Gathering Dust

It's (Antique) Show Time

This Saturday is my favorite antique show, both to buy and sell at - the Old Summit Antique Show.

I've already tagged and packed most of my treasures, but I picked up a few things this weekend that I really like, so I thought I'd share them with you.

A stack of old ledgers and day books- most from a dry goods type store in the 1900s.

Faded, dirty and torn livestock show ribbons- but they are faded to such nice shades of rose and lipstick pink.

A patchwork velvet quilt.  Usually when I see velvet on a quilt, it's a crazy quilt.  The little black blob at the bottom of the picture isn't a dust ball, it's a Yorkie that needs a haircut.

Wait, I guess that's a kind of dust ball...

I don't know the name of this pattern, but all of the pieces have been finished with a feather stitch.  Even the reverse side is pretty.

You can't really tell from this picture, but this piece is good sized- about 18" tall.  I think it's called a Chuck A Luck, or something that sounds like Chug-a Lug.  Anyway, I like it for its "sculptural qualities".

And if dice aren't your game, how about roulette? 

I love the handpainted gold numbers on the wheel.

I hope the odds are in my favor but if I don't sell my gambling equipment, I can grab some playing cards, get some matchbooks printed, and  open up my own casino.

Birdsong: Wreaths and Rosettes

I don't do swaps nearly as much as I used to, but if I'm going to an art event, I always feel a little bit left out if I'm not part of a least one swap.  For Birdsong, I was in the Rosette swap hosted by  Mercedes Scott.  I was inspired to join when I saw her Handmade Blooms Pinterest board.

Everyone made a rosette with a bird pin in the center. When it came time for the swap Mercedes had such a fun way of distributing the packages. 

She had sewn one of a kind fabric bird tags, and each tag had a matching paper tag.  Mercedes gave each wrapped rosette package a sewn tag, and each swapper drew a paper tag. The package with the tag that matched the tag you drew was your rosette.

Here's Karla's sister, Sis, with her rosette.

This is my rosette, made by Hope Ellington. I love all the layers, and the singed edges.

I added it to the wreath I made in Lori Oles class.

Actually, I didn't made the wreath in class, I made it a couple of days later.

I added my Bird Song name tag, some goodies that I got as presents from other BirdSongers and a beautiful cuff made by Tami Hacker.

The cuff has such a clever design, it's actually a cuff cut from a man's shirt and embellished.  I don't think it's going to stay on the wreath, it's to pretty to not show off and wear.

Bird Song III: The Best Yet

Just wanted to share some quick pictures of my class at Birdsong III.  About the only time I had my camera out was during the class I taught and when I sat down during a swap. The rest of the time I was enjoying the friendship and warmth of a great group of creative woman (and Guncle Randy).

My class was hand sewing and embellishing cloth birds, hearts and flowers, and then stuffing them with a little lavender to make a sachet.  I was a little bit worried about the sewing part, afraid that some ladies might shy away from hand sewing. 

But they didn't.  Even ladies that hadn't threaded a needle in years dug right in and were finishing their birds with a blanket stitch edging.

L to R:  Rebecca, Terri, Lisa and Laurie.  Laurie and Rebecca are from Colorada and their homes are very near the fires.  They've both been in evacuation and pre-evactuation mode this week.  Please keep them in your thoughts.

(Gail)
One of the most fun things about teaching a class like this is seeing what everyone comes up with. 

Linda went with a funky, bright Bohemian version. The next time I make something, I'd love to use this style.

Lisa's "low color" palette was perfect for a girl from Texas.

Stephanie's garden really grew- she was able to get five sachets in her peat pot.

Terry went with a classic look- blue and white.

I didn't get a picture of Sherry's project, but so what? She got to hold puppeesh!

Saturday in the Garden (and Garage) at Karla's Cottage

Last Saturday I went to Karla's Cottage to help set up our shopping venue (i.e. garage) for next weekend's Bird Song.

We'll have all sorts of pretties to sell.

And the garage really doesn't look like a garage anymore.

While I was at Karla's I got to spend some time wandering around the gardens. 

The flowers gardens are so pretty, and you can't help but smile when you find a chicken wandering through one.

But what really fascinated me was the "food forest"- a new garden Karla's son has put in that is low maintenance, self sustaining and doesn't use pesticides.  He'ss done so much work making it food producing, but also pretty.

Besides the actual food forest growing area, he's used natural elements like logs to create a play area and steps.

There are several arbors that will be used for growing vining plants, but right now, this one is sheltering a pony.

Ponies in the garden, chickens in the bushes, doesn't it all makes you want to explore just a little bit more to see what you can find?

More Pinnies

I think I've shown this picture on my blog before- I called these little stitched bits "pinnies".  Sew Somerset saw them and asked me do an article about them.

The issue is officially available on Jun 1.  I got a preview copy and it is a good one. The projects are amazing, I'm flattered to be in such good company.

I had another piece- Bird Threads- featured in the Gallery section.

I've kept on making "Pinnies".  They are so easy and (usually) fast to make.

On a different subject, I want to give a shout out to my Dad on his XX birthday.  I don't know if he'd care if I told how old he is, but he wasn't happy when I blabbed his age when I was eight.

Let's just say he's a member of The Greatest Generation, WWII veteran and a retired college math and science teacher.  If you asked him if that was why his kids are smart, he'd say "No, that's because of their mother."

He's also very diplomatic.  Happy Birthday Dad!