I started following Daisy Yellow a while back. I love the colorful photos Tammy puts on her blog. She mostly does Art Journaling, not something that I want to dive into but I love her experimental approach to it. She is not afraid to try new things.She has introduced a fun summer project, Index Card A Day, that I will give a try. The idea is to commit to some sort of creativity each day. I figure I can carry some cards and pens in my purse and doodle while I'm out and about. I know I have had some great quilt ideas get away from me because I didn't jot them down. So, some of my doodles may be quilt inspiration. Even when things are really busy I should be able to doodle on an index card.I started on June 1st and my first two cards are miniature versions of my favorite projects from Art Club. The index cards are not the greatest paper for watercolor but it was fun to do in small scale.
Go buy a pack of index cards and join the fun!You can see more ICAD pictures here.I'm off to bake some more cookies for the weekend's graduation festivities.
Think Spring
After a busy week of sewing I took some time yesterday to do some cleaning, and sorting, and putting things in order in my sewing room. I even found the top of my desk again!One of the things I went through was a bag of thread that a friend recently gave me. Just look at all that pretty thread!
It sort of makes me want to drop everthing else and find a tiny crochet hook or tatting shuttle and make yards and yards of fine lace like this.
For now, the thread is piled high in a basket in the living room and called spring decorating.
That will keep it out of the sewing room for a little while longer.Seriously.I think I could happily work on projects the rest of my life with materials I already have in the house.
Thankful
I am thankful:* for my family and the time that we are together. With D at U of M and M making his own college plans our family time seems much more precious. Any time we are all together is a time of thanks.* that so many people are willing to give of themselves to make our community a wonderful place to live with many great opportunities for our children.* that I have a home to keep out (most of) the wind and weather. Although our home is old, drafty and needs much work it is more than many people have.* that we have a pantry and cellar full of food to help get us through the winter months. However, I do wish those hens would start laying again.* for the friends and inspiration I have found in this online community. This really is a special place. Thank you to all who leave a comment or send an email and let me know you are out there. I enjoyed a recent email conversation with someone who moved to my hometown years after I left.* for my health, eyesight, and ability to work with my hands.* for the unending support of family and friends -especially my sisters who are always there for me no matter what, even when I am sure they would rather be doing something else.Wherever you are, I hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends.
Windy Wordless Wednesday
Attracting Fairies
This spring P and I started a flower garden over by her playhouse. She has been hoping that the fairies would like it well enough to move in. She has been working to attract them. She has put interesting rocks in the garden.
Most recently she added a shell.
The plants have started to fill in a little.
She is thrilled that some of the plants are getting more "fairyly".
Just look at these Jack-in-the-Pulpits. How could a fairy NOT like that?
And don't these hosta flowers look like little dancing fairy skirts?
The other day we found THREE mushrooms and the following flowers that we didn't even plant!
Johny Jump Ups must be very fairyly. Just the name sounds like it.
Little Miss Petunia is VERY encouraged.I'll let you know if we have any fairy sightings.
Daily Walks
I'm trying to take a walk every day. 
I love this tree house just up the road from us. 
I will feel a little less guilt tonight when I dig into the freshly cooked blackberry cobbler.
Butterfly Migration
Look! The butterfly quilts had a chance to meet!
JEK's quilt, on the left, was the inspiration for my butterfly quilt on the right. I knew I had to make it as soon as I saw a picture of her quilt.
Isn't that a clothesline of happiness?
I am glad JEK had it with her on her trip.
On Aging
Why do people fight the aging process when it can be very beautiful? We try to hide the effects of the passage of time with make up (first to look older and then later to look younger), dye their hair, and have cosmetic surgery. 
We try to hide wrinkles and keep everything looking the same.
Why don't we embrace the aging process? It is inevitable. I have noticedthat things usually develop a beautiful patina when allowed to agenaturally.
With aging, light is allowed to shine in and light up parts not exposed in youth.
Aging adds interest, depth, and character.
The bumps, bruises, and scars life left on my grandparents made themvery interesting people. I hope I can age as gracefully and naturallyas them.On a related note, we recently watched the documentary. "Young @ Heart You're Never too Old to Rock". I highly recommend it.
The Sampler
My grandmother had quite a collection of fancy hand towels hanging in her bathroom. She taught me how to make these Swedish Weaving towels when I was little - some of my very first needle work projects.
