Japan Earthquake- My Thoughts

I think, and have thought this for a while, that the news media is supporting the fear of people who would not otherwise give second thought to radiation. I can understand the danger in Japan, but that's in Japan, a long way from the USA. It seems to me that in the dramatization of the bad news in Japan the news media keeps pushing the idea of danger in whatever situation it reports on. I say listen but think for yourself, take the news with a "grain of salt" and don't worry about something that is too far away to count. Yes, its a real fear for those in the vicinity, but that is there & I am not. I've been in a disaster situation myself in the recent past (tornado) & its not fun. I also was on the DART team for the local red cross office years ago, so I understand disaster situations from both sides, and I've also learned the news media can make things sound worse than they actually are & they can be pushy & get in the way. Are they taught to do this somewhere? They can be rude & deceitful in order to get the story, as that is my experience with them. I think its stupid, on their part, to put themselves into dangerous situations just for the story. I truly feel for the Japanese people who have nothing now, & I applaud those who've go into help. But the news people aren't helping the situation by sensationalizing the situation. Again, just my thoughts on the situation.

Butterfly Wall Hanging

This is the latest finished quilt. It has hand stitching (the black lines) done in black perle cotton in a chain stitch. The rest is free motion machine work, hand applique & thread painting (the flowers). I've worked on it for about 3 weeks & finished it this morning. The quilt is 36" by 44" in size.This is my entry for the Hive Creative Challenge, Spring 2011.
I've also completed the top to the ALS quilt but it didn't turn out as well as I'd like so I'm planning to do another that is easier construction but just as nice once its together. I'll post that when & if its done. Later. . .

Creative Vison Machine Update

I got the machine back today, a part was replaced. I'm embroidering a piece now to test it out. So far, so good. The dealer said the hoop on the other design might have gotten bumped onto & that's why it was misaligned. This time, I moved the machine far away from the wall.

Spring Finally

Today is March 1, 2011. The sun is out, its cool, but it feels like spring in the air just the same. Yesterday it rained, 2.5 inches, it did the same thing last Thursday. Plus, both days we had severe weather move through my area. Life has had its ups and downs lately. My autistic granddaughter transferred schools successfully & likes the new school to our surprise. On the down side, I attempted to embroider something on my Pfaff Creative Vision machine over the weekend. The first try turned out terribly misaligned- didn't use enough stabilizer. Since the design took 90 minutes to do, I tried again the next day. This time the needle broke, so I replaced it. That happens sometimes so I wasn't concerned. However, when none of the feet would stay on the machine (they're supposed to snap on & wouldn't) and the take up lever wouldn't catch the thread, I knew it needed to be fixed. Yesterday, in the pouring rain, I took it to the dealer, who dutifully wrote down the problems, then told me she wasn't sure when the technician would be in to fix it. "We never know" she said. Bummer. I'll check back about the end of the week and hope for the best. This is the 2nd Pfaff product I've had trouble with. You'd think I'd quit buying them. At least my Bernina machines give me little to no trouble at all & the dealer is prompt in fixing it if needed. The same dealer called on Saturday to tell me than an item I ordered & paid for 6 months ago was no longer available- it wasn't made anymore. She, at least, offered me a store credit (which I took) & a huge apology. It wouldn't have been such a big deal but this is about the 3rd time I've used the machine in the past 6 months. I finally got a workbook online that allowed me to learn how to use it, then these things happen. I'll just keep plugging on, but I won't wait another 6 months to have it fixed- I hope to have it fixed by next week or the dealer will get a not so nice phone call on why hasn't it been fixed yet. And life goes on . . .

Latest Project

Here's my latest project, designed on EQ6. The plan is to submit this, once finished, to the Quilter's Dream contest for ALS patients, that is the quilts are donated to ALS patients. I've only begun the project, have 1 block out of 25 done so far. I hope to at least finish this quilt in time to submit it to the contest. We'll see how it goes. The quilt will be done in batiks. Stay tuned for progress reports. . .

Snow Day

This is the view from my back porch today, Feb. 7th. The flakes are huge. It snowed like this 32 years ago today, the day I had my son. Guess what today is? That's right, his birthday. Talk about deja vu! That year we got about 8 inches or so. I hope that's not a repeat.

I'm playing . . .

With color. I painted with markers. It needs details yet.

This one was done with gouache. I need to add details yet, but haven't figured out what exactly to add. This one might be an entry into the fabric design field. I'm trying to break in but its not easy. I had the same design enlarged to make into a quilt but haven't got up the nerve to try it yet, maybe one of these days . . .

This one was also done in gouache. It also needs a background yet & I haven't figured out what to put in it.
I've spent more time painting lately than sewing or quilting. I have, as of yesterday (Feb.5) began an applique butterfly, a large one. I'm doing the butterfly on muslin first then I'll find a background for it. And that's what I've been working on lately.