Grandpa Ed

I was sorting through a bin of vintage linens yesterday and ran across this photo. The linens belonged to my mother, my maternal grandmother, and my 1st husband's mother.

This photo is my mother's daddy, Edwin. He held me once when I was an infant, but died within my first year of life. I don't know the year this photo was taken. Maybe 1948?



The back of the photo has this notation:



On a family trip across the country that we took in 1976, as part of our country's bicentennial celebration, we spent one night in Prescott, AZ. I wonder now if my parents planned that stop as a remembrance of an earlier trip. The trip on which this photo is taken is a part of family history that I don't know. I don't recognize the handwriting, either. It doesn't look like my mom's.

This is such a cool treasure to have unearthed!

A New Favorite Fragrance

I was introduced to Rose Water through my women's circle. We use it to fragrance the room where we meet. It's light and fresh and cooling.

So I bought some on Amazon and have been using it daily -- sometimes several times a day. It's refreshing.

It wasn't until I'd been using it a while that I realized what memory it evokes. It reminds me of my grandma, Mary.

I look a lot like her. Now, as I'm entering Chapter Three of my life, I smell as yummy as she did, too. Maybe my granddaughters Melody and Annalee will also come to associate this aroma with their Mimi.

Throwback Thursday - 2006 Part 2

The wayback machine is taking me to March 2006 this week. I was a busy little beaver with some crochet hats and cross-stitch finishes. Let's take a look:


More Winter Hats

My hats were such a hit, that I just had to make more.

Actually, a gal that knew me from church ran into me in the grocery store. Both my daughter and I were wearing our new hats. Like me, this woman has thinning hair and needs a hat in the winter just to stay warm.

She asked me if I made the hats.

I told her I did.

She asked me if I sold my hats.

I told her I did not, but that I'd be happy to make one for her. I asked her what color she would like, and what alternate color she'd like if I didn't have yarn in her first color choice.

She said she'd like a soft pink hat. And if I didn't have any pink yarn, could I make her a white or lilac hat. That worked for me!

When I got home, I found that I had all three colors of yarn ... so I made her one of each.

I stopped by her home with a gift bag to give her a hat. She was pleased to get a pink one.

I told her, "Keep looking."

She pulled out the white hat.

I told her, "Keep looking."

She pulled out the lilac hat. She was absolutely pleased as punch. We had to go peek in a mirror so that she could model all three hats.

It's awfully fun to have an opportunity to surprise someone like that. And I made a new friend in the process.

(That's Jodie modeling all the hats).


Joy Assisi Ornament

This is the second time I stitched this ornament, but this time I kept it for myself instead of giving it away. I also stitched it on red aida instead of perforated paper so that it would match the Love and Peace ornaments that I made earlier.

I did use a different fiber than the other two ornaments, though. I'd received some Eva Rosenstand 6 strand cotton in a grab bag, so gave it a try on this ornament. I found it to be much softer in texture than DMC stranded cotton. It also frayed a bit faster, so I needed to use shorter strands to keep the floss crisp.

It's nice having some extra Peace, Joy, and Love for the Christmas tree each year.

Cheri Blum

This project took a long time for me to stitch. I started it in January 2005, but didn't finish it until April, 2006. It wasn't that it was difficult to stitch. It was just so different for me.

I saw this kit advertised in The Stitchery catalog. I fell in love with the rose, the background, the colors. They would look just right in the new look I had envisioned for our dining room. Dale bought the kit for me as a gift — complete with the mat and frame.

When I looked at the catalog, I hadn't realized that this was an embellished cross-stitch kit. That means that the image of the rose and the background was already printed on the aida fabric. As a stitcher, all you do is use one strand of floss to do some cross-stitch and half-cross stitch on top of the printing.

I started it, but was just out-of-sorts every time I worked on it. The embellishment barely seemed to show. I just didn't "get it." Why add floss to a piece if it barely makes a difference? So I put this piece aside for months at a time. I would pick it up now and then. I even made a goal to complete it by Dec. 31, 2005. But nothing could get me motivated to work on it.

Finally, early in 2006, my husband and I had a long talk about redecorating the living room / dining room area of our home. After years of planning, it was really going to happen. That seemed to be enough motivation for me to complete this piece.

