Checking In

I was gently reminded by a friend the other night that I have not posted to my blog in months. She is tired of looking at that "damn pincushion" every time she checks my blog. I suppose that you, too, feel the same way but figure you don't know me well enough to smack me around and tell me to get back to work. LOL!

I have been in a quilting slump for the past few months. I came back from the SAQA conference in May rejuvenated and ready make half-a-jillion quilts, but the summer leaked away and here it is, October.

This spring and summer I was swept away by physical fitness. I was going to enter an offroad triathlon at the end of this month, but decided I needed at least a good year of training, so I will enter next year. I've discovered yoga.

I have been concentrating on training and eating healthy (mostly organic, no processed foods). I'm absolutely smitten by Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," and loved Jillian Michaels' "Master Your Metabolism," and have become very conscious of where my food comes from (and where it SHOULD be coming from). I will go on my first hunting trip for deer this month.

I managed to enter my "breakfast ti" quilt in Road to California. Photographing silk is extremely difficult, so I hope my pictures were at least good enough to get me in. I'll find out in December.

I did not get "Sunday Morning" finished in time to enter, but am still appliqueing like crazy and shooting for the Viewpoints Gallery "Celebration of Hawaii" in January.

I am working, working, working my day job.

I have been occupied with other things for a short while, but feel the creativity beginning to swell up inside, and soon it will be back to usual for this blog, with lots more quilting.

Thanks for sticking around and checking back! I hope to have something fabulous to post very, very soon.

Deadline...

I finally finished basting the blossoms on the "Sunday Morning" agapanthus quilt. All one hundred twenty-seven of them. I used some of my precious Japanese basting thread that one of my former customers, Bette Nomura, gave me a long time ago. I love this thread, all pre-cut lengths, which glides through fabrics with ease.

I've been procrastinating on this quilt for a while now, and I don't know why. HOWEVER, I just got the Road to California packet in the mail and now I have a firm deadline. The entries have to be in by October 1. Those who know me well know that I work best with a deadline.

Here is a glimpse of the final burst of blossoms that I basted down. Did I mention I am hand appliqueing all one hundred twenty-seven blossoms? I'm looking forward to the hand applique, which is a good thing, because how long does it take to hand applique one hundred twenty-seven blossoms?

One blossom at a time.

So off I go. I figure I can finish the applique if I stitch four blossoms a day for the next thirty-two days, which will give me a good 2-3 weeks to quilt and finish the quilt before I need to photograph it and send in the entry on time.

Four blossoms a day does not seem quite as daunting as the overall visual of this 6' wide quilt when it is spread out. The good thing? I know I can get more done on the days I have more time which will make up for the days that I don't.

It will be a joy to see this quilt finished...it's a work in progress SIX years in the making!

Box Checked

Bruce's new quilt, Late Summer Garden, is finished - I now have an empty sewing table, so I can get onto the next project!

I used the new bamboo batting for this quilt.  I really love the drape and weight of this batting for "family" quilts.  It's lightweight and soft, perfect for summer use.  So far, its only drawback is that it is very "linty" and gets all over everything until you get the binding on.  It doesn't appear to beard, though, which is good.

Here's a closeup of the quilting - simple.  I love the way quilts pucker when they are washed.

Yearning...

Getting myself into trouble by visiting the Art Quilt Tahoe page and reading about Sue Benner's Landscape class. Realizing that I already have all of the class supplies in my stash and wouldn't need to cart my machine (hence, more room for fabric!). Figuring that I could probably go "on a shoestring" for $3,000. Wondering where I can dig up that amount in this impossible economy (no gallery sales as of yet, this year), and whether I could actually get the time off, since I've already used up/accounted for my vacation time this year. UGH.

I was the very lucky recipient of the AQT scholarship award in 2007. It was a fabulous experience - so much so that I'd love to go back some day. And in that regard, I encourage all of YOU to apply for the scholarship HERE.

Sue Benner is such a dynamic person and teacher! Everyone I know who has taken her classes raves about them. She was also one of the jurors for Quilt National this year.

Counting my pennies...

I Have Plans

I find that title slightly amusing, since I can't remember a time when I didn't have plans, but I feel like these are different!

I just got home, a week ago today, from attending the Studio Art Quilt Associates conference and opening of Quilt National, in Athens, Ohio, and from a brief, restful vacation in Cody, Wyoming. I hit the ground running on Tuesday because I had to go back to work, and this weekend was spent catching up on the household stuff that doesn't go away...vacation or not!

I have tons of inspiration to share from the SAQA conference, which will take me in new directions this summer. Now, if I can just find the time to sit down and quietly gather my thoughts.

One of the biggest plans is to take the focus of this blog in a more artistic direction, keeping the family and cooking and other miscellany to a minimum. But because I like to write about those things, too, I think I may need to create a "homey" blog to pick up the slack. I'll see.

I hope your summer is off to a positive start!

OMG!

I am getting ready to leave on vacation.  It's still a week away, but I'm a sort of "plan-in-advance" girl, so I'm getting everything ready.  

I'm so excited to be attending the SAQA conference in Athens, Ohio!  If you are a SAQA member and going to be there, I can't wait to meet you!  I can't tell you how great I think this adventure is going to be...I don't get to travel to these kinds of things very often, so it is SPECIAL. I am most looking forward to meeting the folks I feel that I've gotten to know through the web, blogs and the SAQA list.

After the SAQA conference I'm off to Cody, Wyoming to meet up with my darling husband, who has been there since April 30.  I MISS HIM LIKE CRAZY.   We will have a week there with my uncle (and many outdoor adventures) before coming home on June 1.

Packing has been interesting.  I am trying to go on this trip with one carry-on suitcase and my laptop bag. HMMM...packing for 70 degree weather and 50 degree weather is definitely a challenge.  I am sending my cold weather clothes to Wyoming and my "nutrition kit" to Athens, Ohio via USPS so I can be warm AND adhere to the training program I am on while I travel.  It has been a fun challenge to see what all I can get in these two bags without toting around 100lbs.  I think I've done very well.

I'm not taking any handwork on this trip, despite a lot of travel time.  I'm taking three books: "Notes from Montana" and "Wapiti Wilderness" which I plan to leave at my Uncle's in Wyoming, and the new bio about Dara Torres, the Olympic swimmer.  For a guilty pleasure I downloaded "Top Chef Season Three."   I'm sure to keep myself occupied.

I am taking my laptop with me and plan to post along the way - sure to be some quilt-related stuff in there somewhere, especially the first part!

Late Summer Garden - Top Finished!

First things first...I have to add a picture of my NEW MAT.  Believe it or not, this is the first new mat I've bought since I had the shop!  I still have my two old shop mats, which are larger than this one, but they are getting worn out and "groovy."  I experienced a little sticker shock, though, when I initially priced them.  God, it's hard to buy things at retail when you still have all of the wholesale prices in your head.  Thankfully, I still have a connection and managed to get this one inexpensively.

I took this photo as I was piecing "Late Summer Garden" because I thought it looked pretty.  Thank heavens for chain piecing.  I managed to put the top together fairly quickly.  I counted how many 2"x3.5" rectangles it took to make it, but I was so overwhelmed by the number that I forgot!

Preliminary arrangements below.  When I got the initial blocks done, Bruce wanted something with a little more "interest," so I added the sashing strips in between the blocks, trying to blend the light to the dark a little more.  I added black Bali cornerstones.

Here is the finished top!  Now just dreading the quilting, which will be fast and simple, but still a lot to move around my dear Janome.

I really love Batiks.  As I was working on this, I got inspired to start another turtle quilt.  New pattern.  Stay tuned!