Seriously- Fun!!

First, my Seriously? "rant" for the week...
Apparently the brain trust at Ideal Chevrolet in Avon thought sending out anonymous letters to potential customers was a good idea. It was a plain looking letter with no return address and somewhat cryptic contents, until you read the "newspaper" (printed just for this purpose)   Seriously?  Who thought this was a good idea in this day and age???  I am not one to take things like this in stride, so I have called the dealer (and been treated rudely), the newspaper (The woman there said "Creepy!" after I described it.  My thoughts exactly!), the postal inspectors office, and sent a complaint to the BBB.  I also went to the Chevrolet website and posted a complaint.  I like to think one person CAN make a difference ( and haven't we in the 26th district seen the proof?).

Now- Seriously Fun!!!

I bought a "Double Diamond Ruler" at a quilting event in Chautauqua last September.  I admit it, I'm a gadget girl!!!  As soon as I got it, Kathi - who was with me- was asking if I'd do a demo at guild this spring.  I got home and made a couple of the strips just to try it out.  One I made into a little bag.  The other is still waiting for the right project. 

In preparation for the demo, I have been trying to find other ways to use it.  I found an orphan block in my UFO bin last week and decided it would be perfect for experimenting.  I am SO pleased with the result!  I don't know how I'll quilt it yet. 
I've either ruined my demo (in April), or whipped up some excitement for it by showing it early.






I am grateful for:
Les Nessman
A day that feels like Spring
The way people look at my socks while trying not to stare.
Reunions with "old friends"
I've lost 4 lbs since the holidays!

Another quiet- and very cold!- week

 Jack Frost did some fancy painting on my living room windows the other day!  I would love to figure out how to make this into a quilt, but fear my skills haven't reached this point yet.  meanwhile, I can be inspired by nature's glory!

 On Tuesday, the art group met.  Kathi had a project for us to play with.  She is testing this out for a retreat she is attending this coming spring.  We were the Guinea pigs.  It was fun!!!!
This is Kathi's Piece.  You can see more of hers here.








  Basically, you start with a piece of fabric with  mottled colors, like a batik or a hand dye.  This piece was a gift from my friend Debbie.  It came from South Africa, where Debbie used to live.

We ironed fusible to it and cut it into little squares.  These are sorted by color.

They are then arranged in any way you like- by color or patterns you find or just whatever strikes you when you start looking at them.  It isn't supposed to be anything- which is very hard for a left brained person!!!  This is my fused squares.  Now I can play with it any way I like!  I see a sort of sunset in this.

  I have more squares and can see myself doing this again with other fabrics as well!!  Thanks, Kathi!

You can see the rest of the "class" at the artcgirlz blog!







I am grateful for:
Friends who inspire and challenge me!
Chocolate, everyday!
A hubby who gets up early and runs the snow blower for me.
The occasional full night of sleep.
Lowered expectations

A quiet week and labeling quilts

I've been busy preparing for the Guild's "Challenge" the past week.  It was my job to be sure everything was ready to set up the display this week.  This is the fourth one of these I've done, so it should be automatic, right?  I wish!
I discovered there are definite advantages to being slightly anal, though.  I make list of lists, you see, anytime I have a job like this to do.  I checked things off, then checked the other lists!  (I still managed to lose the numbers, but we improvised.)  All of that helped me be ready two days in advance when it became a very real possibility the "Groundhog Day Storm" would force us to cancel the set up. I called the gallery, found out it was available immediately, called my committee- and they were also available immediately!- packed the car, and a few hours later, it was done!  Like Boy Scouts say: Be Prepared!

If you've gone and looked at the Guild's blog, you've seen the great variety of work!  You may also have seen I won First Place for the piece I called "Grasshopper Pie".  That was a nice surprise.   I know I've showed this piece, but I don't think I've ever shown the close  ups of the quilting.  I believe that was what set this piece apart from the rest, to be honest. ( and a bit immodest).

The weekend ahead will begin with putting labels on some of my older pieces.  I often rush samples right over to the quilt shop and forget to label them until I get them back. I have discovered three of them recently that need labels.  One of them is going to be a baby gift for my niece's new baby boy- due sometime this month.  I'll have to leave a space for his name and date of birth.  I share this as a reminder to label your quilts.  Here is one of mine.    On gifts, I also include washing instructions.



I am grateful for:
The prospect of a really exciting game this weekend! (Go Steelers!)
The storm that wasn't.
Sharing a good laugh with my hubby.
Getting good sleep.
The luxury of time spent reading.

Too bad nobody will see it!

This carrot just cracked up!

I've always been easily amused.  For example....
  I pulled this carrot out of the bag and burst out laughing.  Not sure why.  I think I've watched too many episodes of the Muppet Show.  This carrot should be singing!


 I'm still working on last year's UFO's, which I think I mentioned before.  Last week I noticed there was no quilt on the table at one end of my living room.  I'm not sure there was one before the Holidays.  Now it looks so bare!  So I decided to finish this piece to use as a table topper.  I went to my favorite place for quilting inspiration, and got started.  I had a blast doing this one!

The picture here is the back.  My best friend Mary thinks she's odd because she's always flipping her work over to look at the back.  I think we all do it.  (Why else would Leah show us the back of all her samples??)
I chose grucky fabric for the back since I would be facing this quilt and the backing wouldn't be visible. I turned it over when I was done quilting for the day and realized it was pretty enough to hang on a wall just the way it was!

