The deer and the snow and the hunchback baby

I feel like it has been ages since I blogged, but really, it has only been a few days. This week has been hectic and I have felt worn out by just trying to keep track of things—little chores that need doing, meetings to attend, people to call/email about this or that.. And the weather. Hard to make plans this week. The news was telling us there was a big storm coming. Big. Snow and ice and freezing temperatures. Big.

 

 Not so big. We got a little snow overnight and woke up to an inch or so Thursday morning. The schools closed, but it was gone by noon. The sun came out and then it did get cold. Below freezing is cold for us. Beth and I walked one cold morning, but not very far. It was too cold for us.

I need to replace the countertop in the main bathroom at the old house in order to get it ready to sell. You may remember that I painted the old formica counter several years ago. The paint held up quite well for quite awhile, but I don't think the renters were as careful as we were and the paint lifted around the sink. I got an estimate at Home Depot for replacing it and they sent the installers out to measure. I was pretty happy to be getting that taken care of. The installer/measurer person wrote it all up and the price quadrupled from the original HD estimate. I was seriously in shock. I think I need to reconsider and figure out a cheaper alternative. Bummer.

It has been that kind of week. Harried and hassled and frustrated. A couple days ago I posted on Facebook that the big quilt I was working on was shaping up to be a big stinky mess. I was discouraged, but pressed on. Yesterday morning I hung it up on the wall to step back and really assess it. The baby, who was supposed to look like he was wrapped in a blanket looked like a hunchback. I squinted and argued with myself trying to believe it was OK and really did just look like a fold in the blanket. I ended up taking it apart and recutting that part. It's better. I did actually start quilting part of it.

I'm still pinning and trying things here. The deadline is approaching. This one will be down to the wire I suspect, but I do think it will get done. (And yes, that quilting looks dreadful. I'll fix it.)

Friday afternoon the sun was shining and as I walked past the livingroom window I saw a deer right near the front steps. She seemed to be nibbling on some moss, which seemed harmless enough and I went to get the camera. It was then that I noticed her companion delicately nipping the little green sprouts off one of our bushes further out in the yard and I snapped. I flung open the door and shouted at the deer to "get the  ---- out of my yard!" and they scampered away. It's becoming a love/hate thing.

I've been crabby. Underlying all these petty frustrations has been the fact that I've been coughing my lungs out for weeks. Ray told me several times I probably ought to go to the doctor to which I would snap at him that I was "getting better, dammit." Yesterday I woke up feeling truly sick and finally did go see a doctor and came home with antibiotics and cough syrup and steroid nasal spray. I am thinking that I am finally going to start feeling better and when I do I won't feel so tired and bummed out.  I clearly need to:

The book

As I reported, the Twelve by Twelve book, due to be released on March 1, is out there! Each of the twelve of us got our author copies last week and others are now reporting that the copies that they pre-ordered have arrived. We have heard nothing but good reviews, and though I am certainly biased, I think it is a beautiful book and I am enjoying reading it from cover to cover. Each of the 144 12" by 12" quilts that we made is in the book, with a short paragraph by the maker talking about each one. In addition, each of us wrote a chapter about one of the themes and the piece we made for that theme. Each of us also wrote a section covering some aspect of the project—a technique, some history, or some other aspect of the two-year collaboration.

Here is some of my section of the book.

I now have some copies to sell. If you are interested in one, send me an email. They cost $22.95 including shipping. I am happy to sign your copy if you want. You can send a check or pay by Paypal.

Lark, our publisher, is featuring the book with twelve days of interviews with each of the twelve authors on their blog. Today was my day! You can read the interview here.

I plan to mention this book often on this blog. You will probably get pretty tired of it. Sorry. It's a big deal for me. The first book I have ever been a co-author of. Wish I could be cool and refer to it as "my most recent book." Heck, it's my ONLY BOOK!

PS - If you are local and want a book, I would love to meet you for coffee somewhere and hand it over in person.

The sun

It is so easy to take sunshine for granted, but I tell you, do not underestimate its power. Sunshine shining into my house this weekend has renewed my spirit and given me incentive to push on. Amazing stuff.

They say our weather is going to turn cold and possibly snowy later this week, but while it lasts I am consuming the sun.

