Walking Pneumonia, Google+

I thought it was the flu but after several days of being in the throws I knew it was something serious. Tried the natural cures like increasing intake of fluids, herbal teas, and fresh fruits but couldn’t fight it. A trip to ER resulted in a three day stay in the hospital.
It can be prevented with the pneumonia vaccine which I did get. So good to be back home, I am on my way to a full recovery.



Decided to expand my audience and sharing publicity on google+ which is a combination of all the great things that google does plus more to come, like gmail, circles, +1, communities, hangouts, photo sharing, mobile, etc.

You can find me here


A short video about Google +



Peace, love, and art
Angela

Rip Blackie

The neighbors called yesterday to tell me that you were in their yard. I went there to find you gone to pet heaven. I will miss you my friend. I will miss you, the neighbors will miss you. I will miss you waiting for me to return home from errands. It hurts now but I will be okay.
Peace, love and art,
Angela

This made me laugh

   I don't understand it?  Maybe she does like water. I Google "why your cat jumps in the bathtub and found lots of possible answers, like tubs are cool, they feel safe, maybe they are anxious, shaky, or ill. Anyway it was the laugh of the day and I feel better knowing that most commented that it is normal.

Peace, love, and art,
Angela

My First Etsy Sale

In December 2012 I decided to create my handmade  Etsy shop called e-shopping. I made my first sale last week. I am so happy and feel like I am in business now. I am trying to fashion my shop after the neighborhood variety stores of days gone by as we use to know them with a" little bit of this and that" for everyone.


I sold this handmade Hoot Owl pincushion.

 

 I am so encouraged to work harder at  making products and improving my shop. And I just may have a custom order of my pincushions for the children at Vacation Bible Schoool. Thanks everyone and thank you Jayci for buying from my shop.

Please visit my shop and look around here


I am linking this post  with http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/

 

Peace, love, and art,

Angela

Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 15, 1929-April 4, 1968

Martin Luther King Jr.



I'm going:



One of my favorite Dr. King quotes.

            
                                                           Peace, love, and art,
                                                                   Angela
                                         

Fabric Embellishment Challenge

So excited about the Fabric Embellish Challenge , a project of the African American Quilters Yahoo Group that I am hosting.


The goal will be to embellish one and a half yards of fabric and send to a secret partner. I’ve put together a description of what is expected and we have a few interested. The challenge signup is open through April 6, 2013. Email if you are interested in joining us. And please stop by and join the group page on Flicker




Peace, love, and art, and Happy Easter
Angela

March Madness Update

 

 

Breaking news March 24th 2013: Great jobs U of Memphis Tigers in the NCAA tournaments.


Just seeing these daffodils makes me happy. Just when they started to bloom we had a cold spell .

 

I have enjoyed reading the Farmers Almanac. Brings back memories of when we would purchased one at a store called A. Schwab in Memphis when I was a child.

 

 I purchased a copy of this one at Family Dollar for $5.95

                                 And this one at the Hernando library for $1.00.

 

What's  fun about the Almanac is what they predict about the weather. Here is the prediction for my zone here in Tennessee

 

 

What do you think about the association of gardening with your zodiac sign?

 

I am surprised at the things I didn't know. If you ever find yourself longing for simpler times get a copy of the almanac. You will love the wit and wisdom on gardening, cooking weather, remedies, and more.

 

Welcome spring, it's only 3 days away. 

 

 

Linking this post up with:
 

Anything Goes
 

 

It's A Saturday Sharing Day 

                                             

 

 

Peace, love, and art,

Angela

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                 

Mad about March

March has been  exciting  so far. And I have a feeling it is going to last . Started out by going to see “Quilters A Musical”  a play about a pioneer woman and her 6 daughters unified by quilting, and afterwards a wonderful dinner with friends.



I am pumped up and ready to watch the NCAA basketball tournaments. Sunday was the official start of March Madness .  I will be keeping up with the teams from now through April while sewing.

Sew wise February was a great month for early morning sewing. Usually don't get around to sewing until early afternoon so early morning sewing was a plus for putting a dent in my projects.

