999

my first National Postcard Week postcard!

Happy National Post Card week — May 5 – 11, 2013!  Why not celebrate by mailing out some post cards this week?

This postcrossing post card got here a little earlier in the month!  I love it!  Maybe by next year, I’ll have my own NPCW cards.  That would be fun!

 

My next post will show some more postcards, I’m sure! Plus it will be my 1000th post, so I’ll be announcing the winner of my miniature quilt giveaway.  It could take me a week or so.  Lots of things going on here right now.  Until then, happy mailing, crafting and living to you all!

Gratitude

This has been a rough week for many around the United States.  With the bombings in Boston and the fertilizer plant explosion in West, the week has been full of sadness, frustrations and questions.  I try to concentrate on the things I’m grateful for in moments such as these.

One thing I’m grateful for is that I can help West, in a very small way, without getting in their way as they clean up and continue to hunt for survivors and victims.  If you would like to do the same, you can check out this news website for ideas, or you can send a check to the Point West Bank at 200 West Oak Street, West, TX 76691.  Make your check payable to Victims of West Explosion.  I am hoping that this money will be used directly by the victims in any way the victim or town sees fit and there will be no middle man to take a percentage out.

I’m sure there are places to donate to help Boston also.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any of that information.  Please be sure to check out whatever charity you do donate to.  I’m always shocked at how tragedy brings out the worst in people and so many scams start.

Peace by with you.

#998

Quickie

I wasn’t going to post about this, but when I got an email this evening from a concerned blog friend, I decided that I should.

I haven’t been posting much lately.  One reason is that I haven’t had much to say.  Another is that earlier in the week, I was quite blue.  So much so that I thought about going back on medication that I’ve recently come off of.  I’m feeling fine now and have been for a couple of day.  Hurray!  (Still not much to say though.)

The most recent reason for not posting is that I’ve been glued to the TV watching coverage of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.  I live a little over 60 miles from West.  (I heard the explosion, although at the time, I thought it was thunder.  Yes, from that far away.  Just goes to show how powerful the blast was.)  The whole thing has been difficult for so many of us here in Texas.  I live in a similar, even smaller community.  Our firefighters are all volunteer too.  I have a soft spot in my heart for the people who put themselves in danger to help the rest of us.  I’m just heart-sick over this happening to this small town.  I feel helpless to help them.  I can donate blood and money and possibly even a few needed nonperishable items, but when you get right down to it, that is nothing.  I can pray and I have been, but none of this feels at all like I’m really doing anything.  Does that make sense?

#997

Vintage Mail

my Christmas card

WordPress and I are not getting along today.  This is the second time I’ve started this.  All of my words were lost on the previous post started.  Not fun.

I talk to my momma almost daily.  During one of our conversations recently, she asked if I wanted the old Christmas cards that my dad sent to us all when he worked in Vietnam.  I said yes, thinking I’d be getting another rare item with my father’s handwriting on it.  That was not the case.

Momma’s Christmas card from Vietnam,1970

My father started taking care of his family when he was about thirteen or fourteen years old.  His mother had died and his father wasn’t much of a provider.  He would disappear for days on end and drink the money away long before food was purchased for the kids.  My father and my Aunt Joan basically took over the care and  parenting of the four younger kids.  They did the best they could.  I won’t go into much more than that, but I will say that my dad always took care of his family, no matter what.  Making a good paycheck was important to him.  So, during the Vietnam war, my father got a job that took him to Vietnam.  (I believe he was setting up and installing newspaper equipment.)  He was there for a year.  He could make more money in a war zone than he could in Texas.

 

the card sent to my sister, Teresa

Back to the Christmas cards.  These cards have a 3D “picture” inserted into a photo frame Christmas card.  You can see the corners in the photos where they are inserted into the cards.  They are really very lovely and interesting, although they have curled along the edges through the years.  I don’t think you can see the 3D effect very well in the photographs I’ve taken of them.  These lovely cards were actually from one of the Vietnamese who worked with my father.  They have greetings written in English with a Vietnamese translation in each card.  They are dated December 2, 1970.  I know my father mailed the cards, but they really aren’t from him.  My first thought was to chunk them in the trash when I realized that, but I’m going to keep them.  I may never have anything else like it in my life.

