More Leather

 Actually, this is the featherweight case and the last post had a rose in the center that I hated.  So I guess I just should not try roses.  However, I like to paint daisies.  Much, much happier with this.

 The next three pictures show the preparation for stitching the bottom piece to the main body of the quiver.  The Mr. tacked the leather back to the wood to stabilize it and scribed the line to be stitched. The stitching spaces were impressed into the leather and the piece then trimmed.

We took the dogs to the park yesterday and since this is a holiday weekend and the weather was good, the park was  a busy place.  Lots of people were walking dogs and the picnic crowd was there.  Because the lake always attracts those who like to fish, as we walked around it, there were lots of anglers.  It was a family affair and so nice to see so many young kiddos trying their luck at catching the "big one".

"Give a man a fish and he eats for a day.  Teach him how to fish and you get rid of him for the whole weekend." ~ Zenna Schaffer

Leather quiver

 This is Memorial Day Weekend......and this Mr. along with his son, 3 of his brothers, and his father before him, served in the armed forces...all but one in the Navy.  That brother just got married so we wish him all the best and thank them all for their service, even though two are deceased.  It is amazing how so many people, and the younger generation especially, come up to the Mr. when we are out and about, to thank him for his service.  Much, much different from the time the 4 brothers served during the Viet Nam war.  The draft was still in force and most young men were called to service...and enlisted or were drafted.  It was serving your country like your fathers.

A niece who has become close to her uncle, the Mr., has asked him if he would make her a quiver for her arrows.
He is very talented and has done a considerable amount of leather work.  She sent him a drafted pattern and left the design details to him.  I will post the progress as it is a rather involved process.  The first photo shows the leather in the first stage as a solid piece of hide. This piece will be the bottom of the quiver.  He fashioned a piece of wood per the pattern first and then cut and stretched a wet piece of hide, tacked down, to the wood to dry.

 The tacks were then removed, and re tacked in a few places, to scribe the area which will be the stitching line.

There will be more to come as this piece evolves..and is trimmed.

Mama and Papa goose and babies

 This is just a quick post as we have a new computer and I am trying to figure out how it differs from the other one.  Finally after over 12 inches of snow, we have 70 degree weather and were able to take the dogs to the park.  Surprisingly, we encountered two pair of geese with babies.  This was an older flock of babies, and the smaller bunch, just nearby, were being closely watched by mom and dad and were actually prepared to approach us.

I have more to blog, but at least for today, I have successfully downloaded pictures from the phone--actually, the Mr. did it for me.  He took the pictures.  As usual, I did not have my phone..and didn't know where it was. So this goose family is surely a sign that better weather lies ahead!

Silver spoon and Mother's Day

I am not very creative with my title but I have wanted to clean out some of my photos so here is an example of my need to display this silver piece.  It was given to me a few years ago from my sister-in-law who had a lot of things from family and for some reason she wanted me to have it.  It is very pretty and I think it is pretty old...guess I should research the pattern.  I found the frame at the thrift shop and backed the spoon with batting and fabric and hung it upside down (or right side up) whichever you choose, and realized after it hung for a few days that I like it better this way.  So it no longer sits in a drawer and I like it as a piece of art. 

This is such a busy month for me...first of all, it is MY birthday month, but aside from that....4 quilting dates, 2 of which I cannot attend because of prior dates, dentist checkup, bone scans etc. (all OK), my son's birthday, two lunch groups, two visits from friends, Oh and Mother's Day!  My calendar is so full!  Don't forget Mother's Day if your mother is still around.  The Mr. and I lost ours several years ago, but it amazes me that so many of my friends are fortunate to have theirs here to celebrate.  Strong  ladies are living longer and longer and my goal is to do that long enough to cause
much more laughter among friends when I do something silly.  (you get to blame a lot of things on old age) Happy Mother's Day!

Weather report etc.

 Oh my gosh!  We are finally getting some nice drizzle!  It has been threatening for several days and now things are beginning to green up.  The wind has blown, (so what is new?) but we did not get the nasty hail that happened south of us yesterday.  We typically get hail so we had out fingers and toes crossed.  Our neighbors who winter in Tuscon, got back last weekend and said it was 104 the day they left, and we did have some near 80 weather here this past few days, but it is hovering around the high 50's and low 60's now.  So much for the weather report.  So above is the blank canvas that I picked up at the Goodwill a few months ago for a couple of bucks.  I painted over the mustard color originally on it when I purchased it and had a project in mind, but changed my mind.  My painting buddy lives here now and although we haven't painted on a regular basis for years, we have been able to get together for a couple of Fridays.  So below the basket quilt picture, you will find what in two days I was able to do.  I feel a bit rusty, but hopefully in the fall, we will be able to resume.  She has a great space in her basement for a studio, but is having some of the basement finished in a week or so, which will make our space unusable for a couple of months.

 This is the 4th basket quilt square....and we got the pattern for the next one.  Challenge is to use plaids and stripes.

Isn't he just adorable?  The picture doesn't really do him justice, but then, I have never claimed to be a photographer.  This one is awake of course, but I actually hung this in our bedroom above the beds. I love to paint, but I also like to sew (for me it is therapy) and I cannot even count the things I have tried..and felt happy doing.  (Cake decorating has taken a tole on my hands, but I enjoyed it.)  I have a friend who got me into many ventures...we took a tailoring class, learned ceramics..I even had a kiln, and she would always say..."I know you can do it".  Stained glass kept me involved for many years and I have had gardens and dug ground for backyard pools.  In fact, I would like one here, but that may be a pipe dream.

"Of course I can do anytthing, I'm a mother." ~ unknown