Funky Fringe & Picture This

Last night I was On Call for the hospital. That meant no Benadryl to help me get to sleep. Since I turned 50, I have trouble falling asleep at night without help, & Benadryl is the help I choose. It was after 1 a.m. that I finally dozed off. I'd finished one book & started another. I got lucky, & didn't get called in again after I'd gotten home around 10 p.m. with the 2nd case for the day.

I had the alarm set for 0558, as I had to put the trash out. We don't dare set it out the night before, because animals get into it. So picture being awakened from a deep sleep by the early alarm. I tumbled out of bed, & threw on a big sweat shirt & polar fleece slacks over the top of my big plaid flannel night shirt. I felt chilly, & knew it was likely still well below zero as it has been for 2 weeks now. I put on thick socks, smashed a polar fleece hat over my bed-head hair, & got my big down coat on, & gloves. By this time I was so bundled up it was difficult to move. I was still very groggy too, as I usually drink 3 cups of strong coffee before I even put a sock on my foot.

I opened the back door & was shocked by big fat feathery snowflakes falling from the sky. "It must be warmer", I mumbled to the sky. There was at least 10 inches of new snow covering my car, so I grabbed the big push broom with one hand, while trying to carry the full garbage bag, & close the door without letting the cat outside. It of course is still pitch dark out (thank goodness), as I laid the broom in front of me on the path, & plowed my way toward my car.

The snow was amazingly light & fluffy, as I fought my way trying to keep the trash bag from dragging in the snow. I didn't want to get snow all over it then inside my car too. Oh, the reason I need to put the trash in the car, is our driveway is so long, I can't carry 2 big bags to the roadside, & one was already inside the car waiting to be put out.

I made it to the car, then started brushing the snow off from the top & around the door, so I could open it to put the trash inside, & start the car. The snow swept away light as feathers, very dry, & still very cold, though warmer. It was actually 1.3 above zero when I looked at the thermometer.

So, now about 10 minutes out of a warm bed & a dead sleep, I'm sweeping 10+ inches of snow off my car, just so I can drive to the end of the driveway to put out the trash. I took one step around the back of the car, & my feet slipped out from under me....

WHOOMPF!!! Instant snow angel! I laid there on my back, contemplating the beautiful night sky . I had to laugh at how much an idiot I must look, but there's something fun, about laying on your back in the snow.

The Snow Angel image above, is by Barbara Lavalle, one of my favorite Alaskan artists.

These past 2 weeks life has changed tremendously for me. For the first time since I became a nurse in 1979 I'm not working full time+ overtime any more. I went pool, & am working 3 days a week, 8 hours or less. I feel like I'm on vacation all the time!

Yesterday before I got called in (which is purely voluntary, not mandatory, for me now), I put 5 movies into my DVD player in my studio, & stitched from 830 a.m. until 2 p.m. when I got called for the 1st emergency case of the day. I played movies that I love to listen to while I sew. Like "Music & Lyrics", "Holes", "Oh! Brother!", "Phantom of the Opera", "Beauty & the Beast". Today I watched "Paint Your Wagon", & "Hairspray". They are so much fun.

I've been working on some Valentine's Day stuff, which I don't want to show yet, but I thought I'd give you a glimpse of how I'm making funky fringe these days. I have used a bent coat hanger, I've done knitting needles. I know there's a tool you can buy, but I've found that the easiest way for me involves a shish kabob, bamboo skewer (of which I bought one package 15 years ago, & still haven't run out of them). A cuticle stick, some fun yarns & my sewing machine with my open toe foot on it.
I start by looping the yarn over the end of the bamboo skewer, to a little longer than I actually want it to end up. I start sewing with the yarn pulled snug with my left Hand, & the bamboo skewer tight against the right outside of the foot. I stitched forward for about 1/2 inch, then backed up & went forward again, so that each yarn was caught a minimum of 2 or 3 times in the tight stitches. I let the fringe slide off the back of the skewer, so I could go on making the fringe as long as I wanted to.
When I was finished with the length I wanted, I went back & did a tight zig-zag stitch over it just to be a little neater & secure.
Tomorrow I'll be working again, but it was a fun day home today, even if it did begin with a bit of a bang.

Alaskan Photos page

If you want to see some great Alaskan photos, check out Matt Quiad's webpage. He has some of the best pictures I've ever seen of Alaska & it's wildlife. I work with his mom Barb in the recovery room.