I am working on a large quilt. Remember last year about this time I was finishing up a 36" x 48" piece for an invitational show called "Beneath the Surface." My piece was accepted and showed in several large shows and appeared in a magazine. It was a good deal. This year's theme is "The Space Between" which I find a really interesting theme. Open to a lot of different interpretations. My idea is to think about the space between parents and children, mothers especially. As babies, humans and their mothers are practically inseparable, then as they mature the space widens. It is the natural thing and a good thing, though sometimes difficult and painful and always, that 'space between' crackles with love, tension, guilt, heartbreak, pride and regret.

I have waited on this until the last minute. It is due soon. Not that I purposely procrastinated, there have just been a lot of things that have stood in the way of getting this done. Now I am pushing myself. I can't show much until later. I decided to start with faces. If I can't get them right, I won't have anything. Can these pieces come together into a complete work in time? I hope so.

Where does the time go?

Today the STASH group met at my house. I was going to take pictures so I would have something to blog about, but I forgot until we were nearly finished with lunch. It is such a nice group and we have a good time together. There are usually 6 of us, so it is small and we are not a critique group or a very-serious-about-anything kind of group. I have those more serious groups in my life. STASH is really just a group of good friends who are all quilt/fiber artists. We show what we are working on. Today we talked about our plans to go to the Pacific West Quilt Show in Tacoma in August and planned a beach retreat in early May.

The hostess usually makes lunch. Sometimes we go out. We do love to eat! Half of the group are vegetarians, so when we cook it is vegetarian. Fine with me. I'm not a vegetarian, but love all kinds of food and certainly don't need meat with every meal. I experimented on my friends today. I made a dish called "sweet potato walnut quinoa." It seemed to be well-received. Tasted good to me. I was a little dubious as I dished it up. Looked kind of gloppy, if you know what I mean, but the flavors were really good. I also made a salad with greens, pears, almonds and blue cheese and a loaf of my no-knead bread. Fresh strawberries and dark chocolate crisps (from Trader Joe's) for a simple dessert.

I can't recall what Reva was explaining here. Looks like "then the two parts come together and..." About that time Gerrie looked up and noticed a deer laying in the grass in my backyard. By the time I got my camera she knew we had seen her and she was on her feet prepared to flee.

So pretty. Another deer joined her and they both ran off into the woods. I think the same two deer have been in the yard a lot lately. I saw them out front the other day. They drive us crazy in the summer, eating the roses and the garden, but I still love to see them. I don't know what they are finding to eat right now. Daffodils? Oh, I hope not. I am really looking forward to the daffodils.

I can hardly believe how time is flying. Wasn't it just Christmas? I seem never to be caught up and always working against deadline. I produce the newsletter for Columbia FiberArts guild and got that done and out yesterday. I have some small design jobs and a quilt I need to make soon for an invitational and a couple of volunteer chores that need to be attended to. I have a lot to do. But for the moment I am enjoying the quiet in my house. My friends left a couple of hours ago and I have cleaned up the kitchen and the dishwasher is running. I am snacking on the bowl of trail mix I put out with our coffee this morning and remembering the good conversation and the sounds of my friends' laughter. The sun is pouring through the windows and I keep hoping to see that the deer are back. All those things I need to do can wait until tomorrow. I am enjoying today.

This is really exciting

This is one of my author copies of the Twelve by Twelve book. It arrived yesterday, on Valentine's day. Perfect.  I opened the box and handed Ray my phone and asked him to take my picture to record the moment! Do I look like the cat that swallowed a canary? Or something else equally pleased? This has been a long time coming. You probably know that the book is a record of the first two year Twelve by Twelve challenge project. Being part of the international group of twelve has been a thoroughly joyous experience and then when we got the opportunity to write about the experience it was pretty incredible. The book was published by Lark Books, who were great to work with. The twelve authors are totally thrilled! I have to say I never dreamed I would be a part of something like this.

I love the book. Each of the 144 quilts we made is pictured and 12 are featured. Each of us wrote a portion of the book, sharing our thoughts and processes and insights into the project. I am really proud of what we created. I think it is beautiful, and I hope it will be interesting and inspiring to readers.

