A belated birthday celebration

Nothing like stretching your birthday out over time. Yesterday, my art friend Dana and I set out for a town near Wichita to visit our other art friend, Kathy. Here is the day in pictures and words. Be aware, this is a very long post. Out of over 200 photos, I really edited it down.


The day started out lovely and sunny as we headed for the highway ahead.

We stopped in Yoder, KS, the Amish community we love to stop at for cinnamon rolls. As we were getting out of the car, a horse and buggy drove by. Even though the buggy was going much slower than a car, I had to wait for the camera to "warm up." The horse and buggy were soon nearly out of sight. You can barely see it, if you click on the image. It is below the words in the photo.

Inside the restaurant, I finally got some good photos of the Amish quilts

that led the way to the restaurant area.

While we waited for the cinnamon rolls to be boxed,

I took some pictures of the pies

and homemade rolls.

The sign tells all (and shows what a "big" spender I am).

While there, we took a few minutes to see some of their gift shop items. Dana was really taken by this picture.

She loved this one, too. "Friendship is not a big thing . . . it's a million little things" That's how I feel about my blog friends.

Some of the items were mass produced,

while others were hand made

or hand painted, like this one hanging from a table that Dana liked.

Every nook and cranny was filled and overflowing with gifts

and Dana decided she would do her Christmas shopping here.

We both loved the Church with the glass door knob nearly hidden on the side of a cabinet.

We had little time to take in barely 1/2 the store and sadly had to leave this marvelous place because Kathy was expecting us.

When we got to Kathy's, she showed us what she had made in the way of jewelry. Not really a good picture of the bracelet she called her Steampunk bracelet.

Next, Kathy told us about the assemblage she was making.

Here it is from one side. I swear those shoes, made of polymer clay, look like the house has fallen on the Wicked Witch of the East!

She auditioned a half moon face


and a full moon face, both made of polymer clay. You can see the three bars of free trade hand made soap I brought.

Kathy mugged for the camera, modeling items she plans to use in the assemblage.

Later, Kathy and Dana got out their roving and felt yarn to make the project I suggested. Supplies include wool roving for felting, knee high panty hose, and a bar of soap.

We first laid out white wool, after choosing our bars of soap. Each had a different scent.

Then we set out to decorate the wool. Most people would think we did it backward, but it turned out great.

Mine was a mix of light and dark green, Dana's was green, blue, and lavender, and Kathy's was yellow and orange.

Dana considered adding a needle felted piece to the mix, then changed her mind. Here I've turned my wool over and added my soap. Next, I wrapped the soap, slipped it into a knee high with Dana's help, and tied a knot.

I have no idea why I didn't take photos. There were three of us at Kathy's kitchen sink, so I had plenty of models. But I totally forgot to take photos as I smooshed and scushed the felt around the soap bar. When the hairs caught on the panty hose, they were felted.

Here they are drying. Top left is Dana's, top right is Kathy's, and mine is below. Don't they look darling? I have wanted to try this ever since I saw the project on the internet (months ago before my old computer died).

While they dried, I cooked grilled cheese sandwiches, while Kathy dressed up the salad greens I brought fresh from my garden, and cut up fresh fruit for a healthy dessert.


Later, Kathy and I (mostly Kathy, because my hands got in the way) took my pasta machine apart. I want to work with polymer clay, but my pasta machine was not acting right. I didn't want to use it until it was cleaned, because I didn't want to bend and damage the pieces that are succeptible.

Geez, I wonder why the machine was acting crazy!! What a mess I had, right in the middle of the bar.

As with many projects, what promises to be simple, turns out to be trying. Even Kathy's husband came to help. It was his idea to get Kathy's machine out to see how to put mine back together. Luckily, patience prevailed, and it finally went back together. Now I can play with clay as a diversion when I'm tired of working on my current project.

I hope today's blog is new to many of you. And, it features a man (you know I love to feature men who blog, and I haven't for awhile). Gotta love the blog name: Dull Tool, Dim Bulb written by Jim Linderman, who is also a writer. But that didn't draw me to his blog. What drew me were all the old photos, sketches, and drawings dating back as far as the early 20th Century. So if you like vintage or mid-century modern design, you'll have a lot of fun at Dull Tool, Dim Bulb.

Don't forget. You have until midnight CDT to register for my giveaway. I'll draw the winner tomorrow. And, yes, I will show what was in the packages I got Tuesday (finally).