"Wild Flowers"

It started off like this:

So I started gathering my fabrics and fused them:

And I proceeded to do my thing after I cut a hunk of blue and fused that on first:

Eventually I had a mess going on which is the "norm" for me when I'm concentrating:

And I continued to fuse my brains out, (as my dear husband says when he comes in the kitchen for lunch) until it got to this point:

Then I got out my threads and went to town.  Aren't they so pretty together????



Pretty soon I was all done..........



You can click on that picture to take you to my Flickr stream and read what colors I used if you want.  Here's a close-up:



I really like it.  It's a bit more sophisticated than I normally do, and maybe that's what I like about it.  Actually, this was a painting that I found in someone's favorites and I knew I had to put it to fabric.  I hope they don't mind, whoever it was????

And I finished off the back as I normally do, except I forgot to sign it and it is missing a dowel in the sleeve for hanging.  I better do that right now before I forget.



Don't look at that big glop of threads on the bottom there.  A bird must have been building a nest while I was sewing.  LOL  Enjoy!

Is it March yet?

Boy oh boy, I'm running out of stuff to show you.  This week again, I've been sewing for other people in private swaps not due until the end of March.  Don't think for a minute that I will wait that long to ship them though.......hello!!!  I'd either go nuts from anticipation or will lose the poor little things by that time (although I do try to pile them all together in one spot on my dining room table.)  I'm not a very good secret keeper to be truthful!  I just thought that if I do all of them now, I might be able to concentrate on the doll swap.  I have so many ideas for that swap, that I am going crazy just trying to keep them all straight in my head.  I did draw one this weekend, and I might have bitten off more than I can chew.......

Here's the beginning:



And then, the next day, I continued working on it:



It's going to be 20 inches square and I think I am going to applique the whole thing....(if I can afford all the Steam a Seam I'm going to need.  LOL)  It will be quite a project!  I even found the cutest bus and little car buttons for it today.  I really need a sailboat button, but couldn't find one of them anywhere.  I might have to forget that idea, who knows?  I even went out for solids today thinking that if I'd use patterned fabric it might look like a clown town.  I'm hoping it turns out as cute as I imagine.

So, that's about it for me.  I've been going out for lunch with friends and shopping so my sewing has been limited too.  I hope to show you more next time.

What happened to the week?

Holy cow, what happened to the week?  It seems like it was just Monday and now tomorrow, it'll be Friday already.  (You can tell that I work out of the house, can't you?)  Who else wouldn't really know what day it was?  Duh!  Funny thing is that I feel like I haven't done a thing all week, and yet, I've been so busy.  You knew that I had joined the mug rug swap and the doll quilt swap and then, dummy me (although I really wanted to cut down on swaps) went and joined the QT Mini Swap for February/March.  Not only that, but I agreed to a private swap for those same months.  Am I crazy?  Eikes......who do I think I am anyway?  And knowing me, I won't just make one each for the mug rug and doll quilt swaps.  Last time, I think I made 10 for the doll swap just in case we needed that many angel quilts.   I am the angel mama, you know!!!  (A very important post, I'll have you know!)

Anyway, I won't disappoint you....although I did make two for secret this week that can't be shown yet, I can show you two mug rugs that I whipped up two days ago.  Who knows who'll get them since my partner doesn't seem too wild about either one.

Here's the first with the front and then the back:





Don't look too closely at those lousy stitches on the back.  My hands really cramp up in this cold weather that we've been having.......supposed to be 22 below zero wind chill here tomorrow morning.

Oh, and the other one......kinda classic front and (hopefully better stitched) back:





Anyway, that's it for today, I'm afraid.  I really like the two I did for the secret swaps, but I can't show you those yet.  Boo-hoo!  Oh well.....stay warm!

2010 Revisited

2010 haunted me today....well, not in a bad sense, actually in a great sense!  Let me tell you a story.  Last year, after the doll swap was over in about March or April and I had nothing else pressing to do, I decided to try my hand at art quilts.  Now, usually those are rather small, stiff so they can be hung or framed, and tend to contain hand embroidery of some sort.  I ordered a bunch of Kona solids and went to town and finished some in this order:













Did you notice all those curved pieces in there and all the french knots?  I'm surprised I still had skin on my fingers after all those knots since I hate thimbles.  LOL  Well, anyway, on with the story.  There was one more block that I never finished.  I pieced it and I loved it, but it was too big and I was a "chicken" to cut it apart 'cause I really liked its look so I hid it under my template rulers.  Well, today when I was searching for my 2 1/2 inch template square I ran across it and "wa-la", the light bulb went off immediately and I got to work!  I was in my glory!!!  Check out what I did:



Isn't he cute?????  I adore him!  I had a time of it with the bird though.  I think I made three in all different colors, but when I made one in black, I knew it was right.   Here's a close-up:



Sorry about twisting your neck there!!  I try to be artsy-fartsy, you know!  So now, my original art quilt  is now a doll quilt and measures 15 x 18 inches.  Perfect!  Too bad it's not exactly my partners tastes though.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make some more...................I'm sure I'll find one that'll be just right for her!

Remember?

