critters

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March 6, 2013

fun

Posted by jrixman under applique, critters, life, quilting, sewing, Uncategorized
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as promised, here is the latest ‘creation’. this was not my idea – saw a picture on facebook and saved.  i didn’t go to the actual article and get instructions – just did my own thing.  the original was a bit more ‘refined’, i chose to make mine ‘primitive style’ – which means ya don’t have to worry about sewing straight, etc. ^_^

the cool thing is – made entirely from ‘scrap’ fabric from my ‘stash’ (quilters’ word for must save or had to have and will maybe use someday).  i chose to use flannel on the backs – a little easier to sew than extra layer of denim.  also hoped would help hold pieces in place when playing??  and, the best part – i even stuffed the pieces with fabric scraps!!  i have a huge bag-full to give to ‘someone’ to be used to stuff dog beds.  my local shop isn’t currently ‘collecting’ for a group who does that – not sure what i’m going to do with them.  intending for that to resolve itself. ^_^  so, anyway – i just chopped scraps into tiny pieces, much like you’d chop parsley.  only i used a rotary cutter instead of a knife.  i quickly resisted the notion to hold the fabric in place!!  felt way too dangerous!  have nicked a finger once or twice – that blade is very sharp!!  discovered that once i made the first cut it kind of held the fabric to the cutting mat – so not a problem.  narrow strips in one direction – repeat in opposite direction and voila’ – fabric ‘confetti’.  i also chose to do the background and batting in one piece and only ‘rag piece’ the top.  then stitched thru all layers within each little square.  i wet all the edges and into the dryer for 20 minutes – and there you have it!!

tic tac 1     tic tac 2i cut the board squares at 4″, did 1/2″ seams for the ‘ragging’.  cut the pieces at 3 1/2″.  did slightly less seam allowance on those.  about 3/8″.

for those who read yesterday’s post – mr. pepe was still not speaking to me at this point!  i didn’t use a flash, so he wasn’t frightened away.  by evening he was back to normal.  guess he had forgiven me.

ok, gotta scoot – teaching today and have once again put myself at risk of being late.

 

March 2, 2013

updates, etc

Posted by jrixman under applique, critters, life, quilt shows, quilting, sewing, Uncategorized
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i haven’t created any new designs – or even samples, so haven’t written anything in quite some time.  this one is part ‘business’, part ‘personal’.

so, the watsonville show was very good for me – a good bit better than last year.  and it was much needed.  i was also between 2 lovely women – new vendors (for me), and that made it even nicer.  plus, the weather was just about perfect -(sometimes it can be very wet),  and that meant i could park right next to the bldg – which made caring for sophie easy!  and that brings me to the more personal news.

a couple week ago i discovered my dear, little sophie dog has diabetes.  and, something called “cushings disease” – which, believe it or not, i find much more troublesome.  it does explain the hair loss, as well as the total change in her hair in general.  also explains why her tummy still looks ‘fat’ even tho i am feeding her ‘bare minimum’.  and in addition, explains howcome she can no longer jump up, etc.  i don’t yet know the full extent of that one – we are still in the first part of treating the diabetes.  she goes back on thurs. for the whole day.  they do a glucose level ‘curve’ to assure current dosage is correct, etc.  yes, more $$$.

so, all of that on top of the van repairs done before and after the trip to tucson – well, a good show was very welcome!!

as for business ‘news’ – i am finally actively working on ‘the book’, yea!  i think i have the first 3 chapters completed – now it’s time for “lights, camera, action” and a lot more words about actual stitching!!  for that, i need ‘help’ – my friend tammy has volunteered.  so, next ‘play day’ at her house will include that along with fabric dying and long arm quilting!!   i have a ‘turning 20 again’ that i want to use and that means fairly heavy quilting to handle frequent washings.  doesn’t much matter what the quilting looks like.  other than messing around at a show – have never even tried to use a long arm!!  haven’t even quilted on a regular machine!!  don’t expect to be seeing it posted on here! ^_^

ok, just so there is one picture – here’s one of the surprise snow we had recently.  this is how they usually are – very wet and stick to every tiny twig.  usually gone within a few hours.  this lasted over night and into afternoon before the sun finally got to it.  it was very pretty.

snow6

 

 

 

 

 

onward & upward!

 

November 6, 2009

embarrassing!

