Etsy Store Now Open

I finally opened my Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/wilowind. There are only a few things on it so far, but there will be more. Check it out.

Doing Zentangles

This is my latest passion, zentangles. its a really simple process, you just doodle. There's several places online to find out more.


Here is a Zentangle "house" in progress. I have 2 of these paper houses, cut from the Cricut, that, once I complete the zentangles on each, I'll put the 2 halves together to make a a 3D Zentangle house. I'll post those pic once I finish the project. With the rush of Christmas, this is the way I stay sane (somewhat, anyway). I just find a quiet place & doodle away. Have a excellent Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate.

I finally Got IT- the Silhouette

Over 3 weeks ago I ordered a Silhouette die cutting machine. I picked it up today, finally!!! I installed the software, hooked it up & tried it out. It works perfectly. I can even draw my own designs & cut them out. I'll be learning how to operate it for a little while. The best part is that I don't have to buy those expensive cartridges any more. I can download designs too for it. I think I'll like it once I get used to it. I have a Cricut Expression also, that I really enjoy, it just needs those expensive cartridges. The one other one I've been looking for, I found out today, has been discontinued. Oh well, perhaps I'll draw a box on the Silhouette machine.
We're expecting a big snow storm for Christmas, beginning Christmas Eve afternoon. It looks like we'll have the proverbial white Christmas after all. The prediction is for 4 to 6 inches of snow. Its a good thing I got some fabric to make a quilt I have planned. Stay tuned for snow reports and . . .

Merry Christmas or What Ever Holiday You Celebrate.

Winter Storm Update

These are some photos of the ice on the trees outside my office. I didn't venture out, but took them from inside the screen door. Well, the freezing rain has moved out, bu the ice remains for now. Nubby went to work & my granddaughter is being her autistic, squealing self. I've wrapped Christmas presents till I ran out of paper. the power only blinked once, thank goodness. The forecast is calling for another storm, or at least more snow, over the weekend. I'm beginning to feel like a bear in hibernation. I'll come out in the spring when the weather is better, or when the roads clear enough to get the car out of the garage. Any that's the latest on this ice update.

Ice Storm Update

FYI, an update on the current ice storm. Its 7:20 am, there's 1/4 inch of ice on everything, our cable TV is out, and its still freezing rain outside. Hubby has yet to go to work, unusual for him, he's the first one there, regardless of the weather. I think this is the first time, in 30+ years, I've known him to postpone going to work.
We still have power, heat & internet. I do miss the TV for news & other such shows, but I have a working radio & police scanner so I can keep up with things around here. At last report, the weather forecaster said this rain is supposed to move out before the day is over. We'll see about that. In the mean time, I "trapped" with a squealing, autistic 8 year old, a whiny daughter who's complaining about it & hubby who's bored & driving me nuts. His work cell phone is ringing like crazy with co workers asking about coming to work, is the building open, etc. Should be a fun day--not! At least I have plenty of crafty stuff to keep me busy, and there was school yesterday so I had a break from the squealing (that's a new phase my autistic granddaughter is going through which hopefully will end soon). I have the Christmas shopping done & the fridge is full, so I'll survive, unless we "kill" each other from cabin fever,but I've survived it before & I'll survive it this time. stay tuned for further as the weekend goes forward.

A Christmas Greeting

I made this little card for fun. I've been into doing paper crafts for a few weeks now. Since its the holiday season, this is my Christmas (or whatever holidays you celebrate) greeting to you.
As of this writing we're awaiting another winter storm, this one with snow and ice- oh what fun?? I've been to the store to stock up on milk & bread & yes, they still had some at the time. Today is the only day of school (probably) this week, so I sent teacher's Christmas gifts today just in case. I guess I'll be iced in over the next few days, which will become a productive time for me. I can't get outside due to all the ice & snow, what else is there to do? Later . . .

New Etsy Shop Opened

I've just set my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/wilowind. Its something I've been wanting to do for some time. I'm not sure I have all the stuff right as far as shipping and such, but it has a few items in it so far. Check it out. There will be more. At least it might provide some income for the huge output I've made on sewing & craft items lately.

