Tuscarora Tuesday!

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For all you bird lovers, you have to see the bird banding I attended this weekend.

FaBUlOus!

(it's toward the end of the post - past the insects)

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Now, on to the real reason you are here-Tuscarora Tuesday!

Featuring.... Birds!

Brown and blue is one of my favorite colors combinations.

Didn't get all my homework done for my class, being in the woods all weekend really kind of took up a lot of my time. Go figure, right? But I did get two full rounds of the straight line border completed and 3 of the bird nest motifs. Boy, those aren't easy. Mine are definitely newbies! I'll get some pics up hopefully tomorrow. I'll take some step-by-step shots of the bird nest so you can see the idea behind creating them. Of course, mastering the technique is something I've yet to accomplish, so be kind, ok?

Bead Happy and Often !

What a Find!

WARNING: This has nothing to do with beads.

Pete and I took the dogs into the woods yesterday. I kept remarking how amazingly "green" everything was. I knew the wildflowers would be just about done, but I was blown away by how quickly the woods were filling in. It was gorgeous.

So we follow the trail and I see what I thought was a leaf stuck to the side of a tree. I look again and literally get chills from head to toe. It wasn't a leaf:

But a Luna Moth! I have never seen one in person and I was absolutely thrilled ! I think this is a male because his antennae are so bushy (I understand females aren't - but I could be wrong). He was so gorgeous and so amazing, I could have studied him all day.

And to think I almost left the camera in the truck. We had started into the woods when I realized I didn't have it with me. So I debated whether or not to go back, and luckily that little voice inside my head urged me to return to get it, so I did.

Hooray for Nature! I can't help but think how ironic it was how often I mentioned the 'green' of the woods (poor Pete listening to me saying "nothing beats spring green".... "I wish I could bottle this green and take it out in January"..... "God, this green is just mind boggling"... "I swear it couldn't get any greener"..... blah blah blah) and here I stumble across this moth. Too funny.

I love the sign at the end of the trail. ~sigh~

I seem to be becoming a button glutton

I have always loved buttons. Even as a young girl I remember sewing a ton of buttons on a t-shirt because I thought it would be really cool. It wasn't. The buttons were too heavy and it made the shirt all weird and stretched out.

This is a really cool piece that hangs in the Rochester Children's Museum. It was made around 1940. I wonder how many buttons it's made of?

I recently got these button from Marquina over in her etsy store, Destash Party. They look a bit like fancy feathers to me.
Aren't they great?

And then my husband and I went prowling through a local antique co-op this morning and I came across these lovelies:

The thistle ones are actually metal.

Ihave no plans for any of them, but just like to admire them for now.

Speaking of admiring things, I was out in my yard today just soaking up all the spring newborns in my gardens.

Baby Ferns unfurling are just magical.

Forget-me-nots are super sweet. I wonder why some have a yellow center and some have white?

Look at this beetle that popped into the picture. Cheeky little guy. I think he (she?) is called a sargent beetle. I've seen them around, but never in my yard.

Then he climbed over to the hyacinths. Won't be too much longer before those are done blooming.

The primrose are still vibrant, but looking a tad tattered. They've been in bloom for a few weeks now. This particular one was a shower favor I got probably 7 or 8 years ago. It blooms beautifully every year.

I love the dark purple star in the middle of this flower. Can't remember the name of this one, its a vine ground cover kind of thing I got from my mom's garden. It grows amid the sweet woodruff that's just beginning to sprout buds.

The lily-of-the-valley are beginning to join the party - I love to stuff a tiny vase with these and place it on my desk - how something so tiny can smell so heavenly is beyond me!

Ah yes, and the ever-present wildflower -- the dandelion! I have to admit I like dandelions. I don't understand why so many people think they are a weed. Look at that bloom! It's adorable - and how can you beat the puff ball it turns into?? Too fun!

Last, but certainly far from least, the bleeding heart.

~sigh~ I love spring.

Bead Happy and Often!

A Lesson from Tim Gunn

I am a huge Project Runway fan.

Last week, the designers drew inspiration from various neighborhoods throughout NYC. Seeing the many wrought iron gates and fences of the Upper East Side, contestant designer Jonathan Peters created a cutwork dress. I thought it was looking awesome and then Tim Gunn came in to check on the progress. After listening to Jonathan's design idea, Gunn guided Jonathan away from over-designing his dress. (If you'd like to watch that segment, click here.)

Hmm, food for thought as I was designing my 2011 Beading for A Cure piece.

Using my lining fabric as inspiration, my 'plan' was to use various star patterns on the piece and then bead swirled lines across the background.

After working up a few different star designs, I started to bead.

Then came that Project Runway episode.

Oh no.

I immediately recognized I was heading down that over-designing path.

So I am now only using this star design -


and this starburst - I think this will look much more sophisticated than a crazy mix of star patterns.

On another completely unrelated topic: Look at these gorgeous snail shells Claire found down in the Erie Canal (it gets drained in the winter - she wasn't scuba diving lol). Nature is amazing - the color, the perfect swirl - I just love them! I'm so happy she thought of me and brought them home.

Time's up - Meghan needs to use the computer for her school work- talk to you soon....