The Knot Group Came to My House

This past Thursday, the Knot Group met at my house. I always look forward to them coming as they are a great group of people. We all live in different towns in Arkansas, so this is the one time a month we see each other.

This month, it was my turn...and you know how it is...you feel you must have things in order. So, before hand, I try to do just that. I don't know why, as we wreck the place during the course of the day. There are lunches, drinks, projects, photos, gifts, books, and stuff all over the place. It's great fun and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This month we had a guest, Keri's daughter, Melanie. She was so cute and laughed a lot too. She's young, so she probably thought we were nuts (which would be accurate), but she hid it well, as she seemed to be interested in what all we were doing. Also, she sat next to Jim, which guarantees a person will laugh an awful lot.

We always seem to teach each other during these meetings, although we aren't always working on a project. For instance, someone noticed some little newspaper pots I had on the porch with seedlings in them...next thing you know, we were outside and I showed them how to make them.

Jean and her daughter, Susan, were both knitting.....we always learn something from them. Jim was working on some needlepoint and showed some small pieces he would work on next. He had an idea for a challenge regarding some silver, copper and other metal necklace chains, which he provided for us...so that is now on our agenda. The results will be shown at our Christmas meeting. Mary Lou was doing applique...something she used to say she couldn't do. Isn't it great how that always happens? Sherry was making beaded buttons...she loves embellishments and crazy quilts...quite good at them too! Kelley was quiet that day and wanted to look at books at my desk. Whatever she wants to do is fine with me as she is just the sweetest thing. Keri was in her observant mode, so watched everyone work, picking up tips. Bibi, also, was in a watchful mood.

Susan had just returned from a trip to Chicago and brought beautiful little boxes of candy for us. And, it wasn't chocolate! That was so nice and really appreciated by me since I am allergic to chocolate. We have to have a certain number of calories at these meetings, after all, it takes lots of energy to work so hard!

I look forward to these meetings each month, not only to see what everyone is doing and to learn, but to visit with these great people. I always say it's my therapy and I'm lucky to know these folks! Pat

Baskets: The Imagined and The Real

This evening I have been out in the Nest......doing a little house cleaning before my Knot group arrives for an all day visit on Thursday. Sometimes when I work out here I can really make a mess and let's face it - my friends have to have a place to sit!
So, I've been sorting things out, putting "ingredients" as I call them, back where they belong, rearranging the tables and chairs to suit the number of friends I will have here that day, sweeping the floor, and all the things you do to prepare for such an event. I always look forward to having them here.

While putting things away, I noticed how many different things were "out" pertaining to baskets, so I decided I'd show you some baskets I have stitched.....and one real one, just because I think it's pretty. Imagination is a great and wonderful thing! You can conjure up all kinds of things if you give yourself permission to play. I always say an eraser is my best friend, as when I'm trying to dream up something new.....I sketch and erase, sketch and erase until I am satisfied. You can do all that on a computer these days, but I'm pretty old-fashioned and I still love paper and pencil! I'm always amazed when I come up with such designs and if I amaze myself...then that's all that matters. It's supposed to be FUN. So, these aren't the most wonderful baskets you will ever see, but I enjoyed making them.

There is an appliqued basket that is the center of a wall quilt I made a couple of years ago. I just love the quilt and this basket is one of my favorite applique/embroidery designs, ever. You can see the entire quilt on my Flickr photos. There is a button I made that has a tiny basket embroidered on it...I thought I would bead the edge, but haven't yet. There is another embroidered basket from the quilt I made for my book, "The Big Book of Crazy Quilt Stitches," Leisure Arts, Inc., which I will probably blog about sometime in the future. It's stitched in silk ribbon. (Actually, I have a copy of the book for sale in my etsy shop.) Then, there is the "real" basket which I have placed on the table on my deck. I found this basket at Hobby Lobby in Little Rock. I was not there to shop for a basket, but you know how that goes...once I saw it...I was a goner and had to buy it. And, half price too!

