Signs of Spring,wed. at Pat's, & Art Scam Cont....

Last evening I saw the 1st moth of the season clinging to my backdoor. I thought it was cute.
Trees on our hillside are finally GREEN!

Pussy willow buds have lost most of their fur & are tightly curled leaves.

Lucy Jeanne Smith showed us her Cincinnati Reds hat that she buttoned up for a trip to Southeast Alaska. She was asking Jack if it would be OK to wear, as she was afraid some natives might find it offensive. Jack thought it would be OK as long as she doesn't add any totem signs to it.

Jack & his friend (sorry I've forgotten her name), showed us costumes they are using for some Performance Art they are doing. Jack's raven was particularly beautiful. It was made from hand-dyed muslin made to mimic a traditional Native bird skin jacket. It was overlaid with a sheer organza to give it the sheen.

No she isn't pregnant. It's just the shape of the coat. It was quite entertaining seeing these 2.

Above left, Fran Reed showed us photos of some of the things she's been up to. Fran makes the most incredible baskets from fish skins. Center is George Taylor, showing us samples from his latest class with Gail Harker. Seveeral of George's quilts have been published in books, by people like Roberta Horton & Mary Mashuta, & Judy Hopkins.

Linda Weatherwax brought her own chair for Show & Tell. She batiked the fabric, & put it on the chair. She also batiked George's shirt, & George made it himself. I bought a shirt from Linda for Warren for this past Christmas.

Fellow bloggers, Nancy & Roxane were both back from their travels, & George brought his special guest Stevii Graves, who just finished jurying for APNQ in Seattle. (Sorry I didn't get my camera pointed on any of them). Stevii paid me a nice compliment though. She told me my work should be entered into shows.

On the scammer news, a check came in the mail today in the amount of $3800.00 for the 2 quilts that only totaled $950.00. No return address on the envelope, but there were emails on the computer today, & messages on the phone. I called the FBI, & got instructions. Forwarded all of the email communications to them. Tomorrow I have to call the Postmaster, & will be turning the check along with copies of emails over to them. The check is very real looking even down to a watermark, but the bank address, doesn't include a phone number, nor does the name & address in the corner: Lee World Travel Service, INC

245 East Broadway

Eugene, OR 97401

The signature on the check is ..dotty.. really fake looking. Boy how does anybody believe this scam!?!

Open for Business

I was overstaffed from the hospital today. I thought maybe the boss had an ulterior motive in having me not work, since on Monday she gave me this quilt for me to quilt for her. She is my first official customer on Lily. Since she is a beginner quilter herself, I felt my skill with Lily was on par with hers, so I dove in & did my 1st customer quilt.

I finally think I found the "sweet spot" for my tension. Before it always felt too tight, & thread was breaking too often, but after loosening the bobbin tension, then balancing the top, it's much better now. I actually quilted my last feather border on this in under 15 minutes, which means I'm picking up speed, along with getting smoother with my moves. I'm not completely satisfied with my "fireworks" though. If it were my own quilt, I would add some crystals to them for some sparkle.
Hopefully Claudia will be pleased with her quilt. All she requested was some "Stars" on it.


Oh Hey! Look at this email that just came! It's the Scammer again! She must not be reading my blog! Hmmmm, should I play along, then when the fake check comes I can turn it over to the FBI & let them handle this Yoyo!?!


"Nicole Roane"
Date:
Tue, May 20, 2008 1:29 am

Options:

Dear Debra,


Hope this message finds you well. I am very sorry that i have been unable to get in touch with you for some days now. I was hospitalised in London immediately after my twin sister's wedding. I almost had miscarriage but thank God,i am now feeling better and can't wait to have my baby and settle down. I am not sure if my husband has been able to forward the payment to your address. I will check with him and get back to you later today or tomorrow. Meanwhile, i have forwarded your contact info to the moving agency that is handling the shipment of all our house decors. They promise to get in touch with you asap. Try and arrange the shipping details with them. I will also like an update from you as soon as you hear from the movers.
I will like you to get back as soon as you receive this email so i can be sure we are on the same page. Thanks for your patient.


