My New Camera

After a couple of false starts, I received my new camera in the mail -- actually, "Brown" (What can Brown do for you?) attempted to deliver twice and my sweet husband went to the local depot to collect it on the second day. I was away at a four day quilt retreat and picked it up later.

I still have to learn the tips and trick to this new camera -- it is kind of like my old one (may it rest in peace), but I will just have to play with it. This is the first photo I took with my new camera -- a two-color quilt I started and finished in the last four days at retreat.

It is for a National Fabric and Craft chain's challenge and all will need to be completed by December 18th to be considered. I was a semi-finalist in a similar contest for the same chain several years ago. As I get closer to completing the work I will give more details. And here is a detail of a photographic nature:

The block pattern is an off-centered square in a square called "Happy Hour" but I drafted it myself to be an 8.5" block. The setting and borders are of my own design and I wanted two of the squares to have "runaway centers". I will need to applique these in place.

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Speaking of running away, my husband and I will be going away to the gulf coast for a few days. I will not have internet and so will probably get very far behind in my reading of blogs and certainly in my writing of them. I will post photos and details when we return, but I sure am looking forward to quiet walks on the beach and hours spent reading and beading.

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If you were to run away, where would you go and what would you do?

Arrrgh!

Dang it! My camera broke!

What will I do until its replacement arrives?

(Not my camera. Hey, I don't have a working camera. Remember??)

Cindy's Giveaway

The Lampwork Diva, Cindy Gimbrone, is having a fabulous bead giveaway to celebrate five year (5 YEARS!) blogging. Go on over to her blog {HERE} and sign up to win this bead stash.

"Who cooks for you? Who? Who?"

We had another interesting visitor to our wild backyard:
a barred owl.

(I did not have my camera with me, but I found this photo online.)

My husband called me into the kitchen to peek out the window overlooking our little fish pond and there is was -- beautiful! I happened to have been going through a gorgeous deck of Celtic divination cards I bought for the images. The card in my hand when he called me to see this beauty was the Moon card -- night and wisdom. I find inspiration anywhere I can, don't you?

Our visitor did not make its distinctive call for us ("who cooks for you?"), but check out this Youtube clip for a great close-up and its mating call. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fppKGJD3Y6c

And the winner is . . .

Pam from Klassy Joolz.

Pam won this pair of wings:

I cannot wait to see what she does with them!

Thank you all for your comments. I guess I will have to do some more giveaways in the future.

Hmmm, I saw some really cool bat-wings the other day at work, I wonder,

would anyone be interested in them for

a Halloween-ish giveaway? (Do tell!)

(Pam, Send me your mailing info via my email: artymeziaATyahooDOTcom)

Reminder -- Wings Giveaway

Don't you just love these beauties from Reaper Miniatures? They could be yours. Leave a comment on the previous post to have your name put in the drawing. The deadline is midnight Friday September 10th.

If I had but Wings to Fly . . .

. . . and I do!

Click on the photo to take a look at the lovely details.

A four-pack set of angel wings is just $10 {HERE}

I have been enjoying working at Reaper Miniatures (as I mentioned in my last post). Along the way I have collected some gorgeous pewter pieces and the photo above is only a sampling. All these components are part of a larger piece or grouping, but I think each one would make a beautiful component for jewelry. My fingers are itching to get some time to play with these pieces and to come up with a stunning jewerly design.

It is not quite like visiting a hardware store and being inspired by the "cool stuff" you find there, but have you ever found jewelry components from way out in left field, so to speak?

I am having a giveaway of the large curved wings on the bottom left. Who is interested?

Here is what you do by September 10th at midnight:
* Leave a Comment on this post (yeah, the one you are reading!) for one chance to win
*Another chance is yours if you:
1) become a follower and post another comment to tell me
2) go to my Etsy Shop and "Heart" a piece (and post another comment with the link to the item)
3) Blog about the giveaway (and post another comment with the link)

There. That is four opportunities to win the angelic pewter wings.

Good Luck!