Only a week behind now

I'm catching up, I think.   (if only that were true!)
I had thought to do a second post last week and then I could be back to current events.  Life is just moving too fast for me.  So here is a collection of random things from the last couple of weeks. 

My beautiful backyard "wild flower garden"

I was thinking- as I drove home from getting groceries last week- and noticed how the fields of winter wheat and the unploughed fields, which are full of dandelions, make a lovely patchwork of color- that Dandelions aren't so bad.  We all hate them in our gardens (In fact, I refer to them as Damned-delions!), but really there are worse weeds than dandelions.  I'm not ready to have the foolish Brit who imported them beatified or anything.  But just thank goodness skunk cabbage isn't as prolific.

After the quilt guild meeting last week, we had the second session of the jacket class.  I am happy to report we have a new "overachiever" in the group.  Marcia showed up with her jacket assembled and the lining ready to sew in.   Isn't it gorgeous?!?


















 
Hopefully I will soon get to see a few more of them in this state, including my own!


  

 

 

You know there's a problem if it's too busy even by MY standards!

 As you may remember, the last time I mentioned the jacket I was working on, it was in a bag in the corner of the closet.  These pieces of patchwork were just not working well together.  So I was ready to abandon the whole project.  But two days before the class I had an epiphany.  I had a piece of black fabric with flowers embroidered in a shimmery black thread all over it.  that I had kept setting aside because I didn't know what to make with it.  DUH!  So I replaced many of the patchwork sections with the black, and ...

It Is Alive!  (thank goodness since I really hated to waste all the time and $ I had spent on this project)
I'm hoping to have it assembled this weekend, depending on the amount of water I have to wade through to work in the gardens.













The last bit of news is that I am settling in to my new job and enjoying the work so far!  I have a slightly different schedule so the adjustment won't be too difficult there.  The new office is small and has no windows.  That was a big change from the wide open spaces I had before!

 Interesting color choices for the walls, don't you think?  (I hypothesize they were using up paint)  I arrived with a box of my stuff, ready to transform it. Think of the scene where the "ladies" decorated their hotel room in "To Wong Foo"

Not quite as amazing a transformation, but at least it has a bit of personality!  (And a "view" since I brought the one landscape type quilt I have made)










I am grateful for:
A job that makes me feel good about going to work.
Colorful birds coming to visit the feeder.
I haven't had to worry about watering the flowers.
Family time
Sleeping with the windows open.

In Loving Memory

This is a group of my closest friends, confidants, partners in crime, and inspiration!  They are members of the yahoo group called "The Quilt Pocket".  We were having our biennial retreat, which we call a Jamboree, in London, Ontario last week.
The first one was held in 2007, and the following year, we lost one of our members to breast cancer.  Jenny was one of those people you meet once and instantly feel comfortable with- and welcomed by!  She was a talented quilter and a giving friend.
So at the second Jamboree, held in Seattle, Washington, we collected quilts made by our members and donated them to a cancer treatment center there. We wanted the love we all felt for Jenny to be a comfort to people still battling the disease that took her from us.  The project was such a success, we made it a part of the Jamboree again this year!

This is the atrium at "Merlin House" where we stayed, filled with the quilts we donated this year.  Don't they look lovely all laid out together?  We donated 25 quilts this time to a facility where people living with cancer stay while receiving their treatments.

This is my contribution.  It's a wonderful pattern from Kaffe Fassett's "Quilt Road" book.  I learned to machine quilt feathers for this one!  I didn't get a good enough picture of the feathers to share them, but enjoyed doing them, so I'm sure you'll be seeing them soon!












I am grateful for:
FABULOUS weather this weekend!
Unforgettable time with some really amazing women who have made a big difference in my life.
I missed that toad when I mowed around the front flower bed.
Thirty years with a good man.
Catching up on my sleep last night.

Too much time and too little to do!!!

Check that, and reverse it, of course!!! :-)

Bleeding Heart in my shade garden

Well, finally!  We have had a few days of gardening weather and therefore that is how I have been spending my time!!  I am thrilled to have flowers greeting me when I visit the gardens now.  With the flowers, I am also happily enjoying some of my favorite summer birds.  The other day I heard the Oriole singing out back so I rushed to put out some jelly for him.  I had to improvise an orange flower. I guess it was pretty good because not ten minutes after I hung it out there- he came to have a taste!!



I have been focusing my energies on my big perennial bed this weekend.  It has been far too wet up until now to even set foot out there.  It is still too wet for much other than basic weeding and cleaning up.  I have made some interesting discoveries, though!

I love moss.  This one is VERY soft!

 

 

 

 

 

A type of Euphorbia I think.  I never knew it was blossoming at this time of year!!!

I am thrilled to death that for the first time in several years- maybe since we planted it!- the frost has not killed the Magnolia blooms!

In the sewing room, I am stuck on the layout for my patchwork jacket.  I am teaching this as a class very soon and fear I will not be able to show the students the next step, as I will not yet be there myself!

The jacket is designed around this lovely mola I got from Priscilla Kibbee

 This is the back of the jacket, which I think I am satisfied with.  The fronts are what have given me trouble.  At present they are nothing but a pile of patchwork in a random heap ( in other words, I got frustrated and threw them on the floor)

It's always nice to have a friend give you a second opinion when doing this type of work!

 

 

I am grateful for:
New challenges at work, and nice people to help me with them!
Fabulous weather!
Hotdogs on the grill ( burnt!) and macaroni salad.
The waiting is almost over!
Being able to listen to the birds sing!

April Downpours!

We've had a little bit of rain the past couple of weeks.  I  told a friend last week I'm not sure if I'll be buying flowers or fish for my garden this year!!

