A disappointing week

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Here are some of the postcards I've received recently:

"Oriental Fan" by Diane P.

"P is for Pink and Purple" by Beth P.

"Beautiful Browns" by Diane P.

"Eclipse" by Amy P. for the Celestial Swap

"Celestial" by Priscilla H.

"Celestial" by Barb E.

Our elderly relative now has an official diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease; this was no surprise. Now we must decide what to do about it. This is a hard decision-- how do you take away someone's freedom without being hurtful? How long can the person be allowed to care for themselves before it becomes dangerous? How do you take care of someone who only wants to care for themselves? Our options are limited and time may be short. The one thing we can agree on is that the next step is to seek legal representation to make sure everything is done properly for the protection of all concerned.

Today I attended my Red Hat luncheon at a local Mexican restaurant. The company was fabulous, the food was okay, and the service was bad. Lesson learned! We had not gone there before--they are evidently not set up to serve groups of 15-20 people. The experience would probably be different if DH and I went alone; but there are better restaurants in town. Why waste our time to find out? I could live on Tex-Mex food, and was really looking forward to trying a new place. Oh, well! And oh yeah--why is it so hard for a restaurant to serve a group by taking orders from the regular menu? We had a choice of three entrees, plus rice and beans (bland) and flour tortillas (which never showed up.) We had to ask for chips and salsa, and asked repeatedly for drink refills. The limited menu didn't make the service any better.

This was not intended to be a rant! Back to the home front.

I tried a new art technique this week-- toilet paper casting. I had no success with it, but others in my Yahoo group did. I must have done something wrong, but for the life of me I don't know what. My castings turned out shapeless and the layers of paper flaked apart, although I was using diluted PVA glue between layers (50% strength--maybe too dilute?) I was disappointed. Maybe the next new technique will work out better.

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Catching up

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These lovely bog iris are blooming just outside our front door. The blooms are small and only last about 24 hours, but they have bloomed repeatedly over the last month or so. They really are a nice surprise to see first thing in the morning!


I finished one of the small quilts I mentioned in an earlier post. I backed it with flannel and tied it instead of quilting it, using multicolored perle cotton. I then sewed the binding on by machine with a feather stitch. This one is destined for my new great-nephew. I have another top done of the same design, I will get around to finishing it soon.

And here's the second party hat for the Fiber Art Traders swap. I added the beading around the bottom and three swags around the top. I think they make a lot of difference. I left the tassels and the hanger as they were otherwise.

I am doing fairly well at getting caught up with unfinished projects. I still have three other small quilt tops that need to be quilted, but at least all the "have-to-do's" are done. I'm going to hold up on swaps for the next few weeks. I want to concentrate on playing with some art techniques, plus there are doctor's appointments and meetings to attend this next week.

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Projects done, and in progress--

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Two weeks since I posted, and it seems like yesterday! I've managed to get a couple of projects done in the meantime. This set of postcards is for a swap called "Fans" for Artsnthemail.

Fiber Art Traders is having a swap called "4 Elements" (earth, wind, fire, water) done in plus-size inchies (1.5" square.) These are my sets; the water squares have small seashells attached, the wind squares have leaves that move, the earth squares have small sequin flowers, and the fire squares have shiny fibers sewn across them.



One of my groups was discussing a method of cutting identical squares from a busy fabric and sewing them into a four patch so that they resemble a kaleidoscope. This is the fabric I decided to use to try the technique.


I cut the fabric into 4 identical repeats of the design, and stacked them up carefully. I then cut the stack into 4-1/2" squares so that there are now four identical squares of each that will get twisted around 1/4 turn and sewn together into blocks:


Here are four of the resulting blocks--maybe this makes the idea more clear:


I still have to cut some sashing and make them up into some small quilts. I'll show more photos when that gets done.


Fiber Art Traders also has a swap going of miniature party hats. This is one that I'm still working on; I covered it with scraps of fabric left over from the Fan postcards shown above. I'm not real thrilled with the fiber tassel and the strap, so I'm re-thinking those.



and this is one that I have finished, modeled reluctantly by Copper:


In other news, my older son's deployment to Iraq has been postponed until June. It can be postponed indefinitely as far as I am concerned! I will be voting for whichever presidential candidate that I feel will get us out of Iraq the soonest.

Our elderly family member has had tests done to determine if there is any brain change indicative of dementia. We have not gotten any results yet, but the cognitive tests were very revealing of the degree of memory impairment already involved. This situation is extremely difficult for all concerned. I am ready to let the situation take its course, but that may not be possible. It would be so easy to turn a blind eye to the problem. But the responsibility is ours to bear, and bear it we will.

On a brighter note, I am due to be elected this week to a new position in Eastern Star, and have been studying hard. I am excited about changing positions, although I am not ambitious enough to want any position more difficult next year. I am not trying to work my way up, in other words. Just holding a position is enough for me.

Tutorial-Pt. 2

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As promised, I'll continue the tutorial: Cut the large panel of pin-weaving into 6" wide strips, then into 4" tall cards.

Cut Peltex 70 into 4" x 6" pieces. Print out the postcard backs on cardstock. Sandwich them together with the pin-weaving cards and attach them with clips.

