Tree of Life - in progress...

The weaving is complete and now comes the fun part of finishing... hopefully today but, we'll see...

Morning Coffee Quotes

Mississippi Slough - photo by Cindy Caraway

"The route you take depends a good deal upon where you want to go."
- Lewis Carroll

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."
- James Madison

"Good enough isn't."
- Unknown

"The highest wisdom is kindness."
- The Talmud (Berakot)

"The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays."
- Søren Kierkegaard

"Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable."
- John Patrick

"Hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue."
- Francois De La Rochefoucauld

"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh."
- George Bernard Shaw

"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it."
- David Star Jordan

"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it."
- Sam Levenson

"Happiness is wanting what you get, not getting what you want."
- Robert A. Heinlein

"Football combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings."
- George F. Will

"Cherish the questions, for the answers keep changing."
- Albert Einstein

"They will never forget you until somebody new comes along."
- The Eagles, New Kid In Town

"Wisdom consists in knowing what to do with what you know."
- Unknown

"A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice."
- E. W. Howe

"If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap. If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing. If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help others."
- Unknown

An Unexpected Visitor

We have been enjoying watching Hummingbird Moths (also called Sphinx Moths) feeding on the hostas blooming outside our kitchen window. Tonight, as my husband's guitar students were leaving, one decided to come in for a short visit, probably attracted by the lights in the living room.

White-lined Sphinx Moth - photo by Cindy Caraway

They are really quite impressive measuring around 2" in length and resemble hummingbirds when they feed on flowers. Their wings move in the same way and they are experts at hovering.

He (or she) was gently captured and released into the night.

Tree of LIfe

There is a group exhibition coming up at a local gallery here in Dubuque. The gallery is "Outside the Lines" and the exhibition is themed "Trees" and I am working on some pieces to enter.

I just finished "Autumn Tree Twilight" and started working on a new piece that incorporates a tree of life centerpiece...

I've always been intrigued by these and finally just decided to give one a try! Pretty good for a first attempt, IMO :)

Next I drew up a pattern for a new necklace and figured out where the focal will be and planned for some leafy fringe. The pattern is warped and ready to go - I hope I'll have time to get started on it today!

Autumn Tree Twilight is Finished!

The last beaded fringe was added to "Autumn Tree Twilight" this afternoon! Here are some shots of the completed piece - I hope you like them! :)

I'll have this piece available in at CindyCaraway on Etsy later today -

Out on the Mississippi

We decided that we would make a date to go fishing one day each week. We went yesterday - the fishing was pretty terrible but the weather was perfect! Here are some pics from our trip - Enjoy :)

Autumn Tree Twilight

I'm starting a new pin weaving project called (for the meantime) "Autumn Tree Twilight". I started with a brass pin depicting a garden scene that features a tree and built a color scheme around it. Lots of orange, rust, gold and green...

Next, I decided to add some fall "foliage" to the pin by wiring on seed beads in rusty orange, golden brown and pretty green...

Since I need some contrast to the oranges and greens in order for the tree to stand out, I decide to do a "sunset"  backdrop using deep blue and pink to represent the evening sky...

Finally, I draw up a pattern and commence with the weaving....

 

So far, so good! I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out! :)