Haven't posted here for quite a while....life happens, nothing really bad or good, just life.

I have been taking some pictures and working on beading, quilting, sewing and knitting. Earlier this spring we had some raccoon babies in our large sugar maple tree in front of the house. They are so cute when they are small....

We also have some great birds... this one is an indigo bunting

and of course goldfinches

We have had some really wonderful flowers this spring

I think this one will be used in a small quilt, I love the star that forms in the middle......

Love this yellow orange wild flower.......I see a small quilt in this one too.

I have more pictures to post of the bead and knitting projects I have completed. Hopefully I will have time to get them up later this weekend.

I have had my March BJP page finished since the last week in March but hadn't taken the pictures... so today is the day....

This is the teaser I placed on the BJP Blog

And here is the full page

And a close up... butterflies, leaves, all in shades and  hues of spring.  The page was truly done in Faith...the spring weather in Ohio has been colder than usual and I didn't have a living green sprout in the woods for inspiration.

I haven't started my April page, I have been pondering what I want to say about April and I have been unable to arrive at a concrete design plan. I know I want to use a face or maybe two on this page and have even made the faces from clay.

The ones on the right are baked and the ones on the left are air dry paper. The paper ones are light as air. I'm thinking the small faces will be flower centers, I will need to make a real plan soon or I will be behind again.....

I did finished a cuff  bracelet I started several months ago.....

The foundation is ultra suade.... I couldn't decide if I should fill in around the leaves, so just let it wait around for inspiration, I liked it the way it was so I finished it off. I don't have any clothing in those colors, but that hasn't stopped me from wearing it.

Thisnext picture is a bracelet that has been a work in progress since I purchased the polished stones several months ago. I collected a mountain of delicas and seed beads that I thought would look good then one by one eliminated all but a few greens and purples..... I still have two small stones for the right side to finish then I will need to shop for a sturdy clasp.

The wood ducks have returned for another year. They showed up about two weeks ago, which is a little later than usual.

It is amazing to me that they have been here every spring since we purchased the property in 1989. I  don't have any idea what the life span of the ducks would be, maybe these are really the second or even third generation.

Yesterday morning I was about to leave for work when Steve call to me to come downstairs and bring the camera. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I could see what he wanted me to take a picture of.......

There he/she was looking in the patio doors, he broused on some of the flowers and then munched his way to the back of the woods.....

We have seen tracks up around the house, but this is the first time I have had the chance to take any pictures.

I finished my March BJP page a couple days ago (actually BEFORE the end of the month), but haven't had the time to take those pictures....... We have a new website for the Bead Journal Project. If anyone is interested in taking part in the 2008 BJP you can read the rules and sign up on the site. Also all the 2007 participants will have a page on the site to display all of their pages in one place.... it should be very very cool when everyone has their pages posted there.

Happy Easter!!!! It is a beautiful day here, even though it is a little cool for those wonderful pastel dresses, flower laden hats  and white sandals. The sun is shining and all of the snow from yesterday is gone.

I worked diligently on my February BJ page last night and finished the backing and edging today

As you can see I stayed with the Valentines Day theme Hearts and Flowers and Lace. The black background fabric has a white feather/fern design printed on it and I used the line as a pattern for the white beads. You can just see some of the lines in the next photo.

I love this kind of fabric, I guess that is probably why I like batiks and hand dyes.... for that little surprise you find when you get up close and personal with the item.

I have started planning my March page, I know I only have 8 days left......... but it is about Spring, and Faith and New Life  all the things that make you want to create and move forward....   Here is a sneak peek...

Ok, so it isn't very far along, but can you see where I might be going??? Another hint....Spring Green 

Still not sure, well you'll just have to come back and see it when it's completed.

The second day of spring and it is snowing......can it get any better than this....I am so tired of winter.

BJP Update....... My February page is almost finished and March is almost over......I'm behind again, so what's new....... Robin Atkins has posted a preorder form for her new book on her site.... It looks like a wonderful addition to my book collection you can have a look here.

I took the day off yesterday and decided to work on a couple projects. One was the beginnings of "spring cleaning" which is not even close to my favorite thing to do....... I wiped down the kitchen cabinets with Murphy's oil soap, then just for fun I wiped down the kitchen chairs.  Everything does look cleaner so I guess it was worthwhile.

A few weeks ago I found a web site that had a list of free project patterns, Fibre&Stitch. There were two patterns that I thought I would try out,  so I printed them off.

