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!

December Musings

Wednesday was a productive day. I canned "Soybean Casserole," a large batch of Crabapple Jelly with its lovely pink-red claret color, and decanted and canned North Country Maple Syrup.
I also worked on the annual Christmas newsletter and baked a batch of yummy Pumpkin Chip Cookies.
Earlier in the week I put out birdseed for the first time in several years. It took a while for the winged creatures to discover the treasure. For some time now I had been disheartened, extremely discouraged about a particular on-going life situation. Sending up one of those "arrow prayers," I asked for a sign (whether I should keep hope, or abandon it).
Several times I looked out and saw only sparrows and junkos at the feeder, but later in the day as I wandered by the window, I spotted a darling brown cardinal hunkered down against the cold wind, followed shortly thereafter by her bright crimson mate. Call it juvenile or simplistic, but I accepted the sightings as a reminder that one must never give up hope. I have seen cardinals in the front yard each day since.
I'm so glad creation wears many colors. Just think: all the fruits and vegetables could have been gray- yuck!

Found Objects

Several months ago I signed up for a "Found Objects" fabric postcard exchange. Always a scavenger, as I rode my bicycle almost every day, many things caught my attention: bolts, bottle caps, windshield wipers, discarded CD's, etc. The collection began to mount.

Then one day I walked through a riverside park and saw a flock of snow geese on the lawn. When I returned they were gone, but the grass was covered with white feathers. I collected some, thinking I could work them into my "Found Objects" theme. Unfortunately, the feathers were too curly to lie flat. Another idea came to mind after I found a stack of orange plastic squares, stapled together. These markers for use on road repair sites, were easy to sew through and with the addition of beads, I ended up with this rather unusual design.

Greetings From Tyvekistan

In October I was honored to host a Tyvek Trade for one of my online postcard groups. A friend in the home construction business gifted me with an armload of house wrap scraps from one of the sites where her husband works. I have been wanting to purchase some Jacquard Lumiere paints with their shimmers of gold, but figured out how to 'make my own' by laying down one acrylic color, letting it dry, then applying a wash of gold acrylic paint over that. Carefully melting Tyvek cut-outs layered between Teflon sheets with a hot iron yields unpredictable results.

To me the shapes suggest "New Hampshire Map," "Funnel," "Flying Pig," and "Twister." The pieces I received in exchange are all uniquely textured. This was definitely lots of fun!!! Having a great time in Tyvekistan, wish you were here!!!