Like Father,

Like son.

I guess he really meant it when he said he didn't know what to do with his cards.

On a lighter note, the walnuts are looking good, and harvest is just around the corner.

Finally, I don't know if you can see this or not, but Malcolm has not only adjusted to life out of doors, but he's even become civil to intruders. I keep trying to tell the Siamese that he does not live here, but he doesn't listen very well.

Some Cards

Are better than others.

Sometimes it's all about the presentation.

Same card, two shots. The first one may be a bit over-exposed, but it shows the color accurately. The second shows why it will be popular. :)

This n That...

The Rocky Mtn Quilt Festival was held last weekend. Thank you, Sharon, for this picture, taken during the show. I love pictures of people taking pictures of my quilts. It's all about ego. For me, this photo is better than having the quilt hanging...not only is it hanging, but someone likes it enough to take a picture! Yeah, it's my Sally Fields moment. ;)

Hubby had a birthday on Saturday. As usual, I made him a card. He always prefers mountains to beach scenes, so I thought this was appropriate, even if it doesn't specifically say "Happy Birthday."

And sometimes, a picture just leaves me speechless.

Sometimes I Wish

I had bug spray and not just my shoe.

Note the red hourglass on her belly? (Blur caused by major trembling by photographer.)

Today's score: Shoe 3, Black Widows 0.

I am SO glad that the power has returned and I can hide inside, away from the nasties. shudder, shudder.

P.S. The "shoe" was actually a sandal, and yes, it was on my foot.

Power-Less

SCE has notified me that there is a scheduled power outage in my neighborhood from 9:30-3:30 today. That means I can "forget the house," but most of my sewing activities are also not going to happen. I don't have any great hand quilting projects that I'd like to spend 6 hours on today, so I may have to leave for a few hours.

It's supposed to be close to 100, and without the A/C? Shopping sounds good at the moment.

Speaking of shopping, Jeremy HAS to stop bringing new fabric into Thimble Towne!! These arrived on Monday, and went home with me on Tuesday. I did think about them for almost 24 hours before rushing in to make sure they hadn't all been sold...

Remember that class I took with Jeannette DeNicolis Meyer, back in May, at Asilomar? This raw edge woven piece was one of the techniques we worked on. For some reason I like it. I don't think it's finished, but it's not talking at the moment. I've thought of adding a cardinal, or cutting it and turning it into a pillow. Any suggestions? At least it has more substance than it did when it was a flimsy woven raw-edged mess...

And finally, I haven't been doing anything spectacular, I've just been plugging along. I made these airplane blocks back in the early 90's (like 1991!), and they've been in the UFO box since then. Last year I added the setting squares, and a few months ago I added the large triangles to put it on point. A few weeks ago I slapped on the borders, and last week and this I quilted it.

One less UFO, finally, finally. I've got a few feet of binding left to secure.

How long does it take to make a quilt? This simple baby took about 2 decades. egads!

Gotta run before they pull my plug. 'Til next time!! Keep on quiltin'!

Forget the House

Well, I gave it a shot, but it didn't last. Forget the house, I want to sew.

Yesterday I made two more cards, and put more quilting stitches into an ancient UFO.

Here is card #1, as modeled by Charlie. I believe I annoyed him when I woke him from his nap.

Here it is again, as shown by Blogger. >:P Blogger.

Edgar freaked when asked to model this card. As soon as I removed it, he took off. whoosh! Like the wind!

These won't be delivered for a while. I might actually be sort of on top of things. Today.

Now what I'd really like to do is take a nap. *yawn* Charlie has the right idea.

Cleaning House

The surprise/spontaneous visit from my sister last week really drove home to me the state of my house. It's in a constant state of chaos, a place with too much stuff and not enough storage. I don't have a place for everything, and when she asked to see my Studio, I was dismayed. I'd moved the things that had oozed into the guest bedroom back into the Studio. We could barely even wade in the Studio door, and no way could I show her what I was working on, as it was buried under mountains of everything.

It wasn't just the Studio, the entire house is out of control. I haven't been posting, because I've been trying to clean/straighten/declutter. I've been attacking small areas that I should be able to conquer in a day. The biggest area so far has been the laundry room. I still have a few details to take care of, but I am happy to report that all hand-washables have been washed, dried and put away. yay. They'd been piling up for months.

This afternoon I rewarded myself by clearing off a portion of my sewing table. I was desperate for some stitching, and after 3 hours of putter/decluttering, I could reach the machine.

The result was this little card.

I started with a watercolor rose that I'd photo-transferred quite a while ago. I painted the rose when I was in high school. The camera has been very generous, as it is not very good. Quilting added a bit of dimension. I then appliqued on a crocheted rose that I picked up at a yard sale a few months back. I've added some bead leaves and flowers for accent, and the back/border fabric is a lovely green with cabbage roses. This is destined for a past president of the SD Rose Society. shh! Don't tell!!

