Mary's dream house, another goodbye

Mary's Dream House 8" X  10"

 My friend Mary, one of my first friends in Maryland, is moving out West. This quilt is for her.I know we'll keep in touch via email and blog-waves. I think we'll meet up at the Houston quilt show. I hope we'll go out to see her new home.
Mary and I have shared, among other things, a love of improvisational sewing. I need to envision a person/mood/landscape/etc  when I work in the abstract.



The little message next to the daisy says "Enjoy the Journey" Most of the embellishments came from the scrap book section of a store.

This brings me to today's post on what to do when you don't know what to do, but you want to sew.
Piecing odd bits. Don't fret, appliquers your day is coming!

This time I pulled out two bags of tiny scraps, blues and greens. The color may not be true in these pictures but all the pieces grew from these tiny bits of leftover fabrics.  I took odd shapes, and sewed the next fabric to it, and sew on until I began to see shape developing.






It sounds woo-woo but if I think of the person while making it, it grows into something that will mean something to them. If I think of magnolias, it grows into something that looks like magnolias.
Some people like to make fabric that can be cut into shapes later. I enjoy doing that too, especially diamonds. Long before they thought of doing in in Sochi.
There is a benefit in this mindless sewing, the kind I am showing you today. It allows your mind to roam, and that is fertile ground for creativity. It allows you to use even little pieces of fabric. Doing abstracts allows your imagination to see images without the pressure of trying to design a recognizable image. It allows you to dream...

I hope this week you will try this method of meditative sewing and share with me what you made or learned. As with any experiment, you may learn you don't like doing it, or one thing may lead to another and a discovery is made. Most of all, have fun with your fabric.
LeeAnna