My Crafting Life

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

snowed in...

2010-02-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Here in northwest Arkansas you can count on being snowed in. And it's even more likely that you'll be stuck for a few days in a row if you live out in the woods like we do. So no surprise to me when we got the predicted 10+ inches of snow on Friday.

It was beautiful to watch, and we were warm and cozy with our wood stove heat and plenty of books to read and internet to wander. I ventured out with my camera yesterday and found prints in the snow where a rabbit had become lunch for an eagle.

Seeing the marks the feathers left in the snow so neatly amazed me. I wish I'd seen the eagle, but I'm sure he'll be back in the spring.

Men who quilt

2010-01-31T18:43:00.000-08:00

I know that we female crafters are in the majority when it comes to quilting, crochet, etc, but there are some men out there who absolutely knock our socks off when they make even the smallest thing. My husband falls into this category.

A few weeks ago we were snowed in for several days and he pulled out some of my fabrics and got busy. Two and a half days later we have a small quilt that serves as a curtain for our front door. When the sun shines through it, I'm in awe of how much it looks like stained glass...only in calico and gingham, which is glorious.

He's a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to having things come out straight so the next quilt might take a while, but I love having a partner in quilting.

bad bad blogger...

2009-08-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

I stink at resolutions. I'd rather be blunt that to encourage the belief that I could possibly manage to blog at regular intervals without some sort of radical brain surgery...or something else. *sigh* I do try, honestly, but there's so much else I'd rather work on that typing up something about my day, especially when there's no one reading it. I aspire to greatness as a blogger but sadly fall short. Won't stop me from trying to do better though.

Here's a pic, cuz a good blogger always has a picture for you to oooh and aaah over.

I spent over an hour taking pictures of mushroom this spring when they were plentiful and I was trying to learn how best to use the macro button on my spiffy new camera that was a gift from my sweet husband on Christmas. All the 'shrooms came out kinda fuzzy. But with the magic of editing software, I fuzzed the edges of this photo and you don't see how bad the mushroom is anymore, just that it's a nice soft nature photo. Makes me feel artistic at least, and that's the point!

Gluebook: free or cheap and very easy crafting!

2009-07-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of a gluebook? Neither had I until a few months ago. There's a yahoo group and probably tons of flickr pics. It's basically collage using whatever you want. Are you in a crafting rut, or don't think you're creative/crafty? This is the craft for you!

All you need is some paper scraps or magazines, scissors, glue of some sort, and a notebook (or pages of paper). Cut out pictures of interest and arrange them on a page. Glue them down. Add words or letters cut out from the magazines if you like. That's it basically. You can be as simple or complex about it as you like. Doodle around the pictures or add notes about what the pictures make you think of. This is pretty much a diary of sorts, to inspire you to look at things around you in new ways!

Here's the pics of mine that I just spent 30 minutes or less starting.

Picking wildflowers

2009-06-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

The perks of living in the country are many, among them the ready supply of wildflowers to pick anytime in the summer. I have discovered however a quirk. I can only find yellow and white flowers at the present, save the occasional pinkish Queen Anne's lace. Odd but interesting, especially considering that I just put up a nice vintage green sheet in our front window to block the bright sun mid-morning and early afternoon, and the flowers look so lovely sitting in their little glass on top of the tv. I smile every time that I pass them because I simply can't help it!

slow to photograph...

2009-06-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

This is from last week, the hexagons have since multiplied yet again.

I'm to the point where I need to start picking a solid color fabric to make surrounding hexagons for each flower. Darling Husband suggested a medium blue, which I really like the idea of and yet would never have considered. Yet another reason why I married such a wonderful man! Hoping to find the perfect blue cotton material this week...

They're multiplying!

2009-05-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

Not even a week into sewing these paper pieced flowers and already I've got 10 of them! I'm excited that this is moving along so quickly, but it's going to take a lot of flowers to make a big quilt.

Paper piecing!

2009-05-18T05:36:00.000-07:00

I've started quilting!!! It's been years but lately I've been seeing hexagons all over and that inspired me to try this technique. I'm impressed with how simple it is, as well as quick and portable. I'm hoping to make up lots more of the hexagons to take with me so that I can sew them together wherever I am.

Welcome!

2009-05-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

I'm joining the crafty blogging world today! Hopefully soon you'll see all kinds of new posts from me as I share my projects and ideas, as well as cool blogs and links that I find in my daily wanderings of the 'net. Welcome friends!

I'll start by introducing my dog, Jack. He's a 4 month old beagle mix and a sweetheart. My husband and I found him on Craigslist 2 weeks ago and fell in love.