Hello one and all!!! Here ye, here ye!!!! How is that for a fine greeting this fine day??? hahaha I hope that you all have had a fabulous time since the last time I shared an update. We've had a little rain in my neck of the woods which has helped to cool things off a little. And then of course it gets hot again. Shucks, it's the middle of September and it's still in the mid to upper 90"s!!!! WHAT??? Yes, you read that right. hahaha And of course, in August for Fair week, it always rains, right? Well, it seems like it does in my neck of the woods. I am happy that fair week has been tucked away in the history books. While I do love all the hustle and bustle of it and just have an absolute blast working at the fair, it does take its toll on the old body. There are many that work that are older than I, but I'm the only one that can deal with my own aches and pains. hahaha Can't anyone do that for me and I wouldn't ask anyone to do it even if they could. Jesus is the only One that can and has dealt with all my problems and He helps me on a daily basis. Praise Him for that!!!
I did try to get lots of pictures during the fair, or that was my plan anyway. But even the best plans can go awry and mine did. At times, I forgot to take pictures, at other times, I just didn't want to mess with taking pictures, at any rate, I didn't get a lot, but will gladly share what I did get. So here it is well into September, mid way to be exact, and I'm getting around to updating. I'm slow, but I usually get it done, sometime. hehehe I didn't take as many pictures at the fair as I had intended, but I did get a few.
This is a baby quilt that I got done this year. I actually started it 20+ years ago. These are the sample blocks that I had made when I did actually make 2 baby quilts way back then for my nieces who was expecting. I sewed samples of each block and then tweaked the colors or what ever I needed to do to get the right. I had put them in a plastic shoe box and forgot about them. Several years later, I pulled them out and sewed the white onto the the pieces and made the quilt top. I actually serged all all the block and strips together. When someone seen if before I had actually put it together and made the quilt they said "I didn't know you could use a serger to piece your quilt top." I said, "Well, I didn't know you couldn't use a serge to piece a quilt top." If it works, it works!!! And it worked. hahaha There is another blog post about this. It is either late last year, or early this year.
This is a little slat that I turned into a beachy scene. I really liked the finished item and other did too. I wish I had given perspective in the picture. It's about 7 inches long and about 3 inches wide. I am going to make 2 more just like that with different shells on them to finish the wall scene.
This was my string of red cayenne peppers. It was just a fluke that I even entered them. I knew there was several red peppers, but I didn't think I had enough for the string of 20 that we was to have in order to enter them. One of my friends said to put the ones that had a little green on them on the string anyway and they would be turned red by judging time and she was right. So I was pretty happy with this.
This is my cruise bracelet that I made earlier for my Mom, 2 friends and myself after we got back from our cruise last September. I was pleased with this and so was everyone else.
This was a banner that I made earlier in the year at one of county FCE (Family Community Education) clubs craft night. I didn't get finished with it at the event, so I took the supplies need to finish and I added my own stuff to it and I was pretty happy with it too.
This is an item that I had made last year at the same event, but it got misplaced and I didn't find it until about a month before the fair and I asked someone about it, since it was more than a year old. The person I asked, asked me if there was any way I could "finish" it. So I did. I finished it with the USA scrabble tiles and it turned out really cute.
This is a paper weight that I made from sculpey clay and a starfish stamp. I stamped the starfish into the clay and cut around the clay then water colored it with light colors and it is really pretty then I took a flat backed marble that I painted on the back of and got a crackle effect and glued that to the top of the starfish cutout. I then glued all that to the top of a piece of heavy craft board covered with sheer purple paper. The final product is quite nice and people seemed to like it a lot.
This is my denim rolled bead necklace. I was pleased with the outcome of it.
This is a flat backed marble with an image from a napkin adhered to the back and the a pin back adhered to that to make a nice pin. I really like this one a lot and was pleased with the outcome.
This one has a story behind it and I almost forgot about it, but I seen it hanging on the wall in my craft room and took it to the fair. Several years ago my friend and I was at a semi local christian studio broadcasting station. The gift shop on the premises was open and we went in browsing around. It was something that we just loved to do. She said you got to come here and see this purse. I looked at it and fell in love with it but I knew I could never afford it. It was about $80. And there was NO way I could do that. She said check on it. Go see what the price is, it may be on sale. Just to please her, I did and it was on a clearance of a lifetime!!!!! I got the purse for less than $5!!!!!! It was one that you wore across your body. About 9 inches wide and 9 inches long with about 4 inch fringe across the bottom. And it was PURPLE!!!!! Hey, everyone who knows me knows I love purple!!! hahahaha This big crystal encrusted cross was on the front of it and I LOVED it!!!! I packed if for several years until it started coming apart. I laid it aside. I didn't want to throw it away. I needed to salvage that cross as a reminder of my very sweet friend and sister in Christ. Sometime after I got the purse, she got sick and in December of 2015 she went home to be with our Jesus and this is the one thing that I had as a reminder of her and our love for our Savior. The lace on it is also a reminder of our worship of our Savior. So, while I dreaded having this piece that was so personal to me judged, I was very pleased with the outcome and happy that others seen value in this piece without knowing the back story.
This is all the pieces that I entered in the fair that placed. I had 2 or 3 items that didn't place and I forgot to take pictures of my clinkers although I said I would. I just didn't bother with them. Like I said earlier, this fair wore me out and I'm still not fully recovered from it and started getting a sinus infection towards the end of fair week and I'm still suffering with that. If it's not one thing, it's 14 more. hahaha I told my sweet husband that sometimes it feels like I'm being pecked to death by a baby chicken. Just slow, steady, continuous and painful. hahaha But, this too shall pass and it will be something else pecking me to death. hahahaha
I missed several appointments immediately after our fair that I had been signed up to do and I really hate that so much. I just have had to prioritize situations and my health is at the top of my list these days. It's getting easier and easier to say no to things that I would like to do, but I know that it will be a struggle for me if I do it.
On an up side, I did have a couple of lunch dates with friends that truly was a blessing for me and I'm thrilled that I felt up to it. No matter how bad I may feel, if I can have some "sister in Christ" time, that is always a blessing. Just to be able to uplift one another and share in each others joys is such a wonderful thing to do.
I hope that you all have people that you love and enjoy spending quality time with. People that you know have a "healing" effect on you and not make you cringe at the thought of spending time with them. I just don't have much time for that anymore. I have become more and more picky about whom I choose to spend time with. If it's a chore, I'm not gonna do it anymore. If I feel like I'm being looked down upon, not doing it. If I feel like I'm being judged, not doing it. If it's something I dread doing, not doing it. You see where I'm going with this. hahaha If it's not conducive to better health, I'm not doing it.
Well, that's about all I have you this update. I hope you seen or read something that you enjoyed. If you did, share it with someone you think would enjoy it too. I hope you check out some local fairs in your areas this fall and see what some of the latest crafts are. I hope you pieces of craft work that brings you wonderful special memories of wonderful special people in your lives. I hope you make good choices for yourself regarding your health. That is something that no one else can do for you. You have to be large and in charge of your own health and regulate who gets your time and who doesn't get your time. That's one of the ways to maintain your health. Toxic people are toxic to your health. I hope and pray that you know that you are loved more than you could possibly know, by Jesus Christ. The only way to have right relationship with the Father, is thru the shed blood of the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus already paid the cost for you, you just have to receive and accept the free gift of salvation. I am one of those Christians that know I am in desperate need of Jesus Christ, sharing with you, the fact that you too are in desperate of Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that if you haven't already received the free gift of salvation, that today would be the day. Love, hope, peace and prayers for each and every one of y'all. God loves y'all and so do I!!! patty
