Quiet, but still here!

As Spring and Summer came along, I found myself busy with the planting of seeds, starting seedlings in my greenhouse, and then transfering everything to the garden.  Our garden is so huge each year and it takes a lot to get it all put in, and then water, water, water!!!  We had to plant all of our tomato plants elsewhere this year.  We have had several years of wet Springs, and tomato plants get early blight so easily.  Then it gets in the soil, and stays there.  So we picked a new spot for the 'maters this year and they are doing great!  I think we will have a bumper crop of 'maters.  My salsa supply is low, so I will replenish it.  Then can just tomatoes.  YUM!!  Even canned, they taste so good in the winter time.
We purchased about a dozen new fruit trees and also started a strawberry patch.  We planted the fruit trees all around the outside of the garden.  We have decided that starting next year, our veggie garden is going to shrink a lot!  We are getting older and all that tilling and such is getting to be a bit much!
So far, we have been eating tomatoes, cucumbers and zuchinni and yellow summer squash.  Our first planting of sweet corn should be ready soon.  Green beans are setting on now, so it won't be long.  Then you get to the stage where you have so many different things to eat, that it is hard to choose.  LOL!!
I hope to be able to get back to my artwork soon.  My craft room is all clean and ready to go...except for a few dust bunnies that may be growing down there as we speak.  I am very anxious to get to painting and creating again.  I do have a commission to make a wall hanging for someone, so that will get my creative juices going.
I hope you are all having a wonderful summer!!  Talk to you again soon!
hugs, Sue K

Merry Christmas to One and All!

I wanted to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  This is the time of year that we all gather with our families and friends and celebrate the season together.  We are all blessed in so many ways.  Enjoy each moment and try not to get stressed.  Remember that even if everything isn't perfect, just being together and sharing the holiday with those we love is much more important. 
Have a wonderful Christmas!

Hugs, Sue K

A sweet little story I came across

A little girl wanted to know what the United States looked like. Her dad tore a map of the USA out of a magazine and cut it into small pieces, then told her to go to her room and see if she could put it together. After a few minutes she returned with the map correctly fitted and taped together. The dad was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. She replyed on the other side was a picture of Jesus and when I put him back together, then our country just came together

For Kaitlyn and Lilly

Good morning!
I made a promise to a very sweet granddaughter awhile back in an email.  She lives in Maryland with her family.  We email back and forth and I was telling her about the collages that I make.  She had lots of questions for me about what I was doing.  So, I told her I'd make her one for her room and one for her sister too.
I finally have them ready to mail and guess what????  I actually remembered to take pictures of them before mailing. 
Who would have "thunk"....LOL!!!
I have also been making a large bunch of pretty pouches too.  So I have lots of new things to post here. These are the two small wall hangings that I made them and will mail to them tomorrow.
Our weather has still been depressing.  Lots of cloudy, foggy and rainy days.  Plants in the greenhouse are growing and soon we hope to be able to get out and work the garden to prepare it for planting.  Lots of drying up to do first.  Seems like we are stuck in a WET cycle lately.  I hope that your weather is better where you live.

I also want to wish you all a blessed Easter.  Have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs, Sue K

So Lucky!

Last week, I was picked to be a winner of Donna's giveaway on her blog, Brynwood Needleworks!  She was giving away TWO prizes in her drawing.  Since I am one that usually NEVER wins anything, I was tickled to death when my name was picked for one of the gift packages.  My package arrived late last week and this is a photo of what I was lucky enough to win! 
One of her wonderful mug mats (which I will use here on my computer desk), a set of darling little ceramic birdies, a REAL hummingbird nest, a $25 Target gift card and last but certainly not least, one of her handmade pillow cases.  Now this pillow case is gorgeous, made of silky fabric, maybe percale?  Whatever the fabric is, it is wonderful.  Almost too pretty to use!! 
Thank you so much Donna! 


