blogging friends forever

Debbi Baker has graciously given me this award, for which I thank her very much. The rules for passing it along are:

1) Only five people allowed.

2) Four of them have to be dedicated followers of your blog and one has to be new and live in another part of the world.

3) You have to link back to who gave you the award.

I've linked back to Debbi.

The four dedicated followers I've chosen are Jules, Kate, Julie, and Ethel/Edna. Thank you, ladies, for reading and commenting on my blog. The new blogger in another part of the world is Jane, because I've fallen in love with the photos on her blog.

I took lots of photos of the new fiber hanging at VAAM Gallery but don't have them ready to post yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Have a great Monday, everyone!

goodies

Did I mention that blog friends are just the best? A while ago I sent Debbi some little bits and bobs including a couple of Egyptian-themed playing cards because I knew she sometimes uses Egyptian elements in her art. Well just look what I received in the mail yesterday as a thank you from Debbi:


What a treasure trove! Debbi knows I really love "hot" colors and there are lots of them here as well as bunches of other goodies. Look at that green netting with the silver dots. I'm glad it's the weekend so I can have time to play!

Debbi also included a piece of her artwork in the parcel. Isn't it wonderful? I'll hang it on my studio bulletin board where I display work by my artist blog friends. Thanks so much, Debbi!

The VAAM Gallery's fiber invitational exhibit, of which I am a part, has been hung and will be in place through October. I will try to get in there and take some photos to post this weekend.

Hope you're all having a great Friday.

one (slightly used) necklace for sale soon

Just FYI, when I get this piece back from the fair it will be going up for sale on etsy, unless one of you would care to purchase it first. If you'd like to inquire as to the specifics of the necklace (size, composition, price, etc.) please contact me via blog post and I'll send you my work e-mail address. I can tell you that the price will be higher on etsy than it would be in a pre-sale here. Also, the other necklace (blue ribbon winner pictured here) is available as well. This is strictly on a first come, first served basis, and of course there is absolutely no obligation to anyone. I just wanted to give you all an opportunity.

six inch square club

This was just made for me. Go to Agnes the Red to get in on the club if you consistently find your work area reduced to six inches square. As you can see from the photo above (admitedly taken before my studio re-do, but I will testify that my table ALWAYS looks like an incipient avalanche) I qualify all over the place. Besides, there's a present at stake here, so get with it.

wonderful weekend--warning: lots of photos follow

Thanks to all of you who posted with good wishes and encouragement re: my necklace at the fair. I'm happy to report that I WON FIRST PRIZE!! As you can see from the photo below, I did not win for my carefully planned and executed necklace made specifically for the fair, but for the other piece sent down at the last minute. Judges--go figure! I'm pleased nonetheless.


This is an entry in the pleine aire painting division. I love all the colors and the feeling of the fair midway.

And here's the midway itself, showing some of the rides my kids were eager to try out.

One ride they took was on the sky ride.

The entire family went on "Ye Old Mill", a haunted house type attraction that has been part of the fair for decades. My mother remembers riding this when she was a teenager.

While Dave took the kids around the rides I hung out in the Domestic Arts building, seeing gorgeousness like the following:

The quilts were just stunning, ranging from simple, old fashioned patterns like this nine-patch...

...to stunning modern patterns.

This piece was just unbelievably gorgeous, embellished with lace, beads, silk embroidery, and a variety of fancy hand stitching. It won a purple ribbon (Best of Show) and deserved it. Wow.

Love these colors and this pattern. Very cool.

An interesting category in the Domestic Arts division was "duct tape". This purse is made entirely from duct tape.

And so is this prom dress!! Yes, the young lady who made it actually wore it to the prom, and made a matching hat for her date.

There was quite a bit of felting going on, mainly of things knitted out of wool yarn, then hot water felted in a washing machine. This is one of the really nice bags on display.

Warning: gratuitous chicken photos follow. Lesley, I thought of you throughout the poultry building.

You cannot go to a state fair in the middle of the USA without encountering some of the following feathered citizens.

Isn't he an interesting fellow?

Dylan said this one looked like a rock star.

This was a handsome big guy, and seemed to be curious about what I was doing.

Another beautiful specimin of chickenhood.

Isn't this a lovely fellow? His label said he was some kind of traditional English barnyard fowl. I thought he was beautiful. And very cooperative, too, I must say.

The chickens were in the same building as the rabbits, of which this little guy was by far the cutest.

Dylan and Dave explored the livestock building. This is Dylan atop the mountain of hay it takes to feed all the critters. He was very impressed.

This is what happens when you give an 8 year old the camera--you get a photo of a cow's butt.

By day's end we were exhausted (and my knee hurt, but I did well over all), and some of us had very sticky faces from cotton candy (see below) but we had a great time at the fair.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend, too.

going to the fair

This Sunday my family and I are heading to the Kansas State Fair, just a few miles away in Hutchinson. Above is a photograph of the fair's midway, although the fair is supposed to be about more than carnival rides. We will give the kids some money to spend on rides but we will concentrate more on the exhibits in various buildings, of which my necklaces are a small part. The weather is forecast to be really quite nice for the weekend, with some possible showers but with temperatures under 80 F. Beautiful for early September here.

The judging for the professional arts category took place yesterday but I don't know yet if I took any prizes. I will, of course, let you know. I plan to take my camera. I hope my knee holds up--there's a lot of walking involved and I have a knee which undoubtedly needs some professional orthopedic attention, probably surgery. Some days it does better than others but by the end of the fair experience I'll probably be in a lot of pain. Erg.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

necklace(s) at the fair and an award

Monday we took my "mermaid's treasure" necklace to the state fair. Since there are barely any entries in the professional arts-jewelry category it may actually win a prize. Also since there are barely any entries in this category the person in charge asked if I would submit another piece. I sent it to the fair yesterday with my co-worker who was taking a bronze sculpture. The pendant is pictured above but you'll have to use your imagination for the rest of the piece, which consists of three strands of pewter freshwater pearls, garnet beads of various sizes, crystals, and silver. It is a pretty piece but not as impressive as "mermaid's treasure".

I have been given a lovely award by Bethel.

I appreciate being recognized and I'm glad people enjoy reading my blog. It's hard for me to limit myself to just a few blogs to pass this award on to, so if you'd like to claim this award for yourself please feel free.