Thoughts on Laughter and Gratitude -and me being silly

Be grateful for the things you use every day but would feel "lost" without. Simple but necessary things - like food, water, heating in this cold weather.

Remember to find something to celebrate every day. Look for humor, look for joy, look for a chance to laugh at yourself. Yes, I am serious. If you can laugh at yourself, the world seems less daunting. It makes you resilient against negative events.

So consider yourself, your attitudes, the things you do from outside yourself and see how funny you really are. Then don't get upset, LAUGH about it. Take yourself less seriously. You will live a longer and happier life.

I am hoping that the video below works. It is me playing autoharp and singing a totally silly song.  I heard the song in a virtual autoharp group and knew I needed to learn it. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative and keep laughing!

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

For the Season

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate this event.  I do normally.  This year will be much quieter.  But Mom and I will celebrate anyway.  I have made some sugar-free peanut butter fudge that we will enjoy.  Tomorrow morning I will make a dessert that I call "Peach Pudding."  It is like a Southern Banana Pudding - but with canned peaches replacing the bananas - since I can not eat bananas. 

I have a few more small surprises in store for her - they are based on personal family memories. 

Here is a painting that I did several years back in a class.  We each painted one and then had it printed on cards to send as Christmas cards.  I no longer mail out cards. So here is my card to you. 

I wish for Peace and Joy to you.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Pieces and More

Here are the pieces - the pieces for what I think are the last three blocks to make for this quilt.

Those blocks will go into some fun giant four patches on the way to becoming quilt panels. 

Here are the five blocks that will go with those three.  Just ignore the stained, well-used ironing surface. 

Here are all the larger pieces that I have put on the bed.  I keep doing this to be sure that I make the panels correctly and get the layout as planned. 

I have to say that I think this quilt will make me very happy in spite of the small imperfections. But I will not point those out to you.  Ha ha. 

What I will point out to you is this one piece of my hand-dyed fabric that I think is just amazing.  That is one of the joys of the way I dye fabric.  You never know exactly what will happen, but more often than not you get some lovely pieces to play with.   Just feast your eyes on this one. 

I hope you know that I am talking about that upper right square.  The yellow streaking into the fuschia while still maintaining a purity of yellow and yet also blending on the edges  just brings me joy.  And those white places where the fabric resisted the dye add a lovely surprise.  That entire piece makes me smile - so of course  I put it in this quilt that I intend to keep for my bed. 

I don't know if I will be posting again this year but just in case I don't I want to wish you a glorious holiday season, whatever you celebrate.   Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah,  Happy ___Whatever___.  I am glad you are here. 

 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Half Square Triangles for the Pieced Blocks

The quilt I am making uses a lot of HSTs (half-square triangles.)  There are lots of ways of making these units.  When I started on this quilt, I used a paper foundation called Thangles as I had some in my stash that were the right size.

But this time, I decided to use a ruler and cut them before sewing them. I have The Left-Eze ruler designed by "A Left-Handed Quilter."  - I am not left-handed, but I tested the ruler as a "right handed tester."  So you will see some special stickers on my ruler as an Honorary Leftie.

What I did was take the two 2 1/2"  strips and layer them and iron them together.  There is nothing to hold them, but I find that it helps me to keep them neatly stacked during cutting. Then I put them on the cutting board and use the handy Left-Eze ruler to cut them. They come out layered and ready to sew. 

I confess that sometimes I do cut with my left hand. I am somewhat ambidextrous - but it is limited. 

Once they are sewn there is only one "dog-ear" to cut off.  I cut them before I press the unit open. 

Once they are pressed open they are ready to go into the pieced blocks that look like this:

I find doing the HST units this way to be as easy and maybe a bit faster than using some other methods.  

I have a few more pieced blocks to make before I finish constructing the sections of the quilt. As you may know I am quilting this one in sections and joining them to make a nice big quilt for my bed. But I am taking it slowly and enjoying the process.  

I think I have joined the "slow quilting" movement - at least for a while.  Oh yes,  I have also started another warm fuzzy piece on the loom that I plan to use to make a "house jacket" that I can wear on cold days to avoid turning up the heat. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

In Bits and Spurts

That is the way the quilt is made.  There are so many things that happen during a week that I can't just sit and sew.  So, the quilt is made in bits and spurts.  But there is no real deadline so it doesn't matter.  Between all the other things I have been doing this is how the quilt has progressed.  

There are two sections ready to be layered and quilted. 

There is one piece of fabric that is not actually hand-dyed - instead it is hand painted. 

The blue with mingled pink and yellow was painted using a technique I learned in the book "Sky Dyes"  by Mickey Lawler.   I love that piece and wanted to have it in a bed quilt so I can see it often. 