In spite of this, I was able to go out and work in one of the other flower beds the other day when it was so nice and warm here. Every little bit helps, I guess.

In other news, the teeny invasion continues!    The teeny bunnies are multiplying- as bunnies tend to do when left unattended.
(My husband asked me what I plan to do with all of them.  Men are so funny, aren't they?)

Meanwhile, the daffodils have attracted a teeny bee.   He's actually hovering over the quilt pictured at the top of my blog.  I guess he thought the flowers were real?

I did some garment sewing last weekend.  This one is for a class at Mt Pleasant.  We called it the Easy Three Seasons Jacket.  It's an easy to sew pattern by Butterick, from their "Fast and Easy" collection.  Very comfortable, too!

This one is from fabric I got in Lancaster last month.  The pattern is the "Four Yard Wonder Jacket", by the Rag Merchant.  A very comfortable shirt/ jacket.  If, like me, you travel to the Bahamas frequently (how a friend describes her hot flashes), you know the value of a light, easy to remove shirt!  The fabric is from the "Paradise collection" by art gallery fabrics.  They are soft and thin, like batiks!  (No affiliation, just loved the feel of them!)

I have high hopes for this weekend if it's not nice enough- and dry enough- to work outside.







I am grateful for:
Sitting on the porch listening to the birds and the peepers.
Sleeping with the windows open!
The hype over the royal wedding ends tomorrow.
In 12 more days I'll be with some of my Quilt Pocket friends!
A pretty bouquet of flowers from my boss.

The results

The cutest little Easter bunnies ever!

I thought you might be as impatient as I was to see the flour paste painting results.
The only other thing I've managed to do this week is making a few of these teeny bunnies.  Another fun project from the folks at mochimochiland!   They are easier than they look.









As for the painting, I am having mixed feelings about the results.

I like the way the swirly parts came through,  but the crackles are still less obvious than I would have hoped.

Again, the pattern I made in the flour is nice, but....
too much blank space left. 
I also had an awful time getting all the flour paste washed out.  It wouldn't crack off dry and wet it turned back into goop- and with the color I chose to paint, I bet you can guess what it reminded me of!

The Sharpie dyeing was more successful.  I like how the crackly parts are mostly in the green sections.











We're still waiting for Spring to decide to stay for more than one day.  The trees are getting a green tint where the leaf buds have popped!  I am anxious to see the blooms on my flowering crab this year.  It looks like it will be loaded this year- finally!!

I am grateful for:
The promise of better days soon.
The end of a very busy stretch.
Brownies.
My baby flowers are all doing well.
Only another few days until the start of the next chapter!

A lost week?

It's snowing today- pretty hard, actually.  There's a bit of it on the ground, which is creating a fair amount of grumbling here in Western NY about the fact that the one warm and sunny day we had was a very quick summer.  I, however, decided to find Spring where I can.  So I picked a small bouquet of daffodils from my garden this morning.  In spite of today's snow, it really IS Spring, if I can enjoy fresh picked flowers!

Last week flew by and I didn't have much time for creative endeavors.  However, at the ArtCGirlz meeting last Tuesday, Sharon gave us all a lesson in creating fabric using a flour paste resist.  This is a picture of one of Sharon's experiments.  Different types of paint make more or less of an impact.

Sharon was also kind enough to provide each of us with a prepared piece of fabric to play with.  here is mine. I tried a few different paints.  The teal is "Dye-na-flow".  The others are acrylics.

One is supposed to wait a week for the paint to cure, but I am an impatient person.  I washed the resist out on Sunday.  It is not a very successful first attempt, I'm afraid. 




Never fear, I will not give up.  So what contrasts with purple?  Orange? Lime green?  Perfect!  I have been wanting to try the Sharpie tie dyeing I read about a few weeks ago.

Here is what this piece of fabric looks like right now.  I'm waiting for it to dry. Stay tuned for more of the experiments in my mad scientist lab-OR-atory!









I am grateful for:
A really good grilled cheese sandwich.
A great meeting of the quilt guild last weekend!
Hearing from far away family.
Several good nights' sleep.
Time to play and materials to play with.

Getting it all done!

As I mentioned last week, the middle of April is the center of my quilting universe right now.  I don't know how  I managed it, but between April 16 and 20, I agreed to do three classes and a demo, plus this week is the date I set for having Jake's quilt turned in for machine quilting!  I work well with deadlines, but absolutely HATE the last minute.  I feel like I am late if I'm not ready a week in advance.    So, needless to say, I have been sewing a LOT the last few weeks, in an effort to get it all ready in time.
Since it was so close to being finished, I put this little quilt on top of the pile.  Once the machine quilting was done, and the binding machine sewn, the rest could be done during the evening when I can find something worth watching on TV.  (More and more difficult every week!)  SO cute, don't you think?

I got Jake's quilt top finished and decided I'd piece as much of the back as I could with the scraps- none of which were big enough to make a matching pillowcase.

This was as far as I got.  This meant two things:
1- I only had to buy a yard of fabric for the back!
2- There will be NO scraps from this quilt!!!

I'm teaching a patchwork jacket class, inspired by the work of Priscilla Kibbee, for my guild- using a mola I bought from Priscilla.  This is one of my pieced sections.  I can't wait to start putting it together!!!









April has arrived, and with it the "mud season" we have to get through before the real spring!
This is the same spot I showed last week, after heavy rain- and thunder- on Monday! Needless to say I won't be pulling weeds in the garden without hip waders.







I am grateful for:
70 degrees in the forecast. Even if it will be raining!
I heard peepers the other night!
Sleep, when I can get it.
My sweet son.
Brownies for sale in the forum!