Blue Leaves

And purple, and green, and yellow, and pink, and gold. Goodnight. : )

Art Alarm Clock?

Have you ever been so tired that you can barely hold your eyes open? Your eyes are watering and you're yawning your head off and the only thing you want to do is sleep? I was like that earlier tonight. So off to bed I went. So nice, so comfy, so sleeeepyyy...
And then...

Why can't leaves be blue?

Huh? I just want to go to sleep.

Why can't leaves be blue? Why Can't Leaves Be Blue? Why CAN'T Leaves be BLUE?

So there you have it. The question that has been bugging me for 2 hours now and not letting me sleep. Apparently I must make some blue leaves before I can sleep. So here I am, back out of my cozy bed looking thru fabric scraps and waiting for my iron to get nice and hot. I'm sure this is all because someone told me way back when that leaves are supposed to be green and tree trunks are brown and for the past umteen years all my leaves have been realistic colors and my trees have been, you guessed it, brown.

Okay so I'm sure someone has done blue leaves. Probably lots of people. I've probably seen them but I'm too tired to think about it now. The real question is 'Why can't My leaves be blue?' I have spent pretty much my whole life trying to do things right or what other people call right. I have been trying to let go of that especially in my art and it's hard after all those years of conditioning. But I'm working on it. I do this for me, not for anyone else so why shouldn't it be the way I want it? Yes, blue leaves are a breakthrough as simple as that sounds.

So is this where the real journey begins? With blue leaves?

Cyber Fyber Videos

The videos of the postcards and ATCs sent in for the Cyber Fyber exhibition are online now. Go here to see them. It's a great way to spend about 20 minutes. My ATC is at 4:35 and my postcard is at 3:52. It's so exciting to see something of mine in a show like this. It is truly amazing what can be accomplished with such a small format. Alot of the cards are very intricate. Very nice.

Fiber Art

I liked the way this came out so much that I decided it would look nice framed. I painted bristol board and stamped over it with leaves for the first background. The second background I left white and stamped gold leaves on it. You can't see it very well in the picture but I'm very pleased with the way it came out. I'm considering donating this one to Collage Mania. I need to figure out how to get the image sized right to send. I have a couple more of these in the works. Hmmm...Could be a series.

Sugar and Spice

Aren't they cute? These lovely little girls are looking for good inside homes. They are very affectionate and playful. It would be wonderful if they could find a home together but would do fine separately. I would really love to keep them but we already have 4 other cats and keeping these two would just be too much. So if you are in the central Ohio area and are interested you can email me at rice.pamela at yahoo.com. Please, serious inquiries only, and you must be 18 or older to be considered. I am not charging an adoption fee but there will be some conditions that need to be met as I need to be sure that these babies will be loved and well cared for.

My Birthday

I had to work on my birthday. Bummer. But this is what I came home to. : ) I'm a lucky mom. I have such great kids. Thanks guys, you made my day. : )

Out of Hiding

One of the problems I have with keeping up with my blog is that I feel like I have to have pictures in every post. Since I haven't been really productive, I haven't had any pictures. And when I did finish a couple of mini quilts, of course, I forgot to take pictures. Anyway I finally have some pictures so here's what I've been doing.

I love making fabric postcards. I was in a fall kind of mood when I made these. I also had oodles of tiny scraps left over from making a batik mini quilt (that I forgot to photograph). So I used them to create the background for these, then added the leaves on top. I really like the look. I'll definitely be playing more with this.

When I have the time and energy I participate in the block lotto on about.com. Sophie designed some really cute house blocks. I adore these blocks. In fact I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to them. I made some 6 inch ones for the lotto, then more for me. The ones in the photos above are of the 3 inch mini blocks that I have done so far. Thanks Sophie, these are just too cute.

Updates and Future Quilters

My mom's out of the hospital and getting better. She's almost as feisty as ever. : ) While she was in the hospital the kids decided to make her a couple of gifts to let her know they were thinking of her. Jessi made her first potholder.

And Josh made his first postcard.

They both really liked doing it. I think they had the most fun sorting thru my scraps. : ) They had a tough time deciding on which fabrics to use. : ) Now they both want to make more.

