First week in August

Hello again,

My blog is suffering from summer fun - I'm just having too much of it!  Last Saturday was our annual Block Party BBQ.  The street was closed off - all two blocks of it - and the neighbors got together to catch up on family doings and who had heard from which former neighbors recently.  The weather (which was extremely wet in the morning) cooperated just in time to light up the grill and let the local littles play in the sprinkler.

Between travel, recuperating from travel, and all the other fun stuff - not to mention the exhaustive heat - it has been too hot to spend much time at the upstairs sewing machine - but I have spent enough time to get a couple of the corners done for my RRCB:

yeah, I know... still in the drawer.

... and a "Trend class" sample is quilted and bound:

The 4 x 6ers have almost all received their postcards from me for July before the middle of August:

Isabell's, Janet's, and mine

and I've received this beautiful little quiltie from my friend, Lani, all the way from California!

Lani's pc

doesn't it look like a sunrise behind a Manzanita?  I love it!  and, it's her first try at a postcard quilt.  I think she did a great job on it - she has a wonderful sense of design - and I love those bright colors!

The FATraders exchanged embellished coasters which we joined into books to celebrate our 6th anniversary on Yahoo.... it took a bit longer than expected due to the postal workers strike in Canada, but I'm loving my little book.  Here it is:

I've also been working on an embroidery block of the month - I'm keeping up pretty well with the Little Birdie Stitches by Little Miss Shabby... I'll post those pics in a day or so, along with the latest update on the Happiness Key Mystery quilt.


...and I've sewn, cut, re-sewn, rearranged, cut, sewn again on my QCE Guild fabric challenge - due in Sept. which I can't post pics of or any other details until the 'Reveal' at the next guild meeting.
 
The QCE guild has a quilt show coming up in November - and I'm trying to prep a new quilt or two for that deadline.  I'm also trying to get to Philadelphia to spend a couple of days with my one and only daughter, who has graciously kept her calendar free for the time of my visit.  Smoochies!

midsummer days

Hello again!

I'll be you're wondering whether I'm still blogging or not?  Well, of course I am!  But, summer being what it is with so much to do and only 24 hours in a day, etc.  Sometimes the writing takes a backseat to the doing...  and what I've been doing is - for the moment - a secret!  I do so wish I could tell you all about the new product from C&T that I'm testing, but no, sorry, no can do - not yet!  It is interesting stuff, tho, and I'm enjoying the playtime.

I've been scrunching it, ironing it, painting it, separating it, draping it and sprinkling it with sparkles.  It has an intriguing ethereal quality about it.

That's not all, of course.  I'm also working on a 'fabric challenge' for QCE guild - which is supposed to be a secret until the 'unveiling' in September.  So far, I've done a little shopping and a lot of cutting - enough for at least 2 quilts of the required size limit.  I like having choices, but hate making decisions.  What a conundrum!

I've also been working on a quilt for my good friend Carolyn T. so I think I can show you a pic of that...

 If you squint a bit, the bright parts seem to curve, but really they're straight.

Talent Tuesday

Postcards made last month for 4x6ers swap - Buildings theme

 
Today is a good day to expand an existing talent. 

Whether you like to sew, paint, jog, swim, bike, or whatever.  Push yourself just a little out of your comfort zone today.  Experiment with a new recipe, try a different route, speak to someone you have never spoken to before.
 
I'm taking an art class today... in watercolors.  I haven't had an art class since I was 14, so this is scary! 

I might find out that I know a lot less than I thought I did.  Maybe I really can't learn everything from the internet.  Who knows?  I'm going to try - really give it a shot.

And tomorrow, I'm going to try gelatin printing.  I've already mixed the gelatin in a pan - it is in the fridge getting firmer by the minute.  I'm giddy with anticipation.  Will it really work?

I won't know for sure until I try!  The theme for the next 4x6ers swap is 'Free Choice'.... I wonder where the muse will lead me?

EQ7 - a learning experience

I recently installed EQ7 on my laptop... about a month has gone by... this software is so totally different than what I expected!  It has taken me a bit of concentration to get from start to finish on a quilt design - and this is a very simple little wall hanging - but here it is!  If you are interested in a class on this block, let me know!

Art Quilt Elements at Wayne, PA

I went to the Wayne Art Center today to see the art quilts - fantastic eye candy, as a matter of fact - this show is a dependable treat.  Go check it out - scroll down the page on this link to get a little video tour:
http://www.artquiltelements.com/

Sorry I can't post any pics of the show here - you know how these copyright issues are!

Haven't done much in the studio lately, but I did put this little dolly together with scraps last week:

and before that, I made up these postcards

and these little book pages...

with ink pads for the fabrics as well as the stamps!

Thanks for the visit!  Drop me a note and let me know you were here.

something to keep a cup warm

I belong to an art trader online group called FAT (Fiber Art Traders) for which I finished this little coffee cuff yesterday:

which will be traded, of course, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can and hope that you do, too!

This was made with scraps of old jeans, a scrap of painted batting, and some more scraps of yarn and whatever threads were left on bobbins from previous projects.  Fun way to use up the clutter!

Today, I'm cutting out can-can dancers for the Black, White and Yellow in Paris challenge, which is due on the 15th, so I hope you don't mind if this is brief.  I'll post pics soon, I hope!

Have some fun with your fabric today!
Toodles,