I have Begun CHristmas Shopping, officially

I officially began Christmas shopping last week, I bought a fancy wrench at Lowes for my hubby. I hope he likes it, he's hard to shop for (like so many guys). I also finished a Christmas Memory Journal for my son.It took about 3 days to complete. It will be a gift for his kids to give him. I hope he likes it. It was fun to do. I made a huge mess in my studio during the process but it was worth it.
I've also begun another art journal. Its just a little blank sketchbook that I got at the craft store. I hope to fill it with zentangles, rubber stamping, scrap & papercraft pages, along with some journaling. I'm finally using many of the papers, stamps and such I bought over the past few months. I don't know exactly what I'll do with the finished product, but its fun to make them. Besides, its something to do while I sit in front of the TV in the evenings.
Oh well, back to the markers, stamps & journal. . . Later

Stay tuned for more. . .upcoming.

A Big Thank You

Just wanted to say "thank you" to those who are following me. Its nice to be noticed- even when you think you aren't.

Later . . .

A Different Direction for a While

I've discovered Zentalgles. This one, above, is a Zentangle. They're fun to do, you just doodle, then fill in the spaces around the doodles in black.
These are some of the artist trading cards I make from time to time. The ATCs,as they are called, measure 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, playing card size.



This larger one is called a "chunky" and measures 4inches square. Its also a Zentangle. There are several sited dedicated to the art of the Zentangle, check them out for more info on Zentangles.
I'm recovering from a bout of hypertension. The BP is back down into high normal ranges but for a time it was pretty high. I treated it with potassium & it came back down. It doesn't surprise me with all the stress I've had over the summer. Gotta go & check the turkey in the over. I'm getting a jump on Thanksgiving & cooking some of it today, the day before, instead of having it all to do tomorrow.

This Past Week's Stuff.

Now, I realize that's not much of a title, but I simply didn't know what else to call it. Anyway, this past week has given me a headache, literally. I developed a headache of unknown origin late Sunday & I can't get rid of it. I've tried everything I can think of short of chopping my head off (that wouldn't solve anything). Also I can't seem to sleep. Only one night this past week have I been able to sleep over 4 hours. I don't know what's going on, but its wearing me down quickly. I'm blaming the headache on the weather. Its been very dry & sunny here & sometimes that combination will cause headaches for me. Its supposed to rain over the weekend & maybe that will provide some relief.

I finished a quilt top for my son, who moved into his own tiny place recently. I have to get it quilted & finished yet, which shouldn't take too long. I also purchased a Bamboo digital tablet for my computer. I'm going to learn to digitize my own drawings for embroidery if it kills me. I got a local copy shop to print out the manual for my software which helped tremendously in learning to operate it. The dealer where I bought the software owes me a class on it, but hasn't yet come through. I'll get it eventually.

I'm also diving back into the art, drawing & painting again. I'm getting back into doing artist trading cards. I've even toyed with the idea of setting up an Etsy store & am now seriously considering doing it. I'll post some of them once I get some new ones finished. I went to Hobby Lobby today for supplies & spent way too much -again (bad habit I need to break . . . nah, I'd miss it too much. Anyway, I'm hoping to set up the Etsy store soon & I'll let you know when that happens. Anyway,

have a good one & stay tuned to see what happens next . . .

Embroidery Times are . . .

Always longer than stated on the design (machine estimated) I found. If the design says it takes 20 minutes, add at least 20 to 30 more minutes for changing thread colors, re-threading the machine, running out of bobbin threads & changing bobbins, and assorted other interruptions. Last night I embroidered a design that said it took 21 minutes. Okay, fine, I'll have it done by the time supper comes out of the oven. WRONG. The whole thing took an hour, supper was late & over done too. I love doing machine embroidery, but I dislike the amount of time it actually takes to complete it. If I only had all day to sit in front of the machine . . . but I don't. Better planning for embroidery projects is a must from now on.

Finally, a Diagnosis

I've been battling a growth on the rim of my ear for a few months now. Wednesday I went to a dermatologist, had it removed & sent to pathology. Got the report this morning. My guess was right, its basal cell skin cancer, a non lethal form of skin cancer that results form too much sun in my teen years. This news is something I can handle pretty well. At least I know I won't die from it. I'm relieved to know what it actually is. Since I'm a Naturopathic doctor anyway, I'm opting to treat is naturally for the time being, then, if it doesn't respond to my treatment, I might have further surgery to remove it completely. We'll just see what happens. At least I know what it is & what to do about it.

