Saturday, May 4, 2024

My creative week.... a little house for my pins and some paintings

 

This week I was distracted by physical pain, but I managed to compete this wee pin cushion! 

There are videos of people teaching versions but none gave me a pattern... I found one on line


SunCatcherStudio.com

at first I cut it out large since it was drawn to scale. Too big for a pin cushion but great for a box... so then I cut it out as shown. 

I used pink felt scraps since the color of the month at rainbow scrap challenge is pink! yea! It looks wonky in these photos but it's a precious little sturdy 3 X 3 X 4 inches, stuffed with walnut shells in a little scrap bag, with fiberfil on top. 

I just randomly put things on like thick threads, felt bits, beads...

love the felted spotty roof, the flower shaped beads


I stitched on it while chatting to my friend Cindy one afternoon. She suggested sticks and french knots

Mais Oui! Magnifique Love how the hand dyed size 5 perle cotton changes color. 

I thought to do a sort of whisteria like vine over the door, lots of threads and beads piled on top of each other! The door is a wood textured scrap of tan felt
already on the job with my night time hexi sewing

I happily played with my threads, beads, and worked by hand (the aqua box is one of 4 I got at IKEA or the container store, I think... they come in handy for little things to keep together


One day I googled henna tatoos to get some new ideas to doodle on paintings... I like them
paper and black pen

I used a few on this quick color play

watercolor impressionist series Kuretake, ink pens and posca paint pens

see the word peace with the letters scrambled? a hand, a face

I learn by doing... painted a pink triangle and used blue posca acrylic pen over it, and it looks blue with pink but was done the opposite way. How do colors look next to each other? try them and see

one day I despaired of my round face... now looking old because of a series of physical set backs so I thought, I'd paint the roundest face and make her pretty... a la Botero

Grace never liked her round face, but she faced the world full on, standing up for herself. She knew her worth and was who she was unapologetic-ally. The spiral is for time/infinity, the hand for her artistry, the heart speaks for itself as she always lived by her good heart. She deserved the moon and the stars . 

Linking with


design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

finished or not

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/





Thursday, May 2, 2024

I Like Thursday # 400

 

welcome to this week's list of likes... starting with pretty skies

and audio books..

.try to get it on audio, the reader's accent is magical  and I am enjoying the lyrical writing, the concept, the layers of meaning... 

 
a recent painting

 Watching on TV

mostly there are competition shows, and I like them. I was relieved Boston Rob remained on Deal or no deal Island, or I'd have lost interest. So you think you can dance has changed for the worse, American Idol is sending home kids at an alarming rate. First of all why rush when there is nothing to replace the show when the season ends... The only drama left for me is the good doctor and the dvr'd Elsbeth. We just finished the way home, a wonderful dive into traveling though time to the family farm. They are up for another season. 

I am HOOKED on the traitor. Watched the American version both seasons, the British version ( both) and am now into the Australian version... 

Thank you!

My friend Pat from NY (Miss Pat) sent me a giftie... how perfect is this for me??!

Sweet embroidered flamingo chorus line, enamel flamingo pin, wrapped in a swatch of flamingo fabric

so thoughtful, I love it Pat!  (I'm the flamingo in the middle of them, with her mouth open)


Our prompt this week... tell us about your name

LeeAnna means : a combination of the Old English name Lea, meaning "meadow," and Anna, meaning " grace" and "favor." Together, it can translate to "graceful meadow," making it a lovely

The story goes, one grandmother was Anna Lee and the other one Mae, plus there had been a Miss America called Lee Ann. Put them in a blender to get Lee Anna (May) and the early family called me LeeAnn. Annoyingly in school people messed it up calling me LouAnn which I just detested for me.

By  university I was requesting people call me Lee Anna and introduced myself that way, upsetting the family. It was prettier, my real name, and I wanted it. Sometimes I must remind adults it has an A on the end. 

There is a latin name called Lianna like the flowering vine. 

People spell it so many ways, Leigh, Li, LeAnna, etc. I hate when people shorten it to Lee not at all like me. 

When I was about age 4 or 5 I asked to be called Ann, and only my middle sister's mother-in-law called me that and I adored her for it. Then about age 6 I wanted to be Barbara. As an adult I found out my birth mother (named Barbara) had lunch with my Aunt and I one day, unbeknownst to my adopted mother who had an angry fit. Must have made her angrier to hear me fall in love with the name. 

long story shortened... 

When my middle sister turned age 50 she informed me she wanted a different name from Patty. I suggested several and she eventually changed to Patti with an "i" I had a college friend who totally changed his mundane name for an exotic folk singer style name, like maybe panther/cougar/lion 

Have you ever thought about changing your name? What does your name mean?