These are just some of the baskets I noticed this evening. They always make me feel good. It worked for me - did it work for you? Take care. Pat

Mother's Day Heart

We're almost to the end of this Mother's Day....it's been a nice day. Early this a.m. I finished sewing a little present for my mother-in-law. She is 90 and in the hospital. Several months ago, I made a pin cushion specifically for a magazine contest and took it to show her. She thought it was for her. Under the circumstances, I couldn't just leave it with her, so vowed to make her something for Mother's Day. She has always liked whatever I do, well, nearly always, so I hoped she would like whatever I showed up with.

So, this week I have been working on a heart for her. I finished it very early this a.m. It's an embellished heart. There are embroidered leaves (I could make these forever!!), satin stitched hearts (one on front and back), and beaded flowers. I actually used silk flowers from Hobby Lobby removed from the stems. (I also used silk flowers on the quilt in a previous post "A Free Vacation to Italy." If you intend to wash the item you are embellishing, you really need to prewash the silk flowers as the dye in them will bleed like you wouldn't believe. This heart will never be washed, so I didn't prewash these. I beaded the centers of the flowers and used outline stitch for the wording. Well, as I thought...she just loved it. I guess we both enjoyed it. You know that old saying about cutting your own wood....it warms you twice..once when you cut it and again when you burn it. So, making this heart warmed me twice too. Once while making it and again when giving it away.

Last night I talked to my son via ichat....nothing like that camera showing me his great smiling face!! We talked again today on the phone. A chat with him always makes my day! Another thing that made my day was this evening, my daughter and her husband grilled hamburgers for the whole family. The icing on the cake! These are truly the best kids and made my Mother's Day perfect. Scott doesn't have a blog (yet), but you can go to Kelly's blog - http://kellyvanhook.blogspot.com - and read what she wrote today......all these things made my Mother's Day the best ever, full of hearts of all kinds! Pat

Evening in a Meat Locker

I just talked to my son in San Francisco and he said I HAD to post my evening's experience. You go along having a regular kind of day...then in an instant things get kind of strange.

First, let me tell you that today was graduation for both Searcy High and Harding University. This is a small town. It's full of visitors. There was an unplanned for five at my house. I wasn't really expecting to cook, so had not prepared anything and they didn't want me to cook anyway. That tells you something about my cooking ability! So I got on the phone calling all the local feeding establishments and found they were either totally full of people or out of food.

My sister-in-law, Sandy, and I, decided to go prowl the grocery store on my end of town and just "find something." There had been stormy weather around the state all day....in fact, we've had storms on a regular basis for months it seems, some of which have been deadly. It's been pretty sad. But, here in Searcy, we have been particularly lucky. (The photo shown here was not taken today, as I did not have my camera. It was taken at the beginning of one of our many previous storms! This is just a small example of what it tends to look like here these days.) It took us a while to find something appropriate for supper (after all, the fried chicken and fish supply had been depleted by the crowds) and as we approached the check-out, we were suddenly pushed out of the check-out area and told to go to the meat locker. There's a tornado coming, they said (as the warning sirens started blasting away). You have to go to the meat locker! Lots of drama in their voices as they pushed us along.

I've never been in the meat locker of any grocery store...but I suddenly found myself in one with about twenty-five people. Twenty-five, or so, people of all ages, mostly young, but a couple of the older set, such as myself. It's a really cold place. The employees brought in some of those white coats that the butchers wear.....most people were really cold. I, being the age I am....did not really need the coat..yet. There was a lot of nervous laughter. I mentioned that if we were THAT cold, we should huddle together, but no one seemed to notice the words. Someone wondered why the meat locker? I thought it might be that if the store fell in...they'd know in advance we were all in the same area together. One of the employees, a teenager, came in waving a bottle half-full of Dr. Pepper, asking if we needed anything warm to drink. "Not that," I said. We all laughed again.

