A - Annoyance: loud noises and cars B - Bestest Friend[s]: make life sweeter C - Car: just want it to run reliably D - Day or night: day for sunlight, night for TV
E- Easiest person to talk to?: Cindy, who always hears me... F - Favorite Month: May G - Gummy Bears or Worms: neither, ewwww H - Hair Color: brown with sparkles of gray I - Ice Cream:coconut or salted caramel J - Jewelry: silver and hand made K - Kindergarten: was fun L - Longest Car Ride: from Florida to Edmonton Canada M - Most missed person: Myrtle who raised me with grace and patience N - Number of Siblings: I was adopted into a family with two natural daughters O - One regret: P- Part of your appearance you like least?: double chin Q- Quote: Time Flies whether you're having fun or not R - Reality TV Show: Amazing Race S - Shoe: birkenstocks, sneakers, arch supported shoes T - Time you woke up: 7AM U - Unpredictable?: in some areas V - Vegetable you hate: I don't enjoy Kale much W- Worst Habits: procrastination X - X-Rays: don't show my spinal injury Y - Year you were born: long long time ago, when people believed in the Golden Rule Z - Zoom: allows me to party
Pink is a favorite color in my world...all shades from the ballet pink tights I wore twice a week to dance lessons to bright intense fuschia of those flamingo sunglasses.
It was all about wine this week in studio as I started a year long table runner pattern to participate in Joy's challenge.
I found this pattern from Hoffman Fabrics free, online, and thought I could make the bottles in the rainbow scrap challenge color of the month!
so I went into the pink scrap box, and decided what to call my special vintages... made sketches on paper, took the muslin and fabric markers to draw a label on.
I paper pieced the whole flamingo block before noticing I pieced the label in upside down, so took out the seam ripper, turned it around, making it a little more ragged, and not wanting to undo ALL the piecing I top stitched that edge in place.
After the stray threads are removed and it's quilted, it won't be noticeable.
Now I didn't dither and dally over the images or do mock ups or plan anything. I just drew it on and sewed.
Can't wait to see more colors emerging for the runner!
One of my paintings in pink cheers up the cutting table
used a scrap of fave background fabric unavailable now, and my happy pinks and will be sewing with that pretty turquoise thread up there!
So if I like what they are planning at the round robin site, I'll use this large block for my center ! A good studio quilt I think!
Now about the pattern... Lori Holt made a convenient cutting chart, but.... watch out. Sometimes her chart says to cut the necessary pieces for that block, sometimes her chart has cutting for the whole row included. I had to turn on my brain to figure out what was actually needed for just one block. Again, sometimes her instructions WERE for one block, sometimes for ALL the blocks in the same chart.
Following patterns isn't that much fun to me, but at the moment I need easy sewing to divert my attention from Americans attacking our own capitol with guns and bombs. I am also using online recipes which if you know me, you know cooking isn't my passion. Here are last night's pumpkin/ cheesecake muffins.
I forgot to add in some sugar and top with crumble before baking so this morning I made a drizzle to glue the topping on, and its okay. It isn't perfect, it's different from the recipe but it's okay and sometimes Okay is just enough.
I'm sorry that I spent the last week in horror, and can't focus on the likes very well. I have grappled with trying to just do a normal list today. What do I like?
I like this graphic showing that one must have their physical needs met before they can move up... next is safety. That's where I was this week. One can't even feel love til they feel safe.
Erickson's hierarchy of needs
Thank God for books, TV and friends to talk to. Give Peace a chance.
Wear a mask.
Please visit these fine people who are more able to keep a positive attitude.
The above quilt, "recover" was done for the Project Quilting" challenge this week. I'm new to this challenge, but a longtime watcher of the show "project runway" that inspired it.
The challenge is to design and make a quilt within one week, following the parameters given.
This time the challenge was to use the panetone colors of the year, gray and yellow. blech. So... this was a real challenge for yours truly... not enjoying gray. Guess what I discovered?
I like these grays!
On the mantel for January!
When I heard the challenge, I knew I wanted a mantel quilt for January that reflected my word of the year, "recover" DH said a lotus represents rebirth. I remembered all the pics I took at the waterlily garden in Denver and thought.... okay.... and interpreted the water in gray fabrics and the lotus in yellows.
I used a combination of piecing strips, and applique of tiny strips over those, for the background, including a hand marbled by me gray fabric of swirls. I cut petals in yellow shades from cream with gold flecks to strong yellow solids for petals and a honeycomb fabric with bug for that center pod.
My machine is acting up so when I started quilting, and knew I planned to use mylar and metallic threads, I prepared the piece without a back to see how the tension would be heavily quilting the petals
It was fine after I adjusted the bobbin tension.
note I pulled the top of the quilt to the back of the peltex and glued it as I knew how I planned to finish the edge.
since the tension was fairly good, I went ahead and cut a backing fabric, put a line of fusible web along the edges of the backing, pinked it and pressed it over the folded over top edge.
My plan was to catch this in the quilting of the whole.
finished back with pinked edges
I'm only sorry you can't see the sparkling metallic threadwork.... it adds so much
The last thing was to add the square silver beads... just as a new vertical line to balance all the horizontal lines.
