Wow what a lot of ...

The deadline for the quilt show has me spreading a few things on my work table.

This is not going as fast as I'd hoped.

The challenge fabric for this year's show is the fuchsia.  I had thought convergence and actually made two other sets to converge with this set but yuk!  Not going to work. I unearthed it because a challenge is a challenge even if I've now made it more challenging. :(  So this is back on the table for review and inspiration. HMMMM???

There is a good chance I could have this MQ'd for the show.  Nothing fancy but I like it.  I just have to get inspired for the final border.

I'm really enjoying the AB class.  This is a work page on motion as a design element.  I often think of a strong wind as motion.  Because we are also considering contrast I realized the soft fall of snow is just as much motion as gusts of leaves are. The travel path of a beam of light, the unfolding of a paint fan deck.   Most interesting!!!  hmm, I need a chunk of a map because if that doesn't speak movement, what does!  lol

So my link to The Needle & Thread Network shows a lot of different things and all I can say is my worktable is messy!  But I have a map of all the things I need to take on this day's travels.  I'll be checking on my fellow traveler's journeys.  Ticket's please.

wow testing

Just stitching out all of the preprogrammed patterns that are in Nina's innards can be a bit boring but I've had a few  what if's...

Stitch #114 looks kinda hody hum on the selection screen but wow!  I like it!  Then I was still thinking about it a pattern later and stitched the pattern twice.  Awk,  it'll ruin my nice photo opportunity for WIP Wednesday.  duh!  So I hit mirror image and squeezed in the pattern and this will remind me when I'm hunting for bright ideas to try the mirror image in combos!

I stabilized my fabric and marked it so I'd know where to cut my sections.

Using a white side, a black side and stitching in a medium colour does make a difference.  Some stitch patterns just look better on one side than the other.  go figure!

I trimmed the squares and then placed two with wrong sides together and edges stitched.  I am using one  patters on each pair and making a note of the number.  I also am finding that sewing off the edges  and doing the sides and then top and bottom edge is working better than turning corners.

Boring with brief moments of inspiration but definitely this is a good idea.  I'll be keeping them in a handy box and referencing them often.

This exercise also reminded me that while I do like free motion I also like the lovely patterning that our sewing machines are perfectly suited to do.  Nina just purrs away.  What if...

A few years ago I challenged myself to work in a limited palette.  I need to challenge myself to find ways to incorporate Nina's penchant for perfect patterns and my passion for free form.

Accepting challenges

  Deadlines are always motivating but the pressure of time is perhaps not conducive to the best work.

 I had ambitious plans but I'm wondering if my style might not be found in the more simpler modes.

 I do like blogging about what I do as I always learn when I try to describe my process and of course the photos often reveal details I overlook.

I must confess that I like this better on the wall than in the photo.  Aqua is a hard colour to capture and the light/dark balance seems off in the photo.  I had originally been so thrilled with pillow ticking for a base fabric for dyeing.  It dyes wonderfully but the more I work with it the more I find its tight weave a detriment to fibre art.

In the new year I hope to do less challenges and more technique series.

Above and Beyond

I'm so glad that we decided early on to leave the two bedrooms alone.  My son in law had decided to remove the 2 tiny closets and put in one straight wall.  He will put a new closet on the wall at the foot of the bed.  Even if a drywaller had stepped in,  we wouldn't have had the time to paint.   

The master bedroom opens off the living room and is small.  Cari always has one of my quilts on her bed but with the taupe walls and all her battenburg lace duvet and pillow cases I decide to just use the white for this photo.  I spray painted the thrift store lamps gold and I need to find bigger and hopefully  rectangular shades.  I'd seen them a month ago and didn't realize shipping and storing lampshades is risky business.  They dent easily. So now I know, if you see one you like, buy it!.  And these lamps need big shades.  Rectangle would put them further back on the bedside tables and contrast the curves in the bed and lace.  I used a battenburg bedskirt to make valences over the sheer curtains.

This new wall will be a perfect photo gallery wall and all the frames should be white.

The kiddie room had bunk beds that overpowered the room and the reality is that the kids aren't ready for them. So Willian had put one away.  They each have their own end.  Their dad is South American so the theme incorporates that and is also suitable for either gender as growing things and flowers figure prominently in their lives.

