but some really fun and healthy kinds of foods.
Right now I am listening to Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin. Its the 3rd in the series of Adelia, Mistress of the Art of Death. Ooooo.... so good! And I am reading Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, it is such a good read. I listened to People of the Book (also by Geraldine) last spring and it was SO good! What dee-lights!

79 Degrees!

Yup, thats what the authorities tell me! Of course, there is that 98% humidity that evens everything out.
The kitchen floor finally got its final sanding and first coat of polycrylic. My bare feet love the feel of the wood floor. I sure wish the floor could talk to me. I think it talks to the souls of my feet, but they aren't talking to me either.
I got into the Thornebrook Show on October 3 & 4. Mark your calendar. I really liked doing the show last year. It was the first time I let my books out for the public to see. It was dee-light-full to watch people choose which book worked best for them. It was quite a treat to realize that people will be writing in those books I made out of stuff that quite likely would be thrown away. Its my favorite.