Posted by jrixman under applique, critters, life
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what a fiasco!  and a great lesson for me!  don’t do what you don’t know how to do when it involves other people!!  i sent out the first email and i sent it thru the webpage – so, i thought, it would automatically include my information – like the page name, at least.  NOT!

  i also ended up sending it to all 300+ names even tho i thought i was sending a kind of ‘test’ edition.  seems there was an important box i didn’t check.  so the process tied up my computer for hours – and i had no idea how many had been sent when i finally had to shut it down – it had already taken itself off line anyway.

this stupid computer just did it again.  took me offline in the middle of composing this post.  i am not going to try to remember what the heck i wrote before.  i really do understand those videos about people throwing computers out the window!!

now i do remember the important part of what i had written!  what was in the newsletter!  nothing all that exciting – mostly just to let folks i was going to doing one each month.  and to let them know about the big changes in the shipping costs.  also, what the special for the month is – for nov.  it’s 11% off the total order.  plus, if you mention the newsletter, using the comment section, i will include a free ($8) pattern – just let me know which one (in the comment).

it was about here, when i went to get the picture of the latest pin, that i lost connection.  well, it’s when i found out.  so, here is a picture – just to lighten this post a little. ^_^

purplepine 11-6now, isn’t that better than all the words i was going to write about the travails of sending an email thru my webpage?!! ^_^  and there were a lot – of both (travails and words!)

 

 

 

Let the beauty you love be what you do.  Rumi

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

July 13, 2009

they’re back!

Posted by jrixman under applique, critters, life, quilting
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it is that time of year again, when the deer are running out of young and tasty green things in their natural habitat.  and that means, into the yards and gardens to find food and water.  ok, so in a lot of cases – WE are in their “yards and gardens”!  not as much for us, as more than half of our 2 acres is still totally wild and untouched. 

so, they have been coming mostly at night so far.  the plums are dropping and they love those – i think they get both food and water with those as they are very very juicy!  however, the last couple of nights they have been munching on things in the mound garden, which worries me.  i have this volunteer baby dogwood coming up right in the middle of that garden.  it’s the perfect spot for it!  but – i seem to recall that deer really like those!  in fact, mine got planted inside a fenced area to protect it (the mother of the baby one, i think)  sooo, i will probably have to add an ugly tomato cage around it.  they have been nibbling on the ends of the ginko tree branches, that’s for sure.

so, there is one young buck right outside even as i type!  i got some pictures, using the fancy sport setting on my camera as he started to exit quickly earlier.  turns out, he didn’t go far!  he is just on the other side of that propane tank now.  when i first saw him earlier, he was on this side, but i didn’t think to take pictures then.  he moved a little away when he saw me looking at him, didn’t run – so i did get out the camera and took these shots.  ahhh, here he comes, creeping back up onto the path. ^_^  perhaps i’ll get another chance at closer pics.  he definitely knows i’m here.  keeping a wary eye toward the window.

deer again 1this is the young male i was talking about.  and i just went to the front to see if he had managed to get there without my seeing him.  and what did i find? FOUR of them!  munching on plums.  got some decent shots, i think.  will have to download to see.  will put one here if i did!

just one

 

all of the ones with 3 or 4 deer were just too dark.  but this lady took a long look before she hurried off.   when i went to look out the bedroom window to see if they were still closeby, i discovered a squirrel on a tiny tree very close.  and he came down and started pulling at the cotton strip i have that goes around the little tree he was on and then around that pine tree that gets bent over by the snow in the winter.  of course he left as soon as i got the camera!

ok, it is nearly 10 am and i have not done one item on my list.  at this rate i will never be ready to leave tomorrow, so  ttfn!  oh, don’t forget the show in eureka if you’re up that way!  it’s this coming weekend, at the fairgrounds.

love and beauty  www.artfullyapplique.com  http://jrixman.etsy.com

 

June 25, 2009

dang cat – again!

Posted by jrixman under applique, critters, life, quilting
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so, now there is yet another tail-less lizard hiding out in here.  silly cat brought it in yesterday and as usual, headed for the bathroom.  trouble is, this time he didn’t go all the way in and drop it on the bathmat.  he let it go right at the doorway.  now, i had seen him with ‘it’ hanging from his mouth, so was there when he put it down.  however, there are cords on the floor there and thus, i was unable to get the container flush to the floor – and ‘it’ quickly departed to hide behind the containers of cd’s on the floor in that corner.  leaving behind its still vigoriously ‘flipping’ tail!!  oh how i hate that!  reminds me of when (as a little kid, in kansas) i saw headless chickens running around!!  uck!

late in the day yesterday, i was putting up some ‘heat blocks’ at the big window and then went into the  bathroom.  while ‘sitting’ (sorry ^_^) i looked back and there was the lizard sunning himself in a tiny patch of sunlight – not more than a couple inches from where my foot had to land as i walked into the bathroom!!  however, as soon as i stood and reached for the container, he spotted me and once again – thanks to stuff (cords again!) on the floor – eluded the  container and headed back behind various stuff!  i don’t really mind – am hoping he eats some bugs while in here!  but, would rather mr. pepe didn’t find him and finish him off!  i don’t spect he’ll make much smell if he bites it while still hiding out!

i think they most have some kind of release mechanism that allows them to let go of their tail when the cat is attempting to hold them down by it!!! ^_^  seem to find a lot of detached tails outside – from the outside cats’ hunts.

ok enough of that.  thought i’d share the progress on the commissioned piece.  i did not do the piecing.  i am simply (hah) adding my motifs to the 3 circles.  here is how the first one is coming along.  6-24-09

this is how it looked end of yesterday.  have added a bit – tho precious little relative to time spent!!  it’s a little freaky how fast the days are passing!  and how long it takes me to applique sometimes!

