Studio Tour by Special Request

I have been asked to give you a tour of my studio, which as you know, is called Bird Nest on the Ground. My little house, or nest, is located in my backyard, not too far from our home, as you can see from the photo located under the banner of this blog. I love this place. It's 18' x 26'....not exactly tiny, but not overly large either. We built it in the heat of summer, 2004. The day we poured the foundation the heat index was about 105 degrees and the humidity was off the charts. Worth every drop of sweat, though, as it has been my sanctuary, my workplace, my favorite spot on the planet, the meeting place "of choice" of my favorite quiltmaking friends and the birthplace of the "Annual Eaton Family Thanksgiving Art Exhibit." You will notice that no matter how much space I have...I manage to fill it to the brim. I try to maintain organization, as I prefer things "neat," but when I am really hard at work here, well, sometimes chaos appears and stays awhile. I am very lucky, indeed, to have such a place and I do not take it for granted - ever. I hope you enjoy the visit! Pat

Answering a Request

I've had a request to show you my studio.....so I'm working on some photos for that......plus Thursday is my Knot meeting day and I had intended to do a post on that wonderful group this week. If you check back on the weekend, you will get two posts that I hope will interest you.....I know I will enjoy preparing them for you....see you then! (Also, in answer to a question I received from "anonymous," who asked what flea market I shop at, for the most part, I haunt a flea market here in Searcy called Green Alley. Sometimes I go to Beebe to Do Drop In. I don't get to all parts of the countryside like some do....as you may know...due to my "visual challenges" I only drive in places that I know well.) See you all this weekend! Pat

$5.00 Worth of WalMart flowers

The other day I was buying groceries at our local WalMart Super Center, as I most always do. They are remodeling the store and nobody knows where anything is. Nobody. Eventually, I suppose we will learn where the thing we are looking for is....and we will be very excited, but for now everything is a confusing mess and it takes hours to do the shopping because, of course, nothing is where it used to be. So, there I am searching, bumping into other people who are also searching...wondering where we are and what we are doing there. We are assured that the "new" store will be finished soon and we will love it. Well, that is probably very true, as there isn't a lot of shopping available here...but, for now, it's tiring and confusing and we are without enthusiasm. So, there I am whining and complaining to myself and as I turn a corner...I see something so fabulous...it made me completely forget the awful mood I was in. There, in front of my very eyes, were the most gorgeous flowers!!! I couldn't resist buying them and instantly decided it was time to go home and the flowers were going with me. Immediately upon arriving home, I put the flowers in a vase on the kitchen table and got out my camera...to capture them "forever." And, you see them here. Five dollars worth of flowers...a priceless amount of joy, inspiration and beauty...from WalMart, of all places. Pat

After the Storm

For the last few weeks it seems we have had nothing here but storms...one right after another. In my little piece of the world, we have a temporary abundance of rain and nothing more. Just down the road, people are suffering from flooding, tornadoes and all the usual things that happen after the storm. We are lucky, here at the birdnest, and we are very grateful.
Someone asked me the other day what I would do if my "nest" was blown away in one of these storms. Well, I don't know. I actually don't believe anyone knows for sure until it happens to them. What I admire most about all these people you see on the news, who have suffered a great loss in a tornado or flood, is their determination to go on. To get on with life and see where it takes them. I hope I will be just like those great people.

Because we have had a definite lack of sunlight over the last couple of weeks, today's sunshine is a welcome relief. It's cool, but sunny, and a very beautiful day. Yesterday, still rainy, I had a case of cabin fever, so took off to the local flea market and had a great time shopping, met a couple of new vendors and really enjoyed conversing with them. Now they know what I like and I will look forward to shopping with them in the future. One of them had QUILTS. So, needless to say...I came home with two quilts. I had purchased one a few weeks ago from another vendor...so there are now three quilts new to the nest. The blue nine patch is the most beautiful one and also the most fragile. Whoever made it was an excellent quilter...very tiny quilt stitches. It is not in good shape, but worth saving "just to look at." The windmill is in pretty good shape, but needs washing and a few patches replaced. It has nice quilting too. The blue triangle one is in pretty fair condition, and usuable, but the poorest made of the three. I wonder about the three different quiltmakers....did any of them survive a storm with determination to go on? Well, we know the answer to that, don't we? They survived the storms of life...if not the storms of Mother Nature....til they couldn't anymore. I'd like to think they KNOW I have their quilts!!!

