what do you think?

scrap play

I love my scraps! I am lucky enough to have friends who regularly contribute to my cache of lovelies. I showed you my scrap containment system HERE
These are some little strips most under an inch wide. I am obsessed with this strip business and spend many happy moments happily sewing tiny colors together to see the pattern develop. It's my thing.

So I am playing with arrangement of this particular assortment of strips today instead of finishing the STAT project on Gauguin. I ran into a snag with binding that so it is in the corner thinking about what it did.

I wondered if anyone had an opinion of  which arrangement is more pleasing, or artistic.

I expect I will turn this into either a small abstract piece, maybe wider than long, maybe even leaving some raw edges.

So what do you think? Any opinions?
LeeAnna
living the creative life while waiting for the next great idea 

Gotta treat yourself!

There's what on my food tray?

 Stores may be selling mums and pumpkins, but it feels like summer here. High humidity and 95 degrees and me in a fur coat!        At least there's ice cream!

out of focus from shaking with laughter

 Oh,  Joy!
Ben and Jerry's!
 I couldn't resist just sticking my nose in it to get the full bouquet! It's an amusing little dessert! Hints of vanilla!
My people ate most of it, but that's for the best. A cold head rush is no joke for a poodle.

Note I left a few pieces of kibble in my bowl. I ALWAYS leave a few pieces, for the food goddess. It ensures the people will continue to refill the bowl each and every time I even look at it.
I manage to keep my figure, but the end of summer calls for a few treats, no?? Are you treating yourself?

Love, Cole

Four seasons all in one

Fall Leaves on bricks

The seasons seem muddled this year for me... As for Fall... check out these leaves. I saw them falling early in NY, and arranged them for the picture. Don't they totally look like a quilted leaf? Oh be sure, this will inspire a quilted piece of art around here! Of course just about anything will inspire a quilt around my place!

Pinky-Winky Hydrangea

This was taken in the Fall at Longwood Gardens, but totally looks like Spring to me. So beautiful the gradated color changes from deep pink to cream.

Zinnia??

Now this is a summer flower, a zinnia I believe, but look at the Fall colors. Beautiful! And the picture was taken this fall at Longwood Gardens again.

Winter view of summer The three bears

This shot was taken in the late summer but the shaved ice from Olympic rinks looks very wintery to me.
Awwww, so cute the little family. Drew is dressed for the hot summer weather, and I am in cold weather garb as I'd been watching skating, Cole is wearing his summer version of a black fur coat.

There you have it, the merging of the seasons for today's post. I am finishing up the Gauguin piece and in love with it, here's a sneak peak...

Must leave you now to walk-with-poodle and work in the studio. Little bit of clearing, little bit of sewing.
LeeAnna

just had to show you this...

animals jumping on trampolines, oh I just had to show you.... laugh today!
for those of you unable to see this video, here is the link CLICK HERE
LeeAnna

Cole loves Fall

Cole loves Fall (c) LAPaylor 2003

 This is a piece I made when Cole was a baby. He LOVED to grab a twig with dried leaves on it while on our walk and just shake it. It rattled and must have been very satisfying to a puppy as I swear he grinned.
I make story quilts, from my real life stories. There is one going on every day in my head. I see quilt-making opportunities throughout the day. I see pattern and color and think, how can I interpret that??

check out those teeth!

I painted the leaves then appliqued them to the quilt with metallic threads.
It was a  love affair from first sight of metallic threads. Shiny-sparkly you know.
Cole was just free form cut without a line drawing, as that's the kind of designer I usually am.







I love the little yarn couched around the four different borders as it picks up the colors and adds texture. 

 The teeth are 3-d and raw edged, just like in REAL life, ha!   Poodle teeth are no joke y'all

 It's a bit sad now that Cole is 11 and a grown-dog as he seldom shakes a twig. It did happen last year, and it was like he looked at me saying, remember when I used to do this? Oh I remember my sweet...
LeeAnna who also loves Fall

Mums the word

purple mums

 September is here so the mums have arrived on the scene. Thank goodness for stores selling them all full and rounded and healthy looking. The ones I planted last year are either leggy and sparse or bloomed two months ago. I know it's due to negligence lack of pruning.  Mums are fall. I don't enjoy mums in a flower arrangement but love love love them in a Fall display in a garden. Can't get enough of them. Must have all colors. Bigger the better. I bought a few smaller plants for the window boxes,

September is bursting out in mums

 and large ones, at the same price might I add but from a different store, for the yard. I choose the ones that haven't opened up so they'll last longer. I also found these red coleus on sale. They are next to the washed out, Failure-to-thrive coleus I planted earlier in the summer.

angelic mums

When we went away for vacation I asked a neighbor to water my impatiens but no one loves your garden the way you do, and most of them perished. I need to see color, and with so much shade it's a challenge. Mums like sun, but will tolerate shade for the few weeks it takes to bloom. I might just be tempted to buy a few more. You are not getting a view of the front yard, which would be terrific  decorated with mums, hay bales, and pumpkins if it weren't overgrown, covered in weeds and crab grass. I did put a couple mums on the walkway next to the flowers that survived our time away. In my dreams my yard rivals Longwood.
What are you doing to sing in Fall? LeeAnna

Gardens and Big Birthdays

Five Paylors -- the Italian Fountain Display

 My husband's father, John  had a big birthday on Saturday. He invited the immediate family to celebrate with him at Longwood Gardens in PA.We walked around the beautiful gardens and watched a water/music show. We saw some awesome topiaries and some really odd flowers.

 I've seen this flower before but never the seed pod.
How colorful and shiny and round it was in person!
The artist in my wants to paint it, and the family would have had to put up with that if I'd remembered to bring my sketch pad and paints!
I didn't remember to bring my camera, me a blogger without a camera! These photos are courtesy of Drew's brother Stephen's lovely friend Debbie.




The other outstanding plants included enormous elephant ears taller than me, purple double trumpet flowers, hydrangeas called Pinky-Winky  and a water lily display with pads 7 feet across. Did you know they have spikes along the underside of the lilypads to discourage fish bites? They were awesome after dark, spotlights on them with raindrops creating surrounding radiating circles.

We looked around the gardens, with thousands of other visitors, then enjoyed an evening dinner they called a barbecue. It was elegant outdoor dining, without bugs, and with personally designed ice cream desserts. The big show came next with colorfully lit fountains, music and fireworks. The impending rain and humidity made it even more intense as the fireworks dropped their ash right on our heads! The brilliant colors and unusual types of fireworks were outstanding! What a way to celebrate a new year of life! Hope this is your most important year yet with many more to come, John.
I'd like to end with the quote along the side of my blog, as it seems birthday worthy. Love LeeAnna

I am the sum of my history along with all the possibilities of tomorrow, 
 and define myself daily by decisions I make. 
Every day is an opportunity to create, seek joy and display strength.
(c-2013 LA Paylor