 On Youtube

wonderful... this guy usually plays for animals in the sanctuary but this is just him singing one of my favorite songs... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A6ATF7ZMio

 

I Named My Dog 5 Miles So I Can Tell People I Walk 5 Miles Every Day: Funny  Dog Journal Lined Paper
 

Milo's Moment

Milo here, hiya! I don't know how I got my name, but Mama does. I know if my people are saying the word "he" it means me, doesn't sound like Milo but it's always about me! and my middle name is "Mommy's baby" said with a singsong voice and I can't help but wag my tail when I hear it. 

I run for the safety of my crate when I hear, "MILO Paylor" in that tone of voice 

it snowed here one day, and has been hot the other days, and Daddy played in the grass without me 

daddy: planting grass plugs that are supposed to be strong against dog pee

Mama: Milo's name came from Milo Ventimillia the actor... and the movie, Milo and Otis. My poodle cole was named for Cole Porter (because he was jazzy) Chelsea my labradaughter was named for the character in "on Golden Pond" 

so Milo-baby do you like your name? 

Milo: finally gets back to me, on my segment, harumph, but I like it when you say it sweetly followed by "I LOVE youuuuuuu"
 

Please visit these folk to see what they liked this week

https://wordweaverart.blogspot.com/
https://tentoesinthewater.blogspot.com/ 

https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/  

grammajudyb.blogspot.com

https://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/


 
   LINKING WITH 

               friday smi
 
 

Saturday, April 27, 2024

creativity this week.... quilt challenge with a yellow parasol, mixed media, and watching paint dry... and a story for you



 The Guardians 

a painting, just a quick painting to see colors dance with each other on paper, moving, spreading, blending and creating lines. 

I might be superfluous in the process

I lift the paper, let water guide the lines as it will, amazed at the life in a painting. I think of how life moves and blends and resists too, how the colors so pretty on their own, look when next to other colors and that each living thing has it's own colors, and how each living thing changes a bit when it's near another.

will they blend or clash? Does it matter really? What if we patiently wait to see instead of rushing to judgement? What if we look for the beauty in each one? 

What if all the colors are our favorites?  

I look at my painting and see things I didn't purposely paint, I see the magic show up. 

I see faces, on the left a man's nose and mouth, center a woman and below her a crone in profile, on the right is a swirl of energy they can use to protect. 

The painting is small, merely 4" X 6" and innocently painted with no motive in mind, but look at the richness created by getting out of the way and letting the art make itself

 Judy sent me a wee notebook at Christmas and I keep it next to the computer... this week I did morning paintings, including parrots inspired by a bosso nova video playing at the time...

and a message on another video... I stopped the video on this scene... one I needed to see

sometimes our eyes see shadows that tell us it's three d but how to paint it? I tried...

I like that when I tried to paint the frothy surf with white posca pen acrylic ink. It splurted a big blob, so I dabbed in the nib and spread it, and dotted it, and moved it thinking it might be ruined. It looks great but since it's a happy accident can I reproduce it?   (shrug)

We are getting to the quilting, keep going! 

 
Joy's table scraps challenge this month was to make something with yellow scraps and include umbrella
I pulled out this book of patterns and copied the paper piecing parasol.

It printed a tiny picture on the pattern, so I tore it off the paper, glued it down, then painted around it... to get in the mindset to do my quilts

I didn't know how it would all do with watercolor, but I liked the way the torn edge accepted the color, and then inked in some bits. 

The fabric umbrella"  but kind of plain...

finished at 7" and so sweet I want a real one!

I love pretty paper parasols, especially one with sparkly dangles, so beads to the rescue


oh, so pretty in person

I went on to make three. yellow, pink and purple, and they will hang from my summer mantel


I may have dismantled a necklace for this top carved metal bead

How I love the fabrics in the pink one. 

This is what they look like after sewing around the outside edge and turning right side out before quilting


Tiny golden balls adorn this one, another carved one on the tip top. You should be able to click on all images to enlarge them

thank you to my friend Joy for suggesting this challenge... 

a few stories written (one included in Thur I Like post HERE  )  physical challenges threatened to derail me, but making art heals too.

 linking with

https://thejoyfulquilter.blogspot.com/2024/04/april-2024-table-scraps-challenge-link.html


design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

finished or not

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/


Thursday, April 25, 2024

I like Thursday # 399 painting, cooking, reading and a story for you

 

for this week's list of likes, a short version, I started with a mixed media piece I'm working on. on with the show...

 I wanted some different cookies this week so I got out my fave cookbook 

recipes from Tampa

 

delish, chewy peach/mango
called marmalade cookies.

