"Come Sit with Me"

I've been thinking about this blog post for days and days...trying to figure out what I wanted to say.
As usual, though, I finally just start typing and out comes whatever is in 'there' trying to get out.  I'm sure sometimes you are wondering just what I am saying.  Me too.  The beginning might be a good place to start....I found this photo of a settee in a magazine ad and just loved it, so cut it out with my tiny little paper cutting scissors...even the binoculars.  In the ad, they were on the ground.  One day, I was painting over a 14 inch x 14 inch canvas I had previously made a mess of and it became this background.  Next, I just sat that little settee on the canvas...and that is where I got the idea for this piece of art.

It had to have birds.  You know that.  And, leaves...either sewn or cut out of paper.  In this case, I painted some book pages and cut the leaves out freehand.  As you have seen here before, I made a rubber stamp of a bird outline and have used it several times by painting in the bird colors.  I'm not so good at it, but it's fun and that is all that matters.  I used Gel Medium to attach the leaves.  Yes, drew the tree too.  I'm not really an artist, I just pretend to be one for fun, and as with the birds, all I care about is that you realize the trees ARE trees!

 

The butterflies were cut from scrapbooking paper.  They seem to be a recurring theme in these mixed media pieces too.  Do you notice all those colored dots?  I don't know why they are there except that I have that cute 'dot rubber stamp' and love adding them all over and in different colors.  You'll notice them on several of my other pieces too.

And, then, I like to include quotes and other written words when I'm in the mood.  I couldn't find anything suitable for this piece, so I made this up.  It says:

"COME SIT WITH ME...WE WILL SPEAK OF MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS....FEEL THE
BREEZE SOFTLY BLOWING AND MAKE A LOVELY MEMORY."   pat eaton

Yeah, I wrote that myself.  It felt right, so once again, I didn't worry whether it was good or not, just that I meant it.  And, I had to ask myself....who was I saying that to?  After a while, it came to me, I wrote that to YOU.  I think of you often and think it would be wonderful if we all could sit and make memories....oh, yeah....I guess we do...for isn't that one of the things blogging allows us to do...'speak' to each other?

So, what would we speak of under this tree?  I've no idea, but I know it would be an important conversation, after all....I think we really are each other's therapists.  In a way.  Well, I know I receive comments from some of you and they make my day.  Hopefully, I say something that will help make your day and in that way....well, we make life a little easier for each other.  Don't you think?  I try to keep my posts on the lighter side of life so you won't be depressed when you leave here.  I'd like you to visit often.  And, it makes me feel good to do it.

                                               

It reminds me of something a quilting friend said to me many years ago.  We were having a serious talk and I said I just wish I knew why I was here.  She told me  "You are here to make life easier for everyone else."  I remember thinking "why ME?"  Evidently, I'm still living all these years to discover the why. And, I have to say, I guess - "why NOT me?"   Maybe this blogging thing came to me as a way to spread something good around.  I'd be all over that, to tell you the truth!  Not that I can manage it each and every post....but I'm touching base with you and you seem to be in lots of places over the planet.  And, that's a really great thing!  So, the why of it all is that the planet is small, and we are all on it together.  It's fun knowing we can communicate.  It does make life more interesting to me....and I hope it does for YOU.

And, this leads me to my final  'story.'  (You know by now there is always another story.)  It has to do with making life easier.  That comment worried me for quite a while.  After all, it is quite a heavy thought to imagine yourself making life easier for everyone else.  Very heavy, in fact - impossible.  So, I have tried to do my best even though I realize my efforts come up short.  Being human, I know my best is all I can do.  Being someone who isn't perfect....there is this little addtional bit of a story:

A few years ago, I was asked to show some of my quilts to friends of a friend.  I took three or four of my best quilts to her place of business and there they were...several of her friends, strangers to me.  They looked at the quilts, some admired them, some were quiet, and one of them said this - "YOU HAVE TOO  MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS AND SHOULD COME CLEAN MY HOUSE." At that very moment.......

 

                             I KNEW I didn't have to make life easier for absolutely EVERYONE.

So, rest assured, I choose to do my best for YOU....my blogging friends...and I thank you for all your visits to this blog!  take care, pat

"MAKE OF YOURSELF A LIGHT" said the Buddha before he died.   mary oliver

A Giveaway Winner and Birthday Flowers

Well, here we are...my 68th birthday....it was a wonderful day here in Arkansas - blue skies and very nice temperatures.  You know...a Fall day...is my favorite day.  Here are the flowers that arrived at my front door today.  A gift from my favorite son in California.  BEAUTIFUL!!  Thank you, Scott!

