TextureTuesday with Kim Klassen and some green goodness

i'm joining up with Kim Klassen for Texture Tuesday. today is the 'Anything Goes eDition' and i thought that i could use one of my own created textures and several different photos from within my archives and join in.
the base texture for this image is the same one i posted a few days ago.
it's always interesting to see all of the different talent that decides to join into this event.


i mentioned that my phalaenopsis (moth orchid) was  sending out some stalks with buds . . . no flowers yet, but i can be patient . . .
if you don't happen to be feeling that patient, check this out.

my small nine patch from Cheri's SAL is now basted but i can't seem to get serious about choosing and starting the quilting.
maybe i'm a little distracted by the seasonal changes . . .









recent gifts include:

• waking up to sunshine
• hearing the birds celebrating that sunshine in all out spring song
• seeing a few gold fish in the pond as they begin to feel a bit warmer and move around more

can anyone guess what this last shot is? i'll send a small sweet surprise to whomever guesses correctly first. (within the comments)

photo art friday

 

 it's time for the Photo Art Friday challenge over at Pixel Dust Photo Art where the optional theme/challenge this week was to create an image using one of her textures and a photo of my own. i decided to go abstract this week with my entry. 



Bonnie freely offered up
this texture for those who
might wish to use it.
she calls it "Gift". 

i added this texture
that i created from
two of my own images

and created the above abstract piece. i did some doubling up and flipping as well as some filter adjustments in order to get the final result.

i'm not sure i'm any good at 'abstract' but i had fun giving it a go.

 

 

 

 

as promised here is my finished and newly washed 'Abundance' doll quilt.
the 'Abundance' quilt-along was sponsored by Lori at Humble Quilts and was great fun.
the light is a little harsh in this photo and the colors and contrasts aren't perfect but this is pretty close.
i enjoyed this one and really appreciated that it was a simple one this time. Thank You Lori~!
Lori just happens to have some really cute little quilts (within a recent post) that she has made recently for the benefit of the AAQI. it's my understanding that they are on their way to this amazing organization and will be posted for sale in the near future. you may or may not be inclined to purchase any one of them but if you want to see how cute they are pop over there and take a look . . . it's like a tiny quilt show~!




i recently decided to follow along with Cheri on her three part primitive  SAL on quiltsbycheri. i happened to have some nine patches laying around and they were very close to the size suggested so i played along. as it turned out i really only had time for the first of the three  little quilts but i now have it sewn up and ready for some hand quilting. i'll show you more of that one on a later post.



i recently visited Tammy at Flat Creek Farm and was delighted by some bird watching that she has shared.  she discovered a way to slow down the speed of the video and she has added some beautiful music to them creating a couple of totally magical shorts that really should not be missed~! if you follow only one link from this post, make it one of these because it will totally change your day.




recent gifts include:

• snuggling with the grand dog
• beginning the spring decorating
• seeing the crocus, daffodils and iris all beginning to send up their first green shoots
• the geese that have become regular visitors to the neighborhood

slow sunday stitching

digital art journal work/play

i created a texture from a photo that i took of one of my beautiful vintage tablecloths and then i blended in another layer consisting of a cropped bit from a shot of one of my fabric postcards . . . still playing with this page but i thought i'd share what i've done so far.

this a.m. i've woken up to a grey sky but rather than snow falling we have light rain. perhaps . . .

i've decided to link up with Kathy at Kathy's Quilting for slow sunday stitching today.
i am seeing the last few stitches into the binding of my 'Abundance' doll quilt. 

i should be able to get a label onto it later today and then give it a bath. i like to see the puckers that washing and drying give to my quilts.
stay tuned, i'll show it in it's completed glory in my next post.

be sure you check out what else is being stitched on this stitchy sunday.

recent gifts include:

• watching the snow slowly melt and thinking about the flowers that are beginning to awaken down in the soil. i may not see them yet, but i know that they stir upwards.
• hearing my wonderful daughter's voice on the phone as she tells me about her days
• the taste of dark chocolate

a giveaway announcement and a new orchid

there's a new orchid in the house~!~ 

 

 

 isn't is beautiful? it's an oncidium "twinkle fragrance fantasy". whenever i get a new orchid i wonder if i will be able to keep it growing, and even better, get it to re bloom. i have failed more times than i have succeeded but my phalaenopsis (moth orchid) is just now beginning to present a stem with a few buds so apparently i continue to succeed with that one.

 

 

 

 i decided to use a crop from the above photo for the Photo Art Friday challenge over at Pixel Dust Photo Art where the optional theme/challenge this week is to share a piece of photo art based on any of these words: connected/connecting/connection.

Bonnie has once again freely offered up one of her beautiful textures for those participating. this one is called "Scratched Lens Texture" and i thought that it was very pretty. 