#996

Horror of Horror! Forgotten Postcards!

the stamps from the Russian card showing France’s National Day of Grandmothers

Even worse than forgetting to put the photos of the postcards on Postcrossing and forgetting to write a post about them for this blog, is misplacing them.  Unfortunately, I have indeed misplaced some.  I’m heart-sick about it.  Just goes to show that my organizational skills have suffered greatly in the last few years and that mailing them all up to me in Oklahoma, when I’m there for an extended period, is not necessarily the best thing to do.  I hope to find the missing cards one day and when I do, I’ll post about them too.  The first photo shows the stamps I had wanted to show in the last postcard post.  Aren’t they wonderful?

Bamburgh Castle

I’ve really been working on my postcard collection over the last couple of days.  When I noticed that several of my postcard photos had not been uploaded to Postcrossing, I knew there was a bit of a problem.  So, the hunt is on.  I did find four of the missing.  The first one I’m showing is of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland (United Kingdom).  This card was written on June, 2012 and I received it 17 days after it was mailed.  Vanessa says that the original castle dates back to 420AD!  She also says the views there are stunning and it’s a great place to walk along the beach.  If I ever get to go to England, I hope to walk around some castle.  This looks like it would fit the bill just fine.

photo #3 shows the card from Anaclara

The third photo shows the postcard from Anaclara.  She is from the south of Brazil (and is there now), but when she sent my card last June, she was in the Netherlands with her new fiancé!  She proposed to him.  Way to go Anaclara!  I like a woman who goes after what she wants.  She has been a Postcrossing member for over two years.  This postcard took 10 days to get to me after she mailed it.  She says that the front of the card says “a soft/sweet kiss from me”.

postcard from Robin in the USA

The next postcard is from Robin, who has been a Postcrossing member for more than 2 years.  She sent this to me on August 12, 2011.  I got it three days later and then put it in an envelope full of other mail and forgot all about it.  I love the postcard because of the pen and ink drawing feel it has.  Robin says that she stayed in this hotel one night after finishing a month of trail work on the Pacific Coast Trail!  (Have  you read Wild by Cheryl Strayed?  Very good book about walking the PCT!)  Robin said the hotel stay was a refreshing experience after camping in the woods for a month!  I can only imagine!  She also says that she’s an avid knitter.

from Minsk, Belarus

The last postcard for today is from Minsk, Belarus.  It took 68 days to get to me in September of 2011.  Just to show you how odd the mail systems can be, the next card I got from Belarus, only took 17 days to get to me!  He says that the card shows the Belarusian national holiday — The Bush!  It has pagan roots and means “procreation”.  It’s a nice card and the meaning is interesting, but what I really like are the postage stamps he used to mail it.

Belarus stamps!

Here are the wonderful postage stamps on the Minsk postcard.  Lovely, fun, colorful — love!

This is post #995.  Won’t be much longer before someone wins the miniature quilt!  Have you mailed in your postcard entry?  Good luck!

Most Recent Postcards

I’ve been in a postcard pickle.  I accidentally packed away all the postcards I had, when I started a deep cleaning of the house.  I had to slow way down on mailing out because I can’t find my blasted postcards after packing them away.  On my latest trip to Oklahoma, I kept an eye out for new ones.  I got lucky!  It’s actually very difficult to find postcards in my area of Texas.  It’s been fairly easy in Oklahoma and they are priced much less expensive there.  I now have a stack that could choke a horse and I’m ready to mail!

From Jamie in the United Kingdom

This post is actually about the postcards I’ve gotten recently though.  So, let’s get started.  The first card is from the United Kingdom!  This is only my second card from England.  I really thought I’d end up getting quite a few from this country, but that is not the case and it makes me a little sad.  I love this card of a postage stamp!  The UK has a lot of wonderful postage stamps.  That’s one reason it makes me sad to get cards from them so seldom.  Jamie says that once he had a layover at the Fort Worth airport (DFW) and that he has watched the Texas Rangers a lot over the last few years.  Woo hoo!  I do love a Rangers fan!  Jamie has been a postcrossing member for over two years.  He’s mailed out 298 postcards and received 300 so far.

From Warwara in Minsk, Belarus

This card is from Warwara in Minsk, Belarus.  She studies at the University and wants to be a Diplomat!  She says “I like books, lions, travels and unexpected movie endings.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a big dream and it makes me sad sometimes.  But I hope to find it.  I decided to send you more than one bird that live in my county.  Have a nice day.  :)”  Warwara has only been a postcrossing member for about two months.  This is one of the first 14 postcards she mailed out.  She will be 19 next month.  This is the 12th postcard I’ve gotten from members in Belarus.

