Miscellaneous

Clean/Organize/Catch Up

I'm not at all certain how I can make such big messes in such a short time.  Maybe because I get distracted with ideas when I'm crafting, leaving one mess to start another.  The result is that I am in need of an organizing professional and a change of personality.

Another problem is getting book reviews written.  I have fifteen reviews scheduled on my book blog and more to write.  I get advanced reader copies (both in print and ebooks) up to 9 months in advance of publication.  Sometimes, I write the reviews and schedule them quickly.  Sometimes I don't.  If I don't do it quickly, they pile up.  When they pile up, I feel overwhelmed and procrastinate even more.  Since I get most of my books free in return for a review, I feel obligated.  But still overwhelmed.

Van Gogh quilts

Although I always enjoy the photos of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and gaze in amazement at the variety and skill represented, this year's Van Gogh exhibit is perhaps my all time favorite.  Kristin Shields has posted some of her favorites here.

More of Kristin's photos can be seen on her blog--not only those of the Van Gogh quilts, but of the scenic little town of Sisters, Oregon and the displays of hundreds of gorgeous quilts.

Outgoing Mail

 Happy Birthday, Max

Mail, Reading, and Dragons!

April is National Letter Writing Month

I love Maggie Rudy's mice and her blog MousesHouses.  Since I was a child, I've been fascinated with books and stories with tiny animals and their anthropomorphic lives, and I have never outgrown the charm and enchantment of seeing these miniature worlds.  Of course, there is the iconic British mailbox to give this scene even more flavor!

 Odille Bailloeul's mice receive mail.  

I have a problem with time. Or scheduling.  Or both.  My good intentions of being prepared for National Letter Writing Month are up in smoke, once again.  :)  I already have addresses for several of you, so at some point in April, you will get a little something in the mail!

If I don't have your address, and you would like a postcard in your mailbox during April, leave a comment, and I will email you to get your address.  :)  

A recent letter from Connie gave me a surge of enthusiasm for trying to post a letter a day in April.  Except for Sunday.  Thank goodness for Sundays.  You might check out the Write_On Challenge, but the important thing is to send a surprise missive to make someone's mailbox happy, not to pressure yourself with a particular number. 

The letter I sent to Melody at the first of March came back to me in sad shape.  I'm really glad the return address was intact.  I stuck an address label and an additional stamp on the plastic bag the P.O. used to return it, and sent it on its way again--with fingers crossed!  

Books and Reading

Nonfiction.  I finished Margo Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures.  I loved the film, and I loved the book which was, of course, more accurate and more detailed. Would I have discovered the book without having seen the film? Would I have been interested?  I'm not sure, but I am certainly glad I had the opportunity to experience both.  You know how much I loved the movie from the previous post, but the book tackles so much more!

Fiction.  Have you ever read a trilogy or a series and then been heartbroken that it eventually came to an end?  I've been reading Robin Hobb for over 20 years.  Hobb writes some of the best epic fantasy around, and she just completed the last trilogy concerning Fitz and the Fool.  I read it in February but it won't be released until May, so I've held off on the review on my book blog and have it scheduled for April 5. 

It is really difficult to let go of these characters and this world that I've inhabited through so many books.  The first trilogy is the Farseer Trilogy: Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest that introduces Fitzchivalry and the Fool.  And "there be dragons" aplenty in most of these books.  :)

More on Dragons  

I love dragons in myth, and in fantasy, and in Bozena Wojtaszek's quilts!  Check out Textile Cuisine for more of Bozena's enchanting dragons.  Fairy tales come to life!

Working On...

-a tiny hand sewn/quilted piece that will eventually be a pocket on a fidget quilt

-an old button, covered with a piece of batting and muslin and embroidered

-quilted fabric beads.  I saw these on Silly Boo Dilly's blog a long time ago and fell in love with them.  I finally ordered her instructions from her Etsy Shop and have another way to use scraps and keep my hands busy.  These little beads become a bit of an obsessive/compulsive habit.  I've made many more since taking the above picture.


Books/Reading

Recent finishes:

 Michael J. McCann's new book Sorrow Lake.  I enjoyed his previous series featuring Hank Donaghue and Karen Stainer and hope he hasn't abandoned them, but I enjoyed this first novel in his new series as well.  It introduces Detective Inspector Ellie March of the Ontario Provincial Police and Detective Constable Kevin Walker.  An excellent police procedural with no emphasis on the gory or bizarre.

Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea is the story of a young girl who, after seeing The Magnificent Seven, leads her three friends on a journey to the United States to find seven Mexican men to smuggle back into Mexico to defeat and rout the banditos who have invaded their village.

A fascinating look at both Mexico and the United States with great characters!  

Delano Ames' She Shall Have Murder, written in 1948, is the first in the Dagobert and Jane Brown series.  It takes place in postwar Britain and is full of humor as the amateur duo attempt to solve a murder.  I will definitely be reading more of this series.  Delano Ames himself was quite a character and worked for British Intelligence during WWII.

First Fidget

I finished my first fidget quilt.  Here it is before being blocked.  The loops and prairie points should provide some places for fingers to fidget.  For my fingers, however, I've always had a bit of a French knot compulsion.  Brushing over the raised knots as if reading braille.  