Mango Salsa on Salmon & old Knees

I don't have anything quilty I can blog about today, so I thought I'd tell you about our dinner this evening. I made a Mango Salsa to put on some Alaskan Red salmon that I seared with some Jerk spices.
I also used a bit of leftover flat beer to give it a little juiciness.
I started by browning the onions, & searing the skin side of the salmon.
I added 2 chopped Jalapeno peppers, & a big spoonful of minced garlic.

A pat of butter.

Chopped Mango.

Sprinkled the Jerk seasoning on the salmon before flipping it over, then opened the door so the smoke alarm wouldn't go off again (it did the last time I made this).

Added the Mango & a splash of the Cherry beer.

I threw in a few Cranberries for color, but I didn't think it added much to the flavor in the end.

Served it with a simple spinch salad, & my handmade bread toasted with butter & a bit of Romano cheese on top. It tasted good.

The other thing I did today was get on the bike & pedal for 30 minutes. After my knee injection yesterday I promised my Doctor I would get serious about exercising these knees, so when I have to get them replaced, which I know is coming soon, I'll be in better shape & will be able to rehab easier. It might prolong the inevitable too, so I'm being good

The end of next week , we're heading down to Seattle. I'm going to be meeting with Megan Best to try out an A-1 Longarm machine. I hope to get it ordered while I'm there, & I intend to swim & water walk every day we spend at the Condo at Discovery Bay outside of Port Townsend. Our friends Ilene & Stu will be spending a few days with us, as will my DD Michelle & her hubby Jon & DGD#1 Darian. We're looking forward to getting away for a bit.

Mindy's Birthday

I am truly blessed with not only a great family, both immediate, & extended (siblings & great in-laws), but I have some really wonderful friends. Today is Mindy's birthday. She does so much for us. Every time we leave town she kitty sits for us. She drives up here & feeds & waters & pets, & cleans. She & her whole family have helped in construction & painting & 2 house moves. She watched & fed Aunt Ethel for us when we needed respite, & always makes things from her heart for us. She is one of my sisters by heart. I have several. I am very lucky.

Mindy came over on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl with Warren. Her DH is outside visiting family right now. I decided to give her her BD gift a little early so I could enjoy not only her reaction, but her 2 daughters reactions too. I love how they always say"Oh! Wow!", which is pretty much what Mindy said too. I couldn't wait until today to give it to her, although I did see her today when I went in for shots in my knees again.

I made her a Dream Book.On the front of it I included one of her fused glass pieces that she gave me.

I used one of my own ATC's to decorate the front & it created a little pocket behind it.

Inside has a notebook, with a calendar, a pen, an address book, & a coffee card from the hospital where we work. I was pleased with how it turned out.

BTW, for those who want to know it's been COLD up here. It was -14.9 when we went out for the Doctor appointment, but the sun was brilliant today!

Get Your Girls Vaccinated For HPV

The Medical conference in Girdwood wasn't bad. For the most part I would even say it was very interesting,
but I thought the best part was the views
The notes I took during the worst lecture, looked like this,

but the Lecture from a Dr Sher from LA, was very enlightening, & to all who wonder if & when their daughters should be given Gardasil for prevention of cervical cancer from the HPV, the answer is "The sooner the better". Ideally around age 9, because their immune systems are better & will give them better immunity, than if you wait until they are 18 or 21, so JUST DO IT NOW!

The ride home, scenery was beautiful.

I love the road between Girdwood & Anchorage.

Several ice falls were right along side the road. The ice looked blue in person.

Even Sleeping Lady looked beautiful snapped through a dirty windshield at 50MPH with my little tiny old Coolpix camera.

Weekend Ed

Here we are, ol' Whitebeard & me at the holiday party Jan. 4th. My friend Alys took this pic & gave us a copy.

Yesterday I played in the studio for a while. I painted on some fabric, did some sewing & constructing of something new & original, but I'll show you that later.

Right now, I'm just stopping in to say, we're going to Girdwood for a medical conference, & will be tied up for the weekend, in case you were wondering what we were up to. If I don't post for a few days, some of my friends & family start worrying about us! I'd rather be creating, but since I intend to continue in nursing for a while yet, I need to keep up my Continuing Education, & couldn't pass up a chance for free CEU's & a weekend at the Alyeska Prince!

