Dare #28

I actually have my challenge for the Dare from The Bright Owl early this week...by a day!

Dare #28

We were out of town last weekend...took a trip to Northwest Arkansas and the fall colors in the Ozark Mountains were spectacular!!  We traveled there for two reasons...one was to revisit the Crystal Bridges American Art gallery in Bentonville, AR and to go to War Eagle Arts and Crafts Fair.  As it turned out, we got a third treat!

We were going to go to Crystal Bridges Friday morning...but as they it didn't open until 11:00, we had time to visit Pea Ridge, a Civil War Battlefield nearby.  We have visited Civil and Revolutionary Battlefields all over the country, and here was one so close that we had not visited...perfect opportunity.

Leestown, Arkansas...no longer a town there, but was a hamlet at the time of the battle.

On bluff overlooking the Pea Ridge battlefield.

Then we went to Crystal Bridges, had a nice lunch and wandered around looking at the wonderful art work....thanks to Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton (founder of Walmart).  This fantastic facility and grounds is free to the public.  On display this time we were there are models of some of the works of the architect, Moshe Safdie. This very prolific architect has done some marvelous structures world-wide.  Click on the link to see more.

This is a model of Crystal Bridges on display.

And this is the real thing!

The entrance to Crystal Bridges...
There is a sister tree to this one at the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX

After seeing everything inside, we hiked around outside...there is so much to see and the grounds are so beautiful....and artwork all over the place!

A new acquisition.

Can you see a bike in the tree?
This is a bronze sculpture....tree and bike.

The next day we went to War Eagle Arts and Crafts fair.  It is located out in the country on river.  There is an old mill there...is still a working farm, but twice a year they have this huge fair...over 500 vendors.  My brother-in-law and wife have a booth selling homemade soap...War Eagle is a very interesting place..we enjoyed seeing our relatives and checking out all the other vendors!

The river where War Eagle is located...on both sides of the banks.

Peace...NOW!

While watching the last debate....on foreign policy...I wanted to share my attempt to encourage peace in my own way.  Last spring, I saw a website on Facebook about "FeltPeace.org"...looked into it and decided to sign up.  I received the name of the person I would send a project to...and she is in Greece.

I had first tried out felting at a workshop at Arrowmont...then I discovered that  one of my Creative Crones' buddies has a felting machine which she is generously loaning out to any of us to use.  And another Crone had a lot of wool roving which she shared with all of us.  As the projects for the Felt Peace were to be at least 30% felted, I decided to do a little wall hanging....using a picture I had pulled from a magazine of a cell...sliced and magnified. I thought a single cell would be a great symbol for showing peace...we are all made of cells which are all pretty much alike and if that thought could be considered, that our differences are much less than our "alikeness" maybe peace could occur!  Loving the colors and shapes in it I got my stuff together and started to felt.

Felted project on left/picture of cell on right

I had used store bought felt for the background.  Shown here is my felted project before I did any embellishing.  Then as I worked on it, I decided to not make a wall hanging, but to make a journal cover....using an expensive composition notebook for the inside.

Felted journal cover with embellishments...beading, stitching etc.

Completed journal with notebook inside

Inside of journal and composition book to be inserted.

I really enjoyed making the journal cover...I may have to make some  more of these!!  And I have mailed off my project for the PeaceFelt to my new friend in Greece...hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it!!!

Challenge #91-Beads of Courage

I am running late on this post....it is 11:00 PM my time, but the Diva is on the East Coast of Canada...so it is already tomorrow there!  (And I just read that the deadline is actually Saturday...so I am really late!)  We just got back in town this afternoon, and I created my #91 challenge this evening...I really like this challenge she gave us; "Beads of Courage", so I am going to try to get it posted.  Please follow this link to find out more about the "Beads...".  It is a wonderful organization which the Diva is involved in because of her darling little guy who has a rare condition.  I am linking you to her site also so you can read about him.  If you scroll on down to the list of those who met the challenge, you will see I am #80!!  The slideshow was created before I added my tile.

