musings

just something interesting i realized this morning.   things are very not ok around here – in the financial realm.  once again, as we were just this time last year – in very real danger of being ‘homeless’.  so, i have been in the process of finding things to sell – to contribute to the cause as well as to be able to purchase some necessary items for myself (and critters – they do like to eat now and then).  so, i spent yesterday unpacking china and crystal.  things that have been sitting in my storage shed out back for going on 12 years now. (hard to believe i’ve been out here that long!)

for the past few years, when doing my ‘trunk show’, i have included words about my ‘interest’ in things japanese.  specifically i have repeatedly said “before now i have never had or been interested in anything remotely related – except for a pair of jade earrings”.  and then, yesterday, upon unpacking my beautiful (spode) china – what did i discover and finally realize this morning in my journal??  the pattern:  Geisha!  what does it look like?  pure white with light blue cherry blossoms around the edge. hmmm.  and then, i remembered something else very similar.  a lamp i made in ceramics (you know, where you go and clean up something that has been ‘poured’ and then you paint it to make it your own).  light blue with cherry blossoms done in ‘reverse’ – where i removed the blue paint to create the design.  i loved that lamp. (ex broke it.  another reason he’s an ex!^_^)

so, what does all this mean?  makes me wonder what subtle hints of what’s to come for me that perhaps i’m missing – here and now.  where is life taking me?  for sure, i am being forced to clear space – which is always a good thing!  free myself of a lot of past baggage and make room for more good to flow in.  and to more fully appreciate what i am, where i am and what i have.  and even more importantly – how much i love my family and appreciate living here with them.  i pray it will continue so.  and humbly ask for your prayers as well.

and, anyone interested in some really beautiful spode china?  or noritake.??  here’s a ‘rough’ picture of both.

love and beauty      www.artfullyapplique.com

 

snow

well, we thought we got a lot of snow last year.  hah!  a mere dusting compared with sunday/monday!  and it hasn’t gone away yet!  not sure exactly how many inches – at least 12 and perhaps 18?  and some ‘piles’ nearly 2 ft deep where it had fallen from a tree.  too bad not more fell!  it was wet and heavy and clung to every tiny twig and then created actual blankets that were at least 6″ thick.  need i say some trees didn’t handle it well?!  we didn’t lose any whole trees, just some branches – as did most everyone in placerville.  needless to say pg&e has been hard at it ever since.  we were restored yesterday, mid morning.  myra, this morning.  bobbie (in shingle springs, but out in the boonies) still not when we talked earlier today.  i use little electric heaters, so it got right chilly in here.  temp was low 20’s past two nights.

as i look out my big window, there is still snow in some trees, after two days of sunshine!  and the path – what a mess it is.  deep footprints that are frozen and very slippery.  and big bushes that broke off and are covering it in one area – which means a detour around, which is downhill.  slow going up and down the path for me!

today i finally turned on the nice hot shower and had already wet down my hair when i noticed i was standing in water about 1″ deep.  oops.  drain frozen.  so, i have ‘rinsed’ hair.  it didn’t thaw until just a few minutes ago – with little bathroom heater blowing toward it all day.  good to lose those luxuries every now and then – generates authentic gratitude!  and here’s the 2009 mr. snowman. ^_^

he’s a happy guy. ^_^  as is his friend, rachel.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

new pin

just thought i’d post the pin i just put on ArtFire.  Have two more to finish.  Lots to do in the weeks before i head out again!

    

so, it’s back to it for me.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

on ebay

i have now put those samples on ebay and the starting bid will be $18.  cheap at half the price. ^_^  you can find them by searching for ‘hand applique crest designs’.  and here are pictures of the 3 i posted.

these will finish to 12-13″.  i have added borders to at least one sample and made a very nice small ‘wallhanging’.  actually did 2 and they  both live in Quilter’s Cove in Newport, OR – unless holly has taken them home by now. ^_^  i would normally charge $100 to do one of these blocks for someone, so even with being a ‘used’ sample, i think a deal and a half.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

samples

a few weeks ago i got back some samples that had been in my local quilt shop.  i have decided i am going to sell them.  i will be sending out an email from the webpage to offer them and if they don’t sell that way – am going to try them on ebay.   going to offer them at $25, or best offer.  i would normally charge $100 to do one of these blocks on commission.  if you would like to receive the notification and didn’t receive the first newsletter i sent – please send me your email address at jrixman@yahoo.com . 

other than that, and cutting kits in great numbers ^_^, not much happening in the applique world right now.  did draft a design for putting the nearly nouveau samples together in a quilt.  the urge seems to be gathering strength, so it’s a good bet i will actually do it.  also being nudged by the super simple wall hanging – time to fill a couple more spaces!  and it’s time to do a mate for the lily of  the valley and #17 of the ancient art series.  needless to say i am not lacking for items on my to do list!

and then, there are the pins – which i seem unable to stop doing!!  so here is the latest – obviously only the front finished.  this one may have some fringe or dangles added. ???

