retirement begins.........

Rainy, lazy day.  I actually had time to read this morning.  r-e-a-d.  what a concept.  Finished quilting a quilt.  Need to do binding and get in mail.  My ladies in Quilt Group.  Have tops finished and are starting the quilting process.  I actually sat and sewed a block for our next sampler quilt.  Pretty soon they won't need me.  We will be giving the quilts to paramedics when they pick up a child.
                                      

Fiinished eyes :  binding tomorrow

                                                          aquarium

                    Penguin 20 yrs old  : gets hand fed.  Can't spay or neuter birds.  All penguins on display: born in captivity.  Now genetic tracking like:  lions and tigers.  So, when you watch penguis:  either all male or all female.:  unless in a breeding program

                                 last quilt show.  amazing what they can do w/ fabric.

Home at last.

Got Sue to the airport.  Her flight was cancelled:  go figure;  she had to fly from Dallas to Salt Lake to Phoenix (look at map)  so she could be home by 6 and not 11.  Ummmm.  On my way home, I broke down and bought some shorts.  Now I can burn these.  Then I zipped over to the Samurai Exhibit.  It's small but it's amazing and wonderful.  They have the full Samurai uniforms from 700's through 1886 when "the" emperor controlled Japan and took away all privileges.  They explained how the armor was sewn together.  Yappers sewn but it was plates of armor sewn together as to protect the warrior. 30 - 40 pounds.  like our police and firemen wear today.  Not like the European Conquistadors or Crusaders armor of 100s of pounds.  One of the helmets has 32 plates sewn together.  It was a truly exciting exhibit.  As I pulled into my driveway, I got a phone call from Sue.  She finally touched down in Phoenix.  Now to snuggle w/ the cats.  Pay attention to George and protect my super, silky mudd skin.  If you ever get the chance to wrap in mudd.  just do it.

Another day of happiness

Lazy Sunday.  Started putting my studio back together.  Every little item has to go into its right little cubby.  Too bad it can't just stay on the floor or my cutting board.  Getting ready to start my custom quilts.  Took another quilt class in my jammies this morning.  Learned about color and tone.  Interesting tidbits on how to make picture quilts talk.

Happiness at a quilt show.

I hate city driving.  Forgot how miserable.  Huge semi-trucks, idiots and 20 miles in 60 minutes:  ug!
Booth all set-up and ready to go.  It always amazes each time I finish and as I walk away:  take that final look and see how artsy I am getting.  I just keep growing and growing.  I like this guild:  had teenagers to unpack my car and help set-up.  Will provide both breakfast and lunch.  When I get home:  I want to reorganize my studio.  I need to find a permanent place for my hand-dyed cottons and wool.  I think I'm good enough to go wholesale.  Now to revamp my webpage:  but!!!  I have 4 custom orders first.  Good-thing no dead lines.  Can't rush art.  Can't rush homemade.  Can't rush an old woman and can't rush a cat!   More from cat show

                                               did you know Maine Coons can be any color

                                                      And, I thought I was bald

                                                            Wish I had a nose

                                             18 pounder and longer than me:  still growing

                                    George, look-out:  I'm on the list to shelter a maine coon kitten. Hope he comes w/out papers.  Because I don't want to worry about $1200 running down the street.
                                   PLEASE:  micro-chip your pets.

Well things never go as planned.....

Spent the day dyeing wool.  When I started dyeing - wool needed an acid treatment.  Now its just plain fun.  I make luscious cottons and beautiful colored wools ,but , have never experimented with wool.  Dyeing is so labor intensive... but I love doing it.  So:  I experimented and mixed colors together.   Wool is like $30 / yard now. (so I have to dye my own)    I love creating applique w/ wool and :  just like everything else:  the wool came  4 inches shorter than last time.  {How do you explain that to a customer?}  Wool smells like wet sheep.  Pretty close to a wet dirty dog.  It has to boil for 30 minutes.  Some chemicals don't react w/ the heat so you have to add vinegar:  Picture wet dirty dog and vinegar.  George wants his kitchen back.  While waiting to boil (didn't pioneers boil clothes???) I printed using my fabric sheets:  13 x19.  Man!  technology has changed.  And, I'm under no pressure to hurry, hurry.  I don't have to work tomorrow.  Yippeee!!!  Summer Vacation:  wait:  I'm on summer vacation for-e-ver.  Photos from cat show

                                                                I wantthis angel

                                                    Printed for a 24 x 30 " quilt

                                                          cross-eyed but rescued and in a great loving home

                                                      cats have dwarfs also.  He was born normal.  Never caught up w/ his siblings.  With great medical care and lots of love:  should live to be 8-12

                                            this is a tile:  wouldn't it me a marvelous quilt

oh my another day of happiness..........

Putting my sewing room back together again.  Torn up for the last two shows.  Now to get serious and create new inventory.  Went to quilt class today.  I am teacher.  One has top finished.  Next week we start the sampler blocks.  10".  But, wait!  I have to make the frickin' sampler.  Guess I better clear off that cutting table.  Self-discipline......only one hour on computer tomorrow.  Spent 4 hours looking for the quilt blocks for the sampler.  Everything is so hidden.  But I finally found the one I wanted.  Has all size blocks.  Time to put border on the cowboy.

