A Dream Begins

My Hubby and I are going to embark upon a project together! I'm pretty excited that we have found something we can do as a team with a wonderful end product. We've decided to start working on a 1962 GMC pick up truck. We don't want to restore, but make it our own. A custom hot rod or rat rod if you will. We have big dreams and know it won't be done over night, but with a little elbow grease and a new cause to save money, we'll band together and have a blast.

Here she is sitting in the junk yard.

Mostly surface rust and just a couple small dents. My Hubby's uncle does body work so he has all the tools we'll need to work on it. I plan on getting my hands dirty and learning a thing or two.

The front end is pretty cool looking. I really like the lines of the truck. It isn't a special year or model. We just like the look of it. Not something most people would consider even being worth restoring or messing around with. We plan on a new grill and having it and the bumper copper plated!

We'll change a lot about the back end I'm sure too.

The inside is in pretty great condition. It won't be a manual when we're done, since I can't drive a stick. Also I can't wait to pick out fabric to have that seat recovered!

The jar for the sewing machine fund is now being re purposed to hold funds for the new truck. I'm ready to start the tear down, but it has to wait for a bit longer. I can't wait to have a new bad ass hot rod to cruise around in!

IT'S HERE!

You know that music you hear in movies when something major is revealed? The sound of angels? The rays of wonderfulness music? Well I heard it today as I opened the door after work! My brand new Bernina was sitting on the chair! I opened that puppy up right away and browsed the manual, looked at all the parts, and just marveled at the amazing machine!

Isn't she gorgeous? A Bernina B330. Just perfect for me! It does everything I want and more. I can't wait to get started on a big project on it. Of course her home isn't ready yet. I'll get to work on that ASAP, but until then she can just sit on the dinning room table and be admired by everyone!

I did take some time and play with all those fancy stitches. That is something I've never had on a sewing machine before. I thought I'd express my love in stitches!

It came just in time to bind up that wall quiltie too!

Saving up all that money was totally worth it! Now to change the "sewing machine fund" jar into another fund!

WIP Sunday: Maybe I'm A Bit Ambitious?

I'm on the go on several projects so I thought I'd share the scope of what I'm doing with all you lovely people. Have I taken on a bit much? LOL I don't seem to think so. Things are moving along rather nicely and if I get bored of one project I have another to bounce to. I usually don't get this many things on the go at once, but with hand projects it seems to not be that big of a deal. My sewing machines have both been on the fritz so until the new super duper awesome one gets here I'm working on hand only projects!

You've seen this before, I know, but it is still a WIP. The sketch of the James Memorial Art Center. The building is historical and I'm on the board of directors and volunteer a ton. I dreamed up this stitching project for the 100 anniversary of the building. Other people are contributing pieces to make a wall hanging. We get together once a month and stitch away at the art center, so this is a piece I don't work on consistently. My "in between project".

Next up on the WIP list is a very special piece. I have a dear friend that was diagnosed with colon and liver cancer about a month ago. He has had his surgery and his colon is now cancer free and is on his way to have the surgery on his liver this week! Things are looking good! A long time ago he uttered a phrase that has stuck with us. I'm sure a few cocktails played a large part in his comment, but it makes us all laugh and it is used pretty often among us friends. I used the phrase to stitch on a tea towel for the tea towel tour on Craftster and since then he has wanted his own version. I promised that when he comes back from his surgery he will have his very own framed version to hang up. Not much to go to finish it up and I already have the frame! He'll be home on August 5th hopefully!

I'm also working on my swap piece for the I love the 80's sewing swap on flickr. A "Soviet Union propaganda folk art wall hanging" for my best friend Heidi! My first whirl at hand quilting and it isn't as bad as I had thought. Here is another little teaser for her ;)

One last WIP to share. A mixed media piece. I took the Magical Mythical Makings course on willowing.ning, but never finished the last assignment! I finally decided to work on it and I think it will go to the art center's charity auction in September. The theme this year is "Celebrating Culture Through Art." A little Irish fairy with shamrocks. It will be turned into a wall hanging with fabrics. I'm in the process of painting.

So as you can see I'm one busy lady! Never mind the fact that I need to get my crafty room straight and organized before my new sewing machine gets here!

Gnome Stained Glass

I've finished my gnome stained glass! I've also realized just how difficult it is to get a good photo of stained glass! I gave it my best shot so I could share him.

It was my first time using the solder patina and I really like the black lines on this guy. He hangs now in the front window of the house. The window the dog lays in. He makes such a cute addition to the window! The pattern is from "the gnomes book of Christmas crafts" circa 1980. There is also a female gnome pattern and I hope to get to make her sometime too!

I love stained glass so much!

I'm Wiener baby!

Yes, I know we missed WIP Sunday. I was on the road coming home from vacation. As soon as we arrived home I had to go to work and have been to tired to post! I'm home now, and still tired, but I thought I should post anyway.