When D was in elementary school I taught him how to make them. He made a few for teachers and other special people. My grandmother was so thrilled that he had learned how to do this that on one visit to her house she gave him this:
I wonder why I had never seen this sampler before.I love how she stitched just enough to show the pattern and that the patterns just run into each other.
Finding treasures like this makes sewing room clean up and rearranging all the more fun.
Earth Day
The coming of Earth Day has had me thinking. It is like a New Years Day for the environment. I look back at how we are living and the choices we make in our daily life. Are we living responsibly? Are weliving sustainably? What legacy are we leaving for our children and grandchildren? This is a time to assess and perhaps set new goals.I like to think my family is doing a good job but I know we can do more.We have cut back a lot on our meat consumption and grow much of our own fruit and vegetables.We heat our home with a renewable fuel (corn) purchased from a farm less than two miles from our house.In the last twenty years we have planted hundreds and hundreds of trees on our property.We wash dishes by hand.We are using some salvaged materials in the renovation of our house, our new toilets will be low water use, and we have switched to compact fluorescent light bulbs.My dislike of shopping is also a big plus. We are not big consumers.Shopping at thrift stores and repairing items that are old and worn outare also good strategies.Things to work on:Avoid bottled water. This is not a habit but with better planning we could eliminate the use of disposable water bottles when we are away from home.Drive the car less. Combine trips to town and do errands in groups. Some errands really can wait until another day.Use the clothesline more. I do like to use the line but I will try to take better advantage of good days for laundry and try to use the line more on chilly days even if I have to pin the clothes whilewearing gloves.Plant a little more variety in our garden.Be more diligent about eating local food.Dress warm in the winter - (I'll have to knit wool sweaters and socks preferably from locally grow sheep or alpacas)Put in rainwater collection and storage system that will collect from the big barn roof.And, maybe, someday, we'll put up a windmill.--As I look over this list I notice several things. Environmentallyresponsible choices are usually less expensive and healthier choices.They also tend to help the local population. It is a win, win, win plan.Here are a few interesting links:Great Pacific Garbage Patch350 - The most important number on the planet and an action plan.How much water does it take to make...I had already read much of this information before but this one was new to me:"Individual Bottled WaterThis irony shouldn't be lost on anyone: it takes 1.85 gallons of waterto manufacture the plastic for the bottle in the average commercialbottle of water."This is just crazy and must be part of the reason Oberlin has eliminated the sales of water bottles.Here are a couple of films I highly recommend:Manufactured Landscapes, a documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky, is a beautiful yet thought provoking film.Rivers and Tides, a film with Andy Goldsworthy, will inspire you with new ways to appreciate your natural surroundings.--What are your favorite sustainable living tips?
In the Pink
We are really savoring the spring show around here.
I hope you are able to enjoy some natural wonders this week.
Through the Eyes of a Child
P was thrilled to be allowed to use my point and shoot camera yesterday.
She took 250 photos! Many of them were out of focus because she was moving on to take the next picture as she pressed the button. It was really fun to watch her walk around the house and yard taking pictures.
I really enjoyed seeing what she chose to photograph. 
Everyday objects through a child's eyes.
I am looking forward to more of her photos!
It was a bright, sparkly morning..
This is how one of P's current favorite books begins. "It was a bright, sparkly morning,..."This morning was a bright sparkly morning. No, we didn't wake up to green grass, pink trees, butterflies, robins, and happy dogs. But, the sun was shining brightly and we heard lots of birds when we went out.
Perhaps some of that bright feeling comes from seeing P's dress laid out with blocking pins!
It was an Olympic event to get this knit in sixteen days! I still have some finishing work left but my goal was to complete the knitting.YAY!D is also home for spring break week.What is adding some sparkle to your day?
100 Possibilities
I love my new "big girl" camera and am having a lot of fun learning how to use it. There are some interesting photography projects and challenges on flickr. I do have to be careful when I look on flickr because the next thing you know I have forgotten about the cookies I was baking or that it is time to pick up M from school.
The 100 Possibilities Project really captivates me and encourages me to take pictures and try different things. The idea is to choose an everyday object and take 100 photographs of it. This large wooden spool is my object of choice. Sometimes I feel like I get a good photo and sometimes I don't.
Still, I try, and am learning things all the time.