We finally have a due date for the baby. December 14! I'm getting into this grandma thing now. : )

While Mom was in the hospital I got to babysit her little poodle, Trevor. Between him wanting to be held ALL the time and my kitten, Shorty wanting to be held ALL the time I really had my hands full. : ) Unfortunately Mom insisted that I bring him home. I really miss the little guy. This is one of the few times they consented to sharing me.

A Lot Going On

I had planned on putting pretty much everything on hold for the 6 weeks that my threadpainting class was going on but my life just isn't cooperating. As usual. : ) Friday lesson 4 was posted and I have just completed lesson 1. I spent alot of time on it trying to get it right. It's not perfect but I think I've done fairly well. I think my circles and stipples are still a little large but I suppose like everything it will get better the more I do it. I have to push forward now though before I get too far behind. I will be able to move faster now that I have gotten the technique down somewhat though. I have done a few more leaves since the ones above that look alot better but I haven't take pics yet.

We only have one car and DH works an hour away so I spent all last week driving him to work so I could take DS for the state testing. Since he is home schooled we have to do that sort of thing from time to time. This week I will spend running back and forth to my DM's house and hospital. She has pneumonia and is in the hospital. I really want her moved to a different hospital but she doesn't want to do that. I just have more confidence in another one in our area.

I did finally manage to get outside and discharge some fabric. It's very interesting to see what will happen if anything. The kids loved it, they kind of took over. I raided my scrap bin for a few things for them to try just to see what would happen. They had a ball. Of course they both loved the results on the black fabric. Now they both want to run around and get different black fabrics to discharge to see what colors will appear. : ) The bright red and bright blue above didn't really do anything. There are a couple of spots that look slightly faded but that's all. Josh did the green and Jessi did the purple. I was glad that theirs both discharged fairly well. : ) Here they are just working away at finding things to lay on their fabric and spraying it with a mild bleach solution.

And here are the results.

Have a wonderful day everyone. : ) Hopefully I'll have alot of threadpainting to post in the coming weeks.

News!!!

Look what's blooming. They are so cheerful. That's not my news but I thought you'd like to see them. Besides I really like to add a pic when I post. Okay on with the news.

I am going to be a grandma. My son told me this past Wed. I have been trying to wrap my mind around the idea. So here's my reaction 'Well I guess I better make a baby quilt'. I just really couldn't think of anything else to say. He's only 18 so we're not exactly jumping for joy about the idea. It's taking some time to sink in. We've got some time though. Late Nov. or early Dec. We'll have a real due date after the doctor visit next week. : ) So now I guess I'll be giving grandbaby updates. Boy does that feel wierd to say. : )

Thank You

I want to thank everyone that stopped by and checked out my abstract quilt. Thank you for your feedback both in comments here and private e-mails. I am encouraged to keep playing. I don't know if this type of art is right for me but at least it seems it wasn't a total flop. I can only find what's right by trying different things. By the way the name of this piece is Hillbilly Sunset. Sorry if I offend anyone. I was born in WV and I'm still a country girl so I figure I'm allowed. I was going for very casual. The colors put me in the mind of sunset. And it kind of feels to me like hanging out in the back yard in your raggedy jeans seeing the sunset and having the sun reflect off objects that may be laying around. Of course listening to Jeff Foxworthy while working on it I'm sure had some influence on it. : ) ...if you mow your yard and find a car... LOL

What I've Been Doing

I'm not very consistant I know. Nothing for over a month and 2 posts in one day. What can I say, the real world interferes way too much. : )

I just completed my first attempt at an abstract art quilt. What do you think? My family likes it but no one wants mom unhappy ya know. I want brutal honesty here. I know the feel I was going for and what it puts me in the mind of but I'm not saying as I don't want to influence anyone. Soooo...should I continue on the abstract track or run as fast as I can back to traditional with a pattern quilting? : ) If you want to see a larger photo go to my web shots. I don't know why some of the photos you can make larger and some you can't. It's probably me being inconsistant again. : )

I got to go shopping over the weekend. : ) This is all the stuff I came home with. Quite a haul huh? Yes I am spoiled. : )

This is a better look at the beautiful yarn I picked up. I just kept going back and looking at it. In the end I just couldn't leave without it. : )

