My CQ stitchers are amazing and Morris has a green nose.

Remember last winter when two ladies found me and, along with another friend, we started meeting on Wednesdays.  I refer to them as my "Cqers in training." Through the winter we met every Wednesday and they are making amazing progress.. I have been nudging them along, offering advice and encouraging them to try new techniques and materials... and they have had access to my stash... Through the summer we will meet less frequently but I want to share two of  their projects. Our third stitcher was not there yesterday so I will catch her work later.

Sherrie had done some crazy quilting when she started coming and is a very accomplished needlewomen...  She started with a very small piece and now is working on a much larger fan block... and her seam treatments are absolutely gorgeous..

All of them bought Carole Sample's templates and are putting them to good use.

Kathy has been working on a flap for a BoHo bag. Yesterday she started on ribbon flowers in her basket.  We laid out lots of colors and discussed techniques. I know it will be the highlight on this bag when it is finished...


They have been so eager and enthusiastic that it's been great fun watching  their work progress.
They are already planning their next project...





And as a footnote I noticed last evening that Morris has green paint all over his nose and part of his face.  It looks suspiciously like the acrylic paint I use on my buttons so he probably chewed the top off a bottle I accidently dropped... I've searched the house in all his favorite hiding places and have not found any evidence... but he does indeed have a green nose...

First I really apologize for this being a computer scan...  It always does such strange thing to the textures in the fabric.  But alas no power in my camera...  But I have made a start on Barb's block.. The images on her block were copies of vintage postcards belonging to her aunt.. So I want to be extra careful about not overwhelming the image.  I have put down some braids and add red 15s beads for the berries ...

Tip: It isn't always necessary to follow the outline of the image when you frame.  You can see on the left that the outline  has 8 pesky corners to try and maneuver two layers of braid around.   Even though that left four corner triangles showing, you can see that they literally disappear once framed... Sometimes this little "trick the eye" can be critical...













Now the importance of being 4th in a DYB round robin... Being fourth is not the time to introduce a lot of new elements and toot you own horn...  It is time to take a look at what's been done and start pulling things together... I put all the blocks on the table and made some observations...
All stitchers framed the image with gold braid of some sort.
Both Kerry and Flora had couched some cording.
Janet and Kerry had squared off their frames.
Janet and Flora had used small spots of color
Kerry and Janet had used lots of fancy seamwork
Flora did a lot of couched scroll work
Janet introduced buttons.
So it will be these observations that guide me and I will want to include all or most of them in my design... I'll show all four blocks when I'm done and you can judge if I'm successful.

My plant of flying butterflies.....

 

 

Gillenia (Gill-i-nee-a) trifoliate is definitely in my top  five favorite perennials... Sometimes known as Porteranthus or Bowman's root.  It's at the back of the garden and I wanted to move it up by the house.  But when I read you chance losing it by disturbing it, I opted not to lose it..  At least I get to see it in bloom as I pass on the way to the forest...

Since it is difficult to get the seeds to germinate I started seeking out starts on line several years ago and this proved difficult also.. Not many nurseries carry it and those who do often list them as not available or crop failure... I ordered it at 3 nurseries this winter and only one came through..  The plants are tiny but I am a very happy gardener ... I ordered three just in case..

 It has survived drought conditions, deer and rabbits in my garden...  I am zone 4.  A compact rounded plant (about 24" at maturity)  is festooned in late spring with clouds of delicate  white flowers  with red petioles and mahogany stems. It's  foliage often turns deep bronzy red in fall   Great for cut flowers!

It is a native in the northeast and hopefully easier to find there...

DH, the party animal.............choices

My husband loves nothing more than a party...especially the sit-down "etched crystal, sterling and fine china" kind of party. He's always eager to do all the clean up as everything has to be hand washed and the windows will get  washed and lots of prep work as well... I do fewer and fewer of these as even with his help they are lots of work... and tomorrow is the big day...