I took the two bookcases from my house and they'll each have one to store their stuff. Now I've learned a lot about spray painting since I first did this. sad, very sad.  LOL  And their Dad is an excellent spray painter and has serious spray equipment so he can improve on them.   I did organize a play area in the basement for trucks, trains, blocks and kitchen.  The kids' Papa is a carpenter.  He made a kitchen for his daughter.

He also made the bedside tables and this hutch which we moved from their room because the new closet will go in its place.  The chair is being stripped back to natural wood. Oooh, blurry but all I took.

I was in such a rush to get finished I neglected to take a photo of the Rooster work in the tiny hall.  A corner holds some triangular shelves that has baskets with white liners to hold stuff.  I also used some curtains my DD made to cover the basement pantry.  The basement  has a revamped laundry area and an area for the kids to play.  An old coffee table is the new Thomas the Tank play station.  

That pretty much wraps up the make over.  I enjoyed the creative challenge.  I hope they enjoy the change.

I would like to say that it has taken years of trying different things, reading lots of magazines and decorating books to get to the place where I can pull together a cohesive decorating scheme. I'm reluctant to take on projects for others because a home is so personal and should reflect what the owners lov.   I'm not sure why decorating held such an interest for me even as a youngster.  Perhaps it was my first doll house. Notice Elaina's.  I gave it to her for her first birthday.  Some pieces are put away so she doesn't swallow them.  I think if one is interested in something, then one notices things, analyzes why it works  and pursues and learns all about it.  This encourages me to continue to pursue creative things whether it be decorating, sewing, arts or crafts.  Notice I didn't include cooking!   I ain't  THAT interested.  lol

The family returns today and I'll be spending the weekend visiting and relaxing.  Monday will bring new creative challenges.

For the birds!

The group challenge is birds. Not wanting to do the obvious, I did bird eggs.

I thought I'd try a digital transfer on some of my hand dyed fabric.

I printed the image from my computer onto the Transfer Artist Paper with my printer. That went swell, except I forgot it prints reverse image. Not too much of a problem as the fabric was darker than the little bit of lettering.

I ironed it on and should not have stopped to take a photo as the colour is lighter after I continued removing the paper backing! ;^)

Then I thought to stencil a bird on the fabric. The stamp was great on the paper but a little bit indistinct on the fabric. I needed a bit of a coarser stamp with deeper grooves, I'm thinking.

It gets a bit softer with a wash but I was anxious to try stitching on it.

Nina no like! :( And when Nina isn't happy I tend to get a little crabby myself! ;)

Now it is possible that part of the problem is the tight weave on my base cloth. I'm thinking I may have to find another fabric much as I like the price and the feel. I may also need to experiment with some different needles.

So I have sat down to think about what to do next. And while I am thinking I shall probably begin to baste the first of two quilts that need quilting asap!

Please feel free to add some "what if's... ".

Here a little, there a little

I really am managing to stay focused and do some of the daily chores as well.

The veranda focus has kept me from painting every darn thing I can think of. So I hauled the stuff I'd forgotten that goes with the veranda over to the designated paint area for phase 2. okay, plus 2 or 3 possible veranda candidates! I sanded the benches and washed them down. The neighbour caught me looking my worst but...

Then I tackled the porch floor and almost got myself in a corner. I even felt this paint went on better. Maybe because of the previous coats? YES! The rust flows better into the house with its fir flooring. And not to mention the rug I bought for the veranda!

This is an early morning shot through the screen window.

I worked through lunch and got going on all the rest. Out of sight is the orange cupboard for the upstairs hall and it is there because I have a spray can for it. (another goal is to reduce the paint supply) It might need some sanding and another can of spray. (one can gone, one can coming) :O

I ran out of the paint I wanted on the benches. Why don't I do the most visible parts first??? But this could be a serendipity. They were planks my Rooster made into benches 35 years ago. I relegated them to outside about 20 years ago and at some point stained them a green and a blue. The grandson practiced on one with cobalt blue and lime green paint this summer. So some of that colour remained after sanding.