I love angelina fibers and just had to get some more. As you can see I've been playing. I got the book Amazing Angelina by Betty Blais too. I figured I could use some actual real instructions rather than bumbling through it. It's great, simple and to the point. There are instructions in it to make beads from angelina. Cool idea, easier said than done. : ) The paintbrush above was my first attempt. The angelina stuck to it. : ) Oops, I probably shouldn't have used something that was painted. But it was there, round and within reach, so... Anyway now I have a really pretty paintbrush to use to clean my sewing machine. I covered it with gel medium to protect it and wrapped a piece of candlelight thread around it. Do I get the most decorative paintbrush award? : )

I also picked up some Candlelight thread, gorgeous stuff. I had to grab some more of Superior's Bottom Line, this will definitely be a staple in my sewing room. Yes you did see some of the cheap metallic from Wally World. (Yep I'm hanging my head in shame for cutting that corner.) I've always loved playing with clay so that explains that one. The metallic acrylics were on sale. : ) I love shiny, could you tell? Last but certainly not least and what I actually went shopping for was the thread to add to my collection. I want to make sure I have enough variety for the thread painting class I'm taking. Maree Caplin is teaching it at Quilters Keep Learning and it's called Foliage, Fins, Feathers and Fur. Hopefully the link will work. You should definitely check it out if you're interested in learning thread painting. She has class examples on her blog as well http://www.mareesquilts.bigblog.com.au/index.do. There is also a link on the sidebar if this doesn't work. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes...well...

By the way check out the thread in the lower left corner, it's called Dirt. I like the thread but the name alone would have made it a must have. : )

Thanks for visiting. Please feel free to leave a comment, they are so much fun to read. And I really do want your feedback on my forray into art quilting. I'm off to try and decide what to do for a doll quilt I am making for a friend. Hope everyone has a Great night. : )

TIF February/March/April

Finally, I have the computer and camera cooperating with each other and time to catch up. I didn't finish a project for Feb. I did write a letter, does that count? : ) Above is my piece for March. I actually had it done in the first week amazing as it is but couldn't get the pic posted. I had been wanting to try some beading so the beads are the details, that and the fiber couched to the edges of the ATC. In this case the details make the card I think.

I love the colors for the April challenge. I may just work with those. Animal prints come to mind as do the engravings and paintings that are sometimes found in caves. Sorry I have no idea what those are called. At one point I'm sure I did but now...well you know how it goes. Pottery is another thought. Hmmm...I do have some air dry clay that I got over the weekend.

The theme for April is 'How do you view change?'. Nothing really pops into my mind as to what kind of piece to create for the theme. I can however explain how I view change. Of course that would depend on whether I am initiating the change or I am being pushed into it. Of course if I am the one making the change I am all for it. Most of the time I am pushed into a change for whatever reason. I will admit that I don't much care for it when that happens. But I am very adaptable probably as a result all the changes I have gone through in my life. I just try to approach it in a positive manner and make the best of it. Most of the time things turn out for the best even if the change wouldn't initially be viewed in a positive light. At least that's how it's been in my life and I am very thankful for that. : ) Personally I am constantly in a state of change it seems like which is a good thing. I love adventures and I love to learn new things. I'm definitely not the same person I was 10 years ago or 5 years ago, nor would I want to be.

Prizes Sent

I finally got all of the prizes done for the OWOH Giveaway finished and in the mail. Quite a bit later than I had planned. Better late than never right? : ) I had so much fun! I'm really looking forward to participating next year. I'll have the prizes done in advance. : ) I'm already thinking about what I'm going to do. : )

I have just posted all the prizes on my webshots. If you want to have a look there is a link on the right. Now I better get back to work. I have a doll quilt to finish. I have to have it in the mail on Monday. : )

I've Been Tagged

Trisha who blogs at easily amused, hard to offend . . . tagged me so I'll give it a go. Here's how it works:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Okay now for 7 facts about me:

1. I tend to be happy by nature. It doesn't take much to amuse me.
2. I love to play and experiment.
3. I try not to take anything too seriously and I don't worry much.
4. I am very unsure of myself when I meet new people, I'm never sure what to say. So I listen
alot more than I speak.
5. I forget conversations readily, so I don't gossip. Even if I could remember things well, I still
wouldn't gossip.
6. People tend to confide in me. I think it's because of numbers 4 and especially 5.
7. I am getting gray hair but I refuse to dye it for the purpose of covering up the gray. If I ever
do dye it, it will just be for fun.