Designing for fabric artists doesn't stop at the initial line drawing... it goes into texture of threads, and 3-D elements.
Thank you to the organizers of this challenge, for inspiring me to make a quilt that I love, one that symbolizes my word of the year.
Now the color of the month at RSC is pink... lovely warm happy pink
I know I'll be doing another endless diamond block in pink, already cut and waiting for handwork.
I am choosing fabrics to make a winter sweater wall hanging so this pink scrap worked it's way in
And I wanted to ink on fabric too, so I did a quick face and will surround her with applique, to gift one of you if you like when she's finished.
It's not easy to be creative these days.... I am constantly disturbed by the violence in my country.
It's Friday, and the day I share what I've drawn or painted this week.
Like most Americans I've been shaken to my core with the attempted coup to take over our democracy, but like most artists I sought solace in creativity.
It's not much to show you but it's a sign of wanting to express myself. It is just a doodle on my weekly calendar now passe as it is from 2020.
Taking respite from the news, I also toured a few videos on how to view famous painter's work
I painted on fabric one evening and began a small collage with fabric around her.
I used ink and pencil, on scraps of muslin. I find painting images on fabric to be a different challenge to paper as substrate. The ink bonds immediately and there is little you can change.
I could throw any fabric paintings away that didn't come out like I wished, but correcting a line is not possible. I can shade over some areas and stitching can change a look, but once an action is taken it's not easy to undo.
Like life, some actions and words cannot be taken back or covered up.
So like life, I consider these exercises a lesson in the "now" and after a day I look at them and decide what worked, what didn't work, what I like or don't, and what to do with the piece. Like all my ladies, I never know what she will look like... I do not plan them, I start with eyes but the nose defines them.
The most I can do is add to them, but you can't take away their spirits
On this one I like the shading around her neck, and her shoulders. I like her hair and the applique flower in it. Her eyes are haunting but something is amiss with her lips. We are all different and none perfect.
today is Stephen Hawking's birthday and here is a quote by him:
He said: “For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals.
Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We
learned to talk and we learned to listen.”
I hold my hand over my heart when I hear our anthem. I like Democracy and the right to vote. I like that my vote counts. I like people with integrity who stand up for what is lawful and decent. I like peace.
Today I am bereft. I am only human and can only do what I can.
We had a valid election according to our constitutional laws yet there are Americans who refuse to acknowledge that. I'm frightened that the current person in office incited citizens to violence against the constitution he vowed to uphold. When I am insecure I go inward.
Domestic terrorists, hold flags even as they commit violence against our constitution, our leaders, fellow Americans, and my capitol. Americans ransacked my capitol yesterday.
True Americans protect the constitution. It is unbelievable to me that so many would destroy our country while holding our flag.
In my lifetime...
I Like what Colin Powell (retired 4 star General ) said this morning... this is a disgrace but we will get through it
that said, these are the fine people who keep lists and may be sharing today
toasting to a fresh start. Today is T is for Tuesday.... the glasses hold almond champagne sipped as we went to a zoom party with good friends from Maryland.
We always spent holidays with Hal and Jacquie and their crowd, playing board games, eating good food, laughing and celebrating. Zoom allowed us to kind of do that this year although it's less simple to break up into groups of two to chat. I loved seeing old friends again, and making new ones.
After midnight EST the party broke up and we looked at each other with two more hours til midnight here.
"time is relative" we agreed and went to bed.
My word of the year, ( read it here ) at least the first 6 months, is "recover" Not a simple process, and it has already become a goal several times already. When I wake up I now think of some one thing that's good, before leaving the soft comfort of warm bedding. When I decide to drink water which is hard for me, I think of healing physically. When I choose to watch a baby elephant video instead of news I think of emotional recovery. Not denial of facts, just diversion so that my spirit can repair itself.
(collards... clean leaves, fold in half and pull the stem free, layer leaves roll and chiffonade, then steam in water, salt and pepper and a bit of butter til tender) We had the Southern Traditional foods collard greens and black eyed peas (for money and luck) as well as homemade cranberry sauce, and ambrosia.
(Sectioned red grapefruit, sectioned navel oranges, banana slices, Maraschino cherries and some juice, coconut, and if you can find it, fresh pineapple chunks)
before peeling the oranges we zested them and froze the zest for recipes... it's so much better than dried zest. So is fresh grated ginger better than dried.
I found a no knead recipe for cinnamon buns online, and tried it making the frosting with orange zest and almond extract instead of coffee. So good!
There are two of us, and we are sugar freaks so I chose to make 1/2
of this recipe which is already one half of the pioneer woman's recipe.
It made 23 rolls at that.
Before baking I poured a bit of cream
on each bun because someone once said that makes them gooey like mall
sweet buns and it worked a charm!
Changes made to frosting:
again,
used half this recipe which was for half of pioneer woman's and I used
powdered sugar made with tapioca not corn starch (allergic to corn) and
used a bit less than called for.
yum... the addition of zest and almond was inspired Mama
I sketched another lady while listening to a podcast
