My Owls Arrived & Are Having a Hoot-Out

These are the owls I received from the Fall Owl Swap 

in which I participated.

This one was sent from Holly Crowder at cottonpickinfun.blogspot.com. It is precious standing about 6 inches tall. He’s made from felt with a woolen scarf, a fleece cap, and a bell. He is just the cutest guy. THANK YOU HOLLY. I love him. 

Debby, from over at cozy blanket.blogspot.com and the sponsor of our little fall owl swap, sent me this adorable owl. He is sitting on a bed of twigs, and a fabric covered Ball jar lid serves as his stand. I put him on the “dream” texture by Kim Klassen because Debby is always dreaming of owls. THANK YOU, DEBBIE.

This sweet little owl was made by Judy over at 20NorthOra. I am going to hang it on my Christmas tree. It is a piece of burlap cut into the shape of an owl with fabric added for wings, buttons for eyes, and felt for the nose. It’s petite and oh, so cute. THANK YOU, JUDY.

This is a little treasure Debby sent to me...it is a necklace on a remake of a small pocket watch. I always wore necklaces and pins all the years I taught school, and I do not seem to be able to break the habit When I get up in the morning and get dressed, I still put on a necklace. DEBBY, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE IT!!!

Christmas before last I participated in a Swap for All Seasons where we made 25 decorated, small match boxes and put inside of each a tiny little gift. When I received this larger matchbox from Pam all the way over the pond in Norway, I immediately knew there was going to be something small and special inside. Sure enough there was...a baby owl, a little pillow and a precious little bed with lace on it...and they all fit into the matchbox. They are absolutely the cutest things ever...all homemade with lots of tiny stitches. THANK YOU, PAM. I love my owl baby and its little box tree house. I appreciate all the time it took you to put this together because I am a hand sewer, too. It is sososo creative. Be sure to check out Pam’s blog at Winkels Crazy Ideas.

Quilts for Special Friends

Faith’s Quilt

This baby quilt was made for the newborn daughter of my dear friend and fellow middle school English teacher, Megan Ziegler. Megan and Timm gave her the most beautiful name... Justice Faith Ziegler

This lap quilt was made for my friend and hematologist, Dr. Padmaja Mellidi.

Fall Table Runner

I had a bunch of little ends of fabric left from fall last year, so I went online to find a pattern for a table runner. I found the easiest tutorial at Amy Smart’s "Diary of a Quilter Blog". Here is the link:

http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2010/08/table-runner-tutorial.html

She also posted a wonderful tutorial for making and sewing on the binding with nice corners.

http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2009/05/finishing-quilt-tutorial.html

I made mine shorter than hers because of a smaller table, but it was such fun to make. The best part is I ended up quilting as I went along so once all the strips were sewn and a few extra lines run, I was ready to bind it off. 

Meet "The Hoots"

This November Debbie over at Cozy Blanket is sponsoring an owl swap. It is such fun to be a part of her swaps because she is so low key and anything goes. I decided to create "The Hoots", an owl family from out here on the creek. I wanted them all spiffed out in their Sunday best for Thanksgiving so here they are: Mr. and Mrs. Hoot - Odwin Hoot (awe-inspiring one) and Odeda Hoot (strong) - and their triplet daughters: Olesia (protector), Olethia (truthful) and Oseye (happy). Meet the family. Before long they will be flying away to another home :-)

 Mr. Odwin Hoot

Mrs. Odeda Hoot

 Olesia

Olethia

 Oseye

All the backs have little hearts on them.

Update on My Absence from Buttons for Baga

Dear Friends and Faithful Followers:

Over the past 6 months or so, I have found I'm unable to keep up with three blogs all running simultaneously. I totally deserted the "Counting My Blessings" one a year ago, but did try my best to post here at least every now and then...through July of this year.  I now realize that this is not going to work out, either. Due to the arthritis in my thumbs and wrists, I have almost completely stopped my knitting, quilting, and sewing. I still do a bit of crafting when I need to give a gift, but that's about it. All of my time has been spent on my photography blog over the past 6-8 months, and I am totally absorbed in learning about my camera and art of taking and processing artistic photographs. Consequently, I am going to put this blog to sleep for a bit, or at least until my my joints will let me get back into the hand work that has been such an important part of my life for over 50 years. In the meantime, I would love for you to come and visit me at my active blog. I miss hearing from you all so much, and am always wondering in my heart how you are doing.  My active blog is:

                                      http://climbingthedigitalmountain.blogspot.com

If you do find the time to stop by, I will send you little notes back. Do take care and have a wonderful fall and winter. I hope that we will all be able to enjoy some of the beautiful colors that Mother Nature has to share with us. Take care, and I hope I will hear from you in the future.

Hugs and love to all of you who so faithfully followed me through the birth and development of my blogging way of life on my Buttons for Baga.

Hugs and happy thought to all of you,

Genie

Experimentation of the Day 7-28-11

Playing with the Iris

I did the manipulation on my iPad,  brought it into my Mac, and finished up in  PSE9.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." ~ Walt Disney

Macro Monday ~ 7-25-11

Fastening Bolt on Old 1916 Bridge
Rockbridge County, Virginia

I have posted shots of the bridge on my other blog for Louis Lavache’s “Sunday Bridges.”

If you are curious, here is the link:
Climbing the Digital Mountain One Step at a Time


"Knowledge of other people's beliefs and ways of thinking must be used to

 build bridges, not to create conflicts. “ 

~Kiell Magne Bondevik

This post is linked to Macro Monday.

Mosaic Monday ~ 7-18-11

Everyone Needs a Bit of Lavender in Life

The yellow blossoms are on my tomatoes, and the little lavender ones are on my beans.

"Flowers are those little colorful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark, somber skies blanket our thoughts.” 
~Dodinsky

This post is linked with Mosaic Monday.

Take a Ride on the “Yellow” Side ~ 6-27-11

Take a Ride on the Yellow Side
Stella de Oro day lilies from my garden, & a yellow motorcycle at a rest stop on I-81.
"There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”
 ~Vincent Van Gogh
This post is liked with Mellow Yellow Monday and Mosaic Monday. 

Genie’s Walnut Doll~ Rednesday & Ruby Tuesday 4-21-11

These little dolls are not hard to make. My sixth grade students used to make them. All you need is florist wire and green florist tape, a walnut for the head, glue, material for the dress, apron, and hat, a needle with some thread, and some cross stitch  material and floss.The rest is up to you. 


"The only place where housework comes before needlework
 is in the dictionary.”
~Mary Kurtz  


This post is linked to 
Ruby Tuesday at Work of the Poet

and
Rednesday at Sue Loves Cherries