Quilts for the Cubicle

I don't work in a cubicle, but if I did, I would definitely want to brighten it. I was so inspired to create three cubicle quilts for my daughter. The first one was this flower CQ that I gave her in May. I had fun using cording, paints and beads.

The second was inspired by her return from Quilt Market. As we quilters know, "Most Fabric Wins" - definitely! I wanted to make this one very three dimensional. I baked yarn for the hair (wet yarn wrapped around a dowel).

I filled the little pincushion and those are real pins in there - just made shorter with a wire cutter. The handbag, well, MK is her favoriate handbag designer and this was the only way she was ever going to get one from me! I went to GoodWill and bought a little purse, cut it up and began to sew. It so reminded me of when I sewed Barbie clothes - I never enjoyed that much either! But just this one was fun. The shoes were a challenge. I was finally pleased with them after I added the glitter paint.

To finish it off, instead of a traditional binding, I used yarn - zig zagged three rows around the edges.

The third was for the Fourth of July holiday. We love Lady Liberty, so I used a silhouette of the statue. Again I chose not to use a traditional binding. I used a "fabric fringe" binding - made it so much more fun!

Wouldn't it be nice to have a CQ for each month of the year?!

June Retreat

Once again a group of creative souls went to Waterfall Mountain to creat to their heARTS desire! And once again, SO much was accomplished! The weather for this retreat was perfect. Beautiful temperate mountain air and sunshine. Seven of us made it up the mountain to see the waterfall that was flowing full as a result of the recent rains. We saw deer and a busy groundhog that is apparently an unwelcome inhabitant under the house. Sorry Liz, no giraffe was spotted this trip! There was also all the beautiful flora and fauna. It was such a treat to see the beautiful maple tree outside the window in full leaf - quite a change from its bare self in March.

Jean has sewn quite a stack of her metallic squares. It is going to be such a pretty quilt!



Linda's taking a rest, planning her next move with the quilt she is generously putting together for a neighbor.

Cheryl diligently works on a handbag - wish I had a pic of the finished bag - it was wonderful!

Margaret spent the weekend appliqueing. Her work is just so meticulous.

This is a beautful pinwheel quilt top that Cathy put together - one of many projects she worked on over the weekend. She definitely took the prize for the most prolific quilter!

All their hard work just tuckered out Maryline and Marianne.

Unfortunately, we did not get a group pic taken. That will have to be done at the beginning of the next retreat.

I so enjoyed spending a weekend of fun and creativity with this group of talented and delightful women!

Back in Clay

I haven't "played in clay" in a very long time. I have a small handbuilding room and my own kiln, but I just haven't been inspired to go in there and and get my hands dirty. My friend Diane has a handbuilding studio, http://dianeomalley.com/creations/ , that I went to several Monday evenings. I built many things but am pleased with just a few. I made this textured vessel and love the earthy, primitive glaze.

Because I spend most of my creative time quilting, I thought buttons might be fun and I could incorporate my two crafts. I really like the larger one. This was experimentation and I'm looking forward to making lots of buttons using different techniques and glazes, especially now I have an idea of how they'll come out.

The best part about the time spent at the studio was the fellowship with other crafters. Three that were there were new to clay and it was so much fun to see their joy when crafting their creations. One young gal was a professional potter, having honed her skills in college. Much could be learned from both her talents and cheerfulness. Thanks to Diane for opening her studio for a fun experience!

Cute Gift Project

It's graduation time and the usual gift is a check. Although it is surely very much appreciated by the recipient, I wanted to make it just a little more special. I purchased a card, but made a fabric envelope - a little more special than a paper envelope.

Here's how: Carefully undo the envelope and lay it flat. Take two pieces of coordinating fabrics cut larger than the envelope pattern, and fuse them together. Trace the envelope onto one of the fabric sides and cut out. Score the fold lines and fold. I used a strip of fusible web to close the envelope sides, or you could use some glue.

I then positioned a button on the back so the envelope flap would slip under the button. I added a couple of beads to the button that just happened to match the fabric patters - how cute is that?! To personalize the envelope, I painted the graduates initial with Lumere paint on the front of the envelope. It was quick, fun, and easy and hopefully will be a little keepsake.

