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Archive for January, 2012

This and That

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

 

Here is today’s 3 X 3. This was needle felted, by hand. Am I going to get sick and tired of red. We shall see. I will certainly continue to discover all the ways that I can design a small piece of art. I want it to be fun and no stress.

We were awakened between 4 and 5 this morning by Scooter barking. As you can imagine, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. It was one year ago this week-end that we had our first burglary. There was no intruder. Scooter had pooped in his bed. We let him stay upstairs on his bed in the family room. When we got up, he had pooped in the living room. Steve took him out for a walk and he did another gigantic poop. We wondered what was going on because he had normal movements for the last few days.

Then, I remembered the box of dog bone biscuits we bought at Costco. They are pretty big biscuits — bigger than we usually get him. Mr C had left them on the floor of my office. Last night when I was down there, he didn’t seem to want to come back upstairs. I thought I should put the biscuits up, where he couldn’t reach them. It turns out, it was like shutting the barn door after the horse got out! There are 40 biscuits to a layer and there were only 10 left when Steve counted them. We have had a big laugh about it all day. Fortunately, he did not get really sick, just felt lethargic all day.

We are looking forward to the return of Downton Abbey on PBS tonight – how about you? Our young priest even used the show in his sermon this morning!

Finding Balance

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

I am one week in to the new year and feeling good about the direction my life is taking. On the quiltart list,  members usually pick a word for the year. Last year, I selected spunk. It really didn’t work for me. I had hopes of jumping into the new year and my art with gusto and doing incredible new stuff. Instead, I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach for most of the year.

I was not going to select a word this year, but as I thought about how I want to “be” this year, I realized that I was seeking balance in my life. And, so, I now have a word. To that end, I am taking some time each day for introspection and reading something spiritual. I fell more centered.

I have had a busy couple of days as I prepared for the opening of June’s exhibit at Trinity. Mr C got the tummy bug on Friday night so I lost my wing man. I called some friends to help. It was a lovely reception. Here is the food table.

I made these wraps which were so delicious and hit with the attendees.

You just need something for the wrap — lahvosh or tortillas. I used a whole wheat wrap. Spread it with pesto and then top with thinly sliced fresh mozzarella and arugula leaves a roll up and slice. Yummy.

My 3 x3 for yesterday is a bit of a mess. I had a terrible time with the free motion quilting.

I do like today’s 3 xv3 which is up at the top of the post. I love Judy Martin’s blog. She does lots of hand stitching and has a very meditative, zen approach to her fiber work. In her latest blog, she was traveling in the car and hand stitching strips of fabric to batting. I had to give it a try.

Now, back to watching a movie with Mr C.

In the Red

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Actually, I am also in the pink. I am having fun pulling out all my red fabrics and scraps to create with. Making a 3 inch square composition is a bit of a challenge. I find myself thinking about it during the day. This one was inspired by some pre-cut and fused scraps that I had in a bag of goodies. It is yesterdays 3 x 3.

Today’s, 3 x 3 is made from red silk organza and silk organza scraps that have been painted. I did some handstitching.

I have not done nearly as much new year organization in my studio as I had planned for this week. I have had a few distractions. I am coordinating an exhibit of June Underwood’s paintings at Trinity. Yesterday, we hung the show. Here is a peek.

Tomorrow night is the opening reception and I am doing the food and wine for that. So, Mr C and I made a trip to Costco today to pick up some goodies. If you are in the area, I hope you will come by.

This morning, I had a check in with my Dr. I am happy to report that my blood pressure was normal and I do not have to go back for 4 months. I get so stressed about having by BP checked, that I am always sure that it will be high so it was a relief.

I found this box of bee’s wax crayons when I was Christmas shopping. I am thinking they might be fun to experiment with on fabric.

I am watching Project Runway: All Stars. What fun to see all the divas back in the workshop together.

Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

And It Isn’t Even Spring

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

We are having a very tolerable winter, I must say. Today the temps were in the 50s and there were clear enough skies to see Mt. Hood, hardly every happens in the winter. I accompanied Mr C to Trinity this morning. He was working the pantry food handouts. I had some arts stuff to take care of. We took Scooter with us and I walked him around NW Portland. There is a part of me that would love to live down there and walk to everything and be part of the hustle and bustle of the downtown.

Scooter was such a good boy and got lots of loving from the folks coming and going from Trinity. I also enjoyed listening to the conversation between the homeless and Mr C and Lydia. It was a complete departure from what I would normally do and I enjoyed it. It is part of my plan for the new year — get out of my rut.

This afternoon, I finished yesterdays 3 x3 by sandwiching it and doing some simple stitching.

I also did some felting for today’s 3 X3. It is up at the top of the post. I used red prefelt for the background. I have to admit to a love affair with felting fibers together. My friend Terry thinks they look like something the cat threw up!! LOL But, I love the melding of fibers and colors and then adding simple embellishments. So, I am very happy with this little piece.

This is what I did tonight:

These are the pages of my Sketchbook Project for this year. The deadline to send these in must be coming up. The watercolors that I have done are just backgrounds for stitching that I want to do on each page. Some of the stitching will be done by hand, but most will be free motion machine stitching. I hope it works!!

Tomorrow, I hope to finish cleaning my studio. I want to pull off the felt from my main design wall and redo it. It is kinda grungy looking after five and a half years.