Some Scenery, A Bit of Art and A Little Girl in A Mud Hole

Hello Readers!

I've been away from home visiting my son and his family for the last two weeks so no posts in that time. I do have art to show. Just because I couldn't post did not stop me from creating and neither did being away from home for that time.

First off we have some scenery of the drive to get to son's house:

If you click on the scenery pictures, they will get bigger.

Kansas isn't really flat like everyone seems to believe it is. 

This is on US Highway 24 pulling into Osborne. We're looking off to the south. I wish I could tell you what the locals call that hill in the distance, but I do not know  that information.

The 157 mile drive took us through Rooks, Osborne, Russell, Ellsworth, Rice and Reno counties. Some of these scenery pictures, I couldn't tell which county they're from. Some of them I can with certainty though.

The one above is on Highway 281 headed to Luray.

The two above are also on 281 headed to Luray. From Osborne to Luray on Highway 281 it is 22 miles of nothing but open farmland and skinny highway where you better be paying attention to the traffic cause there is little room for error!

The scenery is fantastic if you're in the passenger's seat as I was!

Again on 281 headed to Luray.

I live in what is referred to as "Post Rock Country" because of the old stone fence posts that dot the landscape.

There is a stone post right there in the center and cows in the pasture behind.

Again on 281 headed to Luray.

It was a beautifully clear day for a drive!

This scene looks unfamiliar to me. I'm thinking it might be on Highway 183 in Rooks County headed to Osborne. If that's the case, this scene should be really familiar to me cause I've driven that road a thousand times if I've driven it once! I don't know where else it could be though.

Ellsworth County on Highway 96 headed to Highway 9 into Geneseo.

Again, I've no clue where this one was taken. Must be in Rice county when we had to make a detour because of road construction on the short cut road into Nickerson. I think the short cut road is 22 Road in Rice County.

A soybean field in Ellsworth County.

The detour road in Rice County.

The drive to Nickerson where my son lives, takes roughly three hours from my house. It's a nice drive. There's never much traffic to contend with if you stay off the major highways. The scenery is much nicer on the less traveled roads as well!

I have a couple things to show you that I made before I had to run away from home at short notice and a few more things to show you that I made while I was away at son's house keeping an eye on a three year old while her daddy worked and her mama was away from home. 

When I left home to go to my son's house, Art was standing on the coffee table where I left him the last time we had a photo shoot with monsters. I come home and he's off cavorting with Pink Barbie on the shelf across the room!

The picture shows just how I found them. Barbie had been standing on a lower shelf in that bookcase when I left home.

I made the dress Barbie is wearing from silver foil paper and pink felt. She cannot be undressed or her dress will be history. 

It doesn't hurt for Art to have a new friend! Guess Ma felt the same way cause she's the one that introduced the pair!

This black wool cat softie was made on the 12th of August. He's made from a felted sweater, felt, crewel embroidery thread and fiberfil to make him fat! He's not very large....about 5 inches tall or so.

This is the back of the little book my grand daughter, 3 yr old Annie, and I collaborated on the first night I was at her house. 

This is the front of that book.

The drawings on done on copy paper and then glued to the corrugated plastic the covers are made from. It has orchard paper pages, sewn in coptic stitch with embroidery thread. 3x2.5 inches, 50 pages.

This is the Helmet Girl Painting sewn into a book with orchard paper pages. It has 120 pages, sewn in coptic stitch with embroidery thread.  5x7inches. It too has corrugated plastic covers.

Little Flowered Monster

He's made from flannel, his horns are velvet, eyes felt and he's sewn with embroidery thread and stuffed with fiberfil. He's about 7 inches tall.

Green Velvet Kitty

The black cat above has a tail similar to this guy but you can't really see that in his picture.  This guy has felt for his eyes and nose, he's filled with fiberfil and has embroidery thread whiskers. He's about 5 inches tall and stands without help from Art. Lola cat would not cooperate and stay out of the photos while this shoot progressed!

There were a few mug rugs made:

felt and embroidery thread

no patterns,  I started with a black felt fish and went from there! The black of the fish is from a felted sweater.