Made fabric for the boheannie hand bag.  You can see the pattern over here  I received a lovely “peace, love, and all things groovy necklace” in the mail from Annie.  Will wear  it when I carry my handbag and may even try my hand at some peace earrings.  The birthday cards, calls, and gifts keep coming and that makes me happy.



Good progress on the “Rainbow” baby quilt for the girlfriend grand baby due April 10. Need a border and then on to quilting. Will include the triangles in the border.

 

Number 7 of 12 blocks I am making to go in a Christmas quilt.

And then the tea towel for the tea towel medallion quilt . This is a must finish by March 29th and I am 3/4 done.

 

Gosh I have a finish that I almost forgot. A sofa quilt for cuddling while  watching TV. Made from the "top draw' fabric line  and it is a beauty.

                                                      Linking this post with:
   Fresh Sewing Day                                                                                    


   Freemotion by the River
                                                         
                                                                                                    








sew darn crafty

                                                                                                

  Have a great week and thanks for stoppping by.                                                                         


Peace, love, and art,

Angela

Quilters a Musical

Enjoyed this  play  about a pioneer woman and her 6 daughters unified through Quilting.

 

 

Each story is reflected in a quilt block.

 

 

Everything about the play was impressive from the  acapella songs, costumes, wood plank stage to  the story lines. A few of my favorite story lines, "I don't have time to get old, too many things to do, and " piecing is orderly".

 

This was absoutely a beautiful evening that kicked off my birthday celebration .


I'm linking this post up with :

                                        Linky Tuesday

 

Have a great week.

 

Peace, love, and art,

Angela

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Guild Challenge

It’s early in the challenge and already my guild is number1.




The challenge is that the top 5 guilds with the most earrings will receive  additional awards. Each participating guild must register with Quilt with Marci Baker here  8 guilds have registered so far and the offer ends May 31, 2013.


There are books like “Simple to Sensational Batiks” my favorite, and “Welcome to My Cabin”. These books are one third of  their original list price.

Take a look at the wonderful books. Only items listed here are eligible the attic    and if you see something you like and want to order  I will send you our code to use at checkout. 

I'm linking this post with It's a Saturday Sharing Day




Peace, love, and art,
Angela

My Towel for the Tea Towel Challenge

This is the tea towel I will use for the center medallion  tea towel quilt challenge  over here

 

 The tea towel belonged to my mama. When I learned about the challenge I quickly went to the dinning room chest hoping to find the perfect towel.  I am sure the towel was a gift from one of mama's students. They even had her name embroidered on the towel.

 

 

 

I think I will call this quilt "Tending the Flock" because Mama did that for 30+ years teaching young minds in the city schools. She would be happy that I repurposed the towel for a  quilt

 

 

I want a stripe border and liked the stripe fabric in the upper right the best.

 

 

The challenge ask to try a new technique so I will make the fast finish triangles for hanging the quilt. 

 

How about these yo yo's for embellishment?  The chicks,  a gift from www.buttonmad.com

 

 Below are alterations I finished today, which means a little extra change for guilty stuff.  They belong to a friend who was my second grade teacher. What a blessing to be 99 years young!!

 

Peace, love, and art

Angela

Hooray my PC is back

 

 

 

 I knew I wasn't obsessed with a pc and happily did

without it for a few days while it was being repaired for what they termed "bloated".

 

 But the most important point I want to make is about the guys at Best Buy

Geek squad. With great customer service  so very hard to come by these days , they did an exceptional job of keeping me informed about my repair status. And also telling me" we are happy to restore your device to it's awesomely functional status".  Now that makes me feel real good.

 

Have a super super bowl Sunday and may the best team win. I know I am very thankful for the team at Best Buy.

 

Peace, love, and art,

Angela

Celebrate the Dream

This has been an amazing day. The Martin Luther King Prayer Breakfast this morning was a stirring moment of reflection, prayer, and sense of purpose. This is the second time MLK day coincided with a Presidential election, the first being Bill Clinton’s second inauguration in 1977.

