Hands To Work

Knock, Knock...

I'm here.  Just unpacked an Apple computer to replace my nearly dead desktop that I've been struggling with for ages.  Still short on time but hope that maybe now it will be easier to update my blog.  More than once every six months or so!

So, here's what's up at my house.  Working like crazy.  Traveling at least twice a month.  Working ten hour days and overtime.  Lily and Elisabeth still live here.  Lily touches everything I own at least once a day.  I had to see a therapist (long story but I will tell you soon) for two sessions and she kept telling me BOUNDARIES, BOUNDARIES!  I know, I know.  Trying...

I agreed to teach a class.  I will be at Jean Lea's in AZ sometime in January.  Still working on my project and am excited to get things finished up.  Jean is anxious for me to give her a price and details.  I am hoping that the Amish woodworker that is making a piece for me has it done this week so I can get things measured and know more about how much to charge.  Think wool, chippy white paint and a sampler to go with it.  Exciting!  Scary!!!  I haven't done this in a long time.  

Okay, I have to get my pj's on.  It's 8:30 and I turn into a pumpkin at 9.  Before I go, I will share a picture of Lily who will be four next month.  FOUR.  Wow, that went too fast.  Okay, I unpacked this computer two hours ago and I can't figure out how to get the picture in here.  So that gives me incentive to come back soon...

 

Thank You!!!

I knew once I put in a request for charts that you awesome girls would come through. I am borrowing Margaret's charts and am so appreciative. You guys are great. Thank you!!!!!
I'm soon to be working on a new design. Can you believe it? Wish me luck.
Again, thank you so much everyone!
Tracy
PS. Added a Halloween photo for your holiday enjoyment. Elisabeth and a classmate posing after a makeup class

Look at This!

My good friend Carmen Sutton  has just started a web site.  She is the MOST amazing finisher and offers her services with a quick turn around and reasonable price.  She and her buddy Jean are two of the nicest girls I know.

Well, isn't this the cutest design!  Wonder who's it is???

So stop what you are doing and visit Carmen's site right now! 

 

oh My!

I am SO THANKFUL that the above scene is not what is outside my door right now.  I do have about 6" of water in that very spot but the grass is actually greening up and the birds are singing like crazy.  Yeah!

So, it's been like months since I last updated.  At least it feels that way.  So you don't get the idea that I sit around and twiddle my thumbs all day I thought I would share a bit of what I've been up to.

By now you know that I took Mary Ann Moss' fantastic Remains of the Day class.  I'm still loving it.  It's rare for me to stick with something this long.  Since I have the attention span of a flea, normally I would have found thirteen other projects to investigate.  But my little journal is getting quite the work out.  I refuse to start another one until this one is full.  And I write in it nearly every day!

I have bits and pieces of mail, pictures, stamps, ribbon, old check registers and even a cool Rebecca Sower piece that I bought on etsy ages ago.  Impulse buy (who me???) and wasn't sure what to do with it once I received it.  Who knew it was meant to be a journal post about my Mom. 

Another fun part of the Mary Ann class is that several people organized swaps where each participant would make a set amount of pages and then exchange them with someone really awesome.  My awesome girl Lelainia who lives in Vancouver BC and worked at the OLYMPICS and also will be a torchbearer at the Paralympics sent me four seriously wonderful pages.  I told her that I like love OBSESS over birds so she dug through all of her stash and included lots of birdie goodness.  These pages will be the bones for my next journal.

Then there is this fun little guy to help me stay focused and inspired on journaling.  It's a tiny little Polaroid printer.  I got mine here and found it to be the best deal.  It fits in the palm of my hand, prints out cute little 2x3" color pictures either wirelessly from my phone (well not my phone because even though the iphone does a lot, it won't let me send pictures to the printer.  hmpff.) or directly from my camera with a USB cord.  It comes with a rechargeable battery and power cord.  Never needs ink.  Who thinks of this stuff???

Okay, enough of journaling.  What else?  Oh.  Ebay.  I've been having an obsession with ironstone.  Look at this soup tureen that I scored.  Almost paid more for shipping than I did for the dish!

