I Can Because I Can...

It gives me satisfaction to find good prices for necessities. Yesterday's specials at the meat market have kept me busy. Last night I canned 7 quarts of pork tenderloin and 7 quarts of chicken. Today I made and canned 12 quarts of bean and chicken vegetable soup, 16 pints of meatloaf, and am up past midnight waiting for two canners with 11 quarts of ground chuck to finish processing. How nice the jars will look, labeled and arranged neatly in the pantry. Meanwhile, my neck and hands are hurting... I need massage therapy badly!

Dotee Swap

And now, I've volunteered to host a Dotee Doll exchange at my online fabric postcard group, PCPZ. I hope there will be many participants. I posted three themes to choose from: Spring/Garden (flowers anyone?), Fairies/Angels (wings and sparkles?), or Beach/Mermaid (tails, seaweed, bathing suits, fish, seashells?). I'm eager to see what people come up with.

Dotee's On Parade...

After a dear friend went through a house fire, she needed some "craft therapy" so we played in my sewing room. Fifteen Dotee Dolls later, I have some to trade and gift. Another friend asked what the purpose of Dotee Dolls was, and I wasn't sure what to say except that they are easy dolls to make, fun to collect, portable, and nicer than worry stones. Can you tell we had a good time decorating them? Oh yes!

Altered Composition Book

My brother and two sisters and mom are encouraging each other via emails regarding our efforts to get healthier/lose weight/stay active. This was the perfect opportunity for me to try my hand at altering composition books, since I purchased a pile of them last fall for this very purpose. My first one came out quite well except that the covers warped due to the dampness of the glue, although I did weigh them down while they dried. Maybe I needed heavier weights? The mesh over the butterfly on the back came from a potato or onion bag. This was to symbolize anything that holds me back from reaching my potential. It was a fun project, and may lead to some other attempts. Stay tuned!

Chicken Soup Quilt

This little wall hanging is my very first quilt conceived-and-birthed in 2009. It actually insisted on preceeding two other wall quilts in the planning stages: a wintry wind scene and a large yellow flower quilt. (They may arrive yet...) The backing fabric is covered with small winged insects, so, if you "catch a bug" and are under the weather, try some chicken soup to make you feel better soon! Wishing you good health this year.

Lakeshore Collage...

This was my first finished project of the New Year. I had collected fish bones, snail shells, pieces of driftwood, and zebra mussel shells while walking along Lake Ontario, and also found a fishing bobber along Lake Neantawanta at Fulton during the summer months, hoping inspiration would strike. Using hand-dyed fabric for a watery background, white netting for wave foam, and four metal tines found along the road after the street

sweeper went by to represent sea grasses, I had fun putting this collage together. Finally, I am doing something with those "found objects." (Why can't I resist picking things up along my journeys?)

Winter Rules...

Hello Friends, Winter still rules here in the frozen North lands, and has since November. Several feet of fluffy white blanket everything. Especially lovely are the tall Spruce trees. We are blessed to have electricity and heat, while many thousands across the country are presently suffering power outages. I can still remember the challenges and deprivations of Ice Storm 1998 when the farmhouse was without power for about a month.
Today I saw nine (9) PAIRS of cardinals. WOW! I was overwhelmed. The males flash such a lovely deep scarlet near their olive brown mates. I thought I would get one post in for the first month of the new year anyway... Photo's of recent projects to follow soon. Hugs!