The colors certainly represent the kind of day it was.......a great celebration of a special day.  After all, I'm only going to be this age once!  Well, I don't know...maybe next year I'll be 68 again!  You know I like to give away something to celebrate my birthday and some of you took the time to comment on my last blog post to help celebrate it...and possibly win the items I showed you.  So, the winner of this giveaway is  AMY MUNSON!!   Thanks to all who participated.  I wish I could give you all something....well, it would be impossible, but remember, I will give another gift away in December!

Thanks to you all for helping to make my 'day' a Happy one!  Show you something from the studio next time!  take care out there, pat

Just a little thing for today that I read and just love:

"She said she usually cried at least once each day, not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short."  Unknown   ( I just loved this, read it here, and thought you might love it too.)

My 2012 Birthday GIVEAWAY!

Well, here it is Sunday night and my 68th birthday is this Thursday, October 18, 2012.  Do you remember that I enjoy giving something away for my birthday?  I do....it's great fun.  So, I'm hoping you would like to win this little birthday gift!  If you will leave a comment on this blog post, you
could possibly win...well, you have just as good a chance as anyone.  Even if you live far, far away from me -  even in another country, go for it. Just be sure I have a way to get in touch with you.  I will announce the winner, late this Thursday night!

So, here is what you could win: a 6 inch x 6 inch mixed media piece I created at the downtown studio.  For some reason,  you can always expect a bird somewhere on each piece I make.   And, of course, I did use those rose paper napkins again.  And, a hand-drawn vine...if this were a quilt, I would have embroidered those.

A little handwritten poem.   Here is the whole poem if you are interested:

The Sweetest Flower That Blows  

The sweetest flower that blows
I give you as we part;
For you it is a rose;
For me it is my heart.

The fragrance it exhales
(Ah, if you only knew!)
Which but in undying fails,
It is my love of you.

The sweetest flower that grows
I give you as we part;
You think it but a rose;
Ah, me! it is my heart.


by Frederick Peterson

I think it's just a cute little piece of art....and fun.  Yes, the birds were on a paper napkin also.

Rubber stamp dots on the edges.  I have used that particular rubber stamp countless times and know I will again.  Well, I already have...will show you my newest piece after my birthday.

How about some chocolate?  Yeah, I am allergic to it, but you aren't, so thought I'd send some along with the other stuff.  I'm sure you will enjoy it...so, enjoy it for me too.

How about a bird charm, a butterfly bead and a tiny heart charm too?  I thought you might find a use for them.  From my collection of 'stuff.'

From my ever growing library of books, here is one I have enjoyed for a while and thought you might enjoy it also.  More birds, of course.!  Nature's Sketchbook by Marjolein Bastin.  It's wonderful!

Last, but not least, a crocheted doily.  No, I didn't make it.  I could have....but instead, found this one recently at the flea market.  With you in mind.  It's about 26 inches across.

I sure hope you like these items.  I'd love for YOU to win my 'birthday present'.... if you'd like to have it, please comment on this post.  Remember to make sure I have some way to get in touch with you.  As always, I wish I could send something to LOTS of people, but I can't, as you well know.  But do try to win...I might choose YOU.  Thanks for commenting and celebrating my birthday with me!!  take care out there, pat

On My Way to Organizing

This morning I got up to a day of thunder, wind and rain.  When that happens early in the morning, I just want to go back to bed, but, of course, I didn't.  The morning was spent doing very little while I had out my little list, thinking about what I should do with the day.  So, a few things were accomplished around the house and then it hit me that I should post on my blog.  I had taken some photos at the studio that I thought you might enjoy...but they turned out pretty bad, so nixed that idea.

Later this afternoon, I ran through the rain out here to the Nest and instantly decided I should post something about organizing.  Organizing seemed very important as I came through the front door and took a good look around.  Where does all this stuff come from???  (Well, of course, I drag it in here!) I haven't been working out here much of late, and I swear I had my work table all cleaned off, but one look at that table and I had to fuss at myself.  Couldn't bring myself to show it to you....but did think you might 'get the idea' of the shape of this place if I showed you the table I have set up with 'things that should be used in the not too distant future.'  Things from the flea market, the house, from friends, you know, the 'general accumulation of junk and treasure' people like me have.  (Oh, and you can tell in these first two photos that I forgot to turn the lights on.......ok...now they are on!!)

So, let's look at all this 'junk and treasure.'  Me, being of questionable mind, find just about all of it to be on the 'treasure' side of the story.  This silk ribbon embroidery I stitched years ago and made into a piece that fit onto a box.  Later, I removed it from the box and have intentions of giving it new life, yet here it sits, in a basket of other goodies.

There it is, peeking over top of some lovely tatted and crocheted pieces....a basket full of treasures meant to be included in my work.

Another basket full of goodies...some of these are pink!  The piece tied with ribbon is a beautiful baby dress.

A wonderful white on white piece of embroidery...I will use it and would also love to stitch my own version of it...you know I love doing that!

