Saturday, August 30, 2025

Creatively Speaking, this week I made stuff....

 

it's been a week,  and I always try to live a creative life. Sometimes things get done/ finished, and sometimes they don't. I had two paper workshops start this week, the image above is from the journaling one. 

we were to just doodle and watch paint appear on paper. This prompt was swirls. I dragged a paint filled brush over an index card, playing with color and it was a mess! So I cut out a heart, and laid it on a clean card and wrote Life Is Messy.  

I  like the cut away on another card and could put a message in the white part. 

another prompt was to just draw skinny lines... so I used an older watercolor in aquas and voila! 

it became an ocean scene! sorry the photos are so pale, click on them to see better

some simple skinny lines become birds and grasses


markers over watercolor
I worked to finish my rainbow scrap challenge month of august using the color aqua
I put borders on my table runner, made from improv blocks in aqua scraps, layered and pin basted it...
I do like curved safety pins and this tool

You rest the point in it's grooves to clasp it without distortion

I wanted the lime/yellow fabric to be a thick piping but my little old Gem won't move needle positions much less has a piping or zipper foot, so I just made do with a half inch finished accent of it. 
I am using mylar threads, rayon and cotton hand dye on it but the threads are breaking too often, when I go over where a seam joins on the top. I suspect the issue is not only this machine is so basic, but the horizontal thread holder twists the threads coming off the spool. These need a vertical holder. 
I need a new machine and quick! I miss my Bernina....

the little machine caused me not to be able to finish the quilt this week, constantly rethreading it.
I did a lot of machine quilting  but also hand work even if it doesn't show well in photos, I see it
running stitch with hand dye thread, long stitch star, French Knots 


cross stitches, straight stitch with little straight stitch flowers and some more Fr. Knots... love this!
Fly stitches, crosses, lazy daisy flowers with Fr. knots, running stitch with knots periodically 

Fun little palm tree fabric, some big metallic thread quilted X's and hand stitched star with knots and running stitches


simple hand stitching adds a lot I think
I saw some aqua on my walks this week around the neighborhood
in the community garden

in the community garden there were pots painted to look like mushrooms

in turquoise and aqua
and.... even a whole house in aqua!

I love this new line of fabric for Christmas called north pole social club

interesting method to put pearls along edge of fabric


https://youtube.com/shorts/kgtF9XYgVWk?si=qjcgJ4jH3zpwt3UZ
hopefully I can paint, finish my table runner, and sock this week.... see you later gators

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Thursday, August 28, 2025

I Like Thursday #466 amusement parks, flowers, bunnies and cookies

 

welcome to this week's list of likes starting with a flower parade! This clump of sunny golden yellow flowers caught my eye on a walk this week

the temps were a bit more moderate but the humidity was higher than I've ever known it to be in Colorado

making morning walks uncomfortable in the intense sunshine but, I LIKE to walk and be outside. Come with me won't you? another neighbor has a gorgeous floral covered yard, and this is not a bouquet....


It's one stem of flowers!!! My roses are pathetic. Small, pale, few petals, fewer actual blossoms. 

gosh, is this a sign of Fall a'comin'? I sure hope so...
we've had a bumper crop of bunnies this summer!
looks like this bunny is on a walkabout too...
this one is waiting for the mail carrier 

I liked this floral decal on a neighbor's car... do you?
we walked to the community garden again last weekend, and it's a showcase most of the time
Lucky for me, an extrovert who loves to chat with people, I saw a mother/daughter duo in their plot. 
I asked how they decided to purchase a plot instead of trying in their own yard, and they said the soil is better here. I learned a lot from them, like melons and pumpkins actually thrive in our area
see? 

and they grow their own loofah's! I thought loofahs were sponges that grew in water but no. Easy to grow they said, then harvest slice and you have an unlimited supply! The daughter had some peppers in her pocket she allowed me to photo
so fun

she said they are mild and grow well here

anyway.... my pots are finally blooming and pretty, so pretty shades of orange I painted my nails that shade


and wore an orange shirt ! 
I tried a Polish cookie recipe called Kolaczki cookies, and they taste a bit like rugalach. Want to see them so you feel better at how your food looks? 
they taste great! and this is a half recipe
source the daily bake with Barb
I didn't have apricot jam so I subbed raspberry jam

dragonflies for a quilt....I love fabric




Our conversation starter this week is: do you like amusement parks? which one is your favorite? Do you like rides or shows better?
I DO like amusement parks, just not roller coasters. Disney World is my fave, along with EPCOT Center. I love Disney and the mix of shows and rides. Disney combines rides with animation shows,  like Tiki hut, haunted house, it's a small world.... then you sing that song the rest of the day. I first saw it at age 8 at the NY World's fair. 
world's Fair in NY


I grew up going to Busch Gardens that used to be free, and gave out a free beer to adults after touring the brewery. They had great animals, and shows and shopping. 


