tea on tuesday

(gloomy)

we're having a typical "low light day" today

(in western washington)

but that is easily fixed in iPhoto

(sunny)

see how good lighting can make anything look better?

and actually, once you get outside the diffused light is almost magic

(the quilt)

it wraps around and between and underneath things

... just like the misty rain ...

(looking up)

the weathering quilt is very wet today

I'm staying warm and cozy indoors

today's tea is Good Earth Original

spicy and delicious

(sorry about the santa mug .... the onslaught is just beginning)

* * *

for more tea on tuesday,

please visit the blogs listed in my sidebar (under the tea mug)

sewing again

I've been having fun making these cards

and it turns out they are very similar to

something Patty's been working on

and Terri, too

Terri's got a video for the paper bag version

but mine are simply pinned to a blank card (for giving/greeting)

and I did the slow sew (just didn't want to get out the machine I guess)

... oh, and they're in my etsy shop too ...

happy thanking day

wishing you a day filled with love

snowtea

It snowed most of the day yesterday.

Actually, it went more like this:

snow an inch or so

melt

freeze

snow and inch or so.

This left us with icy streets and - no school!

So today's tea is lots of hot cocoa:

Words to add to my thankfulness rocks:

snow days

snow balls

snow angels

and

snow men

* * *

for more tea and thankfulness, 

please visit the lovely Tea on Tuesday blogs listed in my sidebar.

gulf oil spill quilt

my quilt top is done
it's a bit of a crazy quilt
(in more ways than one)
It is completely hand stitched.
I used photo transfers of my gulf spill watercolors,
tea stained muslin and tea bag paper.
I've been working on it since the end of September.
Doing the slow sew.

shown above are the shells:

sea star, cold water coral, lightning whelk

junonia, eastern oyster and horse conch

*

these are the birds:

red knot, snowy plover

roseate spoonbill, seaside sparrow and brown pelican

*

and these are:
the title, the loggerhead sea turtle, west indies manatee
ornate chorus frog, bottlenose dolphin and kemp's ridley sea turtle

now it's on to the next phase:

153 days outdoors,

carefully wrapped,

tied to sticks,

and left to the whims of nature (and "la nina") in my weathering chair.

I will give photographic updates

and plan to unwrap it on April 20th (the one year anniversary of the explosion).

I shall see at that time if there is anything left to work with.

If so, I'll batt and quilt the thing.

If not, well, I don't know.

Trusting it will come back nicely stained and weathered,

but not completely ruined.

Do you remember why 153 days is significant?

It's not a test, just curious.

"Metal 4 Patch" how to

I don't have a video,

but maybe a slideshow would do?

Feel free to leave questions.

This example used just gesso,

but if you want the colored effects of the last 4-patch,

you can just play with some paints to get that.

(If you can't see the slide show from your device, 

you can follow THIS LINK and view it in Picasa Web Albums)

rocking the thanks

Kim Mailhot over at Queen of Arts

has been rocking our world with her painted rocks

... that's where I got the idea to rock my thanksgiving ...

:)

thanks Kim!

just a few of the things I'm thankful for

oh, yeah, and peanut butter crisscross cookies with pumpkin spice hot cocoa

hmmmmmm!

I've been taking some time off to get over a nasty cold

I'm feeling much much better now

and I look forward to popping around your way today

let's put the kettle on 

:)

* * *

for more great tea and fun people, please visit the blog list in my sidebar:

Tea on Tuesday

metal four patch

this quilt square measures about 4 square inches

I "sewed" it with copper wire

I didn't take pictures of the process

but I will with the next one

and give you a step by step

I am so pleased with the contrasting grunginess and elegance of it

modern day wabi sabi

speeded up

faked up

but nonetheless

beautiful in it's wear

thankfultea

two of my blogger friends are posting a thankfulness posting for every day this month

(ELK and Elizabeth)

and I Just Love That

I thought I might have Thankfultea for this month's Tuesdays

... didn't do it last week ...

but in retrospect

... I was thankful to have robocalls come to an end.

* * *

For this week and today and really for every day

I am thankful for:

how about you?

* * *

and for more wonderful and seasonal and charming tea posts

please visit my Tea on Tuesday blog roll in the sidebar

homemade rust

(caution: images below are really gross)

To get this home made batch of rust,

I placed all of my metal pieces (bottle caps in this case) face down in a bath of:

hydrogen peroxide 

and

salt

I did this outdoors just in case there's something dangerous about this combo

(I don't think there is - but better to be safe than passed out)

It generated a luscious sludgeful toxic dump sort of soup within minutes

I just left them in the bubbling broth for a couple of hours 

and voila (wocka wocka):

really cool streetside treasure for my metal quilt

quilt beginnings

no, 

I didn't drink all this beer and now I'll go make a quilt

but I do plan on make a bottle cap quilt like THIS one

first I pounded them out

(to simulate a car running over them)

and then I'll purposefully rust them

(to simulate weathering all summer on the pavement)

next time you go for a walk around the neighborhood, 

you may just find some genuinely flattened and rusted bottle caps 

.... one of my MOST favorite things to find and collect .... 

they're like landlocked seashells in my view

and if you find them and don't LOVE them

send them to me

seriously

:)

need a lifeboat today?

try a cup of Lifeboat Tea

Lifeboat Tea.com

Lifeboat Tea on facebook

Lifeboat Tea first originated when a sailor and his crew were caught in a violent storm during the tragic Fastnet race in 1979. All crew members were rescued from their sinking boat by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Lifeboat Tea was set up to mark their gratitude and to raise money for their life savers.

What a Difference a Cup of Tea makes

Lifeboat Tea aims to raise over £200,000 a year for the RNLI, with funds going towards training and equipping their volunteer crews.

To date, Lifeboat Tea has raised well over £100,000 for the RNLI.

Lifeboat Tea is a lovely full-flavoured, family-owned tea that has been created to provide sustainable funding for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) - the charity that saves lives at sea.

* * *

please vote in the election today

(your vote DOES count)

and then come home and have a nice cuppa

*

for more of that good tea, please visit the tea blogs listed in my sidebar:

Tea on Tuesday

it was a happy one

(the nightmare before christmas)

hope yours was too

now the christmas assault on the senses begins

just remember to breathe

in

out

in

out

ahhhhhhhhh