YIKES

Yikes Yikes Yikes!!! When I showed the picture of the lovely vintage quilt that Robin had given to me and rather matter-of-factly mentioned that I planned to turn it into a garment, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would receive such a response! I'm thrilled that you all care so much and are not timid about voicing your opinions!!! That said, I will take into consideration your pleas, but I must tell you that with all due respect, the quilt for the most part is not in the greatest of shape. I know that I would enjoy wearing it, but I will give it further thought.....and I will tell you what I decide to do with it!

I spent a glorious afternoon finishing some pole-wrapped Shibori pieces in the dye studio, but they are not ready for viewing just yet. It was cold enough that the precipitation we had today was in the form of freezing rain and sleet, making my commute from the house to the studio in the back forty rather an adventure! Fortunately there wasn't enough precip to cause any problems. Hopefully that will be the case tomorrow as well!

More quilting on my Jan Myers-Newbury class piece:

I love the quilt and I love the peaceful machine quilting process. Wish I had more time to just sit and finish it!

Here is a piece of silk charmeuse that I wax resisted with the cut plastic I showed you yesterday and then dyed.

Best wishes for a peaceful, safe, happy, and healthy New Year!!!

PEACE

Alright!

Today has been one of those near-perfect days! You know the ones: they catch you by surprise, you don't plan on them, and then you savor them in your memory bank for years to come. Well, this was one of those. Barker and I enjoyed a 28 F walk on the golf course this morning, and while walking I tried to map out my day, as it was totally mine, with no need to leave the house! After breakfast I enjoyed catching up with some of my cyber buds on their blogs, snapped a few pics of some of my favorite gifts, and then got busy with the mental to-do list I had made while walking.

This is one of a pair of coasters given to me by my sister-in-law Molly. It is carved from wood and, I believe is a replica of a Hawaiian quilt block. Molly's daughter, our lovely niece Alice, lives in Hawaii, and we often talk about the wonderful Hawaiian quilts.

My friend Robin has termed me a fiber dumpster!!! LOL And yes, I suppose that that term is applicable! My friends know that they need to consult me before casting off any fiber that they think might remotely be of value or interest to me or my cyber fiber friends. So Robin gifted me with this wonderful old quilt that he told me he got in Kentucky (or was it Tennessee, Robin? I'm always getting those two states mixed up!). I just love it!!

Right now it is gracing my desk chair, but I'm thinking that it would make a lovely jacket or skirt. What do you think? I'm also asking for patterns here, so don't be shy!! Share your thoughts!! I can't help but think of the loving hands that pieced this. Some of the fabrics are feed sacks, the others: shirts? I don't know, but it is truly wonderful and I adore it!

I carved out this turtle motif on some plastic, and have since used it to make wax resists in silk. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

I spent several blissful hours in the dye studio this afternoon, preparing fabric for some new Shibori pieces. Oh Yeah!!! I can totally loose myself in that space, and it is magical, trust me!! Speaking of Shibori, I have started to quilt my class piece from the week I spent at the Barn with Jan Myers Newbury. Here is a small part:

OK, number 1: I can't believe I actually got into a class with the fabulous Jan; and number 2: I can't believe I spent a week at the Barn. How awesome are both of those????? Life has indeed been very, very good to me!

Well, my lord and master tells me that it is time to go eat dinner, so I'm outta here!

PEACE

ahhhhhhhhhhh!

I'm feeling a bit more relaxed with Christmas and Boxing Day behind me, so I thought I'd share a few pics that I took recently, intending to show them to you at the time.

This one really tickles me

I took it from my iPhone, and I'm afraid that it may not enlarge, but I hope you can read the sign posted on this wonderful old dumpster. I wonder if this was Dempsey's first.

Here is my most recent toe-up sock, knit with the soy silk yarn that Diane sent me for my birthday last year. Thank you again Dear Diane!

I love this yarn! It is so soft on the hands (great for knitting in the winter when our fingertips tend to get so dry, eh?) and as you can see the colorway is constantly changing. The yarn is called Tofutsies and it is 50% Superwash Wool, 25% Soysilk Fibers, 22.5% Cotton and 2.5% Chitin. The wrapper tells me that "Chitin is fiber from shrimp and crab shells. It's naturally antibacterial!" You can read more about it here. You may recall that I was unable to knit any socks last year due to my cataracts, but now that I'm healed, life is indeed good!

My Snowdrops are outdoing themselves this winter!
In the past, this little clump has produced only one or two blossoms, but this season we are blessed with seven flowers! I think it's the fish emulsion that my friend Michael told me to fertilize with last summer. I can't wait to see how the rest of my flowers respond in the Spring!

OK, and now the moment you've been waiting for. What was that image that I posted last week?

It was tractor tire tracks on the cart path at the golf course. Pretty ethereal huh? Here's another of the pics I took at the same time.

Thanks to those of you who commented. Sorry that we didn't have a winner.

I've finally started working on another Shibori wallhanging that I started in November. Here's where I am so far in placing my pieces. What do you think?

It's all pinned on my wall, so things can easily be moved around. I cut the strips yesterday and I spent about an hour this afternoon placing them.

PEACE

Boxing Day 2009

Yesterday, December 26th, was Boxing Day....the day on which we hold our annual Boxing Day party which is sort of a celebration after the celebration.....are we celebrating because we survived the celebration? I don't know. What I do know is that thirty some odd friends of ours gathered at our home to enjoy some great fellowship and food. We gathered at 4:00 PM, and as the evening progressed we were treated to this glorious sunset across the lake (I apologize for the light spots on the picture).

I took a few minutes just before dinner to snap some pics of our guests.

here's the table just before we added the main course

It was a great evening of fun, food and fellowship! Thanks to all who attended and read 'the blog'! Now I can get back to some serious fiber art!

