*WOYWW 780: 15 years and counting*

 

Today I am joining the greatest head desker in the world, our beloved Julia at Stamping Ground. 

IF your blog has embedded comments, I will NOT be able to leave you a comment.  I keep getting "Failed to Publish" on all blogs with embedded comments.  Please be aware, it is blogger and not me.

 As you can see, in the past few years, I may only visit once or twice a year, but Wendy and I will never miss an anniversary.  We haven't missed one yet!

As for the obligatory rocking horse, this tiny pin is attached to WOYWWendy's bodice.

I made exactly two anniversary ATCs, one for Julia and one for my PIF partner.

Please note that I only go shopping once a week because of the pain I'm experiencing.  I have finally realized it is due to lupus, a disorder I was diagnosed with a few years ago.  Therefore, since I must buy stamps in order to send these to their respective recipients, it will be Monday before I mail them.

 

What's On Your Workdesk this 750th Wednesday?

 

It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join my dear friend and head desker Julia at Stamping Ground for the latest edition of What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday, or as most know, WOYWW for short.   

There is absolutely nothing on my table today except a broken cast iron rocking horse.  Just because it's broken doesn't mean it is any less loved.

Its tail is missing and it has come apart.

A good friend found it in a dumpster and asked if I wanted it.  Damaged and broken, I gladly accepted it and took it home where it could heal and feel loved among its fellow horses.

Although I have no physical way to repair it (note the broken ear as well as the broken tail), 

it is still loved and will always be loved by all the other rocking horses and myself.  You can never give up on something (or someone) who is broken.  All it takes is a bit of love and kindness and they will soon forget they are broken.

I will be taking a couple of weeks off.  I just need time to heal my body, but will be back next month, I promise.  Not to worry.  I will be by to visit as time permits.  However, today I will visit everyone as I do every Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by my very empty craft room table today.  Please join me at Julia's, where you will meet the kindest, most generous bloggers in the world. 

What's On Your Workdesk this 749th Wednesday? Rework

 

It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join my dear friend and head desker Julia at Stamping Ground for the latest edition of What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday, or as most know, WOYWW for short.   

Before I begin, I want to express my sincere sorrow and concern over the state of affairs in Israel. I am simply appalled by Hamas and the war crimes they have and are committing.

I'll get the obligatory rocking horse out of the way first.  Seems I cut off part of the horse's head and ear.  It's supposed to be a key holder, but has now turned into a holder of junk as well as keys.

It seems to fit in OK in my white/blue/copper kitchen.  And of course, the keys are all spares.  Not sure which cat will need the cat collar first, but at least I have a spare.

Last week I forgot to show I had repaired the scale.  In my haste to show the Sunbonnet Sue quilt, I completely forgot my repair.

Please forgive the shadows.  It's late and nearly time to publish, so I apologize for the lighting.

Apparently I'm not the first person who needed to replace one of these 9 volt battery connectors.  I had no trouble finding a kit to repair the assembly.  It included everything except the solder.  It must be a universal problem.  A little solder and the job was complete.

Now I'm all set to weigh my packages and letters again.

Thanks for stopping by my craft room table today.  Please join me at Julia's, where you will meet the kindest, most generous bloggers in the world.  I know it's true, too.

What's On Your Workdesk this 748th Wednesday?

 

It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join my dear friend and head desker Julia at Stamping Ground for the latest edition of What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday, or as most know, WOYWW for short.   

 Before we begin, I want to apologize for this extremely LONG post.   I know Julia likes it short and sweet and normally I try to comply.  But that isn't the case today. 

Most of my long term readers know I was raised from birth by my grandparents.  Just wanted to get that out of the way in case it was news to you.

Today my desk is on my dining room table.  I've always said my entire house is my craft space, so here goes.

I'm going to get the obligatory rocking horse out of the way first.  Function is key for this

napkin holder.  Most of my cast iron is functional, like the door stop I shared last week.

One more look and it's back to the kitchen where it dispenses paper napkins.  Cloth napkins are used in the dining room.

Some of you remember I fell from trying to remove a box from a shelf in my guest bedroom.  I also mentioned I had received a very thoughtful gift which I had not yet photographed.  It was sent to me by Angela of Crafting with Jack.  I couldn't believe she was giving this book away and no one had asked for it.  I was happier than anyone can possibly imagine.

This is not a "normal" or "traditional" Sunbonnet Sue quilt.  

Instead, as you saw, this is an International Sunbonnet Sue quilt.  I hope you can read all the countries and symbols associated with International Sue.

This explains about International Sunbonnet Sue,

while this shows the first of the patterns you can make yourself.

