Altered Visions

Sorry For Being AWOL! February Was A Rough Month!

Well to say we are glad February is over is an understatement! We have had a very rough time since the end of the month. My husbands beloved father, and my 2 son's grandfather, died on Sunday the 21st. He was a wonderful man. I was happy and proud to have known him for as long as I did. I am thankful that he didn't suffer in the end. We are all devastated by his death and each of us trying to deal with it in our own way, as well as together. I am so very sad I didn't get to see him before he died, but I will always remember him for always being kind to me, taking good care of our boys in his own way, always cooking for us all for the holidays and in between. Boy he sure loved to go grocery shopping! Always on the look out for a bargain and then buying at least a dozen of everything when he did!! He will be greatly missed. He will always be loved and in our hearts. Rest in peace dad!

We are trying to move forward each day slowly and I am trying to get more things added to my etsy shop and have  been spinning too, but all those yarns are headed out to Knitting On The Square in Chardon, OH this week so I will see what I can rustle up for etsy later in the week. I have added new batts and more are on the way! Plus hoping we will eventually warm up a bit so the snow melts and see some much needed sun! I will post some snow pics and pics of my new batts and lots more can be seen on flickr!!

I will post again this weekend after my spinning class with my guild and see what I have learned!

Stay warm and hold your loved ones close and tell them you love them!! I am thankful for my dear sweet husband (the love of my life) and our 2 son's and their GF's and our sweet granddaughters! They bring me much joy and love each day! I am very proud of them! They make everything seem easier and worthwhile. Thanks!

Sunday of A THREE Day Weekend! Yippee! Happy Valentines ALL!

Well despite the yucky cold and windy weather it was a nice, quiet and pleasant Valentines for us!! We basically hung out! I did laundry (yes still, again, more etc!) and I did more spinning on my new wheel I just got back from our friend Ed! Who has managed to turn this into one really fab looking and working wheel! It's the same one I got about 2 weeks ago now and I dropped it off with Ed and he has managed to stain her, fix the treadle, the hooks, a new tension knob and metal piece for the flyer to rest in! She spins like a dream and has a huge bobbin I am in the process of filling!! Way too fun!

I Plan to update my etsy shop tomorrow with a few things and then again this next weekend! I have been a bit lazy this weekend because I actually got to sleep in this time so am taking advantage of that!! Hope all my friends are staying warm and not shoveling too much snow! More on the way here again and all of next week they, say starting tomorrow! So with that thought I leave you with pics of the wheel and also the yarn now on the bobbin soon to come off!! more pics of course on my flickr!! Have a wonderful week and see you all soon!

I almost forgot to tell you that my sister has a new blog as well and is posting her classes and such for her yarn shop there and pics of all the fun! take a look and go visit her and give her some love! Woolen Treasures!

Cold but Sunny Sunday! Super Bowl Party, Snow Storm Clean Up and Etsy Shop Update FINALLY!

Well we started getting snow Fri, just as I headed home from Aldi's, and I was sure glad I didn't stop anywhere else because by 5PM it was getting nasty, icy and much colder!! When it finally stopped by Sat morning at about 10AM we had drifts over 2 feet in spots and a good 12 plus inches on the ground!! Plus the winds were howling and blew drifts everywhere!

I was glad to be sitting inside looking out and staying nice and warm! Well until the furnace decided to back up and it started to smoke so bad and continued till late evening when poor hubby decided it would be a way nasty nite and crawled on the roof to try and unplug it!! You see we have an old coal furnace we have burned wood in now for the past 15 years and for the most part it is great except when it decides to do this! it was pretty awful so now have told hubby he needs to clean the chimney every month because we had the same thing happen last winter and wasn't any fun then and this was even worse! So despite the great heat and all we get from it sure wasn't happy with that last nite plus hubby had to finish cleaning it this AM so had to keep the fire down low so was at 64 this AM so not bad since it was about 5o this AM here! now all is back to normal and we are going to some friends for a super bowl party a bit later on!

I have also updated the shop with a few bags of locks with some added goodies in there as well! More to come with the 3 day weekend next weekend! NOW to make it thru the long week ahead! At least will have the long weekend to look forward to! yippee!

here are snow pics and some fiber pics as well! LOTS in flickr and my etsy shop too!