And here is my contribution in honor of this organization!

"Beads of Courage"

New Zentangle and Good News

First...my good news!  My husband's PET Scan came back with a good report...although his cancer is, according to the doctor, not curable but is treatable so we are now in the treatable mode!  The scan showed everything to be really good...all he needs to do now is get stronger...no more chemo, thank goodness!  For those of you out there who have experienced the treatment, either personally or via family/friend, you will know what I mean!!  It is a wonderful thing that we have such great doctors and drugs, but boy, does it take a toll!!!

We have many years ahead and many plans to be fulfilled, not the least of which is celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary next year!!!  More to come on that as time nears!

Now my zentangle for the week...the Diva gave us the challenge to use Linda Farmer's "string" #1.  Linda has been creating strings to use....that is the basis for the start of a zentangle.  For some that seems to be one of the most difficult things to do so she has been creating strings on her website to be downloaded and used. You can link to her site by clicking on her name; I also have her badge on the left side of my blog you can click on!

Here is my String #1 from Linda Farmer:

Dare # 26

This week the Bright Owl gave a little bit different challenge.  Usually she just gives us a wonderful Zendala to create; this week she got a little more specific and also gave a broad theme to go with the pattern....It seems she is quite the fan of October, especially Halloween!!  So the challenge was to also include the colors of fall or to have something to do with the holiday

So here is my zendala for this week's Dare Challenge!!

Dare Challenge # 26..."Eerie Eyes"!!

Bright Owl's "obsession" with Halloween reminded me of one of the barns with quilt patterns we saw when we were in Michigan last year.  The owner is also really fond of Halloween as you can tell from the picture!  They even named their farm "Bewitching Farm"...I think I read somewhere the owner was born on Halloween and it has become her favorite holiday.

The "Bewitching Farm" Michigan 

A close up of the barn at the "Bewitching Farm"

OOPS!!

While my mind has been on many other things the past couple of weeks, I realized that I never posted my Zentangle challenge #89 for the Diva.  Now we already have our challenge for #90, but as I just got it, I am going to go ahead and post last week's.  We go to the doctor today to get the results of the PET scan so I am a little distracted!

Any way....here is #89...."SanKegg"...which I really didn't like very much..but again, am always up for a challenge!!

Challenge #89-Sanegg 

Maria Vennekens is the creator of this tangle and if you go to the Diva's site, you will see the story behind it.

"Sankegg" by Maria Vennekens

Dare Challenge #25

The Bright Owl already posted the new Dare Zendala #26, but I think I can still post my Zendala # 25 from last week...so here it is:

Dare Zendala Challenge # 25

I really like the symmetry of her designs for the challenges.  Be sure to check out her blog to see more of them...and to download your own patterns of the week.   She publishes them in two sizes...full page and a smaller version. Actually, there are three, because the smaller size comes in a round shape and in a square.   I print them out on card stock...I usually design the large one, but I cut out the smaller versions to have on hand when I just want to mess around....

Projects Are Us

I had such a great time at the quilt show!  I got involved in the Auction and was lucky enough to purchase a couple of beauties!

A mini Quilt by my friend Heather 8"x 11"

A mini by a guild member I have not met  11" x 13"

I also have gotten interested in a new (to me) technique...working with wool applique so I bought some fabric, thread and needles at the show.  I am interested in designing my own patterns, but am going to need a little tutorial instruction in how to do the appliqueing!

My wools and thread...aren't these great colors?

A couple of other projects I have in the works are:

My "Shades of Gray" charm blocks 

I want to create a quilt with the 56 five-inch Charm blocks which I rec'd this week.  The large fabric they are all resting on was my choice.  This should be a real fun project!

Fabrics for October Creative Crone challenge

And Wendy of studioQ has given my fiber arts group a really interesting challenge for October.  And I am eager to get busy with it!