From Irina in St. Petersburg, Russia

The next two postcards are from Russia.  I’ve gotten a total of 21 cards from Russian members to date.   Irina sent this first one to celebrate the National Day of Grandmothers in France!  She says it was the 10th of March.  She has a big stack of postcards telling about holidays in countries all over the world and it’s been very interesting learning about them.  I wish I could see that book.  I think I’d find it very interesting too.  Irina has been a postcrossing member for over a year and has mailed out 140 postcards so far.  She’s received 137 to date.   I forgot to take a photo of the postage stamps she used on her card.  They are great.  I’ll try to remember to get it next time.

From Nikita in Smolensk, Russia

As you can tell by this photo, this postcard came in an envelope.  It is actually a photograph!  Unfortunately, Nikita does not tell me if he took the photo himself, although I assume he did.  I love it!  I’ve discovered over the years of participating in postcrossing, that I love Russian architecture!  This church is just amazingly beautiful.  Nikita says that he lives in Smolensk and that the city is celebrating its 1150 year anniversary this year!  He loves history.  He wrote the postcard on February 25th and say that they had sunny, frosty weather.  Nikita is also pretty new to postcrossing.  He’s been a member for about 4 months.  This is one of the first 11 postcards he’s mailed.  He’s gotten 8 so far.

Postcrossing is a fun hobby.  I love getting real mail and learning about people and places all over the world.  How about you?  Are you a Postcrossing member?  Maybe you should join.  The only cost is the postcards and postage.  It’s fun!

#994

Forgot to mention Yesterday

When I actually got to see and talk to my granddaughter in person, she changed her mind about the type of quilt she wanted me to make for her.  It’s not the log cabin variation that I’d made for her father that I’d told you about earlier.  No, Big C wants a double nine patch like her brother and sister’s earlier quilts.  Now, to be honest, I never did really figure out if that was what she had wanted all along or if she quickly changed her mind when her younger sister, Middle C, told me that was what she wanted!  They both want them to be black and turquoise blue and the quilts can’t look alike!  Can you hear me pulling out my hair?  Especially since I really want to make these quilts with fabric I have on hand (and even with a gift of fabric from my friend Robin, I have very little turquoise blue fabric)!  I’ll be bald and crazy in no time.

While I was at the Dallas quilt retreat recently, I started my grandson’s pink hexagon quilt.  Let me tell you, it was not a pleasant experience!  I was suffering from insomnia and I had not recovered from my trip to Austin before the retreat.  I was also attending Dallas Quilt Celebration while trying to sew this project on no sleep.  It was not pretty!  I used bad language — often — in front of ladies I did not feel were used to hearing bad language!  I’m so sorry, Ladies!  If I could mess it up, I did.  If I thought it was running smoothly and I finally had the knack of it all, I didn’t!  It was sad, very sad.  In fact, it was such a mess and I was so tuckered out, that I ended up leaving the retreat a day early.  Not something I do often.

the three rows of the pink hex quilt

I did learn a lot and I did not give up on the hex quilt yet.  I had read this tutorial before starting to piece the hexs.  It sounded too good to be true!  For me, it was.  I’m sure this  way of piecing can work, after all, there is photographic proof on the tutorial.  For me, it did not work.  I need to mark the 1/4 inch starting and stopping points and not sew straight across the seams, any seams.  I spent a lot of time, ripping out my stitches and going back to sew the backstitching I forgot to do the first time around.  It was a pain.  When I finally started to start and stop my piecing at the 1/4 inch mark, it went fine.  I ended up with three rows.  This pattern must be cut out accurately too and since I tried to cut up to eight hexs at a time, I’m not positive all of mine are accurate.  I will be continuing the project in a few days, but with a different attitude and more carefully.  My grandson will, eventually, get his hex quilt.

#993

I’m back and writing — slowly

the “front” of Middle C’s little quilt

I’ve been really busy the last couple of months.  I’ve been on the road a lot.  First, I went to Austin for the first QuiltCon show (modern quilts!).  Then I went to Dallas for Quilt Celebration and a quilt retreat.  Next, I headed to Oklahoma for a visit with my son and grandchildren.  During this busy time, I blogged very little and then not at all.  I had thought that I’d have given away the miniature quilt by now.  Since I haven’t been posting, I haven’t made it to my 1000th post yet.  So, if you thought you had missed out and wanted to enter the contest, you still can.  This is post 992.

the “back” of her little quilt is my favorite side

Want to try to win the mini?  Mail me a postcard (or letter) to:  Sharon Renick, PO Box 404, Trinidad, Texas 75163-0404.  I hope to have posted often enough to mail it out before the month’s end, possibly week after next.  We’ll see.