Best Regards, Nicole.


>Dear Debra,
> Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creatives
works. Yes,i
> will like to proceed with the purchase of the artworks. I think they are
lovely
> works that will add alot of colours to our new wall.
> I am presently away in London for my twin sister's wedding even
though it comes
> at a time when i was preparing for a big move and also expecting a baby
but it
> means so much to her. I should be back in some few days.
> Meanwhile,i will like you to forward your mailing address and phone
number so i
> can inform my husband still shutling between our home in Alabama and
Jo'burg, SA
> on where to forward the payment . He has just been transfer to head the IT
> section of their head Office in Jo'burg.
>
>
> I can also forward your contact info to the local cartage company that
will be
> moving all our house decors so they can get in touch with you to arrange
shipping
> details. They can arrange pick up FedEx pick up of the artworks from your
studio.
>
> I will look forward to hearing from you so i can know how best to
proceed.
> Cheers.
>
> Best Regards,
> Nicole.

Spring Day & QOV

It was a spectacularly sunny day today. Warm & beautiful all day. The leaves are starting to pop up here now. Soon everything will be green. I wanted so bad to stay outside on the deck, but had indoor chores that HAD to get done today.

The Birch next to the deck is starting to green too.
I promised Warren I would make bread. He had to slum it this week with store-bought bread, poor baby. The sunny kitchen window was the perfect spot for raising the dough.
While down in the studio working on Lily, this big guy walked right by my windows. I ran to the back door to catch him walking away. Don't you love the little Bullwinkle rack? I'm sure it will be huge by fall. This was a BIG bull.

I've been working on a Quilt of Valor. Debra sent it to me when I volunteered to quilt one.

I'm pleased to say that Lily & I are getting better. She seems to be moving a little smoother, & I'm starting to get the hang of things. I'm actually going to do a customer quilt next!

I actually made 2 of these red star blocks, over a year ago, & Debra included them with this top. They came back to haunt me! After doing the tight grid for the background, the stars popped out quite a bit. I plopped a red button in the center of each of them, & did just a little decorative hand quilting in the the centers of each of these red stars. I really enjoyed the process of this whole quilt.

Now all it needs is binding & a label!

I stitched the words "Thank You" over & over in the plain black border.

Synvisc & Spring Chicken

I worked all day on Mother's day. There were 5 emergency surgeries in our little hospital. Yesterday I gorked out most of the day. I quilted on Dori's whole cloth piece, but still have about 2-3 more hours of work to do on it.

Today I worked an 8 hour shift. Tomorrow I'm quilting again!

I'm supposed to be getting Synvisc injected into my right knee. It is made from cocks combs. That red thingy on the rooster's head. Yep, chicken cartilage. I already walk kind of funny, so it can't make that any worse. The insurance was slow to approve it, so I won't get started until next week. It has to be injected once a week for 3 weeks. Something to look forward to!

The rooster above was a Maggie Walker pattern, that my friend Mary Lee did the applique', & I did the quilting. It won an Honorable Mention at APNQ 2004. I hate to post without a photo, & I didn't take my camera with me today. I know it's a stretch, but hey, I'm trying!

Speaking of spring chickens, I'll be turning 54 soon, & my youngest child Corey's girl Tasha turns 24 this week. We decided to go out to dinner with them (Corey & Tasha), to celebrate, Mother's Day & our birthdays, & say good-bye to Corey for the summer, as he works up in Nome most of the summer months. It was also a good excuse to eat at the Glacier Brewhouse one last time until the summer is over. We don't go there in summer, because tourists pack the place so full, there's 1 1/2 hr waiting to get a table. Dinner was great. We had a good time talking with the kids. Corey wants us to take a trip to Nome to go fishing some time this summer. Apparently that's all he does in his spare time up there, & knows all the best places to fish. He also thinks we would enjoy the history of the town, & the little Wyatt Earp's wife's museum.

On the way home this evening, I noticed the trees along the Seward Highway now have little tiny bright green leaves on them, that weren't there this morning on the way into work!