Ugh! Christmas in July

Home from the cat show.  Texas.  The Great State of Texas:  is one of the most ugly, most brutal, most boringnest drives in the world and just plain flat.  Oh! My!  only the run from Wichita to El Paso is worse.  Now to get unpacked.  Download kitty photos and begin working on Christmas Quilts.  Yappers.  Almost everything is sold.  Makes my ego just grow and grow.  Found my place.  Found my passion.  Kittttttty ,  Kitty shows:  here we go.  But, in the meantime.  I have 4 quilts &yikes! did I say 4 that need to be done this summer).  But!  wait:  I need to clean-up my webpage:  But!  wait:  do I here that washer calling my name?

Happiness at a cat show

Photos to follow.  But, I hate motel rooms.  Stopped at 2 yesterday and all they had left were smoking rooms.  Yuck! Gag!  Gag!.  So I'm staying at an obscure place 3 min from the cat show and is immaculately clean.  Oh so clean!  So,  being wound up I called my friend Susan in AZ.  We laughed and laughed about:  When George and I got married.  We were living in Montana and married in Arizona.  Right ater 9-11.  Airports had no experience w/ security.  I left my drivers license home.  Montana let me fly (only one runway and one plane) :  almost didn't make it out of Salt Lake.  Get off the plane.  Visit my mom and go to the county court house because we have no marriage license.  The one I paid for was in process so we had to wait in line for a million hours and buy a new one.  The rabbi wouldn't marry us w/out a license because he would lose his license.  Good thing they believed me w/ no license.  Went to see my mom and around  9:30:  realize George has no ring.  He wore that Target ring for 4 years.  Next day we got married.  And now security is worse.  I have to prove I am me at every turn and every transaction.  It's not fair that all these dishonest people have made me no longer me.

Happiness in Cleburne , TX

Uneventful ride :  but :  I argued w/ my GPS.  I wanted to take a leisurely backroads drive & hit obscure quilt shops.  Alas.  No quilt shops.  No backroads.  I had a fork in the road.  3 major highways and couldn''t remember which one to take.  Took the wrong one.  Stopped to pick-up Texas map at 3 places.  Nobody carries them anymore.  Geez!!!  I'm going to have to hit a walmart or book store.  sometimes it's a pain and to live frugle w/out an Iphone.  Ended up on the same highway the GPS argued w/ me for 90 min.  Didn't do too bad.  Found a beautiful lake.  Can't wait to show George and  ony went 19 miles out of my way.

18th day of happiness

amazing how good you feel when you take your medicine.  Allergies:  I will win this battle.  Just got released from Doc.  Yippee.  I'm on 6 month rotation now.  It is so wonderful to say:  I don't need that coveted 3:30 appointment anymore.  Let someone else have it who works.    Got a phone call this morning.  My title is Montana.  Has a lien on it and the name is not Miller.  So?  why is this a problem.  She's been paid off for 7 years.  Was I supposed to let the Great State of Texas know I had a name change and paid her off:  (oops:  do i here fees of a billion dollars to prove she's mine???).    Running all over Wichita today.  Trying to prove I'm me and she is mine.  But????

17 days of happiness

who am i kidding its:  ungodly hot outside.  Run to the store should take 20 mins.  Takes an hour   Run to the bank.  Takes 20 min.  Hot, Hot , Hot.  Finsihing up a project.  Takes all day.  Need to find a gold thread.  Takes forever:  Gold?  Yellow Gold, Gold copper Gold Brown.  Too many choices.  40 choices of cereal.  50 choices of fruit. 80 choices of cat food.  10 choices for cash back and now the dog does  not like my choice of dog food.

dog days or are my dogs just tired.

Looked all evening for baby buffalo.  Couldn't find any but two single bulls.  Not an elk to be seen.  Longhorns up and moving.  Deer all over.  And, lots of flocks of turkeys.  (got that right:  flock verses rafter).  I need a rafter w/ a ton of ice melting on me.  Spent dday ironing my silks and cottons.  Need to dye wool and George can have his kitchen back.  Any volunteers

                                                a flock

                                                         so healthy

                               Abilene quilt show:  wish I was w/ the baby wolves and bear

dog days

It feels more like muggy mosquito dog days.  Just don't want to do anything.  Need to find an ice cold pool somewhere.  Know anyone who lives near a glacier or iceburg?

It was so flipping hot :  we only saw turkeys.  baby buff on other side of park behind fence

dog day two

My oh My!  what a messy kitchen.  Started w/ plastic tubs, then plastic baggies and then coffee containers.  Went and bought a dozen buckets.  Yup!!!  They hold 6 yards each.  Time to save my sheckles.  Got to buy more fabric.  Got to buy more dye.  It is so much fun.  I'm getting an instinct of where to get which color.  Couldn't live w/out my color wheel.  Now its time to quilt.  Ready to teach dye classes.  I do make luscious colors. 

                                                     Abilente quilt show

                                                                     soon to be cards

                                                          what bird is this?