Caterpillar Completion

It feels so good to be completing more projects!!!

I started this project back in March…..I know, I know….it takes me forever

to complete even a smaller project these days.

Once again, inspired to use wool as well as alternative fabrics.  Have you ever used the sparkle wool?

I just love it!!!!

This pillow was inspired by watching a video on the journey of the Monarch butterfly…..a truly amazing

creature!!

Now on to my next project…….perhaps a knitted sock?

I started the socks back HERE in January of 2014……I finished one of them HERE in March of 2014…..

It would certainly be nice to have a pair!!!!

On a Roll

…..now if I can just keep the motivation going!!!!

This weekend I’ve finished the backing on my basset hound pillow as well as a

monarch caterpillar pillow.

All of these long nights….I mean, it gets dark at 5:30 and I find myself going to bed at 8:30 some

nights.

I’ve made myself a list of projects that need completed, so I’ll have something to keep myself occupied

on these long, dark nights.

The cording on this pillow was on sale at Hancock Fabric and was a bit challenging to work with,

but I just loved the color.

Plus, I always like to push myself and try new things.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.

This worked, but like I said, it was a bit of a challenge.

 

 

Using different fabrics in addition to wool is always fun and making different sorts of flowers just makes me smile.

I love the sparkly spandex!!!

I also love the velvety looking lavender polyester on her snout!

 

She looks a little sad and forlorn, don’t you think?

 

I also chose a fun fabric for her backing…….what a girly dog!!!

 

How is the time change affecting you?  Are you getting more done, or do you find yourself whiling away the

hours parked in front of the TV or going to bed early?

Can’t wait to show you what else I’ve been up to!!!

I love Autumn!!

Colorful leaves

Comforting soups!

Tuscan sausage soup with shell pasta, spinach and white beans #soup #foodie #whatsfordinner

A photo posted by Tammy Burks (@tammylanet) on Nov 15, 2015 at 3:10pm PST

Sweet start to a holiday

Holiday…..as in vacation.

Started out my holiday with a trip to Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas with my art group friends

this past Saturday.

(Mary, Dulcy, me, Ann)

Ann is a member of the museum and she got us tickets to tour the Frank Lloyd Wright home in

the background of the picture. (was not open to general public when we went, so in essence we got

a sneak peek)!

The Bachman-Wilson house was moved from New Jersey to this spot in Arkansas.

You can see a video of the home HERE.

It was a beautiful day!!!

She also got us tickets to another special exhibit:

 

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the special exhibit as well as the pieces in the normal museum

exhibit.

I wish I could have taken a picture of this complete set of sketches….it stretched out for at least 10-12

feet.

It was an example of how artists would go and explore and sketch in their sketch books and then

come home and paint pictures of places they had been. The sketches above were in preparation for the

painting below.

Yes…..WOW!

Pieces with lots of texture always catch my eye. Below is a close up of the textural qualities.

Not only that, but I love the color palette as well.

Of course, while perusing museums, one must have a bit of caffeine to sustain oneself.  This was our

barista with a most colorful tattoo.  Her latte’s were works of art!

More favorites….

As for the rest of my holiday?

Well, I’m calling this the holiday of “house love”…..going through the house touching up paint on

cabinets, walls and doors. As well as having handymen come in work on the “to-do” list….you know

all those little things that just start to add up…..a light switch that sticks, doors that stick, patching

a hole in the ceiling, putting new weather stripping around the doors.

As if that is not enough, I’ve pulled all of the silver trees out of the attic.

I think there are 8 or 9 trees. They still need to be arranged and fluffed up. You can also see the big

mirror leaning against the sofa…..also re-painting the mantel as well and then that will be put back.

Another thing on the list……fruitcake! 

Hope to start making that tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by.

Shedding

I don’t know about you but autumn makes me feel unsettled.

(a beautiful tree in my neighborhood)

I want to do more, make more, but I feel like first I have to shed the STUFF in my life that is no longer working for me.

A week or two ago I went into  my closet and got rid of LOTS of things!

Actually, when I started I was just going to put away my summer things and get out my fall clothes.

Somewhere along the way I had stumbled onto the idea of a “capsule wardrobe”…..having 37 things that you wear for a season (3 months).

It doesn’t have to be a hard and fast rule of 37 things, but it’s basically paring back your wardrobe to pieces that you love….pieces that you can mix and match with each other.

This doesn’t include pj’s, work out clothing, etc.