Now that the piece is finished and framed, I find I like it more and more. The rose is growing on me! The embellishments add just a touch of color and depth and shine to the printed aida. It's really quite pretty! Still, I don't think I want to stitch another embellished cross-stitch piece.

Here's a recent detail image. In it, you can better see how the stitching embellishes the printed fabric.

Click for larger image

Cheri Blum has a place of honor in the dining room. My mother-in-law even made a companion piece for it in the form of an oil painting.

Score!

Go me! Hooray!

I completed another of my 19 in 2019 goals today!

Goal #19:  "Finish at least one of these courses" ... and I gave 7 possibilities. I worked through The Creative License by Danny Gregory.

At the start of the year, I was gung-ho about taking this course and finally learning to draw. My early efforts were good. But then drawing got hard. It made my head hurt to try. I didn't want to pick up my pencil. So I switched gears and used some online tutorials to draw some of my favorite cartoon characters. I liked that better. But I was finding excuses to do anything except draw. Honestly, I'd rather clean the kitchen or do laundry. Instant satisfaction from a job well done!

So I switched gears again. I decided to carefully read through the book, and absorb some of the concepts offered, then use them to apply to the arts I enjoy more. So here are my final thoughts on this book.

Though there are some basic guides to learn to draw in the beginning of the book, that is not the book's primary thrust. The subtitle to The Creative License is "Giving Yourself Permission to be the Artist You Truly Are." 

That means giving yourself permission to try and fail at drawing. Then to try and fail at any other art form you choose to attempt.

Danny Gregory uses drawing as his entry point into a creative life. He annoys me sometimes by presuming it's the best entry point ... mostly because of its convenience, I guess. All you need is a pen and a notebook. 

Of course, I take issue with that presumption because the concepts he presents can easily be adapted to any creative medium. After all, with a smartphone in your pocket, I'd say that photography is equally or more convenient than drawing. But that is my bias.

He does get around to talking about other artistic mediums toward the end of the book.

What I learned for sure is what I truly already knew: drawing is not something I really want to do, or I would have been compelled to try it a lot earlier in my 61 years on the planet.

I also learned that I'm capable of learning to draw, and can have some success at it if I put the time and effort into it. But it hurts my head right now. I don't itch to pick up a pencil and draw the way my fingers itch for a needle, floss, crochet hook, yarn, or camera.

Will I ever learn to draw? Maybe. If I find the right teacher at the right time in my life. 

So I had to ask myself, "Why did you think you wanted to learn to draw at the start of 2019?" That answer is easy. 

Whenever someone asks me, "What do you do?" I find that a tricky question. Being an at-home mom and a homemaker for most of my life has been rewarding, but those occupations are not generally satisfying to questioners who are looking for a profession as an answer. 

But if I say, "I'm an artist," the response is usually, "Oh! You draw and paint? I wish I could do that." Then I have to say, "No. I can't draw. I'm a needle artist." That always gets a weird look and I have to explain more. Saying "I'm a photographer" is easier to understand, but then people want me to take photos of people or events, and that's not my preferred subject. To me, taking those kinds of photos can hurt my head as much as drawing does. 

I took up The Creative License hoping to learn to draw to simply have an easier, truthful answer to a banal question. Honestly, that's an awfully insubstantial reason to want to learn to draw.

At the end of the book, Danny has a  l-o-n-g  list of other art forms to try. I counted 50 that I've already done, most with a degree of success. I'll own that achievement and proudly display those gold stars.

So for now, I'll call this goal reached. I'll return to some of my many other more favored art forms. I have a plethora awaiting my attention in my Studio. Tending to some of those will help me mark off more entries from my 19 in 2019 list of goals.

Melody's Great Love

We took Melody three huge boxes of books. Many were her mom's childhood books. One or two were books I had as a child!



Melody started devouring them right away. She began with one of my very favorites.

Papa and Annie

I so love watching these two interact!

Thanks to Julie (mommy) for the photo.

Four

Look who's four months old!

Annalee!

Pretty Little Teacup

I took a stroll through my china cabinet recently, visiting some of my pretty wares.

Isn't she charming?



The dainty handle



The gorgeous color pallet

The flower pattern



The gold edges and base

This is a "one off" piece of bone china. I don't collect teacups. I have this one unique and beautiful piece of art.

