Who is Ume Komachi?

This has been forced on my bucket list...finding out who this person is and why their fabric has disappeared from stores!  I love love this fabric.  The Japanese know how to do cotton!  I love the weaving of the different cotton threads--it begs to be touched and admired.

The color combination, orange, red and --teal, aqua, seafoam--just what is that color supposed to be called any way?  It came in a few different color combos, but this was MY favorite.  The bead dangle was from the talented JoEllen of Ally Beads.  I love her style--I could hand her anything and say..go for it and I know I will love it.  It was a blast to put this together.  Unfortunately my stash of this is so tiny now, it will be the last offering of this fabric in anything I do...unless I stumble on more.  Please let me know if you have seen this anywhere.  Enjoy!

It's Sticky Business

I have a comparison to share, that I wished someone would have somewhere shared with me.  So you want to try your hand at making a some frame purses?  Here is my opinion of the glue to use.


First of all there is "Gutermann"  which touts itself as the "best". I used that first and then I stumbled across "UHU" which also boasts about being great for locking your material in the frames.  Since I was almost out of the Gutermann I thought..."oh why not, I'll try the UHU and just add it to my order." (This supplier doesn't sell Gutermann")  Well my supplier notified me that my shipment of frames and glue came back and the glue had burst and gotten all over the frames, but not to worry a new package was in the mail.  That was not pleasant but finally my order did arrive and no glue spillage.  So I'm making this short story long, but I finally got around to trying the UHU.  I have THREE TUBES of it.  And guess what!  It's messier and runnier and doesn't dry as fast as the Gutermann-- and I ruined a piece of fabric with it.  SO lesson learned...ONLY GUTERMANN will do for me from now on.  I hope this information helped someone else before they go trying the UHU!  If you have any other glue products or experiences, please share them, so we can all be the better.  Thanks!

Wisteria!

This is what I’ve been viewing as I drive to work for the past ten? days! Today I had the presence of mind to make sure my camera was in my bag and stop to take pictures. I’m sure they won’t last much longer and I had to capture a little of their beauty. As I was taking these this morning, the lady of the house nearby told me to break some off…so now my office smells like wisteria!

Wikipedia says that wisteria is a member of the pea family…who would have thought? It is a woody climbing vine that is common to the eastern US and other countries such as China, Korea, and Japan. Google also brought up a picture of a bonsai wisteria…now that was interesting. But I shall enjoy them today, and my all male office members will have to endure their perfume. Love it!

Bleeding Hearts

When I was a little girl I loved to visit my grandmother in the hills of Pennsylvania.  My grandmother, Elizabeth Ellen (for whom I'm named after) was a remarkable woman for her small stature. She weighed 88 lbs when she got married. (I have her wedding dress!).   Her little white house (with a white picket fence) was amazingly organized and she had a focus for each day of the week--you know--Monday for wash etc.  I would go down into the small walk-out basement and look at the huge tree trunk beems, all her homemade canned goods, fresh fruit, old fashioned washing machine, and snoop around like any kid would do.  The corner that held the huge coal furnace was the only place from which I stayed away. The smells are still very clear in my mind.  Every morning her breakfast was like a formal meal.  The table was set perfectly with a tablecloth and cloth napkins.  I thought it was the biggest deal when my grandfather taught  me to eat ketchup on my hash browns.  I could go on and on.


My grandmother's back yard was a sloping hill that ended up down at my uncle's house.  You could go through the evergreens or you could go on the stone laid path that meandered down between their huge garden. (I can still see my grandfather out there hoeing.)  On this path, every spring I would love to look at my grandmother's flowers.  The bleeding hearts were just beautiful.  Oh how I wanted to pick them, but that was off limits.  So, I've been meaning  to get this beautiful plant for myself and well now, "Look!".  I've got some, so I had to go lay down on the grass this morning before taking off for work and take a picture before they---can't say it--expire.  It's so befitting to have them flourish this spring (for the first time) with the passing of my mother last October.  Aren't they beautiful?

Some Button Combos

Some button choices for Laurie.  Number across 1, 2, Second Row 3, 4 Third Row 5, 6.

* * * * FOUR STARS! * * * *

Did you ever google your name or your personal website or blog?  I tried doing that last night and found something rather interesting.

Someone whose I.D. is mostlymaple , ("a twenty something day dreamer, publication designer by and and by night is always searching for inspiration and motivation") highlighted one of my  purses (click on purses to see the original blog post) from awhile ago on stylefeeder.com and asked everyone to rate the purse.  It looks like the few that looked at it gave it FOUR STARS.  (not bad huh?) (relief!)

It's amazing where "the surfing of the net" will take you.  So, have you every clicked that "next blog" thingy at the top of blogspot blogs and see where it leads?  Happy Surfing!

Back to fabric land and new fabric and inspiration.  I've got a new shipment coming in and can't wait! I'd tell you that I'm working on a fabulous new bag right now, but I better not....hah!

SMORES VEGAN STYLE

"Luscious marshmallow atop a graham cracker cookie enrobed in rich organic Belgian dark chocolate. Love at first bite! Sure to please the most discerning sweet tooth." According to foodnetwork program "Unwrapped" these hand made treats will leave you wanting "smore". I think I'll just have to cave on this and order...how many? That dark chocolate looks wonderful! You can find these at www.sweetandsara.com .