LET THE FUN BEGIN!

It is showtime again! Trying to factor in home, retreats, sewing, creating, and life. Even with only one or two shows a month, it gets hectic.
Yesterday I decided to do painting and I painted this stool and chair. I will need a very specific buyer for the chair! It was sooooo much fun!
Now, back to sewing....I have two quilts to quilt in five days!

This is the fat pelican, not me!

Fat Pelican

On the pier at Pismo Beach there was a huge pelican. I picked up a little fish that was discarded and threw it to this pelican....he ate it and I watched it go down its gullet. Neat place!

GARDEN PHOTOS

I was out of town for almost a week and a lot of my flowers disappeared in this 90 degree plus heat but here are a few pictures I took. I finally have my camera, thanks to Dell replacing what Canon would not.

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry

I'll bet you are wondering what happened to me? Life has gotten in the way, or should I say, Canon has gotten in the way. I was having a problem with my on/off switch on my digital camera so when our anniversary came up, my terrific husband bought me a new camera. I LOVED my old camera but was looking forward to my new one.
Well, my new one was very intimidating to learn so it sat for a while...then I decided I had better forge on and teach myself how to use it.
One day, when it was about 30 days old, I noticed a small crack in the glass part, but nothing I could actually feel.....then it started to become black in that area and it was working its way slowly across the camera face. No problem, as my husband had bought me a three year warranty....wrong! After sending it in, they claimed I had to have dropped it....no, I did not, it had to be a defect, as one of the operators had told me.
Well, now they wanted $140 to fix it....what? I hadn't even got to use it! No matter how I tried to convince them, they were not convinced.
Well, to make a long story shorter, I am having them send it back to me and Dell is standing behind it and replacing it! Moral of the story....I have a lot of good to say about Dell and nothing good to say about Canon......too bad because I probably would have bought my third digital camera from them also. Needless to say, I am lost until I receive my camera and can take more pictures and list new items on my Etsy!!!!! Til then, bye for now!

Where Has The Time Gone?

I have been very amiss at blogging lately, again.....time just slips by. I was going to make this spectacular American flag quilt and put it on Etsy waaaay before Fourth of July! And here it is, less than one week away. Oh well, patriotic spirit abounds all through the year in the American household anyway...so here is a picture of the progress!

View of Lake Tahoe

This is the view from Dobbins Hall, where we do our sewing. The tables are all set up when we get there and we even take our sewing chairs from home! Nothing lacking here! Oh, and chipmunks abound....they are so cute.

Here is what we see when we are in the dining hall. I had taken this picture of the pink hyacinth when we arrived....going in September usually, you would not have seen these! Spectacular!

Zephyr at Lake Tahoe Was Beautiful!

This is the building where we sleep. When we woke up, it was snowing...so beautiful!

Eleanor Peace Bailey Doll Revision

I had made this doll for a friend in 1989 using Eleanor Peace Bailey's pattern of a Victorian Lady. A while back, my friend asked me if I could spruce her up....hair was messy, clothes were faded, etc.

I decided to use her head (I fixed her hair and re-did her makeup) and her legs since those were the most time consuming parts of the doll.

New fabric and a while later,......wala! She was done...I took a picture also of before I re-attached her head...thought you would get a kick out of that.

Yesterday, my husband and I trecked to Sonoma to meet her for lunch and give her the doll. She had not seen it in two years....and we had not seen her in two years. Needless to say, she LOVED the doll.

BACK TO ZEPHYR!

Well I am off to Zephyr Cove at Lake Tahoe tomorrow morning! My friend and I are actually going to Reno first for a night and will hit all the great quilt shops on the way.....particularly love FABRIC CHICKS in Minden, Nevada! OMG.....this little shop is an industrial park is unbelievable. If you ever get to Minden, Nevada, you have got to stop there. One of the owners is the daughter in law of Eleanor Peace Bailey (I was making her dolls twenty years ago) and her name is Heather Bailey.....yes, the same one that designs the beautiful fabrics and patterns. Anyway, really looking forward to seeing all the spectacular fabrics there.