 Bryce Eleanor liked the butterfly.

I inserted the clothespin to show that the strip can be lifted.

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I cut out a bunch of 2 1/2" blocks for the next quilt.  This took awhile as I was using any scrap large enough for the blocks, so often only two or three at a time.  Finally, got enough cut out to piece the top, using extra blocks for making the prairie points and loops.

A few prairie points scheduled for this edge, a lacy flower from a piece of vintage linen, buttons sewed on and pulled through loops.  These can be buttoned and unbuttoned.  Still need to add the fabric flowers from last year and some more buttons, but it is coming along.

The goal is to use only things I have on hand.  The only things I will concede to buying will be thread, if needed,  a new pair of quilting gloves, and new blades for my rotary cutter.

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Bryce Eleanor visited this weekend, bringing Freddy.  Freddy is a stuffed frog that each of the kids in her class gets to take home for a weekend.  They take pictures of Freddy and write about it in Freddy's book.

Freddy visited with Stinker and Lucy, and I made him a little quilt with left over blue and white patches.  B.E. is holding it with the back facing out, but the front looks like the above, just much smaller.  Fee suggested I make Freddy a hair piece, so in the pic below, you can see the green yarn sticking up on his head.

OK--it's Monday.  I'm going back to quilt on the new little quilt.

 What are you working on this week?

Left Over Binding

I made my quilt sandwich and did the quilting yesterday.  Then I started wondering about what I'd use to make the binding and discovered that I had made binding for  another  small quilt out of the same fabric as the backing (!) and never used it.  There is more than enough for this little quilt, which was such a pleasant surprise.  

I guess everyone saves left over binding, and fortunately, I didn't use this binding on the quilt it was intended for.  Now, all I have to do is apply the binding, and my first fidget quilt will be complete. Maybe tonight, I'll get the binding on, finishing it by hand because I like the process.

Of course, my mind is already on possibilities for my next effort, and while putting away some of my black and white scraps, I found a bag of blue scraps.  Hmmmm.....

These are some of the scraps from when I made my boro jacket a couple of years ago.  In fact, thinking about the jacket has made me think about another way of making a fidget quilt by applying scrap patches over muslin.

All the patches on the jacket were sewn by hand, which took forever, but suited me at the time.  For a fidget quilt, though, the machine will be fine.  Leaving large margins for fraying when washed to give added texture.  

The biggest problem I have right now is too many ideas and too many possible projects that interest me.  I never did anything with all of Bryce Eleanor's drawings.  Amelia took some, but I have a bunch and can have her make more.  





After my long fallow spell, I finally have a creative interest again.  Well, too many possible projects, but right now, I'm going to concentrate on the first fidget quilt.

A Small Quilt in Progress

It has been several years since I've done any quilting, but a post by Michelle a while back on "fidget quilts" for AD patients intrigued me, and I found myself thinking about making one.  Finally, I got out all my black and white, scraps and the remnants of a charm pack, and started stitching.  So much fun!  I had some left over white prairie points and made some more from black and white prints and made some loops for textural embellishments.

 A little butterfly that I made last year for something else and didn't use.

 Prairie points and variegated embroidery using Sassa Lynn's threads.

 I can entertain myself for hours this way.

               The embroidery is all on the quilt top, 

and I'm going to keep going

because it is such a pleasant process.

The stitching (especially French knots)

 adds another textural element.

I love running my fingers over the embroidered areas.

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A couple of weeks ago, we had all three grands for a visit, while they were out of school for Mardi Gras.  I expected to be worn out trying to entertain them, but they entertained each other for hours and hours.  Then Amelia had them all for a parade and overnight.  The kids didn't really care about anyone else as long as they were together.  

They let me play some games with them, and I assure you that playing Clue with kids ranging from 7-11 is an experience not to be missed.  We played the kid version of Monopoly, but I think I need to buy the adult version for them.

What a crew!  

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Of course, I've been reading, too.  My favorite from last month was Asylum by Jeannette de Beauvoir (reviewed here) because of the fascinating information about the DuPlessis orphans.  

I love reading fiction that gives me insight into real events. Even as I read the novel, I was Googling information about the actual situation.  Feeding my love of mystery novels and my interest in history is always satisfying.

I have chores to do, but I'm in a rainy day mood and think I'll embroider instead.  :)

Have a great week!

I've been absent for a while.  
Trip to Hot Springs for Thanksgiving, reading, and a little embroidery.  
Then my iPad died and had to go to the iDoctor. 
 An unpleasant story that I will skip 
as I've complained ad nauseam  on my book blog.  


To catch up a little, I never showed the all the blocks I quilted from Bryce Eleanor's drawings.  Here are a few more.

I saw a neat idea on Pinterest about attaching lace (or fabric) 

to windows or walls with corn starch.

Which is easily removed.

I tried it with lace on the bottom window panes on the door.
The photos don't show the pattern of the lace,
which is easy to see in reality.

I like the additional privacy,
but it is difficult to take a good picture.


Even with the light on....

