Class of '63-Good times

Growing up in a small rural town has it's dis- advantages, but those small towns are dis- appearing and with our ever increasing technology, so disappears the close-knit relationships that were formed in small communities. Our world has become smaller and our circle of friends becomes "larger" with the introduction of sites like "Facebook, Twitter, and even these blogs." But are these old connections really "friends"?

Two days ago, the Mr. and I had the most wonderful day reconnecting with old friends. Actually, for the most part, these were my classmates, most of whom had gone to school together for all twelve of the first years of our education. Since our town was so small, our school was small. We were also the last graduating class and of the few who actually graduated together, it has been impossible to get us all together at any one time. Going in different directions... college, the armed forces, marriages, divorces, deaths, we scattered. However, now that most of us have reached the age of retirement, it was amazing to see that except for one of us now living in the state of Alaska, we are all within an hour or so of our little town.

We grew up as family...slumber parties, birthday parties, dances, roller skating, movies--always together..usually 4 boys and 4 girls, sometimes more, sometimes less. Our Senior Sneak trip took us to Colorado Springs with our sponsor and his wife. During the night, we coasted down the hill where our motel was, with one of the cars and went for a "drive", but couldn't resist telling our sponsor the next morning. Times were different back then...perhaps not. At any rate...it is unusual for a class of our small size to be able to gather as we did, all still in pretty great shape and not to have lost anyone. One of the guys, was unable to make it as he was on a cruise, but it was relatively short notice. Most of us had not seen each other for years and some not since 1963. I normally do not post pictures, but this is a great bunch..a motley crew of sorts, but the Class of '63. I treasure these old friendships.

"A friend is a present you give yourself." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Little white dove

Again, I find that as a retiree, there are not enough hours in the day and not enough days in the week and not enough weeks in the month. I do know that I am lucky to be so busy and for the life of me don't know understand those who find retirement boring. What do they do with themselves? We spent part of last weekend in Casper where the Mr. played on a team pool tournament and the weekend before we had a good friend stay with us. Because it has been a while since I posted, I have been too busy to get to the blog. Forgive me. I make no other excuses!

The Mr. has been feeding the banded doves all winter and we have gone through lots of cracked corn. As spring arrived so did "Little White Dove". The doves we feed are grey with a dark band around their neck. Exactly what they are is debatable. Different sources claim a variety of explanations as to where they originated, but most do agree that they are escapees from domestic birds. So we were surprised to see this white lady arrive and after some amorous males tried to attract and woo her, she picked a mate. They feed in our front yard away from the other flock in back and he stands guard while she feeds. Hopefully they will nest nearby and with luck, perhaps another generation of white doves will survive. "Running Bear and Little White Dove".

Teacup

Here is the little teacup pincushion now that it is finished ...just a little mushroom, home for the ladybug perched atop who must be a gardener at heart as her little flower garden is bursting in bloom. Is it spring there? Not here although we did not get the amount of snow predicted.

I was able to attend the Cheyenne Heritage Quilt guild meeting last evening and Kelly Gallagher-Abbott was the guest speaker. She and her husband are now representative of long arm quilting machines and she brought a wonderful slide show and a trunk show of quilts. She is such an accomplished quilter and so personable! The quilts were spectacular and some were funny and they ranged from traditional to modern and came in all sizes. Such a motivator and they brought some of their patterns and other quilting items in addition to providing the door prizes. I am so glad I was able to be in attendance. I also took a class on Saturday and completed a "Spinning Stars" table topper...picture to follow in a later post.

The grout job in the main bath (which we did last spring) was showing signs of crumbling. Yuck!
So I scraped and cleaned and mixed a new batch of grout for the small area affected so I have been on my knees again tonight and my poor hands are now like sandpaper. I sure hope being on my knees will do some good on this grout job..even I wasn't really praying.

"Life's trials may be hard to bear, but patience can outlive them." ~ Martin Tupper

Crafty me

My daughter gets me a little side- tracked with the wonderful things she finds and links to me. Creative people who are posting their ideas and are willing to share with the rest of us are inspiration for crafters or artisans of all ages. Just when I think I have exhausted ideas for my myriad of collections, another creation has been born. I have used these teacups in chandeliers, bird feeders and garden totems to name a few. Now I have another purpose inspired by some brilliant person. (I have not given credit to the artist as I don't remember it.) Atop this teacup, is the beginning of a scene which will include a little cottage, or a forest, or perhaps some woodland scene, but certainly some mushrooms. In all practicality it is a pincushion, but it could be an ice cream sundae or a snowy ski slope. The inspiration pieces had little homes constructed of felt and walkways, etc. After I received the link, I had to quit my current projects and go hunt for the cup and saucer and search for some fabric. I have a huge stash of old chenille bed spreads and found this one with the wonderful white puffs on it. I spent Saturday afternoon at the quilt shop working on Sylvia's sampler with a group of gals. Of the 8 that were there on that afternoon, 6 of us stitched away on our little nearly antique featherweight Singers. So, with less than 20 squares left, here are a few more.
We had a snow storm this past weekend which dumped over 6 inches and with warm weather following, it is a muddy mess in my yard. We do need the moisture though and as the days are slowly getting longer, I think that spring will be here before we know it.

