Happy 4th of July

My July postcard ...

I made this one for a 2006 postcard-of-the-month guild challenge - enjoy!

Sew forth and sew on til later...

Happy Mother's Day

In honor of today, I'd like to share one of my favorite postcards with you:

I made this one a few years ago as part of my guild's postcard-of-the-month series.  The mom and baby were cut from yardage and appliqued onto the postcard's background.  Enjoy!

Foto-Finish Saturday - "Spring"

For this week's photo finish assignment, Barbara at Cat Patches chose "spring" and I'm ready for it!  So long snow, icy roads, uncleared sidewalks, messy commutes, and maniac drivers showing off their 4-wheel drive. 

What says spring better than good ole forsythias!?  I was over at the Fabric Peddler (in Capitol Heights, Maryland) yesterday and I just happened to have my camera with me, so I snapped a couple shots of the forsythias in front of Nadine's shop.  

The close up below is from another angle, they're really full and look so pretty in real life. 

 

As pretty as these are, my intention was to go to the orchid exhibit at the museum down on the Mall and get some shots, but I didn't have time.  I didn't get any pictures for today's theme but I still have until sometime next month to see the exhibit!

Well, that's my spring photo; click on the Foto-Finish icon on the right to see other interpretations of this week's theme.

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Today is also national quilting day!  This is a springtime postcard I made for a coworker's birthday last year; her birthday was March 14 ...

I free-cut the branches from a piece of fused brown fabric, and the music came from a piece of black-and-white fabric.  She loved it!  She said "oooh that's nice, maybe I'll keep this!"  sheesh.

Well, enjoy your Saturday!  Sew forth and sew on til later...

African American History month postcards

Since February is African American History month, I thought I'd share some postcards that I got in a 2009 Black History Month swap.

This is the one I mailed to my group:

Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" message is superimposed on his picture, with President Barack Obama taking the oath of office.

This is one I received from Renea in Maryland showing comedienne Moms Mabley:

When I was growing up we had one of her LP's and we'd sneak and listen to it when my parents weren't around.  Moms was a bit naughty!

This one from Karen in Michigan shows two people wading in the water:

On the back are the words to the Negro spiritual "Wade in the Water," sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1901 -  

Wade in the water,

Wade in the water, children,

Wade in the water,

God's gonna trouble the water.

And this one from Marlene in South Carolina says "Many persons and events paved the way that led to Barack Obama being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States....All gave Some, those pictured with President Obama gave ALL." The gold "brick," made of real metal, symbolizes their precious lives.

Left collage (L-R): Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman.

Right collage (L-R): Emmett Till, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Henry Smith, Delano Midleton, Samuel Hammond, Viola Liuzzo.

Winter blahs

Three things to be happy about:
(1) bunny slippers
(2) eating breakfast in pajamas
(3) a tea bag and hot water

We're not even a month into winter yet, and I'm ready to yell "let me out!!"  My niece in Fayetteville, NC says it snowed all day yesterday ... AND it's headed up the east coast.  I admit it, I'm a wimp when it comes to sleet and ice - I don't mind snow too much, but sleet and ice can be treacherous. If I keep thinking "spring-spring-spring" maybe it'll help?

I made these baby birds for a quiltie swap with some of my guild members last spring.  I drew a rough outline of a bird's nest on the fabric, layered cut up strings of fabric over it and loosely stitched it down.  I'm proud to say the nest fabric was "green" - I had some odd blocks that weren't very attractive that I sliced up, also some ugly fabric is in there... just like a regular bird's nest!  I think there were about 20 of us in the swap, making for a good-sized book.

I made this post card (and the one above) for our guild's 2007 postcard of the month challenge. 

Spring showers are looking good right now!

"Bear" day #2

Yesterday at work was one of those days when 10 hours seem like ... well, maybe 10-1/2!  I had to do some major hand-holding as I helped one of our clients get her newsletter ready to publish. It's an information technology newsletter (How boring is that??) that gets published quarterly, this is her second one and she's still a bit anxious. It was "Yes Debbie, all the articles are formatted and soon as you're done [fooling around] reviewing it, I'll publish it." and "No Debbie, we don't have to wait for the announcement to be approved before we post it." and "Unfortunately, there's not enough time to create a new banner if we're to meet our deadline, let's plan on tweaking it for the next issue." and "Debbie, have you noticed the graphic you want to use doesn't address the transfer of information? It's a nice graphic and I'm glad you found it, the colors do match the logo, but it's a picture of a tornado..."