I finished up the "I'm a Wiener Baby" quilt from the "Dare To Be Square" book by Boo Davis. I can't tell you how much I love that book! I hope someday to have made every quilt from it!

This is for some expecting friends. Their little boy is due in August!

I had my favorite long arm quilter quilt puppy bones in with a variegated brown thread! I <3 my quilter!

I'll vacation photos to share tomorrow!

Provocative Lady!

I'm working on a mixed media piece for a silent auction at our art center. A woman by the name of Elaine Keller Qually passed away a while back and her husband kindly donated her unfinished works to the art center hoping we could do something to benefit the center with them. Another board member and I organized a showing of the unfinished pieces and asked local artists and friends of Elaine's to come and select an unfinished piece to complete. All finished pieces will be put in a silent auction to raise money to do some restorations of the building.

I picked a cute sketch and set to work. I've titled it "Vixens Never Retire". (Thanks for the suggestion Heidi!)

I'm super happy with the skin shading on the lady. I worked at it for ages even if it doesn't really show in this photo. In real life it stands out just like I hoped. I'm just not sure the background is "finished". As this isn't something I created I struggled a bit with a background style. It is water color crayon, acrylics, and graphite. Does it need a little something else, and if so what?

A close up for you to gander at too! I just thought this was such a whimsical and fun sketch I couldn't resist! Any feedback would be appreciated, but please be kind. I'm a bit out of my element here.

WIP Sunday: Hand Quilting By The Lake!

We went camping with some great friends this weekend. Nothing beats some time by the lake to make you feel good! I took my "Soviet Union Propaganda folk art quilt" along to work on and had a wonderful time working by the lake. My first go at hand quilting and it isn't bad at all! I still have a lot of stitches to do, but the results are way fun. I didn't want to take an exact pic of my WIP since I'm keeping it a surprise from the receiver, so here is a photo of me working that the Hubby took. I'm not really that pale, it is a I Pod photo and pretty grainy and washed out, but I thought it was funny.

The Hubby also took the good camera and was shooting random pics. I thought I'd share this one since it is so pretty!

No shots of the stained glass yet, as I am waiting on the patina to arrive so I can color my solder lines black!

I had a wonderful weekend and learned something new, what more could you ask of a summer day!

My Sister's Stained Glass!

I thought I'd share my little sister's finished stained glass piece from our class we took together. She did a great job and for 10 years old she tried each step before she asked for help! She cut some of the larger pieces, did all of the grinding herself, and tried her had at soldering. I custom drew the pattern for her to her specifics. Notice she wanted a skull, must run in the family. ;)

Here is Justice with her completed piece!

A close up shot to show it off a bit more. She picked all the colors as well. I think it looks a bit Day of the Dead! The eyes, brow bones, and sides of the face are all different colors. Dark greens and blues that aren't showing well without light streaming through.

What a great time nurturing the love for art with my sister. I'll be sharing my finished piece on Thursday.

Happy 4th of July!

A new lily just opened up in my yard today! It is called Acapulco. So pretty I had to share.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July everyone! Time to get the BBQ started!

WIP Sunday: Not So Work In Progress

Today has been a busy day! Not much on the crafty front though. House work! You may not be aware, but I actually like housework. Gasp! I'm not kidding. I know most people dread cleaning, but enjoy it. I think it has to do with the fulfilling end result. That is probably why I like crafting so much too. Hard work pays off in a finished product. I'm taking a break from my chores to do a little blog post. I don't really have any WIP pics although I have plenty of things in the works. I did finish a little something yesterday I thought I'd share though.

I have another confession (so much insight from me today!). I have more bras than one set of boobies could wear in a lifetime! LOL I needed a better way to store those bras and what better way than crafting a solution! I had thought of this awhile back and used some fun fabrics to whip one up for myself. The bra situation was getting out of hand!

Maybe that was to much info for you! How about some sweet vintage fabric scores. My great aunt is downsizing and gave me a couple small boxes of fabric. I found some real gems.

Two fun children's pieces! I can never resist bright happy vintage kids stuff.

On the other end of the spectrum, BEER! I've seen the Budweiser stuff before as I think my Grandma had some at some point, but the Schlitz stuff is new to me! Who'd of thought they made Schlitz fabric! I'll be hoarding that piece for sure!

Happy Sunday everyone, back to the housework!

Gnome Stained Glass WIP's

I'm taking a adult and child stained glass class at the art center. I showed my progress a while back, but I have him almost done now! Tuesday night is our last class and I had to have it ready to solider. I've done stained glass several times now, so I brought the stuff home to finish it up.

First I had to grind, and grind, and grind! All those little bitsy pieces.

Then it was on to foiling, which is tedious, but not hard.

I'll use a patina on the solider to make it black. I think the black lines will look great. The foiling is copper. I'm tempted to head over to the art center and plug in a soldering iron to finish him up!