Mosaic - Gift To Be

I have been so inspired by mosaic projects that I have seen on the blogs.  Making mosaics is so much fun and I am trying to find time to do a few little projects. The following layout is the first set-up of the tiles. Without a doubt, it will be changed over and over before the end result. When I start applying the adhesive, the tiles may be cut smaller and/or rearranged.

If you follow my blog, you know that I did a kitchen back splash mosaic as my first project. It was a wonderful accomplishment.

The plates below are the dishware that I used for the mosaic. I placed three at the end of the kitchen cabinet so people can see what I used. There are always questions about "how did you do that". I bought the dishes at Marshall's for very little money because the sets of service for four were broken in the boxes. I think I bought about four boxes. And, then I located more of the dish pattern on the Internet.  The dishes are by Sango and the pattern is Tango. I think that is a great name considering the flamboyant colors.

I have many bags of cut dishes in lots of different colors that I hope to use in the future for other mosaic projects.

I hope your day is Fabulous.

What Is The Girl Up To Now

Just what I have been saying with the little animated clip art at the bottom right side of my blog front page.  A little patchwork quilt to hang on my living room wall during the summer months.

 POPPIES, POPPIES - I love poppies!

I can see it in my mind's eye hanging over the horizontal book shelf in place of the abstract art and mirrors.What do you think?  I would love to have some feedback.

I think it will work well with the red and black accents that I have used in the living room decor.

These fabrics are from the Poppies Collection by Pamela Mostek.  It is a new collection for Clothworks Textiles. I ordered the kit a while back knowing that it would not be available until now. I am quite sure that I will have a good time working on it. 

And, look at this precious bouquet of poppies. My next door neighbors from south of here came up to their vacation home for a few days.  They brought the poppies for me from their garden. Fabulous! They look so sweet next to the fabric.

It is a total coincedence. She did not know anything about my plans for a Poppy quilt wall-hanging.

I have the best neighbors!

I hope you are having the start of a wonderful weekend. We are having thunder, lightning and rain at the moment. Hey, we really need the water.

The Horrors Of A Dropped Stitch

Oh, NO! And, I thought I was getting close to finishing this afghan for my granddaughter. I had started crocheting the border and had reached the first corner and all a sudden I noticed a wayward stitch just hanging out watching me approaching with my crochet hook. Thank goodness I will only be "frogging" a few rows. You know, "rip-it, rip-it". 

For the life of me, I can not get the color of this yarn photographed in a consistent shade of lavender. It seems as if the slightest difference in the ambient light really, really changes the outcome.

Wishing you a Fabulous day.

PS. I may tell you who the red roses were from in my next post.

      http://everydaydelight09.blogspot.com/2010/02/valentine-roses.html

Morning Walk

I am so blessed to have a beautiful little historic town just right outside my door to walk in with my dog, Lily. This morning I took my camera along and took a few pictures on my way. This historic marker talks about pioneer women in the 1800's. Enlarge the photo by clicking on it and it will be easier to read.

Some of the very first daffodils to bloom down the street. They get a lot of sunshine and warmth to coax them into bloom before some of the others. Different than in my garden where their is lots of shade.

And, this is our resident burro, Clarrisa. She is such a favorite of the locals and tourists. Clarrisa is very friendly and loves carrots. The local neighbors look after her and if she needs any veterinary care the local vet is their to aid almost at a moments notice. She was born in the field to her mother who passed away a few years ago. So, we had two but now we have one and we love her.

All of the dogs love her also, This picture of Lily is about as close together that I was able to take a photo, especially, since I was holding on to Lily's lease.

Now we have the historical landmark of the first American Scientist to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. He lived at this location during his childhood.

Just one of many lovely art galleries.

And, how about looking at the marker for Murphys first saloon in 1853.

Interesting placard!

This is the little church that I walk to every Sunday to attend services. It was first built in 1866. Currently, our membership is over 100, which I think is quite remarkable for a little mountain town.
 

A lovely stained glass window. As you can see, there are two glass windows and they are lit up at night. The steeple is in beautiful copper and I can see it glisten in the sunlight from my garden.

Thank you for coming along with me on my walk with Lily.

May your day be beautiul and sunny.

Valentine Roses

I am speechless! What can I say.

 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I did.

