Earth Teeny Weeny

I took part in the Port Orford Guild's Teeny Weeny. This time the fabrics were "Earth"... We were given 16 strips of fabric one from each of the participants. I added the background fabric. I had fun with this. Years ago before marriage and children I worked as a Cartographer for a geologist in Wyoming. I drew maps and one of the other jobs was to assemble logs from various core samples of the earth. After they were arranged I would connect them and color them for a visual representation of the earth. So when I got my fabrics and thought of the earth, that is where my mind went.

It was a very fun project and I am happy with the result. I did Needle turn applique and hand quilted this piece. I also tried something new and made a facing like binding. I did not want the piece to have a traditional binding but it needed a clean finished edge.

I am excited for next week when we will share our creations with the group and I will get the next batch of fabric which will be "air"...

Oregon to Colorado and back

A few weeks ago I got to fly to Colorado and spend some much needed time with my Parents and then I drove a car back to Oregon. It was a wonderful adventure. I flew into Denver, Mom and Dad picked me up and we spent the night in Denver and then went to the Denver Art Museum the next day to see the show called "Marvelous Mud" It was so great. There were so many incredible pieces of Ceramic art work. I was inspired. There were wonderful pieces around every corner. The museum itself was a beautiful piece of architecture.

Then we traveled south to my parents home in the Mountains of Southern Colorado. It was fun to be with them. Time passed to quickly for me, I enjoy spending time with them and it seems to never be long enough. One of the reason's for my trip was to pick up a car they were giving me. So I had a 1,700 mile trip ahead of me to return home.

My travel home went well and I did really enjoy myself. I am now here and hoping to get back to my sewing and back to quilting. I have missed being in my studio.

A couple of weeks ago our community Hospice had a fund raising Rummage Market. It was a huge success and brought in over $46,000 for end of life care for those in our community. It is such a worthy program. I volunteer for these sales. It is a fun social event as well as a worthy cause. The above photo is one of my favorite purchases. It is a hanging lamp. It has a few wiring problems so I am still thinking about how to fix that or have it fixed. But for $7.00 it was a great purchase and is already hanging where it will live. I think it is so beautiful.

I have it hanging with one of my little Port Hole pieces in our bedroom.

I hope all of you have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Thinking of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks...

Tile Fun, NOT

Good Morning, I spent the Labor Day weekend Laboring... I got the bright idea to remove the old dirty white, icky, sticky grout and replace it with a nice soft gray grout that will not show stains. I was shocked to find out the person who laid the tile originally did not use spacers and the tiles are too close together to use the grout removal tool I purchased. So I took out my trusty Dremel tool and went to work on the grout. After so much dust and grime I was able to remove all the grout. After the cleanup, I was able to grout with the new gray grout. I am very pleased with the results. It will be so much better to live with. I am not a real fan of the color of the tile but it is in good shape and now that it is not dirty it is not so bad. Next it will be time to remove the white grout between the white tiles on the floor and replace that with the same gray. Now who thinks white tile and white grout are a good idea on a Kitchen floor????

Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. I am preparing to head off to Colorado for work and pleasure next week. :-)

Paul Klee Revisited

I am back at it again....
I keep going back to Paul Klee paintings for inspiration. Last summer I attended the Sister's Quilt Show and won a Jelly Role of fabric. I have had it sitting in my studio waiting to do something fun with it. I thought of just using pieces of it but decided I really liked them all together, so I just would look at it, feel it and think, and think some more.

I was also looking for something to take with me on our trip to Sweden to work on. I needed to be able to pack it in a small space with a minimum of accessories. So I cut a section of each fabric and a piece of Kona gray for my background. Packed a small sissors few pins, needles and background colored thread. It all fit into a small zip-lock bag and I was ready to go. This is how my piece is coming so far. I have not added but a couple of pieces of fabric since we returned. but I am liking what I see... I have a ways to go and this piece will be going with me on my next trip.

Karen Kay Buckley Class

Back in July our Quilt Guild had Karen Kay Buckley come to Gold Beach and taught her process for applique. It was a full class and we all enjoyed Karen and her teaching. I was fortunate to spend some extra time with Karen and have dinner with her two evenings and walking on the beach after. She was very fun, and easy going.

Her process of applique is to use Templar templates and spray starch. I enjoyed learning her process. I enjoy using needle turn for my applique but I can see where by using both I can have my shapes more precise when needed. My favorite part was her process for circles. My circles have never been very precise now I can make the "Perfect Circle"

The photo above was the pattern we received in the class called "Garden Medley" I am using shot cottons in my piece.