It may occasionally frustrate the cats,
who have always spent a great deal of time
on the chest and looking out the window,
but they manage to get over it.

While I fidgeted 
because I didn't have my iPad,
I embroidered scraps.


I don't know what I will do with them,
but they kept my hands busy.

May use them to patch something.

I also embroidered some hearts,
which I'll take pics of later.

Without my Kindle, which was on my iPad,
my reading led to books with actual pages.

I read an ARC by Anita Shreve--
Stella Bain, a story set during WWI.
I really enjoyed it!

Fee had a copy of Sycamore Row by John Grisham
that I confiscated.
I liked it, too.
It is not a sequel to A Time to Kill,
but it does feature Jake Brigance and Clanton, Mississippi.

Then Fee gave me an early Christmas present,
a Kindle Fire.
I downloaded all my books from NetGalley,
and I'm back in business!

Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative - Sept. Auction

Unleaving, the art quilt I made for AAQI is in this month's auction!  I wrote about it here, in a December post, before I mailed it in.  The photo isn't too good, but the colors in the eco-printed and dyed quilt are monochromatic and not very dark.

I'm thrilled that one of my quilts was selected for the auction!  There are some wonderful quilts in this month's auction, and you can bid on them here.  I'm trying to choose which ones to bid on because I'm building a collection of these quilts.  All quilts are donated and all profits go to Alzheimer's research.



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We've had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend, even if we didn't get to go to New Orleans as planned.  Bryce Eleanor visited and entertained me for three days.  And my best friend Suzie came over to spend some time on Sunday.  We have been friends since junior high, and although we don't get to see each other but once or twice a year, we always pick up right where we left off.

Monday Musings

Good Monday to you!  My gosh, it is already May 21; where does the time go?  I've been trying to catch up on book reviews over at A Garden Carried in the Pocket and have several scheduled, trying to catch up with Karen's class, trying to catch up with blog reading,  just trying to catch up!

I need some potting soil, so today I'll be running various errands.  If I have to get out for one thing, then I may as well take care of several others.  And, uh, my library books are overdue.  (note to self:  make list of books so I won't just wander around for 3o minutes)

I also want to check for some larger waste canvas since I just can't see the very small blocks in size 14 well enough to do a decent job.  Of course, once I get to JoAnn's I will find other items that I "need."

The white work continues:

 I still have such a long way to go in filling the blank space in all of the blocks I'm working on.  A long way.  Very slow cloth.  Maybe I should work on just one section at a time so that I could at least have one block completed, rather than going back and forth between blocks.

So many things that I love in Sophie Blackall's home!  Sophie is an illustrator, and she does have a blog, although the pic comes from Design Sponge.

via Design Sponge

 I want to make a quilt like hers--already trying to decide what poems and which lines to use.

Dylan Thomas, of course, offers a multitude of choices.  I could probably do one based on his work alone.  Or maybe I could use the poet/lyricist Paul Simon.  Now, to decide--mix and match or one poet, many lines?  Not that I'll be getting around to this anytime soon!

Do you have favorite poets, poems, lines, or quotes?

Road Trip

Using some of the fabric Debra S.,  I've framed an encrusted piece, started a new prayer flag, and been working on a little quilt collage for AAQI.

The quilt collage has small pieces of eco dyed fabric, some discharged fabric pieces from several years ago, tiny embroidered pieces from a few months ago, and other stuff from the odds and ends baskets-- on the linen from Debra.  I'm still loving the pieces from the red cabbage dye, maybe one day I'll try indigo dyeing, but the blues from the red cabbage still please me.

Debra P. mentioned framing an encrusted piece at the same time I was looking for some of the frames and shadow boxes I had in the attic.  I intended to frame another piece, a leaf eco print that I'd embroidered in the fall, but the mat opening of this shadow box was the perfect size for one of the encrusted pieces.  I used a tiny piece of light green moire from Debra S.  to mount the piece on.

Tomorrow, Fee and I will be leaving for a short road trip to the southern part of the state-- Acadiana, Cajun country.  First, we'll travel along Bayou Teche, then visit our friend Suzi in New Orleans, then back through Baton Rouge to see Erin and the grandkids.

 The Bayou Teche stretches for 125 miles and is a waterway of great cultural significance to Acadiana.  Since the time of the Acadian migration to the Attakapas region, the Teche has been an essential means of transportation and food.  Before railroad tracks and highways dissected South Louisiana, bateaus and pirogues were used to move goods and people up and down this waterway.    Thus some of Acadiana’s oldest communities are on the Teche, towns like Arnaudville, Breaux Bridge, St. Martinville, New Iberia, Franklin and Berwick.


Although we will branch off at Port Barre instead of going through Lafayette, whenever I think of this area, I think of Paul Simon singing "That Was Your Mother" from the Graceland album.  I love the lines:

Along come a young girlShe's pretty as a prayerbookSweet as an apple on Christmas dayI said, "Good gracious, can this be my luck?If that's my prayerbookLord, let us pray"

I've a list of things that need to be done today, so I'd better get busy!  Think I'll take some Paul Simon CDs to listen to on the way down.