This is my kind of quilt.

Here is the type of quilt I like to do. The design is original, the size is 18 x 24 and there is decorative stitching on also. The other photos show some of the detail of this piece.

HAlloween in Nicholasville

Here's a look at the wall in my stair well, a la Martha Stewart wall clings. There's the witch on her broom , surrounded by bats,and . . .
mice scattering toward the hole from. . .
the high backed black cat at the top of the stairs (look between the rungs of the banister) chasing the mice down the stairs.

This whole scene is Martha Stewart wall clings & takes up the whole wall. We also have a witch (actually a dress form with a head, a mask, a witches hat and a black cape, some more bats, and a fake graveyard in the front yard. Photos of that later.

The 5 Am Quilt

Why is this titled the 5 am quilt? Because I woke up at 4am on Monday, couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up & made this little quilt. I wanted to make it anyway, just hadn't planned to do it so early in the morning. Anyway, I finished it while waiting to get my car worked on. This little quilt (14 x 20) hangs right next to my back door for the fall season.

Did I mention that I have a 'new to me" car? I traded in the Tarus for a PT Cruiser/ The Tarus was just too low to the ground & becoming more difficult by the day to get out of with my bad knees. The PT Cruiser is a bit taller & easier to get out of, besides its fun to drive.

Quilt Journal

I have begun a quilt journal, a pictorial & written account of the quilts I make, starting today, which happens to be my birthday. I don't know how it will turn out, but I plan to write something about every quilted project I make from now on, possibly the unquilted ones too, along with photos & samples of the fabrics in each project. I saw the quilt journal of another quilter the other day & thought I should make one also. I've done several quilts in the past that should have been chronicled somehow. Better late than never. I bought a cheap photo journal at Big Lots (A local store) last night & put the first entry in it today. I may have to get a better quality photo notebook or tape the pages shut in the current one. Its not too sticky. We'll see how it goes.

I'm working on a prototype of the Easter banner project that a local church asked my guild to make. I'll post the whole project, photos & all, once its finished. That will be a whole post in itself, possible multiple posts.

As far as my birthday today, its usually a non-event. I got a new cake pan, the old one rusted out, a new pasta cooker & my hubby made muffins for my breakfast today. They were pretty good. I've had a quiet day, the kind I prefer, so its been a better birthday than some I've had in the past (spending the whole day at the hospital with my brother and grandson one year). The weather's turned off cooler too, which was nice. I guess fall is here now. Gotta go, . . . later.

Playtime on the 830,

Here are photos of an experiment I made on the new 830 sewing machine. I used decorative stitches with a circular attachment that makes the fabric travel in circles instead of in a straight line. I then embroidered my initial in the center. The first two pictures are of the front of the project & the detail of the decorative stitches used. The second set is the back of the little pillow project. I used a quilting design that came with the machine & embroidered an initial in the center. I falling in love with this machine I think. After attending a seminar last week, where I've learned all kinds of things, I'm excited to push this machine to its limits creatively. I plan to make larger versions of this pillow too. Who knows what I'll come up with next. Stay tuned to see . . .

Bernina Event Today

Just a quick note here. I'm attending a local Bernina event today. A company rep is doing a seminar on embroidery. The seminar last all day & I hope its worth what I paid for it. I'll let you know how it goes.

later . . .

Kitchen Witch 2- Basic Cooking

This is the second in the Kitchen Witch series called "Basic Cooking". The piece is not yet finished. I still have some journaling to do, the quilt & bind it. I thought I'd put it up anyway. Let me know what you think. I'll repost when the piece is finished.

Life as it is, In September 2010

My life is finally settling down somewhat & the roughness is smoothing out. I'm still involved in the series of classes on my new Bernina 830 sewing/embroidery machine. That thing does amazing things. I haven't figured out if it does dishes or not (lol), but at the price it costs, it should. Anyway, I'm working on a group of tiny Halloween treat bags for my granddaughter's class. I finished the Christmas stockings & sent them to school. That was after I accidently made 12 fronts instead of 6 fronts & 6 backs. I forgot to turn the backs to the side that would match up correctly before I stitched on the patches. Duh!! I'm still working on the Kitchen Witch series. I'm on #2, the Basic Cook. I have most of the pieces fused on at this point. I still have the embroidery, the quilting & the finishing yet to do. I'll post the piece as soon as it's finished.
You'll notice a different look to the blog. I thought the old design was plain boring, so I changed it. Let me know what you think. There's always room for improvement. That's all for now, gotta go get ready for class. Stay tuned . . .