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com  http://jrixman.etsy.com

 

May 5, 2009

tooo funny

Posted by jrixman under applique, critters, life, quilt shows, quilting
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just had to post this picture!  but, first, to explain:

before we left in the rv, i bought a new bed for sophie.  then, realized it was a little too big, so exchanged it with the one here in cottage (which was the perfect color for rv anyway ^_^).  sophie never got to use it before we left.  and while we were gone, mr. pepe, the  cat,  decided it was his!  so, since we’ve been home i have had to chase him out and then convince sophie to get in.  had done that at least 3 times this morning and then looked down to discover this!

shared-bed

as you can tell, while sophie is NOT thrilled about the arrangement, she at least held her ground this time!  she just now (10-15 minutes later) crawled out from under him and onto the floor – and mr p is happily snoozing in the bed.

ok, i’m off to the quilt shop to meet with lady who has finished a big applique project that i had ‘helped/advised’ her with and she wants to show me what she was able to do!  love it when that happens! ^_^

love and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

July 19, 2008

a beauty

Posted by jrixman under applique, critters, life, Uncategorized
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got several pictures of this lovely creature.  it seemed quite ok with me being there clicking away.

and speaking of critters and such – been a busy yard lately.  saw a fox walk across the other day – in broad daylight.  good size, too.  of course the deer have been very frequent visitors lately, tho not a sign of the twins again.  and the squirrels – my, my.  they normally stay in the trees and out of what we call ‘yard’ – still our property, but just wild.  sometimes they get close to my cottage up there and drop those huge pinecones on my roof!  these days they are coming all the way into the plum trees out front.  and this morning, there was one on my little porch!  headed for the fountain for a drink, i spect.  been very hot and dry!  the plum tree in front had very little left on it when i got back – way less than the other one.  i thought it was the lack of sun that was having them fall.  now i think it’s the squirrel taking them.  just saw him steal one a little bit ago. ^_^

and yesterday it was definitely ‘exciting’.  BIG brownish red dog in the yard.  thought it was the same one that shows up now and then, but he was acting quite different.  not as laid back and mellow.  and roxy definitely not just ‘ignoring’ him.  fortunately the little dogs were both in here.  his tongue was half the size of mocha’s whole body!  i went up to ‘help’ candace deal with him and realized it was NOT the same dog we usually see.  this one had been neutered and the one other is very obviously still intact.  this guy was being a bit of a pest.  candace tried calling the pound, didn’t have much luck getting to a live person, so decided to stop there on her way to the store.  the new building is essentially right down the hill behind me, and on placerville drive.  she called me from there saying they wanted me to ‘keep the dog here’ so they could ‘drive by’.  huh??  can’t even do that here – drive by, i mean.  at that point, i thought he had left.  saw him walk around here, and past the shed out back.  thought he had gone down the hill.  discovered him back on my front porch a few minutes later.  he had followed me down here and discovered the big drinking fountain – which he really wanted to get into!  hot!  ok, (already) long story shortened – i called, got to an agent and a little while later a woman ‘deputy’ (is that what they are?) came for him.  by then he had taken up residency by my fridge out there, so barked at her as she came down the path.  silly dog.  he left with her nicely.  not his first trip to the pound from what they told candace.  have conerns that if he gets loose again he might come back.  while he seems harmless i know how these little dogs are and he may not be as docile as the other one.  HE just completely ignores them.

beginning to feel like i live in a zoo. ^_^  beats the city any day!!!

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

July 15, 2008

at home

Posted by jrixman under critters, life, Uncategorized
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safe and sound – ok, not so sure about the sound part.  had a bad night due to the fact that mr pepe decided to stay away until waking me around 6:00 this morning.  i hate it when he does that.  i mean, doesn’t show up soon after i get home.  i always worry that something has happened to him while i’ve been gone.  or, he has traded me in on someone more available. ^_^

it was a very long drive home.  i had to come the longer way in order to stop in south lake tahoe to pickup fabric i had ordered thru the shop up there.  i didn’t have time to dilly dally, which meant no resting.  i left bend about 8:00am, stopped in k. falls only long enough to get directions and didn’t stop again until carson city – for gas.  “only” $4.09, wow, what a bargain.  yes, 50 cents per gallon does add up!   so, arrived in south lake just after 5:00.  went thru a mighty thunder storm in reno – very very heavy rain that turned to hail for a bit.  freeway flooded – the whole bit.  then ran into high winds.  and coming down around the lake – the rain again.  it was so weird – i mean raining so hard you could barely see and so much water on the street you couldn’t see the markings.  came around the corner of the lake and by the time i was back in calif – no sign of rain at all.  in fact, penny said, when i talked about the rain in reno, “it didn’t rain here”.  oh yeah, you just weren’t where i was!! ^_^  it is about 4 miles from the border to her shop on tahoe blvd.  amazing.  she admitted the lights had been flickering due to the lightening.

