"Gone Buggy" is better than....

.....which reminds me, Mr. Gadget was up in the attic the other day and saw nary a bat. And that's a good thing, because they've been known to slip into our bedroom in the dead of night and cause quite a stir.

There hasn't been much time for blogging lately what with all the birthday-celebrating. But now that's all behind me and I'm elbow-deep in the fabric stash once again. I've been working on wedding dragonflies and trying to come up with different combinations of purple, lavender, silver and white--the chosen colors for the occasion. I did make a few of the bodies in muted gold tones to add a little variety because, after all, it is the spice of life.

Half of the bunch will have pins attached, and the other half will have magnets. They'll look nice on the fridge.

I found some great teeny-tiny magnets, thanks to my neighbor, that are strong enough to hold these critters to the fridge, along with several kingergarten paintings and maybe even a 5-lb. bag of potatoes. I do believe these dragonflies could be hood ornaments.

And in my spare time, I finished the rooster stitchery.

Now I need to hunt up a frame, which I'm sure I have somewhere in the disorganized mess that is our basement.

And I finished this too:

I was just about to toss it in the recycle bag when I was struck with a bright idea that this might be the beginnings of another paper mache project. And I wouldn't at all mind the opportunity to get my hands dirty with something other than the soapy water I've been using to clean bathroom fixtures. Stay tuned. And don't worry cuz! I won't get the pulpy, gooey paper mess anywhere near the dragonflies.....

Easter bunny with attitude

Here's an Easter bunny with a bad attitude. Make no mistake, he's not the Easter Bunny. He's just a bunny who's been sitting in my treehouse, naked, for a very long time. And he's steamed. He'd like for me to just once dress him up in some holiday duds. But I've been busy with ladybugs, dragonflies and cows. I suppose I should become more sensitive to his needs unless I want to continue being haunted by his icy stare.

Yesterday Mr. Gadget and I had a very nice trip down to the city for BCG's birthday celebration. I didn't actually arrange for traffic cops, but I guess somehow the folks in the city knew we'd be coming and there might be some partying going on.
Here's what I made for BCG:

A remote control caddy that's so much more festive than the one I gave her for Christmas. I gave her one of these too.....
And one of these......only I left it home on the dining room table by mistake......

I hope she doesn't get a bad cold before I see her again.

Mr. Gadget and I rode in one of these very same taxis from Grand Central to BCG's apartment because we were schlepping something even bigger, and thank goodness I didn't forget it too.

It was a sewing machine and some sewing supplies......just what she wanted. And, of course, a sewing mom is beside herself with happiness when she finds out she has a sewing daughter. I made her this too:

A sewing machine cover to keep dust bunnies away. And one of these.....

A little drawstring bag for her sewing supplies.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go cook Easter dinner. Don't tell anyone, but we're having left-overs.....

Mind your own business!

I was working away on the wedding dragonflies earlier today when who should land in my work basket but this nosey ladybug. As you can see, the dragonflies were in no condition to fight her off, so I gave her a little send-off with some of this--recently gifted to me by Tech Guy:

I just used a little spritz. Just enough to send her packing, but not enough for over-kill. I mean, who could hurt a ladybug?

The dragonflies are coming along nicely. The bodies are sewn and stuffed, but the wings require no sewing. They are made with a fusible product that allows me to iron two pieces of fabric together and then simply cut out the wing shapes. I'm keeping with the wedding colors, as requested by the bride-to-be and her mom. You know how moms can be about wedding plans. I'm using fabrics in shades of purple, lavender, silver/gray and white. And there might be one or two rebellious ones. Some will have pins applied, so they can be attached to a curtain later....or to a formal gown for wearing to the prom. Heh....heh.... Others will have a magnet attached, for affixing to the fridge, or to the dashboard. Oh wait. Aren't those all plastic now?

So tomorrow we're heading off to The City to celebrate BCG's birthday. My old friends back on the west coast really get a chuckle out of my references to the city. They also think it's funny when I talk about going out west. Earlier this week I had a visit from a friend who lives in the midwest, and she calls this out east. Now that's peculiar. It's strange what happens when a person moves from one part of the country to another. They finally learn how to drive in the snow, and the next thing you know they're talking funny.

