TextureTuesday with Kim Klassen and some green goodness

i'm joining up with Kim Klassen for Texture Tuesday. today is the 'Anything Goes eDition' and i thought that i could use one of my own created textures and several different photos from within my archives and join in.
the base texture for this image is the same one i posted a few days ago.
it's always interesting to see all of the different talent that decides to join into this event.


i mentioned that my phalaenopsis (moth orchid) was  sending out some stalks with buds . . . no flowers yet, but i can be patient . . .
if you don't happen to be feeling that patient, check this out.

my small nine patch from Cheri's SAL is now basted but i can't seem to get serious about choosing and starting the quilting.
maybe i'm a little distracted by the seasonal changes . . .









recent gifts include:

• waking up to sunshine
• hearing the birds celebrating that sunshine in all out spring song
• seeing a few gold fish in the pond as they begin to feel a bit warmer and move around more

can anyone guess what this last shot is? i'll send a small sweet surprise to whomever guesses correctly first. (within the comments)

today has been a rainy day. i've enjoyed the soft silvery light and the way that the steady fall of moisture has deepened the greens in the grass almost as i watch. that almost sounds as if i've been just sitting around and watching the grass grow doesn't it!?!
;-)
in truth i suppose that i did do some of that today . . .

the tulips and other spring flowers have been graced with an array of moist silvery pearls.

inside the house i have my seed/sprouts. the night time temps are still a bit too iffy to risk planting them so i faithfully carry them outside during the day and bring them back in at night. they really can't be called sprouts anymore though. the above photo is a part of one of those pumpkins that i planted. sometimes i feel like Jack and his beanstalk when i look at them in the morning. they have large buds and blooms on them that i really should be trimming off but i can't always do it . . .

i know the photo here is not a good one but the yellow summer squash that i started have begun to bear fruit~!!~ the smallest one in the above shot is about the size of my thumb and some are bigger and some smaller but these plants are already prolific. we may be eating squash off of the plants before i can even put them in the outside garden if they continue as they are doing . . . now that i think about it we should be picking those off too and eating them as baby squash so that the plant can continue to work on roots and leaves.

we have managed to put the tomato plants in the ground with the cold frame erected around them. they should be okay unless we get a hard frost. i'm hoping to have a large yield this year so that we can preserve them for winter eating. i believe i have about eight plants in there so we should be kept quite busy when the time comes.

my hands/needle have been working on these small bird applique blocks. i'm not sure how many i will ultimately make but i thought they might eventually get combined with the vine i recently finished . . .

i think they're pretty cute.
they are part of a bigger pattern called "Homespun Nest"within the magazine shown below.
btw i did not completely follow their instructions so have a slightly different result than them. it seems i almost always have to change things at least a little bit and i won't sew them up as part of that particular quilt although i found it quite cute. i have another idea brewing around in my head . . .

i actually found a lot of cute ideas and patterns within the Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine and am pleased to have a subscription for the next year's worth of issues.

todays gifts included:

• the pleasure of hearing the rain and enjoying the soft cloud covered sunlight
• the realization of just how many creative blogs/friends i have on the internet (due to my accidentally having deleted the WHOLE list in one fell swoop)
• a settle on the sofa to watch the first hummingbirds find the feeder which led to a very nice nap

*****   *****   *****   *****   *****

so as i said i did have a bit of an accident with my sidebar list of blogs. i'll just have to add them back as i can. i hope everyone understands and if you were on there before and i've overlooked you feel free to let me know and i'll get you back up there.

it was a wonderfully sunny warm day with temps in the 60's today. 
i decided to take advantage of it and experiment with a different lens.

the grape hyacinths are happily standing in the garden spotlight today. it's interesting how these particular ones are a darker purple at the bottom than they are at the top.

our calico kitty Cricket joined me for a while. she was quite interested in watching the bird feeder which got me to thinking that i should try and get some shots of the birds . . . but i had to wait for her to move on before they felt comfortable enough to begin feeding again.

there was quite an assortment of hungry birds and this one was charming and quite unafraid once the kitty went on her way.

the yellow headed blackbirds are a lot more assertive than most of the other birds. they push and shove and gobble up as much as they can as fast as they can.

i like the small wren-like birds with the cherry heads and rosey breasts.

after i became too sore to sit on the ground shooting birds i decided to snap a few of my grand-dog Suki. she is very playful and energetic and doesn't she have the sweetest face~!?!~

today's gifts included:

• continuous birdsong
• my daughter's company (and Suki's too)
• the sight with which to see so much spring beauty

i've created a banner/bunting in celebration of my wonderful daughter's homecoming. we knew she was coming soon but not the exact dates . . .

we'll be picking up our grand-pup from the airport tomorrow evening and then WD on friday. the poor girls are both going to have need of some winter wear as we're getting our typical mountain spring snowstorms and they're coming from a two year acclimation  to a tropical climate.