I'll be collecting my spool photos here on flickr.
Have a look at some of these photo collections. This brown bowl was the first one I saw. I like that the photographer, Artsy_T chose a very simple and earthy object. She has started a second project with a frame. Both sets are very creative and artistic. Another one of my favorite 100 Possibilities projects is Prometheus by Kadewegirl. I am amazed by the different views and slices of one statue. 
I had a hard time choosing what object I would take 100 photographs of but settled on something small and portable that I had. I wanted it to be simple and adaptable to many settings.
Flashback Friday
I was a real square in high school. I wore dresses almost everyday. Usually they were dresses made by me. Here I am as a high school junior wearing a dress hot off the sewing machine. I am not sure where this was taken but probably at a 4-H competition event.
My sister has been converting all of her old slides to digital format. She has been distracting, entertaining me during my cleaning process with lots of fun photos.
And since I know you are dying to see more of the junk I have cluttering my house - here are some things I unearthed in the sewing room. They never got put away when I brought them home from the thrift. There is a lot of inspiring stuff here I tell you.
We actually had a copy of this one when I was growing up. It is chock full of mushroom and owl ideas. What goes around comes around. It has a 1972 copyright.
This book from 1966 also has some great things in it. There are a surprising number of pink and orange projects.
When I am a little more caught up I plan to make some things inspired by these books.
Yeah, someday.
Walk With Us
P and I visited with neighbors yesterday. It was not snowing on our way down but on the walk home our tracks had been covered.Walk home with us...
It was a wonderful day.
Reflections
Here we are at the end of another year. They seem to go by so quickly now. Isn't that something "old" people say?
I do like that there are dates, or markers, that encourage us to pause and look back; to reflect on the time that has passed.
We tend to assess the choices we have made and make plans for the future. We can put "bad" decisions or events behind us and look to the future.
We make plans for new beginnings and new adventures.
I hope the new year brings great things to you and your family.
Tea Towel Designs
P really enjoyed her grandmother's visit earlier this fall. She loved sitting next to her at the table and watching her embroider butterflies on a pillowcase. After grandma left P really wanted to make a special gift to give for Christmas.I was working on some embroidered tea towels to give as gifts and P decided that is what she wanted to do for her grandmother.
She drew out a very detailed picture that included people, flowers, and sky. I looked at it and told her it was a lovely drawing but that at the speed she embroiders would take a VERY long time to finish. I suggested that she finish one of the projects she has started and we could make a gift from that. No, she REALLY wanted to give grandma a tea towel.I remembered some drawings she had done the day before of some vegetables. We looked at those and I suggested that we take those designs and applique them to a towel.Carrots, a parsnip, and a beet.
P chose the fabrics and threads and helped at my sewing machine. I think it turned out pretty cute.
She drew these vegetables because they grow in our garden. We ate a lot of them while grandma was here.
We had a wonderful time in the sewing room together thinking aboutgrandma and being excited about the surprise we were making for her. Ah, THAT is what it's all about.I'll share a few more of our hand made gifts tomorrow.
Magic Hour
Magic hour of the day.
Magic hour of the year.I love them both.
Family At Home
I love times when we are all at home without a lot of planned activities. We had almost a full week over Thanksgiving holiday with both boys at home. Homework was finished early and there was a lot of time for games and activities. The boys showed a renewed interest in origami.
They both belonged to the origami club in elementary and middle school. The club met once a week and they learned how to make a lot of projects.I had recently gotten out a few of our simple origami books for P. We did a few of those together. D and M, however, found some interesting projects online. Oh, the joys of a faster internet connection. I lovethe way they challenged and encouraged each other.The project on the far right has a tiny, black, origami crane trapped inside. The red one on the left is made from one piece of paper where the orange and green one on the right is the same shape made with origami units.
I always think of December as a crafty time when I like to make gifts for family and friends. While creating I think about the person the gift is for and what they mean to me. It is fun to remember people in this way. This year P and I have started a few projects together. I like to see her excitement in thinking about loved relatives and close friends. To me the spirit of the holiday season lies in making something (or thinking of something) that will make the recipient smile.I think with these projects we are off to a good start on the crafty holiday spirit that I remember from my own childhood.Also in the spirit of enjoying the season I will be taking a holiday theme photo a day. You can see more from others in the Christmas Countdown 2009 flickr pool. Here is the first:
