Cards of love...

A couple of cards I made for family members. My great neice, Lauren, graduated from St. Pius High School this year, and my great neice, Jennifer, got married.

I'm trying to finish the last quilt I posted. I ran out of steam. Our trip to Paris took all my energy and I'm doing some soul searching about what type of craft I want to pursue now. My good friend, Karen, gave me some paper making stuff and I have been gathering and getting ready to dive into that. I love paper and to create it is fulfilling. Next post will show some of that, I hope. Until then, I keep working on my Paris notebook and pictures. It is a way to re-live that most special time. Merci, Paris!

New quilt design

A new year and a new quilt I am currently working on. I think this one will be very interesting when its put together. The name is One Block Wonder, and it certainly is!
I will be sewing it into rows soon, the size is much smaller than I thought it would be, but that's ok, I'll just have to have large borders. This has been a fun one to work on since everyone in the class has a different design. It has been a new challenge for me, but fun.

Merry Monkeys!

This is the last blog of 2011. Sounds scary, doesn't it? But, I am looking forward to the new year and lots of new projects to begin. But, I can't forget the Monkeys I did as my last endeavor for this year. These little guys, and gal, were dressed to mimic my grands Halloween costumes. We have, LtoR, Sonic the Hedge-monkey, The Assassin-monkey, Tinker-monkey, and Alvin-monkey. The kids loved them and I do, too!

My new passion!

I have been taking an online class in journal making. This is a unique way of using paper and fabric scraps, sewing them together to create special vignettes open to writing on. It's fun and challenging, and I get to use up some of my treasures I've been hoarding and put them in page form to create a place to showcase my collage abilities, then I get to write on them.  Fun and frugal--just the way I like it.

Fall is in the air

August is cruising by and my garden is still growing. My tomato plants are taller than I am. I harvested my herbs and gave away 4 small bags of parsley, lemon sage, mint, and thyme to my Alanon buddies. Now I'm hoping my tomatoes will start getting bigger. Meanwhile there is time to work on my latest quilt. The material I showed in the last post is now all cut, sewn into blocks, and ready to be put together. This style was our "Mystery Quilt" for the summer class. Lots of tiny pieces. I enjoyed working with the colors I chose. I'm signed up for the next session and hope to finish that and 3 others I have. I will NOT buy more material (a common mantra from many quilters!) until I finish these I have started.

Lavender and sewing

 I have been harvesting my lavender and making some scent sticks to put in the bathrooms. It's heavenly working with these tiny blooms. I get the best feeling from growing and cutting the stems.
My other project right now is a Mystery Quilt. I have chosen to go with teal, aqua, white and some batik with waves of the same shades of blue greens together. (not pictured) I am enjoying my class on Wed. taught by Bobbie Porter. She's a genius with material and ideas with fabrics. I am also finishing three other quilts I have posted before in their beginning stages. I have hired a person to "quilt" them on her long arm machine. I hope to have them finished and posted here soon.

Spring planting

I don't usually get the bug to plant anything anymore, but this year I changed that. So far I have my herb garden, lettuce, and now I have started some radishes, tomatoes, and California poppies inside and they are thriving!  It is quite gratifying to actually see something grow in soil from a seed. It reminds me that there is a higher power than me pushing those little buds out into the world in my little home. Amazing! I haven't bought any lettuce in a month. I just go out to my garden and pick some. I hope my tomatoes and radishes will give me that thrill as well.  For a novice like me, I am renewed in the act of something so simple giving me such pleasure!

Wacky Women

On Feb 3rd, I hosted the monthly W.W.'s at my house, and they christened my new sunroom!  Lots of fun, eating, sharing art, (our Altoid boxes turned into mini dioramas.) Each member was to bring an a box for the person they received a Christmas gift from at our annual potluck/celebration of the season.

Valentines Day cards

My teacher, Bobbie Porter, Beginners Quilting class, gave me this idea.  Strips of fabric attached to some interfacing with zigzag stitch, glued to a blank card, then some netting in the shape of a heart. I used some yarn to follow the outline and more zigzag to attach it. Inside the heart is confetti and more pieces of fabric. It was fun to do, and I had all the materials on hand.

Garden delight!