Looking at the people, I wondered how many stories they could tell and what story we would tell at the end of the night. Some took photos of the group with their cell phones...that was funny. My sister-in-law sent a text message home that said "HELP, we are locked in the meat locker!" Later we found out "home" wasn't checking the messages! After a while, the sirens died down and we were led from the locker. A sense of relief was evident. Actually, the store employees were VERY nice, so thank you HARPS employees! And, you know, being cooped up with twenty-five people you don't know and weren't sure you would ever want to be cooped up with (and vice-versa) wasn't so bad. And, once again, Searcy was lucky!

We are thankful. Sandy and I got back home in one piece, the guys were all ok, my NEST was fine and to top it off.....a delightful slice of Harp's Coconut Cream Pie. Just another Saturday night at Bird Nest on the Ground! Pat

(UPDATE: I am editing this post on Sunday....last night there were tornados all over the area, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma etc. Many people died...I think I heard nineteen on the early morning news. Just an awful night. Searcy really has been very lucky and we have those less fortunate on our minds this Mother's Day.)

A Free Vacation to Italy

I wanted to post a blog about a quilt today. And, so I will, but if you follow my instructions, you will get a free vacation to Italy. Well, ok, it may only FEEL like one, but I guarantee you will enjoy it. I will begin by telling you that the quilt pictured here is one I made because I loved the fabric with the little houses stacked up and down the hillside. I imagined myself in a foreign country looking out the window at the scenery. There is a postcard in the window, waiting to be mailed, that says "Wish You Were Here." I had a lot of fun making this quilt. Fast forward to this week......I was reading one of my favorite blogs ("Dispatch from LA") belonging to my new cyperspace friend, Mary Ann Moss. She is in Italy on vacation. Her photos are to die for...go look. You may click on the name "Dispatch from LA" on my favorite blog list here on the right, and go straight to a free vacation. Or, you may go to www.dispatchfromLA.typepad.com. The photos are so good that you will really feel as if you are there yourself. If you click on her post "The Sirens" (Monday, May 5, 2008), you will see some houses stacked up and down the hillsides in Positano, Italy. It's a mini-vacation through Mary Ann's eyes. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Now, really, my quilt doesn't compare to the real thing.....but isn't it neat that I have never been there and this quilt is well, kinda like the real thing? Pat

It's Monday...A Heart's Wish

Well, today is Monday....I can't seem to get motivated this morning...lots going on around the nest and it's not helping my mood. I had intended to have a spiffy little quilting post today....but my mind just isn't on it.....so, instead, I am hoping you are having a good day and I'm sending you those wishes by way of these photos of hearts I have made. Well, I did not make the two on the upper right (in the basket)....but that's obvious. In the next couple of days, I'll be posting again.....til then, my heart's wish is a good day to your and yours. Pat

Addendum to "Red Clover" or, Boy, Is My Face Red!!!

Last week I wrote about my husband going for a drive to find some red clover for me to photograph and why I wanted such photos. The post had a lot of meaning for me and I was pleased to be able to show some red clover to illustrate my story. To help you understand today's particular post, you need to know that we used to live out in the country on forty acres, but in 1997 decided to move to town. We didn't want a tiny lot, so eventually, we found this place which consists of two acres....a lot that is really just a long rectangle, with the house and my "nest" on the front fourth or so. We do nothing to maintain the back part of the lot....we prefer it to remain "natural." Sometimes we have someone come and cut it for hay. The guy usually gets around six of those big round bales from it. The land is secluded from the view of other homeowners, except for our immediate next door neighbor, whose lot is the same size as ours. They treat their backyard virtually the same as we do. We go back to the end of our property a couple times a year to have a look around and that's about it. I consider it my "view" rather than a place I go to. Wierd, huh? Just so you know....I also have terrible vision.....and can't really see anything in detail that far away. Bearing that in mind, the other day (after the Red Clover posting) Richard decided to mow...but only to that big tree you can see in the photo. When he got to the tree he laughed and came to get me....there, ALL OVER the place, is the prettiest RED CLOVER!!!! In one photo you can see where he stopped mowing, in another,Richard and our grandson, Tyler, having a good look and then some closeups of the clover. Boy, is my face red! So, we have learned a lesson.....you know......the most wonderful things in life are right in front of your face if you only take the time to SEE them. Pat