Up and Running

Having enjoyed my little 'vacation' (NOT!) I'm happy to report that I'm back up and running! And just in time for a busy weekend...

It was part 2 of my Surface Design class at Sawtooth. Last week students learned rust dyeing and stamp making; this week they learned discharging and my favorite, gelatin plate printing! Two things I love about teaching: I get to share what I know AND I get to learn from seeing what others do with the techniques. They always amaze me! Here are a few shots from the day's fun...

Discharging...

 









Look how cool!

Discharged pieces processing...

Sandra and April creating

Lots of fun as usual!

And what better way to spend the rest of the weekend, but to fill it with baseball! Saturday night we went to the Wake Forest game and Sunday afternoon the oldest had a middle school scrimmage tournament. Yes, it's still February, but you'd never know it by the temperatures lately. It was a gorgeous day!

 
     


The season is off to a great start!

Yes, it was a wonderful weekend and I'm glad to be back at it again. I hate being sick...I'm a most impatient patient! When I was leaving class Saturday I looked up and saw this...there was peace over the city. Who could ask for more? :)



Derailed

Darned thing about viruses is that they seem to be rather contagious. And, it seems, I got in the pathway of the one making the rounds through my house (or maybe it got in my way), so I missed the Cosmic Cow Society meeting, the Beecassos meeting, AND the Clemmons Guild meeting! BAH!! BAD VIRUS!!!

Fortunately Gail and Penny collected the pieces for the upcoming Beecassos show, and Kathy was able to tell the Clemmons group about Creature Comforts, so I can just focus on getting over this crud and getting my son over it as well. I'm thankful for my friends stepping in to get things done while I've been knocked off my feet! Playing nurse and patient at the same time is not much fun.

Ah, Spring...I know you are just around the corner! I'll be so glad when you are here to stay :)

Getting Behind Myself

Whee!!!!

I've spent the week as a "single mom", as DH has been in Minneapolis on business. It's been a real juggling act with overlapping sports events for the eldest, basketball practice for the youngest, and playing nurse to the eldest who succumbed to another sinus infection paired with some mutant virus (thankfully NOT flu!) and has been out of school for the last three days. Needless to say, not much else has been accomplished this week, but we have enjoyed some priceless quality time together. I'm looking forward to that incoming flight tonight and hearing all about the adventure out west, and hopefully returning to a somewhat normal routine next week.

Tomorrow and next Saturday I'll be teaching Surface Design at Sawtooth which will be loads of fun, and Sunday will be the monthly meeting of the Cosmic Cow Society. Tuesday I'll be heading to my Beecassos meeting to pick up the pieces for our upcoming exhibit Beecassos unzipped at Chelsee's which will be showing during the month of March, and I'll also be visiting the Clemmons Guild to talk about Creature Comforts. As soon as I catch up with myself I'll be posting an update on Creature Comforts with some pictures from our initial sew day meeting. I'm very excited with the response to that program I've been getting from my local quilting friends!

So....Stay tuned! Meanwhile, I'm going to go outside and soak up some of this 72* weather!

Bernie's New Pal

My friend Lisa surprised me with a gift of this uber cool lamp today. It's so me...funky and red! The accent colors in my studio are red, lime green and black and this little task lamp is the perfect fit. Bernie loves it too...it outshines his built-in light. It's bendable, so I can position it where I need it but it doesn't get in the way. The base is weighted so it won't tip over no matter how far I stretch it.

What a nice surprise!! Thanks Lisa!! I wish I could have taken a better picture of it, but all of the mess in the background would have detracted from its awesomeness.

It Works!

I'm happy to report that THIS works quite well!

Sew Day!

Last Saturday the gals of Miss Bee Haven got together for a fun day of creating in the barn. Nane, our fearless bee leader, has the most awesome studio space in the upper level of her newly built barn, next to their historic log cabin in the woods. It's so peaceful there!

We worked most of the day on the string block quilts that are being made for the Neuro trauma unit at one of our local hospitals. String blocks are so addicting! There were 5 of us piecing and 2 tearing the paper foundations away, and at the end of the day we had one top ready for borders (go MR!), enough blocks for 4 more tops, and extra blocks going to start a fifth. This unit at the hospital has 10 beds, so we are well on our way to providing them with enough comfort quilts to go around.

 Also known as the "Troll Sisters" (you had to be there...it's a funny story how that name came to be), we each have a troll to watch over us as we create.  Mine, of course, has lime green hair :)  Bonnie found a bunch of these trolls on one of her many trips...we missed having her with us this time, as she was on a whirlwind of a tour across the country teaching.



Here our mascot for the day, Zorro Kitty, inspects MR's quit top. He approved it, 2 paws up. I love how these block go together. You can use any fabric anywhere, and with a common color used in the middle of the block you end up with a fabulous result! Bright, colorful...just the thing to bring some cheer to the patients who will receive them!
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PS.  All of the quilts will be washed before they go to the hospital! :)