Silhouette Cameo... it cuts the fabric that has become my life!!!

Hiya... Okay, okay I know I haven't posted in like a gazmillion months but I have done some faboolus things in that time that I now feel compelled to share (lucky you). I've also found some amazing blogs to pass on to you.  One is BetterAfter.blogspot.com. The author's name is Lindsey and she shares pics of people's before and after photos of rehab projects they've done. It is both inspiring and creative.  I check it every single solitary day and I'm always tickled with her postings. She also has the occasional giveaway featuring items pretty much anybody would kill for.  The latest is a Cameo by Silhouette.  Its similar to a Cricket but it cuts fabric, YES FABRIC!!!!!!!!!!!! If you're new to arthur and I then you have no idea how much fabric has saved me from the pain and despair arthur attempts to drag into my life on a never ending loop.
                 On an added note, I have no idea if anyone even reads or has read these silly diatribes I post in an effort to push arthur into the abyss he deserves. But hey I feel better doing it and I highly recommend posting a blog to prevent bottled up yuckiness from mucking up your daily life. It works for me.

HAPPY 2012 EVERYONE :)

It's gonna be a wild ride and I for one plan to go for the gusto, squeeze the juice out, grab the brass ring, get the Golden Ticket... well you get the idea.

So I get my days mixed up... sew what?

 The Happy Couple as Spuds :)

Who has time to make this stuff?

 Future Queen of England and I suspect our hearts, age 5

Congrats Kate and William

Okay, I know its wednesday and I should be researching royal wedding stuff, but I'm not.  I wish Kate Middleton better luck than Diana and Fergie. I do, by the way, think she is a lovely girl and will fair much better than her predecessors, provided she survives her MIL, aka Camilla the Hun. What a beast that creature is inside and out, but enough judgement for today. 

 The Not Future Queen of England (divorcees not allowed to be queen)

 No wonder Prince Charles wanted to be her tampon (seriously... he text her that) I'd hide too if I was attracted to this

Camilla's the one on the right, right???

Yesterday I actually mixed up tuesday and wednesdays agenda.  Tuesday is Phood for thought and Web Words and Wednesday is Project update day.  What you got was Web Words and a boastful project update so that leaves PfT.

This week's Phood for Thought: 
"Strive not to be a success but rather to be of value"  Albert Einstein

"There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew" Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan- interested in the media? look him up

P.S. My apologies for not crediting the photos, I found them in the strangest places with no credit info. Let me know where they came from and I'll plaster the info in bold (or remove the pics... no problem)

New Ventures, A New Adventure!!! aka My Very First Art Show :)

Five Corners Cafe  Old Forge, NY

I have been crazy, insanely busy!!!! Last fall I joined an ornament swap on a blog site called FreshlyBlended.  Those ornaments went over well and have turned into some orders which has led to my first full fledged art exhibit :)  Yep... you read that correctly! I will be having my own one man show at a restaurant in the Adirondacks, called the 5 Corners Cafe (picture above).  This place has beautiful gallery walls and does a roaring business from May through Oct.  I have the time frame June 7 to July 6. Woot Woot!! (I have the July 4th slot and the month of June is full of art events in the village) 

Freshly Blended Swap Ornaments- replicas of the recipients homes

commission piece- home on Put-In-Bay, OH

I am sewing a collection of quilted "paintings" of significant architectural structures specific to Old Forge, NY. I consider myself a textile construction artist. I find it appealing and challenging to take soft textiles and manipulate them into representations of hard building materials. Here's the first piece, Benny's Ice Cream. I have yet to stretch it but essentially its done. 

 The real Benny's Ice Cream

 "Benny's Ice Cream"

I know I've done a crappy job of keeping up with posting lately but at least I'm accomplishing something I've needed to do for years... I've finally found my medium and I'm producing work... yay me! I'm still too excited to figure out I should be terrified, I'm sure that will catch up soon enough. For now I'm just going to enjoy the energy rush.


P.S. I'm going to try to go back to the schedule I set up last fall: Tuesday's web words are "netsta" and "shisping". I think netsta must be a web wise geeky hacker, as in net and gangsta.  Surely shisping is something to do with lisping the word shit or something like it. What do you think they'd mean if they were in our dictionary??? 


P.S.S. Did you hear that arthur... bwah ha ha ha ha

Jonesing Jessica Jones (fabric): Meet Outside Oslo

Jessica Jones of the blog  how about orange has a new fabric line that makes me crazy with ideas! I love her subtle use of vivid colors and the graphics are mid century reminiscent. My whole house is 60's and veddy veddy cool. I can picture table linens, pillows, a bed quilt or wall hanging... the options are endless.

The stylized designs remind me of pine trees or ferns (frond), waves (skiff), spring flowers (wildflower & tulip), picturesque homey fencing (picket), and fresh cut firewood stacked (sticks). All that's missing is the lovely little Nordic cottage they belong around. She's smart though, the cottage would be trite and she is NEVER trite.


