Postcards | Crazy for Fiber

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Archive for the ‘Postcards’ Category

You Light Up My Life

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

My long time blogging friend, DebR, has given me a “You Make My Day Award.”

Here’s what the guidelines for this award say: Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about Blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times!

So, let me see. Who makes my day on a regular basis.

DebR, Terry, Judy, Dee, Pamdora, my daughter Lisa, Mrs. Mel, Lizzie B, Kristin, Karoda

Thank you for lighting up my life on a regular basis! I could give a second set of ten awards, so please, if I didn’t choose you, I just have too many favorite bloggers.

I mentioned some of the goodies that Kristin brought last week when she was here visiting. She also brought fiber post cards for Lili, Steph and I. Steph chose one and took it home with here. Lisa and I get to select one of these. I am posting pictures here so that Lisa can chose the one she wants. Yeah, more Kristin art.

After church today, we got a nice long sun break so we walked Maggie up to Westmoreland to Haggis McBaggis, which is basically a children’s clothing and shoe store, but they sell cool adult shoes — Keen’s & Merrill’s among others. They were having a 20% off sale. I needed new walking shoes. I love Keen’s. They wear really well and come in cool materials and colors. Here are my new shoes.

I learned something today. A size 6 children’s shoe is the same as a size 7.5 women’s shoe and they are way cheaper. With my discount, these cost me $39!

Tonight, I am sewing the sleeve on the Good to Be Green piece so that I can send it to Larkin for photography for a CD of the show. Then, I am determined to make a new piece this week.

Posted in Blog Awards, Postcards, Quilting Friends, Stuff I Buy | 6 Comments »

Week-end Doings

Sunday, June 10th, 2007

Checking in from rainy, cool Portland. Summer is taking her time arriving. We get a taste of sun and warmth and “poof”, it is over. I think we have at least one more day of drizzle.

Yesterday, we had an artist’s tea at the gallery where the textile show is up. Several of us did demos of some of our techniques. Terry was on a panel that discussed the whys and hows of what we do. I prepared a postcard of a sunflower using silk scraps; I showed 3 different stages. Here is my display:

Here are the postcards, clickable to see larger.

I actual had attendees who had never seen a fiber postcard!

When I got home, it was rainy and with nothing else to do, Mr C and I went to Macy’s to buy new bathroom towels because there was a sale. I couldn’t resist this, which was on the sale table.

Today, we had the pleasure of attending M & M’s drama class presentation. The play was written by the kids in the class. The title was “Alice in Idaho.” Mia is totally into Alice in Wonderland and Miles wanted to have cowboys so Alice ended up in Idaho where the cowboys live. Don’t you just love it? Here are some photos, to see more go to my Flickr site.

For those who wondered about the edge finish for the cruciform quilt, I will do a tutorial later this week. Now, for the Soprano’s finale.

Posted in Family, M & M, My creations, Postcards | 4 Comments »

Birthday Wrap-up

Saturday, March 31st, 2007

Here is a birthday card I whipped up for Steph. Mia liked it because it was “all silk.”

Stephanie loves coconut and chocolate. I found this recipe for a very decadent Deep Dark Chocolate Coconut Cake. First, you make a roll of coconut mixed with sweetened condensed milk and an egg white and put it in the fridge to chill.

The batter has two types of chocolate.

After the batter is in the bundt pan, the coconut roll is made in to a circle and placed in the batter and buried.

After it bakes and is cooled, a chocolate glaze is poured over.

This is what it looks like when you cut it — a tunnel of coconut – yum!

And this is what my grandchildren looked like at the end of spring break. I think their Mom is ready to have them back in school!

This afternoon, I was not feeling well, so I sprawled on the sofa and watched Marie Antoinette – what a visual feast! I also took a couple of Aleve and I feel better. I think I have one of those achy viruses. Hope you are having a great week-end.

Posted in Cooking and Recipes, Family, M & M, My creations, Postcards | 6 Comments »

Thursday This and That

Thursday, March 29th, 2007

I have a lot of things to get caught up on. Where shall I start?

First: It was a perfectly beautiful day in our neighborhood. Lots of sunshine and a no fleece kind of day. I walked almost 11,000 steps and did 74 minutes of aerobic walking.

Food Stamp Diet: Someone left a link to Hillbilly Housewife in the comments. Thought some of you might be interested in checking out this site. There is an Emergency $45 menu for a family. There is a shopping list and recipes. So, I will be going back here if and when we decide to embark on this program.

This Day in the Life: I took part in the national diary day for working women on Tuesday. I was not sure that they would want me, but when I said that I was excited about the possibilities for creativity and work after one retires, they asked me to participate. Here is a link to their website. Thirty of the diaries will be selected for publication in a book next year. The big thing that I noticed is that I did not piddle (a term I got from Karoda’s latest blog post) while I was keeping a journal of my day. I was very focused and got a lot of work done. Hmmm! It was somewhat like being on a retreat or in a workshop where I have others watching how I am spending my time. Maybe I should put up a webcam n my studio and let you all keep track of me!!

