The Must-Dos and the Want-To-Dos

I'm working on both of them.

And really . . .

I can't tell one from the other.

They both bring me pleasure.

Farm-raised

We drove out to the country today to pick up our free-range turkey for Thursday's dinner. (This one apparently has a pardon for now.)

It was a beautiful afternoon here with temperatures in the mid-60's, and on the way we crossed a charming intersection where I just had to hop out when I saw this tractor . . .

And this building . . .

And this covered bridge.

This goose has another month . . . and then . . . well, you know.

Wishing you all a blessed and bountiful Thanksgiving!

Returning to my roots . . .

There is a quilt top that hangs in my stairwell. It was made by my great, great grandmother. My grandmother had it for years and tried to quilt it, but the fabric was too brittle. When she gave it to me, I framed it under plexiglass.

It's made up of bits and pieces of my great, great grandmother's dresses, my great, great grandfather's shirts and drawers, and my grandmother's scraps (She did some repair work.). It's a composition taken from the scraps of their lives. It's a treasure that I marvel at every day.

Recycling the bits and pieces from my life is a concept that appeals to me in a big way. Committing the 'now' into something that my grandchildren and their offspring will look at and perhaps cherish gives me goosebumps.

I developed a thing for eco-dyed fabric when I wandered into the classroom where India Flint was teaching magic during Shakerag last summer. I bought her book, came home, and began experimenting with the plants that grew in my yard, my neighbors yards, and . . . well, the entire county. Just last night I started a brew with Japanese maple leaves from my son's yard to see if the red leaves give a different tint than the green summer leaves.

Update: They do.

And then I discovered Jude Hill and her Spirit Cloth blog and signed up for her Cloth to Cloth workshop, and I find myself checking it daily, reading and re-reading her instructions, marking my calendar for the next lesson. I am so wanting to sit with cloth, needle and thread and create in this softer way. And I'm delighted to incorporate the eco-dyed fabric from summer into my winter obsession.

And the old feed sacks from another summer's collection.

And I feel like I'm returning to my roots.

It feels good.

Never underestimate the power of Photoshop

I was recently at a family party where I took this photo of my granddaughter and my aunt.

I love this picture of the two of them, but I wanted to focus the shot on my granddaughter.

I am currently running Photoshop CS 5 which made it so easy to remove my beloved aunt from the photo and to boost the image of my granddaughter.

Hold tight

A good idea, and a recent work.

A B C's

Three years ago, I made these letters for Kiran. . .

Which led to these for Sophie, that I worked on with her mom. . .

And then I made these for Lily. . .

And this one for Taylor. . .

And this one. . .

Which is one of Nadia's letters, that are not yet hung.

I have one more set that I hope to finish right pronto.

I buy my letters from DAmboiseDesigns and my embellishments from all over.