In the mood for T

There are a variety of things happening this week and they best fit under T for to-do, transfers, tea party, tutorials etc. I'm enjoying the challenge of creating a theme each week and I'm getting in a mood that fits everything to a 'T'!  I do believe I'll drink to that.  ;)

Curtailing the Craziness

While I managed to curtail the start of a new quilt I did realize that I could scratch that particular itch with a little kitchen project.  The kitchen has a ways to go but I can get some accessories happening.

The colours for the kitchen are a medium/light taupe and aqua with a nod to the golds in the adjoining rooms. I need to decide what the final colour for the hutch will be.  A new island will definitely be aqua and I'm deciding if it will be the only aqua .  ???

Interestingly the fabric I am using for my kitchen valence, the taupe tone on tone, was bought for the Conway Album quilt which under went a couple of colour revisions. :O  So I have LOTS!

I want to order new roller blinds as this is a south window and then I can figure a simple valance for this window.  The Rooster has always pulled any kind of curtains up and out of the way so he can survey his farmdom and I now just do a valance.  lol

This room is still a work in progress.  I need to put a final coat on the window and door trim.  At some point I will add a molding to the top of the wood and probably paint the bottom a darker taupe but that will be after we take out the sink and move it into an island.

When I raised the wood part of the walls I changed the space available for pictures. I've had to reconfigure things.   The stove wall needs tiles and an overhead vent. That little birdhouse now seems wrong.  ???  I like a variety of wall art so perhaps a wall hanging is what the kitchen needs. oh! BTW  I'm 'relaxing' the sheer fabric for the sitting room window.  Ahem, I'm really gathering my nerve to tackle that slippery stuff!  :(

But I am making a runner for the table and a couple of curtains from the ToT fabric for under the sink.  The new overhead light is dismal so that will be replaced also. :(   I'm feeling good about the kitchen but now to complete it!

 I realize it is a new project but I got the size down to something a bit more manageable.  lol  This is my attempt at improvisational piecing!  I may skinny up the widths.  ???

The weather is warming and that means we are getting snow.  Hence the whiteout in the kitchen window.  Looks like a good evening to make curtains and scratch my patchwork itch.  The Rooster is on supper tonight!  Cock a doodle DO!

Crazy for clubs and Classes

I much prefer learning new things in my very own studio.  I have grown to luv on-line classes.  My finger hovered over a backgrounds class for a long time till reality set in and I decided to complete a class I had bought 2 years ago.  I bought the supplies for it but haven't actually done much more than enjoy the eye candy.  This is the year!

I am keeping up nicely with CJS2014 which runs for the month of January. It is very amazing how many household objects become creative tools!  I had gotten some cake decorating supplies for polymer clay.  I had no idea they have more mixed media usefulness!  ;)  And cardboard...!!!

 I luv stencils and I joined the Stencil Girls Club.  They have a friendly community site and I'm learning some good stuff.  :)

Much as I enjoy all the mixed media paints and inks, I really want my art to be fibre based.  So I decided to add to my expertise and my thread collection by joining the Superior Threads Sampler Club.  New members get a dvd on working with various threads.  The monthly package will remind me to expand my abilities.

I had made stitch samples for Nina but darn it, now I need to alter all these stitches because you get sew many great options with elongating and/or widening. I will have lots of opportunity to try out my new threads.

Seems like a lot but there is method in my madness.  I need to build up my supplies and help to focus on a couple of aspects of where I am headed in developing my artistic vision.  

WOW Whoa on the craziness!

T'is indeed  a crazy day when we say that -25 Celsius is a warmer day. :O   I am keeping the heater going around my feet!  :(

I had the crazy idea to start an whole new quilt Sunday night.  The Rooster wants a bigger quilt on the end of the bed and the wee lap quilt isn't meeting his needs!  lol  The room is robin egg blues and yellow greens so I need to make a coordinating quilt.  I do have several fabric groupings and ideas for them.

But the word for the year is complete(d)  and it is a tad early in the new year to be starting a significant and new project. :O

Sew, back to the few small projects I started before the holidays.  I'll start out with some simple quilting on these happy little runners.

In spite of the fact that I actually have a wall quilt up in the sitting room, its replacement which is presently on my design wall is next on my radar.