This time it's not fine china though...  I've decided to use my Vernon Rose pottery which I have collected a piece at a time for years.  It was only produced from 1965 to 1979. The soup will be in  cut-glass bowls and the salad on a pink swirl glass plates which match  the water goblets.... I bought these plates at a flea market in Paris. There are no roses blooming yet.  In fact there very little pink blooming but I just wanted to use these dishes as I know no one will love them as I do when I'm gone.

This tablecloth is HUGE and the last time I used it someone spilled red wine on it and it was a job to hand launder and iron...  This time it is definitely a white wine dinner...

Menu

Italian Antipasto  (made by my gnocchi expert)

Marinated Manchego cheese

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Brussel Sprouts Salad (my favorite Jose Andres recipe)

Creamy Shrimp and Scallop Risotto

Roasted Yams and Carmelized Onions

Pineapple spears

Rolls

Rhubarb Charlotte with Brandy Custard Sauce

I finished Kerry's Fool's Gold 1 and it's in the mail to Maire. Except for a small amount of beading this is ALL couched cording (both satin and gold cording) Couched cords is the very essence of goldwork I've decided but it's very tedious... and I find I really have to concentrate to keep all my couching stitches straight across the cording and evenly spaced..  If you look closely you will see my mind often wandered as it is wont to do...

The final step was adding tendrils to the flower...  You can see on the left that the flower is hanging out by itself and adding the tendrils  connected it all together.  I could have probably added more tendrils but ran out of time.The golden color is from a different lamp.. The background is actually pure white..

Isn't this gorgeous?? & Show Results

   
I was away from the computer for several days and I was so delighted and surprised to receive this photo from a lady who bought one of  my buttons to create a pendant for her mother...  This is so gorgeous!!!! She does lovely artisan jewelry and does sell online  http://www.etsy.com/shop/acottagehearth
  She makes the most clever pendants with beads and old keys...

And it was so timely to receive this photo... The show I did was not exactly my crowd... it was a spring garden event but I did very well...  So well that I will try a couple more this summer... But since I make these buttons mostly for crazy quilters I was asked over and over how to make them into a pendant or a pin...  When I started to explain how to mount them so you could bead around them.... I could immediately see their eyes glaze over...

So I got online yesterday and ordered some bases similar to this one... A button could be glued in and converted to either a brooch or a pin.  I was able to buy by the lot.  I used a site call AliExpress which is probably the Chinese equivalent of Esty for small wholesalers.  I have used them once before and was satisfied.. If use choose China Air post the shipping is free...

So now it is catch up time for stitching and painting..  The most critical spring chores are about done in the garden which is so beautiful right now... Need to charge the tractor battery this morning so I can move posts and fencing and then tote my mother to the doctor and THEN I get to stitch and watch the hummingbirds feed.

Tips on selling at a show!!

I used to do shows a lot - both large and small and can share some tips I learned along the way..and popped into my mind today as I was setting up everything up in my living room.

 Saturday I have been offered to share a booth so my space is very limited... I ALWAYS  set things up in advance.. Once you're there you can't just run home or make changes easily.  Setting it all up in advance lets you view your area as a customer will and allows you to make profitable use of every inch... My table it 18"x 48"...not very big at all.

Think levels and elevate to make your display more interesting.  When you can't spread out spread UP!!!  Clearly sign every thing with easy-to-read type.. This is a ONE-day show so I want all details covered.

First you want to get their attention...  Start with yourself... I always wear a fun  hat and something bright and colorful (with pockets). It's important the hat has a small brim so your eyes and face are clearly visible... Bring a stool rather than a chair as it not only provides a place for you to be off your feet but it puts you close to eye level which is very important...Trying to maintain eye contact is difficult when people have to look down at you.... Have something interesting to do when it is slow... people always want to see what you are doing.  I will bring CQ Saturday but used to bring something small  to paint...which I would do if it were a longer show... and most important SMILE A LOT!!!

This time I am hanging a CQ block to get attention and hopefully some new stitchers for our Wednesday workshops....  I used this also because it has my painted buttons on it also....LOOK busy and interesting even if you're not.

