Hucklebeary

This is Hucklebeary... my newest hand sewn/ handmade little bear. He is 4.75 inches tall.... admittedly I didn't make the vintage bark canoe  but someone did!  I made the stand , paddle and knapsack !  Hucklebeary is ready to paddle or float down the Little Blue River here in Blue Springs. The Little Blue flows into the Missouri River and then into the Mississippi ( at St. Louis) and then south to the Gulf of Mexico!
Hucklebeary has been posted on BearPile

Handmade.... what it means to me

"Mama and Baby Bear"  from Leeds, England  posted this on Facebook..... I spend a lot of time hand sewing bears and their friends so this hit home.  I copied it into "my documents", posted it here and will "pin it"  . All to spread the word!!

Mr. Picky!

Every once in awhile I play around with scrapbooking using digital files. The inspiration, this time, was Dominic's trip to the local Chinese buffet restaurant where he fell in love with pickled octopus ! He ate the whole thing! And this is my super picky eater who won't eat casseroles, most sandwiches, potato salad and so on!  I do wish my son-in-law had gotten a better picture... only much fiddling and making it black and white let me make it usable for scrapping!
I have eaten octopus... tiny ones in paella (sp?) and I do like raw squid.... but can't imagine eating that THING! His Mother had to cover her eyes!!!

"Sea Life" trip

Our grandchildren's report cards warranted a reward ( all A's and the kindergarten version of all A's - all 3's). We aren't ones for rewarding with money so we took them and their Mother to Kansas City's newly opened Sea Life. It's a small aquarium ( and there is a Legoland place next door) that has been fitted into the Hall's Department space in Crown Center.  It's pricey... but the kids really enjoyed it!  The "hands on area" went over especially well!  I think my grand daughter could have stayed much longer than her super active little brother was ready for!
We bought tickets online and were early so the kids had fun running through the fountains in the courtyard ... the water sprays high and low... and  off... so they had fun not getting wet!

Entrance

 

 

 

 

Fountain Fun

Hands on area... star fish, shrimp, horseshoe crab, sea urchins, lobsters

                        Camera flashes aren't allowed.... so pictures turned out blurry!

The kids are rooting for Legoland as a reward for next year's reports cards....  but will we all be able to wait?

Mosaic Stepping Stones

My daughter, granddaughter and I took a mosaic stepping stone class yesterday at Daft Crafts which is on the Independence ( Missouri) Square... just down the street from the old Independence Courthouse with its statue of President Harry Truman ( Independence's most famous  native son!)

My daughter and the "always making faces" Lili

Lili designing her stone

Lili's designed glued and ready for grouting

Lili and I cleaning off  the excess grout

All three stones grouted, cleaned and drying. After they've dried for several days, more excess grout can be removed

Moving right along...

The "studio" is just about empty...except for the industrial sewing machine  and a large drop leaf table that is folded up. It's amazing how big the room looks now and I am beginning to think about how I will arrange things when I start putting things back. I want to keep that open look.
We took a car load of "stuff" to the local Goodwill!  Hopefully there will be more as I sort again before putting things back! I must admit that it feels funny seeing my "donations" on the Goodwill store shelves!

Part of downsizing is using bits  from my stash of mohair scraps.... and  Sammy is the latest result. He is 4.75 inches tall and has been posted on BearPile.

My "studio".... or whatever you want to call it... the place where I have all my supplies, the sewing machines, my photography set up etc. is going to undergo a change. We discovered carpenter ants around the double windows. The room itself has thin ( need I say cheap) dark wood paneling without any plasterboard beneath it.
We are going to change that!!  But first I need to find homes for all the "STUFF"!

In between sorting and lugging.... I did find time to make Frisco.  I used  some vintage upholstery mohair and a vintage sewing box with some sewing accessories. Plus I "mended" him using perle cotton thread. Frisco is 7 inches tall and has been posted on BearPile.
When the room is empty.... except for the industrial machine which weighs a TON ... we will take down the paneling and see what needs to be fixed....and fix it! And add insulation.  Then we will hire ( hooray and thank goodness) a crew to put up plasterboard and tape the joints! Then  we paint!  And I move things back!!!