The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Harvey

Last night The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was on Turner Classic Movies. I'm ashamed to say I had to go to bed before it was over, but I enjoyed the first part of it. This clip is one of the funniest parts of the movies. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is based on a short story by the same title by James Thurber. You can find the story here.

Before you watch these movie clips, don't forget to go to the bottom of my page and turn off my music. Enjoy!



Yesterday I felt better, so I assembled another whole cloth wall hanging using the new quilting stencil I bought last week. I worked on it last night while we were watching another movie, with Jimmy Stewart called Harvey. What fun to think about having an imaginary friend, and a rabbit at that. Now that we are grown, we can draw our imaginary friends, right?

Scarves

I've been feeling a little on the poor side this weekend. But, really for the past week I haven't felt all that great. Good days and bad days. I think I've been eating too much sugar. It's time to stop that nasty stuff. My doctor has been wanting me to for years. Not even chocolate. Sigh. Well, I guess that has to go too.

I just feel badly whenever I eat sweets. No I'm not diabetic. Or at least I wasn't my last blood test. My glucose count was actually good. But, just to be sure and avoid any future complications, I'm going to do something about it now. I had a terrible headache yesterday either from looking at the computer screen too long, or from sugar/chocolate withdrawal. But, I digress.

I did feel well enough to work on this scarf this weekend.


I really love the way it came out. I've been seeing so many pretty scarves lately. I've decided that I'm going to make a few and put them in my Etsy store when the weather begins to cool off. I can't imagine anyone wanting to wear a scarf in this balmy weather we've had lately. It's been in the upper 80's to mid 90's here for about 2 months and summer just started last week. It's always really humid here in the south too. When it's that hot and you go outside, it just feels like someone threw a blanket on top of you. I mostly stay inside during the summer months. I just can't take the heat anymore.

Whole Cloth Wall Hanging

I've been quilting for the past few days. This past weekend was the East Tennessee Quilt Shop Hop. I didn't really go on the hop, but I did go to a couple of quilt stores near me just to see what was new. I had not been in awhile and I just wanted to browse around.

The first quilt shop I went to Sew-Bee-It in Ringgold, Ga. This is a wonderful shop. They have lots and lots of beautiful and unique fabrics. I bought several fat quarters there to make the swatch portraits with.

After that, I went to Lavender Lime in Chattanooga, TN. I found a wonderful whole cloth stencil pattern. I love these types of patterns so I thought I would buy it and try one. I bought some wonderfully soft muslin and went home Saturday afternoon and went to work getting it ready. I quilted on it most of the day Sunday, a little bit on Monday, and finished it up Tuesday night. I still have to put the hanging sleeve on the back.

With these types of whole cloth patterns, I think alot of people use the same color quilting thread as the fabric. But, I love color so much and with a pattern that is that beautiful, I really enjoy quilting it using a colored quilting thread. I chose a variegated quilting thread for this one. I wasn't sure how it would come out, but after I removed the quilting marks from the fabric, I really like it.




I went back to Lavender Lime yesterday and bought an even bigger stencil to make another whole cloth wall hanging. I'm trying to decide if I want to make one of those next, or make another one of the smaller ones using a different border fabric.

Lovely

Today before I went to lunch I got a text message from my cousin. He sent me this picture.


He said he had gone home for lunch and was sitting on his front porch eating his sandwich when he noticed that his rose bush is in full bloom. He said they were so lovely and it made him think of me. He said he wanted to send the photo to me because I am a lovely person and that he loves me. It was so sweet. Of course, being the sentimental fool I am, I cried. It made my day and receiving this was just what I needed today.

For my own lunch break, I went out to the Hobby Lobby to buy some more wood embroidery frames to make some more swatch portraits. As I was browsing through the aisles I came across this pretty metal star. I really like it. It's not the best picture since I took it with my cell phone camera, but you get the idea of what it looks like. This picture really does not do it justice.


After that I went down another aisle and saw some candle holders that I really like. I snapped this picture to show you. They are 50% off this week at Hobby Lobby. I think this one is unique. They have a short one and then a taller one. I might go back tomorrow and get them for my fireplace mantel. Again, this picture is not very clear, but you get the idea.

Swatch Portraits

The first time I saw one of these Swatch Portraits was on The Cozy Little Whimsy Nook's blog. I didn't know what they were called, just thought of them as fabric framed in wood embroidery hoops. They are apparently called Swatch Portraits. Which is a really good name. I like it. Then the other night I saw some on Martha Stewart's studio set. She had hers on a board of some kind that looked like you could easily put thumb tacks or small nails into to hang the portraits. The board was leaning against what looked like a cooler with flowers in it. Anyway, it got me thinking that now I know what I can do with those wonderful fabrics that I love and hate to cut up, or maybe I have just a little of something left over from another project.

