I Wish I Had a Godfather...

because I would love to receive

wisdom like this

that I read on the

Cart Before the Horse blog.

A Favorite Fabric

This is one of my favorite fabrics of all time. I just found it at Quiltbook.com and ordered all they had. Carol has some wonderful other Civil War choices there.

www.quiltbook.com

I've made two dolls with this fabric and just found a source for it! Do you have a fabric that is your favorite and you get sad when you get to the end of it? This is mine.

In the doll above it was used in its off the bolt state...

in the doll below I overdyed the fabric with tan to soften the contrast.

I need to start doing like Edyth Flack Ackley and keep a little swatch of the fabric and pictures of the dolls I used them on. But maybe that's what my blog is for?

Martha Beck is Why I Buy Oprah Magazine

I don't buy O Magazine (The Oprah Magazine) so that I can figure out which $70 blouse to buy. Or to find that a tote bag that was $475 is now on sale for $238. Are we talking about something I might use to put snacks and books to keep my older son busy at my other son's soccer match?

I mostly buy O magazine to read Martha Beck's articles. The price of the magazine is a deal if it keeps Martha sharing her thoughts with me. The first article I read that resonated with me was 8 Steps to Conquer the Beast Within. Anyone who has a tendency or habit you're trying to change would benefit from reading the article. It's surprising in a good way to find out the incredible people who have dealt with depression in their lives. Winston Churchill dealt with his depression by naming it his Black Dog.

I especially loved the recent article by Martha Beck which is entitled The Surefire Way Convert Money into Happiness. What's interesting about this is that the process of deciding what to do with your money will be different for each person. I think I'm now a Martha Beck groupie. I wonder what kind of conversation Seth Godin and Martha Beck would have?

Worth Repeating - Robert Henri and The Art Spirit

Robert Henri, an artist and teacher, wrote a book called The Art Spirit, which has lots of nuggets in it. I was reading through an old sketchbook of mine from 10 years ago and found the following quotes from The Art Spirit:

"Completion doesn't depend
on material representation.
The work is done when that
special thing has been said."


"There is a time and place for all things.
The difficulty is to use them only
in their proper time and places."


"The most vital things in the
look of a face or of a landscape
endure only for a moment. Work
should be done from memory.
The memory is of
that vital moment."


"All good work is done from
memory whether the model
is present or not."


"Nature has its laws.
Your pigments and your
flat canvas have other laws.
You must work within
the laws of your material."


And my personal favorite....

"Those who cannot begin
do not finish."

I think I might flip this...

"Those who do not finish
cannot begin again."