THANKSGIVING OVERLOAD

Like most of the country, our household is still working through the overabundance of Thanksgiving treats.  Even Sooty, our rescue black lab had to take a rest!!

But of course, as I headed to the kitchen to get another view of her....she perked up.....like all labs.....she becomes alert anytime anyone is near the kitchen.

4 GIVEN

I'm going to focus on the highlight of an otherwise pitiful showing, where again the Packers 'gave it away'.  You can't win if you can't hang onto the ball....enuff said.

The half-time tribute to Brett Favre, as his number was retired, helped heal old wounds and most fans seem to have 4 Gotten & 4 Given.  The man simply loved football and didn't want to leave the sport when he was being eased out to make room for Aaron Rodgers who had patiently waited like a gentleman for his turn.  So who can blame him for taking offers to QB other teams?!?

The moment of the night was when Bart Starr, a Green Bay Packer legend, made an appearance.  With his failing health, it took a heroic effort to make what will surely be his last visit to Lambeau Field.  I'm sure there wasn't a dry eye in the place, or probably in most homes of Packer fans.

'Cheeseheads' take the good with the bad.....and as they say:  THE PACK WILL BE BACK.....but probably not this season.

GOBBLE, GOBBLE

HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE!!

There's so very much to give thanks for......don't you agree?  

One highlight is the memory of last Thanksgiving when 'the kids' were able to visit with us. Our CA grandson got to experience fun in the snow!

We teach them young.......so as the Packers face the Bears tonight.....join us in saying:    GO PACK GO!!!!!

This year we are especially grateful for a new grandson.....and his big brother who shared his precious stuffed rabbits with his newborn brother!

                                     
Thank you Lynn and Dennis for sending this photo - taken of a fence across from Lambeau Field....note, even the garbage bin is green and gold!!! One more time.....  GO PACK GO.........

EQUIPMENT FAILURE

Oh dear......my friends have had to listen to me rant for the last several weeks as one darn piece of equipment after another has failed....combined with horrible customer service!

Besides the ordeal I went through to get a new sewing machine, in an effort to get the Packer games every week....we  were ready to give up DISH, who we've been with for 25 years.  I don't want to get started here...... but I can say I'll never deal with DIRECT TV EVER (realizing that the customer experience can be severely impacted by local providers....ours stints)!! This drama played out for well over a week, leaving us w/o any service at all!!  

Our hot water heater broke.....despite calling 5 plumbers - 2 of which advertised 24-7 emergency service.....only 1 returned our call 2 days later (not the emergency one either)!  

My Keurig stopped working.....and now my iron stopped heating....spuing water everywhere......what on earth does one do without a working iron?!?  

It's time for a big fat, calorie filled cookie!!!

BABY BUNTING WALL QUILT

 The baby bunting wall quilt project was blogged about here.  With the birth of the newest addition to the family tree (my twin sister's daughter's, daughter just gave birth to a daughter), I now have a name to complete it.

My plan had been to print lettering onto fabric circles and fuse to the flags....nope...not a good plan.  Okay, plan B.....stamp the letters onto the felt.....nope...the felt is too porous to obtain a good imprint.  Geesh.....
Plan C search for metal discs of alphabet letters - nope....sizes weren't right.

After a bit of brain storming, Plan D brought out a piece of black Ultra-Suede...some of which already had Wonder-under attached. I traced the appropriate letters with the aid of a printed sheet from my computer.  

 Okay, okay....ya I should  have reversed them to make tracing easier.....but that kind of thinking escaped me during the frenzy of having this great NEW idea.....and heck, this keeps me humble!

Yes.....the black Ultra-suede letter fit perfectly......and here's the finished piece made using National Nonwoven's Woolfelt.

WILLOW    21" x 18"

HOLDING MY BREATH

Who'd have thunk it?  What should have been an easy game last week and perhaps even this upcoming one with the Vikings......we are now biting our nails.  However.....we are true to our green and gold......soooooo

GO PACK GO 

(with an extra GO GO GO this week!)

BABY GIFT

I don't have much to show for my week......though with another baby due in our family any day now.....I've gotten started on a gift.

I reinforced a piece of National Nonwoven's woolfelt with Pellon's lightweight non-fusible interfacing, along with some simple wavy machine stitching.

 I paired some hand-dyed cotton cording with a variety colors of woolfelt.  The cording was secured by hand couching.  

The flag shapes were drawn on freezer paper, pressed to the woolfelt and cut out.  

The top corners will all be tacked with beads, providing a 3-D appearance. 

The edge finishing is still being pondered about.....however, once the baby's name is revealed, I plan on printing each letter of the entire name onto muslin and applying them to the flags, or maybe just stamping them in white or black textile paint....hummmmm.....hopefully the name will fit in a pleasing manner!  