Tree and other things

The guy finally finished the tree. It took 14.5 hours to complete the job. That didn't include cutting the thing up, my husband is doing that. That tree was a monster. I'm sure the man is happy he's done with it.

I've also began embroidery with my new Bernina 830. I'm making Christmas stockings for the new kids & assistants in my granddaughter's special education class. I've made 4 of 6 names for the stockings. Now, I just have to make the stockings themselves. I lost the original pattern & had to buy one. I won't lose it- I hope. Anyway, since I have too many scraps, I'm considering doing this batch as crazy patch & I'll use many of the decorative stitches on the new 830. I'm taking classes to learn how to properly use it & they're fun. I'm learning a lot. The 830, in function, is similar to my 165, but it does things in different ways. I'll learn it soon enough.

I'm also happy its Friday. This past week has been a bear. I'm ready for a quiet, clam weekend. Now, let's see if that actually happens. . .

Trees Not Coming Down

Yesterday we had this huge tree taken down from behind my house. It was rotten in the middle & if the wind got up or lightning struck it, it would fall on the house. It took 8 1/2 hours , 5 chain saws, and 6 men to bring it down. The poor guy who took the job lost $$, but vowed to keep at it until the tree came down. We couldn't park in the driveway in case the tree fell in that direction so we parked on the narrow street, the neighbors were all watching & several of them were parked on the street as well. At one point the street was blocked for safety reasons if the tree fell & there was a possibility that when it fell it would take out a light pole & fire hydrant with it. That didn't happen, fortunately. By 8 pm last night, all went well & the tree finally came down. We counted rings inside the trunk & determined that the tree was over 200 years old. I hated to lose the only shade in the back yard, but the tree was just too dangerous to leave there. With that fiasco over, my husband joked "what can we do to top that this weekend?" I replied "nothing, I need a quiet weekend." You understand that this week was one of those where everything went wrong? Here's hoping that the weekend & week ahead are quiet & uneventful. I need the rest.

Hello Bernina 830

I finally got to buy a Bernina 830 sewing/embroidery machine. I'd been wanting one for several months. After the last payment was made (to me) on a farm I sold, I splurged & bought one. Yesterday (Thursday) I took the first class on it & found it to be remarkably similar to my old 165 machine. My Dear Hubby is building a cabinet/table for it this weekend, at least he promised he would. The 830 with embroidery module attached is too big to fit on the drafting table I planned to put it on. The table is also too tall for it. I even have some embroidery work lined up at my bank. I opened the embroidery unit to find the foot for it was missing. I called the quilt shop where I got it & they said they'd get me one quickly. They also threw in the mega hoop and the jumbo hoop, plus 27 hours of classes and free lifetime refresher classes. That's one heck of a deal. The hoops and the classes alone are worth about $1200 or so. Can't beat it. Now I have 2 fantastic machines to use, the 830 jumbo hoop will allow to embroider large designs like the entire back of a jacket or shirt. It may take several hours to do, but it is possible. The 830 is probably the last machine I'll ever buy, or need , for that matter. I may need to upgrade my embroidery software to go along with the new machine. I'll try it with version 5 first. Now I feel that I have all the equipment I'll ever need to be truly creative. Stay tuned to see what I create next.

New Project Series

This is the first (still in progress) or a series I call "Kitchen Witches". Each little quilt will depict a "Kitchen Witch" in different aspects of the kitchen, baking, vegies, meat, poultry, cleaning, general cooking, etc. The approximate size will be 18 x 24 inches & will contain journaling and other forms of embellishments. Some may even contain airbrushing. The inspiration for this series is Susan Shie's "Kitchen Tarot" series. Watch along as these 12 Kitchen Witches "come to life" in quilt form. I'm not sure how long the whole series will take, but the journey will be fun . . .

