fuzzy little heads

4-birds

4 baby birds

There is a wreath on my front door. Every year a bird nests in it and hatches a brood to fly away quickly. I delight in standing on the high arms of my couch and spying on their progress from my window. This is the first time I’ve been able to get a picture from the window.

close up

close up

And it  is the first time I’ve had 4. It is usually 3 and I end up singing Bob Marley all spring long, “three little birds, beside my doorstep..”

I tend to get upset with people and family ringing my door bell, much less using the front door, so brother bubba has finally convinced me to remove the wreath when this brood flies off. It’s a fair idea, but I’ll be sad. How cool it has been to have this birds-eye-view.

quilting joy

Here are the close ups of the Super Simple Stamps quilt:

olive-face

The simple shapes of this stamped quilt makes it so much fun to quilt. Lots of geometrics, but I enjoyed slipping in little surprises.

moonshine

Also a great excuse to use all those fabulous threads my mother and I are addicted to.

be-happy1

No planning on the quilting, just move the quilt around under the needle and see what pops into your head.

signature

This are my sneaky signature blocks: MYC in the olive and reds, to June (red) 2009 (blue) to the right.

I encourage you to play with your own shapes and rediscover the joy of quilting.

stitch-sampler

fairest of them all

fairest

The humans have been painting furniture, but now Mia won’t relinquish the mirror. She may have to go where ever it ends up hanging.

mirror mirror on the wall

mirror mirror on the wall

Super simple stamps

bw-stamp-sampler

Super Simple Stamps make super fun quilts:

Dollar store foam sheets glued to scraps of cardboard. See Fannie’s inspirational ideas on her blog.

bw-quilt

I stamped the simple shapes with Lumieres and fabric paints onto lots of squares of my old work pants. Something so simple is a blast to quilt. I’ll post some close ups of the hidden goodies I’ve quilted before the end of the week. Got foam? Get stamping.

koi in shivas

koi-post

Simple Koi quiltie for my Auntie’s birthday. The koi and water were made with Shiva paintstiks on solid black cotton. The rolled beads were made from Tyvek: painted, rolled and heated. I made this little quilt when I was working with Shivas for a workshop. I loved it so much I held on to it through out the class. Auntie’s birthdate has come and gone, so it will be a little late. But I’m thinking I’d like to duplicate something similar for myself.

For more in depth instructions on how to make your own with paintsticks or thread painting, or paints, or… contact me.

bee gentle

The good news about saving home invaders is the bonus of bees wax and honey, can’t get more local than your own wall.

exploration

wax-stack

I watched videos of encaustic paintings on YouTube and set about collecting mt own bees wax. Sadly, I’ve only managed to extract about 1 teaspoon.

bees

The bad news? Fighting with my HOA over the exterior crack in the stucco that allowed the mini invasion. Thanks alot guys.

I love honey, but…

honey in the house

honey in the house

Honey from the massive hive in the wall of my house. Relocation of hive story and photos coming soon.

Hangin with the big guys

hangin-out

Denver, CO has a 1st Friday tradition of an Art Gallery walk. This May, Hobie Obie got to attend. He brought his glow to this big guy. The hot spot dots are rain which kept the crowds down. Silly sissies.

Must see Movie

The movie The Fall, is one of the best movies I have seen in years. If you have Netflix, do yourselves an entertainment favor and order it up right away.

18 squares

18 squares

Imagine The Princess Bride meets Priscilla Queen of the Dessert. Story telling and visual magic. Put away all projects, turn out the lights and give your eyes, humor, and emotions over to it. Please write me and tell me what you think.

This Jim Dine inspired 18 patch was done with textured paint chips adhered to mat board and colored with Shiva Paintstiks.

Tortured face in tyvek

face

Piecing together odds and end of tortured tyvek, this face emerged. Except for the button eyes, it is all tyvek. I haven’t a clue what I will do with it, but I wanted to sew down the face before it was scattered about by little cat paws.

Sis in Omaha

buffa-sis

They love their buffaloes in Nebraska.

franken-sis

Geographically undesirable, but true love just the same.

what-sis

It is love and goodness.

Kiln Opening

kiln-april21

Pets need pretties too.  Wouldn’t you want to eat boring kibble from a lovely bowl?

pet-bowls

Custom colors and personalized bowls for four legged loved ones. Oh there are personalized mugs for two legged also.

Venus in Tyvek

firenze

This little quiltie has different Tyvek elements: the Venus rectangle is Tyvek painted with Golden acrylics and stamped with Stazon black ink. The Venus stamp is from StampCamp. Then the rectangle was aged with an iron on low heat.

venus

The embellishments are rolled up triangles of painted Tyvek, heated around a knitting needle. The gorgeous hand marbled fabric is from Paul Kachinsky of Rovalston-Attic, 603-532-7232. I made this little quilt for my mother who was lucky enough to see the Birth of Venus in person. Hope you like it.

beads

tourist bro

Bro’s favorite tourist photographs from Omaha NE:

bro-hole

flame-tail

new-homies

Fishing for the best

1fish 2fish redfish bluefish

1fish 2fish redfish bluefish

Tasting seafood up and down both American coasts, islands in both oceans, Thailand, and the south of France, Bubba and I have found the best fish eatery in Omaha., Nebraska. WHAT? Preposterous you say? Nay, Naysayer, it is true. Shucks Fish House attached to the Absolutely Fresh seafood market.

I’m a lover of fish and chips, and this place has the best. The lightest batter, the juiciest, tender, flaky, freshest fish. You could taste the yummy cod, it wasn’t just breading and grease, no, no. The ‘chips’ were none other than hot, crunchy on the outside little potato cakes. Oysters from every corner of the globe. Opened right in front of your peepers. The oyster shooters were delicious enough that you don’t just ’shoot’ in one quick swallow, you enjoy the flavor of the libation and the oyster. The oyster shooters may have had opium in them, they were so addicting. You actually must sit and relax while waiting for your food; they make it to order, no premade, sitting under heat lamps. Well worth the wait.

We headed back on Easter Sunday. I was hoping to try their cioppino and more shooters, but Omaha shuts down for that holiday and they don’t make exceptions for out-of-towners. So sad.

Drive within 2 hours of Omaha, do yourself a favor and stop in with an empty stomach.

keep it simple

april14

Family traditions, holiday expectations, religious doctrine? Try to keep in mind what is most important. Love. Health. Communication. Good will. Respect. Gratitude.

My brother, Bubba, and I were from CO to Omaha, NE  last week for a family health emergency. Our mother handled the travel arrangements through Travelocity. Major kudos to both. Through Travelocity, the matriarch was able to get affordable airline tickets, rental car and hotel in one fell swoop.

Stay healthy, take care of yourself and your loved ones; but if you should need care, Nebraska University Medical Center might be the best place to go. Administrative and medical personal all must have been trained by Walt Disney. Everyone was gracious and unfailingly helpful.

Thank you for well wishes, michele and Bubba