Memorial Day Tribute

The reflection caught my eye, but notice the flag in the lower left too (2 for 1). The flag in the reflection was behind me, and is shown below.

Today remember the casualties of war are not always visible. The men and women of war are good at keeping it all in, sometimes until it is too late for them to receive help. My father was one of these casualties of World War II, he took his own life December 1954. I am just asking (and reminding myself) to remember our military past and present and their families in our prayers today.

I will be on the beach today, able to be there today because
our military has kept our country a free country.

Remember our freedom is not free.

Be thankful we do still have the freedom to go where we wish in our beautiful country.

Scenery from the Smokies

Jimmy and I have very limited time together anymore. I arrived home late Saturday evening from the festival, and Sunday we had a chance to spend the day together without other family members. Jimmy and I just got in the car and drove, when we first met we did this every weekend. We talked about some of the times we got lost and of things we just came across by being lost. We did leave the house with an idea in mind of where were going this time, but still went down some memory lanes together along the way.This is the nicest scarecrow I have ever seen. Look at the way the blue has faded in the front. When printed that blue is vibrant.

There is a loop road (for some reason I think 8 miles, but that might not even be close) of Arts and Crafts that turns off the highway between Gatlinburg and Cosby. There are shops all along the road, some shops are close to each other, so some of time when you park you get to go through 5 to 10 shops before getting back in your vehicle. Some of the time, just one shop before you are driving again. I am including this information because I had a couple of questions since my earlier post this week.

All of the photographs in this post are taken at one stop along the road. These were all in the yard of an old house. The old house was the home of the Paul Murray Gallery , but when we first pulled up I had to grab my camera. It was the neatest little place. A man came out while we were in the yard and as he was leaving told us the artist was great. Seemed kind of odd, most people don't give out that kind of praise. Check out the link, this artist is awesome.

By the way, the photograph above and below are the same photograph,
the one below has been cropped. I like both.

This is just the barn door to a barn in the front/side yard.

If you follow my Photography By Leedra blog , the peony bloom was posted there earlier this week, just in case you are thinking you have already seen this photograph.

All but the barn door have been made into greeting cards already (including both the cropped and the non cropped version of the birdhouse),
with some of them already selling.

Photos from KY Sheep and Fiber Festival

At the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival I took two full day classes. The first one was making Santa. The second day was a sheep. Believe it or not, the sheep is harder. I left class with a completed Santa. I left class with 4 hours left of punching those curls all over the sheep.

As you can see from the photo below,
I needed some guidance on what a sheep actually looks like.

I took lots of photos of the sheep, in hopes of knowing what they look like from now on.
Meet Rebecca Booth from Punkin's Patch, a wonderful blog about raising sheep.
Isn't she just the cutest sheep? I love her color.

I don't know much about sheep (as evidence look at the first sheep I needle felted -HAH!), so I don't know what type she is, but if you visit the Punkin's Patch blog I am sure Sara tells you. All you have to do is click on Rebecca Booth to see the post(s) about Rebecca.

And they sell Rebecca's curls. I bought some of Rebecca's curls, hoping I can needle felt a sheep that will remotely look like her.

Off to my knitting group meeting.
So nice to have found a group within a few miles of home.

Rhododendron are beginning to bloom in the Smokies

I got back home late Saturday evening, in that terrible storm. Sunday Jimmy and I went to the mountains, and most of the day was nice. It did start raining, and did rain rather hard, but I was able to get some photographs of the rhododendron beginning to bloom before it beat them all down.

We didn't actually go to the GSMNP, we went to the Arts and Craft loop road. Yes, I am forever looking for ideas.

I had a great time at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival, and I will post photos soon.

Off to classes .... again

I am headed to the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival. I am going to be taking 2 all days classes on needle felting. The first day is making Santa Claus sculptures. The second day is making sheep. Since I have never taken a class on the needle felted sculptures I hope to come away all fired up.

I also hope I will get the opportunity to visit all the booths. (Wool for needle felting!!!) The problem being the booths are just Saturday and Sunday and I am planning to come home Saturday evening. I wish the booths were open on Friday after class. Oh, well, guess I will have to walk and shop fast.

I am keeping my Etsy shop open while I am gone this time, since I will be back Saturday evening. Anthing purchased while I am gone will be shipped on Monday.

Latest needle felted purse, finished and listed

This is the purse I showed in progress
(a few post down the page if you want to see it while I was working on it).
The first picture is what I call the back of the purse,
because the flap closure is on the other side.

Once it was completed I had a hard time making up my mind if it was going on Etsy, or my shoulder. Etsy finally won out, and the listing is here.

I know the butterfly isn't really a Swallowtail (at least not one that I have ever photographed). Have you ever tried to needle felt a Swallowtail? It ain't easy! LOL! So this is what I decided on after looking at my own bought clothing that had butterflies. None of those butterflies look like the real thing either. Notice the tiny little bead for his eye. I was afraid to use the size I have been using for the birds, thought it would be too big. Can barely see this one in person.