I'll continue to document this project as it proceeds......

FIBER JUNKIES - NOV. MEETING

.....Perhaps this post should be titled: My off day, in a slump, creative dead zone.....  It's a condition I rarely ever deal with.  But for some reason, I had a very unfocused day and accomplished nothing artwise, but still enjoyed time with my pals.

Everyone came with piles of materials to create collage designs.  The generosity of the Fiber Junkies members is legendary....really!!

Val brought each of us a small 8" x 8" canvas covered frame. Kate offered a variety of beautifully dyed gauze, and Judy shared a huge stack of photo transferred images. Despite that (and tons more) I shuffled things around and never could make a decision.

But Val jumped right in creating a collage of her handmade paper directly on the canvas frame. Once she had her design in place, she used matte medium to secure it.  (Obviously this isn't the finished piece....)

Kate very enthusiastically combined some of Judy's screen printed motifs with painted sheers.

Here Kate layered painted fabric, silk flowers/leaves, and sheers.

Gen utilized some of her altered National Geographic magazine pages.

I can't stop thinking about the pile of tea bag papers that Gen has collected.  Happily, she shared some with me.......and they've moved to first place on my 'inspiration list'.

Speaking of paper.....honestly this group is simply full of ideas.....  Here's a piece of painted tissue paper that Val created.

As we were oohing and aahing over the various papers being used, Kate sheepishly pulls these toilet paper sections out of her pocket.  Yup.....she got inspired by a visit to Judy's bathroom.....so guess what we'll be doing at an upcoming meeting??  Just think of all the unusual paper products we'll be gathering between now and then to paint!

PTA FIBER GROUP - NOV. MEETING - PART 2

.....continued - Professional Textile Artists - November Show and Tell

Dort Lee is another talented illustrator.....her applique quilts most often tell stories, usually with humor.  She's been creating a series based on Scottish heritage, featuring a family motto.

Each one is so well thought out and fun to explore.

We can't wait to see more.

Mary Berry recently had a significant birthday....her family made this clever quilt for her.   Each patch depicts a family member.

.....wonderfully personal....

......And cleverly charted on a back label.

Lynne has been dyeing fabric again........don't these luscious colors make you want to reach out and grab one??

Next month is our pot luck holiday party.....we do a white elephant exchange....which often turns up 'treasures' from the previous years. Yikes....the holidays are coming......how did a whole year pass so quickly?!?

PTA FIBER GROUP - NOV. MEETING - PART 1

This month, PTA - Professional Textile Artists, met at the home of another well known quilt instructor; Linda Cantrell.....known for her whimsical and beautifully executed applique quilts.

We all just loved her coasters.....

Linda began her art career as a painter......many of those skills have translated into her work.  The motifs in the jars of this fiber piece have been hand drawn using inks/paints.

I loved this basket trio......sorry the photo isn't better!

Linda is actively involved in the Boston Terrier Rescue group.....and has quite a pack of Bostons of her own.   Here's a photo display she created in a bathroom.

 I don't know how she manages it....but the actions are truly generated from her own dogs.

She told us she put a plastic tray on the toilet seat and used a rubber band to attach the paper to the dog.  Hilarious!!

Linda had several of these small pieces scattered about. They are mounted on a canvas frame, measuring about 4"x 9"....charming.

Show and tell was especially wonderful this month.  Kate brought this clever quilt top.....what a great way to utilize scraps!!

PACKER SUNDAY

After the last two weeks......we are very nervous about the outcome of upcoming games.  The Packers have so many injuries and seemed to have lost their way......never-the-less......Once a Packer Fan....always a Packer Fan.....

So....here's our chant....

GO PACK GO!!!!!

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE:  All I can say is   - OMG - what happened!!!!!  I’m trying to remember this is only a game…….

TECHNICOLOR TREES - FELTED WALL ART

A recent post left off with this project in limbo.....

 After abandoning the original color scheme due to lack of contrast....I decided to go bold with technicolor.  Here's the audition process of the trunk/branches.

 Each one was secured with hand embroidery.  Then as I was beginning to move to the next step of mounting on a canvas covered frame, it became apparent my math skills once again failed me....NOT a surprise to me BTW!  This necessitated figuring out another finishing method.  

I considered several, including machine stitching with variegated threads as seen above.  Close-up it complimented pretty well....but not from a distance. Plan X was required and it's now completed.

TECHNICOLOR TREES  20" x 15.25"

AVAILABLE HERE

Artist created hand-dyed & mono-printed 

bamboo rayon felt, commercial felted wool, 

machine quilted, hand embroidered.

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Visit these sites to see what others have been up to this week:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Crazy Mom Sews, Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday, Tanya and Richard Quilts.