Jumping the tracks!

 As a traditional quilter who was slightly bored,  I joined Naptime Quilter's quilt Along for a modern  version of a rail fence.  Cheryl has since given up naps and has started a Dining room Empire.  I can't seem to locate the finished quilt but it was finished and gifted to my niece.  I learned I don't like high contrast but I did enjoy the improvisational aspect of making it.

And sew began my journey to explore the fields that grow alongside the tracks.  I wouldn't stay fenced in.   I started sticking my neck through the fence so I could better see those wide, more open spaces.

I made a smaller quilt in modern fabrics a few years ago and this quilt is seldom put away.

  The lower contrast stripe is much more to my liking!  And I off set the blocks. 

How can I go back to the old rail fence????

It was in me to want to row over the wide world.  I tried quilt as you go early on in my quilt history and I made this quilt up one winter as a Christmas present for my parents.  It helped use up a lot of blue fabrics that I had accumulated.  Again, I enjoyed this process. And I definitely want to do more quilt as you go!

 Seems like I jumped the tracks.  Those two parallel lines were too confining.  I needed this quilt a bit bigger so I added the borders.

 I machine quilted it using the wavy serpentine stitch on my sewing machine.  This is another older quilt.  The peach period!  It isn't this puckery in real life.  I must have just washed it! :O

When I needed two quilts for the bunk beds I again picked this easy approach.   I just stitched in the ditch between strips.  I think I'm ready to try some fancy MQing all over rather than fall into those ditches again though.

Another quick spring table runner.  I luv this minimalist look!

I did a workshop with Marilyn Stothers, a Manitoba teacher, gosh a decade or so ago.  I enjoyed her curved strip piecing.  I made place mats and I expect these curves will show up on a larger quilt some day.

 I'm not sure whether rail fences were influenced by the row idea or if strippy quilts played a part.  Next week I'll do more stripping as I unravel the mystery of how I got where I am since I did jump those tracks!  LOL

I'm linking this to Throwback Thursday on A Quarter Inch From the Edge.  

Its a very happy Monday

I'm so very thankful for such a great year!  I think we sewed some good seed that produced good food, productive days and sweet memories.

We don't want to be resting on our laurels so I have some more things planned for the rest of the week.  I'm happy to do so and thankful to be able to!!!  :)

week review

We were sitting having supper the other night  and I excused myself to capture the westerly sunset that was causing the birch to glow!  After I sat back down I thought, oh, that's even better but the Rooster had been wondering if the chickens were back in the flower beds so his supper was getting cold, too!  :)

ah!  I've figured out where these 'odd' pictures are coming from.  There is a painting setting on my camera!  kinda cool  And it helps disguise my morning pages. ;^)

The vitamins are definitely upping my motivation factor.  One big one is a multi multi.  One is a vitamin C because the Rooster is coughing and sneezing and I have NO time for down time.  The other big one is a free form amino acid and I think that is doing good things.  I also have some liquid B and a B6 'cause my right hand is kinda twitchy and I have no time for carpal tunnel issues!
Hopefully I can eliminate some of these as time goes on.  I must have been depleted somehow.

But I definitely felt great this week!

I managed to get the 'chores' done without entering into full house overhaul which is my way of procrastinating. I kept an eye on the clock for where I was at on the list.  Kinda deadlines to keep me moving forward and not stuck procrastinating on unimportant stuff.

 I did get a bit more fall decorating done.  It is recommended to light the candles and turn on lamps for decor pictures but I'm not seeing the yellow ball as cozy so...  :P

I got a journal spread done and a box of inspiration for the next pages.  In fact I have a second spread started in another book.

I am mulling over rail fence influences for the next treasure but that is still in the thinking stage.

We wrapped up last year's colour art book and signed the 'I am an artist' page.  :)

Then I handed out the new books for this year.  I'd taken portraits for the first page and then they got their first spread organized and glued down.  Josh needed to list his favourite subjects and he wanted to know how to spell the boy next door's name.  lol  Thursdays are busy days.  We do art before lunch.  Then a quick bite and we are off to hockey, free skate, and choir with the local home schoolers. I think that makes me a hockey gram'elle which makes me a regular grandma but 'cooler'!   :^)  I don't do anything but collapse Thursday evenings! :/

I got a busy and sewed.  I figured out the sewing block- as in stalled.  An audio teaching/lesson/sermon keeps me at the machine till the end and I often press next!  I got all my fabric cut.  I'm sewing one quarter of the top (25 blocks) at a time so I get good fabric mixes, at least I hope so.  This is a fabric kit and I'm about four fabric pairs short so I'm hoping my additions add a spark to the mix.  We'll see but there is no time yet to evaluate.  Head down, pedal to the metal and sew!   woo hoo!!! 