Tall spools hold lace pieces which I consider beautiful and I may never do anything with them except
enjoy them!  The little pitcher and cups...not very large, I intend to make pincushions out of.  Tiny ones, yes, but oh so cute!!

I found this little Daisy Chain necklace in a flea market booth several years ago for ten cents.  I do love it so and would love to make these if I only had directions.    So sweet it is!!! 

It's as light as air, barely weighing anything, and I love the soft color.......maybe one day I will find the directions and learn how to do them.

 More goodies.

A box of silk fabrics given to me by my friend, Sherry.  I suppose I have just found them too pretty to actually cut into and have enjoyed seeing them just 'glow.'  Have no clue what I will do with the pearl necklace, but something will come to mind one of these days!

Another basket full of some of my favorite things.  Note the doll.  She has a pin on back so she can be worn....I never did that, but did have her pinned to one of my favorite tote bags for a while.  I made her out of a dinner napkin and she has silk ribbon for hair.  She is cute, don't you think?

These little ceramic shoes are in that basket....another idea for a pincushion set.  Thought they might make a nice little baby shower gift.

Oh, here's the doll again.....that little blue heart is a glass button....can't remember where I got it, but wish I had more of them and pink and green ones would be nice.  Seems I can never remember where I got little things like that.

One of my favorite things.....old laces......there can never be enough of them....and I certainly consider these of the treasure category!

This crocheted doily is another treasure....I find great delight in finding these here, there and yon.
I do so love them!

Boxes, hold all kinds of goodies, these stacked with my favorite little pink lovebirds on top....a planter from long ago.   And, oh, what a wonderful book!!!  Inspiration if you have any kind of studio at all....many ideas make you want to organize somehow...even when, like me, you have too much stuff in too small a space.  (Actually, my Nest is 18' x 26'...not that small, so perhaps I should say my space is not too small, but my collecting is out of hand! )

The pink lovebirds again...so cute.  These two birds fly to different parts of the Nest from time to time, there is no telling where you might find them.

A tray of buttons, threads, beads, buckles and a hand mirror.  It is stitched, vintage, and very pretty.  Oh, that frame used to be plain wood, but I painted, distressed and tried to make it 'shabby' but as yet have found nothing to put in it.  I'm working on that.

A close up of the back of the hand mirror.  So pretty.  All those little stitches...amazing to me it is still all there!

Found this at the flea market not long ago.  The minute I laid eyes on it....I thought to myself,  "Well, there's a good item to make into a pincushion."  Can you imagine it?  All linen with some stitching, some pearls or beads...maybe some off-white seam binding....are you feeling it? 

Well, this basket is a turn-on.  All that vintage thread, crochet cotton, hand-made buttons...I even love the old thread boxes!!!

 A small glass compote filled with vintage buttons and a white bird.....love the doily underneath.

Do you remember the bear from a few posts back?  I told you then that he likes to move around the studio...here he is in a wonderful old green glass compote, sitting there in a real bird nest given to me by my neighbor who saw it fall from one of his trees.  He immediately brought it to me.  Jimmy is a sweet man in his eighties who loves to sit on his deck and watch the birds.  Me, too!  I've had the heart (being held by the bear) for many years, one of the first things I ever saw stitched with ribbons.

Well, now why did I buy this?  I really don't know except that it just said, "You know you love me so take me home."  And, I did.  A toy tray, cake pan, scoop and mold.  So very cute!!  The key from my little key collection...I just thought they all belonged together.

Here is a tiny toy muffin tin.  It is dear and just the right size for some buttons and a couple of pins.
Just too darn cute, isn't it?

This black piece of lace I found one day while shopping the flea market.....it's very old and in bad shape, but just absolutely gorgeous.  Fragile as can be.  But, I can still enjoy it.

 Can you imagine making this?  Lovely, lovely, lovely!!! 

So....here is all that 'junk and treasure' on the table at the foot of the bed.  What will I do with it, what will it all become, and when will this happen.  I've no idea, but just thinking of what I could do is exciting to me and an adventure.

So,  instead of organizing today, I took a very long walk down 'memory lane' thinking of when and where I got all these things.  Nothing much was accomplished, but I did enjoy it and maybe one or two things sparked an idea in the back of my mind which may come forth one of these days and turn into a really neat piece of work.  You think?

Ok, so it's not in the pages of a great book on organizing.  For now, it's the best I can do and it suits me just fine.  For now.  Tomorrow, maybe not so much, but today all is well.  Sure hope you enjoyed a look around the Nest.  Maybe you will take a look at your space and dream a little dream too!
Take care til next time, pat

PS.  Yes, I know it was a very long post.  I worry about such things, but at least one of my readers said my posts would never be too long for her.  Bless her heart!!