Remember the last post with all the circles?  Well, being the industrious person that I am, I couldn't let all those "cuttings" go to waste so this week, I made this:





(In case you're interested, like lots of my friends on Flickr, those teeny tiny nine patches were not pieced, but rather just colored in with my Micro pen......call me a cheater.......but I thought it would bring extra interest and I just couldn't help myself.  LOL)

Then, I also used those cuttings for this little 6 1/2 inch round mug rug:



See all the million french knots:



Last, but not least, I finally finished that commission quilt.  Poor Katy asked me to make her a quilt on December 15th..........tough to be waiting awhile, huh?  I know, I know....shame on me.......BUT, remember that I had my stuff packed away for the holidays and I did use all that time to think.  (I know you're all laughing at me, but believe it or not, commission quilts are the hardest thing for me to do.  I want it to be as perfect as possible since they're paying me big $$.)  I'm hoping she's pleased.  I really like it!!



Poor girl doesn't even have it yet.  In fact, I'm not mailing it until later today.....but (smooches to you Katy), she let me post it for everyone else to see.  Wasn't that sooooo nice?  Now......back to the drawing board!  The doll swap and mug rug swap are underway!

The Next Project

You might not have seen this:



But I got right to work on it...........



And some of those strips turned into this:



Which in turn turned into these after I ironed them...(note that there were only 59 done at this time):



So after I cut them and sewed them back together, they looked like this:



And...in case you want to see the back of one (like one of my friends wanted), this is what it looked like.  Note that I didn't give a rats behind which way the seams wanted to go, just so they stayed flat.  LOL  I figure why fight with them???



I thought I was close to being done......and that would have been the case if I had shut my big mouth instead of asking my Flickr friends if I should go on to make a lap quilt instead of the baby quilt/wall hanging which was my original plan.  Duh!  That should teach me!!  Needless to say, this marathon will continue 'cause now I need 12 more circles.....which is 144 more rectangles or about 5-6 days of just sewing strips.  Ugh!  BORING!!  Really BORING!  This project might just need some shelf time, I'm thinking!  (Which is hardly ever the case with me since it drives me nuts having two projects going at once), but two of my very favorite swaps will be starting in days.  I MUST concentrate on those, you know.......besides, I also have a commission quilt in the works that must get done too once I get the fabrics I ordered for it.  E-gads, I'm such a busy girl...........don't you just love it????  I know, me too!  

It's been a good week!

I love it when my mailman brings me something other than bills, don't you?  Actually this has been a fantastic week!  First, I got this darling mini quilt from Amy.  She and I were swap partners in the Mini QT Swap and the theme was "Take Flight".

If you remember, this is the one I sent to her:

THEN, shocks of all shocks, I won a fat quarter bundle from Stash Manicure and that came on Monday too.  Aren't these fabrics just gorgeous?  I ADORE Riley Blake.

They're so pretty, I'm going to have to just stare at them and "pet" them for awhile until I discover something fantastic to make with them.

BUT, here's the kicker................and I am having such fun...........and who would have guessed?  Along with the fat quarters, Madame Samm also sent an adorable little magnet and I am in LOVE.  Check this out:

She looks innocent enough, right?  Ah-ha.....wait!  Lookie what she can all do:

And she can be a ballerina too:

She's only teeny tiny...but oh so cute!  And I LOVE her!  She makes me smile!  I put her on a fabric lined cookie sheet in the sun to show you all her poses 'cause it's too dark on my refrigerator where she is currently "dancing".

Just shows that sometimes it's the little things which can bring the most joy!  Now.......aren't you smiling too?  I bet!!  Have a fun day, my friends.............and keep smiling!

What I did on my Christmas Break

As many of you know, I sew in my kitchen and store most of my everyday stash on my dining room table which is in direct view of the kitchen.  Obviously, with people coming for the holidays, and entertaining to do, I had to change my plan of attack to keep myself busy.  After all, it was hard enough to find places to hide the stuff in the beginning and I couldn't keep dragging it in and out all the time.   Somewhere, or another, a few weeks before this, I ran across a site with marvelous doodles which fascinated me to no end.  Upon further investigation, I discovered the name for these beauties, was "Zentangles".  Right then, I knew that would be my "project" for entertainment once my junk was packed away.  From my investigations I knew that I'd only need a drawing pad and micro pen and I'd be all set to "play" too, but as long as I had time, why not order some books for more information?

I do tend to get carried away sometimes when something gets in my head!  Just ask my husband!  It seems I just can't get it out until I have attempted it.  Well, when the books came, I had all I could do to finish my sewing projects, I was so excited!  I couldn't wait to start, so I divided my pages into 3.5 inch squares and went to town:

Well, then I did a few cards:





And those were only the bird cards, I never photographed the other ones.  And I also did a box:

Then some t-shirts:





And:





I think I'm done now for awhile........maybe until the next time I have to clean up my dining room table......BUT, in the meantime, I have to figure out how to get those marvelous designs into a quilt.  Wouldn't that be something????  Then to add some color?  Wow!  My imagination is going crazy with the possibilities!!  Stay tuned....I'm sure I can come up with something!!

Oh....one more thing.......thank you all ever so much for all the kind and sweet comments you wrote to me on my last post.  I was "blown away", truly!   That was the best Christmas present of all....really!