Lets Review

I think it is fun to look back on some of the projects I have finished. There is only one project in this collage that I still have to finish. It is the lavender lace afghan in the second row from the bottom. I want to be able to give it to my granddaughter next month for her birthday.

I wish I knew how to set this up so that you could enlarge each picture individually. But, I don't. I hope you enjoy. Comments and questions are always welcome.

       

Entire photo will enlarge with a click. 

I think a cuppa Ginger Peach Green Tea along with some knitting on the afghan will just be lovely this evening while I watch the Olympics.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

~Mary~

Daffodil Hill In the Mother Lode

It won't be long before the beauty of the daffodils will be visible throughout our gardens. If you are looking for an outing to see a vast array of varied species, take time to visit Daffodil Hill.

What a beautiful sight! Can you imagine thousands of daffodils. Not too far from where I live there is a very gorgeous historic beauty. Can you imagine 6000 new bulbs are planted each year. I hope to go to see the daffodils this year, weather permitting. The garden viewing schedule is scheduled by nature. In the recent past, I have not been able to visit because of the garden closing because of the weather. Several years ago, I visited the hill and thoroughly enjoyed it. In addition to the daffodils, there are big beautiful peacocks roaming the property. From what I hear, they are beautiful in someone else's yard. It is my understanding that they are very, very noisy and messy! ! !

The history of this beauty dates back to 1887. Take a minute to read more about it.

"Daffodil Hill flowers bloom each year, to the joy of those who love these graceful, springtime perennials. At Daffodil Hill there are more than 300 varieties of daffodils, over 300,000 planted bulbs on a property that sits at 3,000 feet above sea level in California's historic Old West.

Arthur McLaughlin and Elizabeth "Lizzie" van Vorst-McLaughlin, descendents of those who came west and settled in California, have planted up to 6,000 new bulbs a year on their farm that includes a lovely alpine setting with pine trees, an old barn, wagon wheels, and rusting mining equipment and farming tools in addition to roaming fowl and farm animals such as lambs, chickens and other birds. This non-commercial tourist destination and delight is not formally publicized or promoted, but still hundreds and thousands of people flock to tiny Volcano to see the lovely spread of yellow that sits on a carpet of green.

In the early days of the Gold Rush, Daffodil Hill was a regular stopping place for teamsters hauling timber from the Sierras down to the Kennedy and Argonaut Mines, and for eastbound travelers heading for the Comstock Lode on the Amador-Nevada Wagon Road (Highway 88). The ranch has been owned by the same family since it was acquired in 1887 by wagon pioneers . In 1887, after coming west from New York and Ohio, Arthur and his wife, Lizzie, began to plant the first daffodil bulbs in their spare time. The bulbs have since been lovingly nurtured."

Hope you are having a Colorful Day.

What is knitting

Just a little video for my friends who knit.




Have a Great Day.

Can't Take It Any Longer

I can't take it any longer. "What!"  you say. The empty planter at my front door. I just could not resist these primroses a few days ago when I saw them at the entrance to the grocery store. They were $1.99 for each 4-inch size plant. I am sure it will be worth it with the enjoyment I will receive from their pretty faces every time I go in or out my front door. We are expecting another storm tonight so I think I should get them into the soil.

That looks so much better. I even did a little clean up, at least around the front door.

I think Lily will be happy when I can be outdoors when the weather gets warm. She loves to watch all the people walk by.  And, sometimes she even gets a biscuit from one of them!

I think that you can tell that I have my work cut-out for me with all the mess in the yard. It is the most winter mess I have had since I moved here.

Have a Good Day.

The Spring Bulbs Are Popping Up

It won't be long until those happy spots of color will be popping up around the garden. I think this is a wonderful time of the year when we see all the shrubs setting buds prior to blooming and all the bulbs starting to pop their little heads out. There is something about bulbs that is special. It could be that they seem to be the first signs of new life and change of season in the garden. I have daffodils, tulips and hyacinths out and about the garden.

As you can see, I have a lot of cleanup work in the garden following the storms. My entire property is strewn with leaves, branches and tree limbs. I think I will wait until we are finished with the storms in a few weeks. I know we have rain in the forecast for this week. 

When I take photos of Lily she always looks so serious. I with I could get some that show her happy, loving expression. To me, she looks like she is thinking, get this driveway cleaned up! Yes, I am a little crazy. I am sure she couldn't care less.

I hope you are having a bright and sunny day.