And.  I've.  Been.  STITCHING!  Yeah!  I remember how and my fingers still work!  My good buddy Shelley went to the Nashville market and shopped just for me.  Isn't she awesome!  I am working on the new Blackbird series Anniversaries of the Heart over one on 32 count linen.  This is a stinky picture but you get the idea.  This has been a great diversion while recuperating from a minor surgery (and don't even ask about it because I won't tell!) !

And finally, I've been spending a lot of time with my girls...Helen the Horrible who I'm really working with.  We spent about an hour outside in the rain today playing and splashing in puddles.  I'm seeing a bit of progress! See that wild look in her eyes?  This was after the towel drying and she couldn't contain herself!

And finally two more of my favorite girls outside yesterday with bare feet!  Having fun on the porch swing.

Off to watch Finding Nemo for the forty fourth time.  I have a list of posts so hopefully you will hear from me again before month's end.
 
  
  

 

  

Saturday at home

We are just hanging out at home today.  It's beautiful...about 75 degress and the sky is the most awesome shade of clear blue.  Love it!

Lily and Elisabeth are spending the day with us.  Lily loves to be outside.  Especially with dogs.  And she loves the camera.  Can you tell?

Chuck had to clean up the yard since Chloe and Betty spent the week.  I'm sure you can imagine.  Well, Lily couldn't be happy until she helped her Poppa.  I know.  Not our finest moments as grandparents.  She carrid around a bag while Chuck filled it up.  She would pul it up over her shoulder like a purse.  Yeah, we know how to have fun around here!

Look at this beauty!  Betty is just about the sweetest dog I have ever known.  I love her.  Lily loves her.  Betty LOVES Lily.  And Helen.  I would keep her all the time if it wasn't for the slobbering, drooling, muddy footprints, shedding and lots of gas.  Eeeewwww.

Here is Helen.  She is getting so big.  He goal in life is to pee on each blade of grass and chew up anyting in her path.  Today it was the rabbit water bottle that was ready to go in the trash.  Usually she finds things that don't belong in the trash until she is done with them.  Sigh. 

Miss Lily is going to be 22 months old on the 21st.  She is growing up so fast.  Her voculary is unbelievable.  She spends a lot of time with adults and it shows.  She repeats everything and I mean EVERYTHING she hears.  That can be a problem. 

I need to get the sweeping done and finish up the designs for Shelley's retreat in a few short weeks.  Have a great one!

t 

 

 

 

 

Big and Little

 

John is big.  Lily is little.

 

Lily's hair is big.

 

Lily's dog  is little.

 

Gardening is a big job.

 

Gardening is a little tiring!

The end of big and little.

Catching Up

  this is what I was thinking about almost 17 months ago....waiting for a sweet little baby to fill our home with adorableness, wonderful (and not so wonderful) smells, cries and coos.  And what a blessing she has been to us.  We were so worried about what might happen....all the What If thoughts crowding out happy thoughts.  And then she arrived. And grew and grew and filled our hearts with laughter and joy which pushed all the worry away.  She and her monmy moved out two weeks ago.  How quiet the house is now.  I don't see her every day.  Chuck and I are learning to live without anyone else in the house for the first time in 28 years.  I'm so lucky to have gotten to spend so much time with my Lily girl.  It's time for Elisabeth to step into that full time roll of mothering and she's doing beautifully.  I'm so proud of her. 

This is Maggie.  We lost her to old age and bad hips a little over a month ago.  She would be 13 this month.  I am so missing her.  She was unable to get up the stairs for the last year and stayed in the living or family rooms unless she had to go out.  I'm still listening for her tail to rustle against the carpet when I walk into the house.  Expecting to hear her whine with anticipation of a meal.  Watch her faithful friend Pansy (one of our cats) clean her face and sleep with her.  My heart is empty. 

So with all these changes I have some decisions to make.  What are we going to do with the extra bedrooms?  Should we take down the glow in the dark stars on the ceilings?  Should I start unbaby proofing the house?  What am I going to do about designing?  That's a hard one.  I've been a sluggish designer ever since I found out Elisabeth was expecting.  Now I'm working full time and driving an hour each way to work.  Do I have any creative juices left?  I'm not sure.  So I think I'm going to take some time to enjoy my time....stitch when I want, knit when I want, leave the house when I want.  Spend more time with my husband.  Revamp my office and finally have a sewing room that I don't have to share with guests, a computer, hundreds of charts and baby toys.  I am so happy when I get a note encouraging me to continue to design.  I think I will.  We'll see.  I have a few classes to teach this year but won't be taking on any new commitments for now.  I also will not be able to fill any orders other than those requested by shops and distributors. 

