Support the Arts . . . Send Me Money

One of the attorneys in my office is on the board of a local art gallery, and I overheard him talking to another attorney about an upcoming art auction--I'm pretty sure he was talking about a fund-raiser for the gallery. And I couldn't help but think wouldn't it make more sense for these attorneys to just give their money to someone they actually KNOW--like me?! So how about it? Want to donate money to a good cause? Just email me and I'll tell you how.

The only reason I started thinking about this again tonight was that I saw a friend, Julie-Julia, at Thimbleberries Club, and she told me I had to go home afterward and be creative until late into the evening or risk disappointing another friend, Sandy. Sandy reads my blog each morning and lately she's been enthusiastic about my Halloween charm quilt and other Halloween projects in her conversations with Julie-Julia. So yes, after Thimbleberries Club, and after doing the grocery shopping (where I found the season's first small pumpkins) . . .

. . . I withdrew to the Sweat Shop and emerged a couple hours later with the completed Halloween "totem."

My photography doesn't do it justice--I'll need to get a better photo when it's light out. But Sandy's up and reading blogs before the sun, so this photo will have to do for now.

I guess I'd better go figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow night to top this. Thanks for stopping to visit!

Sorta . . .

In follow up to yesterday's "almost" post, today I'll show you a couple things that are "sorta" done. Maybe I'll do more; maybe I won't. If I don't, the world will not end--of course, if I don't get those other things finished that I mentioned yesterday, it almost certainly will.

First, the witch. Goodwill had a nice, red velvet dress for her. I originally envisioned her as more tattered and spooky, but I guess my gal is classier than that. I still want to do something with that hat but I'm not sure what. And Hubby left that sparkly fabric on her torso, but it helps hide the wires and things, so I left it too. By the way, we found out the battery pack is a motion detector--when the witch senses motion, her eyes flash red and she cackles.

In the photo, she's sitting up on the arm of the couch and her legs (or what would be her legs if she had some) reach nearly to the edge of the couch, which makes her about the size of a large kid or a very petite adult. More about her a little later.

Next, the charm pack quilt top I've been working on. It's sorta done too.

Of course, it will need to be quilted, but besides that, I'm not sure if I want a border or not. I think I probably do but I haven't figured out if I have any fabric in my stash that I'd like to use. I have a print of pumpkins on a black background that might work, but the orange in this Minick and Simpson fabric I've used so far might be a bit dark for the border fabric I was thinking about. I'll need to start pulling stuff out to see what would work. If I add a border, it will be a simple one, so it shouldn't take long.

Okay, now about the witch again. She needs a name. I'd greatly appreciate it if those of you who read this post would suggest a name or two. Something kind of original and/or catchy. If I use the name you suggest, I'll send you a little something or other to thank you--I have no idea what that might be yet, but it will probably be Halloween-inspired and not hugely valuable unless I win the lottery between now and then.

Ah, and when is "then"? Let's say I'll decide on her name on Friday night and announce it in Saturday's blog post. Good luck and thanks for the help!

Almost . . .

I ALMOST finished the papier mache Halloween "totem" but not quite. I still have to wait for the papier mache base piece to dry, glue a couple things together, varnish the whole thing, and make a hat for the cat on top of the stack. (Catchy little rhyme, eh?!)

I ALMOST finished sewing the blocks for the Halloween charm pack quilt but not quite. I have about five more black blocks to sew and then I'll need to sew about a dozen more half-square triangle blocks and trim them.

I ALMOST started decoupaging a wooden tray for Halloween but not quite. I found it needed a second coat of black base paint first, so I did that instead.

I ALMOST finished painting the cherub candle holder but not quite. Or maybe I have. I'm just not sure because it still doesn't quite look like what I was imagining.

I ALMOST started decorating a bunch of glass jars but not quite. You can see some of them on my kitchen table in yesterday's witch photo. The last two, though, are still in the dishwasher, so I had to wait.

I ALMOST started another Halloween project with these guys . . .

. . . but not quite. I felt like I should finish something before starting another project. But I think I'll have Hubby start the prep work for me in the next day or so.

I ALMOST typed up the class handouts for the first session of the Wool Crazy class but not quite. I prepared the written instructions for using flannel instead of wool for the background, but I didn't get around to illustrating the instructions, and then I remembered there was more I wanted to write up, but I figured I'd already put in enough "responsible adult time" so I went back to playing arts and crafts.

