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. 

Spring Break

Spring break is so great! I have learned so much in my drawing class. Our  two-part mid-term consists of 5 small compositional sketches in charcoal and white conte. The professor devised a complicated still life with student focus on composition. 

Below is the still life I arranged for sketching. 

The above image is my open composition line drawing of that still life. 

For the second part of our mid-term we must post to the class discussion board our 5 sketches and label each with 2 of the compositional techniques utilized. The professor and students then vote on their favorite of your 5 and you then reproduce that sketch into a 11" x 17" final sketch. 

Quilting update: Don't despair my quilty friends, I am still quilting. I just bought fabric for a fairy quilt to be highlighted on the April "Q" letter day. Mystery quilter had created 6 different fairies on quilt blocks. I just ordered fabric online (now the only option as all fabric stores have gone out of business in my area). 

I picked up a couple of books at thrift, the keeper being a 2009 book by Debby Kratovil, Supersize 'Em! 22 quilts from oversized blocks. The quilt showcased on the cover is called "That Spikey Thing." I think it will work well with some Kaffe Fassett fabric I received at Christmas. 

Crapht update: I am finishing the last poinsettia flower on the Christmas tree latch hook rug skirt. Shooting for a finish by the end of this month. I leave Christmas decorations out for three months out of the year (November - January). I am going to love this completed craft.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Welcome to the wearing o' the green for this quasi-holiday. I am sporting a thrift shop hat with thrift shop decor in the background. 

Had to include this thrift shop display at hospice thrift. 

I am working away at the A to Z challenge posts for next month. Almost 70 bloggers have revealed their themes for the event. Link to AtoZ theme reveal participants

So jazzed that I picked up two more thrifted ball gowns, one for spring, and one for the annual Countdown for Christmas. 

Sneaking in a seller update: Another milestone - 2,800 active listings. My latest listing session? Yarn🧶

Theme Reveal for 2025 April Blogging from A to Z Challenge

It is my belief that a theme reveal requires a theme reveal image. This year I present Simply Delightful Thrifted Ball Gown for 2025. Celebrating the upcoming April Blogging from A to Z Challenge. 

More of the gown will be modeled on the S letter day. The blue wig was also a thrift shop find. Pristine find still in its hair net, I knew it would come in handy one day. 

As my blog title suggests, I like to thrift A LOT. I thrift for myself. I buy gowns and wigs and then model the thrifted outfits. I thrift to sell items on eBay. I thrift for friends and family. Let's face it, I don't need an excuse to thrift. It is my happiest place on earth.🌎

It has been a few *cough cough* years since I joined the A to Z Challenge. The theme reveal posts have actually been my favorites of the event. Below are links to my previous theme reveals. There are a couple of thrifted gowns in the links.  

theme-reveal-for-2022
theme-reveal-for-2021
theme-reveal for 2018
theme-reveal for 2016
theme-reveal for 2015
theme-reveal for 2014

The blog hosts have encouraged us to write about the blogging community, gratitude, or being grateful for our blogging community. I do appreciate my fellow A to Z bloggers. 

I will be revisiting recurring themes that I have posted in years past. These posts include:

Greenhouse gardening
Sewing patterns
Weird and wacky items found at thrift
Yarnbombing or You Get One Free Pass

I am going to have a struggle with the X and Z letter days. Both pets, Xena my cat, and Zipper my dog, crossed the rainbow bridge this past year.  

I pretty much wing it through. Sometimes I totally re-write posts before their scheduled date. The key is to queue them up at least a month before. I hope you will join me and the other participants for the event throughout April.  

Primitive Doll and Pattern of the Day

Those following along in my blog journey know that I have segued away from quilt postings. What a difference in blog stats that has made. While I still have an interest in quilting, I really don't need to add to my small collection I have created. The original reason for beginning that craft was to make baby quilts for co-workers or for raffle baskets for the Sacramento Food Bank. I have neither of those recipients any more. 