I also organized all my notes and patterns for the 12 block applique quilt I want to finish up and complete this year.  It is various stages of completion but I don't think any block is actually completed. One, in fact, is mia!

I'll be checking out fellow Needle and Thread Networkers .

Crazy Projects

This wall hanging was an old challenge.  I'm no great hand quilter so I hit on the idea of a crazy quilt to avoid the hand quilting requirement.  If I'd have known how long embellishing takes I might have stuck with hand quilting! lol

 But this quilt surprised me because I am a 'plain Jane' but I really enjoyed making it.  Even my kids asked, "you made this???".  ;)  I do enjoy certain kinds of handwork and I want to make time for more.

The front room is coming together well.  We got the placement for wall hangings above the stove just about perfect.  I have several from this series of challenges but I'm wanting to make more and rotate them throughout the year.

This room is starting to look too traditional to me so I need to introduce some modern elements. I need a modern picture for this corner, a hanging light and the right kind of chair.  I have a lovely old oak office chair with a black leather seat out in the barn loft that I will get the Rooster to reglue.  I did change out the fancy thrift store chair for an old dining room chair and a quick cushion in a modern fabric until I can upgrade.   hmm, my friend Les's little wall hanging does look good here!  Crazy how small things effect big changes. ;)

I also have a quilt that was started ages ago; early on in my quilting history.  Remember all those Conway Album quilts!  Our little quilt group invited a teacher to come every month and show us how to applique.  I did enjoy it but life interfered with keeping up and they have been boxed away for some time. I think the thought of hand quilting it intimidated me as well.   DD#1 and I had a look at them during the holidays and I do believe I have found that hand work I was looking for.  I'll complete the 12 blocks and I'll set them in an all white setting for her.  January is off to a fast start so this month I shall fine tune the first block I did and find and organize all the loose pieces.  The grapes for the grape block seem to have all rolled away! lol  After seeing all those blue quilts I had changed my colour scheme.  I also realized that I couldn't make 'another one just like the other ones' so I changed the setting for my blocks.  DD and I agree that a white counterpane will meet her needs. phew!  I have measured out the remaining white background fabric and while my math computations are the highest form of craziness,  I believe I can replace the missing grape block, cut the extra filler blocks, setting triangles, and maybe even the binding.  I'm hoping to complete the quilt top in 2014!  I'm again challenged!  lol

And the craziness continues!

in the mood for craziness

The weather continues to be crazy cold.  We hibernated over the weekend and spent one day doing Rooster work which was a dozen little projects like light switches, picture hanging, and curtain rods.  When we were done I was so dismayed we'd accomplished so little but also so happy to have some things completed that I went upstairs and pulled fabric for a new quilt.  :(  Now that was craziness and we'll see if it carries on to the cutting stage.  Gee whiz, elle! ;)  I've also done the tally and I believe I am booked for something every month till fall.  Crazy!  ;)

completed, pant, pant!

 

The Finish a Long over at Leanne's blog is finishing up with some tutorials. I decided to give it a try.  Who knew such a little pouch could involve so many scraps and bits!  But I got it COMPLETED and it'll be for my little swimmer who has a birthday coming up.

Not every little chick has a matching clutch for her swimsuit!   Kinda completes it, don't you think! ;)

jumping right in

I had thought I'd be sewing this month but I totally forgot about Creative Jump Start 2014 which begins Jan.1st and runs for the whole month.  Nathalie at n*studio hosts this great event.  I also need to get the pieces of my walking foot back in working order so...

I've jumped right into wet paint and messy papers.  The theme is household objects used in creative ways for making art.  I was right up to speed with the first as I do luv gelli printing and I have a big drawer full of all kinds of objects for making marks. 

I have organized all my new and slightly used papers in one spot so I'm good to go. 

It was nice warm up for a very cold and snowy day.  The lower spiral paper is tissue paper gift wrap.

Before I allowed myself some wet playing I did get an old ufo sewn up. This is from an apron making session. I have this one and a smaller blue apron for a child.  I think the blue one will wait for a day I'm not feeling so chilly!  ;)

 But I would like to use up some of these scraps for a little pouch.  We'll see if I can work on it this evening and tomorrow as there are blizzard warnings all over the place.  I hope the Rooster can jump all the snow banks as they were over my knees when I went to collect eggs.  :(  

mini mood

Everything is now back to normal.  The Rooster had taken holidays and when the thermometer dropped down and the windchill said 50 below he took another two days.  :O  But now I am home alone!