The books are available for sale through Amazon and Barnes and Noble right now. I imagine they will be carried in bookstores and quilt shops as well. I plan to get a supply to sell as well. If you would like to buy a copy from me, let me know. I will be happy to sign it if you like.

The official release date is March 1 and Lark Books is promoting the book on their blog for the twelve business days ahead of its release. Each day you can read an interview with one of the "Twelves." They are also having giveaways of the book, so you might get a chance for a free copy!

Click here to visit their blog. Today's interview is with Kristin LaFlamme.

Empty house

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you know the saga of the unsold house. We bought our current house, spent nearly a year remodeling, then couldn't sell our old house. We rented it out. This month our renters moved out and we are getting it ready to put back on the market. We need to sell it. Soon. Today we went over to see what needed to be done to get it ready to show. As it turned out, not too much. We need to clean some carpets, touch up some paint, do some yard work. Both bathroom countertops need attention. The downstairs bath will get a new countertop. The upstairs bath has a tiled counter with a problem. I worked on it and think I have a solution for that.

Our renters took good care of things. I am grateful.

My son came and helped us for awhile. He asked if I missed the house and said he misses it. Funny, because he never lived there. I don't miss it. I wandered through it today and wondered what I should feel. It is such a special house and I am so grateful that I got to live there for as long as I did but I am glad to be where I am now. I didn't feel sad about being there, just eager to make it look its best and let someone else love it as I have.

When we were looking for a house in Portland we looked at a lot. When we pulled up in front of this house I knew it was the one, before I even went inside. It isn't fancy and has some real inconveniences, but I always said it was the house I had been looking for for 20 years. It has character and warmth and a comfortably well-worn quality.

But I was happy to leave when it was clear that the time had come to move on. I am happy not to be carrying laundry from the basement to the second floor, and toting groceries up two flights of stairs, though I think the house kept me fit for all those years!

When we left today, Ray said, "Isn't this a great house?" I agreed. Then we came home to our comfy cottage in the woods and rested our weary bones.

The house is almost 100 years old. I think the thing about an old house like that is that you always know you are just one of many owners and, in a way, you are just passing through. There is a certain responsibility to keep it vital and pass it on. We're just trying to do that.

Making Valentines

Leigh asked about making my valentines. She thought perhaps I was sewing a bunch of them to send. No. I send valentines instead of Christmas cards, so I am sending something like 60 of them.  I used to make Christmas cards. Every year  I made a block print or little silk-screen print. It got to be too much, especially when I was working in retail and Christmas was crazy already. So I started making valentines instead and have continued. They used to be prints, like the Christmas cards, then I made a few using Illustrator to create a digital graphic. For the past several years I have made a fabric valentine that I photograph and print multiples of. I usually combine the little print with pretty paper. This year I have a dandy new tool that has streamlined my operation.

The green machine is a Xyron machine—a simple hand-crank device that will apply adhesive and a paper backing to a sheet of paper. You can see my sheets of hearts on the right. I run each one through the Xyron and it turns it into a big sticker. I cut a heart out, then peel the paper off the back and stick it to one of those little rectangles of goldy-green paper. That is then applied to a slightly larger piece of lime green card stock.

I added a bunch of little hearts to the sheets, just because there was wasted space between those large hearts. I can use them as stickers to seal the envelopes or for something else. The Xyron machine was a Christmas present and you can switch out the sticker adhesive cartridge for one that will laminate paper. It is made for scrapbook enthusiasts, but I think I will find a lot of uses for it.

What I've been up to

Just puttering away at things.

I finished my yearly Valentine art. This year I made a heart in the shape of a heart—that is, no background.

I hung it in the window of my front door.

I need to have copies made and put my valentines together.

I finished the 12 by 12 piece and I used the second bowl and bird combination. You knew I would! For those of you who said you liked the first bird and the second bowl, I think you will see in a few days, when we reveal the final pieces, why I chose the second bird. It works much better. Really. Just wait and see.