Grandma's soap operas

I have not taken the time to get on this blog have I? Wow...I don't know where the time has gone.
My very good friend, Barb was here to spend the week with me and we had such a great time. First of all, we did some shopping in between the snowy days, ate some good food, had coffee with friends here, worked on some quilts, went south of the border to meet with our other buddy, Pat, and spent the day doing fun things. Last of all we checked out the glass show here at the Botanical Gardens before she left on Friday. It was a bittersweet visit as she received news on Thursday of the death of a family member and flew back home on Sunday early for the funeral.

This is the second square for this year's Thimbleberries quilt. Again, I made three of them and will decide which additional future patterns I will use since I will not use all 12. I have posted more of Sylvia's patterns and have made only three more squares. While Barb was here, I took her to our quilt guild meeting and we both really enjoyed the topic that was discussed. I am sorry that I don't remember the name of the guest speaker, but "Red Work" and embroidery was her specialty. What really struck a cord with me is the manner in which she approaches her work and the way that she began her journey. Examples of her work were on display in the form of quilts, dresser scarves, dish towels, many unfinished projects, but all were things of beauty. As she spoke of her introduction to the embroidery as a child, it brought back such memories and I realized how it paralleled my first attempts. She and her sister would sit together with her grandmother who gave them embroidery to master. As they stitched quietly, her grandmother could faithfully watch her soap operas. In the 50's, when television was an infant, my grandmother had a small television and she loved her soap operas which were a continuation of earlier ones on the radio. I remember a piece of plastic which had colored areas that she taped over the screen to give the illusion of "color". This was before color television...yes strictly black and white in the 50's. Anyway, she would give me floss and needles and hoops for me to carefully stitch the stamped patterns and she oversaw my work as she watched her soap operas. I rarely use a hoop and it surprised me that this expert in embroidery said that she never uses a hoop. I find that the hoop gets in the way and it tends to stretch the fabric as well as the floss.

Do little girls still sit with their granny and learn to do needle work? Not so much anymore I think. It does seem from what I observe, however, that there is a renewed interest in some young adults to preserve those skills that were lost to a generation or two. It also allows one to take time for oneself... when you sit and use a needle of one kind or another with a fiber. There is also a sense of satisfaction when a piece of needlework is finished.

"When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer." Regina Brett

Sylvia's sampler

We are in the deep freeze! Didn't get much snow but at 6:40 p.m. we are minus 3 and with wind chill, predictions are at minus 34 tomorrow. Larder is stocked and I am staying in. It will no doubt be three-dog night!

I love primitive! When I spotted a pattern for this little Raggedy, I knew I had to have her. I felted wool roving onto her head and her dress, bonnet and apron are homespun fabrics. With a painted face and coffee dyed body, she is appears to be well-loved. Also in the works, more quilting.
Sylvia's sampler is coming along as the long cold winter days we are having are conducive to hours at the sewing machine and cutting table.

Before the cold front hit, we had lunch with friends on Tuesday from Rawlins, again on Friday eve, we met with more friends for burgers and suds and again on Sat morning for coffee with more friends from Rawlins. I am expecting one of my buddies to come and spend several days with me next week and more later on the weekend. We are so blessed to have so many long-time relationships with people who are kind, considerate, unselfish and who don't constantly complain. Dad always told me that you could pick your friends, but not your relatives.

So here are a few more squares from the Sampler, although I have more finished. Just need to post!

Bags

Recycle, reuse, repurpose .....words to live by?
Well, when you grow up the way I did, it was a way of life. Clothes were handed down or when they became tattered or torn, they became something else. Treasured pieces of a quilt perhaps? Old tires became supports for tomatoes. Cleaning out the corrals or the chicken house insured fertilizer for the gardens and lawns. String from flour sacks was wrapped into balls to be used later for other things. Yarn in old sweaters was ripped out and reused in afghans etc. A few years ago, friends brought back from the west coast some almonds and walnuts to be shelled and they were in a canvas-type bag. I could not bring myself to throw the dirty, stained bag away. It was sturdy with no rips or tears. So I washed it, packed it away and have hauled it around with my other "valuables". I use these kinds of bags for my quilting or groceries or needlework so I decided to take the bag and re-work it. There are still a few stains here and there, but I love the graphic! On one side is a velcro closed water bottle pocket and on the front, a pocket for my cell phone or billfold when I go shopping.
The other bag is leftover crazy square pieces with various examples of "practice" needle work, and ribbon work. The handles on this piece, unlike the feed sack are stitched from one side to the other rather than both being stitched on the same side. Not as easy to access, but a little more secure perhaps. Either way, they are both large bags with flat bottoms, reinforced with a flat piece of lightweight hardboard.

"Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss." ~ Andy Rooney