There are 2 color schemes, 1 daytime (Dawn Colorway) and 1 evening (Dusk Colorway). The daytime has tangerine, burnt orange, deep toasted orange, light robin's egg, dusty blue, rich grey brown, and creamy white.  The evening round up has rich grey brown, warm charcoal, turquoise, mustard, and creamy white. 

This gorgeous line is being produced by The Needle Shop and is coming out in May for retail sale. I'm sure Jessica will be posting where her goods can be bought by those of us not fortunate enough to have our very own fabric store. Pdf's with inspiring ideas and photos are available for download at the shop. Go forth sewers, quilters, and crafters and dream...

Threads of Insanity aka The Thrill of the Hunt...

Only a quilter will spent hours driving through a blizzard to an estate sale on the other side of East Jebubs Nowhere to buy thread. That's right... I said thread.  


But baby, did I land a stash!  Whether quilting, embroidering, or serging you use a lot, I mean A LOT of thread.  Its extremely expensive if you buy the good stuff. You'd think I was referring to a Law and Order Criminal Intent script for drug running.  Good thread doesn't fray, split, or break easily.  It doesn't jam or jump tension. Its worth every penny and it also costs a bunch of them.

So anyway, back to my score. Normally I'd be one of the first people there to try and secure the goods I wanted however there was some serious snow flying, up to 10 inches had fallen.  In the morning the interstates were all but closed.  Finally things let up about 11am so off I went.  I was lucky that everyone was after the sewing machines and left the thread alone.  


So here's what I got: 
40 spools of assorted metallics.  
60 to 70 spools of Sulky in a rainbow of colors
27 spools of Wooly Nylon serger thread
15 spools of standard serger thread
4 half yard pieces of St. Patricks appropriate fabric
3 specialty sewing feet (that I didn't have) unused/unopened retail value $75 
Some miscellaneous other notions and 5 plastic storage boxes

And what did I pay for this hoarders delight of sewing goods?  $90!  I added up the retail value (including a 40% JoAnns discount for every item) and quit at $500! LIFE IS GOOD! I would never risk wrecking my car or injuring myself driving to a sale, I was just lucky it was all still there. Someday I'll expose photos of the fabric spilling from every storage orifice, nook, cranny, closet, and cubby in our house. My hubs is a saint to accommodate my obsession. For now though I'm still trying to figure out where I'm going to stash my new stash.


About Arthur- the bastard still controls my life right now. Treatment issues, stress, etc. continue to give him the upper hand but one of these days... his ass will be mine.

Nationwide Debilitating Syndrome, GSCC, being delivered in US by unsuspecting youth!

BEWARE: I'm afraid I may soon be suffering from a debilitating new syndrome.  Its called GSCC or Girl Scout Cookie Coma.  Brought on by the delicious taste and endless sugar rush, this syndrome results in a calm bliss disabling the desire to do anything beyond eating more cookies. This will no doubt turn epidemic and the only cure is for all cookies nationwide to be consumed.  News reports of hoarding among suburban housewives is rampant with cartels developing in centers of large or dense Girl Scout populations. These cookies are plainly addictive thus encouraging behaviors beyond the norm. 

Beware of those pushing boxes of eleven different types of this substance, among them Samoas, Do-Si-Dos, Thin Mints, etc. You will find them lurking outside any US "big box" store hidden behind card tables.


This scourge comes right on the heels of two other health epidemics, CCO (Christmas Cookie Overload) and VTG (Valentine Truffle Gluttony). There is reported to be a common household antidote for all three of these ills, consuming vast quantities of Boy Scout Popcorn. 

HELP!!! Must find Lemon Chalets...  

P.S. Thanks to my neighbor, Lydia, for delivering my 11 (yes eleven!) boxes so quickly :)  yummmmmmmmmmm

What I did last summer...

Happy 60th Anniversary Aunt Joyce and Uncle Walter!!!

This summer I'd like to say I sailed around the world, invented the next great infomercial product, won the lottery, or wrote a book. But I didn't. I did develop a complete lack of confidence, a huge roadblock in treatment, and a severe case of writer's block.  Somehow in spite of that I kept plugging away driven by gifts I wanted to make for people I love. There's nothing like the people who hold some of your best memories as well as a piece of your heart to bring out your best intentions :)

Wedding Photo 1950

Their lovely home

The hubs has a very special aunt and uncle who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. This couple is really something. He was in several WWII combat theaters and she was a bride a couple weeks after graduating high school. They're huge patriots and truly love America more than Sarah Palin claims to. They've lived in the same house forever and still have a fabulous 1962 Chrysler 300 convertible that is in mint condition that they bought new. Travel is one of their great loves right behind their family. 

In the Beginning...

In Process

Detail of Chrysler 300 Convertible

This very cool pair has always treated me as if I was a blood relative and I love them dearly!  In honor of this very special anniversary I chose to honor their home and that very special car in a mini quilt.  It's the first truly pictorial quilt I've ever made and came out pretty well if I do say so myself.  On the back is a collage of wedding and anniversary photos through the last 60 years.  The pictures tell the story better than I can.  

Front Detail of the house/front door 

Back Collage of anniversary pictures through the years

Back Detail

Finished mini quilt

Joyce and Walter with their Family and Friends!