As with any project that I'm thinking about starting, I like to see some eye candy for inspiration, so I did a Google image and blog search on "Swatch Portraits" and found a great tutorial on Purl Bee's blog. These are really pretty and they are not hard to make at all. I could see me making some of these to hang all over the house. I think they look best when they are arranged on a wall with several of them in all different sizes. I went to Hobby Lobby earlier this week and bought several wood embroidery hoops. I can't wait to try this.

And I almost forgot the most important thing that really cheered me up yesterday. When I got home I had received my order from Marjorie of Marmee Craft. Her sweet owling pin cushions are just what I needed to make my day. I've already posted it above, but I'll do it again. Her blog is here.


And she also included one of her newest paintings in a postcard size. I just love it!

Mad Tea Party

Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist is hosting a virtual Mad Tea Party. Go to her blog to read all about it.

I'm thinking that I am going to wear a hat with feathers and include a couple of pictures of myself as a child wearing hats. I guess I loved hats even when I was very small and I still do!

I Am a Snapdragon

I found this fun little quiz through another blog this weekend. You just click on the link below and take your own quiz to see which flower you are.

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

My vacation is over and I'm heading back to work tomorrow. I've had lots of fun, though, even though we didn't go to Florida. I did lots of things I don't normally get to do, and most of them I've posted about. I did lots of reading, watching movies, and painting. I'm going to have a shop update this week and have some prints available of paintings that I worked on these past two weeks. And maybe even a jewelry pouch or two.

Yesterday I did some baking.


There is one cupcake missing. Can you guess why? Actually, the real reason is because for some strange reason I only had enough cake batter for 11 cupcakes instead of 12. It was probably my inability to evenly distribute the batter into the pans. No matter. They all disappeared in record time.

This morning as I was making biscuits I was looking at my tired, worn out, glass kitchen canisters and thinking that I need new ones. Then I thought, that the only thing wrong with them was the ugly wooden lids. So, I decided that I can paint them and they will be good as new. No need to buy new ones. I like the way these glass canisters slant forward and didn't really want to buy new ones. So, I'm working on the lids now and will post the final result when I finish.

I guess I don't have very much to say this post. Mostly I'm just trying to get back into the working mindset and getting things ready for work tomorrow.

Oh, I almost forgot. Friday night there was a special movie on the Oxygen channel and it was Pride and Prejudice. I got right in the middle of it and thought, well darn, I've missed it. But, no ... low and behold I saw that there was going to be an oncore presentation right after the current one, so I was able to see it after all. It was very good. So far, I've enjoyed Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Now I have Persuasion, but I haven't watched it yet. Now I have to go back and read the novels. I rented The Jane Austen Book Club this week and need to finish watching it so I can take it back. I was interrupted in the middle of it and never got back to it.

That's all for now.

Miss Potter

In addition to painting and drawing while I've been on vacation, I've watched Miss Potter twice. I love that movie and it's inspiring to me in my own artwork. I went out this morning to a gift shop that I haven't been to in awhile and, by accident, found the prettiest long, rectangular shaped, wicker type box that reminded me of the box that Miss Potter kept her brushes in as depicted in the movie. I bought it, brought it home and put my watercolor brushes in it. It's the perfect size.



After I left that gift shop I went to another one that I haven't been to in awhile. They had all of their Charming Tails figurines on sale 50% off. I found this cute mouse and spool of thread and buttons that reminded me of the illustration for the story The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter.




If you are interested, I have posted here the movie trailer for Miss Potter. I also noticed that YouTube has the entire video of The Tailor of Glouchester in five parts. Remember to turn my music off at the bottom of my page before you watch the videos.

Giveaway!

In light of the fact that I love Mary Jane shoes, I'm going to enter this wonderful giveaway from The Cookie Sheet blog. She is giving away this wonderful little print.


Just click on the link above and you can also enter.

More Watercolor Art

I've been on a watercolor ride lately. I've been wanting to explore them more and more and have just never taken the time to do it. Since I've been on vacation, I've been taking time to learn more about watercolor painting and how to control the paints, etc.

I've created this new lovely girl that I want to share.

I want to call her Party Girl since she looks just like she's ready to go to a party or a banquet or something like that. I plan to put prints of her and my other watercolor paintings in my shop this week.

Yesterday afternoon I went outside and took some pictures of some lovely lilys that are blooming in my yard.




I also took some more pictures of flowers and plants.