The lead-off image is the rustic doll I picked up for 99 cents. All she needed was a bath to freshen her up. These types of primitive dolls are a quick sell. I might keep her awhile. 

Just had to get those Folkwear patterns listed. These had to have come from a pattern collector's estate. I love these patterns too but realistically know that I would never use them. Here are two that highlight the collection of 9, both from the 1980s. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187022864851

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187022913111

I gain a few extra shekels from my eBay sales. Now, my focus has been on fine jewelry. Gold is the only metal that doesn't interact with my ear lobes. These past couple of months, I have purchased 3 new pairs of gold earrings. 

Shooting for 2,800 active listings on eBay. Two more sewing pattern listing sessions are queued up.

Ending the post with some tips posted in the Ledger Dispatch by Kelly Curtis, Art as a Companion in Healthy Aging. She recommends sketchbook journaling, singing or listening to music, taking a dance class, trying something new, and becoming involved in community events. "Older adults who participate in creative activities like painting, music, writing or dance report lower rates of depression and improved cognitive function." I can attest to that!

A Day Inside

Hoping February showers will bring wild flowers. We welcome all rain in Northern California. This weekend I will be planting vegetable seeds in the greenhouse. 

Making progress on the poinsettia Christmas tree latch hook rug skirt. I will fill in the center with the remaining cream color, then fill in the dark green background when the flowers are done. 

It is really looking lush💜 I hope to enter this in the county fair. 

Art class update: We have entered the phase of duplicating objects using charcoal. I haven't decided whether I want to continue to create art or just learn about it. Not a good sign when you chafe against completing assignments.😕

Daughter wedding update: The dress, my dress, finally arrived. The back story - I bought it from an online auction site last October. A couple of weeks went by and the dress never arrived. Seemed it had gotten lost in the warehouse. I was credited back and life went on. I kept lurking on the auction site, looking at other dresses, hoping the one I wanted would reappear. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, the dress showed up again. I won the auction and the dress will make its appearance in September. It fits perfectly other than needing a hem for my shoes. 

Playing with photoshop, I decided to post the "cutout" version of me wearing the dress. 

One of my scrolling passions is viewing high fashion. I see the trend as less jewelry with the gowns, very few necklaces. I purchased a pair of EFFY Collection blue topaz rose gold square cut pierced earrings. Oooo la la. 👀 

Lastly, a thrifting update - the holy grail of sewing patterns, the Folkwear line. I found nine uncut ones priced at 99 cents each. A rustic doll was another 99 cent find that will make an appearance in an upcoming post. 

Heeling On Up and These Boots are Made for Walking

We are moving into the still life category in the drawing and composition class. The focus is on the contour and gesture lines. Using only pencil on paper, we are building the foundation for successful drawings. This Donald Pliner couture pump is an example of my sketchbook exercise. 

These shoes are a remnant from my corporate career in law. I kept quite a few of my high heels - now in boxes with nowhere to go.😢 

Back to the still life, we were to choose 5 items. Items with angles, heights, and structure. The items I chose were a skein of yarn, an orchid plant in bloom, crystal lamp, white China teapot, and a bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume. I will reveal the sketch at a later date, the assignment is being graded. 

Summer college classes posted and ancient art is offered online in the 8 week format. I am tempted to take the class but I am still on the fence whether I should change my major from Art History to Art. 

Sometimes I buy thrift items for myself. A recent happy $1.99 find was a CD Case Logic plastic sleeve case full of 25 country western and others. In the others category, the most intriguing was a compilation New Orleans Gospel Tent 2002. 

My daughter's wedding update. The wedding dress has been chosen! She is boot shopping as it is rustic-themed Western type of wedding. I can reveal my dress as soon as I decide. There is one that has come up in an online auction I am bidding on. Luckily, I bought my amazing Ariat boots a few years ago. They will make an appearance at the wedding. 

Big fan of Nancy Sinatra - wish she would have recorded more.