I am bad, I know, but I don't have anything to blog today. I was swamped all week and things came up I didn't expect. Now, I am playing 'catch up'. I managed my new post over at Feeling Stitchy, though, so go check it out.
Now, I must get back to work.......I will let you know how the weekend went on Monday. I have two shows back to back, check my show schedule on the side bar. Have a good weekend, everyone!!!
I have patiently been waiting for my Wisteria to appear......I think it is mad at me......I tried to save it, but the men of my house insist it is a nuisance......
It starts out innocent enough, but this year I haven't even seen these fat buds......*sigh* 
What happened is that it didn't have enough stuff to support it, so it grew to the top of the house and under the eaves and wrapped around anything in its path, went under the porch and came out the other side......last year after the bloom, they cut it waaaaaaaay back, but it didn't stop it. 
I wish I had a picture of it on the peak of the house, I couldn't find one this morning---I think I have one somewhere......but you see how beautiful this thing is.......even after the blooms, it is a huge plant......
This last picture was taken in July 2007. It had been stripped from the second floor of the house and was crawling along the porch roof......this year we had to get the porch roof redone, so it was cut away from the eaves and house and tossed away from the house.......now, it just doesn't want to do anything and I am worried.....it should be blooming like crazy already......I will be so mad if I lost it. In trying to make things better, my hubby built an arbor for it now, but, it seems to be ignoring it.......I will let you know the progress in future posts. Today, I have to get a lot, I mean a lot done for the weekend..... take care my friends and I love all your comments, I really do.......
I took the day off and went to the woods yesterday. We picked Morel mushrooms. 
Just to get the perspective......
Suffice it to say, we will be eating them for a few days.....speaking of......I didn't realize that I have two shows back to back this weekend,( Baraboo and Kaukauna) and that I leave next week Thursday morning for Door County (Jacksonport) for the show....and, hubby wants to do another on Monday because of the Holiday weekend.....*faint*.....I guess I have been dawdling long enough, now I have to get my "on the road" work done........I will try to keep in touch, regardless.......have a great day!!!!!
and I am not singing the Beatles' song, either. I left the flowers on the table with the artwork...........and woke up this morning to this........ 
My son got up in the middle of the night to find the vase tipped over and all my artwork wicking it up.....so, he cleaned up as best he could. DARN CATS! 
We were able to save the ephemera (antique papers), and the fabric will dry, but it sure took the wind out of my sails. 
This was on top of my thread boxes, so, they survived the spill...... 
These are the cardboards, I won't be able to save them, I am just glad that I hadn't mounted the fabric to them yet.......DARN CATS!!!! ARGH!
My whole weekend was filled with difficult and bad news, so, starting Monday with this is not a good thing. I don't want to fill my blog with all the details, but to suffice it to say, it was a very, very bad weekend........
This is the stack I prepared in the studio today. It's a week's worth of embroidery and watercolor vignettes. I have to have them done by Friday and in frames. I doubt I will work on anything else. The bigger pieces I finished the embroidery on. These are the collages that I take to shows. 
I mostly do appliques and titles on these. But sometimes a little more than that, which include borders and phrases. After embroidering them, then I have to calligraphy and watercolor verse tags for them. Then mount them to the boards, mount all the paper pieces and frame. Each process takes a day. I already have two days in on the stack. It was a productive day in the studio. I love the DVD player I purchased with my birthday money. I have been watching old "The Real McCoy" programs with Walter Brennan. I love, love them. 
Got these beauties from Matt and Addie along with a certificate for a pedicure. Yay!!!!
The computer sure was not busy this weekend. There was hardly any traffic on my other sites....I wonder if people were traveling? *shrug*.....it just seemed too quiet for me. Perhaps today it will pick up again. I will be back.......:)
I made some check book holders, or folders, or clutches, whatever you decide to use them for. Floresita from Feeling Stitchy was kind enough to make out line patterns for me to post. And also this one that shows how to cut the pieces. Last time I tried to draw them out and they didn't scan very well, so she helped me with it. I was kind of surprised that there was such slow traffic on Flickr yesterday. I don't know if everyone is traveling----for the weekend---or what, but I didn't get but two visits on Flickr. That is unheard of. Get the whole tutorial here. 