anyway, i've managed to complete this welcome home gift just in the nick of time. i'll share a few details with you.

 i began with a very tattered antique cutter crazy quilt piece that i purchased off of e-bay several years ago. i have managed to create some Christmas stockings with this piece and still had some bits left. enough to cut out some triangles as the base parts for my bunting.

do you recognize the bird? it's one of those fabulous dictionary images that i posted a while back. i did some cropping and printed it out on vellum. then stitched it into place.
both plain and fancy embroidery as well as other mixed media embellishments have been used.
i attempted to stick to a "home" theme while also trying to make it something that she could use decoratively later on if she chose. not too celebration specific but definitely festive and suitable for this occasion.

 i may share more photo's of it at a later time. these were all taken in a hurry and, as you can imagine, i'm in fits of excitment so they aren't the best.
but all in all i'm quite pleased with the outcome and can only hope that she will be as well.

if you notice me absent from the blogging world for a few days it's because i'm happily gathering them up and enjoying my little family's reunion~!!~

: D

research or dictionary mania ~!?!~

consider this an explanation of sorts as to why it takes me so long to complete anything.

sometimes i like to read through dictionaries. especially old dictionaries. i'm not sure why but i find it both fascinating and comforting to sit and quietly peruse the thin crispy pages. i have a small collection of them and am always on the hunt for more. this morning i settled in with a 1946 edition of "The New Century Dictionary"; volume one (A - pocket veto)

i actually had a goal when i started but then the spell was cast and i found myself wandering from definition to picture to definition . . . pages turned . . .

time passed . . .

eventually i felt compelled to get the camera out and collect a few of the images that might be useful in my "feathers and fins" theme. ah yes, back to the goal . . .

this is definitely a fish with a beak . . . 

it's interesting how similar feathers and fins are . . . 

what a show-off~!~

then i began to notice how similar many leaves are to feathers and/or fins . . .

and even insect wings looked like they belonged somehow . . . 

i was absolutely fascinated~!!~

hhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm . . .

i did get a little distracted at times . . .

but eventually got back around to the inspiration of "feathers and fins".

my head is full of ideas and directions to go now and my spirit strangely calmed by the act of wandering through old print and hand drawn images.

however, i must get back to the daily stuff of life and set this all aside to simmer a bit within my head . . .

inspiration is like that for me. i'm Alice down the rabbit hole for quite a while before it all perks back up into some usable fodder: (fod' er), n. Food for cattle, horses, etc., esp such food as . . . oops, sorry.

what is the creative process like for you? share with me your process (or one of) that you use to slip into that wandering, wondering, pondering pool that then enables you to swim happily to your own strange island of imagination.

our creative processes are as unique as what is actually created i think.

while you think about it i've got to get to the dishes and laundry.

darn it~!

this is a mixed media postcard that i've mailed off to one of the angels that bless my life.

i hope that it brings a smile to her beautiful face.

these two atc's are a couple of my newest acquisitions.

aren't they wonderful~!?  the sensitive knight card is digitally made  and the fancy lady is a traditional cut and paste.  they are both made by Terri Daugherty of Pixels and Paste.

this lovely Vintage Butterfly card came from the Sparkly Fairy in the U.K.

i love it's old fashioned monotone sweetness.

this adorable spring robin card came from Joy Northrop.

i've traded with her before and LOVE her work.

i have yet to see any spring robins in the yard so until i spot one her tiny card is perched prominently where i can see it and dream about warmer days.

hmmmmmmm . . .  confetti, fancy plates and  "cake" . . .

what could it all mean?

for the last couple of days i've been working on some birthday "cake": a short stack of scrappy 3.5 inch (finished) hour glass blocks.

i can't say too much or i may give away a surprise . . .

but there will definitely be a party happening~!

i've realized that i am behind on documenting my ATC's. i completed a couple of trades before Christmas and have created a few new cards of my own as well. today i'll just catch up with the previously traded/received cards.

these two cards (Red Hill and Zombie) were created by "Anselmiina" via the flickr website. they were worked using Copic markers and my photos don't give her art the true justice it deserves. i'm thrilled to have them within my collection~!!~ Anselmiina lives and works in Finland and thanks to her i now have a lust for these interesting (and very expensive) pens.

in return i sent her the Glyph Turtles and MeMa's House/Love cards. she seemed pleased and i'm looking forward to future trades with her.

the next two cards were received from Amy Nieman of Paper & Glustix.

they were also traded via the flickr website but i'm thrilled to have since discovered her blog.

she's a mixed media/collage artist superstar and has even been published.

pretty cute ~ huh!?!

:-)

in return she received my Lost/Fish card and this one that i titled A Square Peg's Wish.

i hope to be able to document some more of the cards that i've made recently within the next few days.