Disheartening News Again

I just found out that my youngest grandson is classified as special needs. He's been diagnosed with apraxia, or the inability to make a lot of sounds necessary for speech- he has extreme difficulty talking. He's about to turn 3 years old & we wondered why he wasn't talking as much as he should, now we know why. This is something I can handle easily since my granddaughter also has apraxia (along with autism & other problems). We already have the necessary stuff to deal with this. SO its not that big of a deal, the hard part is getting his parents to understand what's happening with him & what to do about it. On the flip side, since he's classified special needs, there are massive amounts of help accessible for him. And since we have already been through the special needs maze with my granddaughter, we can help with my grandson too.

I know this blog is supposed to be about quilting, and other fiber arts, but it also deals with my life in general, therefore, I use it (and other things) to get stuff out of my system. So forgive me for posts about frustration, sadness, and other not so good stuff going on in my life at the moment. Writing about it here is a much better way of dealing with the pain than some other methods available. Thanks for "listening".

Bringing Back Old Times

Now that my son has moved back in with us (albeit temporarily) he's also brought music back into the house. Since he is a budding musician, most of his musical equipment came with him. This inspired me to drag out my keyboard & play again. I'm really rusty at it, but i, at one time, wrote some tunes. I may try it again. I did enough songs for 3 or 4 CDs. Although I shopped the songs around, none were ever sold, but I did get good reviews from everyone who heard it. We'll see where that goes.

Also, some of you know I have a granddaughter diagnosed with autism. I'm in the process of starting up a foundation to support the families & others affected by autism. It will help navigate the info maze associated with the disease. I know from experience how steep the learning curve is and how much stuff there is to sift through. If I can help someone else with that maze, so be it. Besides, there is no such group in my town. I thought I'd start one. Right now, I'm in the research & planning stages, nothing is official yet. Once its all said & done, I'll post info about the foundation here.

BTW, we won the first round in court, now to get dear son through this divorce & come out even. That's the next step. Stay tuned to see how it goes . . .

Off Topic- Blind Sided

I got a disturbing phone call yesterday- I had to bail my son out of jail! Talk about a rude surprise. He's not the type to get into trouble. Anyway, it all stemmed from a fight with his wife over the phone, the police got involved & it went from there. Long story, short- he had to move in with us temporarily until things get worked out in court later this week. I see another divorce in the family (my daughter was the first about 7 years ago). I knew, yesterday morning when my internet connection would not work correctly, it was going to be one of those days . . . Today, however has been very calm. I just hope the rest of this week will go smooth. I feel confident that the court thing will be resolved easily. We just need to get the rest of my son's stuff from his house. Then he's done with that. The only hitch in the plan is that there are children (2) involved & they are not quite sure what's happening. That will be worked out as well. We will survive, we've done it before. BTW, I have a king sized lone star quilt in the works to take my mind off this drama. I'll be fine. Stay tuned . . .

Too Hot Today

This was the temperature on Thursday afternoon about 4:45 in central KY, Lexington area. Its only mid July, what will it be in August? This weather is nuts!!

Latest Adventures

Actually I haven't been too adventurous lately. I'm caught up on weaving projects. I made 3 scarves & 3 prayer shawls. They turned out okay. I have a challenge quilt in the works, its 30" square & is a landscape, using fabrics specified in the challenge. At this time the piece is too dark & needs highlights. I plan to use colored pencils to do the high lights.

Things at home have settled down tremendously. Daughter has a new to her car, her ex is finally paying child support, as he's supposed to. For a time he quit & the law caught up to him. Anyway, family things are going well, so far. I'll post pics of the new projects when finished. Stay tuned . . .

Alpaca Scarf

This alpaca scarf actually turned out nearly the way I wanted. Originally, wanted vertical stripes, but the warp(vertical threads) were spaced too wide apart - my fault- so i got horizontal stripes instead. Its 8 inches wide & 64 inches long. Its light weight, yet warm & made from hand painted/dyed alpaca yarn. I'm getting better at weaving, just not quite where I want to be yet, but, then again, I'm still learning.

Quilting arts Magazine Challenge

This image was published in the June/July issue of Quilting Arts magazine. here's the link, http://quiltingarts.com/media/p/15823.aspx. I entered the challenge back in the winter but never heard anything more about it so I thought I didn't make it in. the other day I purchased a copy of the new issue & found some of the entries for this challenge shown in the issue. It said there were more entries online. I went online & looked for mine. Low & behold, there it was on the second page, second row on the far right. Its encouraging to see that someone likes you work enough to publish it. Will I enter more? Maybe, it depends on the challenge & what else I have going at the time. Finding this was the best thing that happened all week.

