This and that

Today i have for you a jumble of this and that .... works finished and observations.

I have 2 more pocket pets for Abby's quilt... a turtle and a tiger. i actually have a monkey finished, too...but i forgot and left it at the house. i decided to walk to the studio this morning .... and my bag is still in my truck from class yesterday....along with the monkey.  sigh!  alzheimers closing in fast. LOL

And i tangled my yellow egg gourd. 

Do you see the word "love" here?  i have the pic upside down. oops!

I finally finished piecing the Diamonds and Rails top. i wanted to put it aside...with just the last row to do....but i made myself finish it...after all...don't i have ENOUGH UFOs already!!  LOL  i put a plain black border on it and now it just needs quilting.

Technically, that is STILL a UFO, isn't it.  but at least the top is finished.

Today when i got to the studio i found this on my screen door.

A stick bug....these guys just fascinate me. it took a bit to figure out which end was the head. i believe it is the top. there are feeler like things at the very tip of the top. and the bottom...the tail?...is forked, too. fascinating.

These guys get huge out here. this one is over 4" long. i have seen one about 7".  hard to imagine what they eat.

And on the south side of the studio....i have this little lady staying busy outside a window. unfortunately, this is the bottom side of her...i think she is repairing her web.  the belly is yellow and black...pretty.

She is pretty large....a couple of inches. but as long as she stays outside...she can live. if she gets in...she's toast. LOL

I found this, too....it is not far from her web....i am thinking it is full of spider babies.

It is over an inch long.....shudder!!  how many hundreds of babies are in there?

Then....as if THAT wasn't enough....in the next window i see THIS....another one!

She better tell those babies to stay outside.

Now i need to get back to work. i almost have the quilt on the frame finished....just a few Quiltazoid flowers to go.

See ya!

Tangled Gourd

I've been messing with this gourd lately. i had it sitting at the house for a week or so. finally got it cleaned  up. then it sat another week or so before i finally painted it. i am soooo slow.

But over the last several nights i have done a little with it. i haven't tangled in a while and am a bit rusty. i can't seem to do it in a large area. it always seems to turn out small.

Here is the whole thing.

And some close ups.

I grew these in my garden some years ago. i have a whole feed bag full of them in the barn. so there are more in my future.

Here are the next volunteers.

 Wonder how many weeks it will take these to get cleaned and painted?

Tangles and Quilts

Hello again....sorry for my week's absence. i've been in painting mode and have finished up the cellar window, door and wall at the house. and about half done with my studio windows on the south side. today i am taking a painting break. these windows are sad...every set of windows takes 2 tubes of caulk and a can of wasp spray. then a coat of primer and 2 coats of paint. each set takes 2 days if i keep to schedule of getting out there early each morning and late each evening....the only time there is shade there. but i only have 1 more set of windows to go. Should be all done by monday. then it's down to the basement to paint walls down there.

And my late nights are spent tangling. since i have discovered Zentangles nothing is safe from me. i have practiced some....

That's sort of a crooked egg.

And i tangled a little box. i think i will cut some paper this shape and keep my practice pieces in this box. i got a couple books from Amazon and was practicing some of the things i found in the book.

Then i tried a tiny, bitty egg gourd. it's round instead of egg shaped and about 2" across. i think it was the runt of the litter but i wanted to use him as my practice piece and see if it worked. i have more gourds to tangle. woopee!!  i painted it with silver paint first. i think future gourds will have to be sanded first to get a smoother finish.

Nothing is sacred....i even started tangling my crocs. still have to finish the left one...my marker ran out of ink.

And on the quilty side, i pieced this little cute top. we learned the pattern in class on monday and i have the top done already...perhaps a first for me. LOL  i used up some yellows and purples in my stash and already have plans for another one....only larger. this one is good baby size..about 50x60.

So that is what i have been up to this week.

Have a tshirt quilt on the frame that i hope to finish in a couple days. Near future plans are some partait fabric dyeing, more playing with the Quiltazoid and, of course, more tangling. i need more hours in my days.

Oh, and my birthday is next Thursday...wonder what i should do. any ideas for me?

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend. our little town is having a 'do' on saturday and we will go and eat, visit vendors, listen to music and smooze with friends.

Have fun, stay cool and be careful.

Zentangles

Have you experienced zentangles? i am enchanted. i have spent HOURS the last couple days looking at blogs on zentangles. go ahead....google it.  or go to  http://www.zentangle.com/    there are many, many blogs and sites. i went to amazon and ordered a couple books and some pens....i'm gonna draw.

It is almost like quilt designs. all these little designs have names....they are too cute.  i gotta make a zentangle quilt.

Zentangles only take paper and pens....no fabric... no thread... no batting... no backing... no rulers. mostly imagination. of course, you could zentangle on lots of things.....even quilts.

OK....gotta go tangle and zen out.    go try it     gotta warn ya....it looks addicting.