Sew around the cards with a zigzag stitch to fasten them together. I then bound the edges with more bias tape to give them a nice finished edge but sometimes I satin-stitch around them.

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Some cards I've recently received:

"Circus" card from Ann S.

"Birdhouse" by Denny Z.

"P is for Pincushion" by Mary A.


"P is for Panda-Monium" by Karen W.


"Celestial-After Hubble" by Susan S.


"Celestial-del Sol" by Melissa R.

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I finally gave up on learning to knit. I just don't have the patience. My stitches were all too tight and it was a struggle to get the first row of stitches on the needles. I gave the whole mess to my DDIL, who expressed an interest in learning.

Copper still only weighs 10-1/2 pounds, although he eats like a horse. His ears have totally healed, and he has graduated to a harness instead of a collar. He chews on everything and is very playful; which leads us to wonder if he is as old as the vet thought. But then we were used to geriatric dogs, so it's hard to say.

DH has almost finished painting the bathroom walls blue. Next he will paint the woodwork white; it will look so much better then. Slow and sure wins the race.

I have been sewing today on four camo kerchiefs to keep the sand and dust out of DS' face when he goes overseas. I also have made 6 Cool Ties to keep him cool. I'm having DH test one of them tomorrow to make sure I've made it correctly. I'd hate to have it explode when DS soaks it in a war zone!

Tutorial--Pin Weaving

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My DH brought me these roses--aren't they beautiful?

I made a big pot of chili--two pounds of browned hamburger, an onion, 4 cans of assorted beans, 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 package of taco seasoning ( I was out of chili seasoning) and a large can of RoTel; slow-cooked for several hours. Muy caliente!!!! Yum!! Thank goodness my stomach still can take spicy foods. DH begged off--more for me!

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I just signed up for a new postcard swap--this time called Beautiful Brown. Hmmm...how to make brown beautiful? I am not a fan of earth tones, preferring brights any day; but I want to stretch myself. So I considered doing something to look like a sepia-tone photograph, but that would be too labor-intensive. I could go simple, like an appliqued dog or teddy bear, etc., but I wanted to put a little more imagination into these cards than just a simple applique.

Then I happened to remember that I had a lot of old bias tapes and other trims. Plenty of browns in there, and I needed to use them for something. Maybe a celtic design? Hard to do in a 4" x 6" format. But back in the day I had tried pin-weaving, and I decided that would do the trick.

So here's a sort of mini-tutorial for you young things that don't know what pin-weaving is.

Step 1--cut a piece of fusible interfacing the combined size of all the cards (or whatever you're making.) Pin it fusible-side UP on a pinning surface like a press board or ironing board.

Step 1

Step 2--Pick out the tapes and bindings you want to use, press them, and cut them into lengths that will cover the fusible interfacing in one direction. Use different colors and widths of strips.
(What a bland palette!)

Step 2

Step 3--Pin the strips side-by-side covering the fusible interfacing completely. Alternate colors and widths until you are happy with it. Note: DO NOT PRESS AT THIS STAGE or you will have to start all over again!

Step 3

Step 4--Now start weaving more strips through perpendicular to the first strips. Pin them in place as you go, making sure they butt up closely to each other. I used rick-rack strips to add interest to my piece. When you are finished weaving, press thoroughly according to the manufacturer's directions. I use an iron set to scorch, with steam. Your results may vary. Turn the whole thing over and press from the back side as well. Then trim off all the sides even with the fusible interfacing.

Step 4

This is the basic pin-weaving process. Not too bad for basic browns! I'll turn this piece into postcards in my next post.

Dust Storm

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We had a cool front come through Tuesday night that left dust on everything. That meant a red-letter day for all the local car washes! Our two cars got oil and filter changes before going through the car wash and are now cleaner than they've been all year.

Copper got a good bath and grooming, too! He now shows his Bedlington Terrier profile proudly.


He lost most of his copper coloring, though. His ears are healing nicely. He has settled in to his new home and is a delight to be around. We are so lucky to have found him.

Spring Break

I wish the weather everywhere could be like ours today. It's 88 degrees with a light breeze. These palm trees are across the street from us--this is pretty much the view I get from the window next to my computer. Spring break is beginning this weekend, and the beaches are already very crowded.

We discovered yesterday that Copper is actually a Bedlington Terrier, although not show quality, of course. He weighs barely 10 pounds, half of what he should weigh. We'll soon get him up to a normal weight. His coat is already looking better. He has sores on his ears that are also starting to heal. He is such a sweety!

I finished up some postcards today for a Celestial swap. I tried using bias binding for the edges--it worked okay but was a real bear to put on. These have different fibers and beads as embellishments, although it is hard to see the fibers. I used hot colors of orange and yellow to represent the heat of the sun. These cards aren't due until April, so I'm ahead of the game.


Tomorrow is my eldest son's 28th birthday. It doesn't seem possible! He is being deployed to Iraq in a couple of weeks. Happy Birthday, Chris! and keep your head down.

The bathroom is coming right along. DH is nearly finished putting on the blue paint. Next week we should get the woodwork done in white. I can hardly wait to see the finished product!