Mini Trip- South Haven

My friend Kellie wanted to go on a sailboat but she didn't want to go by herself so she invited me. It was very nice. I'd been to South Haven before on a lighthouse hunt but never stopped long enough to do anything. Year round population of about 4,000, it's a nice little town on the Black River which leads right out into Lake Michigan. The sand on the beaches is so fine, almost like powder. We went to the Maritime Museum, The Cultural Arts Center, of course the lighthouse, several shops, and restaurant. We took along food to eat for lunch and a dinner. We had one lunch in a local park. The weather was great. So here's a look at South Haven, Michigan.

This is the sloop Friendship Goodwill we went on. I had good sea legs considering the wind died down and we only got up to about 6 knots. But it was beautiful out on the lake. It is a working ship through the Maritime Museum and anyone can sign up to work on it.

This is the second pier out into the lake. We were sitting on the pier with the lighthouse watching the sunset. It's a beautiful little town and I'm sure I'll go back. There were so many things going on; The Blueberry Festival was this weekend. We tried Blueberry Soda and it was actually blue and quite good. Their farmer's market is on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It was crowded on Wednesday.

April

It's April. A new month. It's spring. Things are blossoming. The temperatures are still figuring out whether to stay a constant warm or go back to winter. The birdsong outside my window in the morning has changed. Migrating birds have come back. The local farmer's market will start up again for the summer season as well as all sorts of festivals. Part of me wants to blab about all what I want to do. But the other part wants to stay quiet and see if I can do it. I turned the page on my calendar. It's so blank. I use it to write down what I've accomplished, worked on, or finished. It's so blank.

But pretty soon it will start to fill up. I will continue my writing. I won't give up on that. I will continue sketching bears because they are part of a larger project. I will be working on Halloween inventory for an upcoming art/craft show or two. I'm still planning on reopening my Etsy shop. Some things are still up in the air. Others are in planning stages. I lost my focus last month and will work towards getting it back this month. One weird month out of three is okay. It's spring. And it's time for new things. I'm ready for new things. I may have to put my big girl undies on and actually go out and do things on my own. I think I will make a sort of bucket list for my state. Things I want to do and places to go, not necessarily before I die but because I want to and they are around. I've got to come up with another title for that list.

Okay then. April, here I come.

Welcome November!

Well, October sure did fly by. Once again, I didn't decorate like I wanted to. Things seemed to speed up and I missed everything. I'm sure the move into my studio space didn't help and getting that all set up. I was too tired to venture out for Halloween and well... I guess I'll have to make better plans for next year.

My art table is a mess. I am participating in NANOWRIMO this month and so far I'm on target. But I've got to do something about this table. It's jamming my creative frequencies and I have too much to do this month.

So this is what I accomplished last month.

• one book read (very bad indeed, so behind)
• worked on various writing projects three times (again, not good)
• 6 business quilts longarmed
• worked on applique once
• took a day trip to the Catawba Valley Quilters Show and a woodworking show as a bonus in Hickory, NC
• for entertainment, I went to a bottling party at Sutler's Spirits
• 10 World of Wendy Lu blog posts
• 9 Wendy B Quilts blog posts
• one Halloween drawing
• started watching a new series (for me) on Netflix
• started my first pair of mittens

For this month, I will work hard on being nice to me. I seem to forget that. I will do more of what I like to do and learn some new things as well. 

Cruise In Part 2 - Cars

Cars

Corsair- Corsa

Didn't get the name of this one.

More Birthday Fun- Cruise In Trucks

I went with a friend to a local cruise in of old cars and trucks. Many were absent because the clouds had opened and poured for over an hour. But there were some die hards still there.

I love old trucks. This is a GMC one. A nice blue one.

Inside a Ford.

Army truck.

My friend's 30 year old JEEP called Moss. I painted the two skull light covers.

Birthday Celebrations Are ...

Birthday celebrations are a go!

Seems that they just aren't special places I go to but little things that happen to me during the day. Yesterday I finally went to the Mast General Store. http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/
I've always heard about it but never had a chance, until now, to visit one. Wow! I'm in love. The clothes are great and moderately priced. There's something for everyone. Kitchen items, food, candy in barrels, books, toys, camping gear, and shoes. I can't wait to see their fall/winter wear. It's a financially dangerous place. Wink, wink. It's my favorite store now. It's actually setup like an old-time general store in a small town.

