Goldie

My Goldfinch applique is done! I can't believe how quickly it went. It's not perfect, so don't look too closely. I love it. I can't wait for the real goldfinches to return.On Sunday, I appliqued the bird and did the mounting and matting. Maria has a great technique for mounting: she sews the applique piece to mat board. Yes, you can really stitch through mat board. I couldn't believe it either. The mat is covered with fabric, via Heat n Bond, then cut to size. Since I don't have a mat cutter, I used an exacto knife to cut the opening. The corners are pretty good. I didn't like seeing the inside edge of the mat, so I colored it in with a purple sharpie. I made it 11x14", a standard frame size. I might not keep it in the white frame, but it was here.

I love this piece, but I don't know if I'll applique anything that small again. A Tisket, A Tasket blocks will be a piece of cake now. And to think I was considering fusing them!

Right after I finished, we left for Drumline Live. If you didn't click on the link yet, be prepared for the music to start when you do. If you were ever in a marching band or your kids are now or if you enjoy halftime more than the game, you must see this show! We loved it! It was high energy brass, percussion and dancers. Absolutely incredible, multitalented young people. The only female musician (trumpet) also sang like Aretha Franklin. At the end of the show, the band marches off stage and into the lobby, where they continued to play for a while. Then they signed autographs and thanked the audience for coming. Julia was looking for Aretha, since she, too plays trunpet and sings. We missed her somehow, so we talked to another trumpet player. Pete got autographs from the drummers and bought a pair of souvenir drum sticks. On the way to the car, we saw a couple of musicians walking to the hotel across the street. Julia said- there she is! She ran across the street, in the snow, to talk to Aretha. Our night was complete!

We were lucky to make it home safely. It had started to snow during the performance, so there was just that icy dusting covering the roads. Bill is an excellent driver, but it was a long, harrowing trip. We passed a couple of fresh accident scenes on the highway. Lots of cars were pulled over to help, but no emergency vehicles yet. We prayed that everyone would be OK.

So here we are, with snow again, and the kids are home for a snow day. My goldfinch will be a reminder that spring will come- eventually!

Ciao,
Tina