And I'm ALMOST glad the weekend's over but not quite. I've been working on so many crafty projects, it will be good to get out of the house and go to work. For about the first two hours. And then I'll wish I was home, playing with my toys again.

More of the Same

Today was a day much like yesterday but without the house cleaning. I sure hope Chris got what she wanted at the thrift stores yesterday, because I went to another one today. And then, to change it up a little from yesterday, I went to JoAnn's instead of Michael's.

I was hoping to work on my papier mache project today, but it wasn't quite dry, and the directions recommended patching any cracks that appeared during drying, so that's as far as I got--drying and a little bit of patching. Instead, I messed about with the cherub candleholder (not quite where I want it yet), decoupaged and painted the base for the papier mache "Halloween totem," and did some quilting.

Oh, and today's my mom's birthday. Happy birthday mom! No, she doesn't read my blog, so I actually called her. I think she looks pretty good for her age, doesn't she?

Yeah, you're right. That's not my mom. The witch is a thrift store find. She has a battery pack and I'm not quite sure what it does or if it even works, but I just loved the face and thought I could do something with it. Hubby and I figured we'd build a base for the body (it's really only a head and arms with floating clothing, and it's meant to hang from something) so it could sit on a chair on our front patio. Then we'll strip off what bits of clothing it has and dress it. I'm not sure what I'll do about the hat, but I'll do something. The glittery/sparkly stuff needs to go, I think. Of course, now I'm going to have to go back to the thrift store to find a dress for it. See, thrifting is a never ending occupation! (Now that I look at the face of the thing, I realize that if I dressed it in a suit, it would look remarkably like an older attorney I used to work for!)

Here's a peek at the quilting project I've been working on. It's the charm pack quilt I've mentioned before. I still have two more "rounds" of blocks to add to what you see here, so it will be eight rows of blocks by eight columns. Then probably a border. I'm planning to give the pattern to the students in my next Schnibbles class (September 25th) and I'll probably print it here at some point in the future. I might be able to get the top finished tomorrow, so I'll show you the finished project then.

Time again for bed. And I'm SO happy I don't have to get up for work tomorrow morning, because there's still one more day of the long weekend left!

A Little Play Time

Chris from Sacramento left a comment saying she was heading to the thrift stores today and hoped I'd left something for her to buy. Well, Chris, I was in ONE of the Goodwill stores today too, and I found a few things, but I'm sure I left plenty for you--after all, there are about eight other Goodwill stores in the area not to mention the many other thrift stores here.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year for thrifting. I thought this candleholder had lots of ghoulish potential:

Somewhere I think I have some spray stuff that makes things look like granite, and that seems like a good possibility for transforming this piece. Hubby suggested I then paint the cherubs' eyes red, but I think black, empty, soul-less holes might be the better option. Do you have an opinion?

That reminds me of a little story. I told the Wild Child today that I was going to Michael's and asked if she needed anything. She stared at me for a moment and then slowly looked around the craft/computer room and said, "You mean you don't already have enough cr*p?!" I can see that she and her father are going to start double teaming me now that she's moved back home, so one or the other is going to have to go! Any offers? I'm pretty sure there's still some life left in Hubby if you want him.

So what did I go to Michael's for? Remember this magazine I showed you a week or so ago? It has several fun crafty ideas.

Well, as I often do, I looked at all the photos and didn't bother read what supplies were needed for the different projects--I just figured I had something that would work if I didn't have the actual thing they used. After all, The Wild Child DID have a point about all the craft supplies I have (but DON'T tell her I said so, okay?). This is the project I wanted to work on today--the "Halloween trio":

I actually had just about everything I needed already but I wanted to get a couple of the paints. So after shopping (and after I came home and cleaned house--because we all know you can't play until all the chores are done), I got my hands dirty with this stuff:

And I ended up with this so far:

Tomorrow, I'll start the painting. And I have another project or two I want to work on--as well as some quilting stuff. I love long weekends! And to make it even better? Hubby took a couple Trader Joe's chocolate croissants out of the freezer for our breakfast. I guess I'd better get to bed now so I don't miss breakfast--yum!

Too Tired To Be Excited--Almost

Yay! The long, three-day weekend is here! Unfortunately, I'm too tired to be very excited just yet, but I'm pretty sure that after a good night's sleep, I'll be as enthusiastic as enthusiastic can be! In the meantime, I'm not really blogging tonight--except to tell you I'm tired (and also, the Wild Child has her laptop hooked up to the computer connection and I'm laptop challenged, although I've managed this much).