Thank You All

Thank you all for the wealth of feedback that you gave me on pricing. I have taken your words of wisdom into account, & have adjusted my fees for purses a bit. There were things I hadn't really considered before, like the time involved on getting a "Rush order" done. Your feedback really did help.

Now for nothing but pure viewing pleasure, I am sharing 2 of several photos my friend Nancy Dobson sent to me via email. These are amazing "Fashion Dresses" from China, all made from Balloons.

Not very practical, but truly amazing!

For What It's Worth?

Friday I got an email from a nice lady in Texas who wanted to order a purse. Friday night I emailed her my phone number so she could call me Saturday to explain exactly what she wanted. She called about noon time yesterday & we talked for about 20 minutes. She was very pleasant, & wanted a purse to use for her Rat Hat Society socials, something original, that no other member would be carrying. Could I make one & express mail it to her for her meeting next Friday?

Hmmm....next Friday? Well, uhhh, sure I'm off this weekend, why not?! So I started working on it. I'd emailed her fabric samples from my stash, & she liked 2 that I had on hand. I had luckily bought red cord that would work. I worked from about 1245 until 4 p.m. when I had to stop to make supper before my DH had to go to work. I had the body made, & the cord attached by this time, so then I quilted it. I spent about 2 hours on the quilting. The pockets & liner were next, then came the hand work. It was Midnight by the time I was as far as the picture below. I couldn't find a button or beads that would work for the closure, so I headed for bed, & would go out Sunday to get what I needed to finish & mail.

It has pockets for checkbook & Credit card on both sides.
A protective liner to keep things contained & clean.

Sunday at 1130 a.m. it was still below zero outside. I PLEDGE TO CLEAN AUNT ETHEL"S THINGS OUT OF THE GARAGE THIS YEAR SO BY NEXT WINTER I CAN PARK INSIDE.

I wish the windshield had little invisible wires running through it that could defrost the glass faster!

So off I went to Michael's Art &Craft Supplies. I found some beads that could work. I spent about $8.00 worth of supplies with the beads & wire & the tissue paper I needed for packing the purse. I took my case full of beading supplies with me so I could sit in the car & finish the purse, then take it to the Airport Post Office to Express mail it so she could have it in time for her function. I used about 1/8th a tank of gas on this trip (some of that running the engine to keep warm while I finished the purse). I spent 3 hours between driving, shopping finishing & mailing.

This is the final product, on the RED SIDE,

& the PURPLE SIDE.

Now I'd already had a price set on my web page of $45.00 for a small Reversible Purse, & I'd told her she would have to pay the shipping which amounted to $22.50 including the padded envelope I got to mail it in, but this seemed to me like a poor deal for both of us.

I figure I spent at least 12 hours of my time dedicated to creating this purse. Probably about $15-$20 in material costs, plus $8.00 worth of gas, not to mention the electricity cost for the lights, iron & sewing machine in my studio.

I think I better find a better retirement plan!

How would you, or do you set your fees? What would you pay for a purse like this?

Any input would be appreciated.

I stopped at Michael's last night & bought another clock works for my Crazy Clock, since I can't find the one I bought 3 years ago when I first started working on it. I put the clock together today, then put a back cover over the whole thing, to make the backside look nice to. I covered it with a piece of Aubusson Chenille wool upholstery fabric.
I put a split sleeve at the top, so that the whole thing can be hung on a rod at the quilt show, & can be hung on a nail on my wall. It measures 12" wide by 24" long. I made a little window over the clock works to place the battery through. I guess I'll have to make a label for it before I can actually call it DONE.

I also worked on more ribbons for the Alaska Fiber Festival. The 2 wild ones on the left are for the Viewer's Choice on the Aussie Challenge quilts. They're made from the print that was required for the challenge.

Crazy Clock Weekend

I was in a handwork mood this weekend, so I hauled out the Crazy clock & finished all the bead work on it. All I have left is to put in the clock works so it can actually work as a clock, then finish the back. Next weekend I'll do that.
I put this picture my #1 GD when she was 5 over the words "Dream Time",

& this picture of GD #2when I was holding her for the 1st time. Both are under my old reading glass lenses.

4 little bone fishes to represent my 4 children.
None of the watches are working. They are old watches that belonged to me, or my family members, & I had been collecting them for years for this project. I have enough left over to make another. The Flower pot on the roses above is a stone I found on a beach somewhere.

It's been a fun project, I almost hate to be done with it. Oh well, after the back is finished I'll have to come up with a new hand project, or maybe finish another old UFO.