Eggs and Eugenia Cooney

A to Z Challenge day is all about the letter E. For those who live outside of the United States, we have been having an egg crisis. Prices have risen and there was a bird flu. We consume a lot of eggs. Just the two of us consume an 18 count carton each week.  

On the subject of Eugenia Cooney - she is a much-loved fashion influencer who is ultra skinny. Too skinny to be healthy. I have read she is taking a much-needed rest from social platforms to gain her strength and health. 

I adore her outfits, her sweet personality, and always upbeat postings. Wishing her all the best and await her return to the World Wide Web. 

As an aside, I recommend E*Trade and eBay. I have been a member of both for over 20 years. E*Trade is a online brokerage where one can invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. eBay is where I sell all of the extraordinary stuff I find at thrift.

A to Z Challenge letter F features flowers and friends. 

Drawing and Composition I

A to Z challenge D letter day is about my current college class. This sphere was our latest assignment in charcoal. I had never worked with charcoal before. The image below was experimenting with charcoal. 

Our mid-term is a series of small studies on a jumble of a still life provided by the professor. The class was pretty much in agreement on the one study I had chosen to use as the final. 

The image above is an arrangement provided by our professor. I am currently working on the drawing for this mid-term assignment.  

My next class up is Design Fundamentals. I have found an 8-week online class. My perfect format, especially in the fall so the class doesn't extend into the November/December holiday season. 

Crochet and Church Rummage Sales

While I do not crochet, I do sell crocheted pieces on eBay. Here are a couple of cute pieces from the 1985 Carry-Along Crochet publication. First up, Bert and Ernie - even more adorable in crochet. Representing the letter C for the A to Z Challenge. 

Loopy puppy from that same book. 

These burgundy beauties were just listed. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187108524940

Church rummage sales are the best. The pricing is the best. There are many surprises to be found. 

This one was held last month at the St. Katharine Drexel Parish. I made it to half off second day, best buy a box of Diane China for $2.50. We are collecting China plates at thrift for my daughter's wedding this fall. Other than that I picked up a few books, and a skosh of fabric.

🍽

A to Z challenge letter D is about art - Drawing and Composition. 

All Things Bridal

A to Z Challenge B letter day is Bridal! 👰My daughter is getting married in the fall and I get to experience all things bridal. The lead-off image is a thrift shop pattern from 1966. The next pattern of the day is from 1969. 

I never knew there were so many parties and get togethers. First, there was the engagement party. Then we had the wedding gown tryon with the bride, moms, and maid of honor. Upcoming is the bridal party with just the moms, and females of the bridal party. Another get together is the ravioli-making party for the wedding. They might fit in a bachelor and bachelorette party. I bet there will be the pre-wedding party at the site since we are all spending the night after rehearsal. 

The following is a succession of wedding Barbies with a Midge thrown in for good measure. 

1966 Wedding Barbie

1960s Wedding Midge

If you have a daughter in your life that wants to have a big wedding, enjoy every planning and preparation minute of it! 

AtoZ Challenge letter day C is about crochet and church rummage sales. 

A to Z April Challenge 2025 Apron

The A to Z Apron! Day 1 starts off with the annual Apron. This one is thrifted pink polka dot one with a Domestic Diva pocket. I collect these thrifted beauties for a my comedy homemaking series on whatever format replaces Tik Tok.😜Or like most unique items, I collect them for awhile and then list them for sale. Underneath that apron is yes yet another thrifted ball gown. 

I deemed this first day of the challenge as Apron Day a few years ago, below are those links.

2021/04/AtoZ-Apron

2022/04/AtoZ-Apron

A year of the apron patterns.  

2018/04/AtoZ - Apron

When you are wearing the Apron, you must make Apple Crisp! 🍏 This recipe from Mary Meade's Country Cookbook (1993)

Apple Crisp

6 cups sliced cooking apples (about 6 medium)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter

Place sliced apples in buttered baking dish. Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender. Servc with whipped or ice cream. 

🍎

Ending with a video on Arts for Everybody. 

The upcoming B letter day is All Things Bridal. 

Because I am an eBay sewing pattern seller, there might be a few Pattern of the Day featured. 

Warming weather

The weather has warmed enough so I can work in my downstairs studio. Worldwide Quilting Day just slipped by on March 15. 

Now that I don't have a local fabric store to run to when I want to supplement fabric, I had to resort to online FabHop shopping. Here is the fairy fabric I purchased for the fairy quilt borders. 

Mystery quilter dropped the 6 fairy quilt blocks at thrift. I was able to border the blocks with fabric on hand but needed more of the magical fairy-themed fabric. Don't get me wrong I have scads of fabric. When I first started in this craft, I bought all the orphan fabric at thrift. That meant I ended up with a lot of off-cut, mismatched, partial remnants. 

On the college front, I officially changed my major from art history to art major. The next class queued up is Design Fundamentals as suggested by my current professor. I am skipping summer session and will resume online classes in the fall. 

Said I wasn't going to enter anything in the California State Fair. I lied. At least not under the art quilt category, which has been my last three submissions. The Fair has posted their craft guidelines for 2025. My preferred category of entry is under Division 167, Class 4 Art/Decorative Rugs. I am getting there with this creation. It is taking a lot more yarn that what I realized. So far, I have bought 3 random small lots of precut yarn from eBay. I have also cobbed together three other Christmas-themed sets of yarn from thrift. 

This has to be finished by the middle of May as entries close on the 15th. 

Finishing up the first week's postings for the AtoZ Blogging Challenge. A new subject will entice me and I end up rewriting a scheduled post. 

Back to working on that rug ... 

Almost There to the Challenge

Signups have opened for the AtoZ April Challenge. I have landed in slot no. 18 on the participant spreadsheet. Link to participants. I have also re-opened comments for this event.

Because I had to fit in a couple of photoshoots for the letter days of AtoZ Official Apron (A) and the Simply Delightful Thrifted Ball Gown (S), it made for a busy March. 

Wedding update: My daughter has agreed to include Bride's Fruitcake in the gift bag given to guests. This is a tradition from year's past. A slice of cake is wrapped in floral print bags (modern update: with an ingredient list). The cake is soaked in sherry-drenched cheesecloth. 

Thrifting update: It is that time of year when there is a dearth of nothing at thrift. The weather has been warming and folks are enjoying outside activities. Summer will slow my eBay sales to a crawl. 

Spring break is over and college classes have resumed. My mid-term compositional sketches have been posted to the discussion board. Fall class offerings will post at the end of the month. Depending on what classes are available will determine whether I continue as an art history major or switch to an art major.