I have several quilting and crafting projects planned for the weekend, so I hope to have something to show you that might even inspire you at some point. I hope you're enjoying your weekend so far and will come back to visit me when I'm a little more lively.

Will You Be My Friend?

Ever since I was about five years old, that seemed like a pretty pathetic thing to ask someone. You either naturally BECAME friends when you got to know one another, or you didn't. Of course, with Facebook, that's all changed.

People (i.e., my kids and other people not sophisticated enough to read a blog, for goodness sakes!) have been suggesting to me for awhile now that I join Facebook, but I haven't seen the need. But my Quilting Porch friend Eileen is on Facebook so she can keep in touch with relatives (apparently she LIKES hers better than I like mine), and when she went into the hospital for surgery, she mentioned that her daughter and a friend would post her condition on her wall. When I heard she'd done fine in surgery but that surgery was more extensive than was initially anticipated and that she'd be in the hospital longer than first expected, I decided to join Facebook so I could find out how she was doing. The only problem has been that I joined Facebook but I can't seem to find her. I DID send her a friend request, but subsequent searches don't locate her again and she's not popping up as a friend suggestion. I think she might be going home tomorrow anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter much at this point.

But here I am, a member of Facebook now. And my email inbox is filling up with friend requests from friends and family alike, which I've been mostly ignoring because really? I don't think I'm going to be ON Facebook that much, so there won't be much for them to see. But who knows? That could change. Maybe I'll find a long-lost boyfriend and rekindle the flame. Don't tell Hubby if that happens, okay? But there you go--yet another reason to not "friend" family members!

I did friend the Wild Child though. I don't know what I was thinking! We live in the SAME HOUSE! Why do I need to talk to her on Facebook? Besides that? I had momentarily forgotten that sometimes it's better I NOT KNOW THINGS. If you're a mom, you can probably relate. So I didn't friend Soccer Son or his Lovely Wife to be Someday. At least not yet.

Want to see what I came across on the Wild Child's Facebook page?

I posted a message asking why she was camping in a prom dress and learned she'd had to dress up when she and her band performed for a "Black and White Ball" that was held 30 miles from civilization, in the middle of nowhere. AND when they arrived? Very few of the attendees were dressed formally. But she found this gown at a thrift store (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?!) so she didn't have to put too much money into it, and she looks rather stunning in it too, even if you CAN see the outline of her bellybutton ring. (See the guy drinking out of a red plastic cup? Pretty formal, huh?!)

And Soccer Son's Facebook page? He has this photo of me posted along with a comment that says something like, "my mom can beat your mom in a go cart race." I kind of like that!

You know what else bugs me about Facebook? I have all these friend requests from people I don't know! I'm pretty sure they're people I know online, but I don't know them by their real names, nor do I recognize them, so it's kind of odd. Kind of like strangers coming up to you when you're five years old and saying, "Will you be my friend?"

So do me a favor. If you're on Facebook and you track me down and want to be my friend--we'll, I'm sure I'd be happy to, but send me a separate email telling me how I know you so I don't think you're just some random stalker, okay? Oh, and one more favor? If you see any old flames hanging around my Facebook page, don't tell Hubby, right? Gee, you really ARE a friend!

With Friends Like This . . .

What does it mean when a friend gifts you with toilet paper and a napkin? Do you think there's a hidden message there somewhere?

As I mentioned in last night's post, Gran and I got together for lunch today--she picked me up ('cause I'm an easy pick up) and, quite appropriately, we hung out at The Corner. Yep, it's a bar--and restaurant.

And it's good food. If you know Sacramento but don't know The Corner, it's where the Shakey's used to be on J Street near Elvas. And if you go there, order the Corner Bird. Yum!

So, anyway, once we were seated, Gran presented me with a bag, and inside the bag was tissue-wrapped Halloween toilet paper and a cross-stitched napkin or hand towel. See?

Isn't the cross-stitched black cat cute? Here's what's really funny, though: These are things she bought for me at thrift stores! And you know what? I bought something for her at the thrift store the other day too, but I was "saving" it for a special occasion!

I don't know why, but there's something really fun about buying silly (and cheap!) things for friends at thrift stores. I just have one question, though: Should one wait until Halloween WEEK to put out the holiday toilet paper or can it be put out earlier in the season? After all, I don't want to seem tacky.

Friends

Our friend Eileen isn't on her quilting porch today--she went into the hospital this morning for back surgery. I'm not completely certain what procedure was done, but the doctors thought they'd send her home in a day or two, which makes me think it's not too invasive. I've heard there's a post on her Facebook wall saying she was out of surgery and doing well, so that's good news! She's no spring chicken but she's pretty strong willed, so I'm confident she'll make a good recovery. If you visit her blog on occasion, you might want to go by and leave her a comment wishing her a speedy recovery.