My other purchases at the flea market are pictured here too. I just love to find this kind of stuff and enjoy the "hunt." The little upholstered chair is so cute, there are lacy linens, several spools of antique french ribbon, a tiny deck of children's playing cards (and they are all there!), a beautiful dainty pitcher, a silver cat pin, two 50's style collar pins, vintage pink silk milliner's roses and seventeen sparkly glass with metal buttons. I'm like a magpie...saving everything, and a crow...liking the shiny stuff! Another reason to call this Bird Nest on the Ground? Oh, yes, a great floral plate with roses and would you believe on the back it says: "Texarkana Casket Co. The factory making Texarkana famous." How wierd is that? Oh, the little shoes I already had, but thought they looked really cute with these things. Then, there is that beautiful little teacup. It has no markings, but who cares? Just a bunch of unwanted junk to some....a real treasure to me!

I'll take today's sunshine and store it in my memory bank...along with the lovely time spent yesterday with new friends and new treasures....and hope you have weathered the storms as well. Pat

More FUN!

Well, if I keep trying, I may figure out all this blogging stuff! I had intended to include more photos in the last post, but didn't, so I will now add them. It really was a lot of fun...these are just the best people to spend time with! Hope you enjoy looking as much as I enjoyed being there! Pat

Fun at AWOL

I told you I would eventually show you some photos and tell you about my guild's weekend retreat which we call AWOL (Arkansas Women on the Loose). There were 19 of us. We had a ball and have decided that next year, the event should be longer. Everyone had a full size cafeteria table to work on...well, except for Jim (our token male), who had three. How that happened, I just don't know, except I suppose testosterone entitles one to more space. Well, I'm kidding, of course (sort of), but you know what I mean. He was working on a wonderful quilt with a Native American motif. We had crazy quilting, machine pieced "bubbles" from Carol Ann, a lot of machine piecing going on and I quilted on my appliqued "cross-stitch" quilt. No cross-stitching on it...just appliqued and embroidered to resemble a sampler. Kelley and I stayed up talking until
3:40 a.m. A record for us, but who can be quiet? We can do that at home! She won the "Sock" contest. Your supposed to bring the funniest socks you can find or make and we vote on the winner. This is such a fun bunch...a real treat for me. For all of you attending, I thank you for a really great time - I enjoyed seeing you all and your wonderful quilts too. Sure hope to see you next time. Pat

How Much Do I Know About Aunt Becky

Today I received an email from an anonymous reader asking the question "Do you know much about Aunt Becky?" Well, sometimes my mind works in a somewhat sarcastic way, so my first thought was......well, no, what about her and who is she? Forgive me. After reading the whole email, I realized this was from a terrific person who was just interested in finding help with hand-quilting. I hate to admit it, but I am not "up" on all the latest quilting tools. I've been called archaic and a dinosaur which should tell you that I quilt "the old fashioned way." I'm pretty logical, though, and figured "Aunt Becky" was some kind of new tool or other. So I set out to find out about it. I found it is a quilting tool that you use in your off hand......the one under the quilt that you often stab with the needle. Evidently you push up on it while quilting and when the needle comes in contact with it, you then know to return to the surface of the quilt with your needle-thereby saving your fingers from the wear and tear of all those little pricks.

My anonymous reader also expressed an interest in something "joint friendly." I have not used an Aunt Becky tool, however, in times past, I have used other inventions that accomplish the same type thing. And, long ago, quilters used the bowl of a spoon for the same purpose. Being "gadgetry challenged," none of these have ever been of much use to me, but I understand they have helped other people. I am not sure there is any such thing (yet) that is joint friendly, after all - you still have to hold whatever tool you use in your hand and over time....just holding something can hurt. I, myself, have arthritis in my hands and I am being serious here....my take on it is to just keep on keeping on. Even when it hurts. My mother-in-law was told many years ago (when she became aware that she had arthritis in her hands) to "use them or lose them." She quit using them and later, could not use them, just as predicted. So, since I love to hand quilt.....I keep on stitching just like I always have, even when it hurts. Consequently, I quilt for shorter periods of time, but I do eventually finish a quilt. I do use Handeze Therapeutic Gloves (only on my right hand) when I am quilting, embroidering or doing other hand sewing...they really help. My real advice is this...try all the gadgets to see if they help you. What helps one person, fails to help another. It's personal. And, when you find something that helps...stick with it. The important thing is to keep making those quilts that you are called to make and ENJOY it. And, my best advice for hand care when quilting.......wash dishes. No kidding. The hot water not only warms your hands.....but it also keeps your fingers from getting too caloused. It's therapeutic! So, Anonymous, try one of those Aunt Becky tools. I hope it helps you. Later, show me your quilt! Pat