left there and headed out for the last hour drive to get here.  there is construction.  that held me up a bit and created a parade of cars all the way down the mountain.  not slow, and not bunched together – just many cars going the same way. ^_^  needless to say i was sooooo glad to see placerville exit!

i realized the mountain picture i put in here last time was really hard to see.  so here it is as processed the way i usually do.  i will use the thumbnail option in hopes that you can actually SEE the mountains.

this may not actually be any better.  oh well, still a pretty sunrise. ^_^

the next pictures are ones i just took.  deer.  and these two look like yearlings.  so, maybe she didn’t lose those twins, maybe they just stopped traveling with her???  definitely a male and female.  i used the setting on my camera that allows for rapid capture, so to speak.  (sports setting) so here are the 3 i got.  they are very skittish as you can see.  he came back a few minutes later and i tried it again.  not as successful.

                                        

                                     ok, tried to get them all in a row.  sometimes i do have trouble with the inserting.  and now i’ve lost the second one. grrrrr. see if i can put it here.

so, there you have it.  if you look closely you can see the female’s rear as she exits right.  he is gone down the hill, behind the tank. ^_^

and now i must see if i can accomplish something today.  do need to get ready for my 3 minutes on stage tomorrow at ncqc.  more about that tomorrow.

hmmm, heard that hawk screeching up there when i got home late yesterday.  there it is again.  sounds like someone blowing a whistle.  wonder what that’s about.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

July 8, 2008

new twins!

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no, didn’t get a picture, but

just saw a beautiful sight outside this big window.  momma deer has twins, again.  they are still tiny – still have lots of spots.  so cute.  and still very skittish.  didn’t have time to take a picture as they took off soon as i got near the window.  sophie had been indicating something out there.  didn’t see anything out front, then heard the rustle on the side.  sure hope she has better luck raising them this year.  lost them both last year, not sure to what.  cars?  tough surviving with all the new construction – home depot, houses and highway.  had seen a lone large buck cross the yard just the other day.  dad? ^_^

ok, time to get back to it here.  last day.  need to leave very early a.m.  no later than 6:00 if i drive straight thru.  earlier if i want to stop and rest a bit on the way.  will have 4-5 hours of setup once i get there.  tough life for an old broad.  (now when’s the last time you heard that word?) ^_^ (remember all the hub bub about it way back then!?)

expect to have wifi in the hotel in bend, so will talk to ya then.  or just “come on down” (or up, as the case may be)  riverhouse hotel is where the show is.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

June 24, 2008

smoke and bats

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interesting life i lead. ^_^

the smoke is heavy in the air – from fires all around us.  you can even smell it now.  scary !!  just talked to erv and he said it’s mostly brush fires, not trees.  sure glad i don’t have asthma.  most be really tough on those folks. 

as for the bats – well, i awoke just after midnight to discover something flying around my bedroom.  turned on the light, and there it was, circling the fan.  hmmm.  pretty good size – close to sparrow size with maybe shorter wingspan – tho not much.  ok, get myself and sophie over to the door and out.  did that. (as well as turned off the fan) then decided to peek in and see if it showed any signs of actually looking for the open window.  WHAT?!  now there are TWO!  that is not the way it was supposed to go.  then, as i watched, one of them flew ‘into’ the wall and just literally disappeared!  like when a magician makes things disappear – just gone!  well, there is a (length of)space between the wall and ceiling, less that an inch wide i’m sure.  and that bugger landed right by it and was gone – like, poof!!

ok, i realize this is just not going to end any time soon, cause next time i look, there are 2 again.  so i decide to give up and go back to bed.  before i did that, mr pepe made his entrance thru that open window – which got their attention, so they flew kind of close to investigate – which nearly got them in trouble.  but soon, pepe tired of watching and just came on in.  later, when he was on the other window sill, and after i had returned to bed, but not turned out the light – one of them got a little too close to pepe and i think he managed to touch it, but didn’t hurt it, i guess.  it flew a little lower for a couple rounds and then disappeared again.  geeezzz.

eventually i just turned out the light for good – after a few times of turning it back on – and finally went to sleep.  no sign of them in the morning light.  however, i must assume they are living in my walls.  i have  decided to consider it ‘green’ mosquito control. ^_^  next time (?) i will get camera and take a picture. 

as i said – at least interesting. ^_^

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

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