This is how the back looks now, with the facing in place.

And this is the front of the quilt. It's from a "Little Charmers" pattern, by Anka's Treasures.  The fabrics are by Amy Butler.  The charm pack was a gift from my friend Sharen a couple of years ago. (Thanks Sharen!)

The quilt is on the table, but I'm not sure I like it there after all.  :-)

 

 

 

Close up of the quilting- hardly visible on the front!

 

I am grateful for:
Relatively warm winter days.
A good grilled cheese sandwich
Being so anal, er- organized.
Good things to look forward to.
My hubby, cos he loves and puts up with me.

Making the best of Winter

The wind blew the thistles down last fall, so the snow can have a place to rest.

 I decide this winter I would not mope around feeling awful about the cold, the grey skies and the fact that winter is usually around 6 months long here.  I have lived long enough to know that kind of thinking only causes me depression around the middle of February.  No point in setting myself up for it, right?

Last Friday, after we got a fresh dusting of snow, the sun came out for a while, making the world sparkle like diamonds.  It's so hard to capture in a picture, but here are a few of my favorites.

I managed to get zoomed in so you can almost see each snowflake!

The sad part for me was having to leave all those tracks in the snow to get these.  I love an undisturbed field covered with snow!

My front flower bed, which I just replanted last fall.  I hope the lilies are keeping warm in there!

I think this one's my favorite.

 Last week I teased my entries in the Guild's 2011 challenge, "It Must Be Chocolate".  Now I can show them!
I actually entered two pieces. I may have shown this one last summer when I first finished it. It's called "Grasshopper Pie with Butterfly Garnish".  I made it using scrap therapy squares and techniques in Mary Ellen Hopkins "Connecting Up" books.  ( I think it's 4 7/8).  It wasn't until I gave it the name that I realized it fit the parameters of the challenge!

This is the piece I previewed last week.  It is adapted from two cross stitch  designs.  The original had a bear, so I adapted a bunny by Alma Lynne. (and I've lost the name of the designer of the bear)  I call it "Deliver me From...Chocolate?".

The display at the library goes up on February 2, so I'll be sure to post the pictures of all of them after that.









I am grateful for:
People who are considerate and understanding.
Friendly faces at work again.
Figuring out the updated publishing options here.
A good book and a blankie.
The promise of spring we had Tuesday. ( accepting Winter doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to Spring!)

A new art project

The ArtCGirlz had our monthly meeting the other night. It felt like forever since we had been together, since the weather canceled our December meeting.It is always a fun meeting. We are a small group, and we allow ourselves to get silly at these meetings. The best part is the enthusiasm I get for new things after I spend time with these ladies!
We had set the basic parameters for a new group project at the previous meeting. Inspired by an exercise in _Creative Quilts_, by Sandra Meech, we decided to take a portion of a picture or collage and make it into a small quilt. Kathi has been participating in a book page round robin with her "Artsy Fartsy Friends". As we had all found that an interesting concept, we decided to make our project into a book as well. Karen solved the issue of how to make them all the same with some pre-grommetized upholstery samples!! We have plenty of time to do this project, which is a good thing since most of us can't even decide what picture we want to use.
Here are some of my choices.
The first one was to have been my entry in the chocolate challenge, but I never got it off the ground. So this is the front runner right now.


















Here is the original box of Godiva chocolates. I had to do some research for the project, right? :-) (actually it was a gift- honest!)











This is a bridge near either Akron or Toledo, Ohio.






I cut out a portion of the picture, then turned it at an angle and traced some of the shapes, since they had an interesting "texture". This is my second choice.





















I also found some interesting lines in this fabric by Amy Butler. ( I hope the link takes you to the right fabric. It's from her new Soul Blossoms collection) The print is called Chocolate Disco Flower. I hadn't noticed that before. I'm truly drawn to anything chocolate, I guess!

I'm hoping to have some time to get started on this over the weekend, so maybe I'll be able to bring you with me through this project.

I am grateful for:
My artsy fartsy friends! (they'll giggle when they see that)
There wasn't a three foot snow drift in my driveway this morning.
Apple Crisp.
The way the snow sparkled as I drove home the other night!
Hibernating in the sewing room.

SO good to be sewing again!

I hid in the sewing room as much as I could the first week of the new year. By yesterday afternoon, I had found the surface of the cutting table! Of course by Saturday afternoon if will be full again. :-)
This first piece is from Nancy Halvorsen's newest ( to me) book, called "Count on it". I hope to have each one ready in time to hang in the office! A simple project, and a good way to keep my machine embroidery skills fresh!




I am also working on the samples for my winter classes at Mt. Pleasant. I'm still doing scrap quilts, using all those squares I cut for Scrap Therapy. This is the Candy Kisses quilt I showed late last year. I followed Kay's suggestion and used black thread for the quilting.








I love the way Leah Day's "Dresden daisies" look in the border!
I had planned to do little flowers in the black spaces, but decided it didn't need them, and since they wouldn't have shown very well anyway... OK, I got lazy!








I can only give a sneak peek at the other project I finished last week. It's my entry in the "It Must be Chocolate" challenge- due at the guild meeting on the 15th. This is another of Leah's filler designs- SO much fun to do!!!









I am grateful for:
Getting back to a routine.
Soup weather.
Birds at my feeder.
New episodes of some of my shows. ( I'm addicted. I admit it)
Fewer aches and pains lately!