Welcome Home Little Laptop....Come see what I have been working on....

My friend was able to "fix" my laptop....okay, the battery is completely dead and my A/C connection is loose...the DVD/CD drive is toast BUT I can access my OHS spinning thesis and photos that I hadn't already uploaded...or is that downloaded...over to the external hard drive.  I'm a happy person! that is starting to shop around for a new source of technology.

Last week we were completely blindsided and any creative cell in my brain disappeared.  (Everyone is healthy...that is always the first thought on bad news). It was one of those moments where you are left speechless and you feel all the connections in your brain snapping as you try to make sense of what you are hearing. I woke up with this morning with the resolve to keep moving forward and to stop second guessing myself.  I wasn't called in to work today so I have headed downstairs to tidy the sewing room.  Then it dawned on me that I have yet to get something for my new little nephew for Christmas.  We are sending the parcel out west tomorrow. Typically we each draw a name and make just one gift for the person whose name that we picked.  This little guy wasn't around when names were picked and being his favourite only aunt on this side of the family, I had better step up to the plate and do something.  I have yet to make him anything with the hectic summer and fall that we have had so rather than tidying I have pulled fabric out.

But first...what have I been up to?

• Finished my dad's Christmas gift...sorry...no photos (just in case he decides he should actually read my blog...highly unlikely but you never know).
• I have been helping my husband and daughter's with their gifts...mostly teaching them how to sew, etc....again no pics until after Christmas.
• I started adding colour to my thread painted portrait of my youngest daughter when she was 3.  I am using Prismacolour pencil crayons.  The photo doesn't do it justice (goal for 2013...learn how to take better photos)

• Our guild had a request for approx 40 placemats to donate to Meals on Wheels.  They deliver the placemats to recipients of Christmas meals to make the holidays a little more special.  As a presidency, we challenged the members to make 80.  At our Christmas potluck last week, there were 96 beautiful placemats turned in.  I wish I had my camera...there were so many creative ones.  My wonderful husband made my potluck contribution so that I could actually find time to make a couple of placemats.

These are really simple but very effective for a quick and easy project (again my photos don't do justice....or maybe it is the horrible yellow light fixtures in this house.  I may have to do something about those too.)  I am going to make up some miniature ones for a little one who just loves tea parties with daddy.

Pattern source:  Pink Penguin (this links to the tutorial but definitely check out the rest of her blog...lots of wonderful inspiration!!)

• At the beginning of the month I attended a spin-in with the Atlantic Spinners and Handweavers.  I went to spin however they had a hands on day.  I wish my laptop was working so that I could have downloaded the instructions for these.  I have made some before but not as intricate as some of the ones that I saw at the workshop.  Inspiration came from the book Temari Traditions: More Techniques for Japanese Thread Balls (this is on my list to Santa)and a variety of other sources.

Here is a little eye candy that the workshop coordinator brought along

Some of the workshop projects in progress....

  

I should get back to sewing and the mess in the sewing room...I'm thinking a little Jelly Roll project.  This is what I pulled from my stash. Now to get cutting and sewing like there is no tomorrow (because really...it has to go in the mail tomorrow...why do we do these things to ourselves??)

PS....Hop over to the Quilting Gallery.  Michele is having a Blog Hop Party to Celebrate the Quilting Gallery's 5th Birthday.  I was hoping to get in on it but the computer issues killed that thought but there are lots of other blogs that are linked up with tons of inspiration AND give-aways.  Happy surfing and good luck!

Poppies and Playing

I absolutely love poppies!  They are my favourite flower.  When I saw this wall hanging a few years ago, I just had to get it.  Unfortunately they didn't have any kits left so last year I thought about it again and called the shop up.  They shipped it off to me and it went on my shelf.  

Recently I discovered that there was a large light table at my husband's workplace so after getting permission to use it, he signed me in and I spent a day happily tracing out the pieces.  Not a soul noticed me there until I was getting ready to leave then all my patterns and fusible web sparked a few questions....apparently no one has used the light table in years!  Then I had to use my homemade milk crate light table that I made when I was 15 to piece everything together.  My back and knees were killing me! lol  I would love to have the workplace light table in my basement!

