I love how our lives are woven together.
.

It's all about how you handle plan B



My daughter's baby arrived 6 weeks early. 
I will be away from the internet for a while.
The baby is fine and will be ok but as can be 
expected we were not prepared for this.
I am also turning off comments. 
Thanks for understanding.

Marianne

Stick a pin in me . . . I'm done.





I have been a part of this wonderful community of 
quilting hoppers for a few months now and I have enjoyed
 each one so much. But I am going to have to step
 back a bit as we are getting busy
preparing for the arrival of the baby.
There are only so many hours in the week 
and I have so much sewing and painting
and shopping to do.
I will be around, 
but mostly on instagram and facebook
I would love it if you would follow me over there.

 I want to thank Madame Samm and Kristen for 
all the hard work they did to put this hop together.
Today is my day to share my pincushions.

I have to admit I don't use a pin cushion.
because
 I rarely use pins. 
Mostly because I am afraid I might drop one
 and it would end up in a doggie paw 
or worse, a doggie tummy. 

But
pincushions are cute
 and
  a great way to use up scraps.
So I made one. 

Actually, I made two,
 but Tucker got a hold of one and I can't find it.
I just hope he didn't eat it.

I have been seeing some pretty wonderful pincushions this week. 
But for me a pincushion is utilitarian. 
With that said I did "cutsiefy" this little cushion with a birdie.
  (  have you noticed I seem to be in a bird phase  )
(  I hope it ends soon  )
 

This little birdie pincushion was made from scraps leftover from the owl quilt I made for the hexagon  hop. 

I made this little pumpkin ten years ago,
 I think. 
Not sure, could be even longer than that.

anyway these two will be enough for me




Hope you are having fun with this hop.
I have seen some very very pretty pincushions and
 if I am not careful I could become a collector.
 Those of you who really know me
 know that this is so possible.


Thanks for stopping by. 
 Please take some time to visit 
the other who are participating today.

Marianne


   The list of pincushion-eestas  today.


Tuesday, Tea and my rant about Turtles



Good Morning Tuesday !

sorry , no tea.
 But there is a teacup.


Something has been bothering me lately.

What if you were walking across the street, 
on your way to Starbucks and someone 
grabs your arm and quickly ushers 
you out of the way of an oncoming truck?
 Whew. close one. 

But.

What if you were walking across the street,
on your way to Starbucks and someone grabs your arm,
 picks you up and placed you in a box . . .
 then plopped you down in the next county. . .
in the middle of nowhere without a map.  

My point?
 . . .  and the reason for this post . . . 
 


If you see a turtle crossing the road. take note of 
the direction it is traveling . . .
 then pick him up and move him out of harms way. . .
to the other side of the road. . .
pointing in the same direction.  
Believe it or not ... he knows where he is going.

Helping him get to the other side of the road is a good thing.

 BUT STOP THERE
 If you pick him up and take him to the nearest 
pond or stream you might have just removed 
him from his home territory and the safety of his den. 
A turtle territory is not that large, usually a few acres. 
    Oh, and what if that pond or stream is home to a heron? 
    ... you just delivered his next meal.

 that heron sure is grateful. 
 But the turtle isn't. 

Box turtles have a natural homing instinct 
that causes them to return to their birth place. 
If you move the turtle out of his territory 
he will find his way home, but may encounter 
many dangers along the way.

So please,
the next time you see a turtle crossing the road. . . 

 help him get across safely. 
Point him in the same direction , admire him , 
take a few pictures and walk away. 
 He'll be so grateful.


Thanks for listening.

Marianne


Linking to Elizabeth for her T stands for Tuesday link party.


Tuesday, Tea and easing mild Tension



Good Morning Tuesday

It is amazing how quickly the weeks are rolling by. 
Once again it is Tuesday and time to get together with
 Elizabeth and friends for a little cup of kindness.    

Oh lord I must be tired, because I would never say that in real life.

Do you find yourself doing that?   Do you 'speak' differently on your blog?   I don't do it often. But sometimes when I can't think of how to say what I want to say . . . it comes out sounding a bit fake.    Not completely insincere . . . just not me.  Not the way I would really say it. I'm not sure if I would even say it at all.

whatever

So what have I been doing since last week? 
Sewing the binding on a quilt, painting, drawing, reading, 
walking dogs and planning a few trips.
 If all goes well I will be going out west for a week in November. 

It's been a bit tense around here.
 As the seasons change,
The lifeguard and I shift our routines. 
His work-life is less hectic and he 
comes home a bit earlier each day. 
He doesn't like to see my 'stuff' on the dining room table. 
Since I have the room in the basement 
he thinks I should stay down there.

But I like to play up here. 
In the natural daylight, with the dogs.
So there is a little tension there.
Nothing a cup of tea can't cure.

I've been working on my September Calendar and  
just added  "T" on Tuesdays. 


 The Art
the words were cut from my tea bag wrapper


I also added our local rubber stamp stores anniversary date . 
  "A Happy Stamper" is  10 years old. 
 I remember the day Angela opened her doors and all the rubber stampers poured in. She was an instant success.    I took several bookbinding classes there as well as classes from well known artists. Angela has just the right mix of cute, classic and edgy in her shop. Stampers and mixed media artists love to shop there. 
 I have introduced many close friends to her store. 
And sadly I don't get down there very often as I used to.  
So I will definitely be there on the 28th to help her celebrate.


The Tea

Yogi brand - Calming
I love the messages on the tags.



The Mug
Another 'everyday' cup from Pier 1 . 
 My favorite shade of green.


My goodness I feel chatty today.
I think I'll write another post 
maybe one for WOYWW.

Thank's for stopping by
Hope your Tuesday is not too tense.

Marianne


Hello September



One thing leads to another. 
Way back in March? or April?  I enrolled in an online Art Journal / Mixed Media course called 21 Secrets.  
 I have been watching the videos and following along quietly. I haven't actively shared my work because ,  well,  
 time. 
There is never enough time to take the photos ,
 upload them, tweak them and share them.   
 I have been getting better at sharing on Instagram
And I have joined several groups on facebook too. 
 Posting photos here on my blog takes more time. 
And I need that time to do other things.   
Walk dogs, feed dogs, brush dogs, play with dogs, quilt, paint, stitch, knit, cook, hubby time, daughter time, son time, and friend time. 
 Oh and lets not forget shopping. 
There's a lot of shopping going on too.   
Anyway    back to the 21 Secrets.   
As a part of the class I have met some of the most talented people on the planet.  The inspiration has been overwhelming at times. 

One of the talented souls is Kate. 
Now I have seen her on the net before but never had time to get to know her and her work. I have been watching her Art Journal Calendar posts and have wanted to join in. 
This is my first calendar page. 
I hope to be able to create these every month.   
We'll see. 



The stack of white folded pages are for future months. I have started to paint the backgrounds and will be binding them together to form a journal. 

I used gesso to create the spaces for the days



rubber stamp  / Tim Holtz

I seem to have joined quite a few 
quilt challenges that are due this month.
so this months page will have a sewing theme.
I will work on this as the days go by 
and hopefully I will have a completely filled in page 
by the end of the month as well as 
a new page started for October.


I used Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils and Pitt pens.


You can learn more about this challenge on Kathryn's blog
    if you are a member of this group...
.please add me....
it is a closed group and I am trying to get in. 
thanks

Marianne