Enjoying Life

Are you ready for the Holidays? I am. Well, except for wrapping a handful of grandkid gifts. And delivering the gifties to the neighbors. But this weekend, that will all be checked off. Whew!

So, in keeping with the happenings around the Blogosphere, I have chosen a theme word for 2012.  That word is ENJOY.  Now that I am retired and no longer have to work for The Man, I think I will be enjoying life more, doing what I want. Kids are grown and on their own. Grandkids make regular visits and then return home with their parents (don’t laugh - you KNOW that is one of the benefits of being a Grandparent!)  I just passed my annual physical, mammogram, colonoscopy, eye exam and dental exam with flying colors. Life is good.

I am going to ENJOY stitching in 2012.  I mentioned before that I have signed up for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP).  And today I just signed up for TAST, which most of you know is Sharon Boggon`s Take a Stitch Tuesday.  If you are one of the 43 stitchers on the planet who have not yet signed up, you can visit Sharon`s blog here and read about it.

What else will I be ENJOYing in 2012?  First off, after I close out my 2011 goals, I am not, repeat NOT, setting any for this year.  I have some ideas swirling around for this and that, and if they materialize, great.  If not, no big deal.  In 2012 I will not even be accountable to myself for checking things off a list.  Whew, that is some more pressure off too.  :-)  And I would like to start a regular feature on my blog, to let you know what I am enjoying, what I am thankful for, what I recognize and appreciate in my life.  I have seen it on another blog, and I love it.  It goes something like this:

Today I enjoyed/am thankful for:

Sight:  Seeing and talking to an old friend at the grocery store.
Sound:  Andrea Bocelli and Natalie Cole singing The Christmas Song
Taste:  Some fantastic red grapes
Smell:  Morning coffee
Touch: Bruce’s hair when we hugged this afternoon

But I won’t promise to do it every day or every post, just regularly. Must keep it light and not let it become an obligation.

And here are some vintage Christmas images for you.  Today I selected ones that fit the theme of Christmas greenery.   Enjoy!

A Book I Cherish

Although I am called Cat a lot, I really am only The Other Utah Cat.  Just ask my friend Cathy Baumgartner of Utah, aka Baumcat, or The Original Cat.   I don`t know how I found out about The Original Cat, but it was some time ago.  Cat was once a CQI (Crazy Quilting International) member and did a lot of work with the comfort doll project several years ago. And I know she and Gerry H were friends back in the days when Gerry lived here in Utah (a fact she doesn`t talk about too much, hehehehe).  

Anyway, I worship The Original Cat. No, really. I have pieces of her art all over the house, and I am always humbled in their presence. I don`t think she has ever sewn/quilted/crazyquilted/painted/whatever’ed something that I don`t love.  And I have been a big fan of her Etsy shoppe, too.

One of my most recent acquisitions is this lovely cloth journal that Cat made.  She actually made LOTS of them, but this was the one I bought. It’s made of muslin, so soft and scrumptious, then free-motion quilted. And a sweet scrap of muslin ties it closed. I would be happy to leave the book empty and just feast my eyes. But the pages beckon.

 

Cat free-motioned all of the pages in different styles - vertical lines, horizontal lines, circles, wavy lines, minimal outlines - each one ready to cushion some scrap of art, a memory or drawing, a tidbit or trinket.

But what to use it for? Well, my first idea didn`t work out because I needed more pages, and larger ones at that. But that is my story for next time. So this is what I decided.

The bobbin lace from Jennifer, 2011

Why not use it to store and protect those beautiful things that I cherish and that I want to use someday in my crazy quilting?   These beautiful pieces need a Place of Honor to wait until their purpose is realized. It’s just not fair that I should have them tossed jumbled stored in with the rest of the stash. 

Motif by Shirlee Fassell, Heart by Martha Green

Just a simple tacking stitch or two to hold them, and viola!  Artful storage!  :-)

This is the only scrap of fabric I have left from my trip to Europe when I was in high school.  In the summer of 1970, I went to summer school in Seefeld, Austria. One day we took the train into Innsbruck, and I purchased fabric.  I made it all up into dresses, and this piece, which was to be a pocket but was omitted, is all that I kept.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve kicked myself for not saving all the scraps!  But it will be Cherished until I use it in something.

And as a side note, doesn’t it almost look as though it would be something you could find in a fabric store today?  This piece is 41 years old!

So, what about my idea for the Cherish journal that didn’t work out?   There’s a happy answer to that.

I had Cat to make a large book as a special commission and title it Lace. The pages are simple, not fancily-stitched, but will be a very important background for what is to come. And that project is my story for next time. Do you want a hint? (besides the word “Lace” on the book, hehe). Check out this post from 2009 and meet me back here in a day or two.  ;-)

Holidays and other Preparations

My goodness - this message has been sitting in my draft box for a week! Life just keeps hitting me up one side and down the other, LOL. What a crazy time of year!   

As I mentioned before, I'll be participating in the Crazy Quilt Journal Project for 2012.  You may remember that last summer I found the needlepoint picture below at an estate sale.  It has lovely bright flowers with a black background. And I asked you, my readers, how you would frame it. In the emails I received, the majority of the responses agreed with my gut feeling, which was to piece black or mostly-black blocks to surround the needlepoint. Then, stitch the seams with the bright colors of the flowers to tie them all together, to complement the center without overwhelming it.