Offer some little thing really cheap...  I used to buy these mushroom hummers and feather butterflies by the gross and have lots left in the barn... It lets customers walk away happy and those $1 add up. AND people stopped and they might come back and they will remember you. When one person is stopped at your table/booth invariably someone else notices and stops also..It is a chain reaction... So even if the first person is not buying and just chatting the person who stops next to check it out might buy...

Things for displaying wares are always on my list of things to look for (cheap)...  This little item was at the dollar store and sold to display Christmas cards.  I bought 5 and they are just super....

I found this at a thrift store but they are relatively inexpensive new online. The nice thing about this is that it swivels which maximizes your display space. It allows a lot of merchandise to be out without taking up extra space also..

Here is another tall item I rigged up with a piece of 4x4 on a lazy-susan type hardware which allows it to swivel also...  I have the washers glued to it because I used it to display and sell magnets.  Today I will take the washers off and put little nails in to hang buttons cards on. These revolving kinds of hardware come in all sizes and are easy to attach to anything you want to swivel.

This tall affair is actually a rack for drying laundry and I found it at a thrift store...  It has become one of my favorite items to take as it is so versatile and takes up very little space... Plus it puts things at eye level.. So keep an eye out for items you can repurpose...

When you are choosing containers to pack your wares choose things that are attractive for display also....such as this basket.  It serves double duty..















I will expand this post later when I have more time but just a few final thoughts...
1. I want people to remember me and what I sell and associate the two... so my logo and my picture are on everything...
2.  Keep your business cards out in plain sight and keep a small tablet and pencil handy for people to leave their phone number etc. for you.
3.  Have bags for people to use....
4.  Change: For years and years I have always started the day with  one $20, ten $5s,  thirty $1s and a roll of  quarters.  I price everything evenly or by the  1/4 dollar.
5.  I will talk more about tools etc later but I do have a funky little hammer that the handle unscrews and little screwdriver are in it..  It has saved me more time than I can even remember... Also take tape...all kinds...
 6. Finally you must think security... My small buttons are on LARGE cards just for that reason... Losing a thing or two is a fact of life but don't make it to easy for a thief to slip your wares into a pocket or bag.

Next to Gma Krueger's Sour cream rolls...

my DH loves these Mexican cookies.. and the only place he can get them is in Moses Lake, WA...which has a large Hispanic population. You have to go through Moses Lake going from Spokane to Seattle so fortunately we get through there 3-4 times a year.. They freeze well so he buys at least 10 dozen at a time and has been doing it for 30 years... He's tried other Mexican cookies (even cookies in Mexico) but these are the ones he loves... They are not very sweet at all...

We made the trip this weekend to see the grandchildren and had a great visit. so the ritual cookie stop on the way home was mandatory.

The public area of this bakery is only about 8 x 10' and at the most 6 people could fit in there if they stood shoulder to shoulder.  But success speaks for itself as they have been in business for  about 30 years.. In fact we personally know of at least a dozen other people in Spokane who not only stop driving through, but call their order in ahead and will make a special bakery run to get their pastries... It is at least a 2-hour drive... They do sell other things but for my DH it's the cookies...





I'm REALLY missing my sheep and spring lambs...  It's not only that I loved them....they loved me...  It was so delightful to walk out and be welcomed with nuzzles and nudges of affection... But I'm having to settle for new baby chicks...  They were out of the breed I wanted (Australorps) so I got these black sex links which are noted as great layers...  I think they're a very handsome chicken as well..

Morris keeps licking his chops when he looks at them... I think he views them as wiggly chocolate bonbons... so we keep the laundry room door shut tight.


I'll close on a bit about another feathered friend...  I kept seeing a red-shafted flicker woodpecker flying to and from the far side of the pump house and found this 4" hole.  They must be nesting inside on the pressure tank as they keep flying in and out.. I haven't gone in for fear of disturbing them as they are one of my garden favorites... hopefully there will be no problem with the pressure tank nor the well until they have fledged... never a dull day on the farm.... I didn't even mention the golden eagles which flew over or the 5 ticks I found on my body after pruning overgrowth all morning.