PEACE

Merry Christmas

Wishing you good health,

joy, love and peace throughout the

coming years.

Thanks for being here for me, for offering helpful and insightful comments, and (best of all) your friendship over the years.

Peace

counting down

Even at our house things are beginning to look a little bit like Christmas!

My silk' shiboried' table runner is finished and in place.

I've made a centerpiece for the coffee table in our livingroom.

My Santa collection is now occupying two of the niches in the dining and living room walls.

and our Creche is occupying a third niche.

C surprised me with a long stalk of Brussels Sprouts the other day.

We both adore them, and really enjoy them oven roasted, following a recipe by Ina Garten. Here's how they look when they come out of the oven.

The crispy outer leaves are better than the best French Fries you've ever tasted....I promise!

Sunset over our lake on the shortest day of the year.

I'm on the last few rows of the cuff on my second toe-up sock.

I'll be wearing them in a day or two! WooHoo!!!

My favorite view on our golf course walk. It was about 26 F this morning!

and one last picture, taken last night.......he was worn out after a day of protecting the world from squirrels!

PEACE

anymore guesses on that picture from yesterday??? there's a fat quarter of shiboried cotton waiting for the correct answer!!! speak up! don't be shy!

Hello, Remember Me????

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged.........we're all so busy this time of the year! Thanks to all of you who emailed to make sure I was still alive. It is very nice to be missed!

I decided that my Mom needed a little art therapy last week, so when I visited her I brought along paints and card stock, so that she could paint some of her Christmas Cards. After protesting that she wasn't an artist, we got busy and she did a great job! And you can see that she really was having a good time!

Terry Grant has posted her Chile Verde recipe and one day last week, I had a hankering for some. I had misplaced her recipe and found a slow cooker one online that seemed to fit the bill. Look at all of the jalapenos that went into it!

MMMMMMM: it was so very good! I've now found Terry's recipe and will make it the next time. Since it doesn't get done in the slow cooker, I can prepare it in the afternoon, which is more my style.

Barker and I have had some interesting and frosty walks this past week. One morning was so windy and rainy I thought for sure we were going to be blown into the next county! Sheesh. We have had something like 18" more rain this year than the average....and they are forecasting more for later this week. YIKES!!!

Do you know what this is? I'll send a fat quarter of Shibori fabric to the first person who guesses correctly.

Now, I know you can figure out that this is a frozen dandelion. Can you believe that all of these pics came from my iPhone? Pretty splendid gadget, that iPhone!

Ahhhhhhh, yumm yummmm:
We were back at our favorite Bakeshop for breakfast last Saturday. Is it any wonder I can't drop a few pounds???? Anyway, we just about drooled on the pastry case when we saw that pie....but it was breakfast time, so we were somewhat saved!

Here's the Challah French Toast that I consumed:

I did scrape off the whipped cream after I snapped the picture!

Later that day, our daughter and I went upholstery fabric shopping at Forsyth Fabrics. She wants to have two club chairs recovered.

Forsyth is a wonderful place, and I just love to go there. Even though it was the week before Christmas, I didn't mind meandering through the aisles upon aisles of delicious textiles! Oh no: don't throw me in that briar patch! LOL! Our daughter, on the other hand, cannot stand any sort of fabric shopping. She always insists that there is entirely 'too much estrogen' in those places for her! I guess she was fortunate, because we were about the only folks in there that morning....everyone else was Christmas shopping or staying home trying to keep warm!

She spotted this lovely fabric.
The salesman who was helping us was kind enough to carry the huge bolt over to their 'staging area' and tuck it in around a chair, so we could get a general idea of how it would look. That is a clever idea, don't you think? We really liked it then, so we ordered up the yardage and then split for some lunch.

And one last picture. I snapped this last night as C and I were watching a movie:

I guess Barker had exhausted himself yesterday, and Elsie was totally disgusted with him! Isn't he such a clown!

Now I need to get back to some decorating and wrapping!

don't forget to tell me what you think that above picture is!

PEACE

Winter in the City

We were back in the city yesterday for a bit of R & R. Our first stop was for a late lunch at the Bakeshop. How can one resist?

My salad is called "Panzanella", which is a typical Tuscan bread salad. It was amazing, with wonderfully fresh aurugula, roasted beets, housemade croutons, and pickled onions, a taste so divine I want to return for more NOW!!! And the coffee is oh so good........I like mine with lots of steamed milk and a bit of raw sugar and cinnamon.

Here's another view of the pastry case.

After reading yesterday's AJC food section, which contained a very nice article about Cacao Atlanta in Inman Park, we decided we needed to stop by. Besides, we were going to be just down the street at a couple of other cool shops. Here is the entrance to the chocolate shop, or should I call it Paradise?

When you walk through the doors, the aroma is almost intoxicating! MMMMMM! I couldn't decide what to order, but C helped me out by suggesting the Azteca Aphrodisiac Hot Cocoa:

Oh it was yummmy.............and was it truly an aphrodisiac?.......I'll never tell!

One wall is decorated with wonderful antique chocolate molds.

Next we stopped at City ISSUE, a great shop specializing in mid 20th century furnishings.
Since we are of that vintage, we felt like we fit right in! Seriously though, this furniture is perfect for our home, and we are considering purchasing several pieces. Have a look at their wonderful website.

We also spent some time at At the Collective a wonderful gallery featuring work by local artisans. I wish I had snapped some pictures there, but I was too busy checking everything out. I know we'll be returning to all of these places often!

Here is the second of a pair of socks that I'm knitting from the toe up using that wonderful Poem sock yarn:

It's great yarn and I'm loving the new directions that Dr. Sock has shared with me. Check the pattern out here.

Thanks for stopping by!

PEACE