Then to top things off, I have won a second giveaway drawing!!  Go figure!  I will take photos of it when it arrives and share my joy with you then.


I hope to be able to post more.  I've been a BAD blogger!!  I do have lots to photograph and share though.  I've been stitching away and having a ball. 


Finally, we are having a sunny day here.  It has been so gloomy lately and it is nice to see the sun.  I have been busy in my greenhouse, planting up a storm.  I've got all my vegtable plants started in little pots and tons of flower seeds started too.  I planted 150 tomato plants and  400 pots of flowers.  YEAH...I am crazy!!
For those that don't know, we sell at Farmers' Market each summer and have just a huge garden area and lots of flower beds.  Maybe with the work that gardening provides, I can take off some of this "winter fluff" that I seem to have accumulated!!  LOL!!!


Have a great day.  I hope to be back soon to post somemore pics!
hugs, Sue K

WIP New Collage

This collage isn't done yet, but I thought I would post my progress so far. I am LOVING these rich fabrics that I bought awhile ago. All silks, velvets, brocades and embroidered silks. I added some trims that I had and some lace pieces to set it off. I am thinking that it needs something along the top of the collage. Maybe some more fabric scrap collage and some bling!! I will have to play with it some more and see what I can come up with.
I really do enjoy working with the fabrics a lot. I bought this fabric a couple of weeks ago from a seller on Ebay that offered a big lot of mixed "elegant" fabrics. Most of them are fairly small pieces that are perfect for collage work. I made the mistake of sorting them into color groups and bagging them up to organize. Now, as I work with them, I see that I need to get myself a big bin and just dump them together so I can see what pieces I have to add as I work. It is taking too much time to sort through each nice little neat bag to find the pieces I want to use.
So, the next time I get close to Wallyworld, I will buy some more storage bins....large ones.
Also, I ordered some burgundy, dk. brown, hunter green and black velvet to use to back my collages. It is an upholstery weight velvet and it will work great as a base for these.
I love the freehand stitching on this and think it really adds to the collage.

Close up of collage...click on it to enlarge

A little closer view

Stay tuned for the finished piece soon.

I have already started another one in pinks, creams and soft sage greens.....think it is going to be pretty!!!

Have a lovely day and try to stay warm. We got up this morning to 2 degrees!! Brrrrr......

Love and hugs, Sue K

A Study in Portraiture

Hello friends!
I have finally gotten back to my painting lessons after quite a long break. I was going to take just a little time off from my Traditions lessons, but that time just kind of stretched out to months. I was glad to get my paintbrush wet again. Although, it did take me a little time to get my hands trained again.
This turned out pretty good, although the subject matter isn't my choice. I did learn a lot from this lesson and I am glad that I am through with it. We started with just an outline of a face, then shaded it all with burnt umber for shadows and highlights. Then we applied the skin tones, based in the hat, coat and hair. Then layers were built up to darken the shadows and lighten the highlights on the face. We used a black and white copy to get a good look at the value changes and used that to define the face.
I do like the way his eyes turned out. He looks a little mischievous with that twinkle in his eye. So now it is on to the next lesson, which is a Flemish Floral arrangement. I think I will like painting this one much better. After I finish that painting, I have one more left which is a landscape and it is beautiful. A scene with ships, water, and an old windmill. Then I will be done with my painting lessons.....42 paintings done, and months and months of learning. Now I will have to apply it to my OWN artwork.
Have a lovely day! I'm off to my sewing machine to play for awhile!!
hugs, Sue K

New Year~New Projects!

Hello Friends!

I have started some new projects now that the holidays are over and behind us. I have been doing a lot of hand work and having so much fun with it. Years ago, I was lucky enough to find a class locally where the teacher taught her students how to quilt. It wasn't just any quilting class, but a very special one. She taught us how to quilt by "hand". A lost art! Although it is much easier to quilt on the machine, I love to hand stitch, so this was right up my alley. This is going to be a pillow top when it is done. I've got the top all done now...all by hand.