Another Cold Sunday!

Well not much going on with the weather at least! It is blasted cold but the sun is out so at least it is nice to look outside despite the bitter cold! The winds have died down and I am headed out to spin with my guild buddies!! My New Wheel arrived yesterday and my sweet hubby put it together for me and I got to spin a little on her last nite!! I am hoping that our friend Ed can give her some tweaks and get her up to snuff!! she needs to be cleaned, sanded and stained as well, but she spins great and had a nice draw to her so will be nice to get some more yardage on her with my art yarns!! I know Ed will get her up to speed and fix a few flaws I have found and then look out!! pics are posted on flickr and also 2 of my new yarns I spun last weekend! I hope to update the shop soon too but, need a bit more time all, I'm so sorry! I have been goofing off I'm sad to say but I will have new goodies soon! I am gearing up some stuff to send to Urban Fauna and then the local YS here then my etsy shop too!! so stop back for that!

I am off to get ready so more pics soon!! stay warm everyone and hoping there isn't any more snow for a while!!

Rainy Sunday! Pics from my FL trip!

Well after a fun day spent with my art pals yesterday and spinning a new fun yarn, today it is nasty cold and rainy out! A great day to spin all day and finish that laundry I started yesterday!

I got back Wed last week from my trip with my sister to see our folks!! We were surprised by our baby sister from CO who also came as well! We were so thrilled and had a super fun time with mom and dad!! Thanks Mom and Dad!!  We ate, shopped, drank and started it all over again every day!! It was super fun!! I was also happy and lucky enough to see my dearest friend Sally and Norma who came and met us Sun in Sarasota and had lunch with us too! I posted tons of pics in FLICKR so take a peek and see! I will add some highlights below too!

I am planning a big update in my etsy shop this coming weekend so stop back in! Some new batts, yarns and such! So that said, I am off to spend the day spinning and washing the rest of our laundry! (yippee fun fun!!) Hoping the rest of the week won't be as nasty as they say it will! More cold back again and of course snow! go figure!!

The Sun Came Out and Snow is Slowly Melting!!

Well I'm so sorry it took so long to post! It was a crazy week last week and weekend and then snow and cold every day last week! I got a tad behind on posting and but I managed to do a small shop update and have been busy knitting and getting ready to head south to see my folks in FL with my sister on Sat!! I had the best mail day again from my dear friend Laura who sent me lovely locks, wonderful fabrics and fabulous hand made papers and also unbelievable fabric she indigo dyed as well! YIKES I hit the mother load!! This isn't the 1st time either but this time I finally remembered to take pics!(I know dorky friend I am! So sorry I am so forgetful at times!!) so I have posted pics in flickr and some below too so you all can drool as well!! Fabulous Merino and also some indigo dyed locks too! yikes so beautiful!! I am so lucky to have such a fun friend and we have swapped before so always such fun when the mail lady comes!!

The ETSY shop was updated as well and I even added a small knit and felted purse and will have more as soon as I get back from FL! So look for an update that weekend on Sunday the 24th!!

Hope you all are staying warm and avoiding the nasty cold and snow as much as possible! I sure wish I could have every morning and evening I had to drive to and from work!! yuck! Pics of my trip and all when I return!

Yikes Break Is OVER and it's Back to Work!

Well though it sure was fun while it lasted, I guess they say all good things must come to an end!! So tomorrow it's back up at the butt crack of dawn and off to work I go again in the dark!! Hoping that things will be somewhat calmer but chances are not likely but that's just how it goes!!

I did manage to nearly complete my journal pages and will post pics soon on my flickr acct and hubby has been working on the siding on our house, despite the crazy cold and winds! I was thankful he stopped for the past 2 days because it got quite bitter and the winds were brutal! so pics of his progress soon as well!!

I had plans to update my etsy shop but that fell along the wayside today as I started knitting a new project and watched a little TV with hubby before I start back again tomorrow! I didn't even do laundry!!! hehehe! so bar a totally insane week at work I will post new pics of my completely sewn journal pages into my journal and have enough to start another one as well!! Plus I'll update the etsy shop and spin some yarns too since I have been quite lax on that!! Hope you all have a great week and here's to 2010 being a better one for us all!! here is the new addition to the front of my journal and some early shots of the siding!!
the siding on the back and some on the side!

yup we got some snow not a lot!!

this was a gift from a friend in a swap thought it needed to be on here!

