uneven edges...

My Dark Oak Woman name just wasn't suiting me any longer. I love having an "Indian name" but it didn't describe me completely. I have a history with uneven edges so this new name is more fitting. One of my legs is longer than the other. When I was a kid this didn't bother me but as I get older it causes me pain now and then. So, I'm physically uneven and more aware of it. It would be impossible to find someone who isn't uneven.

Alas, I am also creatively uneven.

When I made my very first pieced quilt I didn't understand the quarter-inch seam concept AT ALL. It was a disaster. But, I managed to get all of it lined up on top. You shoulda seen the bottom. Several years later I made a bowtie quilt and didn't like the size of my blocks so I cut them down. This time I wasn't so lucky with the outcome. It does add to the "charm" of the quilt though, don't you think?



Then there was my first afghan...

I dove right in without understanding how to end a row, make a chain and begin the next row. Luckily I thought of a way to fix it by crocheting an edge around all 4 sides and today my mistakes are hardly visible(this is a "before" picture).



Now, thankfully, I have figured out the quarter-inch seam and how to end/begin a crocheted row.

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to trim your own bangs???....

Want More????

Ok, here's a bit more...

We aren't going vegan or joining a commune. I'm not pregnant, we aren't adopting. Things still aren't all the way finished so I can't show yall yet. Sorry!! For now you can enjoy the finished painting of the bedroom the filling up of the pool...





The hardest thing about this color is that I have no idea what to put with it. My plan was for this to be more neutral like a stone or dove grey. It turned out waaaay bluer than I wanted but I do like it. None of my bedding goes at all which means I'll be doing a new quilt(but what colors?). Actually, if I get off my duff and *finish* my Buckeye Beauty repro quilt I'll have one that mostly goes.



I just hate doing the same thing over and over and over(quilt blocks, that is). The Unicorn Storm quilt is still in the planning stages. It will be a Turning Twenty quilt of blues and purples with a pretty unicorn fabric accented with silver as the focal point. I'm sure it will be the perfect match for the paint but probably too wintry for year-round use.

Anyway, we still have to declutter the shelves and decide if we're going to trade them for something else, paint them or what. One idea I have is to take an old round table top, cut it in half and mount it to the wall above the shelves. Then staple fabric skirt to it in pleats with another table cloth on top to hide the staples. This way we could have our junked up shelves(which we need) but we'd have a more polished look. We could also coordinate the headboard with the skirt fabric. I do know that the lamp shades have GOT to go. The maroon ones were on deep clearance at Tarjay a few years ago and were pretty ugly when I got them(but they were on Saaaaale!).

I also have an idea for my curtain rod but that will have to wait until I price some materials. Anyway....



Isn't this liner GORGEOUS???!! I think I did good picking it out! I wish the color of the border would have shown better in the pictures, it is really a nice brown, not washed out greenish-grey(do I need a new monitor?) as you see here.



We aren't sure why there are large pieces of cardboard in the pool. My guess is that they are parts of the liner box that blew in last night.



I think all they have left to do is cut the holes where the jets and intake go and fill it the rest of the way up! We are thinking we'll get about a month of swimming in. This summer has been much dryer than last, we only swam about 7-8 times last year because of all the rain.

Ryan is kinda peeved because he has church camp and thinks he might miss getting to swim in it this weekend. I'm betting it will be too cold for that and might not even be all the way filled(least that's what I'm tellin' him). The girls can hardly stand waiting til tomorrow to get their goggles and noodles.



I'm really glad to have finished painting already. Now I can enjoy the pool without feeling too guilty about stuff needing to be done inside, although something *always* needs done!

Last but not least! A scat update. I sent pictures to five bonafide experts and got replies very promptly. One person(not the one who left the comment) said it was coyote. The other four said it was most likely and/or definitely Ursus Americanus(American Black Bear) scat. Some of these experts have been in the field for decades and know their stuff very well so I will go with "very probably" bear scat. I'm of the conspiracy ilk and think the dissenter probably doesn't want to alarm the public. Sooo, that's the scat report for today. I WISH that could get me a job!!!

Just some stuff....

(Aaron at the start of the AT)

I heard from my brother today! He is finishing up hiking the Appalachian Trail. Last year he started in March and went til mid-August, coming off the trail a few times for personal reasons(and an injury or two). Since he got behind, it was going to be too cold to continue and the trail would be closed anyway. He really had a strong desire to finish and a few weeks ago an opportunity presented so he went for it! I'm not sure how much he has to go, somewhere between 500 and 600 miles, about 2 months worth or so. Right now he's in Vermont staying with the Twelve Tribes. He says they are very interesting.