I also need to get back to my "Unusual Lone Star" by Karen Stone which I am making for our bed.  I had put it aside to complete my quilts for the show...and now that it is over, time to get back to it!!  The link will take you to a google site with lots of pictures of Karen's work.  Her website is "under construction" right now but will be worth checking into when finished.

A Great Week..TVQG 2012 Quilt Show and More!!

I have had a really marvelous week!!  The best thing to have happen is that my buddy had his last chemo this past Tuesday...now just need to get the PET scan and report to be in the clear!!

And I got a package off to my granddaughter in college and heard back from her right away!!  And my grandson, a freshman at a new (for him) high school is just fitting right in!

And my personal news....our guild quilt show which ends today..was very successful for me.  I entered five quilts and came home with three ribbons...plus the little frog quilt that I donated to our scholarship auction brought a whopping $110.00 dollars!!  That really knocked my socks off!! A live auction is really the way to make the money...people get real competitive and crazy!

"Go, Frogs"- my auction donation

Here are my ribbon winning quilts:

Miniature Log Cabin-3rd place

"RA, the Sun God" 2nd place in the art quilts

"100 Years of Girl Scouts"-A Winner of the Guild Challenge

The guild challenge is a annual endeavor.  The topic changes each year according to the theme of the show.  The title of this quilt show is "Remember When" so the challenge was to make a quilt, no larger than 36", about a memory....Rather than have first, second, etc. place winners, the judges choose five that they feel best depict the theme. Because this is the 100th year birthday of the Girl Scouts, and because I have a history that goes back nearly 60 years and 4 generations, I decided to do a quilt in memory of....I had fun finding the pictures on line...old magazine picture covers with girl scouts on them, pictures of badges, etc.  and I included pictures of my mom, myself, my girls and my granddaughter...the four generations!! And I guess the judges liked the idea so chose me as one of the five!

Now need to run into Fort Worth to help take down the show and pick up my quilts...then think about getting ready for the show next year!!

Zentangle Challenge # 88-"IX"

The Diva gave us a challenge using the tangle "IX".  Although I have to admit is not one of my favorite ones, I appreciate the opportunity to try the tangles that I would probably not use otherwise!  So here it is:

Challenge # 88-"IX"

Earlier today, I posted my challenge for the Bright Owl's "DARE" of the week.  As both of these challenges request specific blog links, I didn't want to post them together, but if you are interested in seeing another zentangle of mine, you can link to it.

New Dare Challenge

Last week when the Bright Owl gave out the zendala for the week, she decided to change the challenge to Saturday rather than Friday.  She is a very busy lady...with job, school, etc....and Saturday works better for her.  I think that anyone who takes the time to ever sponsor a contest, a challenge, or any kind of scheduled event for the public deserves the gratitude of her/his audience...so Saturday it is!!  And here is my entry for this pattern:

Dare Challenge # 24

My guild, Trinity Valley Quilters' Guild, is holding our annual Quilt Show.  It is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Will Rogers Coliseum.  There will be over 300 quilts on display as well as vendors from all over the state with goodies to buy.  I am entering five quilts and have one donated to the auction which will be Saturday.  The money we make on our auction goes towards our scholarship which we award yearly to a deserving college student majoring in fine arts.  And this year we are having a life auction which should be lots of fun!!  Here is my quilt for the sale:

"Go, Frogs!"  

Fort Worth is the home of TCU whose team is the Horned Frogs and this is from a pattern by Susan Cranshaw from her Desert Series..fusible applique.

Exciting Mail Today for Creative Crones

The mailman (actually ours is a lady) brought my copy of the new Quilting Arts magazine today.  I have really been anxious to see it because my fiber arts group..the Creative Crones of studioQ....are in an article written by Lynn Karwczyk  about starting/maintaining art groups.  A few months ago, I had responded to a question she had posed on Facebook wanting groups that had formed and had pictures of their meetings.  She answered me and through several back and forth emails, the information she wanted for her article came to light.