I have about 5-6 pairs of scrubs that I wear to work during the week, so that was easy (and I don’t count those).

I have several pieces that I wear to work out in….shorts, tights, tee’s, etc. (those don’t count either)

What I did come down to in my capsule was:

9 pants (5 pairs of jeans and 2 pairs of dress pants).

These are my favorite jeans! Pilcro Flare Stet from Anthropologie bought

last year.

14 tops (bought one new top at Loft outlet for $12….very similar to pic below)

 

1 sweater

1 cropped sweater that has hounds on it…..LOVE!

7 jacket/cardigans

2 skirts (1 long bought on sale at Anthropologie 2 years ago pictured below, 1 short….the short skirt is bronze and totally sequined….probably won’t wear it much, but I just love it and couldn’t pack it away just yet!)

9 pairs of boots/shoes  the ones pictured below are my most recent purchase. Bought at Marshalls for $29.99!!

(this does not include my work shoes/ workout shoes)

My total ended up being 46…..not 37, but I think that is good for a start!

(Confession: I ironed all the tops before hanging them up…..and enjoyed it)

I put my out of season clothes in a suitcase, gave pieces that I no longer wore or loved away and I still have one bag of clothes that I will donate.

Shedding feels good!!!

Working with what you have feels good and I feel that it makes me get more creative with how I put my clothes together for an outfit, plus I just don’t stress

as much over what I’m going to wear.  I know that whatever I have in my closet is something that I love!

 

(man riding unicycle down the street in my neighborhood)

Current Project & Finding Inspiration

This is a sneak peek of my current project.

I’ve been working on it for several months……

not because it’s big….

just because I haven’t been making time to hook.

However, when I do sit down to hook on this piece,

it gives me great joy.

 

This piece has many inspirations.

One inspiration is, of course, my dogs.

My other inspiration is my class with Heather Ritchie…..I’m now addicted to hooking

with alternative fabrics……they make me smile!!

This is one of Heather’s rugs that she brought with her to the class I took with her.

My other inspiration are these pillows from Deanne Fitzpatrick’s blog.

#hooked rugs #owls #colourful

A photo posted by Deanne Fitzpatrick (@studiodeannefitz) on Jan 23, 2015 at 4:27pm PST

 

Inspiration is all around us, it’s just taking the time to sit down and make it our own.

Making things my own is what is giving me joy these days, I don’t care if they are

perfect, as long as they come from my heart.

Will I Ever?

Will I ever get back into the regular habit of blogging again?

I keep trying, but I feel like a car that keeps sputtering,

goes off with a great start and then dies in the middle of the road.

 

Oh well.

I’ve been spending a bit less time on the computer and I guess

in some ways that is a good thing.

 

This past weekend I drove up to Kansas City with my aunt and

we visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

I think we spent 5 hours walking through the museum and having lunch.

Even with that time spent we weren’t able to see everything.

It was a beautiful day and there was even a wedding that was about to take place.

My favorite pieces of art that I saw were the Native American pieces. There were pieces that were

old, such as these hand-beaded moccasins from the 1890’s

to newer pieces such as these hand-beaded heels designed by Hawaiian-born artist Jamie Okuma

who beaded them with glass and 24k gold-plated beads in the tradition of American Indian moccasins.

I think that anytime you make something by hand you have a much greater appreciation for the time

and commitment that these items take to create.  I’m fascinated that so many years ago when people

were hunting for food and preparing food and tending to their children that they had time at the end

of the day to sit down and create these wonderful works of art that were part of their daily lives

or used in ceremonies.

Another work of art that was astounding was this piece created by El Anatsui.

It’s hard from the picture above to appreciate how large this piece is…..

In this photo, I tried to capture people standing below it to give you a better idea of the scope of this piece.

Other pieces that spoke to me:

This is a painting of Natural Bridge, Virginia…..I visited this when I went to school in Virginia.

Yes, it’s really that beautiful and awe inspiring.

To me this symbolizes how lonely it must have been for women settling in the prairie.  I find it quite

peaceful to look at.

This is just beautiful and girly and wonderful! I love everything about it!

This is a painting by Thomas Hart Benton, one of Missouri’s masters.  This is a painting of his sister

that he painted while he was in school. Completely different from other Thomas Hart Benton paintings

that I have seen growing up.

Just google his name and you’ll see why this one stood out to me.  Here, I’ve done it for you.

Thomas Hart Benton