I don't know if you can see it or not from my photos (dark cloudy day today), but the rose in the center and a couple other parts are hand quilted to give it some dimension. I added lace and then hand stitched the tiny pearls to hold the lace down. I am still trying to decide it I want to put lace around the outside of the pillow when I put it together. What do you think? Too much?
This definitely won't be a pillow to lay your head down on with the little pearls, but would look pretty on someones' bed to embellish it.



For Christmas this year, I made six wall hangings for gifts. Do you think I took any pictures of them before sending them off? NOT!!! I was trying to get them all done and each one had to be mailed some distance, so they got packaged up and sent. Then I thought....darn, I didn't take any photos of them!!! I also made one for another gal to gift for Christmas and it was so pretty! It was a sea shore theme and it even had a real sand dollar in the center of it. I might make another one of those because it was just gorgeous.
I have some other items made up and I will take photos of them to show here. I am hoping for a sunny day to get the photos done.
I have been collecting all kinds of old vintage jewelry and also some gorgeous fabrics. I was lucky enough to find (ebay) a seller that was offering scraps of all kinds of beautiful fabrics. I got two lots of it and it is beautiful. A combination of silks, velvets, brocades and organdy. A rainbow of colors to work with too. I loved what she sent me sooooo much, I sent her a big check and I've got a box full of over 500 mores scraps coming any day now. Thank God I've got a very understanding hubby that just smiles when the mailman keeps bringing all of these boxes of treasures to my door. I am well armed now with supplies!!! It would be a good idea if I quit ordering "stuff" and put some of it to use.
I'm still working on getting my second Etsy shop set up. I had a little problem with the set up because Etsy doesn't make it very easy, but I got it figured out with the help of a sweet blogger friend. Thank you Beth!!
Have a lovely day my friends! As soon as the sun shines here, I'll have more to show you. I might take a photo of my fabrics when they arrive sometime this week too. Pretty pretty!

Hugs, Sue

Merry Christmas to all!!

Here's to hoping that you all are having a Merry Christmas! Blessed with family, friends and the joy of the season!

Hugs, Sue K

Thankful

Feeling thankful for family, friends and for the wonderful season. We are all blessed to live in such a wonderful county and I say a little prayer each day that we continue to be free to enjoy it for many more years. Here's to hoping that you all had a great holiday!

Been Busy Around here!

I was going to take some photos of my new works today, but it is a cloudy dreary day here. No sun all day and it is drizzly out. And COLD!! So I will have to wait until tomorrow for pics. I have quite a few new items made and now I need to get my new Etsy shop set up.
So come back and visit in a day or two!!

Hugs, Sue K

Been Stitchin'

Hello friends!
It has been a long time since I posted on my blog, but I hope to change that. I've been busy in my sewing room stitchin' away. I have done a little painting too, but nothing that is done that I can show you yet. (key work...yet)
My Mom sent me the cutest little tablecloth not too long ago. I just loved it with all my heart, but it was too small for any of my tables. I hung it over the rail in our kitchen so that I could look at it, hoping for some inspiration. One day, it came to me....CURTAINS for my kitchen. It was white with multi colored flowers and stitching so the colors would go great with my butter yellow walls. I held my breath and cut it in half, then in half again for curtains. I used an old percale pillow case, and cut enough for the rod casing on the top. I stitched them all together, pressed them and went about hanging them up in just a couple of hours.
LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Close up of the appliqued floral pattern and embroidery. I even added a little lace to the bottom of them too. Sorry about the dark photos....wish they were better!

I also have been making quite a few fabric collages and some little gift bags. I will try to get some photos of them and post here in the next days.
Our weekend weather doesn't sound very nice....cold and rainy, but that means studio and sewing room time. Woooooohooooooo!!!!!
Have a great weekend! Thanks for visiting!
Hugs, Sue K

Finally~Time to Create!