Mark worked through the holiday weekend, all day Friday and Saturday and most of the day yesterday. His last call was last night at 10:15, he had to go see a patient about 45 miles from us and didn't get home til midnight.

The girls and I took care of our neighbor's dog and cats while Mark was working. They have a very super cool frog pond in their backyard with a waterfall and everything. Sarah loves to sneak up on it and find the frogs so we went "over and above" our call to duty and visited several times a day.

We did end up painting and got probably 90% of it done last night. I did the ceiling and baseboard edges today and will put a second coat on the whole thing tomorrow. It is still not the grey I wanted. I was after "stone" and this is "storm" but it is ok and growing on me as I get the trimming done. I made a decision about our china hutch too. Right now the chest of drawers is beside the bathroom door. We'll move it between the closet doors(to the right of the bed in this pic) and the hutch will go where the chest was.


(ignore the mess, it is gone now, as well as the boxes and bookshelf)

Once we get the room put back together I can start on my Summer Two-Color Challenge. I have my fabrics picked but can't reveal the pattern I'm doing until September 1st. There are also some PIFs and UFOs on my todo list so I hope to be back to crafting soon.


(red is one of the two colors for my challenge quilt)

More Thrifted Goodness....

Yesterday I took the girls to Gladewater to spend the night with a friend. On the way home I stopped at the Goodwill there to see if I could find some camping utensils and door mats. No luck. But I did manage to spend a few bucks on these beautiful things!



The pink floral(third from left) is what my Mama Mammer(mom's mom) had on her bed when I was a little bitty girl. I loved it then and love it now. It was labeled as a twin flat but is actually a full-size! The other floral is a twin flat and the blue one is a twin fitted. I'm not sure what I'll end up making out of them, maybe a night gown from the darker pink floral. I got the pillow cases for our camping pillows, love it that they are so similar but none actually match.



Now this set, I LOOOOVE!! My grandmother(dad's mom) had one like the larger one but I don't remember her having the smaller ones unless she kept them in a cabinet. This set is missing the next to largest one(I think it would be the Sugar one) but the rest of them are in great shape with no dings or dents and just a bit of the decals scratched off. I'm debating spray painting the lids back to solid black, they are missing about half their black coating. As soon as I get them washed out, I'll start using them. When I got them home, I found that the biggest one still had flour in it!

I never did find untensils for us but did manage to get a kitchen runner that I cut in half for our tents.

Oh yeah, before anyone asks, and I know someone will. I did make that quilt. Its a kid quilt for Amy and is square. I did my own pattern both on the piecing and the spiderweb quilting. It is one of my favorite quilts I've made.

Here's some better pics:

Getting the Milk...

Our family is in a raw milk co-op. We enjoy the health benefits of drinking raw and it tastes wonderful! Every 6 weeks or so it is my turn to go get the milk from the farm and bring it to our leader's house for distribution. This week was my turn. I also scored a bag of nice organic yellow squash, 6/$1, woooohooo! That was lunch!


(Shady Grove is the community we get our milk from)


(the kids usually don't like to get up so early but I made them come along this time and they were blessed by a deer running along side us for about 100 yards or so)

On our way home, We stopped at the Hoover Cemetery not too far from the 1002 and 155 intersection. I've always been curious about the cemeteries in this area, it seems like an OLD place. This would make a cool field trip for our co-op or homeschool group.


(the back part of the cemetery)


(Elizabeth Gage, b. Feb 22, 1852, d. Mar 24, 1852)


(David Gage, b. Oct 20, 1860, d. Nov 8, 1860)


(Abraham Hoover owned the land on which the cemetery was started)


(Abrham's wife Nancy)


(I think this says Martha Hoover, could it be that this was the first person buried here- according to the website a daughter was the first buried)

In other news....

Mark is out of town on business. His company is aquiring the assets of another medical equipment company and he went to Nacogdoches with the owner to check out the facilities. I can't say much more except that he was validated yesterday when they were in negotiations. The representative from the other company asked the owner(of Mark's company) if everything looked ok, yada yada. The owner turned to Mark and asked HIM if it was "a go" and Mark said yes. Then the owner turned back to the representative and said, "yes". Anyway, they are growing the business and that's something Mark can be proud of because he has done 90% of it all by himself!! He has made many contacts and is very well-liked and respected by everyone he works with(including the 8 hospices they are contracted to serve-this time last year they had 1 hospice).

I'm working on finishing the binding on my Trip Around the World quilt, 2.5 sides to go! Then I need to decide if I'm going to make 8 blocks or 18 blocks to finish my Anvil(or Buckeye Beauty) vintage quilt. If I just do 8 I'll need multiple borders but if I do 18 I'll only need a small border. I'm leaning toward 18 but that is SOOO many! There are already 12 sewn together so having to make more than that is not appealing, but I do want it to fit my bed. Sigh. You can find pictures of both quilts in my sidebar under unfinished projects(or somesuch).