Now to continue the forward motivating!

Journal Joy

I am back to journal pages again.  I have found a better way of working!  It makes me JOYFUL!

I had started this layout and kinda stalled at what to do next.   Sometimes I just call it done,  leave it for another day and start a  new page.

 As I've been gathering stuff up when I clean my playroom I started realizing that bits and pieces were good journal fodder which I set aside. hmmm!  What if I made up smaller challenge boxes???  So I gathered together a collection in a box  and finished my page from the contents.  mostly!

I chose some odds and ends, some  new products I hadn't even opened and some just because items.

woo hoo!  I've discovered a great way to finish my journal pages.   I may need two boxes to contain my joy!

First Kit

One Christmas I persuaded the Rooster to give me a fabric kit.  I'm not sure when that was nor am I sure that it came with a pattern.  The fabrics were all woven, mostly plaids.

I really liked them and actually made a quilt that I machine quilted and used on our bed.  It has faded somewhat over time.

I struggled to find a good layout and learned my first lesson about coordinated fabrics.  There will never be a WOW factor if you only use the kit.  It needs a spark to make it come alive.  The gal who was teaching us the sampler course helped me audition some fabrics and this wild  yellow/orange mottled fabric waved wildly.  I was amazed by what it brought to the quilt table.  This was way before Bali's became popular and probably started my luv affair with orange!

When I joined the Working in a Series project,  I chose the square in a square block. First step is to make a traditional quilt using the block.  Gee, I should have remembered this quilt instead of reinventing the wheel.  :^P  As I've been looking for treasures I was reminded that I'm even using a kit of coordinating fabrics. Sheesh!

But I'm encouraged because I also found a wonky square in a square quilt that I 'designed' myself.  :)

I have the beginning and the future!  Time to get busy on all the middle quilts and see where this all ends! 

The main thing

New season, new month, new week and fresh motivation.  I always have LOTS of ideas.  The Rooster is catching on to the term ADD!  He says I am a relief from supervising his men but I still require some watching as I am VERY easily sidetracked from the designated job.  lol

I'm not always where I'm supposed to be and doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  But, we are getting things done.  He hardly has been squawking at me and I've been clucking nicely.

But he does have a day job and I must try to stay on my own laid out path!   So Monday Mornings is my attempt at accountability and progress.  I'll reveal the check list on the weekend!  I was gonna say Friday Finishes but I am a notorious procrastinator so I'll likely be too busy on Friday.  Here is to a productive week!  :-)

Alright Autumn

With some help from the grand kiddies, I put some fall decor in place.  We had a very severe frost so it is time to clear everything up and put things away.  Both the Rooster and I are looking forward to a slower pace.

We have one last project on the go.  We needed to put two low sheep sheds together to make a garden shed for the lawn mowers and what not.  Elaina thought it would make a good play house and is asking about having at least one half of it!

I gathered up all the school art stuff.  The art books from last year are bound and ready for return.  This year we'll be doing smash books and I got lots of goodies from the closing sale of the local scrapbook store to document the coming school year.   Now to get the ink into the printer so we can add photos. 

I'd hoped to sort my stencils for the  rack I got but that didn't seem a good use for it so I'm rethinking hanging stencils with J hooks.  I bought an acrylic shelving rack to cut into clear stamp pads for those cling back stamps. A $3 quick fix if the Rooster has the right saw blade.   I got an extra to try as a work surface as they are sloped.

I need to start picking warmer places for The Artist Date. Brr, the water pen could have froze up!   :O

I also spent a day trying to get some chronological sense out of my quilting history.   I'm looking for clues to determine what has influenced me and how that will translate into new experiences.  I tend to look ahead rather than back so this is very interesting.

Alrighty!  Lets see how this colourful season translates into projects.  :)

A bust!

I appreciate Vicki's faithfulness in keeping up the UFO Busting challenge.  It has not been a summer conducive to sewing but it has certainly been on my mind.  Thinking about it last night I realized I am so very NOT a list keeper and perhaps the math tally defeats me.  BUT...  I am determined to get through my back log of projects so I can have the joy of just making (and finishing) new projects.