The last picture is the front of the purse. Notice the green at the bottom on the front and the back. It is needle felted across the bottom and goes up just enough on each side for the flower stems to start in the grass.

When I make these and list them on Etsy my thought is if they don't sell the nieces will get purses for Christmas this year. This past year they all received scarfs, (never listed on Etsy). The purses would be a step up, don't you think? So far, they are selling, some faster than others. The last one I sold was shipped to Alaska, as far as I know, not to somebody that follows my blog.

It has turned cool here, and I refuse to turn the heat back on (so far). We had a little rain yesterday. I don't think Nashville got much, they aren't over the flood yet, so they can't handle much. My paying job is related to circuit troubles for AT&T, in 6 states. So I have had to work extra due to the flooding in Tennessee. The stories I am hearing out of Nashville are bad. The people in Nashville need continued prayer at this time.

Also remember Dorothy's Joe and Darla's Dad.

Signs of things to come

Hopefully my flower gardens will be as full of butterflies this year as in the last several years.

I just love ladybugs. This is a partial view of one of my daylily flowerbeds. As you can see I am going to have a real hard time getting in there for photographs. My husband likes to plant them close to begin with, and then when they grow there is NO room to get around them. He did weed and mulch this spring before the daylilies started showing themself, so with the mulch and the closeness of the daylilies, not much room for weeds. Thank goodness, since we couldn't get to them if they were there. I do think he is seeing the error of his ways right now.

In the back there is a hint of purple from the iris bed, and you can see the road. The daylilies are right up to the edge of the bank down to the road. I used to be able to walk around that edge, but this year the daylilies have grown so much I won't be able to. This one bed is 10 rows, of about 20 plants in each row. Then I had Jimmy leave me a path before the next section. Hah! The path is almost closed up. I may end out getting him to dig a row up every so often just so I can have a path. Won't be this year. He barely gets home before he has to go back to work.

We did have a wonderful day Saturday....no work for either of us. I had to work Sunday, so he left his yard work for Sunday. Those of you that are against that, just keep the comments to yourself. We do what we have to do. I ended out only having to work 6 hours, so Jimmy met me in Knoxville and took me to The Chop House. He went onto Rockwood and I returned home to continue with my current needle felting project.

The One Flaw in Women

By the time the Lord made woman,

He was into his sixth day of working overtime.

An angel appeared and said, 'Why are you spending so much time on this one?'

And the Lord answered, 'Have you seen my spec sheet on her?

She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,

have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable and able to run on diet coke and leftovers,

have a lap that can hold four children at one time,

have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart

-and she will do everything with only two hands.'
The angel was astounded at the requirements. 'Only two hands!?

No way! And that's just on the standard model?

That's too much work for one day.

Wait until tomorrow to finish.'
'But I won't, ' the Lord protested.

'I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.

She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hour days.'
The angel moved closer and touched the woman.

'But you have made her so soft, Lord.'
'She is soft,' the Lord agreed, 'but I have also made her tough.

You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.'
'Will she be able to think?', asked the angel.
The Lord replied, 'Not only will she be able to think,

she will be able to reason and negotiate.'
The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek.

'Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model..

I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.'
'That's not a leak,' the Lord corrected, 'that's a tear!'

'What's the tear for?' the angel asked.
The Lord said, 'The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her loneliness, her grief and her pride.'

The angel was impressed.

'You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything!

Woman is truly amazing.'
And she is! Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take 'no' for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,

yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left..

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideals.

They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give
HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE TINY FLAW IN WOMEN,
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

The photograph was taken two years ago. It is my daugher-in-law with my first grandson when he was about 3 months old. This photograph displays a Mother's Love is why I am using it today.

Happy Mother's Day to all!!!

Knitting Project Update

The collage has several small purses I have made, the coral colored ones are the only ones I still have. The entrelac purple and green ones (little squares) were ordered by one person for his daughters. He also purchased one of these in 2 colors of blue, and the purple peace sign one.

In Atlanta I took 2 classes taught by Gwen Bortiner on entrelac. The first class was design and I didn't even get to pick up my knitting needles. The 2nd class with Gwen was Mix and Match in Entrelac. We knit this cap while in class. For those of you that don't know anything about entrelac, it usually does not have design and different colors in each square. I really enjoyed this class and teacher. She has a new entrelac book coming out August-September 2010, Entree to Entrelac. I do plan on purchasing it.

This purse was not going to be needle felted to begin with, but after I knit and felted it something about it was crying out for some blue butterflies. I couldn't resist.

This one is listed on Etsy here.
Now to what I am currently working on. Almost every purse I knit to felt is a new pattern, I keep changing my designs. And with felting you can't be sure how it is going to turn out when it is felted. The one below turned out to my favor, but I had planned on needle felting a Northern Cardinal. Something was telling me to change my mind again and I have now started needle felting Black Eyed Susans, on the front.
And on the back. This is just the beginning stage.
I will show you again when I list it on Etsy.
I have now started another purse with 'basically' the same design as the one above. I have not even thought about what I am going to needle felt on it. Seems like I change my mind by the time it comes out of the machine from the felting process, so why think about it right now?