Again, no pattern. I just winged it! The orange horizontal blobs are sweater material and the rest is felt. Black background is felted sweater. Approx 4x4 inches (give or take a half inch either way)

The Ugly Cupcake Mug Rug.

Felt, felted sweater, cotton fabric and velvet. Approx 4.5 inches tall

Felted sweater and felt. Approx 4x4 inches

felt and felted sweater

approx 4x4 inches

This was the first mug rug I made while at my son's house. It needs a fish if you ask me but other's have said, "No. It doesn't need a fish!"

Approx 4x4 inches

Velvet Leopard Skin Monster

He's a tall, broad Monster about 14 inches in height. He's velvet and felt, sewn with regular sewing thread. His horns are felt, as are his eyes.

I think this guy is going to live on the top of my headboard in the bedroom with the rest of my stuffed critters! I do like this guy!

I made another monster while at son's house but I gave it to a 3 yr old little guy named Landon before I ever got a picture of it!

This is a work in progress. It will become a hot mat when it gets a backing of sweater material on it. It's made from that black felted sweater, black velvet behind the skull and for the eyes in the skull and the rest is felt and embroidery thread. Each of the flower centers is nothing but French Knots!

French knots are hard on the hands, but I love the effect they create! I made thousands of French knots between the mug rugs and this thing! 

It will be about 10 inches square when it's done.

This is a work in progress also. I started this zentangle back in June. You see only a small portion of the 3 foot square poster paper it's done on! I am making this for my daughter in law for her birthday. I have till the 18th of January next year to get it done! A little each day and it gets bigger and bigger! I better get in the habit of a little each day or I'm going to end up doing a lot each day if I expect to finish it in time for its intended surprise.

Me and the little girl I was there to keep an eye on! 

Annie is full of mischief and smiles!

A child who never keeps her clothes on!

She talked Daddy into coloring with her!

It rained about three inches the morning these next pictures were taken. The drive way is sand and water collected to make a fabulous waterhole in which to play!

Fred was allowed to get in the water (mainly cause no one could have stopped him anyway!) but Annie was told to stay out of the water.

She is singing to Fred at the top her lungs!

There was much moving around of sand with her little hoe. And much of that sand ended up on her little hands cause she picked it up, squished it into a ball and threw it in the water. 

Playing in the water hole lasted for about an hour before it all ended.

Dog and Little Girl were inseparable in the house as well as outside though!

This is Brenton, Annie's brother. He and Fred also played in the waterhole. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of that. This boy went outside in a pair of jeans and long sleeve shirt when the water play began. His pant legs got wet first, then he fell in the water and got all of him wet. I told the boy to go put on some shorts. He stripped to his boxers instead and he and Fred had a gay old time splashing around compliments of Mother Nature's rain storm in the early morning hours.

It rained like a cow peeing on a flat rock for about three hours that morning and then it rained again the next day!

Annie and Fred again.

That dog adores that little girl as much as she adores him.

He isn't allowed to give dog kisses but when we go visit Annie, he just can't help himself! She doesn't like his kisses and she always tells him, "Don't lick me, Fred!" I tell her he thinks she tastes good and she says "I don't taste good!"

When my DIL got home from Kansas City, she was one tired Mama! I had gone back to the bedroom to find Annie's sippy cup and found Terah asleep with the monster I made for Annie some time ago. I had to take a picture!!

That monster got two new arms and a bunch of patches on her legs while I there.

I'd like to say the short notice given for the visit was because of a happy occasion, but it wasn't a happy occasion at all. 

DIL's mother has been diagnosed with melanoma and her time is not long for this earth. I'll be headed back down to son's house come the weekend. I'll be gone a few days at the least. Perhaps longer. All depends on how well Mama is doing when I get ready to leave.

This wild-eyed cat, Miss Lola, has been meowing her fool head off since I got home yesterday. She woke me about a dozen times last night as I slept. I'd wake up with Lola either standing atop me or staring me in the face yelling as loud as she can yell!  She was meowing when I took this picture! 

I think she missed me! :)

I am glad to be home for a few days!

Thanks for stopping by!

Be good to one another!

It matters! 

Peace

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