Forgiveness and Lily Tomlin

~Lily Tomlin "Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past." Pondering this quote by Lily Tomlin feels soooo liberating! Any thoughts to share about how you feel it.... anyone?

Telephone Chair

This is the project that I chose to finish for the Quiltsy team's January UFO challenge. "

"A Goodwill find, it was missing the seat altogether; with my previous background of 20 years in the reupholstery biz I still feel that all too familiar pull when I come across an interesting piece of furniture.

Pillows Talk!...and Speak for Themselves

Frosty Morning!

"Twenty five degrees in SW Fla-not so good for the produce farmers!" "

" " A crackling fire in the fireplace sure does feel mighty good these days! We have both the hickory and the bentwood rockers pulled up to the hearth. Something about watching the flames licking away at the wood is very calming. The other evening I thought I heard a bird call that had become stuck in the log, being released. Perhaps I was in an a altered state! "

Freecycle and a Corner Cupboard

"Recently I made a freecycle offer for things that I wasn't using and dropped it off while in town on errands. The recipient was rehabbing an office space and offered me a corner cupboard. Here it is in my sewing room!" "

" "Back to my sanctuary where the process of sorting through all of my fabric supplies is underway, and cutting it up into the projects they will become. While not as nearly finished as I thought I'd be by now, I'm definitely getting closer to having organization and clear direction."

Sunset on New Year's Day-2010

"Feels a little weird to write 2010-just remembering how we used say it would be difficult to get used to saying 2000 rather than 19 something and now it's already 10 years later! Golly, would you look at the time!" "" "Just emptied the garbage into the compost bin while doing the dishes, and noticed this beautiful sunset ...the colors weren't like the photo, but still, rather interesting. I like Spanish moss."

New Year's Day bouquet

"Well! It was love at first sight and almost any excuse would have sufficed to justify buying this bouquet today! As if an excuse was necessary, but that's something to get in touch with during this next year. Shades of orange are some of my favorite colors, and I want to focus more on them for awhile to get more uninhibited creativity flowing, especially at this time in my life experience. "" The kitten had his staples removed today at the vet's office, and received a clean bill of health. No more cumbersome Elizabethan collar, or nasty pills, and no more subduing him from vigorous activity. He's outdoors, even as I write, pursing anything that captures his ADHD fancy!"

Roses in Winter

I really love the colors of these roses and carnations juxtaposed, along with the Baby's Breath. Smells nice, too, whenever I'm working at the kitchen sink. Thought I'd take a picture in case I want to make a quilt using this color combination.

The winner of the Teddy Bear Quilt Wallhanging is....

Today is December 16th, the day of the drawing for my little Cathedral Window Teddy Bear quilted wallhanging. And the winner is Nancy from the sunny state of California.

This is the quilt gift wrapped and ready to be shipped by priority mail today-in time for Christmas. Nancy tells me her grandmother is a quilter, and Nancy is a beginner. Way to go! Let's stitch this ole world back together, and make it better than before!

No Tail in the End

In the end there is no tale or tail. Here are two pix of our rescue kitty. He is wearing the scarf they decked him out with at the animal hospital on Tuesday, when they amputated his entire tail.

Lucky, is recovering really well. All the tests came back negative for any diseases. And he is the purring-est cat I've met and has a very sweet disposition. We're all lucky to have him here with us!

Totally Cool! Heron Dance, handmade paper, and a magnet

Maybe the air conditioning and heating company wouldn't be too thrilled, but I got a bit of a charge out of completing this fun little project! The supplies used are the magnet, a piece of paper that looks like handmade paper (I got it at a yard sale and they indicated it was commercially made), a photocopy from Rod McIver's watercolors of Heron Dance (he emails a free weekly newsletter), industrial magic marker, and my sewing machine. First I did the sewing, then glued the pic, then pressed it overnight, then edged it with marker. Two more magnets to go! Then I'll have to wait for more phone books to arrive inour mail with magnets on them!

The Naked Sun~Rumi

Those who live in Union become pregnant with the feelings and words of invisible forms! Their amazed mouths open. Their eyes withdraw. Children are born of the illumination. We say "born," but that's not right. It only points to a new understanding. Be quiet and let the Master of Speech talk. Don't try to dress up your own nightingale- song to sell to this Rose! Be all ear. This pregnancy! So subtle and delicious, the way ice in July reminds us of winter, the way fruit in January tells of summer generosity. That's how the naked Sun embraces all the orchard-brides at once. - Rumi, Mathnawi VI, 1810-1822, version by Coleman Barks from This Longing

Monkey Wrench Quilt

I haven't contributed much to my blog lately. It's a very busy time for me, doing some fall housecleaning, catching up with outdoor and garden work after the hot summer, working on establishing social media links to my etsy stores, and getting into my sewing room when there is time. And we have acquired another little, black kitten from freecycle as a companion for the white rescue kitten. This morning they were laying on a porch chair facing each other with their front legs wrapped around each other in an embrace. That was a very sweet moment for me to observe and remember...very yin and yang! This absolutely gorgeous quilt was made by my friend Valerie, and is for sale at: http://www.ponderosaquilter.etsy.com http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33884419 These colors are a very nice compliment and juxtaposition to each other. Somebody is going to get a very nice quilt. Valerie has excellent workmanship.