Hello Friends.....
I am so happy that I finally had some time to work on some projects yesterday. It was a rainy, cool day, so I spent the afternoon at my sewing machine making these two little gift bags. One is for my Mom and the other is for a friend. I was in such a hurry to get them done, and ready to mail today, I forgot to take photos of the lavender sachets inside of them. Oh well, I will be making more of them and will remember to take pics.

I just love working with this cotton canvas fabric. The images were printed on muslin with my inkjet printer. I use the freezer paper method and so far, have had really good results. I only had one sheet jam in my printer, and then I could still use two out of the three images I had tried to print. Not bad!
I would love to try some of the other methods of transfer and probably will when I have more time to play.

Click on the photos above and you will be able to get a better look at them. My photography skills are lacking....especially when in such a hurry to get them done.

I have been shopping online for fabric and have been adding to my stash so that I have plenty to work with over the winter months to keep me busy. Muslin, burlap, ticking, and many other beautiful fabrics. I always check out the remnants bin in the fabric dept and find many pretty pieces there for a nice discount. Also, Etsy is a great place for fabric finds!

I am working on a couple more projects and will post them in a few days, when they are done. Now that Fall is almost upon us, I will be working on many more ideas that I have.

One thing I have to get done is to get my studio cleaned and ready to work in again. The dust bunnies have been busy this summer, while the artist in residence has been absent. I couldn't work on my painting table right now if I tried. It is piled high with "STUFF" ! Now, I have to put it all away and find my table again.

Soon.............

I hope you are having a creative and good week! Thanks for stopping by!

hugs, Sue K

Silly Woman!!

For some reason...unknown to me, I never did put a link to my rubber stamp website on my blog. Now, that is really dumb!! Anyway, if you get a chance, hop on over to my website. It is a cute and fun place! I had the website designed by a friend and I thought she did a great job on it. Thanks for taking a look!!

It has been warm here and muggy. The air is so thick, you could cut it with a knife! I don't do too well with heat and humidity, so I've been laying low around here. This summer, we have had a lot of heat and I am feeling ready for fall. I try not to wish that fall will get here too soon, because I know winter is right after that.
Our big garden is really abundant this year. All of our squash plants are going nuts! We are going to have a bumper crop of squash! Especially the acorn and butternut squash...wow, there are tons of them and they are huge. I am hoping that our cantelopes and watermelons do well too, but I will have to wait and see. Our cucumbers are just too much!! Hubby will start picking daily for me soon so I can get the cukes while little and make pickles. I have a patch of dill that is needing to be cut too, so I won't have to buy any dill. I love making dill pickles with really small cukes and eat them like candy during the winter!!

Hope all is well with all of you, my friends! Is your weather hot where you live too???
hugs, Sue K

A Special Giveaway to check out!

Diane Knott and her daughter Holly, have opened a NEW Etsy shop featuring their beautiful handmade items. Their shop link is:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cottagebythepond

They are giving away the lovely pear, and the stuffed heart (made by Diane) and a beautiful handmade wristlet made by Holly. What a bunch of loveliness!!

You must go to their Etsy shop and look at all the items they have for sale there. YUMMY stuff!!
And go to Dianes' Blog and enter to win the three lovelies pictured above.
http://dianeknottsmusings.blogspot.com/

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I haven't been creating much these past days. I HAVE been cleaning and organizing my new sewing area next to my studio. It is almost done now and soon I will be creating fun things.
It isn't beautiful....not a finished area.....but I would call it functional! I think this is the first time I have ever had my sewing things all in one place. It should make it a lot easier for me to get around to sewing. It isn't too inspiring to sew when you have to drag everything out and set it up before you can even start. I even bought a BRAND new cover for my ironing board and it is all ready to go also.
I did make a PARIS inspired pillow for my Moms' 85th birthday. It was blue toile, blue ticking and some natural linen. I sewed a round lace doily on it, then a red PARIS label and finished it with some red stitching to set it off. Then in each of the four corners, I sewed some big red buttons. I was in such a hurry to get it done and in the mail so that she would get it in time for her B-day, I neglected to get any pictures of it.
I think I will make another one......it was awfully cute!! SHE LOVED IT!!!!!
Have a great day one and all....stay cool (It is supposed to be in the 90's today and humidity is a bear)
hugs, Sue K

PLENT-I-FUL!!!!

