Thursday, May 20, 2010

broke my back & had to sit a lot...

after I broke my back in a fall off of a 6 inch stool... the only time it didnt hurt was when I would sit in the recliner. So to keep from going nuts. Nanette got me started on project # one... It is a lazer cut that you choose the colors you like and tuck them into the cuts on the foam material.
I thought that the two pictures turned out nicely.
Project # two was also given to me by Nanette. It didnt apeal to me too much at first... I pieced it together and sewed on the felted wool flowers and did some embrodriary..( dont you just love my spelling) The more unusual thing about my project IS that I am visually challenged so that I am unable to sew with a sewing machine... everything is sewn with a needle and thread. and how do I thread a needle? I have tried starching the thread so that it would go thru the needle.... not too sucessful... and then Theron sent me a small plastic box like object
I put the needle hole side down and place the thread across the top and push a button and waa hoo the needle is threaded. I now love project #2

project # 3 is a christmas or winter wall hanging... I really struggled with this one... at one point I had completed all the stars for the sides and... later could not find them... I must have thrown them out.. I almost gave up at that point however I thought about it and went and bought more fabric. and completed the job... the hardest part for me was the embroidary.. me satin stich work that spells WINTER looks like it was done by a drunken sailor... This project got me to thinking about doing the four seasons. Sooo now I have almost completed the four different wall hangings for the seasons.... MORE TO COME LATTER Love Robin

How i kept from goiing crazyer....



project number one












project number two












project number three

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

hard work pays off.. check out the new patio


my number one son and his family gave me a $100.00 visa card for my birthday. I was sooo over whelmed. I had never had $100. to do anything that I wanted with... so I began thinking. every night I would lay in bed and try to think of what I could buy.. a dress..(no, I hate shopping) more books for my kindel dx..(no that was too temporary) I would ask friends and they would say put all your ideas in a hat and pull out one and DO IT. I knew I would look at it and say nay. after about one month... I came up with the idea... it would last forever.. I would be forever reminded of what it represented. I would turn my corner weed patch into a patio!!!
I thought about buying $100 dollars of walmart pavers... Nanette said NO.. you want stone.
so we got into Gordons truck and went to international stone co. I choose arizona stone. and my $100 dollars @.18 a pound purchased 3 BIG stones..... it came to $99.21... how awesome!
Nanette and Gordon dug the area down about 6 inches and leveled the ground. Then Dann came to visit and had the privildge of setting the first stone with the help of his father.. it weighted 475 pounds. The other 2 were a little smaller.... however the stones are about 2 1/2 to three inches thick. seeing that we would need about 2 more loads of stone, Gordon and Dann went and got it .
Sunday we ate dinner on the patio... however the chairs and table had to be carefully placed of they would fall thru the cracks. So Monday I went and got two more loads of smaller stones. and thus began my part of the patio. All the stones are set in small pea gravel... so I would look at the spaces between the big rocks and look around to find a piece of the puzzle that would fit that spot. If it didnt fit closely. I took my sculpting chisels and hammer and broke off the pieces that didnt fit ... until it was a perfect fit.... after 4 days crawling around on the rocks covered with the small pea gravel.. my knees are sore, my hands are swollen.. and I can look at that corner of my yard with pride. "IF ITS TO BE ITS UP TO ME" this has always been my motto. NOW I have built a flower bed along side of the fence and set containers of flowers in place... My other big purchase... was a large container of sterilant. to kill all the weeds in and arould the area.. WOW I hope I dont get too carried away and sterilize the whole place... OH WELL.