Working with dirt is quite creative. This media is often overlooked! Take the pretty plant on the left. It is catnip. By itself, it is beautiful, but surrounded by nourishing water, it becomes a map of France, with the plant smack dab in the middle where Orleans, Bourges, and the Loire River intersect. Bet you didn't see that! All done with a little bit of water (and bon chance!) The lettuce on the right produced part of our dinner last night. Yum yum! Now that's getting those creative juices flowing! Bon Appetite!

My crazy creativity!

Not everyone creates the same. I am a work in progress, therefore, I dabble in many things. Maybe I'm trying to find myself in the process. I'm not sure, but I'm having fun! Some days I want to sew, some I want to write, even I don't know what I will do on any given day until my muse whispers in my ear. Of late, I have been in survival mode, recuperation from surgery on my shoulder. I take that as a hint to slow down, think of what just a walk will do for my psyche. I am learning to find time to do...nothing. Meanwhile, if the urge to create comes to me, I act on it. I am so lucky to be able to wait, look, listen, then create, or not.

On hold for summer

I have been slowly doing some applique work on my latest quilt wall hanging for my bathroom. I had forgotten how meditative doing hand work can be, and I can actually SIT for a while! I have been taking a slow pace this summer so far, but it will speed up next week when a new quilting semester begins. I plan on finishing up what I have started, not starting a new project unless it really calls to me.When the fog rolls in, I will be working on this project and letting the flowers grow!

I'm still creating

Coming up with some new projects is fun for me, but it helps to be motivated by a class or an event. I began my Spring Quilting class 2 wks ago and we have some projects we can chose from. The first one is a "quick and easy" which is a Star quilt. I had Tommy pick out some fabrics for a lap quilt. Here are 2 of the stars finished so far. It will move along quickly and I hope to keep up with the rest of the class this time. Wish me luck!

Another Quilt

I have been working on this quilt since my very first class. It is called a "Medallion" and has 36 squares called "log cabins", the green part that looks like a ribbon. Each one took me one hour to make by "paper piecing" a technique in which you sew on paper that is numbered for each strip to add on. A solid border will be put on the very edge next and then I will put the batting on the back and continue to sew the back material and quilt the entire thing. In the center and on all four corners are little fairies. I hope to put this on the bed in the grand kid's room when it's finished. Hopefully before the youngest gets into college!

Yo!

My friend, Karen, is always on the cutting edge! Pardon the pun. We have coffee on Monday mornings and she brought her little basket full of Yo-Yo's. Little gathered hearts and circles made with a plastic template you click together with a piece of cotton sandwiched between. They are sooo cute, and can be made by any novice seamstress. This gives new meaning to the act of sitting. My fingers get to stay busy, and I can use up some of the quilting scraps from my projects in my weekly class.

Quilting is creating

After a long break from my Quilting class, I am back to sewing. Finishing old projects, like this fold up bag for cosmetics (vinyl and all!) that was from our Winter session, and of course Ella's quilt which is my really first "start to finish "creation and labor of love. I have enjoyed the comradarie of the class and everyone's talented differences.
Our first class was a "quick and easy" Single Irish Chain. I made most of it during class time.
It will be a small, 40" square to put on our bed as an accent. Right now I'm feeling rather accomplished, but that won't last. A new quilt is always on the horizon!

Christmas Stockings

I had the distinct honor of making my Ella Amberley's Christmas Stocking. I began about 2 months before the season and finished up in time for Santa's appearance. It is hanging proudly next to her brothers, mom, and dad's. Even though the whole christmas thing is over, these are still hanging proudly from their mantle and I must say they could stay there until Easter and I would be happy. I could hide some eggs in those puppies--hey, maybe I've got something there?

Stone Coasters

New year, new projects

For Christmas I got busy and watched a YouTube video my friend Karen e-mailed me on making coasters out of ceramic tiles. I happened to have a box of white tiles in my backyard (doesn't everybody?) So, I got to work and cleaned off a couple dozen and made some for gifts. I have to say, there was some experimenting with the Stazon ink I used on the slick tiles, but I was happy with the results. One more craft I can do for not much money. Of course, the best part of learning anything new is the shopping part! I love Michael, whoever he is. I have made him a rich man!