Foot Prints In Mud Etc.

Goose, Hummingbird nest, deer print [here], Robin's
egg [here], Ashley's food color test.

Dan tools!  He likes wheels too. He added them to the sander, he just got, free. Table he made for it got the wheels from our old BBQ. Table saw was free too. He is happy!

And below, the 3rd of the 7for7Grandchildren Quilts. So far I love them all!

front and back

Patches 

unfinished

Click to enlarge this one, above...Look at the original threads still holding it 

 together!  I tore from either end, leaving the center.  This is now part of the one below, Wind Chimes. I want to hang it high, inside. I completed this on the 17th, which would have been, or still is, mom's birthday. Pieces of this were taken off the 'magic cloth' I made long ago.

click to enlarge

The Green Thing is now stitched up. Quite a bit of FrankenStitch, listed on side bar, was added to this one. FS was a class taken from Arlee Barr, using embroidery to really have fun. And different from the Sumptuous Embroidery class, I believe it was called.  I think I want to add more of both to more patches.

Red, Blue With White, below, 

is done also, though not made up into a wallie yet.

68 to 71 DP's & Other Collages

My daughter took these, different days. Look at those blues!

Same daughter made these for her in-school girls. 

The girls helped with the cards. 

This is one of my WIP's.  I decided to do this with the embroidered color names I did a few weeks ago.  What you might not be able to see is how much fun I had! Am having.  This is the first one, and for once I didn't start with Meg, the oldest GD, or Devyn, the youngest. {for a few more weeks} I went to the middle, to Rhiley. This is just basted, so there is a lot to go. 

As for the Daily Patch...I am now up to # 71! Click to enlarge.

And here is the backside, for those of us who like this too.

The 2 larger pix are of a "mole hill".  I named them that when I took Arlee Barr's FrankenStitch class, way back.

click to enlarge

 Avery, GD #4 found a bit of crayon melting in the sun.  The only pic I couldn't get was of her hands facing me in all their wondrous blue.  Melty crayon is easily rubbed into ones hands.

I started the seeds to this tall lupine last summer.  They are flowering this year!

Mr. Geen is done, tho this is pic before the finish.

the texture is what it's all about!

This plant is doing well too, it didn't even die back completely over the winter.

Back to Mr. Geen.  

It was hard not to pull the threads in the circle. 

My fingers so wanted to make MoleHills!

Different colors of thread.  A 2-strand embroidery floss no longer being made. Sad. It holds up well to miles of stitching and  even quilting through many layers.

Cosmo Multi-Work 322 Embroidery Thread.

Change of Mood and Direction

But first for your funny bone...this box was very popular with the girls last weekend...and it held up with all that play.  I happened to notice this on the side....I love this! art by Megan.

 For the second bit of random...newly dyed towels.  They were green and yellow, to 'go' with the old bath colors.  So into the washer they went with 1 package of Firey Red, 1 Goldfish Orange, and 1 [other name] Orange, all Dylon dyes.  The yellow towels, bottom of pile, could use a little more....well something to darken them a bit. But the green ones....I got rust/paprika/dark terracotta....just what I wanted!!!  

And from the green base color too.

 Ok, this is where the mood and direction change comes in.  I was sitting here yesterday mulling over the FrankenStitch pieces...and decided I didn't really like them. I enjoyed doing the stitching, I just think they look like samplers. Not into samplers.

In came Ben. "You need a new project, Mom."  

So this piece came to mind....

The one I tried to do a tree on and didn't like. 

The one I was gifted 2 beautiful pieces of silk chiffon for....But while trying to find it in my footstool storage, this piece of brown [wool?] felt looked up at me...and the rest fell into place far faster than words can say....

The bits of extra tree are stitched onto the trunk, but not the background, the yellow/green silk is stitched down, as you can see, and the blue is partly pinned. Not sure yet where this will go after attaching the tree...

I am happy again!

