Sketchbook Challenge #2 ~ Opposites

Progress of my Feb. sketch"book".  I got Stephanie's hand print while she was here, she is on the right side and mine is one the left for the opposite sides of the brain.  I am doing the work on this as opposite as possible....like I have already stitched around the outside edge {usually the final part of putting a quilt together}  and I am doing the quilting before more embellishing is added...

The quilting on the left bottom is 'earth' and on the right top I have started the 'sky' . As for the opposite areas I think I will go with 'root' and 'fly'.  They were the more interesting 'opposite' words to 'earth' and 'sky', that I could find, not to mention they fit Steph and me.

Non-opposite areas are:  1. I am using the back of the shirt for the backing, so that isn't exactly opposite....and 2. Steph's hand is encroaching on my side because she is not all left brain. 3. the tree is mirrored on both sides, not sure if that is considered an opposite.

Cabinets and Flooring

The House that Ashley and Danny built, and a bunch of other people too, now has kitchen cabinets!

 and the flooring is going in!

They already purchased, and paid for, a fridge, washer and dryer.  Now the concern is 'will the fridge fit?' I am not sure what is on the counter top area...it doesn't look like the finished counters....but...

The group was in the news too but not for a good reason.  Someone stole various equipment and boxes of flooring from some of the houses. But because of the news story, they were given new replacements by local people.

I am trying to shake a cold that caught me about 3 weeks ago!!!  I didn't catch it, because I wasn't fishing for it.

Gets it From Me...

Gup

Megan looked like a hippie, so out came the camera

Other use for the star garland I made for Meg

 Once Upon a Time....a boy named Ben got an idea to turn his sister, Stephanie, into a tattoo applier, if not an actual artist.

 So that boy bought a tattoo kit off ebay, found himself a pattern design he liked, then waited impatiently for his sister to come home from college this weekend.

 And so, without further ado, or frickin' practice, Stephanie was set to work on her very first permanent tattoo application!

 It took a while, learning the different needles and such, but with mom/gup to keep on eye on this Pixie,

 the design was outlined and shading was started.

So how was your long weekend?

Answering a Comment

Christine commented that I was so nicely organized, what with the plastic wrap shelf that my sweetie gave me.  I had to add that it's also a convenience thing....Having a giant box out on the counter was convenient but butt ugly, it needed a place of it's own where we could get to it easily.  I have a lot of other things that need special places too....I just don't know where to put them.

My Valentine

I got this for Valentines Day...a place for the plastic wrap!!

 I thought I would show off my husbands nifty idea.  He made shelves for the pantry {to replace the dumb ass wire shelves}. I have a thing about the front of the plywood being covered up with moulding. So he came up with a way of holding up the shelf AND having the front edge covered all with one 2x2!

 He cut an "L" in the 2x2 the depth of the plywood.

L  shot of 2x2 from below. R  shot of plywood resting in the L of the 2x2.

 I thought my ottoman storage space looked nicely colorful today. I am starting to keep separate bowls and things for the threads for my different projects, and 2 jars of pens.  Oh and a stapler is in there...the purple thing on the far left. I think it ended up in there when I needed a quick hiding place.  

Dan was going to get me some ....

....but that aisle in Safeway was crowded with people getting lots of stuff and Dan felt kinda cheap just getting one box, so he got none.

Ok though....I had a Pixie jump into bed with me this noon-ish and she came with peanut butter cup/hearts. {i took an antihistamine at 8 am because of this cold i have, so i got up really late}

Feb. Sketchbook Challenge is "Opposites"

Stephanie had a hard time with Jan. challenge word{s} Highly Prized, and never did come up with something to show on paper...though she did do painting on herself, so I guess that counts too???

I did not, like most of the contributers, I went with family and art...well...my family and their art.

This month is "Opposites" and I had a hard time with this one for the first few days.  Stephanie did not.

left side, no flash, just the SUN

 But of course there it was on the design wall staring me in the face. In the above pix, I  will add the paper 'pattern' of this tree to the area I have outlined in embroidery thread, after I am done messing with the fabric.

right side

 I 'sun' dyed this tree design last summer. It's on cotton batt. I came across the shirt it's on here, the other day. Thrifted for the texture of the fabric, a gauzy weave like this pictured below.[Googled]

 Yes, the buttons will stay on and it will end up more 'quilt' than 'sketchbook'.