On his day I am forever reminded  and embrace  Mama’s phone called the day MLK was killed  in Memphis. I was away at college  and she called me and said “Dr. King has been shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel here in Memphis and this city is closed and in a state of turmoil". I immediately turned on the radio and later learned that he died.

Enjoy the holiday. I am watching the inaguration.  Keep the dream alive!

Peace, love, and art
Angela

My Portfolio’s

I made these folders today for  CAPI (create art portfolio ideas)  artistic journey  here http://milliande.com 


We are having power outages here, school closing and terrible road conditions due to  ice and wintery weather conditions .
Enjoying Tuesday, homemade tortilla soups on the menu.
Peace, love, and art,
Angela

Easy Light Box Tutorial

As you see Blackie loves to help me around the house.

I was  pleased with how this  turned out.  Let me know what you think about and any questions you may have on the steps. This was adapted from a youtube tutorial.
  
 What is a light box?  And why?
A light box helps to isolate your product from the background and places emphasis on detail.  I want to photograph  good pictures for my Etsy shop because they =more sales.    
Here is what you will need to get started:
1. Ruler with a metal edge, scissors, box cutter, white poster board, craft spray adhesive, white tissue paper or 3 recycled white t shirts

2. A cardboard box .

3. We will be marking guidelines using the width of the ruler on the top and two sides then cutting (removing) the top and  both sides of the box only. No image but it should look like this below.

4. Removing the top flap and two side flaps.


5. To install the poster board you will need to measure the back area of the box as well as the bottom extending out to the flap.
6. Next cut the poster board to correct size.Then use the craft adhesive  to apply the poster board to the back and bottom  including the flap. It is best to spray the poster board as well as the area the board will be attached too. Photo below.

7. Lay tissue paper over sides of your light box to reflect light. I prefer using 3 recycled t- shirts  because the tissue paper is fragile .
.
8. Finally when you are ready to take a picture of your product you will need to bring light into the camera shot. You can purchase one of those lights that clips onto the table.

9. Now you are ready to shoot great looking images of your products.

Peace, love, and art
Angela

Thanks for the Blog Hop Giveaways

Michelle over at http://www.quiltinggallery.com hosted a blog hop in honor of her sites 5th birthday. I  always enjoy blog hopping  and seeing what everyone is doing and  meeting new friends  too.

I am thankful for the giveaways I won from Kari here, RoseMary here and Annie here
Kari www.freshcutquilts.com package arrived just as she described in her blog post and is truly a $125.00 value. Yikes! And included a autographed copy of her book “Tidbits from Triangles” Yikes!

Two bundles of Buggy Barn Basics fat quarters from Henry Glass, one Olfa Circle Cutter (awesome tool), these fine patterns from me, one of my books signed, and an out of print 100 Blocks magazine, and possibly some other surprise goodies. Opening this package will be a bit like Christmas morning for a quilter. It's well over a $125.00 value!


RoseMary  www.artrageousquilter.blogspot.com shared her handmade tussie mussie.


I love all things Victorian and this was a welcome surprise. RoseMary included a note in her package that said “ Angela I hope you enjoy your tussie mussie, you can add anything you like.

My plan is to add a inspirational messages for each week of the 2013 year. One of three resolutions/goals  I will make! This is what I placed in the tussie mussie for the 1st week of January.

“We cannot start over but we can begin now, and make a new ending”.~~Zig Ziglar

Annie at www.bohemiannieart.blogspot.com offered blog hoppers who made a comment to her post a copy of her bohemiannie handbag pattern. I have not made the bag yet  but below is  a finished bag.  If you would like this pattern I am sure Annie will be pleased to send you a copy.


I happen to be the winner of Annie’s giveaway and won her Peace, Love, and all things groovy necklace, made  by Annie. No picture available since Annie will be mailing the necklace later.

Thank you Michelle for hosting the blog hops, and thank you Kari, RoseMary, and Annie for sharing your lovely gifts.

To all my friends in blogland I hope you make the New Year a good one. Everyday is a gift and we can choose what we do with it.

Peace, love, and art,
Angela