As we were driving up our hill, there was a moose eating freshly sprouted grass along the side of our street. He was so into it, it didn't bother him when we drove past just a few feet away.

Ahh, spring, it must finally be here!

Happy Mother's Day

It's another Mother's day. I'm afraid it makes me a little sad. My mom has been gone for almost 16 years now & I miss her.

Happily, another bouquet of flowers ended up being delivered to me on Saturday afternoon, from my DS Brandon, & Laura, & Carys. I thought the iris was particularly pretty in this bunch. It does feel very good to have happy spring flowers sent with love from my kids.
Below is a piece of fabric that I have been quilting for my customer Dori. I have been quilting for her for a couple of years now, & this piece was just a yard of fabric that she fell in love with, & didn't want to cut up. She asked me to quilt it, then she will bind it & give it to her daughter for a center piece for her table. She asked me to quilt it on my Bernina, because I told her I'm not so good on Lily yet.
I'm basically just outlining the design in gold thread, & doing a watery feeling meander in black on the black background.

What I'm not so thrilled with is the batting that Dori likes me to use. I don't know what the brand is, but it's very flat, felt-like, but has a fuzzy surface that is bearding through on the black.

I don't think I've ever had bearding from any other batting that I've used. I will be glad to finish this piece & get back to practicing on Lily! If you didn't look at the previous post, check out the flowers there too. Both real & thread!

Flowers on Friday

Yesterday afternoon, this lovely spring time bouquet arrived from my DD Michelle, & Jon, & Darian, to wish me a happy Mother's Day. It was a real pick-me-up. My tummy was still feeling a bit off kilter, & I mostly spent the day laying down & reading. It gave me warm fuzzies to get this delivered to my door. Thank you kids. I love you too!
The rose is particularly pretty.
This week I also picked up the post card I'd bought from the last Alaska Fiber Festival. This one was made by Debbie Boyce, one of our board members, & it was always my particular favorite, so when they decided to start selling them as a fund raiser, & spoke up for Deb's first.
It's 5"x9", & I just loved the colors & textures & detail.
Happy Mother's day to all you moms out there.

ART SCAM

It seems that Ms.Nicole Roane whose email address is nic_ane01@yahoo.com

has also gone by the name "Lisa Benson" using this email lisaben100@googlemail.com

The email was identical to the one I found here.

So no sale, but I'm glad I found out before I got sucked in any further.

I wish there was some way I could burn this BOZO! & get him or her caught!

The up side to this is I get to keep 2 of my favorite pieces :~)

& life never gets dull!

I have logged a complaint with Internet Crime.

Here is another link to a whole list of scammer names targeting artists.

A Better Day & art Scam!

Well, I feel like I'm going to live. The stomach flu or whatever it was, seems to be subsiding. Temps are back to normal, though appetite isn't (which is OK with me, I've always said I wish I could develop a short case of anorexia!).

On the quilting front, I've done nothing but doodle on paper while feeling ill, but I got a nice e-mail surprise today from someone in London who wants to buy 2 of my Art quilts for her new home in South Africa. I almost hate to let them go, but it will make room for new pieces , & that is what being in the business of Art quilting is about. Selling them.

This is my Tree of Life. A whole-cloth quilt, that I made from one of my hand dyed clean up cloths. I did the design in thread, completely free motion, then inked in over it for more definition. I covered a curtain rod to match for hanging. The quilting is tight in this one, & I really loved it.

Sulky Holoshimmer threads really pick up the lights & sparkle on this quilt.

The other one that she wanted was this one, Primordial Soup...Fiber & Ice. The wood hanger is driftwood I picked up on Lake Superior. It looks like it was chewed on the ends by a beaver. The background is Rabbit fur that I bought here.

It's a mix of hand dyes, hand painted fibers, machine & hand stitched, beads & wires. The 2 large beads were to represent the Raven & the walrus, air & sea, the beginnings of time .