On to the tagging part. : )

1. Christine Never Plan Too Far Ahead

2. Maree Maree's Quilts

3. Carol Taylor's Textile Trials

4. Nikki Whimsy Love

5. Sue Andrus Gardens & More

6. Jen Confessions of a Fabric Addict

7. Connie Cetta Cheese Chatter

Off I go to let everyone know that they've been tagged. : )

OWOH Winners!!!

Hi Everyone! Sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday. It was definitely Valentine's Day, ever since I can remember something has gone seriously wrong on Valentine's Day, except for one. The only one I can remember where nothing went wrong was 12 years ago when my darling hubby proposed to me. That was a great day! Anyway yesterday at 5am I got up only to discover that our furnace wasn't working. Long story short 15 hours later we had heat again! Yippie!!! Thankfully it was only a loose wire but we had to basically tear the furnace apart and test every little thing in order to find it. It was a very looonnng day.

So on with the fun stuff. I borrowed someone's idea of drawing one name for every 25 entries so I ended up with 6 winners. : ) Sorry, I don't remember who's blog that idea was on to give credit.

Here's the list:

Sandra from http://www.thistlecovefarm.blogspot.com/ won a postcard similar to this one:

Dabrah from Fickle Muse http://dabrah.blogspot.com/ won a postcard similar to this one:

Eliza of http://www.elizascorner.com/blog/ won this postcard:

Shabbyfufu http://shabbyfufu.blogspot.com/ won an ATC similar to this one:

Beth of http://www.bethquinndesigns.com/ won an ATC similar to this one:

Christine from http://pbcquiltlover.blogspot.com/ won this ATC (not completed yet):

And since I was having so much fun drawing names of winners I had a second chance drawing for everyone that was left for one of these hairy bookmarks : )

And the winner is...Diana from Adventuring Through Life http://dianas-glob.blogspot.com/.

This has been so much fun!!! I am definitely participating again next year. Right now I have a number of commitment that I need to concentrate on but after that I will probably post another giveaway or 2 throughout the year just because I had so much fun. So check back. : ) I want to thank everyone that visited my blog and everyone that participated in this.

Now I better go contact the winners. : )

Just For Fun

Lets101 - Free Dating Site

Lets101 - free online dating

Cyber Fyber

The gorgeous cards pictured above are the ones I received from Susan Lenz. The ones below are the ones I sent to her in return. If you scroll down a few posts you will find all the info about this event including a link to the site. I am very excited to be participating and I am hoping to be able to go to the show which will be Jan. 9-20, 2009. There are quite a few postcards and ATC's still available for trade so if you are interested scroll down and click the link. There's alot of eye candy and links to other great blogs as well. : )

One World-One Heart Giveaway

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 7 pm EST ON FEB. 14


Here it is! I am a little late joining in but there is still plenty of time for you to enter. All you need to do is leave a comment below and be sure to leave a way for me to contact you, e-mail would be good. The cut off for entering the drawing is February 13 at midnight. I will be drawing the winners on Valentine's Day and contacting you thru e-mail immediately after for your shipping info. If I don't get a response within 3 days, I will draw another name for your prize, I don't think this will be an issue though. : ) There will be 3 winners. I will be giving away a fiber postcard, bookmark, and ATC. While I am not quite done yet, here is a sampling of what you may receive, I will continue to work on them over the weekend. Sorry about the photo quality, if you go to my webshots, the link is on the sidebar, and go to the ONE World-ONE Heart Giveaway album, you can view the photo full size and get a better idea. (Please keep in mind that shiny doesn't photograph well.) If I get enough comments I may add a small quilt or other items later and have more winners or I may just throw in extra items for the winners, who knows? : ) This is just too much fun.

I have been having so much fun visiting all these new blogs (well, new to me) of all these wonderful, creative, and generous people. I had to force myself to work on my projects. : ) I could just spend days (and probably will) cruising these blogs. Please visit them yourself, you'll see what I mean. : ) All the links to the participating blogs are on the ONE World-ONE Heart blog. Here is the link - http://oneworldevent.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-years-event-information.html. There are tons of great giveaways to sign up for. While you're there, please consider joining in the giveaways, there's still some time left.