I’ve updated my yearly Bucket List.  If you’d care to see it and what I’ve accomplished so far look here.  I can honestly say, that I have not accomplished as much as I had hoped by now.

the blue jean purse she made!

I took two of my sewing machines and a lot of my sewing paraphernalia with me for the visit to Oklahoma.  Middle C had expressed and interest in sewing.  So, she pieced a small wall quilt — roughly 8 inches by 8 inches — all by herself and she machine quilted it too!  It now hangs in their living room.  I’ve been thinking of other projects for her for my next trip up.  I think she could easily tackle a string quilt!  She also made a blue jean purse while I was there.  Hope you enjoy seeing the photos of her work.  Oh, did I mention that’s she’s ten and this was her first time to use a sewing machine?  I left one of my Singer feather weight machines with her.  This makes me happy!

Always ask a kid for clarification

I’m starting to get ready for a quilt retreat, at least mentally making lists of things to take.  One thing I plan to work on is my grandson’s pink hexagon quilt.  I’ve never tried to plan a hexagon quilt before.  Hopefully, I’m doing it semi-correctly.  I think I’ve figured out that I’ll need at least 126 full eight inch hexagons.  I’ll need a few half hexs too and I may need some triangles for the sides or I may leave it hex shaped and deal with the binding nightmare that will cause.  It’s going to be twin sized.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to show  you something in progress over the weekend.

My oldest grandchild, Big C told me she wanted a “squares” quilt in turquoise blue and black.  So, I was thinking a checkerboard and about maybe making playing pieces.  I called her a few minutes ago to double-check that she didn’t mean a nine patch or something like that, only to find out that she’s talking about me making her a log cabin variation quilt like I made for her dad when he was a teenager.

If you’re a quilter, you may remember when the poem Warning by Jenny Joseph became popular here in the States.  Everyone was doing purple and red challenge quilts in the early 1990′s.  I didn’t have one purple fabric until I participated in one of those challenges.  Now?  Well….I have several.  (I discovered that I really like purple, especially when it’s combined with green!)  For this particular challenge, we had to use all of the fabrics they gave us, plus we could add one more fabric.  I believe there were three reds and seven purples.  I added muslin signature squares, which were signed with Pigma pens in different nib widths.  I got signatures, drawings and at least one poem.  None of which lasted after the quilt went with my son and his new wife.  It was pretty much washed to death even though I warned them not to wash it often or at all.

original “squares” quilt — always ask a kid for clarification! Log Cabin variation for a red and purple challenge

So, this quilt is a log cabin variation.  Most of the blocks have the signature square in the center and one round of “logs”.  There are a few more traditional log cabin blocks thrown in there now and again, but even they aren’t really traditional.  They are mostly just the purples surrounding a smaller red center square.

At first, I didn’t think I could duplicate it and in all honesty, I’m not really going to try.  But I can make it with the same general feel even though it will be much darker.  I’m looking forward to attempting it.    Hopefully, she’ll even like it when I’m done.  Now, to hunt for those turquoise blue fabrics!

I haven’t started to plan Middle C’s quilt, but she’s requested black in it.

#991

Online Miniature Quilt Auction!

“A Ribbon Runs Through It” completed during Super Bowl 2013 — 8″ x 10″ to be auctioned in Live Miniature Auction during Quilt Celebration 2013

As you know, I’m a member of the Quilters Guild of Dallas and we have our annual quilt show coming up – March 8th – 10th, 2013.  Saturday the 9th at 1:30 PM there will be a live miniature quilt auction to benefit Search One Rescue Team.  As it happens, we’ve got an online auction going on right now too!  Only about half of the quilts donated are online, but there is a nice sampling of them.  You can bid online for one of these quilts, that will then go to the live auction.  So, bid your maximum or choose to have a proxybid during the live auction.  From the auction website ”During the online auction, registered online bidders can choose to place a maximum “proxybid” for the live portion of the auction. Each online bidder who places a “proxybid” will be assigned a “proxy” bidder to place bids at the live auction – up to the maximum amount specified by the online bidder.”

I hope you’ll take a moment to look over the miniatures.  If you’re in the area, come by the show!  You won’t be disappointed!  The live auction is always fun and exciting and the show itself is the largest all volunteer show!  It’s a great show!  The quilt in the above photo is one I’ve donated to the auction.  It is not in the online auction.  You could get this quilt by going to the live auction!  If you’d rather have a chance at one for free, just send me some mail with a clear return address!  I’ll be giving this one away on the day of my 1000th blog post!  Mail here:  Sharon Renick, PO Box 404, Trinidad, TX  75163

#990!