Later the same day: Delta made the 1st comment on this post telling me this is a scam. Well after doing Google search on the name used by the scammer "Nicole Roane", it turns out this little missy has been very busy trying to scam people. I've only seen the tip of the iceburg, but will try to dig up links & post a copy of her email so you can all BEWARE..& THANK YOU DELTA!

Off Kilter

It all started on Sunday. Warren was working, so I went to the Irish Dance Spring Fling by myself. After driving in circles trying to find the place, I found it, & parked here by this young moose treating himself to a little pine breath freshener.

I really don't know why I bothered to take my camera along. I knew the pictures wouldn't be good, because of no flash photography rules, & of course my own operator ignorance.
The auction was packed with people, & things to bid on. I thought these funky fleece fish hats were quite amusing.

When I got home. My arms were full of stuff. I had my camera slung over my left shoulder, as I juggled the keys, purse, bags etc., & when I got the back door open, the cat was there to greet me & try to make a quick escape (we live in bear & moose & large predatory bird country, so he has to stay inside). My camera bonked against the door casing, & my heart sank, because I knew it was a hard hit. So this is what the next pictures all looked like.

It made me very sad. My Rebel XT has a head injury!

Well maybe it's just the auto focus part of the lens. I did manage today to figure out how to take a little better picture on manual. This is a post quard my big sister Em made for me. Isn't it cute? It's needle felted & free-motion stitched, & machine applied the beady eye. Several firsts for her. I love it!

Monday I felt kind of funky all day. I worked, slogging through my day, energy feeling low. I had a Dr appointment about my knees at 3, so I went & saw Pete, the Orthopedic surgeon. He said he'd be happy to replace my left knee, & give me a new better bionic one. I was hoping he'd do both at once, as both hurt all the time, but the left is worse than the right by maybe 1 point on my pain scale. We left it at just the left knee, scheduled for May 20th. I went home & worried over it.

When I got home, I was feeling like I really wanted something chocolate. I decided to make my Mocha cookies. They're only 1 point a piece on Weight Watchers. I use 1 cup of coffee in them, & rather than brewing an entire pot, I decided to haul out my little espresso maker from under the counter. I pulled it out by the top, & the little glass pot slid to the floor. CRASH! It shattered. #@!_% so I cleaned up that mess. I just used the measuring cup for the espresso. When it was done, or maybe I should say, when I thought it was done I cranked off the part that holds the grounds, & BOOMF! Very fine Coffee grounds were everywhere! What a mess.

I finally baked the cookies, ate a couple & went to bed.

At 3 a.m. I woke up & couldn't get back to sleep. My stomach was cramping, & I figured it was all because of the knee worries, & maybe the high fiber cookies. I got up Tuesday morning & went into work at 730. I was only working until 330, I had a pre-op physical scheduled for 4, but I called & cancelled it. Pete came into the recovery room where I work at 10 after his first surgery of the day, & I sat down & told him I've chickened out. I want to be sure that it's the right thing to do, only the left I mean. I explained how when I go down stairs I have to lead with the right, one step at a time, because it hurts to bend if I try to lead with the left, & leading with the left is what I would HAVE to do after a left knee replacement. He said we can do an MRI, maybe the cartilage is worse in that knee than what shows on xray, or maybe Synvisc is worth a try. So Surgery is on hold for now, but will probably be in the near future.

By the time I left the hospital, I seriously considered calling Warren & asking him to come get me. I was feeling AWFUL. I had thought it was just a stomach tied in knots over the worries, but after talking to Pete, then talking to my friend Mindy, I figured the stomach would be better & it wasn't. I didn't eat anything all day either. I drove myself home. Made it into the back door, put on my pajamas, & crawled into bed at 4 in the afternoon. By 7 p.m. I decided to check my temperature, & it was 101.7. No wonder I felt so rotten. I called in sick to work for today. I stayed in bed until 1045 this morning, then spent the day on the couch. A little Ibuprofen, some fruit, crackers,& water, & now I'm heading back to bed.

Oh, & speaking of off kilter, Vicki was right on my previous post, the backing was short, but no, it wasn't upside down. I had to add another piece of fabric before completing the quilting.