The Keeper garter

Jenn asked me to make her keeper garter for the upcoming nuptials on Friday. I used tulle on either side of the upcycled light blue velvet belt. I was trying to come up with a way to make a charm quickly. Shrinky Dinks came to mind. Of course none was to be had in Batavia, but my friend Jody heard my mulling and so kindly found 2 sheets, a Celtic knot heart stamp and the dye that needs to be used on the plastic and mailed it, asap, to me from near Chicago!
I spent the morning last Sunday playing with it all and came up with these...

The "Love Wish Dream" and the stars are from Tim Holtz stamps. The Jun 8 2012 is a cool new vintage style stamp from Smash, all of which I found at Michaels. The Celtic knot is a nod to our heritage. My dad Michael Darcy was from Leitrim, Ireland. The stars are for the Army. I wish for them love and always have a dream. Playing with this shrink plastic was a blast! I want to try so much more. I want to color it. In a recent issue of Country Living magazine I found this bracelet. It's what made me think of this charm idea in the first place.
My soldier is home for a week! Nice to be able to give him a big hug each day I see him. Each day is full of things that need to be done for the wedding Friday. Jenn's mom had both families over for a cookout, which turned into a cookin, since it rained all afternoon.

Michael and Jenn were pretty tired after Michael's bachelor party last night. Michael imbibed and Jenn was the DD for him and his buddies.
We are all looking forward to a good time Friday!

A friend of mine, Phil, brought this treasure for my viewing pleasure!

Back in the 1970"s a woman that patronized his family's diner in Batavia made this quilted wallhanging for his parents. It is a real gem. All the fabrics are corduroy and calico's. I imagine them to be repurposed. The woman recreated the layout of the diner, using satin stitch on a machine to applique all the features down.

This would be the cash register! Much work was put into this piece. The most disheartening thing is that the woman did not sign it. Makes me realize I have to make sure to go back and sign all the pieces I still have around. I just never get to that part. I hate the finishing! But it may matter to even one person in the future, that I made something. What a great memory keeper this wallhanging is.

Last month we had Mary Diamond give us a trunk show and workshop on threadpainting. Her work has been in magazines, books and national shows. You may recognize one of these.

She is a very gracious, talented woman. I love her work.
The workshop was an exercise in making a composition and threadpainting to finish the piece off. It was a fun day. Here is mine...

Mary provided the background and many floral fabrics to choose the flowers that made up each piece. I am very pleased with my choices and thread work. I am not a fan of the yellow backing. Not sure what this will become yet!

I have learned:

1. I love my iPhone every day! I found WordFoto, a cool app that lets you add words to a photo. Love this.
2. Contraband. Good movie with Mark Wahlberg.
3. All pre-op's done...EKG, bloodwork, physical and foot prodding done. I am putting all my hopes into this surgery, that I will be able to walk without foot pain and discomfort. June 15th, ready to roll.
4. Another great app.....Shazam. You know when you hear that awesome song in the movie your watching? Or your in a store and you hear something really catchy? Pull up Shazam and it listens and tells you the song, who sings it...you can even buy it off iTunes right away. So cool. I have used this app A Lot.