Shades of Inspiration...

Something in the creativity book that I took to read while camping must have sunk in because I'm just bursting with things I want to try! First, I have to finish hand binding a full-sized quilt. Then, I'm getting to work on my tote, made from that bright thrift store fabric in the previous post. I told my mom that I wanted to use a drawstring closure but now I'm thinking of making it with those wooden dowel rods that go all the way across the top and serve as handles. That seems like a very simple method but I haven't looked online for directions.

We took the kids fishing to Lake Gladewater last night after Bevo's new owners claimed him. We were out there for about 3 hours, part of the time in the dark. Now when I look at the computer screen it feels like I'm rocking in that durn boat and I'm SO seasick. Also, I swear(and I don't like to swear) that I saw a baby alligator. It was going between two groups of cattails about 20 feet from our boat and was about a foot long. I saw its nose, head, back and tail in the water, then it just submerged in one move, straight down like a submarine. Our fishing was not productive, Mark is the only one who caught anything and that was two tiny perch. We'll not go back to that lake even though its close.

Later last night, while waiting for the boys to unhitch the boat, I made a bold move and issued a challenge to my quilters who homeschool email group. We did these a few years ago where someone would come up with a theme and we all did our interpretations of it(supposed to just be a block but I did wall hangings). This is how I got my "Horse of a Different Color" wall hanging(look in my finished objects links on the left), from a Wizard of Oz challenge. Anyway, this new challenge was inspired by Sister's Choice participation in a Two-Color Challenge.

The challenge I issued is currently just for our yahoogroup but if anyone wants, maybe we can do one in September for the fall quarter(or you can play along here, I can create a flickr group. If anyone is interested just let me know). The rules for my group's challenge are that you must make a top(any size from candle mat to king) out of just two colors. You can use as many shades and varieties of the colors as you want or just stick to two fabrics period. Pattern doesn't matter either, you can do whatever you want. Progress will be secret, we're only going to post our fabrics. Then we'll post our results on September 1st. So far I have 4 maybe players but hopefully they'll commit for reals soon.

Last but not least, I found this wonderful flickr group over at Blackberry Creek and decided to play along. I, like several others, missed out on the "seeing red" part, but have picked up with the green week. You can click on the link to your left to visit the flickr group for this fun play-along. Meanwhile, here are my reds(good thing I didn't get in on "seeing red" because this is all I got! And some green photos for you to enjoy.


(my parents barn, my brother lives in the loft, where the itty bitty window is-and that is him walking away from the barn, just noticed that)


(one of my first crocheted purses, I really need to line this and start using it because I LOVE it!)


(my brother's childhood quilt made by my grandmother, I love this too)


(Amy's Sea Dragon)


(one of two quilts I made for a neighbor, remade from the nursery set she'd made for her girls 10 years ago, plus denim from a thrifted dress-this was in progress, not finished)


(the kids at Roaring Falls, a hiking area near my parents' home in North Carolina)

More Camping Pics...

Not sure I have time for a story though.



Sarah caught a fish! We didn't have the greatest fishing experience at Wright Patman Lake, not nearly as good as we thought. The boys went out several times and caught lots of fish but most of them were very small catfish(about 10 inches long or so). On a lake so big, it is hard to find the perfect spot.



This is the hill between our campsite and the boat ramp. I lost count on how many times the kids went up and down this monster! I only did it twice and that was plenty.



Our first time in the boat was Thursday afternoon, after we'd set up camp. This herron was completely ignoring us. They must've been having a convention or something because we probably saw 20 or more different ones.



Here is Sarah, about 2/3 of the way up the hill to our tents. The leaf litter was about a foot deep which made it very slippery to walk in. My feet are still aching from all the weird walking we did.



The majority of our campsite time looked like this.



Our neighboring campsite was home to several squirrels. We saw this guy trying to blend in with the scenery. Didn't work too well for him.


Today I'm working on decluttering our living room. Things have gotten stacked up again on the book shelves. I'd thinned them out a few weeks ago but didn't take the books to the garage like I should have. If I have time after all the cleaning, I plan to work on the binding for my Trip Around the World quilt(pic in my sidebar under unfinished section). While we were camping I read a cool book, Boost Your Creativity, by Robert Allen. It has advice and exercises to help with creative thinking. Most of the exercises were boring, I mean, if I sat there long enough I could probably do them but I didn't want to. There's a big part of me that doesn't understand doing something if I can't see the benefit. So, anyway, it did help me get a fire lit about finishing some projects and starting some others. I'm definitely thinking outside my box on these, can't wait to show them off!

