slow stitching = slow progress

 i appliqued two more tulips onto the second row of my jubilee quilt project this a.m.
i really enjoy working with hand dyed fabrics. the vine and the center part of the tulip are both using  fabrics that i dyed myself.
the second row is looking a lot like the first one so i'll just leave you with this macro of that project.

during the past week i've also worked on several other slow stitching projects:

 my fabric art journal page is finished. i dated it with the date on the day when i was stitching the date and since that happened to be valentine's day i also decided to applique a primitively stitched heart in the remaining space. this page was inspired by the Journal52 project (week four). the prompt was 'building character' and i blogged more about that here.
i'm keeping the fabric art pages to approximately 4 x 6 inches and i LOVE doing them. i'm definitely seeing at least one journal in my future using only these pages . . .
i'm breaking some of the rules so if you are interested in playing along you might want to check the Journal52 site out for yourself.

 this is a project that i started last year in response to a guild challenge. it's currently (approximately) the size of a fat quarter of fabric and once i have joined it with more pieces i'll go back and add some leaves that will bring the areas together.
the challenge was to draw randomly from written suggestions and then use the suggestion drawn in a project. i drew the word 'tree' and decided to work it into a small piece that i want to make that will cover my fireplace during those months when it's not in use. i was supposed to have this finished in december but didn't make the deadline.
since then, my guild has issued another challenge (a paint chip challenge) and i will work on incorporating that next.
ultimately this piece will (hopefully) have a primitive random sampler look to it. i don't think it will be completed with the paint chip challenge . . . who knows, maybe i'll be able to milk it for a few more years' worth of guild challenges . . .
i do expect that at least some of it will be machine pieced so maybe it will go a little faster but i only work on this piece once a week so it's probably not going to be finished any time soon.

i try to work on my long term family christmas stocking project on tuesdays and so far that's working out. slow progress but i may very well get at least this one (wonderful husband's) finished by next christmas and maybe even the last one (mine).
i'm adding lights to that tangled up string of lights and it's coming along nicely.




i'll be joining up with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts today for more slow stitching show-and-tell. Kathy writes that she needs her slow stitching time more than ever today. i can relate to that~! prepare to be inspired by lots of other slow stitching projects if you decide to join in.





recent gifts include:

• a cleaner landscape in the house 'office'
• a day that invited a walk outdoors (i've been missing that)
• a completely defrosted pond and some gold fish slowly swimming in the deepest part (no count yet)
• daffodils and iris pushing up out of the ground