Our retreat is very special...I usually only go in September, but decided to go in May also this year. One week at the edge of Take Tahoe, gourmet meals, great company, relaxing walks, and being able to sew day and night with no laundry, meals, housework to worry about.

I will try and post some pictures for all to see. I'll be back!

I have been so busy, as usual so I haven't taken the time to sign on and blog! I was in a local show, which was fantastic! I have great supportive customers that cleaned me out of lots of items so now I need to get back to the creative process again. I have, however, not been too busy to take some photos of my garden! Spring has busted out here in California after all that rain. The roses are all in bloom and my oldest son constructed a grape arbor for my grapes....I thought I would share a few photos with you.....hope you have a Great Easter! I'll be back.

NEW CREATIONS

Here are a few things I have been working on for the upcoming show I will be in.....they were soooooo much fun, I think I will make more!

NEW CREATIONS

Shabby Chic Girly Quilt

I am working on a cute little quilt (girly, of course) that has the softest pastel fabrics all in a row. Between each row I have inserted lace (some vintage). Tomorrow I will quilt it and put it in my Etsy shop. Here is a little preview of the fabrics.

Silly little Lily

RAIN, RAIN, AND MORE RAIN

I have been very bad lately about blogging! I think it must be the rain. It feels like it has been raining non-stop for a month! I have been wanting to go into the garage where I had started my "Glitter Girl Studio" and fix it all up and take a picture to share but it is just too cold and damp out there. I promise I will do that, though, and put up pictures as soon as the weather clears. It is suppose to rain straight through now for one more week!

I found out how hard it is to take good pictures without the sun and good daylight. I always like to take pictures of my creations in the garden but have been totally unable to. Today I made a cute little (summer, of course) dress in size 4-5 for my Etsy shop. I invited my little neighbor friend, Lily, over to model it and she was acting pretty silly (must be from being cooped up so long). Anyway, here it is.

And here is my most favorite bag of all! Isn't it the epitomy of shabby chicness and femininity?

NEW CREATIONS

Here are a couple of new bags I made for my Etsy site. Every once in a while I revert to making bags to enable myself to finish something not so time consuming as a quilt.

Love that Victoria magazine!

I love Victoria magazine!  The stunning photos of table settings in the March/April edition were just stunning!  One, so pink and white, and green and LOVE the different green chairs!
The other one is a moss covered table amidst the forest....beautiful!

Altered Art/Paper Craft Studio

At the end of last summer I decided to set up a little studio in our garage, as I wanted to separate out my fabric and sewing supplies from the ever-growing supplies of my paper art creating.  I had started making crowns, memory boxes, paper dolls, and many other things and it was getting too confusing trying to store and mix everything in my small studio/sewing room.  I would have glue and glitter here and there, as I make a complete mess when crafting things.
Now that the weather is not too cold I am ready to go back into the garage and create in my once started studio.  So, tonight I made a fairly large studio sign to get me pumped up to clean and organize all my supplies.  There is a shop in Nevada City that I truly love called My Favorite Things.  Tina, the wonderful owner, has a little shop out back where you can purchase supplies and create to your heart's content.  She calls it her GLITTER GIRL STUDIO.  I loved that name, and since I am not setting up a commercial shop, I do not think she would mind me using her name for my little space!  Here is my sign but I will not show any pictures until my space is nice and neat.....then you will see it.

I don't know if you remember, but I told you I was planting a winter garden a few months back....well, here is what has transpired so far.  I have several broccoli and cauliflower/broccoli plants and they have actually started growing REAL veggies!  Don't they look nice?  I will probably have a real hard time harvesting them.....you know how hard it is to open a really pretty package?  Same thing.

MY VEGETABLES

GARDENING DELIGHT

What a perfect day to garden.....getting all those pesky leaves cleaned up, deadheading flowers, pruning here and there....and all of a sudden I NEEDED to go to the garden center....yes, I NEEDED to go.  I do not need much coaxing at all!  Found a few annuals to start me off