Now, however, it was time to show why that book meant/means so much to me and why I'm going to cherish it.  I have my very own Sunbonnet Sue quilt, made for me by my grandmother.  She told me it was made from all the dresses she made me in kindergarten.

I was a tomboy.  I wanted nothing to do with girls in my neighborhood, because I was my grandfather's little helper.  My grandmother tried to correct that by making dresses for me.  I was probably the best dressed girl in kindergarten from the looks of all these fabrics.  But take a closer look.  Each and every stitch was by hand.

You may not be able to see it because the quilt needs to be ironed, but even the quilting is by hand.

I had to break this quilt into quarters to photograph it because it is big.

As you can see, I used it for years and years before I finally decided it was worth saving.  There are stains I was unable to remove and a few stitches have come undone due to my carelessness.

I can't possibly imagine wearing all those dresses to school, but there is the proof.

EDIT: I just counted and there are six across and nine down, which means there are 54 Sunbonnet Sues in my quilt. 

I'm not sure you can see the quilting, but it is at a diagonal.  I want to thank Angela one more time for the book which I will cherish more than she (or probably anybody) will know.  And I also appreciate my grandmother for her hand sewing skills.  I'm sure a few of you seamstresses and quilters will appreciate this post.

Thanks for stopping by my dining room table today.  Please join me at Julia's, where you will meet the kindest, most generous bloggers in the world.  I know that for a fact!!!

What's On Your Workdesk this 747th Wednesday?

 

Before we begin, if you are a blogspot blogger, I am getting a TON of "Failed to Publish" notices.  If you don't hear from me for awhile, it's because blogger refuses to publish my comments to you.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it, either.

Last week I mentioned that I wasn't feeling well.  The truth is, I received some surprise mail but before I could photograph it, I decided to pull a box down from the top shelf of my guest bedroom closet.  I slipped on the second rung of the step stool and fell on my not so padded padding (bottom and right side).  I knew there was no way I could sit and visit all the deskers.   I could only sit for a few minutes at a time.  In order to get the box down, I will need a tall man on a step stool.

I have rework on my table tonight.  I broke one of the connections that fits onto the 9V battery, so I hope to put my soldering skills to work and repair it.  If not, I may have to buy a new scale.

As for the rocking horse of the week, I have this cast iron door stop.

It's definitely hard to get a side view.

With all the crap stuff in the background, it's a bit hard to see this side.  Still, I love this cast iron door stop.

Now let's head over to Julia's and snoop, enable, exchange storage tips, and share in the friendship and fellowship that only WOYWW can provide.

 

BTW, can some of you stampers who use clear acrylic stamps tell me how I am supposed to reattach the plastic to the top and bottom of the stamps after I have used them?  Washing the stamps and plastic in dish soap didn't help, something suggested by my neighbor who is a SU rep.  And how do you know if they are acrylic or photopolymer?  Personally, I prefer red rubber, but I have been given several clear stamps.

What's On Your Workdesk this 745th Wednesday?

 

Once again it's time to pay homage to Julia at Stamping Ground, our wonderful host and Queen desker by showing what's on our desks, tables, or floor. 

I almost didn't play this week because some of you saw on Monday that my camera is in the shop.  You need a camera to show a desk, right?  Right!

Instead, I thought I would share a few of the rocking horses (what else?) in my Rocking Horse altered book.  This is an old book and I used it as part of my altered book lessons many of you signed up for back in 2012.

I'll start with the cover and go from there.  

  I got a bit carried away on the cover.

In the lessons I taught, I started by creating a niche.  

  I showed how it was best to do this before you create any art in your book.

Next, I went on to share design principles which is when I lost some of you.

Balance.

 

Contrast.

Unity.

Unity and continuity.

Movement.

Negative space two ways.

Creating a color wheel.

There were a few other techniques, too.

Creating folded pages.

This spread became interactive and the viewer was able to participate in the opening and closing of the folded page, as well as rotating the view finder insert.

Examples of frames.

Creating a window.  Not sure where the horse came from, but I like it.  I just realized its a planter.

And one last picture.

Here's the beautiful face of our blog, the lovable Bleubeard when he was a kitten.

I hope you enjoyed a few of the rocking horse spreads I shared while my camera is out for repair.  I also hope this didn't feel like a long post.  I know Julia likes it short and sweet.  

Thanks, too, for joining Bleubeard and me today. Messy or neat, lots of products or next to none, you will get an idea of what other artists are keeping on their tables, benches, desks, and floors! And if we're lucky, we'll get to see some amazing art along the way, too.