It's not as if I'm not doing anything...

I've been working on Christmas ornaments and Christmas presents. I made 10 ornaments (these are just three examples) and four beaded eyeglass holders. (You know, the kind that hang around your neck and hold your glasses.) I love making these and if I have a good book on mp3 to listen to, time just flies by. The red and black one is for the daughter of a friend of mine--she's into red and black and while it sounded sort of strange to begin with, it looks sort of Victorian. (And odd or not, I aim to please.)

Field of Diamonds In The Sky

Finally. I have to roll my eyes, even at myself. This page was *supposed* to be easy to do (in my imagination, anyway) and it took forever. I'm getting faster at beading, but I'm still slow. The page looks pretty amateurish, but it turned out more or less looking like my vision.

During the month of August my mother was in the care center of her assisted living facility and was so unhappy that I went to visit her each week. Occasionally I came back into the Palouse (the area of Eastern Washington where I live) after dark and while I was driving through the wheat fields at night the Johnny Cash song, "Field of Diamonds In the Sky" kept going through my mind.

Field of diamonds in the sky, like the night you pass me by.
I could touch you if I tried, fields of diamonds in the sky.
Am I just a star in some crown?
Or someone's life sun going down, down, down?

To live in the Palouse (with wheat fields and rolling hills going for miles, whichever way you look) you have to appreciate the area for what it is. I find it beautiful and dramatic.

Quilting Weekend 2007

Every year after the Spokane quilt show, my friends, Susan, Linda and I head from Spokane up to Hill's Resort on Priest Lake for a little weekend retreat. (Would you call it a retreat? Jammies, sweats, 4 star restaurant, reading, sleeping, beautiful lake, all the time to sew you could want--yup, that's a reatreat, alright.) I haven't laughed so much since we went last year. These two have a talent for transforming worrisome or annoying things into something we can laugh hysterically about. Two of the most fun people in the world. I can't say that Susan and I got a lot done, but Linda probably made twelve quilts in one weekend. (Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but she got a lot done on the one quilt she was making.

(As you can see in the picture, we've got one Bernina person, one Husquavarna person and one Pfaff person.)

Linda cuts strips:

Susan and I were playing dueling cameras (but I'm faster on the button):

Yes, please

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

Just keep movin' on...

Well, I'm not tickled with July's bead journal page, but I've decided I'm doing a swell job for someone with a full time job, a mother recovering from a stroke, a teenager and assorted other "diversions". (Let's call them "diversions". It makes it sound so much nicer.)

What I've realized is that I'm experimenting with bead embroidery with the mind of a quilter. I was going to bead more of this piece of hand-dyed fabric and then realized that I'd be heartbroken if nobody could see the pretty fabric. The flash washed out a lot of the color--it's really dark green, blending into a dark lapis blue. It reminded me so much of my week at the lake.

I know what I'm going to be doing for the August piece and since my mom will hopefully going back to her room in assisted living pretty soon, I'll hopefully have two whole weekend days each week to work.

By the way, the title of this post is from a song by Eric Bibb, a blues/folk artist I've just discovered. He's definitely worth a listen

Doodling with thread

Since I'm doing a 5 hour car trip every Saturday to visit my mother in Walla Walla, I don't have a whole lot of time to play. I've been working on catching up with the Bead Journal Project when I have five minutes here or there, but I couldn't resist making a postcard tonight. I bought the most beautiful thread in primary colors and just felt like doodling. No great art, but a great deal of fun.

Finished June, in the middle of July and starting August

I realized, finally, if I read three books at a time, I might as well bead three pieces at once. I finished the beading for June last month, but didn't finish the page until last week. I'm not happy with it, but what I see when I look at it is the chaos that has been our lives the last couple of weeks. Still, I am proud of my emotions so they might as well be dressed up for company...