My new daughter-in-law, Chelsea and my son Colin at their wedding.

What a joy it is to have a new member of the family. The "kids" decided to spend their honeymoon on the East Coast ad have used our place as home for their various activities. They have spent the week with us and we are delighted to have them here.

Since the wedding last Sunday, I haven't had much chance to get into the studio but have BIG plans for getting there this week. I want to try using my jet ink printer to print on dryer sheets. This idea came from the latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. I have painted, melted, stamped on and sewn dryer sheets but have never tried putting them through the printer. I can think of several projects that could be enhanced with the use of printed dryer sheets. Can't wait to get started!!

Countdown to Wedding

I may be away for a bit since Colin and Chelsea's wedding is next week. Being the mother of the groom and far away from the hoopla has meant that I have not been very involved...and I am not complaining!!! 

My dress is at the cleaners being pressed, my shoes and handbag are ready and all I have to do is pack. That can be a chore since we don't know what we will be doing during our downtime other than making airport runs when all the relatives arrive. We will just go with the flow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

I am looking forward to having a daughter-in-law since I have raised only sons. It will be nice to not be the only girl in this Patterson clan. Now on to the packing!!

I LOVE threads and fabric and color and fiber and beads...well, as you can see, the list goes on and on and on. I started organizing my threads recently.

  Someone suggested that I sort things by color. Having been a counted thread embroiderer most of my life, I had sorted everything by number. This system was no longer working for me because I was no longer using patterns designed by someone else. 

Starting was easy but there were those odd colors that defied catagorizing (is this a word???-spell check doesn't think so) like the blue green or green blue. But all in all, it works well for me. I also did this with my beads. 

The problem with beads is that they need to be contained within the containers that house each color. I am still trying to find a system that will work for the beads. Anyone have any ideas that have worked for them? I would love to hear about what works for you.

Two Weeks To Go

Two weeks until THE WEDDING. Yes, my eldest son will tie the knot with his lovely bride. It has been hard on us since we are in New Jersey and he is in Ohio...where the wedding will be...but we are excited. Needless to say, I have been busy shopping for a dress (found it last weekend) and now need shoes and a handbag to go with it! 

Travels

The weekend was spent traveling to Ohio for a surprise visit to my daughter-in-law to be. It was the weekend of her bridal shower and she thought that I wasn't going to attend...but I decided mid-week that it would be fun to be there even though it meant the whole weekend away. 

It was delightful to see her and see her face as she noticed that I was there. The only disappointment was that I didn't get to see my son...he was working and wasn't even in the same city as the shower. 

Five plane rides and a whirlwind visit made the weekend very short. No time to be in the studio this weekend!!!

Fabric

I found some beautiful fabric that I am going to use to make bags for "my" girls...ok, I don't have any girls of my own but I do have a daughter-in-law, Chelsea and Chris has a significant other named Ashley. I adore them both and am making them bags with matching accessories. I found some wonderful patterns by Amy Butler (www.amybutlerdesign.com). I can't wait to get started. The only problem is which girl gets which color.

I am now on the prowl for fabric for my own bag. Now back to the studio!

Time flies when you are having fun. And fun is exactly what I have been having.  A weekend at the Jersey shore...New Jersey that is, revived the spirit and made me realize that maybe spring would arrive soon. Sun, sand, blue sky and COLD made treasure hunting a treat. No one ventured onto the beach except us (my BFF and me) and boy, did we find treasures. Lots of beautiful shells now are waiting to grace various mixed media projects. 

I can't say that much work has been done in the studio but now that I have been away from it for a few days, I am eager to get back and get to "work". I never have considered my studio time as work but as play.  Time for play time to begin!