If It Isn't Moving...

 

Things that don't move fast enough in my sewing room are likely to get stitched! It happened to this small watercolor painting. I've always liked watercolors, but don't excel at using them. Undaunted, I keep trying. When my local library branch offered a class in using watercolors, I signed up. I enjoyed mixing the colors, finding a light source, and a few other techniques in this basic "101" class. Once I painted the pair of pears, I knew I wanted to accent them with stitches. So I did some free-motion stitching around the pears, and then regular stitching to frame the piece.

A nice thing about the class is that the instructor brought all of the supplies and brushes ready to go.

I'll try all sorts of tutorials for watercolors, and this folk-style house was one. Using crayon marks as a resist, we then filled in with various watercolors. It was a fun project, and it got stitched, too. I appreciate the YouTube instructors who make these learning projects available.

This tutorial was on making "messy" mandalas with watercolors and allowing the colors to flow and blend. Very freeing because I think I try to control watercolors and it just can't be done... not by me, anyway.

This is another messy mandala with a free-motion stitched edge. All of these pieces are going to go together in some type of journal. I'm still inventing that in my mind.

I'm even planning to add stitching to this watercolor girl completed in another online class. I'm not sure how yet, but I think she will be enhanced with sewing. She needs some color added to her eyes and other features as well, so she's a work in progress. I really enjoy sewing paper... it's almost as much fun as sewing quilts!

One For the Critters...

 

                            

This post marks the passing of our dear kitty Lily. We called her "Lady Lily of Hawthorne" because of her regal personality and haughty glances. She was royalty... she thought. We found Lily as a kitten on a remote section of a bike trail in 2010. I told her story in this post back when we didn't know if her name was Lily or Libby yet. She was a sweet girl.

I brought her ashes home from the animal clinic and they remembered her with this nice card about The Rainbow Bridge.

We have a beautiful grove of trees next to one of our horse paddocks, and it's become the resting place for the pets who are no longer with us. This crumbling tree in the grove kept catching my eye and I decided it would make a perfect grotto for a St. Francis statue since he is the patron saint of animals. He can watch over the grove and all the critters. Our dog Abby plays in the grove every day. She runs out with her toy and digs and plays and enjoys herself. So it is definitely a place for animals.

St. Francis has a shelf in the tree hollow decorated with a few vintage quilt blocks that were already in tatters. I walk the two dogs by it each day and enjoy seeing it there and thinking about the animals. My whole family has a heart for animals and can't imagine life without them.

One reason I love to visit a local farm market is because they have a yard full of wonderful creatures. One of my favorites is this handsome turkey. Good news- he is considered an ornamental bird, not bred for meat. He is a Royal Palm turkey and he presides over the farmyard in a grand manner.

This bold fellow showed up when we were eating lunch at a local state park. I'm sure people must feed him because he was pretty fearless. An entertainer for sure.

Another beloved "animal ambassador" was the famous Quarter Horse stallion Rugged Lark. He lived to the age of 23 and delighted many with his personality and accomplishments. This bronze statue was installed in his memory at the World Equestrian Complex in Ocala. We had the opportunity to meet Rugged Lark and tour the farm where he lived near us. We got a photo of him bowing down to greet us. An amazing animal. Don't we just love our critters, and don't they provide such companionship and joy?