Who Who!

We have lived in our home for 24 years and have had many great "nature experiences." One of the great joys of having so many trees is that there is an amazing abundance of birds in our yard. We often hear owls hooting and on occasion see an owl in the woodsy part of our yard. I even had the incredible experience once of seeing an owl swoop down and catch its prey - what I believe was a baby squirrel. Last week Bob noticed that an own stayed perched in one spot for most of the day for many days. Then the ol' eagle eye spotted why - an owl's nest and a baby owl! This was such a treat and we spent a lot of time with the binoculars enjoying this young fuzzy creature. He left the nest sometime during the past two days and the adult hasn't been seen either. What a treat it was - worth the 24 year wait!

To the Finish Line

Haven't posted any blogs lately, but I have finished quilting projects! Two of the quilt tops had been done for some time and needed to go to the long arm quilters. I just did not want to tackle quilting these, as an awful lot had gone into them and my quilting skills are just not there. The first one is "Almost Christmas." It is my first paper pieced quilt (and maybe my last!). At the end I ran out of fabric to put a much needed border, so I pieced one. I think it added so much to the quilt, moreso than a plain border would have, but it took almost as long to put together as the body of the quilt! Judy Whitehead did an overall quilting design and did a wonderful job. Unfortunately, with the fabric pattern and all the pieces, you can't really appreciate her excellent job unless you look closely. The quilt is now at the end of our bed and I love it.

For some time I had collected black and white fabrics for a quilt to put in our home office. I began putting it together following a pattern, but just didn't care for it. I then started to play and put together a design that I just love! I knew it needed to be custom quilted and Chrintine Sholtz tackled this quilt for me. Just look at the detail! Every section was customized. These long arm quilters are truly amazing - they just seem to have a natural talent to know what needs to go where. Of all the quilts I've done, this black, white and a little bit of red is one of my favorites. So far it is unnamed - Any suggestions?

Last, but not least - Ta Da! The Crazy Quilt is done! "Twelve Years of Crazy," cuz that's about how long it has taken me to do. The more I worked on it, the more I realized I love beading. I'm already collecting fabrics and beads and will soon start another. This one will be a wall quilt, so hopefully it will take less than 12 years. I even did some detail in the corner of the borders and put on a satin binding. I don't recommend it. As you can see, it's not very smooth and was a bit tough to sew on. But it's done and I love walking by it in the living room every day.

If' I make a quilt that I'm going to keep, unless it's seasonal, it will be out to be seen and used. I just can't hide them away - after all, it is a piece of me that's gone into making them and I want to share them with my family and friends. They're also nice to curl up under and take a much needed nap.

Back to the Garden

Garden of Weedin' - Ain't it the truth! I've spent the last 24 years planting, weeding, hauling mulch, digging and all other garden chores in our yard. Somehow, the passion has left me. I can remember when I would be out working in the yard before first light, and then in the evening have to turn on the outside lights to finish up the last little bit in the area I was working in. Perhaps I'm no longer enthusiastic about gardening because I've become so engrossed in quilting. Of course, years of drought and an onslaught of voles destroying collections of hostas probably has a great deal to do with it.

Still, I couldn't just let it all go, so outside I went yesterday and today. I was not loving the labor. It also seems to take a lot longer to get the garden chores done than it did years ago. Later today, after my shower and much needed ibuprofen, I took a stroll outside. Now I remember where that passion came from. The dogwoods have such a presence this time of year. Look at the Japanese Honeysuckle - what a joy!

The ajuuga, condytuft and creeping flox always help to brighten my spring garden. And the pansys will be giving off their splendid colors for several more weeks. And, of course, the whole area is alive with azaleas.
I felt the joy creep back in. Once again I was overwhelmed with the might of creation.

I'll definitely be out there working away again in the days to come. I'll pull weeds, fuss at the insects and be tickled when a new plant emerges or blooms begin to form. I won't work as quickly as I once did, and I won't get as much accomplished, but you can be sure that I'll be taking Ibuprofen aplenty!!