Each Spring, we plant tons of tomato plants. We are both tomato lovers and can eat them nonstop all day long! There is nothing in the world as delicious as a homegrown fresh tomato!

The past week we have been getting a few ripe ones here and there, and then Thurs. I went to pick, and there were 15 beautiful ripe red tomatoes, ready to go!! So we have been in tomato heaven.

How do you like your tomatoes??? Salt and pepper?? Hubby likes sugar on them (midwest thing, I think) or do you like them with a little vinegar and oil on them?? I like them all ways...except the sugar. We planted some Black Krimm tomatoes this year. They are a dark burgandy color and are they ever sweet and good. I can't get enough of them. We are going to be planting more of them each year.

Soon, my eggplant will be ready and I can hardly wait for them!!! I love to slice them long ways, a little olive oil, salt and pepper and throw them on the grill. Oh Lord, it is heavenly!!!

Have a lovely Saturday! It is really, really hot and humid here, so this afternoon, this old woman is going to go and float in our pool!!!

hugs, Sue

I HATE Spam!

It seems that I keep getting spam in my comments section and so far, I have just been deleting it when it happens. Tonight, I have changed my blog to moderation of comments. I will have to approve any comments left by you wonderful people. Isn't it a shame that the people that do these things don't have something better to do with their time?? Makes a mess for people like us just trying to have a little blog and share with friends.
Sorry for the trouble, but I don't know what else to do. Thanks for understanding!
Have a great night!
hugs, Sue

Traditions Lesson #D-8 done!

I am getting close to getting through my studies with Traditions paint, and the painting Modules that they offer. I started this journey over two years ago and have learned so very much. With four Modules (A,B, C and D) It is hard to believe that I am almost through Module D.
The above painting is a study of the color wheel, using foliage from different plants. I did enjoy painting it, although there are some mistakes....lol! And I'm not telling what they are. It took me months to get this lesson done, having to remix my colors once because my palette dried out
since it took me so long. Now it is done! I am going to take the rest of the summer off from my lessons and start again in the fall. I only have three more lessons to go and I will be done.
Woooohoooooo!!!!!

I have a bunch of "other" projects in the works, so I hope to be posting more soon. I am outside so much in the summer, that my studio gets neglected terribly. I will probably have to clean out the cobwebs in there when I start again. I plan to expand my studio into another room too, as now I need a place to store and work on fabrics. Instead of trying to cram everything into my current studio, I will clean out a place in another room and set up everything. I'll be more organized and everything will be close by that I need.

Thanks for taking a peek! I hope to be posting more often now!

Giveaway Winner!

I was a lucky winner last week at Rhondas' Blog, A Little Bit French and when her package arrived, I was thrilled! Such a beautiful, feminine little pouch, full of all kinds of goodies tucked inside. Lace, ribbon, a couple of collaged tags, and a cute clothespin! Each and every Friday, Rhonda has a French Friday giveaway, and each week she gives away such pretty things. Very talented lady!!! Thank you Rhonda for the lovelies. Go and visit her wonderful blog....you'll be glad that you did.

Sorry for the blurry picture!!

Lookie! Lookie!!! Awesome Fabric!!

I found this fabric on Etsy and it arrived today! It is a beautiful weight and I am more than thrilled with it!! I can see it used for pillows, in fabric collage and in a million more places. I wish now that I had ordered more than just one yard of it.
Now I can't wait to use it! I think I hear my sewing machine calling my name......LOL!!!

The name of her shop is Renees' Fabric on Etsy. She just opened the end of May. If you shop there, tell her we sent you!!