About Sequins: A better pic of front and back

Subtle color variations are so much fun to work with when you're doing full coverage stitching with sequins. I posted about this before, but here's a better picture that shows how noticeable the difference can be with flat sequins. You don't notice it on the strand, but you will notice it after stitching rows, areas, etc.

For my SIL

For my sister-in-law, to bless her passing . . .

Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness.

--Rumi

Rusty House, Broken Glass

Here's the house I won in the OFFCenter silent auction. It's by Mark Garcia, who is probably better known for his rusty wire things. I have to admit, it kind of reminds me more of something from Kentucky than something from New Mexico.

It sits in a place of honor in the living room, on a high shelf with our kachina dolls, pottery and Santo Nino pictures. 8-) A little piece of Kentucky nestled in the middle of New Mexico.

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I am, apparently, an artist!

I've been selling jewelry for- what seems like -ever, but I generally haven't promoted my mixed media art stuffs, unless it was more or less about stitching or beading. Until recently that is, when I put three mixed media collage painted things (on canvas, so let's call them paintings for short) in the shop at OFFCenter. That was about two or three weeks ago, and by golly, all three of them have sold!

I'm so excited I can hardly stand myself. And I want to thank Leighanna Light and Jesse Reno for lighting that fire. Woohoo!

Do I hear 80,000?

Another great find by Miz Sarah. And the beads just keep getting older and older!

This article from Science Daily describes perforated shell ornaments from Morocco, which predate the previously known earliest "baubles," from Africa. Yes, we were magpies, even then. :-)

Blogga Las Vegas

Woo! Finished up my schoolwork on Thursday night, packed up the family and flew to Las Vegas last night. We are staying at the Tropicana (why? because that's where Junior's grappling team is staying) and for the money -- stay anywhere else. They did not have the room type I'd reserved when we got here, and offered no upgrade and I can tell from the desk and the crowds that they're not close to full. I've stayed at the nicest casinos (for work, mind you!) and there were always deals to be made, where I've paid close to half what we're paying here. The shops are not worth mentioning but at least there are walkovers to the MGM Grand and New York. We arrived just in time last night to catch the tail end of a conference for tattoo and piercing professionals -- amazing crowd! But the rest of the crowd is pretty ho-hum.

At one time the bamboo-framed mirrors on the ceiling would have thrilled us, but now me and the MOTH lie here and practice finding different poses that make us look less like human balloons, LOL! But for some reason, junior loves a rollaway, so he's happy as a clam. Plus he is the reason for the trip -- Grappler's Quest. They've gone over now for the weigh-in which is why I can sneak a post in. 8-)

My Seester at Work

I love this picture! My sister SO in her element. Well it's actually a bit glamorous compared to some photos of her at work that I've seen. I stole this off her Facebook profile. Not sure, but I believe this is near her home in Kentucky.

Stay Home
I will wait here in the fields
to see how well the rain
brings on the grass.
In the labor of the fields
longer than a man's life
I am at home. Don't come with me.
You stay home too.
I will be standing in the woods
where the old trees
move only with the wind
and then with gravity.
In the stillness of the trees
I am at home. Don't come with me.
You stay home too.
--Wendell Berry

Mini House Parade

Every year OFFCenter has a huge arts & crafts fair in Robinson Park, and they kick off the fair with a We Art the People folk artsy parade. Over the years, the costumes have gotten outrageous and wonderful, huge papier mache heads, and of course the kids dress up too in all their funky finery. So that's what this little tableau is about.
This month, Ron Breen made dozens and dozens of little wooden houses for everyone to decorate for OFFCenter's other major fundraiser -- the Albuquirky House Tour. I saw some photos of one of the houses on the tour, and sure enough there were lots of little houses for sale there, set out on the entrance table.

Well I had already made a couple of houses for the fundraiser but this one took a little longer. I worked on it over the weekend and now just have one eensy weensy thing left to add (a sign that says "Parade Today"). I'll still bring it in to the shop as a donation once that little finishing touch is added.

This was pretty much a collaboration between me and my thrift-store, estate sale hoppin' husband (aka the MOTH -- man of the house). He is fascinated by little bitty toy cars and little bitty toy figures that come inside kid's toys and end up in the bottom of yard sale boxes and Goodwill bins. So I have a big bag of them. We went through and picked out some choice Folk Artsy looking figures.

The little kids move, by the way. You can pose them. It's so funny! I love the red chilies strung on the sides of the building.

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