Connecting the Dots

So I had a great night last night.  If you remember in my previous post I was looking forward to a night out with my friend Patty, she is a huge fan of Ricky Tims, and although I wasn’t able to make it to his Super Seminar she encouraged me to go to his concert.

Here’s how the evening started:

Karl asked me who Ricky Tims was, and I replied “A quilter.”

Karl said, “But he has a concert?”
I said, “Yes he sings apparently, and plays the piano, I’m not really sure.”
Karl, “So he’s the Elton John of the quilting world?”

And that is how we began the evening.  So in short Ricky didn’t sing, but he does play the piano beautifully.  The thing I really enjoyed were his stories.  Ricky is from the south, and boy can he spin a tale.  Entertaining and humorous, with a huge personality and southern charm, the night flew by.

www.rickytims.com
www.rickytims.com

One of Ricky’s focuses, is telling his story.  Where he came from, how he got to where he is, and why there are details in your life that sometimes seems so small, that can make all of the difference.  How tragedy in one generation’s life, can be the moment that makes all the difference in the next generation’s life, which he referred to as connecting the dots.

It was interesting to hear, how the kindness from a woman in a shop picking out fabric, could lead him to be a nationally known quilter.  You never know when that one moment you chose to smile, say hello, compliment someone on their work, etc.  Could take that person down a new and wonderful path, because you encouraged them, or validated them in some way.

The owner of my LQS  Jill was there, she generously gifted me the tickets (THANK YOU!).  She pulled Karl and I aside at the end and we had a wonderful chat with her, Henry (her husband) and Ricky.  Trading stories about our own personal lives, struggles that brought a family closer together, a time when a family member came around and overcame a prejudice, etc.

It was a great way to end the evening.  And gives me another quilt person who inspires you to think outside of the box.

Ricky TIms - Dad's Lonestar
Ricky Tims – Dad’s Lonestar

P.S.  I was really enamored by this quilt.  So I believe it’s going on my “to do” list.  And like Ricky said, these quilts aren’t hard, I didn’t say their were QUICK.  But they aren’t hard.

Which is a good thing considering I look at this and and REALLY intimidates me….but you only live once, so might as well give it a whirl!

He also has 10 person retreats in Colorado….(Patty I think we should start saving now and go in 2016??)  You can find out more about Ricky, his flavor of quilting, and all of his really beautiful hand dyed fabric at http://www.rickytims.com/ 

Michael and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad….Month!!

What a dramatic post title huh?  Has it been NEARLY that bad?  No, but sometimes when it rains it pours….and speaking of rain.  I live in Iowa, the last few weeks we’ve had our fair share of rain, power outages, and collapsing retaining walls.  Okay so the later was only in my yard, which isn’t covered under insurance, which is an estimated $8,000 to repair…lovely.  On top of that I lost my Rose of Sharon and Flowering Almond…I’m a bit bitter.

wallThen as I prepare to finish my upcylcing project by spraying the drawer fronts with a paint sprayer, catastrophe strike yet AGAIN!  The spray nozzle isn’t working and spraying out water (thankfully I start with water to be sure it was working properly) EVERYWHERE.

It’s like my life has been taken over by GREMLINS I’m tell you!

Anyway there IS a shining beacon of goodness that came through today.  My friend Patty called to tell me she has tickets for Karl and I to go see Ricky Tims with her on Friday night.  So that should be fun!!

I really am kidding about my life being TERRIBLE!!  (Okay the retaining wall, not so great)

That one girl gremlin
That one girl gremlin

Upcylcing – Say what??

“Recycling,” he said, “I call it downcycling. They smash bricks, they smash everything. What we need is upcycling- where old products are given more value, not less.”
~Reiner Pilz

So upcycling, sounds like a new and cool thing to do right?  Well I don’t know.  I have a feeling our parents have been doing this for YEARS….it was called “Making due with what you could afford”  Hate that old dresser?  Slap on a coat of paint and turn it into something new.  However I have to admit, upcylcing sounds cool.  So I’m doing it with a chest of drawers I was given.

Here is a "before" photo of the chest of drawers I was given.
Here is a “before” photo of the chest of drawers I was given.

It’s an old faux wood chest of of drawers with heavy molding.  I remember growing up we had end tables that were similar, with a hidden door where we would hide our quilts and blankets for movie nights.

So I am going to be using a new paint I’ve never used before.  It’s called “Amy Howard: One-Step Paint” and I guess it’s a “chalk paint”  I purchased it at my favorite little resale shop called Revisit.  The paint sticks to ANYTHING.  All you have to do is clean the piece you are planning to paint, and paint it.  Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeezy!  (At least this is what I’ve been told)

Once it’s done, it will end up being my pressing table, with more storage for odds and ends.  The only thing I am unsure on is the hardware.  I would like to update it, however it’s an odd size, and the new pulls I liked are $6 a pull.  So the frugal side of me purchased a $4 can of spray paint.  But the jury is still out on whether or not the pulls will stay.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress of this little project.  I hope to have it completed by next weekend.