I want to thank everyone for their kind comments on my Mother-in-Law's passing last month. Last week, my husband John flew back to CA to start dealing with the house. He'll be there for 3 weeks. My MIL was a hoarder, and a collector of collections.....she had everything! And if she wasn't getting it for herself, she was buying stuff to send to friends and family.....but sadly, most of it never left the house. She loved the home shopping networks, and would get packages weekly......of stuff she never used. John and has been going through everything, little by little. There were dozens of boxes of receipts, coupons, and paperwork, including tax returns from 1967! Each time he'd finish going through a box, his brother would find another! But everything needs to be checked, and gone through, because Mom delighted in 'stashing' something valuable in the oddest of places, for safe keeping. Of course, she would forget these secret places, and then spend weeks trying to find that particular thing she knew she had. She was always searching for something in the mess!
My reason for saying all this?........ is that I have come to realize that I am on my way to becoming just like her! Cripes! I have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF! So in this last week, while John's been out west, I've been taking on a closet or room at a time, and purging! I have two more weeks while he's gone, and I hope to have most of the house tackled by the time he gets back. And if you are thinking this is a small task......we have 14 rooms in this house, and we've managed to fill every one of them up! Sheesh!
And, while I'm purging, I'm also canning! The garden has done pretty well this year, despite the rainy May and June, and I've already put up 39 pints of green beans, 13 pints of hot carrots, 4 dill pickles, 6 mustard pickles, froze 7 bags of corn, and today I made the first batch of 8 pints of salsa! Woot!
Also, from the garden........
My first ever success growing sunflowers! Woohoo! And they almost didn't happen, because a month ago, the dang Japanese Beetles ate them right down to little skeletons when the plants were only 2 feet high. But we sprayed the crap out of them, and have been vigilant about the bugs since, and they are now 6 feet high and blooming like crazy! Yippee! Also in the bouquet are a few black-eyed susans, some blooms off my hostas, and some big hosta leaves. I never make bouquets from my garden.....I just always forget to until the blooms are past......but I've been 'nesting' this last week......and it occurred to me to do it! Yay!
And, just to have something quilty in this post......cuz let's be honest, we always want something quilty in each post........here is the practice feather I made in my class I took from Cindy Needham!
It's Dupioni Silk (swoon!) with a wool batt........she made up a bunch of them for the class, and each person chose the color combo they wanted. I just love these neutrals together. The silk is about 11"x17".
I drew a spine with the water-soluable pen, and free-formed the feathers off of it! I added the pearls up the twisting spine, and some curly-cues in some of the feathers. Then I did a background of very close vertical lines....freeform, about 1/16" apart. I marked a blue line about every inch, just to keep my lines on track, then just went for it! And I'm totally loving the off-the-edge placement of the feather. For some reason......that REALLY appeals to me!
Can I just say......I'M LOVING THE CRAP OUT OF THIS FEATHER!!!!!!! LOL
I've purchased a bit of silk-like fabric to use as a binding, and will finish this up in the next few days. And then it's going on the wall! Woohoo!
If you couldn't tell already.......my three days of classes with Cindy Needham were the best 3 days I've had EVER!!!!!! She is so amazing......her work is stunning......and I think the whole class was so motivated and inspired......we all surprised ourselves! I LEARNED SOOOOO MUCH FROM HER!
Here's a link to her blog..... http://blog.cindyneedham.com/
If you ever get a chance to take one of her classes......DO IT!
Nuff said!
Ok.....I'd better get back to purging! If I take too many breaks, it will never get done! lol
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Enjoy your August....it's almost over! Eek!
regan
Wow--you are a busy gal!! Good luck with your purging. Big job!
ReplyDeleteLOVE your feather work. Very nice!
This year is really whizzing by, that's for sure!! I love your flower arrangement of happy sunnies and pretty hosta. It's good John has his brother to help him sort things out. Good luck with your purging, it's not easy in a house full of sentimental treasures. I'm loving the crap out of your feather too!! The little curls in the tips are so cute. Looking forward to seeing what feathery adventures you have with your new skills.
