Material Things

On my way home from tutoring today, I was again so overwhelmed by the colors of fall.

I pulled over several times to snap pictures. It was raining a bit, and the wetness only intensified the 

brilliance of the foliage against the gray sky.

Last night, the quilt guild auction was terrific and, although I did restrain myself, I managed to fill a shopping bag with fabric!! My favorites were the batiks, which were quite a bargain considering the cost of good batiks in fabric stores. 

When I got home from the auction, Rosie had to investigate my purchases. She crawled right into one of the plastic bags, and of course I pulled her right out. She then sat down on the fabrics which I had piled on the sofa and knocked down the piles and generally caused bedlam - her favorite thing to do!

Today Rosie, Angus and I looked at all the luscious prints on the porch. I'm so lucky to have such artistic advisors!! Angus took a special interest in the lively patterns!

I am dying to use these beautiful fabrics in my fabric artwork.

 Stay tuned!

Caution: Fabric Ahead!

O-O-O-H  N-O-O-O!!!

Tonight I'm going to an auction at my friends' quilt guild.

I need to remind myself of the drawers of fabric I already have,

 but I just know there will be plenty of goodies to tempt me!

 I'll share my treasures here tomorrow!

Wish me luck (and restraint!)!

Autumn Sketch

A little thread sketch done this morning and colored with pastel chalks.

These pastels were given to me by a girlfriend in high school.

I've lost touch with that friend, but always think of her when I use them.

I Love Autumn!

The leaves are just starting to change colors...

New England homes will soon be surrounded by gorgeous foliage...

Walking by the lake in our town is invigorating in the cool air...

Our hydrangeas have turned a beautiful purple...

This is only a preview of what's to come...

Can't wait for full color, nippy days, and nature in all its glory!

I love Autumn!!

Birthday Loveliness

Today is my birthday and, all in all, it has been a lovely day.

My husband is away on business, but left me a sweet phone message,

singing a very heartfelt rendition of "Happy Birthday to You."

Tonight we'll chat from opposite sides of the world.

My daughter Kate sent me this terrific book, Drawn to Stitch,

along with other goodies from Amazon.

As you can see, Angus is eager to explore this book with me!

My very dear friend Karen, of Sew and Sow Life,
made and sent me this beautiful wall hanging
 and it's now hanging in my kitchen
where I can see it every morning as I have my breakfast.
I absolutely love it, Karen.
And my dear friend Elaine, Karen's mom,
(read about our friendship's history here)
sent me this wonderful hand made cut paper card.
So sweet! Thank you, Elaine!

Another wonderful hand crafted card was given to me by my

sister-in-law Barbara when she visited last week from California!

This is the front of the card,

but when you pull the ribbon at the bottom,

it opens up like this.

The technique is called Iris Folding.

I love it, Barbara!

Well, I'm all happy with so much hand made goodness,

happy to be well and healthy,

older and wiser,

and living the good life!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Sometimes all the pink ribbons appearing everywhere during October can seem overwhelming.
Even I, a breast cancer survivor, have wondered how effective my small donation would be in helping to stop this disease. Then I received a statement from my health insurance company, telling me that my recent mammogram was billed at over $700.  It was a mammogram that pinpointed my tumor 15 years ago, and I thought - what about all the women who don't have health insurance and can't afford to be screened?
My sister-in-law Tracy alerted me to a website, Images of Health, set up by Fujifilm Medical Systems,   which makes it possible to donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation by telling your own or a loved one's breast cancer story. I put mine on there, and hope you'll check the site out and perhaps learn something and maybe even share a story of your own.
There is just too much cancer afflicting too many people these days, and breast cancer is affecting more and more younger women and even men.
Let's all do what we can to support research and make early screening available to all women.

Companions

Angus and Rosie are getting to be great companions.

They often cuddle up on the same cushion,

watch all the action on the street out the front door,

and even sleep side by side in identical beds!!

I'm hoping to show some new fabric art soon. This piece of fabric I painted a while ago

is tantalizing me! I've been pretty busy, but hope to make a fall still life in the next few days.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!