Oops! I forgot to add that you don't have to be participating in the giveaway to enter the drawings. ANYONE can enter. You can enter one, pick and choose, or enter them all. : ) The blogs are really great. Have fun visiting them. : )

Giveaway!!!

Okay so I found something else to participate in. I just can't help it! Anyway this one is really cool. It's the One World One Heart event. Lisa Oceandreamer is hosting this blog-wide giveaway event. The idea behind the event is to bring bloggers together from around the world and hopefully create new friendships. There are alot of great prizes being offered as well. I don't have my giveaway ready yet but I will be posting it either tonight or early tomorrow so keep checking back for it so you can enter my drawing. In the meantime check out http://oneworldevent.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-years-event-information.html
for more information on this event and links to all the blogs of the participants. Don't forget to check back here though. : )

Oops! I forgot to add that you don't have to be participating in the giveaway to enter the drawings. Anyone can enter. You can enter one, pick and choose, or enter them all. : ) The blogs are really great. Have fun visiting them. : )

February TIF Challenge

The concept for this month's challenge is 'What are you old enough to remember?'. I'm old enough to remember alot of things but most of what I remember is what we didn't have that we do now. That's rather difficult to interpret in a fiber project. I could go with the color scheme
but I'd really rather work with the concept. Hmmm...I'll have to think on it some more. Something will come to me. : )

Cyber Fyber Exhibition

CYBER FYBER is an exhibition of international fiber art scheduled for January 8th through 20th, 2009 at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, USA. The brainchild of Susan Lenz, this exhibit will focus on the supportive, global community of fiber artists with whom Susan regularly shares new techniques, contemporary approaches to textiles, and finished work by Internet websites and blogs. The exhibition will include three primary areas: Fiber ATCs (Artist Trading Cards); fiber postcards; and the work of several invited artists. The exhibition will also include FIBER DAY and ATC trading day. From the beginning, Susan Lenz is documenting CYBER FYBER on a blog/journal.

When I saw the link (http://cyberfyberexhibition.blogspot.com/) to this I had to check it out. I adore making fiber postcards and trading them. Of course I couldn't resist trading an ATC and postcard. I will probably send another 3 ATC's for the
INTERNATIONAL RANDOM ATC TRADE. Since I'm making some anyway. : )

If you're the least interested in fiber postcards or ATC's whether you want to trade or not you should definitely check this site out. Lots of eye candy and lots of links to other blogs with lots of eye candy. : )

This is an excellent opportunity to have your work displayed in a gallery setting as well. Pretty cool huh?

Of course anyone who knows me knows I am completely addicted to swaps and challenges so there was no way I could pass this up. : )

So I'm off to work on my postcards and ATC's...in other words I'm going to PLAY!!!

I got a huge surprise!

The quilt I made for the Doll Quilt Swap on about.com 'Flowers for You' is going to be in a quilt show! It will be shown in the Palm Beach County Quilters' Guild quilt show on Feb 29 & March 1. Christine was the recipient of this little quilt and she showed it around at a guild meeting and she said that the show committee requested that she enter it. How totally cool is that?! I'm so excited I just about can't stand it! The show dates seem soooo far away. : )

Swap Blocks Done

I have my mini 9 patch blocks done. There was a limit of 20 sets of 5, I did 13 sets. I would like to have done the entire 20 but I don't want to run out of time on my other commitments either. I love these little blocks so if I have time later in the month I'll make more, they're just soooo cute.

Play Time

I finally got to experiment a little with angelina. It's been hanging around here for a couple of months staring at me. My first attempt turned out to be a blob. I think I just added too much. I do have difficulty knowing when to stop. It really doesn't look so bad in the picture but trust me it's pretty bad. At the very least it won't work for it's originally intended purpose. I think I can cut it up and salvage most of it though.

My second attempt is a keeper. It looks way better than the photo. Funny how that worked out.

This is the final product. I'm very pleased with it. I named it Better With Buttons because it looks alot better with the buttons. Okay so I'm gonna have to get better at this naming business too. It's a new concept for me. This may turn into a series. I'm really enjoying working with these materials and colors.