Two days to sew with Friends

 A few samples of the workshop. So far so good.

Saundra, Cheryl, yours truly LeeAnna, and Kelly showing their handiwork. We felt very accomplished to have  so  much to show for ourselves!
 

Look at those smiling faces!







Our bee and Quilt Book Study Group both of which meet monthly throughout the year, also  meet on two days in the summer to share a project. As usual, we have 20 or more people joining in for the highly anticipated event. This is a great time of learning, playing with friends, eating, sewing, laughter.

 We've tried many new techniques together over the years.  This year we chose a technique of folded inserts used to make mariner's compass points by author Cheryl Phillips. Some of us used her book Wedgeworks and some used  her pattern.   We sewed, un-sewed, and RE-sewed,  and many people left with the center pieced. Tomorrow we set in the background etc. A few overachievers will start quilting.

This group is special not only for the member's attitudes, and the fun,  but for it's purpose...
dessert!!  Just kidding ya'll.

It was started because we all buy books, flip through them, dream a little dream of possibilities, and put them on a shelf. We weren't using them.
We wanted to use them!

A few times a year, we go through the process of choosing the next book, then all get the book, and we meet to go through the learning process together.
Some examples of our selections over the years are, most recently Melinda Bula Cutting Garden Quilts, Ricky Tims Rhapsody, Laura Wasilowski Fanciful Stitches, and many others over the years.

One day done, one to go. You can bet I'm going to be bringing a seam ripper tomorrow, as several of us joined the rip it again club today.

my possible background for sunflower center

Saundra's star

Go make something!
Lee Anna

so many books to read

somehow I am reading them all

I love books and have since before I learned to read. There is a family story that I refused to go to first grade. When asked why, I said those kids know how to read and I don't. I learned so fast, that I'd read ahead and know that Dick and Jane would throw the ball to their dog, then be sitting in the reading circle mentally wishing for another book to appear. The teacher commented that I never knew where we were when it was my turn to read aloud. I was bored.

That started my lifetime love affair with books. I don't love the Kindle. I don't love holding it, and swiping at it, and the screen and all that make it a miracle to so many people. I'm old school. I love a library.

To me a library is a shopping center where they don't charge you for all the treasures you can take.
When I had allergy treatments last year, I needed to stay away from allergens for several hours. I took to stopping by a local library, walking the rows, choosing a book from each of ten rows to look at for the next two hours.

What a fabulous thing to do!! I learned about artists, castles, history of clothing design,  train orphans, spiritual enlightenment, crafts, animals, famous people. I especially loved the made for children books on everything as I could get a really good overview on a subject in 15 minutes.

Now that I'm doing the STAT project, studying artistic styles of famous painters, I go to the children's section for an over view on Gauguin. The book on modern quilting is fascinating in that it makes me want to make the style of the new guard, the ones who feel they discovered quilting, landed the flag and claim it for their own. I like a lot of the simple lines they are using. The midwife is fascinating so far just as a snapshot of post WW2 England, and I suspect the stories will remind me of the James Herriot books on Vet life same time period. I like a slice of life book.

Now the other one, is the pot of gold!  I've found a new series to read and plan to find all of them available over the next few years. There are apparently a lot of them. The writing has a lovely cadence. My interest is held so well I resent having to put it down. I want to know what happens next. It involves mystery which means there was a murder of course, but it isn't grizzly and blatant and in your face. It's intelligently written, taking you deeper into the story each chapter. I never heard of Tasha Alexander before, but will keep reading her work.
There are some authors like Diana Gabaldon and Sara Dunant who I wish would  not dally with sleep or food, just keep writing for me.

Apparently I'll keep reading despite the long growing to-do list positioned next to the book on the table. It didn't make it into the picture. It's not as interesting as the mystery.
Read on!
LeeAnna

Pilot Program (pile it here, pile it there...)

My house is in disarray.

That's putting it mildly.
For years I've dealt with a disabling back injury, ironically from trying to get fit by going to an   nationally franchised exercise program. 12 years later,  I have trouble bending and lifting even light items. So my house suffers and most lifting falls to my dh.
I am reluctant to show more telling photos as you don't know me well enough yet to see them and not call the authorities but this is the tip of the iceberg:

Tip of the Iceberg--the coffee table is under here somewhere

 I may not be the type of person who keeps the house spotless...ya think?! OTOH I might be the type of person who could possibly keep the house more tidy than it is now. Just maybe.

I made jokes like "the only place housekeeping comes before quilting is in the dictionary"  Now, I realize how the confusion of stuff can weigh you down. I'm ready to organize my stuff.

