Great site for inspiration!

Got this link from somone on Quiltart - check it out. I will be going back for more and more!
This dancing thing could catch on!

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080722.html

Http://DNA.imagini.net/friends
check out this quiz. I got it from my sister and perfect hedonist that I am, it said I was a dreamer who liked to indulge myself and pamper myself in exotic locations! They got me right!

50's Dinner Party

We had such fun last night. It was K's birthday and we had a 50's dinner party.

The menu included

Celery stuffed with pimento cheese

Carrots

Meat loaf

Scalloped Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole with Onion Rings

Dinner Rolls

Jello Mold with a Lone Star Motif

Fruit Cocktail Cake

There were two young people who joined us and we regaled them with stories of the "good old days!!

A great time was had by all!

Going Green

I have always been pretty green (I have recycled since 1985)
but some other things I do include:
1. Catching water at the faucet while I wait for the water to warm up (I catch it direclty in my watering can and then apply it to my plants
2. I use cloth bags for groceries (they say paper or plastic?? -- NEITHER!) Sold by my Unitarian church
3. I have minimized my use of papertowels and paper napkins by using cloth
4. If I have grey water (when I don't shampoo my hair) I also use it water my plants
5. I am saving the chipboard out of cereal boxes to use in my art

It does't sound like much, but I do what I can.

This is a very interesting link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhjjgvnkh8. Check it out

Free Tarot Reading

See my sideline for the Tarot card of the day and go here for a free reading. Thanks W for letting us know about this.

I went and got a free reading, all turmoil, disappointment, unrest and crappy stuff. Of course that is where I am at, so I need to work on that!

Check it out, as it is very interesting.

Tuesday Happenings

Since my feed dogs do not drop (it is a Kenmore that just zig-zags and goes back and forth!) I have to improvise. I take a business card (or temp credit card) punch a hole in the middle, and tape it down. Works like a charm!I turned around to see my studio cat, Baby Cakes, had made herself comfortable.

If you look closely at the paw on the right, you can see her polydactyl paws-- looks like a catcher's mitt!

In the interest of fairness, here is my not studio cat Fuzzy Bucket. She wakes up in a new world each day (sometimes several times a day!)

We Art the People - Albuquerque

Every year the Off Center Art Center sponsors a great art fair in Albuquerue. It is called We Art the People! Above is the name on a booth that I just loved!

Booths and more booths

People strolling

and perusing

They also have a parade of huge puppets that dance in a parade. I missed the parade this year, but found two of the puppets.

All in all, a very nice day in the park. It was not unbearably hot (this is August in New Mexico after all) and the rain from the night before was not in evidence.

Blogger likes me today...

Ok, Blogger is letting me install photos now, so I will post from last night and tonight!This is a recycle quilt using the leftovers from a future black and white quilt. I thought that this was the back, buy it may be the front. I am still practicing on my machine quilting, but it goes very slowly!

This was the front, now maybe the back? I like the contrast between the colored and black/white. And yes, it is not straight-when I got the backing on, it was crooked, so I just went with the flow and made it catty-wampus!

Here is several yards of black and white cut into 2" strips for a wedding quilt I owe my nephew!

This is the scraps and dropoffs from cutting the strips. Most of the pile on the right was transformed into the quiltlet shown in the first photo.

Start on the Black and White quilt

I cut up yards and yards of black and white fabric last night into 2 inch strips for a black and white quilt that is the last of several wedding quilts that I owed my nephews! Now we are starting on baby quilts! But I already have that covered.

ARRRGGHHH! Blogger will not let me upload images, so I will add this quote that I found:

Somewhere, there is something incredible waiting to be known! Carl Sagan

ARtful weekend

I finally got back to my studio over the weekend. I did some housework and watched a movie that evening. During all this I was painting in an altered book that I have been working on for some time. Orange dye, airline label and masking tape

Blue Cabachon on the left and I just LOVE the Jacquard Lumiere Indigo paint.

Blue Tag (more will be done on this page)

I believe quote from a magazine, more will be done on this also. '

It is so good to be back in the studio!

If you have kids, or are a kid at heart

check out this blog!
http://blog.betzwhite.com/2008/06/super-foam-erator.html
Not much arty is happening in my studio, but I did have an art date with a friend to attend Albuquerque's First Friday Artscrawl. After a week of work, I did not have much energy, but we went to three galleries and saw some very interesting art!