Sewing for Charity

I've always been one to help out wherever I can. Lately that means sewing for charitable causes. The latest cause is the million pillowcase challenge from All People Quilt.com. The idea is to make pillow cases, the goal 1,000,000 (not all from me of course)& donate them to charities in your local community. The website is keeping up with the numbers donated so far. My quilt guild is making them too, we're giving them to a foundation that services the military & their families. One of the guild members started the foundation in memory of a soldier she befriended as a pen pal. Shortly after he returned home, he passed away from cancer, which he didn't know he had until it was too late. Anyway, I've made 12 pillowcases so far. I was making them with my serger until it decided not to work correctly. I re-threaded it (a picky job itself) & finally got it to work again. I'm not sure how many more I'll make since I've met my goal of a dozen.
You know, just when you think things are going your way, life hands you another problem. Tuesday, my daughter's car quit on her in the middle of the road. It was towed home, but it still won't start. Hubby is working on it, we've tried a new battery- that wasn't it, next is to test the starter. I'm afraid the little car, which is old & worn out, just made its last run Tuesday. If that's the case,we'll have to figure out what the next step is. Since she's unable to work, she doesn't have the funds to get another car & mom doesn't have it now either. We'll work it out somehow. Stay tuned, life gets interesting every day . . .

Painted Yarns

Here are two balls of hand painted yarn. yes, I painted them myself. The process was simple. I first unwound the balls of store bought, cotton yarn onto a skein winder, then I tied the skeins so they wouldn't come tangled. I dunked them in plain water, applied the textile paint & allowed it to sit for a while so the yarn would absorb the paint. Then, I laid them out in the sun to dry. Once dry I zapped the yarns in the microwave for 3 minutes each. Next, I rewound the skeins back into balls. The longest part was waiting for the yarn to dry. It takes a hot sunny day for best results. The paints make the yarns a bit stiffer than dyes do because the paint sits on top of the fibers instead of becoming part of the fiber like dye would. I found a source for natural, plain yarns to dye or paint. I'll probably do this again.

A Shawl

Aside from some practice pieces, this is my first official woven project. It's a 24" wide shawl in wool yarn. Its about 5 foot long. It should have been a little longer, the target length was 6 foot. I'm still working on getting the right length to things. But, it does go around the shoulders nicely.
The photo below shows the detail. It uses a pick up stick design of 2 up & 2 down. It was fairly simple to accomplish & took about 4-6 hours to weave.

More to come, Stay tuned . . .

Christening Gown

Here is the christening gown I just finished making. Its made of 8mm silk haboti, the type of silk used in silk painting. This piece looks like a 2 piece dress & coat, but its actually a one piece gown, the the coat front attached to the back. It also has little embroidered flowers on the collar. It didn't give me too much trouble to make, expect for the "2 left fronts" I acidently made at first. I had to take out the lace & facing on the right side of the coat & turn it to correct it in order to have a right side & left side of the coat. I hope that made sense. Its from a Martha Pullen pattern. The last photo is the full view, the first is the detail & the second is detail of the closing on the coat. I don't have anyone in mind to give the outfit to, just made it to see if I could pull it off-- and I did, to my surprise.

Weaving Again

A couple of weeks ago I purchased 2 weaving looms, small ones, an inkle to produce bands & a 24" rigid heddle loom. Weaving is something I used to do some 20+ years ago & I've thought about going back to it for some time, so I did. I'm really rusty at it, so much so that I feel like a beginner- again. Once I get good at regular weaving I'll try the fancier stuff like patterned pieces & weaving on multiple heddles (those are the things the yarn/thread warp goes through to lay in the weft (the horizontal threads, the warp goes longways of the thread) Here is my first project, both on the loom & finished. Its a scarf, woven from regular sport weight yarns & it took about 2 days to produce.