Playing with Texture - Part 5

I found this texture on the ground in our back yard. What is it?

Does this help?

A polka-dotted maple leaf!

Throwback Thursday - 2006 Part 1

The wayback machine now moves forward into 2006: The Year of the Ornament. My goal for the year was to stitch a bunch of Christmas ornaments, since I have hundreds of patterns that I like. Just as 2005's Year of the Giraffe, it was only partially successful. I did begin with good intentions.


Cubicle, Sweet Cubicle

I'd like to introduce you to Sally, my alter ego. Sally began life in August 2005 when I was on vacation. It took me until February 2006 to finish her. Once done, she joined me at my new job.

Sally is much messier than I am!

This piece is stitched on 14 ct black perforated plastic with beautiful, bright cotton floss colors. All that black background is stitched. Perhaps that's why it took me so long to complete. Or maybe it was just the 15,000 stitches! Finished size is about 8" x 10".

My favorite part? The little framed giraffe sitting on the shelf behind her desk!

Jingle Bear

I received this little ornament kit in my Christmas stocking in 2005. It was a quick stitch, and my first Year of the Ornament finished ornament.

Valentine

I stitched this pretty little heart for my daughter Jodie's valentine. I found the freebie chart online at the Caron Collection. I hadn't left myself much time to stitch something for Valentine's Day, so needed something small.

Though I found a lot of free Valentine charts on the web, this one caught my eye because of the color and movement inherent in the small design. I chose to use a DMC variegated thread, #75 Cranberry. I like the changes in shading it created in this piece. I stitched the heart on a scrap of 18ct pink ... something. It has an aida-like weave, but it seems different than regular aida. Very nice fabric!

Then I created the card on my computer, and cut the card stock with some wavy-edged scissors. Inside it says, "To the Young Lady who has the Best Pieces of my Heart." I sewed the stitchery right to the face of the card with a long (over two) running stitch, then fringed the edges.

Olive My Heart

2006 was the year I began the designs in the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar by Accord Publishing. I finally finished all 12 charts last year, in 2018. It all started with this piece.

The designs are simple, cute, have embellishments, and a few specialty stitches. All are 59 stitches square. The calendar also came with pre-cut pieces of white aida and a cardboard mat, making a finished piece easy to complete.

The first chart I stitched from this calendar was for the month of February. It used six colors of floss. The specialty stitch is the Smyrna Cross. I did change out the background color so that there would be more contrast with the polka dots.

Blue Crochet Hat

Finally in February, I made another in my series of crocheted hats. The only thing special about this one is that I made it from the same yarn as the blue scarf I made for myself in 2002.

My lovely daughter Jodie is modeling the hat and scarf together in this photo. This remains one of my very favorite scarf and hat sets that I use every winter.

A Walk at Dusk

Was it really only seven weeks ago that I was on retreat?

I took a memorable walk alone at dusk ...
that turned into night before I found my way out of the forest.

The woods are lovely
Dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep

Hooray!

We get to visit this little girl on Sunday!

Along with the rest of her family. Baby snuggles and daughter hugs!

Oh, That?

That's just a little sign of change.

Dale and I have some changes coming up in our near future. They took me by surprise. Even good changes can cause anxiety when they confound expectations. My brain is trying to catch up. Looking forward to when some of the changes settle into place so that I can share the excitement.

(uh... no ... not pregnant)

😜 

Dizzying

One week ago, Dale and I traveled to Eugene/Springfield, Oregon to visit our daughter Jodie. We've been talking about moving there when Dale retires from his job at the credit union in a few years. Western Oregon will be quite a change for us, since we've lived in our north Idaho home for over 26 years.

It's fun to dream about what our Chapter Three life will look like.

Since we've been home, the entire week has been a whirlwind of extended family intrigue, some serious decluttering, spiffing up the yard, a visit from Jeanne, and Skyping with Julie, Melody, and Annalee. Today, Sunday, we took time to put our home in order and stay away from national news for a while. I even managed to remove the Spring decorations in the living room, and put this stitchery front and center on the mantle.

Just for today, let's do this.

Easter Bunny

Easter bunnies are purple, right?

Another drawing from last April.

Love Bird

My life is feeling a little chaotic this week, so instead of a new photograph or a craft update, here's another quick sketch I drew earlier this year.

