Angel Fish

I started this piece to answer the challenge of making something with the theme of 'animals' and the color 'black & white.'

I found some watery looking fabric and cut 'clam shells' from the dark to fuse to a lighter fabric.

Before I was even half done with this part; I decided to swap the two fabrics around and cut light clam shells to fuse to the dark fabric.

There! I got them all fused in place and quilted wavy water over them to make a background scene for ...

... some black & white angel fish.

At this point I felt the piece needed something else to make it come to life. So I asked for ideas on FaceBook and SAQArtique. And the ideas came!

To make it less busy I toned down the dark in the background with oil pastels...

... and added more sea weed and coral ...

... only to make it busier yet!

Finally I was convinced to only use the orange coral and let the piece be more open at the top. And ta-da, it worked!

Angel Fish

8" X 11"

Commercial cotton fabric, Superior Rainbows & Fantastico thread, Oil Pastels

$135

Detail

Linking to:
Off the Wall Friday by Nina Maria

Big Four Bridge

On our way home from Indiana, Paul and I stopped at the "Big Four Bridge" at Louisville, KY for an evening stroll.

The Big Four Bridge crosses the Ohio River and connects Louisville, KY with Jeffersonville, IN. It has 6 spans and used to be a railroad truss bridge.

From the east 15 barges approach the bridge.

This view is to the west after the barges passed under the bridge.

There are plaques along the bridge's walkway that tell of the history of the bridge.

You can read and learn more about the bridge at this link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_Bridge

A vendor selling cold drinks brightens up the bridge.

Paul drove me down along the Fisherman's Warf on the Indiana side to get a side view of the bridge.

And then it was time to head on South.

As the sun set, fog began to form in the valleys of Kentucky.

Aunt Emma's Funeral

We will certainly miss Paul's Aunt Emma Graber. Uncle Ernest passed away quite a few years ago. They have 54 grandchildren and 75 great grandchildren.

Paul always enjoyed getting together with his double 1st cousins. This picture was taken in 2010 after Uncle Ernest and before Ronnie passed away. Carolyn, Linda and Tillie are missing too. They were a great family of 11 children.

We enjoyed renewing acquaintances at the visitation and viewing on Saturday.

Gabriel played us a tune on the piano before leaving for the funeral while a little fellow looks on.

Burial was at Christner Cemetery, Miami County, Indiana.

Paul is all ready for the funeral and drinks a Mountain Dew in lieu of morning coffee.

Parthenon in Nashville

This afternoon Paul and I started off for Indiana to attend the viewing and funeral of his Aunt Emma Miller Graber. We decided to take our time and make 2 days of traveling instead of one long tiring day.

At Nashville we stopped at Centennial Park to see the Parthenon.

We took a hike around the beautiful man made lake and enjoyed the beauty of nature.

The building is a full scale replica of the original.

School Days

Life ...

School is out for the summer. I attended the 'field day' back a few weeks ago.

Stacy, Ashton, and Erica try to see who can eat the donut off the string without using their hands.

A balloon race.

The high jump was my favorite.

 Last night was the closing program. Magnolia School is on Magnolia Drive in Noxubee County, in Mississippi, in the United States, in North America, in the Western Hemisphere, of the Earth, in the Solar System, in the Universe.

It was a very good program.

... as a Quilter

Our Sewing Circle gives a quilt to any teacher who teaches 3 years for us. Miss Rachel was an honored recipient this year.