I changed things, I had peach/mango jam so I used that, I subbed 1/2Cup of almond flour and used one cup all purpose, I added some orange extract and some orange zest I keep in the freezer, a bit more butter because cookies generally come out hard in this altitude. Another way I cope with altitude is to make the cookies bigger so I got two dozen not three.

I can't tell you how much we love them, but there are only 5 left. 

I made oven taquitoes this week. Mix a can of chicken or what you have, sour cream, 2 tbsp cream cheese, salsa, and grated cheese some garlic and onion powder. mix well and fill 5 tortillas rolling them up next to each other on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and bake about 20 min til bubbly

crispy, gooey, goodness. Served with a side of quick guacamole and cucumber chunks

enough for two of us

I do not like to cook, but need to eat well. I share things here that are fast and easy. 

on audio book, last in the series... magical pie shop

The library refuses to understand I'm registered on hoopla, because they gave it to me, so I can't share what I checked out there but it's a book on embroidery stitching

Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts: 11 Easy Applique Projects to Embroider by Hand

Our prompt this week.... B -n-B   or luxury hotel

well.... I've stayed in both and both have merits. But. these days I crave comfort and pampering and amenities. We never go anywhere now that I am unable to get a vaccine to protect my life from disease. I've camped, I've stayed in flea bag motels that accept pets, I've stayed with relatives and friends, I've stayed on a cruise ship,  we stayed at the Beverly Hilton when dh had a business trip to LA, I stayed in a little garage rental house in Charleston,  dh and I stayed at the Fairmont in SF on our honeymoon. 

I like nice mattresses, pretty soaps, clean showers, room service, sofa's with good tvs, breakfasts the next day on a buffet, pools, etc. 

These days, now that I've reached an age,  I'd go for luxury/comfort since we aren't going away often, if ever 

painted this this week, on a notebook Judy gave me at Christmas
 

I enjoy writing, and here is a fictional story I wrote in honor of the prompt today:

The trip

Marlene hardly knew what to think when her husband of 45 years announced one day they were going to Hawaii. 

She looked down at her dirty hands from planting tomatoes in their garden, at her torn jeans and ragged sneakers, her ragged haircut and ragged nails. 

She was a good girl growing up, and always helped around the house. She helped everywhere she saw need. She raised, guided and took care of 3 little kids when she was young. It was messy and she never minded. They were not fancy types so having a home, the necessities and car were good. 

She made her wedding dress and arranged the flowers. It was in the church garden, and the reception was in the church hall where the fanciest thing was the cake and Jordan almonds in pastel colors. 

When the kids left to start their life's adventures, her father moved in. He spent time on a farm growing up, and in the army fighting for Democracy and ironically peace. He had health problems because bodies wear out but we take care of our loved ones. She cleaned and cooked and then cleaned up her Dad when he needed it, ...until he returned to spirit. 

She still cleaned and cooked, she changed grand kids' diapers, wiped up spills, was there when her children needed a vacation. She took good care care of the littles. When her son and his wife went to a nice hotel in NYC on vacation and she took care of their kids and aged dog who peed on the floor now. 

We take care of loved ones. 

When she and her husband went on vacations, they saved money by staying at cheap motels and it was okay. 

But now this man she knew very well after so much time and so many life challenges, was looking down at her kneeling in the dirt, and telling her to pack her bag, or better yet buy some new resort clothes and especially a new swimsuit since hers was from 1973. He said it was time to see how the other half lived and they deserved a break. The kids had gotten together and bought them this trip. 

Oh. She didn't know where to start when being one of the 'other half '.... did she dare try on swimsuits? How would it look with a t-shirt tan anyway? Who was she? The man she still loved said, honey... get up, clean your self and lets be excited. You're worth it. The best way to thank the kids is to have a wonderful time. We're worth it.

Let's get excited about it and get ready to go! She tentatively said, okay. 

She went in to the computer and looked up the luxury resort they where they were staying. Oh my, it was so pretty. Okay she said, and called each of her children and each of their spouses to thank them. 

Milo's moment

I like staying in hotels! I like when you go up to a door and it opens like you're a king

I like smelling all the new smells, having people fawn over me, having Mama and Daddy with me all the time, I like walking in new towns, and shopping. I especially like a long rideinnacar. 

let's go soon!

 We used to stay at the Two Dog Lodge in Stowe VT... lovely rooms, raised dog bowls, dog beds. 

for breakfast we got a doggie bag with coffee, and all the people sat outside in the beautiful back yard amid the mountains, the dogs ran together through water features, around tables, and had the best time! 

then they closed... sad....

hotel humor jokes - Google Search | Funny, Dogs, Funny signs

Please visit Mama's friends to see what they like this week

https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/  

grammajudyb.blogspot.com

https://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/

 
   LINKING WITH 

               friday smiles