Excerpt: by Amber Terrel, from prologue to Surprised by Grace

In Arthur C. Clarke's famous story 2001, A Space Odyssey, the HAL 9000 computer can be seen as a perfect metaphor for the human ego. In the story, HAL is designed to run all aspects of the space ship, including life-support systems. When the crew notices that HAL has begun to make errors, errors it is not willing to admit, they realize the computer will have to be disconnected and the ship piloted via radio signals from HAL's twin computer back on earth. But HAL is not so easily disconnected. Its own preservation becomes more important than the service to mankind for which it has been designed. It begins to manipulate and destroy anything and anyone that threatens its existence, anything that might expose the lie of its betrayal. The human ego operates in much the same way. It also is not so easily disconnected. Ego is pure illusion, created by the mistaken identification with mind and all its projections - mental, emotional, physical, and circumstantial - as who one is. Like HAL, it will put up a mighty defense to protect this illusion. Most people cannot see through the illusion, or the defense, long enough to really sever the habit of mental identification. It's like trusting HAL to sever its own misguided circuits. This severing is traditionally the role of the guru, meaning literally, "dispeller of darkness." The guru is not only someone who has cut through the illusion, but one who reflects so purely this limitless reality which we all are that our own infinite Self can be seen reflected there. An indication that one has met one's true teacher is in this seeing of Self in the teacher, as in a spotless mirror. This seeing is mysterious. It cannot be deserved. It cannot be bought. It cannot be explained or understood by the mind. The only word that comes close to describing it is Grace. It is a mystery how this Grace may appear in one's life and penetrate the dream of separation. - Amber Terrell, from the prologue to Surprised by Grace

Teddy Bear Cathedral Windows Quilt Fiber Art Drawing

For a chance to win this adorable little Teddy Bear Cathedral Windows wallhanging quilt enter your name into the December 16, 2009 drawing by leaving a comment for this post. A name will be selected from the comments on Dec. 16th. This Cathedral Windows quilt wallhanging measures 10 and 1/4 inches wide by 18 and 1/2 inches height, and has about 75% hand stitching, is made using cotton fabrics, with polyester batting, has a channel on the back for hanging purposes, and has a signed and dated label on the back.

Women on the Edge of Evolution

At the recent, sold-out Peace Summit in Vancouver, His Holiness the Dalai Lama made a proclamation that stunned the crowd: "The world will be saved by the western woman." Women On The Edge Of Evolution Source: http://www.womenontheedgeofevolution.com This Fall, join 14 of the world's leading female spiritual luminaries, thinkers and agents of change for an unprecedented conversation. Free TeleSeminar, may be listened to online at anytime, but you need to sign up. http://www.womenontheedgeofevolution.com/

Zafu, Claude Monet, Strawberry Shortcake and Wild Roses

This was not the ordinary shortcake made by simply opening a box of cornbread mix and adding the few ingredients. No. This ordinary mix becomes refined by substituting homemade yogurt with unsweetened crushed pineapples mixed in for the liquid, and adding cinnamon. I make the mix like pancakes...all golden and drizzled with clover honey, they taste like ambrosia, and I feel sooo elegant, in the morning. Not bad, to start a day like that! The strawberry shortcake picture is also the cornbread mix made the way I make it with yogurt, and layered with cream cheese and cool whip mixed, and topped with red ripe strawberries. That was a special treat we had along with the 5th season of Desperate Housewives on DVD from the public Library.

The vintage heart shaped tin box has wild roses on it that remind me of the rambling wild roses that grew on the pasture fence by the creek on the farm where I grew up. And yesterday I got off my beaten path and made bookmarks using the glossy picture pages of an outdated Claude Monet appointment book. That was a fun change of pace! And another zafu was created without a single snafu! Now it time for me to move on the other necessary projects and duties.

Definitely not twins!

Just finished these two pillows today. They are about as different as can be! The round grey zafu is usually used for sitting meditation. The one pictured is stuffed with lots and lots and lots of plastic grocery bags. It could also be filled with bamboo, cotton, buckwheat hulls, or kapok fiberfill. Plastic bags are, ahem, very inexpensive, and even eco friendly, in a way.

The vintage embroidered basket pillow fabric came from a treasure hunt. I washed it in 20 Mule Team borax soap and Oxyclean. (That mule kick is pretty impressive!) I'm pleased with the improvement. The fringe is also vintage and I used a vintage metal zipper hidden on the back. The fiberfill is a polyester form. My mother had things made with that basket pattern. Even Fred says the pattern looks familiar. When a guy says that then I guess it was pretty popular back in the day! It's part embroidery and part candlewicking.

Carried Away: The Etsy Bag Makers Team: Change Purses for Change Giveaway

Carried Away: The Etsy Bag Makers Team: Change Purses for Change Giveaway Here'a fun Giveaway that's a chance to make a change in the the lives of others!

Calamondin Marmalade, Decisions and Hootenannys

Tomorrow, the Old Miakka Schoolhouse will be hosting it's annual fundraiser Hootenanny to help with the maintenance of this historic one-room schoolhouse. So, that is where the Calamondin Marmalade, all dressed up in festive little skirts, is headed. BTW, Calamondin is a tiny, very acidic, orange citrus fruit that yields once a year rather than twice a year like the other citrus trees. The marmalade is made with calamondin, water, sugar, and pectin made from processing the seeds. Sometimes, I add a cinnamon stick to the marmalade. There will be live music performed by local bands, arts and crafts booths, and the Committee is serving their pulled pork , baked beans and cole slaw and beverage lunch for $7. This hutch in the kitchen is a room brightener, and a dust catcher, but not to dwell on that. Dusting is not a favorite thing to do-never has been. I think the framed sun on the upper left may be upside down since the last dusting...will try it the other way in a few months. :-) Gotta go! Still have to tag and pack all the stuff ( wallhangings, coin purses, potholders, bags, napkins, etc) I'm taking to the Hootenanny tomorrow. Am debating if I want to take my red chair-we have actually grown quite fond of it, although I bought it to reupholster and sell. Decisions, decisions!