And the Winners Are...

You may have noticed that the title says winners, plural :)

Last Monday, I shared my new tea towel/fabric design I made from a watercolor piece that I did,

As I said last week, so may wonderful things have happened recently, and I always enjoy sharing a bit of joy, so I decided to give away 1 of my fat quarter/tea towels. Well...I was able to take advantage of a fabulous sale, and then Spoonflower gives me a discount since I am the designer of the piece, so all the more affordable. Rather than giving away 1 piece, I decided to give away 3! So yes, there are 3 lucky winners :)

And the winners are(since my handwriting is basically illegible!)...

Laura Tyre Phillips

Cynthiacc

And Sew Forth

Congratulations ladies!!!

Be sure to email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com with your mailing address so I can get the fabric out to you.  

Have a fabulous week!

Rhonda

P.S.

If anyone is interested, I will have the fabric ready to sell on the Spoonflower site later this week. I'll let you know when it is up and ready to go! 

Never In A Million Years

In 2010, I wrote THIS post about Dreams and Purpose. Eight years ago, an eternity in the internet world :) 

As many of you know, the past 9 months have been a bit of an odyssey for me. I am working on a piece that I plan to publish as an ebook that will tell the story. I had planned to have it ready by the 1st of June, but rather than make an excuse (eye surgery, etc.), I'll just own up to the fact that I have drug my feet. Soon though. 

Like any odyssey though, along with the bad, there has been the good. So often, we take a step, thinking we are heading in a certain direction, or maybe no direction at all, and then suddenly, something has happened that we never would have dreamed possible. 

A few weeks ago, I did a post on my Summer Bucket List. I shared how I decided to make my list special and paint a background. The piece is below.

Once I had completed the picture, I thought that it might make a fun piece of fabric. The irony of it all has not been lost ;) Since I have put myself on a fabric purchasing diet until the 1st of August, I thought, "is this just my addiction finding a different way around getting what it wants?" Well...if it is...it won!!!

I decided to go to the Spoonflower website and just see what would happen. Below is the outcome. I thought that if nothing more, I could use the piece as a tea towel. It's not perfect. The design didn't work with the entire length of the fabric. Not a problem. When I pulled the fabric out of the bag, well, first of all, I was so excited as I loved it! My husband even exclaimed, "wow, that's beautiful!" Nice :) When I saw the piece, I realized that the design is large enough for a bag, or a tea towel, so I will just cut off the incomplete repeat at the bottom. Maybe use it as a facing.

  
This morning, I went back to Spoonflower and did a little more playing around, and did the piece that you see below. I ordered 2 yards of cotton for a skirt. I cannot wait for it to arrive!!!

Eight years ago, I NEVER would have imagined that I would create a piece of fabric with my own original artwork. NEVER!!! And here it is :) No, not Rembrandt, Picasso, or even Charles Schultz ;), but something I can be proud of.  

I love this quote from Homer's, The Odyssey...

"A small rock holds back a great wave."

We've all had our "rocks" in life, the things that hold us back. 

On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike blew into Galveston, Texas. I was most amazed by how the water had been able to pick up boulders of granite and toss them onto the sea wall as thought they were made of styrofoam. Moral of the story..

Rocks can be moved.

Monday Morning Inspiration/Bring On Spring!

Spring has sprung here in Chicago, but Mother Nature can be an evil woman this time of year! In years past, I have been lured by her temptation that spring is truly here, gone out, worked in my garden, planted flowers, only to have a dip in the temperatures, and then loose everything. So...I wait until Mother's Day weekend to do any planting. But until then, I fill the house with flowers, open the doors and windows, and enjoy the warm air. 

Back in February, I shared with you the delightful work of Meredith Wing. She is a fashion illustrator who designs under the name Moomooi. Her designs aren't exactly fashion, but vegetables, fruit, leaves, all artfully arranged on fashion figures. Meredith is such an inspiration as she is the perfect example of do what you truly love, add in a little luck, and you will succeed.

   

I was so captivated by her work, so I searched around and found the Feel Unique website, and ordered her tote bag and makeup bag. Even prettier in person than they are on the site.