Yesterday was a bad technology day. Early in the day I tried to upload a video to Dropbox. I wrote an article for an upcoming issue of In Stitches, which is Quilting Arts' online magazine. They wanted a little video to include in the article. (what a neat idea!)  I had my son-in-law come over and shoot the video. This is all new to me. First I discovered the file was way too big to email, so the assistant editor at In Stitches told me how to upload it to Dropbox. I followed the directions and it spun its wheels for about an hour, timed out and did not upload. I tried again. And again. Finally, I just burned the file to a CD, packaged it up and was ready to head out the door to see if I could overnight it to the magazine and—surprise!—the file had finally uploaded while I was fussing with the CD.

Jane Davila knows how I love typography and she sent me a message that I needed to check out a very cool iPhone app called TypeDrawing. When I tried to install it I got a message that my phone needed to be upgraded to the latest version, so I plugged it into the computer and iTunes and tried and tried to install the upgrade with no luck. I finally left it after a couple of hours and went to bed. This morning I tried it again and it worked like a charm. I don't understand. But I was glad I could finally install the app. It is very cool. It does this:

And this:

Working on the blue/brown/sage piece

Usually I keep what I am doing for the next 12 x 12 challenge pretty much under wraps until the reveal. I'm not sure why we have done this. I think in the beginning we thought the blog would be a good place to talk about progress and what we were doing. This one seems to me that it might be somewhat interesting to talk about as I go and show my thought process.

I think I've mentioned that the color scheme doesn't do a lot for me, but, hey, that's why they call it a challenge!

I got to thinking maybe it would be interesting to redo an older piece of mine, using the new color scheme. That could be fun, right? I chose a little piece that was in the traveling show called "Fine Focus" several years ago.

 

So I went to work, starting with the bowl and the bird. It seemed a lot like this one, but somehow it didn't make me happy. This is beginning to be a pattern, I think! Remember the chokecherry piece? I made it first, using the techniques and way of working that I am accustomed to and it seemed tight and dead. Same with this piece. So then I made it again, using, I hoped, a freer, looser approach. Here are the two .

It is probably obvious that the one on the left was the first and the one on the right my second effort. These are just laying on that background fabric and are far from finished. This is just my start and I think that the stitching that will eventually happen will change whichever one I decide to use rather substantially. Already, though, I am feeling more life in the second one.

Ghosts

Look at how delicate these leaves are—ghosts of leaves, really. I picked them up on my way to the mailbox. It was a clear, cold, sunny day here today and whereas I usually hurry,often through the rain, out to get the mail,  I was taking my time today, enjoying the sunshine and checking to see if the daffodils have started to emerge yet. They have. Scattered over the path to the mailboxes were winter worn leaves, delicate and fragile as moth wings.

This morning, on our walk, we saw a bald eagle. Paula and Beth and I were marching resolutely rounding the far end of the trail that passes the back side of an apartment complex. We heard a man shouting from a balcony, "Ladies! Ladies! —  eagle!"  We stopped and watched, mouths hanging open, as the magnificent bird circled over our heads, close enough to see his eyes, then soared into the treetops. We stood there, dumbstruck, for several minutes, watching to see if he'd return. He didn't.

It seems to me that the older I get the more these small wonders of nature affect me. This entire day was made slightly miraculous by the sight of that eagle this morning. Those ghostly leaves scattered in my path felt like gifts. Finding money on the ground would not have been any better.

Pyramid Scheme

Facebook has a way of taking over. It takes up a ridiculous amount of my time and I am beginning to see it as a kind of pyramid that can, and is, becoming much larger than I want or need. Here's the pyramid, as I see it.

As you can see, the further down the pyramid you go, the bigger it becomes. Currently I have almost 400 Facebook friends. Do I actually know all these people? Heck no! It started innocently enough. I just accepted all the requests for friends that I got, unless we had no mutual friends and I had no idea who they were. But they kept coming and I started feeling overwhelmed. Who are these people, and why do they want to be my friend? A few months ago, in a panic, I started ignoring friend requests, except from people I actually know. Those requests, I discovered, never go away. They just sit there waiting. I now have about 200 of those and they just keep coming. There is something wrong here. Are people in a contest to see who can have the most friends? I don't get it.

I love Facebook. Don't get me wrong. I really do. Look up there at the top of my pyramid. I keep up with my family far and near. I get to see baby pictures of the newest little great niece/nephew immediately. I hear about jobs and moves and marriages and car accidents and elderly in-laws in the hospital and all those things that truly strengthen the bonds within my extended family.