Fusing pieces using my pressing mat and my milk crate light table.

The key phrase for a few days was "watch the iron...it's hot!" and "Mom, where can we walk/sit?"

Fusing to background

Ready to layer and quilt

I am not a confident free motion quilter. I love the process of MAKING a quilt but get completely stumped with the actual quilting.  I think it was all those beginner quilting classes that ended with the dreaded phrase of "Quilt as Desired"!  Seriously...how do you desire when you have never quilted anything before or been taught anything about quilting design, thread, etc?  Eventually, Quilt as Desired meant...send to my friend Pat!  Pat always knows what to do!  Now I live in NS and Pat lives in ON and I'm thinking I should actually learn something about quilting design and improve my new free motion skills that I learned when I made the sunflower!

On Wednesday, my husband and kids sent me to my sewing room to take a break from life while they prepared supper.  I have been watching a Thread Art workshop on Craftsy by Lola Jennings so thought I would give it a try.  I traced out an enlarged photo on some scrap muslin, threaded my machine with some charcoal thread and set to work without worrying about mistakes.  It is very liberating to just play!! I'm not quite finished...still some detail in the background to do and the post of the play structure.  It turned out much better than I expected (and now wishing I had grabbed better fabric!)

Sunflowers and Joy

This past couple of days has been all about cleaning, cleaning, and cleaning!  I think my family is in shock that so much was done in such a short period of time.  The plan is that if I don't have so much to clean then I will have more time to sew and spin.   Now they just need to jump on board and help me keep it this way.

Today, I found time to sit back down to work on the sunflower. My lighting is not as great as it was at the workshop.  My husband has been talking about installing better lighting in the basement for me.  I have a washroom to fix so upgrading lights may be pushed aside for a while. With a few task lights set up around my machine I think I was able to achieve what I was hoping for.  What do you think?

How should I finish this?  Some of the thoughts that I have are:

a) do a variety of other flowers to make a small wall hanging

b) a journal cover

c) frame it as is

Part III ~ What Brings Me Joy

21.  Finished Sunflowers

22.  Starry nights

23.  The sounds of brooks and small waterfalls

24.  That look when a child figures out the answer

25.  Spring Peepers

26.  Making preserves just like mom

27.  Relaxing at my spinning wheel

28.  Freshly dyed skeins drying on the line

29.  Clotheslines full of freshly washed sheets and clothing

30.  Lightning storms

Making New Friends and What Brings Me Joy Pt II

Today I made new friends!  I attended our first workshop of the season (my first workshop with my new guild). What a great way to meet other members and other fellow quilters from nearby guilds.  I walked in, set my machine down (my first workshop with my new machine...not always a great idea but eventually I found the zigzag stitch), and introduced myself to the ladies at my table.  Ironically, not one of them was from my guild but we had a great time getting to know each other (meaning me getting to know them and vice versa since the three of them were already friends).  It often amazes me that any of us walk away with anything to show after a workshop.  It is a great social event!  Early on in the day I realized what I have been missing so much since moving from our home in Ontario...it is that sense of community and having other people that share similar passions.  I even found some fellow weavers in the crowd.  I left the day with some phone numbers, email addresses, and a new fabric store that I didn't know about...even a sewing play date offer.  YAY!!!

It was wonderful being able to participate in Kathy's class.  I mentioned before that I have volunteered in her class at CQA and what a wonderful and patient teacher she is.  I learned so much...first, you must keep breathing! I wish I could go back for tomorrow’s class on birds.

This will not become a UFO because I LOVE THIS TECHNIQUE!!!  This is my first attempt...

Thread Painted Sunflower with Kathy Tidswell

As you can see I still have work to do.  Maybe if I chatted less....forget it that would have been no fun!

10 More Things That Bring Me Joy

11.  Spools and spools of coloured thread

12.  Sewing machines that work

13.  A room full of women equally as passionate about fabric, thread and fibre

14.  Listening to my children laugh hysterically

15.  Walks on crisp fall days

16.  The smell of autumn apples

17. A husband willing to run me to quilting and spinning workshops

18.  Big Bang Theory

19.  A freshly painted room

20.  Learning something new!