Look I've Been Playing!!!

Well it's almost time for us to ring in the New Year! I hope you all had delightful Christmas adventures as we sure did!! I posted tons of pics in my flickr acct so please take a look there to see our sweet little granddaughters and all!! We had the best of times with them all!! They are so much fun ! We even dragged my sister Cornelia, her hubby Mark and youngest son Willi in on the act at Jurgen's and Lorries house!! too fun! We ate and ate our way from Christmas Eve thru Christmas day!! non stop feeding frenzy I swear! It was all good of course and naturally low calorie!! yeah right!

Well remember the last post I mentioned taking an online class with Mary Ann Moss!! Well I have actually been working on my cover and now on to the inside pages next!! I have added those pics to flickr as well so take a look and let me know what ya think!! I sort of screwed up but then hey has been a while since I did any artwork so give me a break ok!! We had snow all day yesterday and a good 4+ inches on the ground and the roads were a sheet of ice so we stayed in and just goofed off! way fun!! I have done laundry and plan to update my etsy shop as well by the weekend so stop back!! I am wishing you all the best of New Years to come! may everyone be artful, healthy and most of all HAPPY! more soon! off to play some more!! here are a few pics to entice you with!
Erica doing the happy dance!!!!

Princess Ella!

Lindey blowing bubbles AT mommie!

back cover of my journal!

front cover of my journal

Happy Holidays Everyone, Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!!!

Sorry I have been so busy that I haven't blogged in a while!! I am still here just finally on Christmas break and enjoying sleeping in and last minute shopping for the granddaughters and knitting last minute goodies as well!! I finally have the trees done (yeah,yeah takes me forever these days but I plan to do better next year!!) No snow they say for Christmas just some rain, so a bit sad it won't be white but since we have some driving to do both days will be ok and snow on the way for next week!!

So now that's all said, I had a wild hair last nite and decided to sign up for my friend Mary Ann Moss's class called Remains of the Day!!! I have always loved her work and still have some wonderful mail art I did with her a couple of years ago, so I decided I needed a new project to get back into my art again, along with using fabrics and hopefully even my fibers, if I can get them all incorporated!! I'm pretty excited, so once we're done with all the celebrating ,the sewing machine will be uncovered again and I will start on my journal cover!! here is the link to the class! I am looking forward to lots of fun and I'll post my progress here of course and in flickr etc as well!!

I will also be updating the shop, I'm hoping next week as well and have new fibers, batts and maybe some other fun things if I can get them all done! So stop back to see what I'm up to! Of course will have lots of Christmas pics of the little ones and all the goings on!!

Wishing you and yours a truly Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy Art and Fiber Filled New Year!! stay warm and enjoy your family and friends!!

here is a glimpse of my class just for a tease! you can all still join in!

Winter Is Here! It's Cold and Windy!

I guess we might as well get used to it! We knew it would get here eventually! So here it is, the high about 35o and quite windy which of course adds to the chill in the air!! I am happy to say the sun is shining so that does help at least to lift your spirits!! Hubby is out trying to put the siding on his little deck and I am getting the ETSY SHOP updated and posted tons of pics on my FLICKR so stop and peek!!

I added a few batts to Etsy and some fun locks too! I also got a pic of our little baby dog in her new little fleece outfit I got her for the winters here! I actually have 2 and though I had to modify the legs because hers are just so stubby!! It seems to fit her nicely and she seems quite happy to have it on! She managed to some how get her little leg stuck inside it and layed on the floor giving out this pitiful whimper till I came to see what she was doing!! (only 2 little whimpers was all but she sure looked pitiful!!) so we can't leave her in it while gone but then she has half a dozen blankets to keep her warm then!! hehehe!

so here are a couple of pics and more on my Flickr!! Have a super week and see you again on Sunday! Next Saturday is our Tea at Darlene's house with all us AGO girls and also our guilds Christmas get together this Tues! Lynne (7Yaks) will be coming over to go with me! so a nice week ahead! Oh and shopping with Lorrie too to Sam's Club next Fri too! yippee! Now to make it thru work!!