This photo shows the already quilted piece at the bottom with the other two pieces in place.  I put this sideways on the bed so that less was hanging off the sides.  The quilt will be more or less square - so it will hang off the sides and foot of my queen-size bed.

Meanwhile,  I realized that I need to make ten - yes TEN- more of the pieced blocks to have enough to finish the quilt.  Fortunately, I have plenty of fabric left.   When the next bit of time and spurt of energy comes along, I will work on those blocks. (unless of course I decide to quilt one or both of those sections.....)

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Making an Early Christmas Present

As you know, I love weaving as much as quilt making.  My mom is always complaining that she is cold.  So I decided to pull out some fuzzy yarn and make a nice shawl for her.  I am saying it is her Christmas present since she told me "don't buy anything for me this year, because you know I can't get out to buy presents."    Thursday when I gave her the shawl, I said "This is your Christmas present.  I didn't buy anything - I made it from things I already had."  That seemed to satisfy her. 

Here are  pictures of the shawl. 

I hope she enjoys wearing this and that it keeps her snuggly warm. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Quilt Making Update

My latest quilt is now almost 1/4 done.  Since I am making it in sections that will get joined together I have one fourth completed - except the binding.   

But this is all quilted and looking good, in my opinion.

This is the first two quilted sections joined together.  Once I get the other there sections quilted and joined, I will have a quilt that measures roughly 78 inches square. 

I love the play of the hand-dyed fabrics against the pieced blocks.  I am just playing when I quilt the sections.  They will all be different although some designs will probably be repeated. 

I am not rushing through this, but rather taking my time and enjoying the process. And I am doing various other projects and fun things also.  That said, this will probably not get finished in 2020.  But who knows?  A sudden "spurt of energy" could change that. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

More quilting

The first section of the quilt is all quilted.   I did some more improv fun quilting.    The first is possibly my favorite part - so much so that I am showing you three different photos of it. 

 The second one shows it at an angle and also includes the border/sashing pattern on this section. 

The third one shows it from the back so you can see just the quilting on a solid background.  This is a variation on "Wild Quilting" from a class I took by Christina Cameli,  Her teaching style was a great way for me to learn. 

And here is one more bit that is one of my hand dyed fabric squares.  They are so fun to quilt on. 

This is mainly a branching teardrop shape. Some shapes are echoed while others are not.  But I did feel like I needed a few swirls in there also.  I am having a lot of fun doing these and deciding what design to play with next. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Quilting a Bit of the Quilt

Since I am quilting the current quilt in pieces, I decided to truly "quilt as I go."  I had two sections of the quilt sewn together.  I decided to quilt at least one of them before I sew the next sections together.  

Why? (you may be wondering)  Because I just wanted to do some free motion quilting.  

To be honest, I am finding it hard to stay focused these days.  One thing that I read was "be kind to yourself."   And saying 'why not?' to this idea seemed like a way to do that and still make some progress. 

Here is a photo showing some of the quilting from the back of the quilt.  I decided to use some solids for at least part of the back.  

The fun part of making the quilt this way is that the back can be several fabrics for a fun giant patchwork effect.  I also plan to join sections "as I go" also.  That eliminates the tedium of doing all the joining at the end.   

Here is a photo from the front side. 

One thing I discovered is that those pieced blocks need  a simpler quilting design, so the second one was just meandered.  The purple section is what I call my "crazy feather."  With the crazy feather you don't worry about making it come out just so..instead you aim for a general feather *idea* but anything goes.  This is supposed to be fun, right?  Right!  For me that crazy feather is just fun.

The temperatures here in the South have taken a sudden drop.  I even saw ice bits in the 'rain.'   I hope the icy coldness doesn't decide to hang around. I prefer it a bit warmer.  I think I will go wrap up in a quilt and read. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Today,  in the USA, is a day to remember the things for which we are thankful.  I have learned to be thankful for many things.

Sometimes it is hard to be thankful for things. I am thankful for adversity because it helps me to learn to overcome problems and find solutions. But for most of my life I was NOT thankful for adversity.

I am thankful for my health.  But the times of sickness also bring lessons in overcoming and in compassion. Yes, I can be thankful that I have been sick, but I am now well.  Being thankful when I am sick requires greater faith, but it is possible.

Try to find something to be thankful for when bad things happen to you. Yes it is difficult, but it will change your view of life.
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate Thanksgiving. (I do, if you were wondering.)

Today, I will be having Thanksgiving lunch with my mother.  As her caregiver, I am very careful when I am out to avoid exposure to illness, so we are being as safe as possible.  It will just be the two of us. We are each cooking part of the meal. I will be taking ham, a custard pie with almond crust, broccoli and whatever else I decide at the last minute to prepare.  She is baking sweet potatoes - as we neither need the sugar of a sweet potato pie or casserole. 

I hope you are staying safe and celebrating your gratitude today.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Sewing some quilt pieces

Yes, I am finally back to sewing on a quilt top.  Hooray.  It feels really good to know that I can see well enough to do this.  I confess that I am wearing some "readers" when I sew.  Then I pull them off when I go to iron/press.  It will take a while to get into my "system" sorted out since I need readers. 

Anyway,  after looking at the planned layout for this quilt - and the size it was going to be - I said "Nope, uh-uh,  think again."  

There is this quilt on my bed that I just love. I made it in sections and joined them together to make a big quilt that did NOT require having to shift the whole thing while I was quilting it. 

So, I decided to use it as a "guiding pattern"  - not exactly the same but the same type of plan.   I cut up some hand dyed fabrics and started making big old four patches. 

FYI it is  on the bed right on top of the quilt I love to sleep under.  Now I have two of my favorite things in this quilt - batiks and hand dyed fabrics.  I am using the same color - white - as the sashing, but I am making it wider. So each of these four patches gets white sashing attached and joined with another four-patch. 

This one still needs the outer border added.  Those will be 2 1/2" strips instead of the 3 1/2" strips I am using for sashing. Once those are added this section will be ready to be layered and quilted.  There will be eight of those sections that will be joined into one nice bed quilt. 

The redesign inspiration quilt is this one (in case you didn't click that link above.) 

That one is really densely quilted.  This one may not get quite as much quilting -

unless I change my mind.  I do love the crinkly texture on this one.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Two Scarves Completed

The lovely warp on my loom has been nice to weave on this past week.  I haven't been doing a lot else except following up on getting household things sorted and dealt with. For example getting the septic tank repaired - that is still on-going.  Also the insurance adjuster should be here Monday. 

Weaving has been a pleasant reprieve from those things. 

I finished one of the scarves last week but just had not bothered to get a photo of it. 

The second scarf came off the loom last night, so it is not truly finished but I can call it a finish.  This one only needs to have a good wash, then I will take it out wet and iron it.  After that it hangs to dry. Ironing while wet helps to marry the woven fabric together a bit better. When I do this, I pull the selvedges straight as I iron.  

Here is the second one.  As they came from the same dyed warp they look similar but have differences. 

Here is a photo that puts then side by side so you can play "find the differences" if you want to. 

Soon, I want to get back to the quilt blocks that keep staring back at me.  I think I have decided to change the layout completely and do this one in sections to make a larger quilt. 

I am thinking it will look something like this:

This will allow me to use some lovely hand dyed fabrics in those alternate squares.   And I have a lot of fabrics that I have dyed and also some that I have from Colorways by Vicki.

I am uncertain about the white background.  That could change as I start working on it. I may use a batik or a black for the background.  I will see what the muse decides. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Back at the Loom

Several days ago I decided to make a new warp for my loom.  Making a warp is called "winding a warp." I wound this one from 4 white threads and one light gray thread.  The threads are a combination of cotton and rayon/bamboo.  Once it was wound, I set up my dyeing area to dye the warp.  The reason I love doing this is that the warp will have areas of color that shift and change as it is woven.  This warp is about 6 meters long.  I am hoping to get three scarves from it.  I used four colors of dye in the dye bath.  They are: golden yellow, fuschia red, turquoise, and razzle dazzle, which is a warm purple.

Here is the warp from the back of the loom. 

You can see how the color shifts as the warp progresses.  

And here is the first bit I have woven just to get it started. 

I weave these with a dark weft thread to make the color really pop.  

Interestingly, a white thread will mute the colors quite a bit. 

I am excited to be weaving these.  I have a plan for one of the three.  Well, you can say a 

potential plan. I wove another scarf as a commission but if one of these suits that person more, 

I will send this one instead.  I may offer the other two for sale or use them as Christmas gifts.

Either way, I will enjoy weaving on this hand dyed warp.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Looking at Options with Electric Quilt

My Left Handed friend posted about Swirls with the blocks she is making.  She messed up and was wondering about leaving the blocks as is.  
I decided to draft it in EQ and see what would happen.  Here is a quilt design using her block and setting it "straight." 

It really loses the nice faux curves that this type of block is known for.  Here is one in three colors, same block but different color arrangement.

After re-coloring it with all Darks for the colored part and rotating the blocks, it looks even better. 

And in case you were wondering - value really makes a difference.  Here it is with the "darks" as mixed values - dark and medium.

     It still looks nice but the curves illusion is less prominent. 

If I were making this quilt, I would prefer to make it with all lights and darks that are very close in value.  But for now, I am not making it. 

My current project (sorry no photos) is dyeing a warp to put on my loom. I made it long enough to make three nice scarves. I hope the dyeing comes out as beautifully as the last one I dyed.   As  a bonus, I put some fabric underneath the warp to "catch" some of the excess dye. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.