I made a paper copy of all my projects at the beginning of summer and as I begin my fall restart I have decided to let the wonky Noah's ark go to those who will finish it.  I also have been thinking of my home decorating and cutesy wall hangings no longer appeal.  These two have hardly passed the planning stage so I will just slip them back into the stash.

Can I say three done/dealt with!  ;^(

A sampling of treasure

 In the early nineties I invited a few ladies over to see if anyone was interested in quilting.  We started a little quilt group and called ourselves The Country Road Quilters as we were all in a rural setting and traveled at least a half an hour to get together.  We met every week and took turns hosting the meetings.  The first rule was no food and it was pitched out when the first meeting began with coffee and goodies.  Somewhere along the line we included lunches.  :O    At some point the original four of us made 4 blocks representing our home in each others chosen colours.  Then we each set the four blocks into a wall hanging.

But before we got to that point we decided we all needed to sign up for a sampler course at the nearest quilt shop.  As with most classes we had to buy our fabric at the store.  I was mightily resisting the whole calico thing by this time and I was struggling.

 So I found a paisley in amongst the bolts and dared to pick coordinating solids in blue. Now I was into the country look and the blues would work in my bedroom even if paisley isn't exactly 'country'.   Everyone had their eyebrows up but I stuck to my intentions.  

By the time I got around to the borders I had to figure out how to stretch the fabric I had and make it fit the double bed.  Then came the quilting.  :O  Everyone hand quilted and we brought our hoops and worked on them every week.  I again struggled.  The rocking stitch defeated me.  So I stab stitched in secret!  LOL  Turns out lots of quilters stab stitched but it wasn't how 'real' quilters did it in my neck of the woods.  This quilt would still be 'hooped' if I hadn't discovered Harriet Hargrave and machine quilting.  :)  I resisted the urge to unpick everything, finished up the last few blocks by machine and made creative choices for the border.  I should have stood my ground on the backing but knuckled under to a plain white cotton which looks simply horrid with all that catywompus blue quilting thread on the very visible back.  :(

Not being a traditionalist I decided I didn't like samplers and would never do another.  Never say never for there are many ways to make samplers and the quilt group chose several.   But those treasures must wait for another Tuesday!

Shhh! They're sleeping!

I'm trying to sip my morning coffee and plan my week without waking up the visiting grand kiddies!  ;^)  Last year's art books are off to be officially coiled and it took almost a whole day with my gal and I working steadily to get the right pages in the right book.  This year will require names on everything!  :(

I have help with the fall decorating and that should be finished up this week.  Looks like  a frost night is coming and we'll do one cover over and then it'll be time to pull everything.  The last summer project is winding down just in time for yard prep for winter.

Today is the last full day for my wee visitors and we plan to make lots of art!

 uh, oh!  First one is up!  Second one is stirring and the last one is recovering from watching last night's eclipse!  ;)

This, that, and the other thing

An Artist Date

Or perhaps this would be a better blog post title-  Live, Dance, Love...  BE!

This is a lovely facility in their little city.  Lots to do including ballet, belly dancing, and

a great art room with lots of supplies.  There are music rooms, one with a big black grand piano.

I got them to choir practice in time and I have a feeling Jingle Bells is going to lose its charm, at least for me, before the big concert day arrives!  :(

A trip to the local store where we scooped up some deals at the closing sale. 

Unfortunately, The Rooster had another work project planned for Saturday so art will happen when he goes to work on Monday.

Treasure in the barn attic revealed another new thing!   I don't know about them, but I've been sleeping good!  Its a good weekend so far!  Let it BE, let it be!!!  :)

A Squirrely Treasure

This block is an old traditional pattern known by a few names- Churn Dash, Quails Nest, Monkey Wrench and Barn Door.  Using the border fabric as a starting point I picked my colours, trying for lights, mediums, and darks in several colours as I wanted a scrappy effect.  The alternate blocks are neutrals.

 This quilt probably started my luv affair with on point or diagonal designs.  :}

It is a well used quilt, faded; and the cotton batting has gotten quite thin.  The quilting is just straight lines with a walking foot.  I guess I could say it is a summer quilt.

I spent hours, heck days, spreading my colours around to display a pleasing balance.  I particularly wanted the few yellows to be separated.  After sewing it all together and basting it I discovered that some blocks had moved from their pre-arranged position.  :[  The butter curdled.  The monkey threw a wrench. 

I thought nuts! and changed its name to Squirrels Nest!   I was not laughing then, but I do now.  ;^)