The other pieces that are offered;

Makeup brush

I-phone case

Travel Pouch

I think these would be a lovely gift for a young woman graduating from high school. If your purchase totals $15.00 or more, shipping is free in the U.S. I love free shipping :)

Last week, I did a post about my knitting projects that I have challenged myself to complete during 2017. I also vowed not to purchase another project until I thinned the project stash. Well, I must confess that I broke down and purchased another project. I'm disappointed in myself (only a little!), but I just fell in love with these crocheted boots from Lion Brand Yarn. As I told you last week, I can crochet, but not well, so it's going to be all the more of a challenge for me to get these made. But, since I really want them, maybe I'll be all the more motivated. We'll see :/ 

Bell shaped sleeves have become the rage this year.

This morning when I opened my email, I saw a fun challenge from McCall's.  

All you have to do is make up McCall's 7542, submit your make, and you just may win! Get all of the details on the McCall's blog HERE. The grand prize is pretty sweet! And even better, the pattern is on sale for $2.49.  

I look at it this way, even if you don't win the big prize, you'll walk away with a cute new piece for your spring wardrobe. You can gets lots of inspiration HERE on Pinterest for your own makes.

My next interview for Sewbussted's Material Witness was postponed last week, but will happen tomorrow. I am so excited!!! So it should be up this Friday. 

If you haven't done so already, go buy a few flowers to enjoy at home or in your office. A beautiful flower always puts a smile on my face :)

Have a wonderful week!

Rhonda

I'm Home!!

When I was a child, we had family friends who took a road trip vacation every summer. The trips were not elaborate, five children and two adults stuffed into a station wagon, but they always had a wonderful time and took loads of pictures. Their greatest joy was sharing those pictures once they returned. We would be invited over for an evening of slides and popcorn. My parents thought the evening was extremely boring, but not me, I loved witnessing the stories that each member of the family would remember as a new image would pop up on the screen. 

Although I returned last night, my heart and mind are still in Monhegan....and yes, I took loads of pictures! Sadly, I can't offer you a bowl of popcorn and in this new modern way of sharing "slides," if you are bored, you can just move on to another blog :-) So at the expense of possibly boring you, I will share a few of my pictures and memories of my trip.  

I had sunny days and foggy days while I was on Monhegan Island. I can't say which I like best as both offer a different experience. 

This sign "greets" you as you come off the boat. 

 Monhegan Inn faces the harbor and offers one of the most spectacular views.

Lobster traps. Everything on the island seems to have an air of artistry about it, even a pile of lobster traps.

This is the inn where I stayed. It is called Monhegan House and was built before the turn of the century. The man who owns the inn told me that when he and his wife bought the inn in 2000, it still had some of the original plumbing that had been installed in 1903. 

My little room. When you are here, you feel as though you are staying in a person's home rather than renting a hotel room.

Up on the fourth floor of the inn is a private little area that looks out over the island, perfect for a little morning writing. 

 The only church on the island. It was built sometime in the middle of the 1800's.

It now has electricity(not much though), but you can see that there are still gas lamps. To conserve energy, the gas lamps are used during the winter.

A view of the harbor from Monhegan House. You can see Monhegan Inn through the fog. 

 The island is called "The Artist Island" and it lives up to its name. Sculpture and artwork are everywhere.

Even a lobster buoy tossed up against some rocks takes on the appearance of a piece of sculpture.

I took tons of flower pictures. The light on the island is so incredible and the flowers seem to have an intensity that I have never seen anywhere else.

A bee busy at work in a rose blossom.

 Spectacular sun flowers.

A monarch on a Butterfly Bush.

Sunflowers against the side of a house.

Wild blackberries are plentiful on the trails.

Look at how magnificent the sky is against this house.

There are miles and miles of hiking trails on the island. This photo was taken on a trail called Cathedral Woods.

It's a rather magical trail.

  As you walk along, you'll find "Fairy Houses." I especially loved this grotto.

 Some can be quite elaborate. The folklore is that the fairies build the houses at night ;-)

 The trails open up to the most spectacular views of the ocean.

I especially loved this picture. An artist in her element.

 Even a piece of driftwood along the trail takes on the appearance of a piece of sculpture.

Looking down from the trail.

 I don't know why, but I really like this picture :-) It's as if he posed just for me.

A huge tree had fallen. I thought that the view of the massive root system was so interesting.

What do I look like while on vacation? No makeup and happy!

And finally, a happy face inviting me back.

I had a wonderful time. I'm rested, refreshed and ready to get back to my projects. Thanks for allowing me to share a bit of my vacation with you.
Rhonda