Thanks for hanging in there with me.  I'm such a lucky girl....I have too many friends to even count!  I'll continue on with the blog but I'm shrugging off the guilt and enjoying what comes next!

Home Again!

This summer has been so incredibly busy!  I've not only done a lot of traveling but have had company several times as well.  I just got home from a trip to Indiana that I took with Lily, Elisabeth and my mother.  We had a great time and I can honestly say I have never seen so much corn in all my life!

Now that I'm back home, I'm working on finishing up my new designs that will be available for the St Charles cash and carry show in September.  I will update you with information about the new releases as they are done.

I am so excited to see Maggie Bonanomi's new book has been released.  I'm waiting for mine to arrive.  The advance buzz about the book is that it's fantastic!  I was lucky enough to see one of the projects in the book when Maggie was here for the retreat last year.  It's a small pocket with a bird stitched on the front.  She has also included the instructions to make the sewing roll that we made at the retreat.  So for all of you that were begging for a kit and couldn't get one, buy the book!  You can find it at Colonial Crafts.

Another fun book that has recently been released is Barb and Alma's new In Full Bloom.  This should also be arriving at my mailbox very soon!

Hope you all are having a wonderful end of July.  Don't forget to pick up your needle every day and stitch, stitch, stitch!

 

Where does time go???

I am shocked at how long it has been since I last blogged.  Paulette, my super good buddy questioned whether or not I had been abducted by aliens.  I'm sorry that I've been such a bad blogger.  But I have good excuses!

1. Company three seperate times since June.

2. Lily

3. Social Security work

4. traveling to CT to see cousins.

5. Lily

6. lazy summer days spent in the pool.

7. Lily

8. designing.  Yep, really.  I have two designs finished and more that I'm working on. 

9. Still Lily

So, do you get an idea of how my time slips away so easily?  I'm taking an online photography class with Karen Russell and am so behind!  I plan on spending some time by the pool this weekend with camera and notebook in hand so I can start to catch up.  To give you some idea of the amount of reading that is involved....the first four weeks have printed out about 1.5" of paper.  I haven't even looked at this weeks lessons. 

Last Sunday Chuck and I went to a beautiful wedding.  The groom is a coworker of Chuck and the couple has been together for a while and decided to have a small wedding at a restored historic hotel in Winchester.  It was amazing.  The best part was the reception.  A sit down dinner was served and the main course was a filet mignon, a very large and quite delicious crab cake, mashed potatoes and steamed whole vegetables.  Mmmmmm.  That's my kind of reception! 

Matt recently went to Turkey with the C3 planes that he works with and got to spend a few days there.  He brought back a beautiful hand made wool rug for my birthday.  I will take a picture of it once it is down on the floor.  It is so luxurious. 

I'm waiting on new redware plates to arrive and will let you all know when they are here.  I also have some scrimshaw rulers and thread winders available.  I will post pictures of those as well.  Off to work!  Have a great day.

A Retreat Extra!

I am offering a special class this year for anyone that is interested.  Liz Mathews, Kathy Barrick-Dieter's awesome daughter, is teaching a class where the participants will make their own semi-precious stone, sterling silver bracelet.  The cost of the class is $70 and will include the bracelet, tools and stones needed to finish your masterpiece.  If you want to add additional stones and/or charms, Liz will have those available for purchase.  Below are several pictures of finished bracelets.  The first two show an example with the amount of stones that are included.  Please note that Liz will have many different colors and shapes available. 

The next set of pictures is of a bracelet with additional stones added.  This is a much heavier bracelet. 

I was lucky enough to have Liz teach me to make a bracelet last year and I love it.  It's my Sexy Mama Bracelet!  Who doesn't feel fabulous with a cool piece of jewelry on?!!!

Please email me asap if you want to take this class.  Liz needs to purchase all of the supplies and it will take her some time to pick out an assortment of stone. 

Things are coming together for the retreat and we will be gathering together very soon!