This blog address is in the article for people to respond if they want more info...so to those who are checking it for that purpose, I hope you will check out any blogs about the Crones as I have posted several of our meetings on here.  You can also check out Flicker and Picasa under my name for more pictures of what we do.  and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Pinwheels for Peace

Today, September 21st, is known as International Day of Peace.  Last year the Diva challenged us to do "Pinwheel for Peace", the zentangle way. And she has challenged us to the same this year.   There are several organizations in the world promoting peace...this is one of them.  Another group that I have become interested in is the "Peace Felt" organization.  Click on my link to find out more about them.  I have signed up to do a swap with this group...am working on my  felted item and will post a picture of it when it is finished and before I send it off to Greece where my partner is.

And because I haven't blogged for awhile...I want to update everyone on my "Buddy"..who is also my best friend and my husband!!  He is much improved since the last time I blogged; will receive his last chemo next week...then after PET scan, we will know where we go from here.  Thanks so much to all who had commented on my last blog..your thoughts are really appreciated!

This is going to be a real multipurpose blog as I am going to not only post my Pinwheel for Peace challenge, but also my Dare # 23 Zendala.

First..my Pinwheel for Peace and if you wish to see the Pinwheels from last year, the Diva has posted them in a slideshow.  While at her site, you can also scroll down and see individual pinwheels from other challenge responders for this year!

Pinwheel for Peace-2012

And now my Zendala Challenge for the week from the Bright Owl:

Zendala # 23

Challenge # 85 Breaking Free

The last couple of days we've spent at the hospital.....my buddy is having a little bit of a rough patch with the low white cell count...  Throughout our "ordeal" this year, there have been two things that have really helped pass the time for me...one is my Kindle Fire (I LOVE my Kindle...for more than just books!) and the other thing that has kept me occupied are the Internet challenges I have gotten into...I can take my sketchbook anywhere and "doodle" away!

This week, the Diva challenged us to do a tile and "break outside the boundaries of the box"!  The challenges are posted each week on Monday, so my other favorite item came in real handy.  As the hospital has Wifi (albeit a little sporadic), I could use my Kindle Fire to get on line and check out the Diva's website to get the topic.  And I could also get to Linda Farmer's website to look for tangles I wanted to use!

Challenge # 85-"Breaking Free"

Dare Challenge #22

Last night, I was at a bit of a loss at what to watch on tv...my Zentangling time...without any Democratic Convention on!!  And my tv watching buddy wasn't feeling too well so I didn't want to watch any of our taped shows without him.  While surfing, I discovered the game show channel...who knew??  So while entertaining myself with "Pyramid" and others, I was able to complete my Dare # 22 from Bright Owl.

This week, she added a challenge to go with her Zendala string....we were to complete the Zendala as a Monodala!!  A term created by the Bright Owl!  That is, to do the string in one zentangle pattern.  So I looked through all the patterns on Linda Farmer's fab website...and decided to do the tangle, "Purk"!  From Linda's website, if you click on the "P", you will find the Purk tangle listed with a YouTube link to a film on how to draw it...as well as an interview with Rick and Maria, the originators of Zentangling!

Dare Challenge #22 using Purk tangle

Zentangle # 85-Copada

Every first Monday of the month, the Diva challenges us with a "UMT"...that is, "Use My Own" tangle.  A guest Zentangler will give the challenge for the week.  This week, Margaret Bremner gives the zentangle "Copada".

Challenge # 85

As I drew my string and thought about how I wanted to incorporate "Copada", my overall design began to take on a life of its own!!   A face seem to be growing out of every line I put down...so as I added more and more, I found myself actually naming my challenge...Alfie...and having a nice little, albeit one-sided, conversation with Alfie!