 

 

 

 

love and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

sat 11/28

who stole this week?  i mean, seriously, how did it get to  be saturday again??  i now have living proof that time flies when you are having fun!! ^_^

sure hope your thanksgiving was good and filled with some of your favorite foods – mine sure was.  and so much for watching calories. ^_^  i mean, how does one choose just one kind of pie???  which was only the grand finale to about 5 hours of nearly non-stop eating!

no word yet from the shop in sisters, oregon.  must admit i was hoping for a plea for more!  as in, she sold all the pins and wanted more right now! ^_^  i just finished the second of 2 new ones.  only problem, i decided to try them on ebay.  looking like rather large mistake at the moment.  i mean, how in the world would anyone even find them??  only with blind luck, it seems!!  and i just went in to attempt to change the ‘name’ – hah!  can’t.  and to add a ’subtitle’ would cost me an additional 70 cents!  thanks, but no thanks!!  i’m certain there are tricks of the trade one uses to be properly ‘placed’ – have enough to do, don’t wanna spend time researching, etc.  wait out the 7 days and then put them elsewhere. 

for one thing – it’s nearly end of month and that means i must come up with something semi-interesting to put in a newsletter!  and figure out what the ’special of the month’ will be.  just whose idea was all this anyway???

before i leave ya’ll, here’s the two pins that are on ebay.

love and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

tues 11/23

haven’t posted for awhile – been just adjusting to being at home ‘full time’ and working on pins and thinking about what’s next in the applique world.  it’s that time when i must create some new designs and need to have them ready by mid-jan when i head for tucson.  one good thing tho – we didn’t do that show last year, so i’ll have a good bit ‘new’ for them anyway.  looks like the first one might be a crocus, in the simpler flowers series – to kinda pair with the lily of the valley so i can hang them properly.

i am also considering the big project of making all the nearly nouveau blocks into a quilt.  will only do that if i can get carla to quilt it.  won’t be an easy job, but she kinda likes a challenge – i think. ^_^

i’m also trying to figure out a way to hang the blocks that is as convenient to hang as those long ‘boards’, but easier to transport!  oh, and i really need a #18 for the ancient art series – so #17 has a mate and can be hung properly!  have you noticed how there’s never a shortage of possibilities??  (what some might call ‘things to do’) ^_^

so, here’s a picture of the latest pin “front”.  sent 5 to sisters, oregon to be in a shop on consignment.  sue is very excited about them, saying no one else in town has anything like them, etc.  soooo, am hoping they will sell (quickly).  was making the next ones to sent to the san jose museum, but my ‘buddy’ there is leaving so not sure if i will until a new person takes over and i know they are ‘wanted’. ???  ok, here’s the picture, really ^_^

 

 

 

 

oops, sounds like erv might be here – to add the missing walls to the lovely fridge house. (big dog barking)  gotta go.

love and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

mobile again

i have wheels again, yea!  while it wasn’t exactly a hardship, given there was always a car available here – it is still good to have my own again.  total parts was just about $1000 – my my.  still, i am grateful to have found a way to pay for them!  and to have only that to pay – as in, no labor costs.  not to mention really friendly costs on the parts.  i think i would have had to just shoot the poor thing otherwise.

now, must get busy creating new stuff in order to replenish the till!!  looks like classes will be picking up, that helps.  will be doing the jacket in drytown, probably in february.  and the applique class for the  guild in pine grove – maybe april.  all good.  keep me in mind if you are in a guild – for classes and trunk show.

now, i guess i’d best go unload the van before it begins to rain.  no sense hauling all that extra weight around town.  course, it may never actually rain.  one minute it looks like it could begin ‘right now’ and then, like now – sky seems to be getting lighter again.  it’s all those pokey things sticking up that mess up the weather around here. ^_^  (mountains, that is)

love and beauty  www.artfullyapplique.com

 

long shot

just in case you are one of those folks who hasn’t yet converted to satellite tv and have really been wanting to – here are a couple of links that offer decent deals that might just make it worth it.

http://www.freedishprogram.com/37339

http://www.myanythingwireless.com/37339

other than that, not much to report today.  the first newsletter went out and then i sent out the ‘explanation’ since the first one contained no identifying info.  now that i’ve started it, must begin planning for something nicer in december!  something ‘worth reading’ , so to speak!  now that could be a real challenge!! ^_^  the link below will get you to the webpage and thus, the ’special of the month.

love, and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

embarrassing!

what a fiasco!  and a great lesson for me!  don’t do what you don’t know how to do when it involves other people!!  i sent out the first email and i sent it thru the webpage – so, i thought, it would automatically include my information – like the page name, at least.  NOT!

  i also ended up sending it to all 300+ names even tho i thought i was sending a kind of ‘test’ edition.  seems there was an important box i didn’t check.  so the process tied up my computer for hours – and i had no idea how many had been sent when i finally had to shut it down – it had already taken itself off line anyway.

this stupid computer just did it again.  took me offline in the middle of composing this post.  i am not going to try to remember what the heck i wrote before.  i really do understand those videos about people throwing computers out the window!!

now i do remember the important part of what i had written!  what was in the newsletter!  nothing all that exciting – mostly just to let folks i was going to doing one each month.  and to let them know about the big changes in the shipping costs.  also, what the special for the month is – for nov.  it’s 11% off the total order.  plus, if you mention the newsletter, using the comment section, i will include a free ($8) pattern – just let me know which one (in the comment).

it was about here, when i went to get the picture of the latest pin, that i lost connection.  well, it’s when i found out.  so, here is a picture – just to lighten this post a little. ^_^

now, isn’t that better than all the words i was going to write about the travails of sending an email thru my webpage?!! ^_^  and there were a lot – of both (travails and words!)

 

 

 

Let the beauty you love be what you do.  Rumi

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com