The next tier down are my friends around town—my art buddies and my old neighbors and my women friends and former coworkers. I keep up with their lives and make connections and hear any news they have to share about their families and what they are up to. Kind of the same with old friends who live far away. It is so nice to stay connected in an informal way.

The "old friends I lost and reconnected with via FB" is a very special tier. This is something that Facebook has made possible in a way that has never existed before. I wrote about this a month or so ago. It has been possibly the best gift that Facebook has given me.

Internet friends are people I may or may not have actually met in person, but through listservs and online projects we have developed relationships. Some I have "known" for nearly twenty years. Some I have been able to connect with in person, some I hope to actually meet someday. Somehow they have become people who are part of my circle and mean something to me.

The tiers below this become iffy and questionable. I get a request from Facebook: "Mary Jones would like to be your friend". I see that we have 46 mutual friends. Most of them are online friends. Once upon a time I thought, " if they are a friend of _______ then they must be OK and I'd accept the request. I stopped doing that when I realized that a lot of people just accept all requests. It seems if that goes on and on, pretty soon we are down into that bottom tier and one of these days we will all be Facebook friends with the whole world. Very woo-woo touchy-feely thought but totally unworkable.

The "people who want to sell me something" tier. Well, I never did fall for that one. Except some of them are sneaky and pretend to know you when they don't and there you are—Facebook friends. Until I can un-friend them, that is.

So, I decided I have to draw a line. And this is where it is drawn. This is where I refuse to go. I am un-friending anyone in these bottom tiers.

I guess I'm not going to win the "most Facebook Friends" prize.

Put a bird on it...

Deadlines are looming. I am writing another magazine article and I have a little more than a month to make a large quilt and, darn it, life keeps getting in the way! Both of my grandchildren are sick. When they are sick they can't go to daycare so they come to me. And that is the way I want it to be, by the way. It's just that the timing is bad. Poor little babes—I think this is illness #3 for each since Christmas. They have bad colds right now and lots of chest congestion. The baby is pathetic. I spend a lot of time just holding him. Thankfully, they are getting better and I am getting a little more work done.

Here is a little section of a small piece I have been working on. I'll show the whole thing eventually, but not yet. This is part of scene based on a photo I took in Mexico several years ago. I loved the architecture and the colors, especially in Oaxaca. I had nearly finished it today and it seemed somehow not quite finished. I decided it needed something alive in it and added the pigeons. They are not in the photo I took, but I remembered seeing so many pigeons sitting on balcony railings and rooftops.  Suddenly, with the addition of the pigeons I became very nostalgic about that last trip to Mexico. I could imagine sitting in a courtyard filled with exotic plants and flowers and tossing crumbs to the pigeons. I could picture the clear blue sky and hear the music and feel the sun on my shoulders. That is just exactly where I want to be right now.

Then I had to laugh at myself. I had improved my piece by putting a bird on it. (Well, three)  Have you seen the new TV show called Portlandia? It is about life in our own fair city and it is very funny—at least to those of us who live here and recognize the locations as well as the cultural references. Anyway, there was a segment called "Put a Bird on it" that made me laugh out loud as well as feel a little self-conscious about all the birds that keep showing up in my artwork. I have actually been in that shop on N. Mississippi Street. I think I bought a beautiful card there once with a, ahem.... bird on it.

The problem at hand

I have a serious subject to discuss with you, my friends. Fingernails. Not fingernails as fashion accessory. Fingernails as tools and aggravation.

For years I have had problem fingernails. They split in a variety of ways. Layers would peel off, sort of like laminate separating. Then little horizontal splits would start at the corners so that as the fingernail grew out, there would be a little snaggy place that would catch and further split the nail. I tried a lot of things. I tried super glue (really) with limited success. I tried mixing unflavored gelatin in juice and drinking it—a touted treatment for creating harder nails. That doesn't work. I tried all kinds of products made to apply to one's nails to harden and strengthen them and nothing helped. This was not a vanity issue. It was painful and aggravating.