Stringing Three Sentences Together....

Finally! I haven't had more than 15 minutes at a clip to sit and do computer stuff. All week it has been this way. Too many things coming in and stealing my time. Like laundry. And pet care. And baking cookies, getting the milk, cats to vet, kids to friends and park, groceries, dinners, crafting, decluttering, etc. It has just gotten away from me this week.

So, today the boys are fishing at a new lake. They left at the crack of dawn, actually sometime before that even. Mark has to try and straighten out a part on the trailer while the boat is in the water. It isn't hard to do, he just has to have the trailer sans boat. Anyway...

The girls and I are going to Gilmer to a new-to-us gift shop for a Mother's Day/Birthday outing. A friend of mine sells mineral make-up there and today they've got some special things going on. Like plate lunch bbq and a few of the local artists who have their items there. The boys will probably beat us home since Ryan has a birthday party at 3pm.

Sarah's birthday is Sunday and I still don't really have plans for anything. She is getting a bike. Her friend Callie gave her some wonderful inline skates and she's had them on most of the time since we came home from park on Thursday. She lost another tooth last night so she's got a bit of money of her own to spend. Here are some random pictures of my babiest baby.


(Sarah just an hour old, with Mark)


(The girls, June 2000)


(Sarah, 2 weeks old)


(Easter 2002)


(Sarah's 2nd birthday)


(kids, February 2004)


(January 2005)


(Boopa as Ichi)

Last post, I think I mentioned that I had finished the binding on my confetti quilt. It is on the bed now and I'm ready to start binding the Trip Around the World that I finished last year. I've got a few other projects that I need to get finished and/or started and finished, some fun and challenging things. Can't wait!

A REAL Breakfast!....

We had one this morning! I made ham, scrambled eggs, and biscuits using Homesick Texan's recipe and they are wooooonderful!!! A bit of work but oh so worth it, I ate FIVE of them(they were small, I used a 2-inch cutter)! I used half whole wheat and half regular flour and made my buttermilk with our raw milk and vinegar but I don't think these changes skewed the outcome one bit! Amy proclaimed them to be delish!

We had a little storm last night, hail and 80mph winds to the northeast and southwest of us but just rain, loud thunder, and lightning here. It scuttled Mark's softball practice for this morning for sure when it started up again at 4am. It is after 9 and still raining hard. We haven't had these kind of rains in years! Our yard is a lake. Guess this is a sign that we have "inside" work to do. Like cleaning our bedroom. I also want to work on my hexagon quilt and gather fabrics for a few quilts I have planned. Sometime this week I have to get a new cutting ruler because Amy stepped on mine and broke it.

We still don't have baby piggies yet. The longer she goes means she is more likely to have 1 or 2 babies instead of a handful. This is a good thing. It has been 20 days since I felt the first movements, typically they deliver 14-21 days after that. I haven't checked her dilation yet this morning but last night she was almost 1/2 an inch so things are progressing, just verrrry slllowwwwly. Sigh.

This is a big birthday week at our house. Tomorrow Rainbow and Moonshine turn 1 year old! They are Basil and Luna's babies but we lost Luna to a birth complication a week after they were born. Ruby and Rosie, our Oklahoma kitties, will turn 4 on April 1st, then Mark on the 5th and Magic Panda on the 6th. Busy week!


(Sarah with Rainbow and Moonshine)


(Panda-in front-, Moonshine and Rainbow)

I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

That Cowboy Quilt...

My last post had a picture of my hexagon flower garden quilt in it and Sarah(The Misadventures of Mama and Jack) spotted the treasure underneath! Its an antique quilt belonging to my dad. His mom made it for him when he was about 2 years old.
When my grandmother died in 2005, my aunt gave me her crochet and craft patterns and the original was among them. You can read in the 2nd photo date on it of 1941. Its at my mom and dad's now but I'd love to take better pictures of all the different fabrics she used in it. Maybe sometime this week I'll get it together and post pictures of my family's other antique quilts.


(this is the envelope the pattern came in)




(horse pattern)






(as you can see, the stains came out for the most part)



And I just had to throw this in for fun. I found these treasures at my in-laws home today. MIL collects the most odd things! Isn't this ceramic owl with tennies just adorable? Its a small planter. And the Tiki vase is a treat!



They also don't know it isn't the 1970s any more. This is their game room. I LOVE this color scheme, I really do! On a serious note, she's suffering from dementia and just general old age and it is harder for her to undecorate from season to season. There were lots of Christmas things still up. She's also started decorating with empty plastic fruit cups(some possibly not washed out), empty tomato sauce cans, and folded up chip bags that have been turned inside out. Yipes!!


(Mark made the coffee table out of an ammo box several years ago, his mom added the childrens chairs)