ring of joy

" ring of joy"(c) LAPaylor 2013

detail ring of joy

No secret here, I love a hexagon. I wanted to make a little yellow happy quilt, then thought how fun it would be to add a stand out smaller ring of flowers. My thought is to hand quilt the base with swirls and thicker thread. Then add the ring of flowers.
Every so often, I like to take a traditional idea and tweak it to suit me. I find hexagons to be endlessly artistic building blocks. I never tire of them.





If I were a quilt block I'd be a hexagon, many sided, very flexible, able to join others but a bit challenging.
What about you all, what block would you be?
LeeAnna

Which way do I go?

show me the way...

This is a sign post from my Lake Placid pictures. I had planned to share a pic of a quilt in the works, maybe even ask for feedback. After rethinking it, and yes, I think too much, I didn't want to post pictures of art in progress this time, I'd rather show you finished work for some reason.

I have made almost 200 quilts and could show you any of a hundred you haven't seen and would probably enjoy viewing, but again that didn't feel right today.

Apparently I am floating at the moment. I am floating in a sea of ideas, projects with gathered supplies to make them, projects half finished, projects that need finishing, with a few deadlines thrown in for projects that must be done by a certain date. There are no lack of projects.

But here I am, wandering around, not wanting to work on anything.
Stop the presses!!! Me not want to sew???

I'm going to lay this at the feet of the weather. Too hot. No, that isn't it. Maybe it's ennui after all I returned from a haven to this messy house full of chores. Maybe there are just too many choices and Sophie, I'm having a hard time choosing which project to start with. No, I need to do the STAT Gauguin piece.
Maybe that's it... I need to do the one I don't want to make in the first place and feel uncomfortable working on others if this one is in the way.
 Do any of you ever feel like that?

If you've gotten to the end of all these words, first of all, thank you. Secondly, I'd love you to share your stories of how you get past the wandering around stage and into the just do it stage. 

 LAPaylor 2013

As a parting gift for reading, here's a thumbnail of a hand piecing quilt done except for quilting,  but it's colorful and you deserve some color, right?

Thanks for reading, LeeAnna

Shiny-sparkly things

beading artist divas

A new beading group has been formed! I have lots, and I mean LOTS of beads in my bead stash. I just love shiny-sparkly things. I use them on quilts. I have made amulet bags and beaded needle cases. I want to make jewelry now too. When my friend suggested we start a group to encourage use of our beads I jumped at the chance.
This may be the artist group I'm looking for. Smart funny women, making things they love. What a good time we had, and I look forward to many more laughter filled meetings and sharing our skills with each other.

What did I make today you may ask?? I started a flat peyote weave triangle and it didn't look at all like the pattern so I tore it apart for another day. I did watch someone composing a piece to wear to a wedding and her process of decision making is much like mine with quilts. I love that making art can be understood no matter the medium chosen. I learned about crocheting with wire, use 24 gauge silver plated, and how to compose a nice necklace. I saw organizational systems and tools new to me. It was fun!
Hope you are making stuff!
LeeAnna

Details, details

everybody's happy here!

 I started to design a sampler quilt of LP images toward the end of the week. I took a few pics to remember what to put in it.

sentinels

There is a lot of stone work, and stones are very costly here in MD. Still I want to make a border with flowers and rocks next to our sidewalk. I want to have a home that reminds me of a lake house.

yep, get's cold here

The details like special fences, green woodwork windows, artisan doors, flowers everywhere.

I always leave with a sliver of birch bark but none was laying around this time.
Still I took pictures with my phone, my camera and my mind. It's still with me.

Bye bye Lake Placid

On our way home we stopped again in Saratoga Springs for a long walk, then on to Woodstock NY. Yes, that Woodstock. It is so much fun to walk around and absorb the energy and well, let's be honest, shop. I want so many of the stylish clothes but they are still pretty costly. I try to find one piece on sale each year and this was the year of the uneven hemmed skirt. There was a stop at Log Cabin quilt shop, where I'd have been happy to have some of everything in the store!   Cole provided petting therapy for the owner who lost her pet that morning. A connection was made again... connections are everywhere...
LeeAnna

Waking up is a pleasure

looking toward our hotel

 Waking up is a pleasure on vacation in Lake Placid, not only because coffee is involved, but you can open the balcony door to fresh cool air, a lake view and coffee. It was so peaceful til a family with toddlers moved in to the ground floor directly beneath us. Let's just say over the course of the week, we heard the toddlers names a meeelion times, " Albert, you breathe air, so smart!. Victor throw the ball, good boy!"
I've never quite seen such an obsessed extended family, 5 rooms of adults doting on two crying boys.

But I digress...

 We had a ritual for the days. Balcony and coffee. Walk around the lake for me while Drew and Cole check out the dog channel, which we called sitting on the hill watching people walk around the lake.

Meet up at the public beach for a swim and fetch session. Cole hasn't been able to walk distance since recovering from Rocky Mt spotted fever two years ago. He does love splashing around in the cold water and fetching his floating toy.

 Tons of people kayaking, dogs cavorting, sunbathing here. I love to hear people's stories so I chat. There was a 86 year old who took up distance swimming two years ago and competed the day before. She swam without a wetsuit, but DH wore his. He runs but swimming is much more physically demanding so he tried to swim and run most days.
I'm proud of the endurance built up over the short time.

The three of us love shopping in this book store and left with some treasures. I got an artist pad, a book of what I would have learned in art school, a quilt book, and a new pen. Drew got a special pencil. Cole got petted and made over.

everyone loves a book store

sunbathing a daily occurance

After a walk, we set up by the lake when DH swims and Cole and I sunbathe and read old magazines. Junk magazines with no redeeming value. yum! We all got tan because there is so little air pollution. We ate lunch down by the lake, then when the sun went behind the hotel we moved on to the next activity.