When you cut the two pieces that will eventually be the cover, do the embroidery on them before you continue with the sewing. Imagine your cover folded in half so that you know where to embroider. Choose fabrics that will show off your efforts. I made one that I decided was a mistake because it was too busy, and pulled away from a good design. This one: 
This is a good example of what not to do. I really liked the cat newspaper, but I should have put it inside the folder instead of the cover. 
I have a friend who sends me her "schnibbles" (fabric leftovers), and this dragonfly folder was made from them, so I am sending her this as a surprise. I was really happy with the results of this one! This week I must really work hard for the up-coming Baraboo Show on Saturday. I am praying that the Lord has mercy and sends good weather! Sometimes storms can whip up fast and we are on the Main street with no ability to tie down. Good days are wonderful, bad days are awful!!!
Also, I heard from Nan and she loved the embroidery booklet so much that she doesn't want to use it as a gift, but keep it! Check out her comment to me in the Morel post. Btw, I just check Nan's blog, and she has some wonderful recipes!!!! How about some Morel recipes, Nan? Nan is having an appliqued dish towel give-away if you leave a comment by Monday, May 13. I need to get over there and make mine......:)
I told my hubby it was waaaaaaaaay too early for morels------good thing he doesn't listen to his wife........lol. Look what we had for supper last nite. Yeah, and probably today for lunch......and how ever many times it takes to eat them......I would give some away, but he was the one who crawled on his hands and knees to find them.....so......if he wants them all, okay. 
I may be back later for another entry......be sure to visit Feeling Stitchy today.
This was supposed to be my blog entry for Friday, but I changed it, so I will let you in on one project I have been working on. If you remember the famous Serta commercial about "counting sheep", that's where I get my inspiration.....
Only where the sheep are supposed to help you sleep, my sheep actually keep me awake......my littlest sheep the most.......While laying awake worrying about my little sheep, I spend time trying to think of things to make......trying to not think of bad things, or fret, although, that is what I am really doing. My sheep insists on greener grass on the other side of the fence. I am constantly trying to reign him in------while letting him go-----does that make any sense?
He is old enough to seek new fields on the other side of the fence, but I don't particularly like the grass he is seeking........anyway, enough of the mom worry stuff-----here is my inspiration: 
Sometimes I think it would be better if I didn't see him in the other pastures. Sometimes I think it would be better if I saw where he was all the time......those darn wolves scare me every time.......... 
This piece fought with me the whole time, too. I managed the embroidery all right, but when I wanted to make a simple pouch out of it......argh!!!! Sewing isn't my strong point, and although I finished it, I wasn't happy enough with it to try to sell it. Thus, I abandoned using it as a tutorial for Friday. Bummer! Here it is finished: 
Anyway, I am off to new projects! Keep sewing, embroidering, softie making, drawing, painting, sculpting, reading, cleaning, cooking, baking, singing, dancing, dog walking, cat napping, whatever it is you do...or, like me--all of the above----j/k.!
Yesterday I finished up the booklets and put them in Etsy last nite. It was fun doing some more. I have a few in the makings still--but need to concentrate on a project for Friday's Feeling Stitchy post. 
You can see how nice the pen fits into the booklet. I am thinking of other things I can do with the project..... 
I have a few more ideas for small projects to put embroidery on----hopefully, I will have something by Friday done to show........be good my friends.......
Finally, I purchased something from Patchwork Pottery. I saw on Laurianne's Flickr pictures two French Press cozies. I am always wrapping a towel around mine, because I am the only one who drinks it, and it gets cold before I get that second/third cup. This seemed like my opportunity to own one of her pieces of art! 
Such nice packaging!
I never thought of the fact that there are different sizes of French Presses and different makers. Not until I ordered it did I think of it. I am glad that the cozy fits, but the cute little knob for the press does not fit the press I have.....I believe Laurrianne's was from Ikea. \
This is the side that doesn't show and look how beautiful!!! 
Tonite when I am watching American Idol, I think I will make myself a "cozy little French Press........".
![](http://<a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://shebrews.typepad.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/tech-fav-1.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" ){kind=link}