A quilt from a Photo

While a quilt made from a photo is not unusual, all of the blocks in this particular quilt are made from the same photo.The little quilt also has embroidery on the edges & the corners. Here are the details, the whole quilt & the photo from which the blocks were made. The first photo is the one from which the blocks were made, using a kaleidoscope software. The other photos are of the quilt, the embroidery details & of the block itself.

Shopping

When I'm between projects, I tend to get antsy, pacing around the house, reading though old magazines, anything to keep moving-- until I find a new project to do. Sometimes- most times- a trip to the local quilt shop will provide me with inspiration for another quilt or sewing project. Yesterday I went to the local shop to buy fabric to finish a "pink Floral" kaleidoscope project that I'd printed out using a single photo on kaleidoscope software. That photo was of dogwood trees blooming, hence the pink. Before I got out of the shop, I'd spent too much $$ & had not one but 3 more projects lined up to do. I'll spend today cutting fabric for the pink quilt & trying to figure out the other 2 projects. Gotta go & cut fabric now.

Air Applique & the "Headache" quilt

This is a recent project done in the technique of "air applique" where there is no base fabric to stitch the applique pieces to, you just overlap the seam allowances & stitch the pieces together. The second photo, on the right, is a painting using the same, albeit smaller, sketch used in the quilt. I plan to show them together at the upcoming spring show, May 15. The project was indeed challenge & left me with a headache, trying to figure it out. The technique came from Barbara Olson's book, "Journey of an Art Quilter". The project took about 2 weeks to complete, the quilt is roughly 48" x 60" and the painting, acrylic, is 24' x 36".

Too Many Baby Gifts

I've been working on baby gifts, 8 of them. Seems like lots of women at the school where hubby works are having babies, all about the same time. So I've been making tiny, little dresses, fancy jackets from silk, little kimonos, & bonnets. Each of these tiny items takes several hours to put together, counting all the decorative & heirloom stitching, the lace & trims, not to mention, the small amount of space there is to sew. Have you ever tried to make tiny sleeves without sewing them together? It takes time, you must go slow to avoid sewing tubular things like sleeves together. It's a lot more difficult than it sounds, believe me.

This week, my quilt guild is going on a field trip. We shop for fabric, visit other quilt shops in the area & eat. We're going to southern KY Tuesday. This time my daughter's going too. She's psyched about it. I was waiting till the morning or the trip to make a final decision about going, depending on the weather & how I felt, but it looks like I'll be going anyway, regardless of how I feel, otherwise, daughter will be disappointed & I'll have to listen to her whine about not going. Oh well, I probably need a day out, away from it all anyway. More about the trip later. I'll go back to making baby outfits. . .

Heirloom Sewing

I've been interested in heirloom sewing for a few years, dabbling in it off & on. Well, I'm back on for now. I'm learning techniques about the craft. There are several women at the school where my husband works who are having babies, so I will have somewhere for the projects to go once they're finished, provided they don't turn out as total disasters. At this writing, I'm working on a christening outfit. I have it cut out & am designing the fancy parts now. I'm learning about stuff like entredeux & mederia applique, wing needles and pin tucks and such. I'll get there, eventually. I'll post some photos of the projects when finished.

Marriner's Compass Quilt Problems

I had major problems with this quilt on the Grand Quilter, which kept coming un- threaded half way through a quilting run. So I took the quilt off the frame & proceeded to finish the quilting on my little Bernina. I finished it, but it looks lousy, at least the quilting part. I'm totally aggravated with the Grand Quilter,a Pfaff product. It does this to me every time I use it (coming un-threaded in the middle of a run, often multiple times). I have had the tech & the shop owner work with it to tell me nothing is wrong with the machine, I'm going too fast. I slow down, it happens anyway. Anyone want to buy a lightly used Grand Quilter & frame? I have to bind the huge quilt yet. I was thinking about putting it in the Spring Quilt show, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe people will notice the design on the top & not the quilting so much. Anyway, I got some nice comments which I appreciate. That alone encourages me to continue the project. Once I finish it, I'll just have another bed quilt for my bed (king size) & one for the cats & dog, who sleep with me, to lay on. Oh well, life goes on.

The New Quilt

Here's photos of my new quilt, the one that began as a 4 foot project & ended as 99" square. Its huge!!The next hurdle is to quilt it. There are also some detail pics of the project. The ends of the quilt have half mariners compasses & the corners are new york beauty blocks.