And have you noticed Gran and I haven't had any adventures lately? I sure have! In late July, she had family visiting. Then I went back to work in August and was busy with bathroom remodeling and the Wild Child's move; and August was a busy month for Gran too. Now she's heading off soon on a little retreat, so I'm not sure September's looking much more promising, adventure-wise. We've agreed, though, that we need a little Thelma and Louise time, so we're going to sneak in a little lunch tomorrow. I think I'm going to bring my Wool Crazy "block in progress" so she can take it by the quilt shop for hanging--it's time to get a class sample up even if it's not done yet since the first class is just a couple weeks away.

And speaking of the wool crazy block, I really liked the idea of mittens as dog ears that Suzanne suggested, so I've added those, and I also added three wool hearts that I've embellished with a bit of embroidery. Want to see?

I'd like to add some embroidery in the background of the heart section--maybe words of some sort--but it's time to put it aside for now. I have several other wool projects that I still haven't gotten to, despite the fact that August was "wool month." Of course, once Gran and I teach the first Wool Crazy session, I can bring my block home again and work on more of the applique.

Next up on my agenda, though, is a small charm pack quilt--or maybe quilting my larger version of the same quilt. I guess I'll figure out which it will be tomorrow night when I get back into the Sweat Shop. Now, though, it's bedtime. I'm glad you could stop by to visit.

Your Thrift Store Is Your Friend!

I know that some of you have told me you don't have any thrift stores where you live. And some of you have told me you don't have any GOOD thrift stores where you live. Well, I've been envious of other bloggers too--like Dear Daisy Cottage! And apparently it's not even enough that she should live somewhere that has all the VERY BEST thrift stores--I also have to share a NAME with her! Anyway, the link will take you to her thrifting posts, so go ahead and drool. I was reading a magazine the other day--and it might have been that Flea Market Style one--and who should show up but Kim and her Dear Daisy Cottage! If you take a peek at the sidebar of her blog, you'll see she's been in tons of magazines. I'm still waiting for the first one to call me.

Anyway, if you're lucky enough to live in a city large enough to support a couple thrift stores, visit them. And if you don't live in a large-ish city? Visit a large-ish city every so often and make sure you visit at least two or three thrift stores while you're there.

See, here's the thing. I bet most of you know when you're looking for something whether you're likely to find it at Macy's or Home Depot, right? Thrift stores are the same--each thrift store has its own personality, and two stores--even two of the same stores, like Goodwill--can be as different as Macy's and WalMart--and you just have to know what to look for in each store.

Goodwill happens to be my favorite, and the Goodwill stores in our region tend to price similar items the same--the people who price things attend seminars and many of them know what's collectible and what's not. But because I visit several stores, I know which ones tend to price items a little lower and which tend to price a little higher when pricing is semi-discretionary. I also know that one of the Goodwill stores near my office tends to have more textiles and linens that will appeal to me, while a Goodwill store closer to home has a better selection of wool blazers and nicer "office wear." I also know which stores are more likely to have quilting and crafting books. And because items donated at each location usually STAY at that location for sale, I can usually guess a little about each store based on the neighborhoods where they're located. Interesting, huh?

I like Goodwill stores because they have a good variety of everything from junk to true collectibles, but there are other thrift stores that only seem to carry clothing. Or stores that don't carry any miscellaneous sporting equipment or "guy stuff." And then there are stores where everything is neatly arranged and easy to browse--which can be kind of nice, but I've found I enjoy digging through the mountains of "trash" at Goodwill to find things no one else has noticed. Somehow that kind of hunt also fires up my creative imagination.

So get to know your local stores and shop often--I bet you'll be surprised at how much you're able to find! And develop your own opinion of a store--don't take your friend's word for it. For instance, stores where I never seem to find anything are sometimes the same ones friends rave about. Remember, tastes are different, and that applies to thrift stores too.

Enough of that though--I hope this advice is helpful to some of you, but I suspect others just want to know who won THIS book, right?

Drum roll, please! The winner is Marilyn, who said: "I was at my GW yesterday and didn't find anything good. You are such a great shopper! I would love to win the book (love cats and love quilts, so it's a winning combination)." Congrats, Marilyn! Please email me your mailing address and I'll get the book out to you this week.

Thrift on, Sisters!