More Rust

I am still not sure that I have enough on these two pieces of muslin, I may put them back to rust some more. I like the top piece (at least the right half of it) and I like the left half of the other piece.

This is some white on white fabric that I found. The print is VERY small bubbles, but you can see them in person. I probably need to make something out of these rusty pieces before I get too much fabric (too much, what am I saying!!)

At last I am home alone (except for BC and FB!)

Left to right, Kay, Marsha (hidden behind the aluminum foil), Donna, Allene, Floye and Tim.

Another busy weekend. I took sick on Friday (just too much stress, and I had a light day... What can I say??). Mother had stomach trouble, so we did not know if we were ready to take off for a three hour drive with very few bathroom opportunities, but by noon she was feeling better. I went to get my oil changed and found out I had to replace my brakes ($300 instead of $30!) They had been making a strange sound...

Anyway, we took off Friday afternoon and got home in time to have some great meatloaf made by my sister. Mother was most relieved to be home!

My uncle left Friday morning via ambulance to the nursing home that my cousin works in. He will be there for 2-3 weeks for rehab. I know that branch of the family was glad to be home also!

Saturday, we got hit by the remants of Hurricane Dolly, so I beat a hasty retreat to Albuquerque in front of the storm. They got about 4 inches of rain, which is almost a year's worth of precip in the dry desert! I got caught in an absolute downpour and lost traction, so I slowed down after that!

I came home and enjoyed the peace and quiet of just me and the cats.

Last night I started some more tannin/rust, but came out mostly tannin and very little rust. I am drying them now and will post tomorrow!

Busy, Busy, Busy Part Deux!

I just thought that I had been busy in my last post.
My 86 year old uncle fell and broke his hip. They flew him to Albuquerque to the VA Hospital.
He came up alone, and I went over to see him and stayed with him all day Friday until my Aunt and cousins could come up to Albuquerque.
My mom also came up, so we had a mini family reunion and looked at old family pictures.
They operated on Sunday and the hip replacement went well.
I am very impressed with the VA Hospital. I know that they have had some bad press in the last few months, but the staff are kind, gentle, understanding and seem really interested in the patients (and family). They are engaged and interested, even when the patients are rambling!
Could not ask for better care than what he is getting.

I have been chauffer, nurse, therapist, and friend all weekend, and will continue as my Aunt (77) and my Mother (85) will stay until my uncle is released and able to go home.

So art is off the table for now, but will return!

No art today

I am under a lot of stress at work due to a Human Resources issue (not for me, but about a co-worker). Did not sleep well last night, and so I will try to work on some art tonight, but I have been reading, relaxing and playing video games! Oh, well.... maybe some art tomorrow

The Story of Stuff

I watched this video after I made my earlier post, and feel like I really need to let everyone know about this issue. It is a 20 minute video, but please watch and send the URL to your friends. The Story of Stuff http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Busy Busy again

One of my more successful rust attempts. I think that this piece reminds me of a fresco wall

This was a test piece of postcard fabric which came out very nice.

This is my "dypepot" an old inexpensive cake pan that rusts most satisfactorily. It sits outside on the balcony amid my plants. This is how much rain we got last night, which is very unusual for Albuquerque.

Today after church we went to the Lavender festival in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. It is a very green, lush almost rural area with lots of vineyards. Very interesting and they have lavender in almost anything! It is an annual festival, and next year we are going VERY early on Saturday morning.

My Political Rant for the week

It is only July, and today I saw two McCain and two Obama ads (and I do not watch that much commercial TV). I discovered this website http://www.recapturetheflag.com/. This is a site asking for pledges from politicans that they will stop torture, etc. Check it out, I signed up and when I got an email today from NM Senator Binghaman, I asked him if he had taken the pledge. I think it is time for all politicians to take the pledge.
Art resumes over the weekend.

Another WIP finished

This is a long-time WIP (work in process) that only needed a little quilting and the binding applied. It is now finished! Hooray!

Lins Cats

I am using this wall hanging from my friend Lin to practice my machine quilting. I just did outlines, and it came out OK. Note that Baby Cakes is giving it the once over

Very colorful quilt, and I will give it back to her at our meeting of The Thrusday's Women this week. (Note that Baby Cakes got scooted off the middle of the quilt, but is still hanging around the edges!)