Next time I'll share a few photos of the birthday gifts I've been working on for BCG this past week. I shouldn't have to alert the fire department, but I should probably hire a traffic cop.....

Happy Birthday Big City Girl!

Today is BCG's 24th birthday. She had to work today, poor girl. Sometimes being an adult is no fun. But BCG reports that one of her workmates baked her a cake. And I happen to know she's quite a fan of homemade cakes.

If she was home today, I'd be baking her a white box cake with white frosting and sprinkles. That's always been her favorite for as long as I can remember.

But she won't be home, what with her work schedule and all, so Mr. Gadget and Tech Guy and I will meet her in the big city on Saturday for a belated celebration. I hope you're not expecting me to schlep a white cake down there on the train, BCG. There may be some other birthday goodies though--some that are more easily transportable. And, of course, I'll bring my camera. In our family, we never miss a chance to record edible moments.....

On the auction block

Never underestimate the intelligence of the muse. No sooner had I begun cow construction than an opportunity presented itself for this little bovine to serve a charitable purpose. Instead of roaming around the treehouse grazing on fabric scraps, she's off to the auction block where, with a little luck, she'll earn a few bucks for a local pre-school.

Now I'll get to work on the green cow (I know--I'm a day late) and the wedding dragonfly project that's already underway. And I'll finish up a birthday gift for Big City Girl, who we'll be seeing this weekend in the city. A crafty person can never have too many projects.

So next week Mr. Gadget will be having a big birthday. I won't say exactly which one, but rest assured it's BIG. Today this arrived at the house:

We're calling it Mrs. Gadget's birthday gift to Mr. Gadget, even though he went along on the shopping trip, tried it on, picked out the color, and may have even gotten his credit card out of his wallet. He's very happy with his gift, and is especially pleased that the remote control caddy I made him for Christmas has made a smooth transition from the old to the new.

I'm pretty sure if I put a glass of wine on the table next to this chair, Mr. Gadget will have absolutely no trouble sleeping right through his birthday.....

Call the Fire Department!

So yesterday Tech Guy stopped by for a belated birthday bash. Well, maybe it wasn't a bash exactly. Maybe more of a small, tasteful celebration with the parents. While I managed two loads of birthday laundry and kept a close eye on the Chicken Dijon, I gave him the collection of goodies I've been working on this past week. It should be noted that I alerted the fire department beforehand.

First, there was a pillow for his couch, and a small drawstring bag for whatever.....

Next, two placemats. Maybe he'll learn to make four-alarm chili. I used rooster fabric on the back.

You may remember the bathroom curtain I made from this fabric for his new apartment, along with the embroidered rooster bathroom art.

Next there was a tissue box cover. He and his friends may need to keep these handy if there's four-alarm chili simmering.

Finally, a remote control caddy for his couch. He'll never again be burned up about losing the remote.

Oh, and I also made him three beanbags. Tech Guy likes to juggle. It's absolutely amazing how fast he can juggle when the juggled objects are on fire...

I'm pretty sure Tech Guy had a nice time. He may have burned a little rubber as he pulled out of the driveway--loaded down with clean laundry, birthday loot, left-over Chicken Dijon and strawberry cheesecake.

Just before he left, he handed me this:

Apparently he'd heard about the recent insect infestation......

And the muse said, "Let there be cows!"

I got up this morning with a hankerin' to make cows. I think it was brought on by these two pieces of colorful, festive fabrics sitting here in the treehouse taunting me.

It's hard to see the hearts on the red one, so here's a better picture:

I have no idea how the cows will come out, as both of these pieces are very different from my usual cow-print selections. But I do know if I dilly-dally when shopping for doll fabric, I'm not as pleased with the final result as I am if I buy on impulse. These two pieces were impulse-purchased on my last fabric-buying excursion just before we left SoCal. I may have forgotten to mention that one. I may have been on a quick trip to return library books and just happened to stop off...heh...heh.....

While rummaging through my collection of doll patterns, I remembered having sketched a new idea for painted-on cow eyes.....something different than my usual practice of gluing on black beads. I wasn't sure where I had sketched it, but I did vaguely recall that I might have drawn it on another pattern piece--one totally unrelateded to cows--because it was handy and I wanted to get it down on paper before I forgot. After looking through a dozen or more envelopes, I found it on my angel wings pattern. I must get organized.

