Santa's Texas Workshop....

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Oh, you better watch out,

You better not cry,

You better not pout,

I'm tellin' you why,

Santa Claus is coming to town!

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Okay, as the above picture shows, I have put on my Official Santa's Elf Socks, better known as my old, worn-out Noro Kureyon socks.

Things here at Santa's Texas Workshop have reached a fevered pace. But....the beauty of having an artist for a mother is.....the art studios! My mother's art studios contain literally thousands of wondrous supplies and items in them to assist one in making all sorts of interesting things.

My mother's main medium these days is mosaicing. And believe it or not, she actually cuts each and every tiny tile for her mosaics herself, with special saws, from tiles, ceramics, glass, mirrors, rocks, and metal. She also does cement work to make garden towers, fountains, and planters. She also oil paints. She also upholsters with gorgeous, lush fabrics.

Hell, she can do anything....

And she actually lets me into her studios to make things!!!! See all the pretty beads, tiles, and other stuff? It's amazing---you can find ANYTHING in there!

And as you can see below, she even mosaiced the walls in her studios!

The below is my "area"---and I'm currently working on a be-jewelled God Box for my sister.

(A God Box is a box you have for problems in your life that you want God to help you with. You write the specific problem on a piece of paper, fold it up, and then put it into the God Box. And then you stop worrying about it because God will take care of it. As one of my ex-husbands used to say rather bluntly: "If you're going to pray about something, don't worry about it. But if you're going to worry about it, why pray?" )

And... er...um...I got involved with some other art projects and kind of took over the below snack table, too....

The below are all the Christmas presents going to Dallas, where we'll be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.....and the little table-top tree seeems to be running out of space under it....

Remember I told you that my uncle gave me my late grandmother, Mamo's, needlework? Well I found the below crocheted lace among her things, and I'm currently blocking, pressing, and starching some of it for another gift for my sister....

(I'll show you the finished project later....if I don't ruin it, that is....)

And guess what? I found all kinds of stuff in my mother's studios that were just right for my ever-progressing decorated jean jacket! Yee-Hah! And HEH! I'm gonna wear the damn thing to Dallas and shock everybody.

I'm also working on a huge project---what I call a "Galveston Box" ---for my niece. It's huge. I call it a Galveston box because my favorite beach in the whole wide world is Galveston Beach, Texas. And all those lovely sea shells, beads, and tiles came out of my mother's studios. (I'll show you the whole thing later.)

Below is a "patch pocket" sweater I knitted from Opal 6-ply yarn, all nicely blocked out---except I forgot about it and it's been there a week...

And I'm still working on the Ultimate Last Minute Christmas Present---the aran sweater for my uncle's brother-in-law! Also on that couch are some freshly pressed linens for inclusion in another gift to someone....(like I said---I'll show you the finished objects later if I don't ruin them...)

My mother has finished all her Christmas presents and shopping. And so she returned to working on her latest art piece, a memorial grave marker for her handyman's late pet, a nice little dog named Shelby. Her handyman personally asked her to make this memorial for Shelby since he adores my mother's art. So my mother crafted the cement grave marker and is now proceeding to mosaic it.

The below is her progress on the marker up to today. Isn't it gorgeous? And who would have thought of making the cross out of dogbone shapes? I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful and unique memorial marker in my life. My mother brought those lovely tiles you see on it back from one of her annual trips to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. She is also using other items from her studios, like bottle caps, gun bee-bees, penny tiles, the glass bottoms of bottles, and glass pieces---like I said, she can do anything!

Anyhoo, I'm madly and frantically working away on all my in-progress Christmas gifts, and I'm totally wearing out my good ole Elf Kureyon Socks. Also on the horizon--- my Blaine is going to drive down from Kansas this Saturday. And then we'll all be together for three Christmases---one celebrated in Dallas, one celebrated here in Texas, and one celebrated at my uncle's place in the swamps of Louisiana!!

Think Santa will find us all on the right days?????

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