Then about 10 years ago something happened that took my nail problems to a new level. We were in a car accident. I was driving and we were hit by another car. The air bags deployed and slammed into my hands and arms. I was bruised and sore and both of my thumbnails were split vertically down the center. Ouch. The really distressing part was that as the nails grew out they just continued to split vertically. I bought products that covered the split nails with fibrous paper and glue. I covered that with nail polish. I had been using nail polish for years believing that it made my nails stronger. Finally I started really researching split nail problems online.There are a gazillion theories and remedies, but most of the medical sites I found attributed the problems to a combination of two things—dryness and fingernail polish remover. I quit using polish and therefore the remover, cut my nails very short and started using hand creams and lotions more regularly. They were better, but still dry and brittle. I decided I needed a more aggressive moisturizer and tried a lot of things, including olive oil and special nail creams. I finally remembered a little tin of Bag Balm that I had purchased in a quilt shop, oddly enough, advertised for dry skin even though the product is intended for moisturizing cows' udders. It was the only thing that really seemed to help. I could tell that they were less dry and brittle immediately and over several months the vertical splits finally stopped and when the nails finally grew beyond the splits, they were gone and have never come back.

I apply it liberally to each nail before I go to bed at night. It is very greasy and gooey and it doesn't smell very nice either. You might suppose that it would be messy and get on my clothes and bedding, but it seems to absorb very quickly. If I keep to this ritual my nails stay strong and free from splitting and peeling. This week I have noticed that my nails are brittle and breaking and a little shreddy as I file them, but not split. I need to be more diligent in this cold, dry weather.

I am happy to have worked this out, but I still wonder if there is something else that would work as well. I have friends with similar nail woes who have given up and have acrylic nails. Ugh. Yuck. That is not for me, but if you know of other effective ways of maintaining strong, healthy fingernails I'd love to hear it.

Now I have shared with you my number one beauty secret—stinky, greasy cow unguent. Pretty glamorous, eh?

The bird class...

has come and gone.

I headed out through the fog this morning and stopped along the way to buy a latte for the drive. I love driving through the Oregon countryside. Even in the fog, maybe especially in the fog, it is misty, damp, green, beautiful. It took me a little more than an hour to get to the Oregon Garden Resort where my Bird class was scheduled.

The room was set up with tables, extension cords, ice water and an ironing board and iron. Perfect. I had two enthusiastic students, Carol and Susan.

I really enjoyed both of them and we had a good class, I think. It was nice to work with just two people. I was able to keep a close eye on their progress and add my two cents worth when I saw it was needed. It was a good way to see if other people could follow my directions and understand what I was describing.  I was really pleased to see how well their birds turned out. Maybe they were extra talented students.

Here is Susan's bird.

It looked like a robin with paisley wings.

Here is Carol's bird.

Her purple fabrics were pretty gorgeous. She decided not to attach the wings just yet. We both thought some decorative stitching around the edges would help to set them off from the body fabric. Loved the quirky legs! Getting those little guys to balance on their scrawny legs is always a feat.

The facility was so good! The lodge at the Garden is only a couple of years old. Susan and her husband had rented a room and she reported that it was both economical (off-season rate) and charming and comfortable with a fireplace in the room. They served us a really nice lunch and a mid-afternoon coffee break with freshly-baked cookies. The lodge sits at the top of a hill overlooking the Oregon Garden and the views from the windows in our classroom was beautiful.

The other class, a Marsha McCloskey feathered star quilt class had more students than I did, but the third class was apparently canceled for lack of registration. This is the first year they have offered classes and I think there were two problems. I'm not sure the classes were well publicized and I think people were leary of bad weather in January. The Oregon Garden is a drive from anywhere. Well, the weather was nearly perfect today as it turned out, but you never know what January will hold. It could just as easily been snow or ice.

All in all, a good experience. Want to learn to make a bird? I'm available to teach!  Also, if you are in the vicinity, come see the quilt show this weekend. I am demonstrating my fusing technique Saturday morning at 11.

My little artist

Sofia loves to draw and do art projects. She is also very interested in my work and the books and magazines I have about fiber art. The other day I found her sitting on her potty paging through one of my FiberArts magazines. "I just love these pictures," she said. Grandma's girl.

Today I was looking at my new Quilting Arts magazine and she crawled up next to me to peer over my shoulder. "Look, Grandma! Butterflies!" It was a photo of  an installation of textile butterflies made by children.