Amanda Evora

I go to the Olympic ice rinks and watch awesome skating for a couple hours.
Usually it's teenager/ adults taking classes with world class coaches. This time I had two brushes with greatness, as Paul Wylie, Olympic winner and current coach asked me if I was a mother of a student, and Evelyn Kramer spin coach to Michele Kwan chatted to me about poodles. She also has a standard back home in CA.
This time I loved watching the skyliners, a group of precision skaters like the rockettes. They do intricate moves, in and out of lines. It really appealed to the artist in me.


The last day I watched all the skaters doing final rehearsals for the show. I got to see all the adults in costume, and cried watching other overweight older women following their passions. It told me it's never too late to learn, to try a new skill, and to put yourself out there. Skate like no one is judging you! I also saw Amanda Evora Olympic pairs skater, my apologies as I can't find the partner's name. Then, the hunk, Ryan Bradley skated out on the ice. It's just mind stopping seeing a 6 foot tall athlete leave the ground and spin around three times in the air, land and immediately do it again. Stunning. The teens sitting near me in the stands waiting to rehearse the finale all did a collective sigh with me.
I find it more interesting to see a dress rehearsal than the real show...  I have a theater background, and am no stranger to choreography as I spent 10 plus years dancing in shows but it's been years and injuries since I've had to learn instant routines. It was fun to watch the process again.
After I drag myself out leave the arenas, I shop for a while, then head back to the balcony to meet up with the men of my life.

bad self pic but good wine moment

 We spend some good quality late afternoon time listening to loons, watching the setting sun, drinking wine reading to each other and I do a bit of hand sewing. After this interlude I walk the 3 mile path again, Drew and Cole meet me at the beach for another dip, and we order dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants.
Another perfect day at Lake Placid, where the air is clean and cool, the water clean and cold, and the wine clear, cold and delicious.
Missed you all, wish you could have been there.
LeeAnna

Missed you!

our baby goes to Princeton

We have been on vacation for 10 days. It was a big push to break the gravity of the house-that-needs-too-,much, and get the heck out of dodge. We headed North, and the first stop was a quilt store in NJ. Certain stores along the way to Lake Placid  are must stops, and Pennington Quilt Works near Princeton is one of them. It  has the latest/greatest stuff and lots of cool sales too. Bead and wool  shops next door.

Then we go into Princeton  and walk around  town. We all  had a great time taking in the college, and imagined we got to go to school there. Then we strolled the town, and  happened onto this little hole in the wall  deli named Olives,and it had so many items we wanted, but we chose  buffalo chicken mac N cheese, green beans, & asparagus for a picnic dinner.
We spent the night in Albany to break up the trip. Or to allow me to visit more quilt shops...

The next day we went into Ballston Spa where there is a wonderful little quilt shop. I visited with the ladies there and bought a few yards of fabric. Then we went into another of our favorite places, Saratoga Springs where the horses are racing! Put on your hats y'all!  Cole apparently had a hot date, with about 20 dogs and even more dog loving people. 

 This shop positively dotes on him, giving him biscuits and pets and people took pictures of him in his mickey mouse bandana.

Here he is kissing yet another cute dog.

Then the serious dog shopping began.

 Cole shops. He goes into a store, and by store, I mean regular people type stores. He looks at every shelf close to eye level, misses very little, sniffs now and then but only a few times in his life has he picked out items he wanted. One was a boiled wool hat. Usually it's a candle, or a pig ear.There is a pet section in this store. They love dogs here!!

Next...What else do you do in Saratoga?? Eat.

 This is another fave. Putnam Deli has great sandwiches and you really need to be accompanied by a dog to sit on their patio. Not really, but there were several patient dogs ignoring each other lest they miss a tidbit dropped by their people.
While I shopped for clothes, DH and Cole watched this 12 year old play some of the best old rock and roll I've heard on the street.

 

We loved the cool sunny weather but there were quilt shops to get to before checking into our home away from home on the lake. 

By the time we reached the Adirondacks we had visited 5 quilt shops, several wonderful towns, many little gift shops, and reveled at the mountain views and cool weather. 

We got into town, checked into our room, and walked around Mirror Lake breathing in fresh air, seeing lots of dogs and people, deciding on dinner plans, and stretching our legs. The walk around is about 3 miles and to our surprise Cole did the whole thing with us, culminating in a swim  for him in the cold mountain water. 

Mirror Lake view

I will continue with the pictures and the stories I wanted to tell along the way.I ended up taking a complete vacation not even looking at the computer the whole time. I missed talking with you all. 

LeeAnna

good fortune wishes

"Good Fortune"    (c) 2009 LAPaylor

Wanted to wish you all good fortune today.
This little piece was made from a monoprint.  A group of us got together with our trays of solid gelatin, painted and stamped and drizzled and inked them. We  then placed a piece of fabric over it to pick up the applied color.
I am not sold on the need for this. I think I prefer direct application.
 The thing is, living the creative life means constantly thinking ...
"What if..."
This leads to experimentation, which often leads to wonderful art. When it doesn't, the artist can choose to destroy the evidence, make the best of it, or keep adding to it. I usually think more is better.

With this monoprint, I felt it was too indistinct for my tastes so  I embroidered the dragonfly by hand with thick thread and beads. I added in other beads. I added in wire. I added in a phrase put on with beads. I faced the whole thing and added a decorative trim. I suspend it from a tree branch here at home. Then, the icing on the cake was a metal dragonfly given me by my friend Mary Ison HER BLOG IS HERE
The whole thing is less than eight inches square.
The important thing is now I like it and it got finished.
what are you playing with today?
LeeAnna