Watercolors

I had some more fun today. We didn't go to Eddie's mom's today and take the food because some of her husband's family brought some food to them. So, I stayed home and we will take our food tomorrow.

While I was here today, I found a watercolor sunflower that I had started a couple of years ago, and for some reason, never finished. I decided to work on it today and this is the result.


You can tell this is really amateurish, but I had alot of fun with it today. I just put on some 40's big band/swing music and painted. I loved it!

I also found a seashell/beach scene that I had painted in 2002, and I decided to share that one with you as well.


I hope to be able to work on some more watercolor this week and hopefully next week too.

Antiquing Adventure

Today Eddie spent the day with his mother taking her home from the hospital and helping her get settled in. He told me it was my vacation and to do something fun today. I was going to take a painting class, but I couldn't reach the lady who teaches the class because her phone number is no longer in service. I haven't had any luck so far with finding out whether she's still teaching the classes, so I didn't go paint today.

What I did do is just bum around today. Goof off, fiddle around, whatever you want to call it. After Eddie left to go to the hospital, I went to a music store near where we live and looked at the hammered dulcimers. I can't buy one right now, but it was fun to look at them and all the other musical instruments they sell there. Things like guitars, banjos, mandolins, ducimers, psaltries. All kinds of instruments. I want to learn to play something so badly, I can hardly stand it. I'm itching to learn, I just haven't figured out what it is yet, and worse, haven't had the money to purchase it or take lessons.

Anyway, I digress. So, what I did do is buy a music CD by Dan Landrum, who is a hammered dulcimer player in my city. This month, we are having the Hammered Dulcimer Festival in our city and I would like to go, but I just don't know yet. I guess I'd better figure it out soon because it's coming up fast.

Well, I digress again. After I left the music store, I went to a local antique mall and had fun just looking around. I have several pictures to share with you.

The first one is of an antique phone that I just love. I couldn't resist taking a picture.


I found this wonderful old room that was called "General Store", and it actually looked like an old general store.


Complete with a potbellied stove and checkerboard and chairs.


I also found an old oak icebox chest that I love. I've wanted one of these for ages, but I don't have room for one, so I'll just have to be content looking at pictures.


There was another thing that I found that I absolutely had to buy. I don't think I've seen one since I was a little girl. It is a little book titled "How to Tell Time." I had this book when I was little because I remembered the clock face on the front, and when I opened it, I remembered the stories and pictures. It was only $2.45 "as is". It wasn't in bad condition, considering how old it is. Just lovingly used, and had a few pencil markings in it. Also, a little girl named "Suzette" had written her name inside. I'm so glad Suzette enjoyed this book as much as I did.


I picked up a few free booklets while I was at the mall, and one of them looked really interesting. It's The Ladies Birthday Almanac.


I love these Almanacs and things like that. My dad used to use the Farmer's Almanac and plant his garden by the "signs".

When I finally tore myself away from the antique store, I went down the street to the art supply store. I found these great coloring books. I love to color just like a kid, and I couldn't resist these.


I'm not finished... When I left the art store, I went to Tuesday Morning and found this notepad and these pretty playing cards.


I had such a fun day, just being free and going wherever I wanted to. I would love another day like this soon and I'm hoping I'll get to do it again while I'm on vacation. I could really get used to this. It's so nice to be able to sleep in, start the day slowly, leisurely get ready to go out and then just go where you want to go, and do what you want to do.

This afternoon I made a meatloaf and a broccoli casserole that we are going to take to Eddie's mother's tomorrow. We will both be spending part of the day tomorrow with her, but I'm hoping I'll have another day to bum around and have fun adventures like I did today.

Bad Fall

Eddie's mother had a bad fall yesterday morning. She fell off her porch about 3 feet and fractured several ribs. She's in the hospital now and will probably go home in the next day or two. The doctor said it will take about 4 to 6 weeks for her to heal and that it will take about 3 weeks for her to start feeling better and not be in pain. She's going to need a hospital bed at home and hopefully we can get some home health care for her. The only other options for her were for her to go to assisted living and she can't afford that. The other option was a nursing home, but the doctor said she wasn't bad enough to go there. So, she'll be happier in her own home anyway, but since Eddie and I live the closest to her, we're going to check in on her every day to make sure she's ok and that she has food, etc.

She is married, but her husband, who is Eddie's step-dad, is almost 90 years old and he can't really do much. In fact, she's the one who mostly takes care of him. So, our vacation has started off on a stressful note.

In other news, my cousin sent me this picture of the view in Panama City Beach off their balcony. Gee, I sure wish I were there. I told him thanks for rubbing it in.