The first one was a Business Card Holder by Terri Stegmiller.  These are the ones I made.....

They were fun and very easy to make. I addied a plastic snap to the flap and an antique mother of pearl button.

The second project was a Padfolio by Sue Bleiweiss......

I used the same fabric for this as for the card holder.....

I made a couple modifications to this part of the pattern.... I added some extra width to the pocket and sewed chanels to hold a pen and pencil.

The yarn has charms attached to make it easier to close the cover.

Steve said he thought they would make a nice gift set......

You mean like......... give them to someone else??!?!?!?

Things have been a little crazy the past few days. The first of the week we had more snow and cold weather. I wanted to take a picture of a Cardinal sitting in a snow covered bush , but he was just too far away for me to get a good shot of him and then he turned his back to me.....men.

I did get a good shot of some icicles hanging from the gutter. The sun was shining very bright and they just glistened.

The snow covered bushes and trees were so beautiful..........

The tracks in the snow were made by squirrels or the neighbors cats that have decided to make our yard their home. I don't have a problem with that now, but I think we may have a problem later this summer keeping them out of the plants on the deck and the flower beds.

I haven't finished my February BJP, so am once again behind..... I have a good start on the page and I know what it will take to finish it just need the time....

January, February and March are always busy months for me at work. This year the weather has been a real challenge too, bitter cold temps and more than usual ice and snow. But the highlight of February happened two weeks ago Thursday. I had an appointment at 9 AM to arrive at a clients to help set up their QuickBooks. As I turned the corner from the parking lot to the sidewalk, which was on a slight incline, I hit a patch of ice and went flying. When I landed I went face first, tried to brake my fall with my right hand, but that didn't help at all. I was stunned slightly but didn't pass out, as I tried to regain my composure and footing to stand the blood was flowing from my nose. My newly purchased glasses were scuffed on the right lens by the concrete, and it turns out they were the culprit that caused the gash in the bridge of my nose. I made it inside the office and the staff there helped get the blood slowed and drove me to the ER.  A CAT scan of my head, X-rays of my hand, a pain pill, 4 stitches, and a partial cast of my right hand and wrist later Steve drove me home to sleep. Nothing was broken and that was a blessing. My face looked pretty bad for almost 10 days,(no I didn't take pictures) but I went back to work, the next Monday. Everyone at the Clients office and at my office were so caring and supportive, flowers and a cookie bouquet, cards and phone calls were comforting. My ego was bruised, but that is healing too, you just never think that something like a slip on the ice will happen. It has made me very wary of the weather conditions.

With everything that happened I didn't make an appointment to pick up my new Bernina until yesterday afternoon. I will post pictures of the new machine and the baby quilt that will be my first sewing project on the Bernina. I still have a series of user classes to participate in, but I have the manual and a DVD to help acquaint me with the features of the 440QE.

I'm also working on my BJP February piece and will post progress pictures soon.

I have finished October.......

For some reason the colors are just not true in this picture. The red is very dark, it is only outlined in black, not mixed with black and the orange is much darker.

I had posted a picture of November earlier, and promised myself I wouldn't start December until I finished October. I kept my promise, this is a design from Kenneth D King's book Designer Bead Embroidery.  It was one of my fave patterns in the book.

Although Christmas has been turned into a totally commercial endeavor, I can still remember the anticipation that took over may life as a child. We didn't have a lot of money, but we managed to have one gift under the tree that was on the letter to Santa list. Some years it was the smallest thing like a new shirt and some year it was a big thing like the newest doll on the market.  Christmas was always a big time for new clothes, mostly socks, shoes and underwear...... not the kind of thing you can take to show and tell. Isn't it amazing how we can survive those things as children, but never completely forget them.

January is always a busy time for me with work, it is usually a cold, snowy and sunless month in Ohio so here is my version....

A little snow, a little sun, a few stars and dark blue nights....

That's it.....I have started February so I should be back on track.

I did a small commission project for a friend as a Christmas/Birthday gift for her daughter's new house....

It was made for the kitchen and included all of her favorite things, barns, cows and dogs and Welcome. The blocks are from several books and the welcome is a reverse appliqué technique with the lettering template generated by computer.

Here are close ups of the dog and cow........

The dog, dog house and star are appliqué

The cow and other blocks including the flag and tree were rotary cut and strip pieced. The right border looks wavy here, but  it didn't look that way in real life.

I have not picked up my new Bernina yet, the plan is for next Friday or Saturday so check back.