Throwback Thursday - 2005 Part 10

We finish up 2005 with these last entries from the wayback machine.

Love Ornament

This is the second in a series of ornaments that I adapted from the Noel Ornament.

This ornament was stitched on red 14 ct aida with #8 perle coton. I decided not to back this one at all. I simply turned in a hem on each side and stitched it in place with a running stitch.

The banner's "pole" is a toothpick, stitched into place with the top row of Xs. The hanging cord is made from eight plies of the same perle coton. The finished size is 1-3/4 x 5 inches.

Peace Ornament

And finally, the last of the series of Assisi work ornaments that I adapted from the Noel Ornament.

This ornament was also stitched on red 14 ct aida with #8 perle coton. I finished it the same way as the Love Ornament above. The finished size is 1-3/4 x 6 inches.

Winter Hats

What to make after knitting scarves in November?

Why, crocheting hats in December, of course!

In the Fall while shopping for school clothes, my daughter saw some cute, white, lacy skull caps. I told her I could make one for her. But when I went looking for a good pattern, I could only find one for toddlers.

So what's a crafter to do?

Why, make my own crochet pattern, of course!

I understood the basic premise of starting with a circle and increasing gradually until the hat fits the top of the head. Then stop increasing while building the sides of the hat. I did this all in double crochet - chain one. For the band, I switched to single crochet - chain one.

I was so pleased with the way my daughter's hat turned out that I made a black hat for myself!

My daughter, Jodie, is modeling the hats for me in these photos.

Popeye

Another drawing from earlier this year.

Chick

I haven't done any drawing in a while. Here's one I did around Eastertime, though. Pretty cute!

So Goes Life

A while back, Dale and I sifted through all our old board games. We ditched the ones that were worn out, and replaced the classic games with a newer version. But I held onto a few of the vintage pieces for old time's sake.





The Game of Life was a particular family favorite. This blue car held up pretty well.



While the red car was well-loved and well-used.



Either that, or one of the cats got to it.

Powered By ...

Is he powered by "gas," or ...?

Shadow powering through downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

GeoSwag

I haven't talked much about geocaching in a year, so I thought I'd give it a shout-out today. Geocaching is one of my very favorite activities to do with daughters Jeanne and Jodie.

"What is geocaching?" you ask. It's a worldwide treasure hunt that uses maps and GPS to find various shapes of containers holding a log and, sometimes, treasures. The game is played by using clues to find the containers, sign the physical log, write a virtual log of your find online, and exchange the treasure you bring with the treasure you find.

When my family caches together, we tend to each take on our favored job. One signs the physical log, another logs the visit online, and one exchanges the treasure. In geocache language, the treasure is called "swag."

Cleaning out junk swag and replacing it with more desirable swag is my favorite part of caching. This is a great activity to do with kids. And kids love treasure. So I carry a variety of swag with me to leave for the kids -- and kids at heart like me.

The last time Jeanne and I were out, we found this fun idea for swag, left by the previous geocacher. These feel, in Dale's words, like "treasures trapped in amber." In truth, they are the flat-bottomed glass rocks used in floral arrangements that have scrapbook paper adhered and sealed to the back. Then each little gem is slipped into its own tiny plastic bag. That way it can stay dry, even if the cache container gets damp.

So Jeanne and I stopped by Dollar Tree and picked up the larger size of these glass pebbles. These are about the size of a quarter. I already had a bunch of the smaller size pebbles, about the size of a dime. Then we headed to my Studio and pulled out all my scrap pieces of scrapbook paper.

It was fun to "audition" the various papers for the different size stones. The small stones needed very small designs to make them look good. My favorites that we used are the sculls and the baby animals. Some of the dots and plaids worked well, too.

My favorite larger stones have the bees and butterflies. But many of the geometric shapes also worked well. The least successful papers were metallic or textured.

This is only one type of treasure I leave behind. A drawback from this swag is that the glass is pretty heavy. That's not a big deal unless you're carrying a bunch of it on your hikes to Ground Zero - the cache container. Another drawback is that this swag may not hold up well in a cache container if it's not in a plastic bag. Even though the paper is sealed to the glass, it has a chance of deteriorating.

This is such a fun, cooperative sport. Get started for free by visiting the Geocaching website.