Scratched Lens Texture

Oncidium Photo Crop

 

Photo Art Friday
connected challenge

i cannot remember exactly what i did with the various blending modes but i am happy with the final image.

it feels good for me to be 'connecting' with the PAF group once again.
:-)
maybe you would like to see some of the other submissions to this weeks' challenge? there are many talented artists submitting to the theme and it's well worth a few minutes of your time if you are interested in photography and/or the image artwork created from it.

february's postcard for the wonderful daughter has been received and so i'm once again sharing those results.


there is a small pocket made of a torn bit of wax paper stitched onto this card. the pocket holds a tiny metal key charm, dried lavender buds, a piece of sheet music with a small red heart shaped bead stitched onto it and a tiny fabric/paper tag. the tag has been embroidered and written on (both sides) and is attached to the postcard by way of that small pink triangular button and some pastel thread.

i've been working on my little 'Abundance' doll quilt and although i don't have any 'master' quilting plan in place it seems that i've been able to come up with a  design for each area as i get to it. i like the look of the playful childishness of this approach and it's all coming together nicely. 
i hope that you were able to see some of the other cute doll quilts made from this most recent quilt-along at Lori's Humble Quilts blog.

Cathy at Big Lake Quilter is hosting a generous give-away of a book by the Country Threads team called "Dear Emma". i love the look of all things Country Threads and if you do as well you might consider hopping over to Cathy's for a chance to win yourself. 

 

 

 

 

recent gifts include:

painting done by Torrie Smiley
 

• restful nights in a bed that i feel comfortable in
• word from Honduras that the wonderful daughter's host parents are doing well
• the joy and appreciation that i feel for my capable hands while i stitch or hold a pencil or pet the dog . . .

Abundance quilt-along linky party

is it just me or does this shot make you want to weep with happiness too?!

okay, maybe it's the drugs . . .

Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry David Thoreau

 

my big rex begonia is beginning it's annual flowering event. every year in early february it blooms and blooms and blooms. by the 14th (valentines day) the floor underneath of it is constantly filling with these tiny petals of pink confetti. it's messy but i LOVE it~!!~

i'm a little late joining in but here's my little Abundance quilt-along flimsy in it's entirety.

 

 

i like having most of my doll quilts finish up in a rectangular shape rather than a square . . . i guess it seems more like it's going to fit some sweet small dolly bed that way. . .   

anyway, i went a bit renegade (;-O) and added a border onto the top and the bottom of mine to get that preferred shape. it just so happened that i had a chunk of that (green with larger red flowers) fabric left on the table after getting all the rest of it  pieced and as it also happened to be exactly the same length as i needed i took that as a sign and simply cut it in half horizontally to get one piece for the top and one piece for the bottom. easy peasy and all done~!

it currently measures 16.75 x 12.5 inches.

 

this is the backing that i stitched together for it.

i used pieces left over from making the front to piece it together as well. none of them had to be adjusted in width and only one had to be trimmed in length.

 

 

the quilting will soon commence.

 

this was a really quick and a really fun little quilt-along hosted by Lori at Humble Quilts. if you've not had the pleasure of visiting her blog before i highly recommend that you do so. she's delightful in every way and a very active and talented quilter. if you have an interest in quilting you won't be disappointed.

 

today i'm linking up to the dolly quilt-along linky party there. there's bound to be many other sweet little "Abundance" quilts for you to admire should you decide to take a peek. i know that i can hardly wait to see what other interpretations have been created~!

 

 

 

 

 

recent gifts include:

• feeling the love from all who have helped to care for me as i recover from my hip replacement surgery
•  a gap between snowstorms as i travelled home
• plenty of time to take all of the long sleepy naps that i need as my body heals
• being 'greeted' by so many sweet comments on my blog ~ thank you~!!~ 

 

 

~!?~Really~?!~

 

a groundhog gets to decide~!?!~

Did the groundhog see his shadow on Saturday?
Punxsutawney Phil  announced, on Twitter no less(!), that he did not see his shadow on Gobbler's Knob on Groundhog Day, February 2, 2013.
so, if a prognosticating groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil is to be believed, it looks like spring will come early this year.

okay, i'm not complaining about spring coming early, that's all good. in fact, that's very good and i don't have a problem with groundhogs in general, but are we really going to let a groundhog decide how much more winter we have?




this is my Abundance quilt top after i added the step 2 pieces.

i did decide to add some borders to mine (top and bottom) but i'll show you that another time.

i'm sure that Lori (Humble Quilts). is going to have a linky party very soon and you will be able to see many of these cute little doll quilts~!





