Solar printing: oregano

 Im busy solar fast printing before fall gets here. The blooms on my oregano plants are a favorite of bees, and me!

After washing:

Adding some stitch:

American Bellflower

 Weed or lovely flower? I say, flower! It grows near our pond at the edge of the woods.  I'm very pleased with the print I made using blue solar fast:

ICAD

 It has been fun participating in the Index Card a day challenge. It ends July 31st and I am happy to say that I haven't missed a day! At first I was skeptical about a 2 month challenge,  but picking a fun and fairly easy project worked this time.

Chicago Art Institute

 On Monday, Jes and I drove into Chicago for a family visit and trip to the Art Institute.  I've had a protestant religious project floating around in my head for some time and keyed in on a few pieces of religious art. This triptych was behind glass, so there is a bit of glare 😞.  

We had a wonderful day exploring the museum.  I hadn't been in a few years and Jes hardly remembered his last trip.  We must not wait so long before going again. 

Visible mend

 I saw this car mend in a parking lot. My son told me that when he was in the army he made a similar mend to a helicopter just to get it to where the permanent fix could be done.  I bet the pilot wasn't too happy to fly that way.

Little dress project

 A few weeks ago, I had a thought about stitching on little girl's dresses. Not something new and original, but a way to not only do some slow stitching but also use some of the crazy things in my stash.  I was at Good Will with my sister and stumbled upon this dress:

I wasn't sure what the red beads were for as they were not stitched very securely.  Certainly a chocking hazard for a small child if the stitching released.  Off they came! I also removed the gold caps at the shoulders and the overlay on the skirt.  The fun began! This skirt needed fabric patches and stitch...  I have named it "Fern Gulley" after the movie that my son watched over and over again as a child.  If you haven't seen this movie, it is about saving the planet (or at least a small piece in a beautiful forest).  

More later...

ICAD / Yellow

 Index Card a Day...  This, I have been keeping up with!  It has been fun looking at old photos to pick out one to stitch into a card each day.  The prompt for this one was, "yellow".  I used an old piece of batik fabric from my stash for the background. I mean, really old...  I can't even remember the last time the art girlz got together to create batiks!  Anyway, it is now used and out of my closet.  Yes!!!

Where have I been?

 It seems that blogging keeps moving to the bottom of my to do list.  Why?  I find time to stitch each day, garden, eat, exercise, play, etc., but the computer doesn't get turned on.  It's too hard for me to post from my phone.  I think easing back into the routine with a post each week may be the answer.  

Let me tell you about my grandmother Helen.  I came across this photo of her the other day when I was looking for pics to use for the Index Card a Day project.  Imagine riding a horse while wearing a dress!  And just look at those shoes!

Grandma was the person who taught me to quilt. She was a busy farm wife with many daily chores as were many woman in those days.  As a child I don't think I appreciated all that she did and finding this photo reminds me that we all have a story to tell.  What were they doing that day?  Was it just a silly photo opp or a trail ride with my grandpa? Why don't we label the backs of photos better? So many questions...

Today, I think I will label a few pictures that down the road, someone else may look and wonder what in the world I was up to!