Then, while removing the cow pattern pieces from the envelope, I noticed something I hadn't seen before. On the piece for the cow's neck bandana, which I had cut from the newspaper's classifieds section, I saw this:

I'm sure he's just a handyman-type who'll do yard clean-up and wash windows and other odd jobs. Ya gotta wonder though. I don't plan on calling to find out. I already have a man who'll do all that stuff and he doesn't charge much.....

Slightly more than zilch

There's not much crafty stuff to share on the blog at the moment, since my current projects fall under the category of birthday surprises. But I have made slow progress on the rooster pair. And it's a good thing I didn't post pictures of Tech Guy's birthday gifts-in-progress the other day. I popped in on him recently with an instant message and found he was entertaining a young woman. He was about to show her the mom blog, specifically the post about those rebellious ladybugs making a dash for the mail slot. TG and BCG both got a big chuckle out of that one. I'm sure they wonder about me sometimes.....

Here's a needle-pointed eyeglass case I made back in the 70's. This is known as blog-filler....old projects I've dredged up to fill space while the birthday projects are underway and under wraps. You can see there's a spot that needs repair. I'm sure I have no more yarn left, but I'll check in the very back of my yarn stash. I've never been known to throw anything out.

Here's more filler. This is a placemat I made....also a product of the 70's I'm pretty sure. I only use these when all others are in the wash. They are practical though. They have all the colors of the basic food groups.

Here's an embroidered piece I intended to applique onto a small pillow. I sold several at a craft fair once. There were lots of funny sayings and the fabric prints related to the messages.This is a larger version where I combined embroidery with fabric paint.

Well, enough of this filler material. I guess I'd better get back to the birthday business. And by the way, all the snow melted. I think it's because I kept on eye on it....

Good riddance!

When we arrived home last Saturday, our yard was full of snow. Then, in honor of our return, the weather gods warmed things up. Here's all that's left. Good riddance I say. I know. I have no right to be sick and tired of winter since I've missed most of it, but still....

Not much has been going on in my crafty world lately. Well, nothing I wish to share anyway. There's those pesky ladybugs that I refuse to post pictures of anymore, lest you poor readers go elsewhere for something new and exciting. And then there's a small amount of belated birthday business I'm working on for Tech Guy. I'm pretty sure he never reads the blog unless I send him a link to a particular post I think he might find humorous. But still. I wouldn't want to take a chance on spoiling a surprise.

I'm feeling torn between starting a new doll project and mixing up a mess of instant paper mache to work on a penguin...for which I purchased this as a base before I left for the west coast.

I found a nice penquin picture that might lend itself to the vase.

And while I've been sitting and pondering this dilemma, I've been reading this:

I'm usually not one to sit during the day and read. I'm more of an in-the-bed reader. But this book has been easy to read while sitting on the couch during a lazy afternoon. I think I still have jet lag. That's my story anyway.

So maybe I'll just move on over to the couch now and read a little more. And then maybe I'll go outside and watch more of that snow melt.....

Lingering ladybugs

Heh....heh.....

And just one more ladybug-related photo (or not).....here's my friend's granddaughter in her new ladybug apron.

She looks pleased as punch. What a smile! But as usually happens with kids (and I mistakenly thought it was just teenagers), you just never know what they're gonna do. Seems she insisted on taking her apron home....rather than leaving it in her play kitchen at grandma's house.....because she likes to make cookies with her daddy. So, I'm thinking she needs a spare. I do admire a young woman who enjoys cooking in two kitchens though. I'm more of a make-reservations kind of gal.

Our return flight to Connecticut on Saturday was easy and efficient. I was able to embroider, except for during a short spell of turbulence over Colorado.....or a few bumps as pilots are calling it these days. Here's a photo I took (from my usual seat 17-A) as we passed over NYC. If you look closely you might be able to see Big City Girl bidding farewell to her brother at Grand Central. She took him to see this as a belated birthday present. They both liked it very much, but cautioned Mr. G and I that it might be too loud for a couple of old fogies.

So now we're home and pretty much settled back in. The weather is warming up and the snow is melting. I think I might be in the mood to make a few ladybugs.....