Stitching can Heal

Rough day today, the news of my step-mother's death and to top it off my car broke down.. but tonight I was able to relax a little and do some stitching. This is Candji's block in our Asian Round Robin. I was the first to work on it and a little overwelmed, but the dragon reminded me of parades and parades reminded me of lanterns, and so I decided to put Lanterns on the block. What do you think:?

A Sad Day

We got a phone call this evening from my dad in Indiana informing us that my Step-mother Mary passed away. A wonderful lady and the only grandmother my children ever knew. She will be greatly missed. Our nickname for her was The Desperate Mousewife. She loved watching the show Desperate Housewives, and last year when we visited, she had a little mouse in her kitchen... My husband came up with the play on words and I embroidered it on a jacket for Christmas. I will post a pic of her in the next week. She is in heaven now, starting a euchre tournament with the angels.

Older Rose Giveaway

Gerry K, a multi-talented lady and member of my Crazy Quilting group is having a giveaway for her 700th post. Please check out her blog by clicking the title of this post to see these and other fabulous works of art!

Black-eyed Beauty

I bought a 4" pot of these 4 years ago and this is what I have now. Photo courtesy of Fuzzy Photography.

Bichon Babe

Well, I never said she wasn't confident. This is how she naps  under my desk. I wonder if there is a doggie version of Playboy?  

Candji's Asian Block

I received my block from Candji for the Oriental swap. It is a big block, about 15" square, The fabrics are just lovely. I always have a problem deciding where to start on a block and this one is no exception. I was thinking of doing a fan, or maybe a motif using an embroidery pattern and filling in with beads instead of threads... Scale is another concern.  Any ideas?

Alice's Art Nouveau Blocks

I recieved Alice's blocks this past weekend. I picked the one I wanted to work on and this is how it came out. Not due til the first of Sept. I am ahead! I challenged myself and picked colors that I do not usually gravitate towards. I think she turned out very nice.

Here is work by Carolyn for Alice. I adore the peacock feather.

Lastly, this is Colleen's work, Beautiful colors, I am sure Alice will be pleased.

Saturday with Freda

We met some friends in the afternoon for a Mexican dinner at El Azteca and then to downtown Flint for a Jazz concert. The headliner was Freda Payne, made famous by the song "Band of Gold". She did a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. She was great, and it was a beautiful night, unfortunately my little camera was not great for long distance shots.

Windmills and Bargains

On Saturday, Fuzzy and I had a busy day, we spent the morning in a nearby town called Fowlerville. They had their annual neighborhood garage sales. The find of the day was an Anderson vinyl double hung window for $20. We can use it when we refinish the upstairs bedroom. We also were on the lookout for "stuff" for my son. He is getting an apartment when he goes back to school in the fall. I found a cool end table/lamp combination for $1. While shopping we found this yard with these windmills. The gentleman who made them was sitting outside and was pleased we wanted to include them in our blog.