Mail call: I did a postcard swap with Beate Knapp from Dusseldorf, Germany. Mine arrived today. I love it.

Robin of Quilt Antics blog lives in Hawaii. I met her at Art Quilt Tahoe. She recently posted about hearing an NPR blurb about the costly mess of plastic grocery bags in the landfill. She showed a shopping bag that she purchased and a knock off that she made. I teased her for the pattern. She not only sent me the pattern, but I also received this awesome Hawaiian shirt fabric to use to make the bag. I plan to make several of these and to stop using plastic bags. Trader Joe’s puts your name in a drawing for free groceries if you bring in your own bags.

The circles and lines piece: This may end up being a quilt by committee. I love hearing all your comments. One major change that I made was to make a new orange section. I used a hand-dye which is more complex and picks up more of the colors in the small circles. I put in some slivers of green, but I used a more toned down hand-dye. With trepidation, I am posting it as it looks on my design wall, now. Nothing is seamed. It is folded and pinned. The gray organza may get cut and I’ll have two sections going horizontally. Don’t know how to test this without cutting it!! Diane wondered what I wanted it to be about. She couldn’t see a focal point. My idea is to get a very simple Asian aesthetic. I was looking at photographs of Japanese gardens where there are rocks and a few plants and the soil or sand is raked. I am a bit worried that the orange is too strong, but sometimes they have a splash of color. I may make that strip much narrower. So here it is:

Last, but not least, Birthday Greetings to Stephanie: Friday is my baby’s birthday. Stephanie, my tall, lanky daughter is in some ways the least like me and in many ways, the most like me of my three children. She is a very private person, a stay at home mom and an accomplished home keeper. She is brilliant and wise. She sometimes makes me feel like the child because she always knows the right thing to say and do, and I often don’t. In that way, she is like her father. When we moved here a year ago, I didn’t know how we would get along. I have tried very hard not to be too involved in her day to day life with her family, and she has done the same for us. I think we have a very comfortable relationship. Being this close to family means so much to me. and I treasure my relationship with her and the time I have with my grandchildren.

Here is a photo of Steph in a hat that she just made. Cool, isn’t it!

Check out this wonderful drawing corner that she made for M & M.

And just look at these stuffed things that she has made:

There will be many more stuffed woodland objects for a show she is doing with Lisa in San Francisco in May. Here is the invite:

Tomorrow night we will go out for Vietnamese food and then birthday cake back at the Barnes’ house. The big question is will I have time to make a cake or will I go to the bakery?

I am so excited because I am getting an eye exam tomorrow and there will soon be new glasses!!

Posted in Family, My Brilliant Daughters, My creations, Postcards, Quilting Friends, This and that | 6 Comments »

Could You Survive on a Food Stamp Diet?

Thursday, March 22nd, 2007

First, a postcard that I finished today. This is hand-dyed fabric with Angelina fibers and copper Tinsl with a tulle overlay.

Now, the question of the day. Mr C went to a volunteer training at the Oregon Food Bank. He came home and asked if I would be willing to take part in a program sponsored by the Food Bank, eating on the equivalent budget of those who receive Food Stamps. The program is designed to help people understand how difficult this is so that they can be more effective at fund raising for the Food Bank and lobbying the government for more help.

A very lofty goal – right? How much do we get to spend? $3 per person per day so double that for the two of us. You can’t use food you already have in the freezer and pantry. I suppose you can use some staples – like seasonings and such.

Could you do this? I have real doubts that I could do this and not turn in to a low blood sugar witch – maybe change the beginning letter to b. When I went to shop this afternoon, I started looking at the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables. A small head of cabbage was 2 pounds and cost $1.49. A can of black beans can range from 49 to 98 cents. Bananas were 49 cents a pound — I didn’t weigh them, but I suspect that would be about 1.5 bananas. Wholewheat bread was around $4.00 a loaf and would last the two of us about half a week for peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. I could cook up some brown rice. A whole chicken costs about $4.00. I could roast one and stretch it for 2 or 3 days. I would have to give up yogurt and pomegranate juice and have oatmeal and applesauce for breakfast. And coffee! What will I have to use to make coffee?

If we do this, it will be at the end of April. Mr C says he wants to do it whether I do or not. I said, you know that means no vodka or wine! I thought we could adopt M & M for the week because that would double our funds and they don’t eat much!! So, let me know what you think. Share your ideas with me. I know I would want to clip coupons which I don’t normally do. But do most food stamp users have access to coupons and can you use them with food stamps? Come to think of it most coupons are for those fancy over-packaged and over-processed foods.

Here is the other post card I finished today. This one has hand dyed fabric with a turquoise screen print and Angelina fibers and tinsl captured under tulle. Beads have been collaged with Golden’s gel medium.

Posted in Making a Difference, Postcards | 14 Comments »

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