Stitchy Things

 Recently arlee showed us how to square up our cloths in the FrankenStitch class.

 I ended up with a few ridges....this one, above, should be interesting to work on the lacy area.

 I finished the bridge over this area, but I think it looks more like a ladder.

 come on over!

 The whole thing so far....

...I twisted the snaky tie thing, tucked it under the tie-dye silk, and created a mole eye under it.  The pins kinda show where it's hiding under there.  This may not be done, but that snaky tie thing is finally tamed!!  It kept getting caught on anything it could...I even ended up stitching it to the back and had to rescue it.

Costumes, Toilets, and Frankenstitch

 My what big teeth you have Lily!

Don't let your babies grow up to be cowgirls...

 So, where did you say milk comes from Gup?

 See mom, her hair is getting longer...{which got a snort from me/mom/gup}

 Where's the cropped version of this? At least the tv had something suitable on it.

Oh...that's Megan with the big teeth this time. 

The only pic we have of the girls before trick and treating.  Lily was going to be a ghost, changed her mind, wore the giraffe costume again this year, but added some white makeup...she was the neighborhood hit.

Dan spent all day yesterday getting the flooring in...well half of that time was spent going up and down the stairs to the shop where the table saw is.

 Then he put in the toilet....which I love!!!!!

 So why is there a heater and fans going in the room???  See that little plastic pipe trying to hide behind the toilet??  Dan accidentally bumped it, so of course it shattered because it's plastic!! I am sure we had similar facial expressions as we passed each other,[OH SHIT] him to go turn off the water, me to go try to stem the flow.

 The flooring is laminate, and so far I lovvvvvve it.

I did a little Frankenstitching this last weekend.

 and did I show you the torn bit?  where I tore the fabric to fit the snaky silk thing in, and because it was an area of big blahness.

I came up with the idea to bridge it.  This is a 'so far' pic.

I had a day of half full fuckus interruptis. 

Had to wash the clean sheets and towels I had used to contain the flood. 

Ran the DW half full because plasticware stained with tomato sauce, don't fit nicely together.  

Moved the fans and heater around many many times.

From Paint to Fuss Fuss

bathroom colors, besides the ceiling, there are 3 wall colors in this pix

FrankenStitch is coming along....newest additions are pictured below this...

this lacy bit done in a beige-y green...

 ...this 'lace-up' bit, both done in buttonhole stitch, but this lace up one...I think I should have taken the needle below the fabric, instead of above, for the 'next pass', so only the 'bars' would show.

 I boro'ed from Magic Diaries and tore a hole in this spot....

 ...and the 'tie' goes from being confined completely to just being gathered a bit...so far at least...

 Speaking of Magic Diaries, here is my magic cloth today.  I worked on it yesterday, and it felt good to hold it again, because it's been many days.  The cat? She just stepped out of nowhere as soon as this floated to the floor....

 the above pic also shows you the outside edge that is getting tamed, finally.

 The blue is water that flows in and out of my pathways.....

 ....and down around leaves...

 ....and from under the magic feline...

 Boo!

Water tends to find it's way through anywhere....

College Girl called last night.  The sky is falling!  In my room.  In the basement!

There was water dripping from the middle of the ceiling.  Turns out it was from the flooded kitchen upstairs....the sink had backed up, but the dishwasher didn't care and just kept draining it's water.....which found it's way downstairs through the floor.....I told Steph to keep testing the spot because if it got mushy....[i am guessing it's sheetrock]  YUCK!

Only 2 more days until our middle child's birthday.  In the years past, as she was the 3rd bday in a month, she got the short end of the energy stick/string/mommy. So this year I am making more of a fuss.....

Fuss! Fuss!  

There you go Ashley!

[child #3, Stephanie, managed to be born 3 weeks before #2 on the calendar, and with Dad in the #2 spot for the month, that put Ashley in the back of the class. Child #1, Ben, is a different month completely]