My immediate future doesn't look to hold much sewing, but if, perchance, I happen to do some, I'll be sure to jump online and post. If I don't, I'm probably still trying to clean up around here. *sigh* I never seem to get ahead...

Gone to the Dogs

I was barely back from San Carlos when my sister called. We've been trying to schedule a time for her to come up and visit, but her time is precious. She's on call 24/7, she's a professional dog walker. Her plan for a quick up and back visit changed a bit, when she was asked to sit for two dogs a day early. She already has two of her own.

It took me a while to agree to having 4 dogs come here. It wasn't easy, as they are all house dogs. I know they are well behaved, but one has a bad habit of chasing anything that twitches. And that one particularly enjoys attacking squirrels and...cats.

The big thing on the table was that Prissy needed to be leashed whenever she was outside, and that no one was allowed to let the cats inside. Amazingly enough, we all survived.

Here we are on one of the 6-8 walks we took during her visit. I'm pulling up the rear, along with the little Yorkie.

When the Yorkie gets tired, he looks for a ride.

And when he gets home, he runs straight for the spa.

His buddy, the Shih Tzu/Poodle, doesn't care that it's bath water. He's thirsty!

On Day 2, we went to the walnuts, to check out the trees. Looking good there, trees!!

Can you believe these dogs? They love my sister so much, they just hang out at her feet.

There was some sniffing going on, as Chupa allowed them to see where she lives. The only nipping happened when the two older dogs first met. I think Chupa was afraid she was going to be replaced. The second nip was awarded to the white dog, for excessive sniffing.

Here's Chupa, getting ready to make a run for it. I think this is her favorite side to show the camera. She shuns the paparazzi.

After the orchard tour, we sat on the porch, watching the cars go by.

Once again the Yorkie has made himself quite at home.

The old lady of the bunch is still plugging along quite nicely. This is the luckiest dog on the planet, found wandering the streets of LA at 6 weeks. When they say, "It's a dog's life," this is the kind of dog you hope they're referring to...(she used to be jet black).

Chupa was quite happy, as she had her Man by her side, stroking her head.

And here's the vixen, resting up for the next moving object. She's a handful, most definitely.

The visit went much better than I'd anticipated. I tried to take pics of all the dogs for you dog fans out there, but the Shihtzpoo is blacker than black, and the lack of contrast in his fur and face left every picture looking like a blur...

More From San Carlos

The third card I delivered was this anniversary card. Penelope helped me take the picture, ergo the artistic tilt to the frame.

Here's a picture of the happy couple. It was completely unposed, as I was photographing something else when I spotted them.

I seem to be drawn to funky sculpture. I LOVED these frog mermaids. They crack me up! Like, totally, dude. (*snort, snort!*) (Did you know that Penny snorts when she laughs? It's very cute.)

It was the attention to detail that got me reaching for the camera. (And the sudden Shrek soundtrack playing in my head.)

We were at the Stanford Shopping Center, where Dad was teaching Penny flower appreciation.

She was very appreciative.

And last but not least, here's our little clothes horse showing off her strength. Love you, little Penelope!!!

Land of Houses With Cute Doors

Yes, folks, once again I am out of town. 2011 seems to be my never stay home year. I'm in the Bay Area, in San Carlos. I've nicknamed it The Land of Houses with Cute Doors. See?

Am I right? Wouldn't you like to have an arched front door? Especially one painted red?
I'm here to deliver some cards. Okay, so this one was a little late.

This one was on time. It's hard to see, it's a birthday card. It's made of silk, that I bought at the Long Beach Quilt Festival. The silk on the back was purchased at Road to CA. It's the first time I've sewn silk. It is not as easy as I'd hoped it would be.

There's also a third card, but it's still in my camera. I'll try to post it tomorrow.

In the meantime, look who can now grab her toes.

And sit up, all by herself. She loves her little lace petticoat.

What? You want me to look at the camera for a picture? Again? Okay, but I really like the lace better than the flash in the face...

And I'm not sitting up tall enough? Gramma, you ask a lot of a girl. Oh! You want to see my onesie? Of course! No problem! Go bears!

Now that I've had my Penny fix, in the morning it's home again, home again, jiggety jog. zoom zoom! Now you see me, now you don't!

Happy Dance

This round of irrigating is done. yay!! If you wonder why I hesitate to participate, maybe this will give you a bit of insight. It's the kind of creature I could have nightmares about, or at least it was, when I was younger.

But that pump causes the water to flow.

And water that flows allows trees and nuts to grow. See those? Those are walnuts!

As I walked through the orchard, I saw yet another broken egg shell. :( On Monday, I saw two others, near the house. Mr. Cat had nothing to do with them. He prefers gophers.

Once the water has reached the end of the check, it's time to shut it off. See? I'm doing my part!

Now I have to wash my shoes. Again.

But that's okay, I don't mind. When I got home, Mr. Postman was just arriving and he handed me a box of TREASURE. ooh! aah!! Yes, I kicked off my shoes and did a happy dance.

The only question I have now, is WHERE am I going to put these?!!!