.
That's it for this week, I'm talking to poodle breeders to see if they have an adult poodle to rehome here
Please visit these folks to see what they liked this week


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Saturday, August 23, 2025

creatively speaking this week, dragonfly blocks a bike and yet another hexie project

 

here we are again, to chat about living the creative life, and share a love for color! 

This week I've been using AQUA (and all it's tones) scraps to make dragonflies!! 

I have them on top of a batik on the design wall but do not know for sure what I want to do with them
I made 3 --12" blocks, and 6  ---- 6" blocks. The pattern is a free one from Moda. 

pattern source: MODA
I believe ironing the batks was what caused all my migraines. Oh I prewash all batiks 3 times in hot water, but... some of them still outgas when pressed. It's one of the reasons I do not teach since so many people brought unwashed batiks to class.... this developed over the years and now limits me a lot. 

anyway....we won't dwell on all the ways I have to cope these days, LOL

Here are some close-ups of the little ones, ( the block is a fast one to make) that finish at 6 inches

I like all these fabrics! 


it was fun to choose pairs of prints




my design wall is so pretty right now
I finished the center of my improv piece and wanted to make a lime green Piping strip but I still only have my Janome Gem and can't move the needle position on it. 
OY
I think I'll finish it somehow next week, and put a flange of lime next to the chosen border ready to go, and stuff the flange after sewing. I plan to enter it in Joy's challenge "hot flash"

not to waste any fabric, I made these wee pinwheel blocks with scraps cut off the dragonflies

I try to notice AQUA in everyday life when on my walks... Loved this vintage bike at a neighbor's house
loved this birdhouse at a neighbor's
I have a placemat in those shades

I also finished a sock this week, and just started a few hexies in turquoise sceaps to make a journal cover or mug rug
and noticed my little bin (from container store) is also aqua!
and the spool of thread I'm using too
so this week held no finishes except one sock of a pair, but it was full of creativity and that's a worthy goal. There is a painting workshop coming up next week, and one on drawing/sketchbook work to do daily.... so.... that should keep me busy... what are you doing this week?

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Thursday, August 21, 2025

I Like Thursday # 465 Colors, stunning skies, ice cream treats, and more

 

Welcome to this week's list of likes starting with this pretty bird house in the RSC color of the month

AQUA

I make note of anything in that month's color as I go on walks.... 

speaking of birds, we came out for a walk, looked to the left at the street light post and I saw a bird on it

Okay, kind of cool like a finial
then before I could get a second pic I thought it disappeared but saw this on my camera after
Wow, love this take off
saw a t-shirt with this on it this week... yep...


uh oh.... no rain in the forecast but we saw this....

then this

the weather here is so mercurial forecasts are seldom correct. We could get 8 drops or storm with hail the size of golf balls. Temps could drop 60 deg in an afternoon, or go up 20 deg in 15 minutes. 

it got sunny near the end of our walk, making this grass glow with sunshine at 7 pm

Nothing much to note... no dog for us yet, all the possibles were just taken.... 
It's horribly hot, dh is still coughing from throat irritation (likely wildfires burning in Colorado), not much on TV 

But on video....

heart toast  small things mean a lot


I'd like to go here, women's only chateau retreat

Our Prompt this week.... did you grow up going to Dairy Queen and what was your favorite treat to get? Do you still go there? 




I was the latecomer to the family both sisters married off by the time I was (5   and 7  ) so we went to the walk up ice cream place often enough. . I always wanted a butterscotch dipped cone with the swirl on top. 
Biting that butterscotch fragile coating and the melted swirl in it, was a pure pleasure. 

Then as I lived in Tampa Florida, it began to melt immediately and drip and get all over me, the cone becoming a leathery sopping mess in my little hands. 

some times I got a dilly bar, a flat ice cream disc coated in milk chocolate. 
I haven't been since I was an older teen but have fond memories. 
One time (only) I got a banana split.... three swirls of vanilla ice cream with different toppings on top of a split banana in a little flimsy plastic boat. I hated it actually, it all ran together into glop, and I mostly ate the whipped cream and cherry on top. 

Later I found out why I was always sick after... allergy to corn (and corn syrup) 

I have been sewing this week, and knitting... and those weekly creativity posts are on Saturdays
dragonflies in the studio


Wish me luck in finding a slightly older non shedding dog to join our family





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