 Sewing with felt, wool or otherwise, is another thing I would like to do. But alas, I have only some 'otherwise' in bright colors, not what I wanted here.  So I dug out the cotton batt again and painted it.

paint brush used on left side piece, plastic card used on right side

 First I used a brush.  Hated it.  The green paint I have is all lumpy, so I dumped some clumps out on the batt and stared at it for a few nano's until the vision of credit card danced in my head. {no grammar intended}

hanging to dry

2 of the colors of the paint i used

So I scrapped and I smeared to my hearts content.

So maybe blowin' paint outta jet engine isn't so crazy....

Potty Training and Scabies

Before I even got out of bed this morning I realized I had forgotten to fix the coffee maker last night.  I should have taken that as a sign.  I even mentioned it Outloud to my husband.   His lack of response should have been another sign.

As I came out of the bedroom, I saw that both men were sitting in their chairs [husband and son] looking at me. Sign #3.

For there on the floor was evidence that our dogs have poopers and pee-ers.  {these are the words Lily and I use to discuss potty training}

Both men sat and watched me clean up the mess.

Neither man fixed my coffee for me.

Though they did get me a new mop at Costco later, they did not fix my coffee.

Fuckers.

Then later I got a call from Ashley to update me on Rhiley's 18 month doctor check-up.  Her bow legs are not a concern until around age 3, I think A. said.  She got 5 shots. What the hell do they fill kids full of these days??  Sheesh.  Then while they were there they got a call that Rhiley's fave uncle has scabies. So thats why she has rashy, itchy spots.  More sheesh. So they got cream for that and advice to wash everything....or bag it up in plastic....

I have R. tomorrow, so I have put away all the cloth toys for her sake.  Poor Ashley...when you really think about everything that could be harboring the bugs, you can get overwhelmed! I know I did during the Lice Crisis years ago.

Advent Idea and the Jan. Sketchbook Challenge

Remember wayyyyyyyyy back in December when I had fun printable boxes and things for Advent??  Well I just found this one for Valentines Day and thought, what the heck...I think I really like that it's not red. or. pink.

find here

 January's Sketchbook Challenge was Highly Prized.  So I made my book of highly prized things. 

 I haven't added any writing because I am not sure how I want to do that.  Yes by hand would be best, but do I want anyone to be able to READ it?????

 L, one of daughter Stephanie's PT's from a painting project. 

R, my dad on the beach print, leaf and wasp nest 'paper'.

 L,  is a page of color for me...fabric, catalog cover and lots of glue. 

R. side, a page of my Dad's work. 

 L, my own quilt design, U.S. parks pass, tree by Megan. 

R, doily from my fraternal grandmothers things, barely visible teapot by Meg. That page will get something else...when I find it....

 Son Ben's work on L. My mom's on the R, including a Hardanger Santa.

 Daughter Ashley's work on the L. from her teen years of course. Most of the watercolor looking pages are paper towels used in project clean-ups.

As the turd swirls...Tropical is now coral-ized, all 18 clumps...batches...groupings??  I now need to add more bg fabric to the sides and get my turtles, dolphin and seahorses started! 

Hearts

I found this crocheted heart design on a blog, which I need find because it seems I didn't save it in my Evernote!!!! FOUND IT{Thank You Susan, I love this tool}  I decided to try making a continuous string of hearts, and it worked.

Then Megan asked if I could make Stars...so I did....and managed to make a string of them too, and used up the yellow cotton yarn I had.

back side to show how they string together

I hopped over to Bunny Tales blog recently and she had these threads on sale.....these are the variated version of the Cosmo Lecien threads I have recently been all skippty-do-da over....

...the multi-work thread is perfect for quilting....it does not fray...

repeat....IT. DOES. NOT. FRAY.

Since Mom has been in the hospital/nursing home, Dan and I have been having 'date nights'.  We sit here in our chairs watching Battlestar Galactica.  Ben brought these home one evening for us to enjoy during "your date with dad tonight."  Brownie Points for Ben!

As for me, I have been watching Dexter and have found another show called Survivors. I love watching a tv series all in a row!  Mom and I have enjoyed other shows this way too, like Kingdom and Waiting for God.

I went to visit mom yesterday.  It was lunch time, she was in the dining room at a table for 4.  She was the only one dozing. 

She was so happy to see me, yet it made me so sad. She doesn't remember she broke her leg, until she is moved and then it hurts.  But to her, it's just pain, not anything specific. 

Sewing Paper Plates

Lily's

Megan's

We made paper plate pockets together.