this is the wonderful daughter's january postcard. i used an old calendar card, a couple of small pieces of that bunny fabric that i love, a canceled norwegian postage stamp, a leftover piece of colorful fiber art that i created for some other project, pieces from a color catcher that i thought looked sort of leather(ish), a small snip from the scrap basket and a tiny piece of sage colored linen. of course i also added some spontaneous and quick embroidery stitches and to finish it off i bound it with a cotton linen look fabric.
the wonderful husband thought that this was not my best card but i think it's one of my favorites (maybe it's that cute bunny fabric) . . . what do you think?

while i'm on the subject of the wonderful daughter (i was, wasn't i?) i will show you a shot of my newest "grandpets".

yep, i'm now the proud grandmother of two baby/juvenile rats.
the black and white one has been named Norbert and the light tan one is SirEd.
 OOPS. CORRECTION.
 the black and white one has been named FurEd and the light tan one is Norbert. i've met them and although still a bit on the shy side they were quite sweet little fellows.
i hope to get more photos of them to share as time goes on.
btw: are you okay with pet rats?





recent gifts include:

• feeling the warm sun shine on my skin
• flowering houseplants bringing me smiles
• the loud honking of the geese as they flew low over the house this morning

i will be much slower in my responses for the next few weeks but you should know that i appreciate every comment and visit that you make.

a very belated happy new year

hello all.
i've finally returned from my long holiday break which was filled with all of my favorite things: family close by, good food, relaxed chatter, laughter, love and lots of quiet time. 

i've achieved a lot with the cleaning and organizing during the past few weeks even though i have had to take it at a continually slowing pace . . .
there will have to be a break from that for a while as i have another hip surgery scheduled for early in february. this time i get a new left hip and then, hopefully, i'll be as good as new. 
during my recovery time i'll be doing several small stitch projects and although blogging and internet contact will probably be sporadic i do hope to be around.

due to my slow start into the new year and the current issues to be gotten through i have decided not to challenge myself this year with anything more than enjoying the moment and healing.
that being said, i do hope to maintain my priority of stitching at least a little bit every day and will share the results of that as i have something to show. mostly i'm going to attempt to work steadily forward on small things that need finishing up and occasionally i may jump in now and then with a mini challenge.  i've begun a personal digital art journal using photoshop and i'll share pages from that on my blog from time to time. i do still have an interest in following along with the Photo Art Friday group but for now i'll be contributing only sometimes.
this week at Pixel Dust Photo Art the optional theme is to create a piece of photo art that is minimalist. i've cheated a bit and used a photo (and haiku) that i posted on my blog in january of 2010. the shot fit the theme very well so i will be linking up to share it.
this photo was used straight out of my digitalelph camera (the only one i had at the time) with only a slight crop.

 a white world revealed

bright cleanliness; a clean start

cold revelations
 

at the beginning of the year Photo Art Friday's optional theme was to share a piece that featured a word that i chose to guide or inspire me for the year 2013. i was so excited because i had already chosen a word (receive) and i had even just finished creating a digital art journal page using it~!~ but when i attempted to post it Blogger was having issues with photo uploads. dang it~! i tried some of their work-around suggestions but without any luck so i'll share that with you now.
btw: i'm really glad Blogger is working properly again. 

 

this digital art journal page was put together using only my own photographs and artwork.

i've chosen the word "receive" as my word of the year. i hope to learn to receive both the good, as well as the challenging, as gifts. it's all about learning to see that  what i've been given isn't always about the good. sometimes it's about learning something valuable from the challenging . . . or remembering that what may seem like a burden in the present moment may not seem that way in hindsight . . .
i will be open to what this word has to teach me in the year 2013.

since i couldn't do posts of my own (and apparently other bloggers could), i enjoyed lurking catching up on some of what was going on elsewhere. when i checked up on Lori at Humble Quilts i discovered that she was doing a mini doll quilt-along and decided to join in. i'm going to need a few small pieces for fundraiser donations this year so thought this would be a great way to get a start on those.

this is my first step of the "abundance" quilt-along all finished.
i didn't stick to the colors of the original antique doll quilt or those that Lori used. i just chose from scrap pieces that i had enough of for each part of the quilt.  



 

this is the postcard that i made for the wonderful daughter for the month of december. i have also finished with the january card and will be posting it soon.

 

 

i'm currently seven stitches behind with the TAST project/challenge from Sharon B's Pintangle blog, but have every intention of jumping back into  it soon.  okay, maybe not actually jumping but definitely sitting (nicely on a cold pack) with hands ready to stitch.

 

 

 

 

recent gifts include:

• watching my granddog Suki run spinnies (you know, when the dog runs around like her butts suddenly caught on fire) round and round the yard at full speed with a big lolling tongue sort of smile on her face.
• watching a flock of geese come (almost daily) and nibble on the golf course grass that is exposed under the trees . . . they seem to be making a habit of this.
• creating a pot of ham and mixed bean soup to enjoy on a cold winter night