Sunday, March 28, 2010

I Will Never Watch "Flipper" Again

Ah, memories.... I was talking to my little sis this afternoon and we were comparing favorite movies, and those that are NOT favs anymore. My non-favorite? "Flipper" Not that it's a bad movie, wouldn't make my Top 100 List, but really not that bad. It's just that it was Kate's I-have-to-watch-this-three-times-again-today movie when she was little. Okay, I'm a bad mother: I let her. It was easier than dealing with the hissy fit if she didn't get her Flipper fix. Be honest: when faced with a three year old on a mission, do you really stand a chance?

There were limits though when Kate invented a game to go along with the movie. (Thanks goodness, I hadn't scarred her creativity!) It went somethng like this:

"Mommy, let's play Sharks and Dolphins!"
"Okay, how do we play?"
"I'll be the dolphin and you be the shark." And then Kate would butt me with her head and say, "Doink! Doink!". Trust me, that little head was a missle!
"That's cool, Kate! Now it's my turn to be the dolphin and you can be the shark."
"Okay, Mommy. But you have to use your NOSE!"

We were movie bin diving last week and Kate picked out, you guessed it, "FLIPPER"! It came home with one condition: that Kate watches it only when I am not in the house!

Off and running,
Nancy

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Sensory Overload

Quilt Festival has come and gone for another year. I unpacked the car late this afternoon and just can't face trying to fit all that back into my sewing corner, let alone the new stuff that I've added. And, amazingly, I was pretty good at not adding too much this year. The vendors had interesting things, but nothing I couldn't live without. I did buy a little fabric and a couple of books at the flea market, but I only had to bring home a small box of things I'd taken in, so there was less coming than going. As I tidy and reorganize my sewing corner (what a never-ending process!) I will add to a tub throughout the year and have it ready to go next March. Someone else may as well finish a UFO or two that I am finally ready to declare DOA.

The quilts were so awesome! All that talent.... I am stunned by how the colors were used, the simplicity and complexity of the patterns, how each quilter interpreted an idea and put it together. Wow! I took pics of almost everything and will post--as soon as I figure out the darn camera! Isn't technology wonderful? (I get a new gadget and have to learn how to use it.)

It's today's class though that has me on sensory overload though. Fabric Embellishing, taught by Mark Lipinski! Truly amazing.... I know many of you have been playing with various media for ages already, and I've seen or heard of many techniques, but today we had hands-on practice. Hand embroidery using floss and perle cotton, sometimes at the same time, and maybe adding beads in there, too. Beading! Crystals! Foiling onto fabric done in a variety of techniques. Super-fine glitter onto fabric. Painting onto heat-n-bond and then putting it on fabric. Spraying paint designed for silk flowers onto fabric to change the shading, or make it look antique. Spray webbing. (really cool!) I brought home an awesome kit with all kinds of beads, crystals, floss, ETC.

After trying a bunch of techniques we started embellishing our panels--one of Mark's really gorgeous fabrics that are designed to be embellished. (or not....) Mine is green, luck of the draw, but perfect for the fabrics I'd picked out for the class. I'm determined to finish this incredibly embellished shop-hop bag. Think Pakistani designs....

Off to snooze: I'll dream in shades of green, pink, aqua, brown, and cream tonight, with just a touch of orange....

Nancy

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Hello Again

Well, after three and a half years in hibernation, I'm back to being nourished by an internet umbilical cord and connecting with some old inter-friends. I never thought I'd be where I am today, but hey, life doesn't always give you lemonade! You have to take the lemons and do it yourself. And sometimes it doesn't hurt to add a few flavorings just to spice things up.

For those of you who haven't a clue as to that hibernation, I was a stay-at-home super-mom who had the leisure to follow my creative bent, mostly through quilting although I also have a fondness for stained glass. I worked part-time, occasionally full-time, until DH's job changes took us to yet another town or state and I started all over making friends, connections, etc. And then that lifestyle imploded in one short day and I moved on to being a single mom with a lot of emotional baggage.

I'm mostly okay now, but I feel like I was living underwater and imagining everything that I thought was real. So much for trust and loyality. I'm such a Pollyanna. I want to believe the best in everyone. I want to see all the good things in life and SAVOR them. But sometimes it's like looking at my life and comparing it to an Easter lily--looks beautiful, smells lovely, and then the decay sets in and it really stinks.

So. Enough of all that. Life can be very, very good. I've changed SO much in my life. New job that eats up too much of my time, but that I like and that nourishes me. New house (rental, but I can paint, etc.) that I've decorated in a totally different style, much more funky. New clothes, different style. Closed down my craft business. Still quilting, just not as much time-wise, and I've added a new interest (geocaching) and expanded on an old one (gardening). New me? Mostly.... just wish I could lose a few pounds or forty. Who doesn't?

Enough for today...

Nancy