Sew forth and sew on for a good part of the day. That and all my other work made for a pretty full plate! Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.

Wii update - I got it working, yaaaaay!!  I had the cables connected okay (thanks Linda!) but I didn't have the TV tuned right... all those options, oh man!  In "my day" you twisted a knob to turn the TV on, you got to choose between 5 channels (3 of them fuzzy), and at about 11 pm you turned it back off because there was nothing on except the test pattern.  I should have had my 11-year-old neighbor come in, kids know how to do that stuff. 

Rhonda mentioned my postcards - yep, I made them all!  I haven't made any lately, but I like to make postcards based on holidays, seasons, or events, and I like them to be "unexpected" or with a twist. You can see some of my other ones on my guild's website - Uhuru Quilters Guild.

No sewing yesterday; this means I'll have to start 2011 with a bang and a whirrrr if I'm to meet my deadlines.  Hey, that's a thought... maybe I'll ring in the new year by working on a quilt while watching the fireworks on TV!  Any takers?

Linda

Merry Christmas one and all!

'What's to-day, my fine fellow?' said Scrooge.
'To-day?' replied the boy. 'Why, Christmas Day.'

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Merry Christmas, everybody! 

 

 Wishing you a Christmas...

 that is merry and bright, ...

filled with the joy...

of the season!

Linda

A little nonsense now and then...

At my agency I had done a significant amount of work on developing and launching a new web site for an office complex that we are building in Rockville, and I maintain it.  The web site is considered a "high visibility" project, since the complex will consolidate four satellite locations that are now scattered in Rockville and Bethesda, Maryland.  Sew forth and sew on. Because of that, a couple days ago I got a Special Act Award ... in the form of time off!  Now, this is practically mid-December, right?  I'm "this" close to having a use-or-lose leave balance - and I'm awarded with more time??!  The government works in mysterious ways to be sure.  So much for that nonsense.

Hi there Kyra, I'm glad to see you!  I was touched by the article you shared about Geraldine Zillions, what a brave lady!  You mentioned my postcard - I have more posted on the Uhuru web site, although I've gotten lazy and haven't made any lately!  From the main page, just click on postcards, or go here.  :o)

Last night I made these three ipod/camera holders, and I must say they turned out nicely!  The first one was slightly crooked, but I think that's okay because it's a cutie.  The loop turned out a bit on the large side though; I made a covered button for it with a little kit I got from JoAnne's.  When I sew buttons on the other two they'll be done - super easy!

For some reason mine look wider than the picture on the tutorial, and actually I think it'll be okay to make them a bit narrower - maybe by 1/2 - 3/4"?  My iPod looks lost in there! 

Here are a couple mug rugs I made before I got sidetracked by who knows what; the cute snowmen were fussy cut from yardage and appliqued to a white background.  The little tree is made from 3/4" strips of Christmas fabric - I just need to attach the binding and it'll be done.

I wasn't trying to make a flag but they sorta look like one, don't they.  In the next few days I'll make a few more iPod/camera holders, try to get the small quilt finished, work on my Brown Bag quilt...sew forth and so on...
Linda

As Time Goes By...

Yesterday while I was chatting with my sister, we started trying to remember how long my parents had been married.  Neither of us know where their marriage certificate is, so the closest we can figure is that they married in 1938.  My father passed away in March 1969 and my mom passed in September 1995, so that makes it a 31-year marriage?  Wow, she outlived him by 26 years - lived withOUT him almost as long as she lived WITH him. 

This is a post card I made from an old photo of my parents, I must have been 6 months old when this picture was taken -- see the big grin on both their faces?  ;o)

It's kind of humbling to realize that my mom was younger in that photo than I am right now.  When that picture was taken, PC's hadn't been invented.  Oh there were computers, but they were probably as large as the room you're sitting in, nothing like we're using today.  That reminds me of when one of the "youngsters" came to work at my agency one summer and she didn't have her PC yet.  I told her "You know, back when I first started working [40 years ago], we didn't have PC's at all."  She replied in amazement, "But how did you get on the internet!??" 

Oh well, sew forth and sew on...