ReplyDeleteRegan, I'm so sorry to hear of your MIL's passing. It's a tough job your husband and his brother have to go through everything at her house.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your own purging task (wow! 14 rooms)...it will feel so good when everything is cleared and in order.
Your flower arrangement is beautiful as is your 'feather'.
I look forward to seeing your finished piece bound.
Again, I'm smiling all the way through the post!!! There is never a dull moment with you, is there!! LOL!! Love the flowers!!! I love cutting bouquets from my garden - but 107 degrees does NOT promote flower growth!! Hoping for some fall blooms! Glad you got some canning done!! I've done a little, but not like I would like.
ReplyDeleteYour feathers are amazing!!! Just love them!! How fun!!
Purging - sounds "dreary"!! So I could call it scaling down!!! Boy I might need to do that!!!
Have a wonderful last few days of August!!
Blessings
As I've been packing to move, even though its just a few miles away, I've come to realize there is no way I'll ever do all that I originally thought I would do. So I've redirected many patterns, books, and fabrics on to others who might get as much pleasure from them as I had originally. I've heard Cindy is a tremendous teacher.
ReplyDeleteYour feather is AMAZING !! and even more so to know it is Dupioni ! I love the idea of going room to room and cleaning it out. REALLY cleaning it out. ;)
ReplyDeleteRose
Gorgeous feather. Hope you share a picture of it when it's bound and ready for hanging. I purge when we move ... since our moving schedule seems to be every 10-12 years, I've still got a few years before I have to start purging (we've been here 5 years). ha!
ReplyDeleteWow! That's an amazing feather! Don't know that I'm brave enough to work with silk. Good luck with all that purging. I've been doing some of that myself. I remember that salsa - YUM!
ReplyDeleteLOVE that feather, have never tried silk but may have to give it a go.
ReplyDeleteglad you enjoyed the class that much, so nice to hear.
The flowers are just beautiful , there is something about sunflowers just make me smile, now I think I will have to go buy some today!
I agree have no idea where august went. lets hope sept is a nice calm lots of days in the sewing room productive days are ahead of us
Kathie
Your quilting is beautiful - the neutrals look great together. I like the off center feather, too.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what your husband is going through. After my mother's death, my sisters and I had to do the same thing. Boxes and stuff were everywhere (even under the beds) I purged my own house after that but it has since filled up again. I definitely am my mother's daughter!
Hi Regan, Somehow I missed this post but glad to read it now. We had to do similar things for hubby's mom's house in Palo Alto, Ca. before we could put it on the market. She wasn't a hoarder but his brother is and not only filled his own house but filled their moms house too. Hubby went out to Ca. three times and had to move his brother's junk out. Nothing was of any value-except in the brother's eyes. Hubby's mom had also saved tax returns, cancelled checks etc for many many years. Knowing about my bil's sickness of hoarding, I am very careful to not just "buy" at garage sales for the fun of it. I don't want my girls to ever have to go through what hubby did. Where in Ca. is your mil's house? We worked with a realtor and it wasn't even on the market and sold for way over asking. Just wish that our house in Ca. would sell like that-we have it leased but lost so much value when the market crashed. It would make life easier if we could be done with it.
ReplyDeleteLove your feather-I have heard of Cindy, in fact she may have spoken at our quilt guild in Ca.
Hey, I may be visiting your incredible state in two years.
Hope you have a great weekend filled with purging and sewing. I hope your hubby returns quickly, telling you that the house has sold.
Hugs, Noreen
I know exactly what you mean about having WAY TOO MUCH!! I'm not sure how it happens, but it does! And I've purged before...hmmm ;) That's awesome about how much you've canned. I wish I had the time to have a garden! I must prioritize and have one next summer.
ReplyDelete