Caught in a time warp!

Sunrise on a foggy morning, May 3

I guess I stepped into a wormhole or something because I didn't realize it had been two weeks since I last posted!  My brain has been turned off lately, though.
 It finally feels like actual Spring here.  Not too hot, but nice enough to be outside.  I have spent enough time in the gardens the last few days that I'm sore, my hands are all scratched up and at least one of my beds looks like a garden rather than a spot we didn't mow.

Taking a short rest before continuing the journey.

We enjoyed being on the path of the migration of Red Admiral butterflies last week.  I have never seen anything like it!  They were everywhere.  The yard was alive with them- every flower and branch.  Sadly, there were hundreds of them killed along the roads, too. 

Jack (in the pulpit) in (one block) Wonderland

Since I'm so far behind, I can show more sewing stuff.  Good thing, too, because it has been days since I've been in the sewing room. I'm starting to get the shakes! 

 I got the borders on the one block wonder I have been working on with a fabric Jane's "Sunshine and Shadows" collection. I would really like to have this finished for the show in October!  I need more practice with the quilting design I want to use first, though.

 I got the May calendar quilt finished.  Not looking forward to doing ants on the next one.  Not that I dislike ants, but the satin stitching is going to be a killer!

 I'm trying to figure out how to finish this piece from the mosaic "workshop" Kathi led at an ArtCGirlz meeting last year.    I wanted to make a sort of larger sunset behind the part with the trees.  But I didn't have much of that same fabric to work with. (the bit sticking out the sides is part of the strip set I haven't cut up yet.  I found some neat batiks to play with, so the whole thing may look different next time you see it.

I tried some curvy piecing after seeing it on Kathryn Schmidt's blog last week.  I bet she teaches a great way to do it easier than what I did, but it came out ok and was kind of fun!









My green tip this week is to remind you that how you drive, as much as the car you drive, affects the fuel efficiency of your car.  I am a lead foot, so I have to remind myself it's not really important how fast you get up the hill.  You save gas by letting your speed decrease a bit rather than accelerating up those hills.  There are other things you (and I!) can do.  A few of them are here!

I am grateful for:
The beauty of a sand mandala I was able to witness last week
Meditation
A very understanding and supportive boss
An exciting baseball game!(which I always thought was an oxymoron)
A mild sunburn- to remind me to bring sunscreen

Sew, what's new?

Sorry for the punny title. I heard one of those jokes this morning and it has me thinking in puns now.

This week has been much less busy- and far more satisfying- than the last one. It began on Sunday before the Superbowl when I found the time to get most of the rest of the quilting done on my dandelion quilt.



And wasn't that a GREAT game? Finally- a Superbowl that lived up to its name. And who will ever forget the picture of Drew Brees holding his baby son with tears in his eyes?

So, anyway, I finished the piece on Monday, just in time to take to the meeting of my little art group on Tuesday. (We will have a better name someday) This was started in a class I took last June with Jane Sassaman. It is based on a picture I took in the lawn here on campus. The blue flowers are a form of Speedwll, I think. My own yard is much the same, so I am thinking fo titling this piece, "Weeds? No, that's our Lawn".

The art group is preparing for our first show in July. One piece we are working on as a group is a picture of a convulvulus flower that we chopped apart. Here are the finished sections so far tacked up on my design wall. Aren't they fabulous?!!!





Another new addition in my sewing world is an old dress form I am calling Edith. She is wearing a dress I would guess to be close to 90 years old. I would love to replicate the dress- isn't it glorious? Sadly, it has some rot on it due to the fact that special care fabrics were not laundered back then, but only aired out. (Kind of disgusting when you think about it)


Currently I am working on the teaching samples for a class this weekend. After that I should start working on the next shop sample. But a flash of inspiration hit this morning for my section of the flower, so all bets are off.