The problem with typical organization directions is they start with getting rid of the very stuff you want to organize. Have a chuckle this morning.  VIDEO ABOUT STUFF

I spent time and money collecting that stuff and want to both keep it AND store it out of sight. AhAAA!

Well, we've defined the problem. More next time.

My favorite organization tip said, if you spend time looking for an item, after you find it you should put it back in the first place you looked, as that would be a natural place to find it next time!

Do you have organization tips to share?
go make something,
LeeAnna

Better get a move on!

 I WISH this was off the wall today! It's due in California on July 19th. I've been working on it steadily since I got the wild hair to do the challenge a month ago. I found a fat quarter at my favorite local quilt shop,
 Seminole Sampler 

detail of hoffman challenge

I don't want to show too much as it's still on the design wall, so I'll post the finished work within the week. Please check back.
 I quickly drew out an idea and started to draw out pattern pieces, make the components such as the fan leaves and flying geese on paper. Then used my tiny hexagons as an accent, and fussy cut the beige bits from the fabric to piece the patio hexagons. I bias stripped the rest to use on the leaves.

detail hoffman challenge

I wanted to enter under pieced, but with the pre quilting/trapunto work on the leaves, I had to develop a technique to piece using a bias strip as a bridge and it's not easy. There are elements appliqued, such as the silk hexagons onto the leaf. Don't know if that means I must enter under mixed category. Anyone know?

Wish me luck in the final birthing of the quilt.
What do you think??
LeeAnna

Red White and True-Blue Poodle

Red, White and True-Blue Poodle

Happy Fourth of July!

If you want me to fetch...throw a squirrel

if you want me to fetch, throw a squirrel

This is my poodle in case you haven't met. People ask if I have a dog and I dither a moment, then answer well, I have a poodle.
 I had a labradaughter named Chelsea. She and I were two peas in a pod. Her theme song was 'girls just wanna have fun' When she passed away, and it was time to find our next pup, my allergies suggested a non shedding dog and I decided on a big poodle.
Eventually we found Cole, standing in his water dish calmly waiting for us to show up with a silk pillow.
He came from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Once walking around old town Williamsburg we met another tall black poodle and low and behold, it was Cole's brother!! Remarkable. They sniffed and said, hey.

Cole wants to play but his joints are eleven now. He never quite got fetch or the return aspect. He will run get a ball the first throw, then after you wrestle it out of his mouth yelling drop three times, he'll saunter after the next thrown ball. He'll come back with it til he's about 6 feet from you and drop it like a bad habit. If you are silly enough to throw it again, you'll just have to go get it yourself.

Usually by this time he's moved on to THE HUNT. Fetch is for those who can't run off with the ball. Hunting is his real passion and hobby. He once tore off the brand new heavy duty downspouts from the back porch. They lasted about three days. He apparently heard a chipmunk in one, so tore it off the house.
In his puppyhood he wore out several friends after taking a 4 mile walk. Now he likes to spend time with friends but mostly parallel play, sniffing around together, slow walks in the rain, sharing a bowl of water.

When he's stirred up, he still guards the yard from unwanted bunnies, squirrels, and other critters. He hates a crow. He has been known to chase a crow for three blocks, as the, well, as the crow flies. He caught a squirrel once, but dropped it on command. If he'd only drop the ball in my hand we'd have a better time.
Check out the p-pod button at the top of the page for more poodle stuff.
LeeAnna

Morning View, just add coffee

morning view, just add coffee

Ah, a porch is one of life's best gifts.
Each morning we stumble onto it with our coffee, and slowly start the day listening to the fountain and birds.
It's gentle.
I revisit it  throughout the day, for lunch, to rest my eyes from sewing, to meditate. We don't love our neighborhood anymore, but this porch is a good thing.

The old fountain is lovely from a distance and I still love the lotus shape.
There is another day of impending rain on the way, the poodle has initiated disaster-mode mood. It's his belief that we would be safer outside in a storm because when the power goes out, things flash, beep and  people get angry. The added benefit of being outside is... bunnies are outside and they are fun to chase.

The last thing to share with you is in honor of my husband's father John who loves to make soup. John, I made soup the other night, making it up as I went along. Same process as quilt making.  It was a success! These are the basic ingredients:

plus ground turkey

In the old dieting days I made cabbage soup and used tomatoes but I am now allergic to them. I decided to replace the "acid" taste with chili's and lemon juice. I decided to add black-eyed peas instead of rice or pasta. The red cabbage released a beautiful color into the pot, the flavors melded beautifully and we have soup leftover for starters for at least 5 days.

Back to the quilting. Hope you all make something fun today.
LeeAnna