Dare #33

Today is "post the Dare challenge day"!  These challenges are my television-watching activities...I just cannot  just sit and watch television...I have to be doing something!
And, of course, sometimes I kinda doze with pen in hand!  Sometimes you may see an occasional "whoops" mark on my zentangles...those are the dozing times!  Some of my really heavily inked works are due to the dozing and the need to cover up!  But other times, I just change my original plan to accommodate the "whoops"....can be a real creative challenge to test my skills!!!  And then there is the dangerous, permanent pen marks on my clothing!  I am a very casual dresser, so jeans and t-shirts don't seem to mind a little additional design factor on them!

I actually am not sure why I got off on the above explanation, as this Dare challenge doesn't seem to have any examples of said "dozing" trend!  But in the future, look close..you may see some!!  That is one of the fun challenges for my husband....to see how well  I have concealed the "whoops"!!!

Dare # 33

Returning to "Normal"

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and extended family!  The turkey was one of the best we have cooked..don't know what makes the difference...we do about the same thing every year!  Everyone is healthy...the weather was perfect...fun times: eating-playing games-watching football-a lot of laughing!!

Now to get back to a few projects...my Crones challenge: "When You Wish on a Star";  my new group-Art Quilts Around the World- challenge: "My Profile"; and our bed quilt which is from Karen Stone's "Unusual Lone Star" pattern (this has been a long term project!).  I also want to get some journal covers made for some gifts for Christmas.
And one of my daughter's just gave me a set of India Inks and pens for my birthday (a hint-hint gift!) which I am anxious to take a stab at!  Along with a couple of wish list books..Sue Bleiweiss's "Sketchbook Challenge" and "Journal Fodder: 365: Daily Doses of Inspiration".  And my other daughter gave me  a gift certificate to one of my favorite fabric shops!  Do they know their mom or what???

I have made blocks for a "Sandy Relief" that Michelle Foster of Quilter's Gallery has been promoting.  I made12 blocks and sent them to someone else who will add them to others and make the quilt.  Then it will be sent to the East Coast to help someone after the hurricane.  Here are my blocks:

12" blocks-totally from scraps

If you are interested in participating, this is an ongoing project and you can find out more by going to the Gallery link.  The blocks are very easy and really help with the scrap bag stash while helping out others!

Thanksgiving 2012

Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all my friends, old and new!  Wishing you the best!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!!!!

This is a zentangle challenge I did a year or so ago, and thought my little turkey would still be appropriate this year!  Pumpkin pie in the oven, silver polished (thanks to my buddy!), bread crumbs drying (again thanks to my buddy), rolls baked, cranberry sauce cooked,  jellos made....now to make a cherry cobbler and get apple pie out of the freezer.  Later on today, will get  ol' Tom (although I think it is a young tom) out of the fridge; chip out the  bag of giblets; cook them with eggs for my giblet gravy which I will make tomorrow after Tom is roasted.

We are having 14 people and have a 22 lb. turkey to serve!  Everyone will be bringing all kinds of food....I think we will have enough....and then some!

I wish everyone, everywhere would be able to have this magnificent feast with us....or one like it where ever they are!  It might be a little crowded to have everyone in!!

One Zendala/Two Challenges

This week, being a holiday week, I decided to do only one Zentangle/Dare and hopefully fulfill both challenges at one time.  The Bright Owl has produced some really stunning mandala designs to complete "zentangle way" and I really liked the Diva's "Zinger" challenge so I used the mandala given to us by B.O. and included Diva's "zinger":

Dare #32/Zentangle #96-Zinger

I am going to have to use zinger again..I really liked drawing it!  Now to bed because tomorrow I will start the marathon cooking episode!!  Pumpkin pie, cherry cobbler, cherry jello,  rolls, get turkey cleaned up and ready to put in oven early Thursday...we are having 14 over for Thanksgiving dinner, so I want to have as much done ahead of time as possible, so I can enjoy the company!  Also tomorrow, table setting, clean house, get out all dishes/flatware needed.

Challenges Posting

Today, I am going to post both my Dare Challenge and the Diva's Zentangle Challenge on the same blog because I am  little pressed for time.  So....First my Dare Challenge...

Dare Challenge # 31

And for the Diva's Zentangle Challenge, we are doing a challenge in honor of Mickey Mouse as the 18th of November is his birthday.  Coincidentally, my birthday is also the 18th and although Mickey is somewhat older than I am, we have been celebrating together for a very long time!!

Zentangle Challenge #95

TVQG Monthly Meeting

Today was my guild's monthly meeting...good see those whom I only see once a month! Our speaker today was Susan Cranshaw...a designer, art quilter and fellow Texan via the East Coast.

I had purchased one of her patterns from a quilt shop a couple of years ago...the Horned Toad...mainly because I wanted to make some items for TCU (Texas Christian University) which is my S-N-L's alma mater, located here in Fort Worth, and has a very loyal fan base...oh, and the Horned Toad is their mascot!

The Horned Toad

They are not very pretty fellows but have an interesting history and have come close to extinction. The design that Susan created is much cuter!  I have made a tote bag for my daughter to carry to football games and a couple of mini wall hangings....

Tote Bag

Susan has many other patterns in her Texas critters series...longhorn cattle, hummingbirds, armadillo, road runner, and several landscape/floral scenes.  Because I enjoyed her Toad so much, I decided to also purchase the hummingbirds and road runner.  We have both birds around here so I thought I would like to have them done in an art quilt...a triptych perhaps.