So, there will be 12 blocks pieced, each will finish to 8” square, although they are pieced about a half inch larger on each side now. The center piece will be trimmed to 16” x 16”, the length and width of two blocks.

As you can see, I am including some dark greens and reds in with the black, although the pictures make them look lighter than they are. In real life, they read very dark and will blend in nicely when stitched on. 

In Crazy Quilting International, we are also doing our annual Christmas Cracker Swap. These are the crackers I sent to my recipient. There is always such talk of anticipation, and ladies who don`t know if they can wait until December 24 or 25. So, I included a little “cheater cracker” - the white one - that my recipient could open immediately (which she did, LOL).

Christmas fabrics and trims were inside that one. The larger, main cracker, holds other goodies that are not seasonal, but will hopefully bring some smiles to her!

I have been meaning to post a picture FOREVER (well, at least two months) of this cute little vintage bicycle pin I bought on Etsy. It reminds me of the bicycle I stitched on my I Love Paris purse last year. Isn’t it just a simple, charming design? I am going to use it as inspiration for a stitched bicycle in the future.

“I Love Paris” Purse 2010

I had to laugh when my friend Connie Eyberg had a bicycle pin pictured on her blog. See her bicycle pin in her gorgeous Boho bag here. Great minds think alike!

And finally, I have snapped a few shots of our simple Christmas decorating this year, but they turned out awful. Yep, that’s what happens when you do it in the evening. Maybe I will remember sometime during the day when there is light enough to SEE!  What a concept!

Take care, and take time for yourself this season.

Free Shipping on My Etsy!

From now (probablySunday as you are reading this) through “Cyber Monday”, which is November 28,  and Tuesday November 29, the cost of shipping in my Etsy store is FREE.  Just use the coupon code

FREESHIPWEEKEND2011   

as you check out and the shipping charges will be deleted.  If you cannot figure it out or have a problem, just let me know in your order notes and I will refund your shipping costs through Paypal.  This offer is only being posted on my blog, not on my Etsy site - it is just for my Etsy readers in appreciation of your support throughout the year.

Oh, and I have lots of Christmas appliques:  wreaths, angels, wings, and NOEL.  The link to my Etsy store is in the sidebar.

Check out some of my new listings, and I will be back in a couple days with some stitching updates!

Enjoy!

Newly in: stunning Venice lace trim

Cute French-themed shabby wall hanging

Vintage metal lace

Vintage jacquard trim

Daylily lace.  I also have irises and roses ...

Boho bags, priced to sell

Dyed beading lace for inserting ribbon trim

Vintage teatime-themed trim

A COW!  Only 1 or 2 left 

Vintage velvet/velveteen trim

Happy Thanksgiving

This is a great time of the year to pause and give thanks for the people and things that are important to us. So the purpose of this post is just to thank YOU, dear readers, for your support, friendships, comments and other kindnesses.  The internet has made it so easy for women to connect and forge friendships, and it has been a true blessing for me to get to know so many of you.  Thank you.

I hope you will enjoy these vintage images. They are copyright-free, so feel free to copy and save them for yourselves for future use.

And I just noticed that all the pictures I selected (I have dozens of Thanksgiving images) were all of live turkeys, not cooked and served on a table.  Having dealt with live turkeys on the Farm and cooked ones in the kitchen, I can say that I do prefer them cooked (they are so dumb!), but the images of the live birds are so charming. I wish they were that “cute” in person, hehehe!

Enjoy your family, friends and your blessings.

Hugs,

A Few Links for you to Check out

I have been battling a cold for a few days and have not felt up to getting much done in the way of stitching or working on my Etsy shop.  But I think the worst is over, so I will spend some time photographing things I want to show you this weekend.  :-)

In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to show you a few things.

This video was made by UTCX (Utah CycloCross) - it was a cycling race held at Wheeler Farm three times during October, right in the middle of our busiest month.  But it was fun to watch, and even if you don`t dig the soundtrack, the footage has a lot of wonderful scenes of Historic Wheeler Farm, where I worked for 3.5 years as a bookkeeper (I just retired).  The Farm is literally a one-block walk from my home.

http://grizzlyadam.net/2011/10/utcx-5-video.html

Secondly, DH Bruce is now volunteering at The Leonardo, a newly-opened arts, sciences, technology and culture museum.  In fact, he is not only on their home page, but was a featured interviewee on Veterans Day.  See that article here.   Later today (Friday) he is volunteering and will get to meet the first US Adaptive Bobsled Team. Each of the members wears a prosthetic limb.

So, that`s my short, picture-less post for today. But I`ll be back to talk to you soon.

Hugs,

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012

Crazy Quilters, Please Join Us!!

The Crazy Quilt Journal Project is an annual challenge issued to all needle-artists to produce a major crazy quilt project within the established twelve month period.

The overall goals of the Project are:

-- To increase awareness of crazy quilting at the local, national, and international levels.

-- To challenge crazy quilter's to continually expand their creativity and improve their individual technical skills.

-- To inspire, and encourage crazy quilter's through publication of our individual works in a consolidated and inter-active web-based format.

-- To provide a central location for the public to view examples of crazy quilt projects in progress and completed.

Visit the CQJP Blog and register today!!

Our Honorary Chairman is none other than J. Marsha Michler, well known crazy quilter and author of many CQ and other books.  Visit her website here.

We hope you will join us in this, the largest CQ project for 2012!  Let’s work together to show the world our beautiful art!

Hugs,