I think I can get these to look vintage like that old trunk. The sun is going to be hot tomorrow and I'll try to wax them. This is definitely a 'what if...' project!

Then I hit the shower. No sign of my rooster.

I arrived late for our group's meeting. Everyone was quite busy working on a spiral table runner. Good thing I'd decided NOT to add a project to my list. They had already got their instructions and the next step was Greek to me. But I bet they turn out wonderfully. But I was hungry and tired so I went to see if my Rooster had returned to the roost.

All the while I have 2 challenges on my mind. This journal page needs to develop a Geranium theme. And then I need to do 'something for the birds'.

This morning I do my last stint at the thrift shop. Surely there can't be much more for me to find and bring home!!!

Facing the deadline

For sure I needed some more motifs.

I cut four more out and fused them in place. Then they all need some stitching to further secure the edges which I'd like to make less noticeable but I'm not exactly sure how to best do that. Good thing there is always a 'next time'! ;^)


I thought I should also outline some of the flowers in the background with some free motion quilting. Needs some hand stitching on the back facing but DONE.

The facings are easy to apply. I'd like to figure less bulk in the corners, though.

The wider vertical strip on the left end changed the dimensions of the zig zag quilting and that threw a curve in the works and I could have resolved the open ends better, I think. But it is okay, another next time!

I won't hand stitch this down just yet as I'm thinking I should add some quilting to those pinwheels.
This set up can be improved but not for this quilt. It is go, Go, GO!

Finished! No Fooling

There are lots of things not finished. Winter is sending fat flakes to say she isn't quite done. The worst cold ever has snuck back up on me and asked for another spoonful of the kind of medicine that is helped by Mary Poppins addition of sugar! All this is making me grumpy.

So this^

Became this ^ with a lot of muttering, vows, and some muscle.

The first quarter of the year is over. FIND is my word for the year and I'm not finding my groove and I don't really mean rut! So I need to find a better way to make things happen for the rest of the year.

I am slightly addicted to saving scribbles, notes, articles. Heck, whole magazines or parts there of. I don't file right away and the 2 file drawers, though reduced from 4, still bulge and the piles drive me crazy. I have learned to get rid of empty flat places where it is easy to dump piles. I was grumpy enough that even without my glasses I pitched Paper. :O

What if I was finished saving paper?

I edited my library of books a few years ago. I still have LOTS, mostly technique books. I have 2 dozen lined up and ready for action. I like to start new things. I have a dozen ideas on any given day. I have opportunities. I belong to a sewing club with monthly challenges, a quilt group with monthly and a yearly challenge. I belong to several on line groups with challenges. I'm beginning to feel slightly challenge stressed because of the extras- the socializing, the time for tutorials, the scheduling, the rush for the deadline, and the choosing of the commitment over the 'just because'.

What if I turned from the call of the challenge to the first technique book on my line up and turned to chapter one and worked in a series?

Friday's are for finishes and I think I'm done going around in circles. It makes for a dizzy chick!

When life gives you scraps...

Very busy week with the kids visiting.

My DD#2 worked on a baby quilt using the Thirties Fabrics that DD#1 collected. It is for a mutual friend so I'm sure it'll all work out. ;^)

Now we have to evaluate to see if it needs a border and what kind.

The next challenge for Common Threads is 'garbage'; anything you would be normally throwing away. Now there is far too much usable fabric to throw away but I do want to be using up scraps and leftovers for these journal quilts so I was evaluating the left over strata from the rail fence blocks.

These are also meant to be somewhat in the manner of art quilts so I did a lot of ripping and rearranging to make something along a bargello effect.

This is Week 4's little journal quilt. I'll have to try again for the garbage theme next week.

Thursday I was at the Bernina Sewing Club. The project was a great tote and then we practiced using a wonderful couching foot. The pot holder at the very beginning of the post was my try. I had seen this foot before and it is not available for my older machines. I REALLY like this foot and I have been evaluating my needs, wants and desires. Should I put all my eggs in one basket and trade in the two old machines for the new machine? I took them in for evaluation and I'm left with my even older Bernina Minimatic to keep up with the art journals. Here's hoping!