THE DAY I POISONED MY HUSBAND

Let me first set the stage. 

I had left the medical field to pursue my love of designing mainly as a fiber artist. 

I had to set a routine for myself as in a factory setting, line assembly to speak. One day I would do all my sewing and tea coffee staining. Then place items on metal trays and set them out in the Florida sun to dry.

Learning to be frugal with supplies and cost-effective I began to make my tea/coffee/vanilla solution in a huge stock pot. 

The solution consisted of a box of tea bags, a small jar of instant coffee and a bottle of vanilla. Into the pot filled with water. 

This concoction would be brought to a boil, then turned down. One by one each item was dropped into the solution and then all stirred and left to sit for a bit. 

One day I decided to take empty Diet Soda Bottles and fill them with any leftover solution. Then place it in the very back of the refrigerator. This would ensure the solution lasts many weeks.

Now, the next stage of my story.

My husband Jerry is not a "sipper" of drinks. He doesn't know how to take his time drinking soda, water, or whatever. He gulps and that is putting it nicely. Many times, I would observe him filling a glass with his Diet Soda and gulping it down, not stopping for a breath of air.

So, the stage has been set. Here we go.

On a certain day, I was off from the shop while my partner worked. This was a day for me to produce as many products as possible I could. My sewing/studio room was in the front of the home with a window that looked out over our huge lawn. I enjoyed watching God's creation while sewing in front of this window. 

Well, one day Jerry had come home, and I heard him gently padding into my studio and quietly asking "did you put something in one of my soda bottles?"

Oh my goodness, I stopped sewing, saw the image in my mind, and began laughing. Needless to say, he didn't think it was so funny.

I truly don't remember how much time lapsed until I could conduct myself properly to leave the room and head to the kitchen.

When I finally made it to the kitchen, I saw the Diet Soda Bottle and a glass with the last dregs of my concoction sitting in a puddle on the bottom. I lost it, going down on my knees and clinging to the counter my hysterical laughter erupted again. 

I honestly can't remember how long or days it was before I could look at my poor husband without laughing. 

You've had those moments haven't you when a single word or remembrance brings a gut-filled laughter to you?

Needless to say, from that day forth I would remove the labels from the bottles and write in black marker "tea/coffee solution."

Did my husband forgive me, well I guess he did? We have now been together 38, so I guess he has. Did it make him sick, am sure it did. Not only did the concoction have all that tea/coffee/vanilla in it, but all the lint and threads from the materials.

We learn from our mistakes, don't we?

My poor husband, he has put up with a lot of my designing chaos through the years.

Blessings. 

               GRANDMA'S  SCRAP  BAG 

One of the dearest memories I have of grandma who raised me from the age of 2, is her sewing talent that she passed on to me.

I can remember from a very tender age, sitting cross-legged in her living room with her large muslin bag of fabric scraps, fingering each piece of fabric.  This magical bag intrigued me with all the colors, designs, and textures. I could imagine what each had once been, for those were the days that clothing was not thrown out but recycled. Nothing was wasted, cutting off the buttons, and zippers and sizing the garment into pieces that could be incorporated into something new.

So, I call myself a "fiber artist, sewist (the modern term for sewer)."

A while back while reading in one of my devotionals, it was mentioned the difference between "create creator and maker maker."

God is the Creator, He created something (actually all of His creation) from nothing.

Webster's states - to bring into existence from nothing.

Make or maker is a person, artist, that makes something from preexisting substances. 

So, I have lately begun to cease using the word "create" when speaking of my artwork, be it in watercolors, fiber arts, quilting, you get the picture.

The past 4 years I have been striving to use up all my fabric and fabric scraps and not buy any new fabric. This has been an interesting journey. 

First, you must know I have a teeny bit of OCD, so each fabric scrap is color coded into a gallon zip lock bag, and the different bags are stored in large plastic bins waiting to be used.

Lately, I have been sewing fabric quilt blocks using the strip quilting method.  I pull out a zip lock bag with my color choice and begin making new quilt blocks.

In my next 2 photos you will see my "thread" work. That's right, I collect the different cast off threads from my work and keep them in a plastic bad. Then, I carefully lay the threads out into a pattern I like, covering this all with a fine mesh fabric. Using a basting thread, I go over the entire piece with whatever design I want. In my last photo you will see a postcard I made with this technique.

                 How very blessed I was to have grandma in my life, but sadly, I didn't recognize it as strongly as I do today. If any of you have read my life storybook "Father", you will understand what I mean. I can now say how I treasure my life with grandma, and especially her talents she shared with me that are so very special. Little did she know what she would be instilling in me with her huge muslin bag of fabric scraps. 

                            Thank you, God, for grandma.