I don't usually buy patterns because I like to make my own, but her designs are so well done, I think to try to do my own would be like trying to reinvent the wheel!  And half the fun is to select the fabric to be used....that is what makes it my art! (Kind of!)  I have created a link to her website where you can see her work and also purchase items from her if you are interested.

Creativity Abounds!

Two weeks ago, my Creative Crones group met and we had such a great time...revealing our latest challenge, dyeing fabric, and eating!!  I had taken a dyeing class a few years ago but never did any thing with what I had learned except purchase dyes and fabrics to dye!!  So our getting together got me inspired to do more the next day at home.

My fabrics on the line

And here are some more that I did at home along with some wool roving I was trying to dye... the roving is OK but I want to try some more to get more vivid colors.

Hand dyed fabrics

I love the process, but I will say...it is a lot of work!!!  The dyeing part is really fun, but the getting set up and all the rinsing after is a pain in the ol' keister!!  I will do it again, but is more fun to do as a group activity!!!

Then the following Sunday, we met our daughter in Dallas at the Arboretum to view the Chihuly blown glass exhibit.  It was absolutely fabulous!!!  The exhibit was to have ended early November, but because it has been so popular, they are extending the date to December 31.  If any one is any where near the area, and have not seen the exhibit yet, I highly recommend visiting it!

Glass reeds "growing" in water

A glass plant

Closeup of glass

This is approx. 20 feet high.

Closeup

A water fall and glass 

Chihuly glass work

And this is just a small portion of the exhibit!  Much of the beauty was the setting...nestled among the plants as though the glass was a part of it!

#94-Socc and an Exciting Invite!

This week, being the first week in November, the Diva gave us a tangle from the UMT list.  That stands for Use My Tangle and zentangle creators can enter a tangle they like to be chosen as the one for all to use.  This tangle comes from "The Bright Owl" who also gives the DARE Zendala challenges!  Here is my tile....

Challenge # 94-Socc

Here is the Bright Owl's instructions on how she created "Socc":

And today I received an invitation to join an internet art quilt blog, Art Quilts Around the World...I am very excited about this...I am a big follower of the "Twelve X Twelve" gals who have had an international blog/challenge for quite awhile and have always thought it would be great fun to belong to one!

I probably gave my response so quickly that I have scared them off!!!  I just knew without having to give it much thought that I would enjoy being a part of this group and their challenges!!  Here is a link to the blog so you can check it out!  And almost as quickly as I accepted their invitation, I heard back from the gals in charge and am already listed on their sidebar!

Houston Quilt Show/Colouricious Booth

I did not get to the International Quilt Show this year...but I had a little quilt that made it there!!  Last year at this exact time...my daughter and I took one of the ONE DAY Bus trips.  We had a great albeit very tiring time....and I wish I had gone again this year...I'll start thinking towards next year!

Anyway...while we were there last year..we visited the Colouricious Booth which is an English vendor specializing in wooden stamps as well as many other fiber arts things.  They have a fascinating website and blog which I have linked to so check it out.  But back to my story!  While talking to the lady in charge and being interested in her blocks, she gave me one block with the  condition that I would make something with it for her to have as a demo for this block.

My stamp from Colouricious

A few weeks before this year's show was scheduled, I remembered I had told Jamie at Colouricious I would make her something...so I got the stamp out and for some reason, every time I would look at it, the little Camp Song "In a Cottage, In a Wood"  came to mind!  So I decided to print off the lyrics, stamp the cottage on, and create a forest around the cottage.  I knew some one from my guild would be going to the show, and sure enough, after I put out a request for a deliverer, one of my friends volunteered to deliver it for me.

After Peggy delivered it, she emailed me a picture of Jamie of Colouricious with my quilt....she seemed to be very pleased to receive it....chances are, she probably forgot that she had even given it to me a year ago!  But I would not have felt right keeping her/my stamp without at least attempting to give her something back!

Jamie of Colouricious with my little cottage quilt!

Dare Zendala Challenge # 30

This week, the Bright Owl gave an interesting challenge...not only did she create a zendala pattern for us to use, she challenged us to use zentangle patterns that, by name, begin with the letters...P-I-E!!!  Which she aptly determined  would help us to begin the big November celebration....Thanksgiving!

Ironically, as I was reading her blog on the subject, I had two apple pies in the oven...one for eating NOW and one for freezing for the Thanksgiving Feasting!!  When we visited NW Arkansas a couple of weeks ago, my brother in law had brought us a bushel of Jonathon apples from Missouri.  We can never seem to get very good apples here in Texas and Missouri Jonathons are the best, in my opinion!!!

Apple pie...love those Jonathons!

And the zentangle patterns I chose to use are: Pais, Ixorus, Echo, and Eyelet.

Dare # 30

And I have created links for all four of the tangles I used which will show you how to draw them and give you a opportunity to see a few other "zentangle" blogs!! Enjoy!

Two New Zentangles

This week I am going to consolidate the two challenges I follow:

Dare Challenge # 29

This is my Dare challenge from the Bright Owl who is having a bit of a challenging week so I hope she is doing much better by now!

Zentangle # 93 "Bunzo"

And my challenge zentangle from the Diva who gave the tangle "Bunzo" to do.  Bunzo is the center tangle and if you would like to see how to make it...go to her link as she has the directions for it there.

I really admire both of these ladies for always getting the challenges out there for those of us who follow them to do.  Both of them are very busy in their own rights with jobs, school, and family and to go the extra time for zentangling is very worthy of praise!  My hat is off to both of you!!