"Do you want to make a butterfly, Sofia?" 

"Yes!"

While I drew an outline of a butterfly shape on a piece of muslin, Sofia went through my little box of small scraps to find fabrics for her butterfly. I pressed the fabrics and applied fusible webbing to the backs of the fabrics. She started laying the pieces out on the butterfly shape.

Once she had pretty well covered the muslin outline I carefully transferred the fabric to the ironing board and fused all the scraps in place. She added a few more, as well as the body. Then we fused it all to a purple background fabric, and cut out the butterfly shape.

All finished. I told her  she could hang it on the wall in her bedroom if she wanted to. "no" she said. She just wanted to put it in her purse and have it. And she did.

A productive Sunday

I woke up this morning with a list in my head. Things that needed to be done. Time has gotten away from me, as it seems to do. My bird class is this coming week. Today I gathered up my supplies and got all my materials and samples ready.

I printed patterns and instructions sheets.

I printed the patterns on a variety of colors of card stock. I like to cut my patterns from card stock and trace around them. Colored pieces are easier to see and harder to lose. If each student has a different color they will know exactly which pieces are theirs.

In addition to teaching the class on Thursday, I am doing a demonstration of my fusing technique on Saturday. I needed a little project to use for the demo. Since I need to make a piece for my valentines this year, it seemed like I could kill two birds with one stone and use my valentine to demonstrate the technique. I came up with a design and pulled my materials together. Ready to go with my demo now.

I also started thinking about the next 12 x 12 colorplay challenge. The colors for this round are blue, green and brown. You can see them here. I think this is a popular decorator sort of color scheme right now. Not my cup of tea at all. Just not colors that appeal to me in any of their shades and tints, but that is why they call it a challenge, I keep reminding myself. Awhile back I bought a fat quarter of a print fabric that I thought might work well for one of my teacups or bowls that I was making. Remember those? I ran across the fabric today and realized it almost had the challenge colors. Here is the fabric.

Brown and blue for sure. The green is really more of a teal color. And the addition of that coral-y red and some gold added the warmth that I feel the color scheme needs. I used my Inktense permanent watercolor pencils to make the teal leaves more green.

 

Closer, I think.

The fabric may or may not end up in my 12 x 12 piece, but it has given me a little more positive feeling about the colors.

Another rainy day

My friend, Beth, and I just started our seventh year of walking together. We usually meet at 8:30 and walk for about an hour on the Fanno Creek Trail. Then we head to Starbucks for coffee. It is a great way to start the day. For the past 6 months or so, my friend Paula has been joining us off and on. We often walk in the rain. What I learned about living in western Oregon many years ago is that if you let the rain deter you from the things you want to do, you quickly become depressed and frustrated. Sometimes when it is really wet we cut our walk short, as we did this morning. But I always feel better for the rest of the day if I have spent at least some time walking.

Our creek is pretty high, but last month it was higher and actually flowing over the top of the little bridge. The creek is so much lower than the house and rest of the yard that there is no real danger of flooding that will damage anything. When it was so high last month, however, it lifted one end of the bridge and then set it down off it's supports.

The creek drops down even lower on the other side of the bridge and rushes over the rocks when it is this high. In the summer the creek is about a foot lower and sometimes a mere trickle. I must admit that when we bought this house and property the creek was one of the things that really attracted me. It originates just up from us on Cooper Mountain and meanders through the neighborhoods below us. We cross it several times driving toward town and I am always interested to see how much bigger it is just a few blocks from us.

This mossy tree is across the road from our driveway. I always love how the rain brightens the colors of the moss.

I am sewing a corduroy shirt for myself. What possessed me? Every so often I just get this idea that I want to make an item of clothing for myself. I'm not too happy with the way the stitching along the edge of that placket looks. I think I will be doing some un-stitching. Corduroy sure gets thick and awkward when the layers start to build up.

It is kind of the color of rain. What I really know is that it is soft and warm and cozy. I think that is what motivates me to sew clothes when it rains for days and weeks on end. I am always drawn to flannel and fleece and corduroy when it is damp and rainy.

My bird class is next week. I don't know how many people are signed up yet, but I think it will be a fairly small class. I am getting my materials and handouts ready and gathering up my supplies. I'm looking forward to it.