And to warm up to the new year I am thinking hot colours, high energy and  happy housecleaning as I line up plans and projects for the winter work schedule.

I am also adopting my namesake's philosophy.  This was her Christmas Day dress of choice!  What snow?  I see endless white beach sand!  LOL

ready or not...

2013 is ended, finished, completed! 

2014 has started, begun, commenced.

I'm not a looker backward but I think I had just wanted to do the three f's- find, focus, finish in 2012 and 2013.  Carrying the idea over wasn't a good idea because I rarely thought about it.

I do like the word of the year idea.  It is a reminder more than a resolution.  This year I am keeping it simple.  Whatever I pick up I need to bring to some level of completion.  Compete.  Well, lets make that completED!

Hopefully there will be no more false starts, half baked ideas and questions about 'what was THIS supposed to be' in my future. One can hope.  That's what fresh starts and new years are about.;)

I have some hopes of maintaining a better daily sketching/journaling notebook.  I definitely want to get some stuff done and in several different mediums.  I am not naive enough to say I won't start new things.  But...  I am now aware I try to do too much in one week; too many different things.  So completeing one project in one medium in that week should  help the ADS.  I do feel I have made some good forward progress since I have been blogging.  I gotten into some good work habits.  I have figured out a bit of what makes me tick.

Now to continue to move forward.

I have been thinking  a lot about trying to do a variety of things every week.  Not working.  I need to build up some momentum that leads to completing things- completely. ;)  So when I came across this post by Deborah Silver with her opinion on rhythm, I knew she was right and that has driven my desire to complete something before starting on another. Stops and starts, offs and ons, ups and downs are not conducive to completing things.

Rhythm- as you go with the flow you get better.  Stops and starts disrupt the rhythm and  if projects do get finished they are disjointed.

Deborah says:
"Once I have gotten into a rhythm, there is flow.  I stop thinking about what to do, and just do.  Starting and stopping and starting up again in the garden shows.  A design may appear disjointed, or fragmented.  Or even worse, careless.
A regular rhythm is like a pulse, like a heart that beats regularly.  Repetition sets the stage for a rhythmic expression.  The big idea here-anything you attend to, or practice every day establishes a rhythm.  Once you have a rhythm going on, a beautiful expression is not far behind."  Deborah Silver

And may I add, a completed project!  

 Happy New Year!

Busy Town

2013 has finished up with busyness!

Our oldest daughter, Laura, arrived and we made excellent use of our time. (She reads my blog so her reward is a guest appearance!  ahem!

 Meal Prep

Eating

Pyjama Party

Bonding

Scrapbooking

More Eating

DD#1  &  DD#2
Sistering

 

 And she was the one that bought the six foot long game based on Richard Scarry's books, Busy Town.

 

And the winner is!!!!

 

All of us!  It took land and air to get us together.  It took two dwellings in two towns to keep us all occupied.  And it took all of us, making the most of time and space, to have a wonderfully busy and satisfying time.

A great finish for 2012 and I'm looking forward to making more memories in 2014!  Happy Holidays!

Making Memories

 

DD#1 arrived late at the airport but the Grand kiddies had lots to keep them busy.  They made a bee line right for the polar bears, penguins, and seals and became one with the whole display before I could get their scarves and  mitts stowed in my bag!  lol

 

Carollers sang at the next post over and then new cars needed finger prints to cut down some of their glare!  Josh wanted to know why the Porsche's doors were locked.  Then he wanted to know why the stairs on the escalator went flat!  Eliana wanted to know who flushed the toilet!  ;)  They learned about onion rings and poutine! Yum!

 And when the new was tasted and explored there was always the old and familiar!

A new set of Tinker Toys kept them busy all day yesterday while their Tia made the run to their house for more prep for the big day. It also kept DDS#3 busy as well.  We will hit the play room for a few gift making items today.

Then we'll have a discussion about what one wears to a Christmas Eve service!  And who knows, this year's memory just might involve an Easter Bonnet!  I hope all your memories are the best ever as this year draws to a close.  Be blessed!