Below, you will find Margaret's instructions for drawing "Copada".  Give it a try!

Surprise!

This afternoon, I had gotten an email from Green Mountain Coffee, the company where I order my K-cups for my Kerig coffee maker.  I needed to make a change on my order so after trying on line to add to it, I gave up and called the company's 800 number (due to my lack of computer skills..not their website!)  The very nice lady said "this is  Mary Jane; may I help you?"  And we proceeded to get my order straightened out and on our way.  Then she said, "Jay, are you sitting down?" so I thought....oh...I am winning something really special!  I am the 100th caller of the day!  oh! oh!....so I said "yes, I am!"  She then said, "You are speaking to Mary Jane.../.....!"

Well, it is a good thing I was sitting down!  Mary Jane was my roommate in college my Freshman year!  We became very good friends...she from South Dakota; I from Illinois; both at the University of Missouri;  first time away from home, etc!!  I was even in her wedding in Woonsocket, SD...a thrill for a little gal from Pittsfield, Illinois!!

Anyway, we have kept up through the years with Christmas cards.  The last time we saw each other was probably 45-46 years ago...and haven't spoken since then either...just the annual cards with notes included.  So we have followed each others' lives via mail!

My Freshman Roommate-1958-59 U of Missouri

We had a great time our freshman year...we lived in what was called the "temps"...temporary dorms which had built right after WWII to take care of the influx of veterans coming home and taking advantage of the GI Bill....and still being used many years later as girls' dorms.  We were the fortunate ones who did get to move into the new dorms which were in the process of being built but weren't ready until March of our Freshman year.  Of course, this was before the days of coed dorms....girls had "hours"..we had to be in at certain times...10:30 S-Th; 11:30-Fri, and whohoo...12:30 on Saturdays....oh and four times a year, you could sign up for a 1:00AM!!!

I am so thrilled to be in touch with Mary Jane again!!  I think as one gets older making connections with the past become more important...and what an extraordinary, karma-ish way to connect!!

Dare # 21

Today...hot here in Texas!  We had such a wonderful August...unusual cool weather and  unheard of rainfall...and now September when I am ready for fall...100+ weather returns!!  Ah, well...give me a couple of months and I will complain about being too cold!!

I have finished my Dare Challenge for the week...thanks to the Bright Owl for the Zendala to use...To see the beautiful Dares that others have created, click on her link!

Dare # 21

This was another fun one to do....I think mine came out looking kind of like an Indian shield. Now, time to get busy on my finishing up of my entries in my guild's show.

Creative Crones Meeting

A week ago, my fiber arts group met to share and laugh together...we met at Cabbage Rose, one of my favorite fabric shops in Fort Worth.  They have a great facility for meetings and for classes so at times when none of our members can hold our monthly meeting, they very nicely let us meet at their place.

Our challenge for August was given last month when the Olympics were on..it was my turn to give the topic and I chose to use the Olympic motto.."Citius, Altius, Fortius"...kind of stealing the idea from a zentangle challenge I did a few weeks ago.

Although not all the crones were able to get the challenge done, several did...and we had a great meeting.  Here are some of the challenges plus a couple other things for our "show and tell".

Kathleen showed off her new colorful shoes!

Susan had her corduroy quilt that she is doing for the show

Bethany showed these cute owls!

Lynn is a new member who showed us a new journal

Susan is catching up on challenges..."Be the Pink Flamingo...."

Beth missed last meeting so showed us her "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"

And this is Beth's August Challenge..."Citius, Altius, Fortius"

Rhonda's August Challenge

And my August challenge...

Although our challenges are to be 12 X 12 ....I would like to add a background so I can put my block on point.  Here is an idea I am thinking about doing.

Our challenge for September, given to us by Susan is : "Create a Fun House...Use your imagine...it can be a "Fun" house  or a Funhouse as in a carnival.  And the technique to use is add a found object of some nature to block."  Sounds like FUN!!!