Seeing that I was already downtown, I decided to see if the Fiber Company was open. I used to have some of my dolls in there. I wanted to talk to one of the owners about putting in some Halloween things but they were closed. So I went to a gallery where I used to work, across the street, and said hi to some of my ex-coworkers. The person (Jane) I wanted to see, actually came in and I was able to talk to her. I told her about getting things ready for Halloween and she said that the Black Theater Festival is the first week in August and asked if I would put something in for that because she's got regular customers who come back every two years during the festival. Jane is part of the co-op that is the Fiber Company, a group of weavers. Great stuff. I said, "Sure." She said that she knew it was short on time but if I wanted to, she would be glad to have my work in sooner.

How cool is that? When someone likes your work so much that they ask if you can put work in their shop for a special event. I felt very honored. So I guess I'll be staying up a couple of nights to get some things done. This is so exciting.

And next week I get to go to Asheville for a day. Squee!!!!!!!!

And She's Off and Running

I'm not even going to apologize for being late.  It is what it is.  I'm here now and healthy.  So let's get it on!  Day one of the new month, I went to my painting session and did two small paintings and was invited to a BBQ evening dinner.  Saturday I helped friends with their BBQ business at the Persimmon Festival.  Sunday, I had the second sewing session with a young lady.  I'm teaching her how to sew.  She was so excited afterwards that she started making doll clothes with scraps I had left for her.  I believe we have a new sewer in the house.

First cut.

Second cut.
We had to go to the fabric store because mom forgot to get a pattern.  No biggie, we all went and I showed them both how to go through the pattern books, find a pattern in the drawers, and the basic fabric layout of the store.  We got back and I showed her again, where to find measurements for her size and which size to cut out.  We went over the info on the pattern instructions and read them.  I showed her how to lay out pattern pieces and she pinned.  We talked about straight of grain and bias.  We did the first step to making the pajama bottoms and then I cut out a square for her to make her very first pincushion. You can never have enough.  She sewed that and turned it right side out.  She was so tickled that she had made something. That was what I wanted to see.  A smile of satisfaction and joy.  I really do think she's hooked.

Here's how crazy I am.  I booked another craft fair at the end of the month.  So along with NANO, I will be making lots of Halloween holiday things, painting, and who knows what else.  I guess you'll have to keep checking in to see what antics I get myself into.

Cheers!

Southeastern Animal and Fiber Fair

This past Friday, Maya and I went to the Southeastern Animal and Fiber Fair (SAFF) in Asheville, North Carolina.  We'd been planning on this event for the past eight months and kept our fingers crossed so that nothing would prevent us from attending.  We were so excited to be on the road.  The weather was brisk and the sun was shining.

All I can say is that we had a blast.  We walked around the main section that was in a small arena at I believe the fair ground.  Immediate overwhelm, looking at all the fibers, yarn, roving, patterns, handmade and knit items.  Oh my gosh!  I so want a loom and new spinning wheel.  Maya wants alpacas, which are so stinking cute. Especially the babies.  And the noises they make.  A cross between a grunt, bark, and bunny sounds.  The tiny ones had little blankets over them.  I guess to keep them warm.  If I had room, I most definitely would have a couple.  There hair is so soft.  Some say it's softer than cashmere and easier to take care of.  I bought some to make gloves.  I guess I need to finish my second pair of socks.  We also went to the other buildings for more animals and vendors.  I will most definitely have a project in mind next year.

Oh, and the Angora bunners.  So cute!

Bookmarks

This past Saturday I went with a friend and her two daughters to the annual Bookmarks Festival of Book and Authors.  I was going to go, then I wasn't going to go, then I decided to go.  I'm glad I did because I saw people I hadn't seen in years, both writers and artists.  I sat in on two authors, saw a ton of books I wanted to get but didn't.  It was an all day event and I got to meet, get an autographed book, and a pic with Craig Johnson.  He is the creator of the Longmire series that the TV series is based on.  He is very funny, personable and not too bad to look at.  As usual, I have a lousy pic of myself but I had a blast!

Hello Monday

Monday again.  It comes around every seven days.  Last week was a pretty good week.  I think I will post my accomplishments for the week each Monday.  My week starts on Sunday but I will post on Monday. I'm still working on keeping a three post week going.

Last week I:

• completed my blue blouse
• wrote 7305 words spread over three different pieces
• got a special order for a doll pin and got body cut out and sewn
• almost have one book read, that should be done today (still 3 book per month deal)
• painted one painting
• 3 blog posts

I just received news that I got into the Krankie's Craft Fair in September.  New people in charge and they had a jury process this time around.  I will start on the doll for the Children's Museum today.  Full steam ahead and one day at a time.  It's going to be a hot one but I will push it today.

Take care of yourselves.

Done

My latest commission is done. It's a business card holder for a smoked meat business. They do lots of festivals and needed something for their business cards.

Yes, he has a pig butt and a curly tail.