A Good Read…

I just can’t put this book down! I’m 3/4th the way through the nonfiction book, Three Cups of Tea:

I don’t want to give the story line away, but suffice to say, one person can make a difference. This is a positive and entertaining book, I commend the main character in this uplifting story , an American climber named Greg Mortenson. Though he failed in his attempt to climb K2, he discovered his life passion for the villages and students in that unique part of the world. Don’t miss this book!

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Countdown for the fair…

Today was the last day to enter quilts and other handmade goodness in my local county fair. Typical me, I wait until the last moment to pay my fee and turn in my paperwork. I will be entering my poppy quilt, my autumn leaf memory quilt, the Carolina Lily quilt, and a bunch of freeform crochet and collage items.

Filed under “what was I thinking?” I decided to enter and turn in a gold wholecloth machine quilted quilt named “Gold Rush.” Only there’s a slight problem…. I haven’t even started it yet!! LOL Better get busy, since I’m still adding borders and need to quilt the autumn quilt and need to stitch down the borders on the poppy quilt. And oh… did I mention the fair is in about 2 weeks?

Tomorrow I have tickets to a local event- Artist and Collectors Garden Tour. I’ve talked my son into attending with me, I think I bought him off tonight with a 4X4 Burger and Animal Style Fries from In-and-Out Burger. If I’m talking Greek, then check out the Wiki article on this iconic place here.

Enjoy your weekend! Regards, Carla

Illustration Friday: Wide

The IF word for this week is “wide.” I immediately thought of baby birds:

This is a bit different than my usual cartoon style. I thought I would do something a bit more realistic for a change of pace. Hope you enjoy it!

Regards, Carla

Free Font Thursday

Today I decided to share some cool font’s with you all from an artist/designer named Kevin King at Kingsthings.

LIzzyjo asked me where I got my font used for my name in my banner header above. The name of that font is called “Pique ‘n’ Meex,” Ive also used it in the image above for the word, “White.” Pique ‘n’ Meex is currently one of my favorite fonts, I love how the designer used structure and repeating letters in each individual characters.

Be sure to check out more of Kevin’s font design work on his site- which I’ve linked above. Here is the font name with the corresponding color word:

White: Pique ‘n’ Meex

Gray: Spirogyra

Blue: Christmas

Red: Kelltika

Purple: Facetype

Orange: Eggypeg

Green: Printingkit

Yellow- xstitch

Oh… and yes, the free font used for “Feathered Fibers” in my banner/header above is called “LaineyDay.”

For font newbies, instructions for downloading free fonts and installing them is HERE.

Enjoy your day! Regards, Carla

Wednesday WIP

I had a productive day today… even though I did think twice anytime I needed to go outside.  For those that wonder why, see my last post here.

I finally threw out my last banner/header and just redrew a new one tonight.  I love my Carla Bird and the colors contrasted against the black, so for now, this will be my header until I tire of it.  Here’s my Carla Bird:

IDOL Watch

Yes, as predicted, the two David’s are going to be in the final.  I strongly believe that David Cook should win,  he has a maturity to his voice and talent that can’t be touched!  It is no contest between the two, imho.  Who are you voting for?

Regards, Carla

Mountain Lion Sighting

LIving on a ranch is always interesting! This morning, Rancher Ed stopped by with his rifle. A mountain lion was spotted running towards my hill chasing a deer and spooking the cows just a few minutes before. So Ed searched my property and came up empty.

Ed went to search elsewhere on the ranch in an attempt to find the lion. He said to call if Rex the Wonderhound alerts us. Rex had been barking and acting weird earlier… now I know why.

I asked him if the lion would go after my kitties or my dog. He said they typically were after bigger game- sheep, goats, calves. Hmmmmm…. I’m still reminded of the time one of my son’s classmates lost his mother to a rare mountain lion attack. She was jogging in a remote area and was killed back in the 1990’s. Very tragic. Guess I won’t be walking alone on the ranch for the foreseeable future. I think I’ll put Rancher Ed’s phone number on speed dial.

And how is YOUR day?

Latest Banner

OK, here’s the second banner for my blog site:

I incorporated your feedback (thanks for it, btw).  Still I’m not 100% happy yet… need to redraw the chicken again, he looks a bit sad with the facial expression.  I’ll also change out the blue quilting lines… think I’ll add a chicken feather motif there.  Last… I need to find a new font.  The one in the above pic is just OK… I want just the right “feel,” plus I need it to be very readable.

Let’s just say it is evolving…LOL!!

I love your feedback, so bring it on again!  Where else can you help design a blog banner??

In case you are curious, I draw and color using photoshop.  Why photoshop?  Because that is the program I learned to use about 5 years ago when I took Digital Imaging courses in college. On of these days I want to take an illustrator class, until then… photoshop it is!

Today I had fun taking the class with Deb and Kris, the Pixeladies.  They are wonderful teachers and I just adore both of them.  They are also co-chairs and very active in the local Studio Art Quilt Association (SAQA).  Today we talked about doing some more collaborative work… can’t wait!

Regards, Carla

New Banner

Good Morning!! I thought I would digitally draw and color one of my chickens for a header- stepping up the illustration just a bit from the typical cartoon. I’m not 100% sure if the Banner Header above will make the cut, I’ve been thinking of making several and then letting my frequent blog readers the opportunity to provide feedback.

My skin is pretty tough, so I can take any constructive feedback you give me on this one. Do you like or dislike the black blackground? What else should I add to it? To be honest, I’m not crazy about the quilted thing on the right side… what else should I put there? I think the next one will have some buttons instead of the eyelets- which do not have the visual appeal. Anyhow, later on I will work on it some more.

I have a fun day planned… I’m attending a class given by the Pixeladies- which is bound to be fun! I rarely take classes, but thought their class would provide a nice break. Deb and Kris are so funny, my face will probably hurt from all the laughter!

Enjoy your day! Regards, Carla

Mother’s Day Present

The best Mother’s Day present today was seeing Jack!! Here are some current Jack pictures for all my relatives and friends:

and here’s my Mother’s Day card from Jack (with a little help from his mother):

Anyhow, thanks to Stephen and Aimee for making my day by bringing Jack by for a visit!

Hope your day was special, too!  Regards, Carla

Congrats to…

…Vicki for winning my second blog contest! While drinking my morning coffee with my dear husband (DH), Joe, I asked him to pick a number between 1 and 49. #5 is the winner- and it turned out to be Vicki Welch. Vicki, expect an email soon!

Thanks to all who entered! I appreciate that you take the time to visit the blog and also leave such nice comments. Hugs, from Carla

Last Day to Enter

I’m celebrating a milestone on my blog, so I am having a blog contest that ends tomorrow. See the May 5th blog entry for more details. I will post the winner tomorrow, so be sure to check back for your name in case you win. Good Luck!!

I’ve been busy quilting my poppy quilt, I’m just having fun with the free motion quilting. Using many different colors of thread on this one, in some areas I want the quilting to show and in others I do not. Here are two pictures of my progress so far:

The first picture shows a small portion of the quilting machine I use. I’m quilting the designs freehand- which means I am simply quilting as I go and as the mood hits. It’s like painting with thread. I am using a lovely variegated thread color called “Citrus” (Rainbows by Superior Threads). All told, I am using about 4-5 different colors.

This has been a fun quilt- certainly no award winner, but a fun quilt nonetheless!

Btw, a HAPPY MOTHER”S DAY to all the moms (”mums” in Australia) out there.

Hugs from Carla