?? celebrating spring ??

much of the rest of the country (U.S.) is under snow. we certainly should be but when i walk outside this is what i'm seeing.  

the iris pushing up out of it's winter mulch towards the sun. see it's wrinkly new leaf goodness?
see that bright sunshine?

and there are daffodils crowding out of the ground too.
strangely, the crocus have not made an appearance.
i don't know whether to laugh or cry. it's extremely early for any of this to be happening here and i imagine a killing frost coming at just the wrong time . . .
to celebrate or not? stay tuned.

it's time to link up with Julie and friends for Art Journal Every Day and i have a page to share. this is page six for the Journal52 project.

all about  "the lost art of love letters". this was the love letter that was whispered to me early one morning.

i'm at risk of never catching up with the Journal52 prompts. i'm not sure whether to laugh or cry about that either . . .

it seems that my heART and stitching fingers had a mind all their own this a.m. and rather than paying attention to one of the pages prompted by the project i started and stitched on another small fabric page . . . as i was thinking about ageing/turning 50 (more laughter and tears). going in circles. and trying to be okay with that. 

 

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards."

or so said: Steve Jobs.

 

 

 

recently i sent my wonderful daughter a fun envelope in the mail. nothing remarkable on the inside but it was quite 'happy' on the outside.

snail mail is still the best in my world.

connecting up with:












recent gifts include:

• space in my life from letting go of some stuff
• clean hair
• sunshine in blue skies
• green grass peeking through the dormant matt of last years growth
• thoughts of planting seeds

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

art journal every day ~ february 7, 2014

the journal52 project is keeping me pretty busy with my art journaling. the 'primitive sampler' series of shots are my progress on the fourth week's page/prompt: (building character).

 my inclination to stitch seems to bring me further behind on this project but i do really like the idea of having some stitched pages to collect into their own little fabric journal. this page in particular is quite slow and emphasizes my need for prescription glasses and a steadier hand . . . ageing sucks sometimes.

i liked the idea of a primitive little sampler piece for the 'building character' page as at one time in history young girls were expected to make a sampler (or more) to document stitches and to demonstrate, not only their expanding skills with a needle but also to foster patience, memory, focus, and sometimes even social skills. 

it was thought to be a character building activity. i'm not arguing with that.

i'll continue to build my own character as i finish this page.

 

the quote is Benjamin Franklin and i thought it appropriate (as well as not too very long).

;-)

 

the current and fifth week prompt is 'abstract art inspiration'. i found this prompt to be intimidating at first as i don't have a lot of knowledge about abstract art and can't even claim to have liked it until the past several years. it has sort of grown on me for reasons i don't understand.

 

Chelle was helpful in giving a generalized definition of the term as well as demonstrating how she goes about creating abstractly.

i followed her 'formula' and ultimately enjoyed myself a lot on this page.

first putting down some white gesso onto a cardboard substrate.

once dry, i painted on some Plaid Glaze in the "New Gold Leaf" color very randomly. i then squirted yellow acrylic paint in a few (very unthought out) places and took a plastic fork to (relatively) smooth it out which left a fun textural quality within those areas.                                                    

then i used a wedge shaped sponge brush to swipe on three rectangles using Making Memories Scrapbook Colors Specialty Glaze in Amethyst.

 

as usual you can click on my photos and enlarge them to see more details. another click will give even MORE details.

 

using corks in various sizes as a printing tool, i made random circular marks on the page. for this i mixed up my own orange color from red and yellow acrylics.

next i took a metallic gold marking pen and outlined some of the circular shapes as well as the sides of the rectangles.

last but not least i remembered to sign date it.

 

i think this page will work out well for additional journaling at some point. which brings me to a quote from Julies blog from today's art journaling every day post:

 

"Work in stages. . . .   "Some days you need to art and other days you need to write. They needn't both happen on the same day! "

 

it's always good to get serendipitous validation like that ~ thank you Julie~!

She has many other great art journaling tips on today's post besides this one. if you are interested in reading them and seeing her art journaling be sure to link over. additionally you can be inspired by many other art journalists who are also participating in Julies linky party.

 

 

 

recent gifts include:

• some desperately needed moisture in the form of snow
• looong naps
• visiting with fellow quilters as i help hand quilt a guild project 
• warm lovingly mended wool socks to keep my feet warm
• new revelations in what is needed to keep my hips strong ~ every other day seems to work better than every day as it gives the muscle a chance to build again before the next exercise session

art journal every day ~ january 24, 2014

the "up, up, and away" page is now finished. it
s not very big but it makes me happy.

work is still ongoing with the "somewhere" page. i've had a very bad cold this week and simply didn't feel like working on it.

the journal52 prompt for this week is "you make me smile".

i began to make a list of things that make me smile on an old piece of ledger paper thinking that it would be a good activity to take my mind off of the sniffles, aches, coughs, etc . . .

then i found a piece of scrap booking paper to tape it onto. tape seemed easier than glue today and i have a nice selection of pretty tapes from which to choose.
i tore (easier than scissors) the list so it was a size i felt good about, and then tore the prompt out.  
as i was taping i realized that i should date my page (something that i frequently forget to do) and taped on a small piece of extra ledger paper at the bottom.

i then had a chicken soup break. i highly recommend this if you have a cold too.

once properly fortified i added some doodles, trying to blend the background with the foreground as i went along. i used the printed design on the background (scrap book) paper as inspiration for my doodles.
i wrote in the date.



then i got out my water color pencils and added some color, accents and a few more doodles.

and believe it or not i have actually completed this one. 


linking up with both the Art Journal Every Day forum at Balzer Designs and the Journal52 workshop.







this page is all about the gifts in my life so rather than post a gift list i'll let you study the page if you choose. i would, however, like to add that i am grateful for chicken soup. and heating pads. and kleenex. and mentholatum. and kleenex. and a comfy love worn quilt. oh, and kleenex.

art journal every day ~ january 17, 2014

the prompt this week for Journal52 is "Somewhere, A Simple Place".
on tuesday i located a sheet of paper that i had already begun to background onto and did some more coloring, scribbling, stenciling, etc.
i was thinking of going "somewhere" into an imaginary garden . . .

then on wednesday i searched around for a quote that might work for the page. i found a couple i liked and looked through some old ephemera for ideas. so just an art journal brainstorm going on that day.

thursday morning i found a calendar page from a 2013 World Wildlife calendar that got me thinking in a whole new direction. i cut the page down to 8 and a half inches by 11 inches and decided to make it my base . . . clipped some more aquatic type images and called it good for the day.
a big clip art storm that day~!

friday morning i got out the glue stick and started creating a "border" on my page as suggested by Chelle at Journal52. she offered two suggestions this week as well as the prompt and i hope to use the other one as this page progresses.
this Journal52 thing is shaping up to be a really worthwhile use of my art journaling time~! if you have wanted to art journal but didn't know how or when to start you should consider jumping in. she's not requiring that you spend a lot of money on supplies and the workshop itself is free.

this is where the "Up, Up, & Away" (last weeks Journal52 prompt) theme was carrying me on monday . . .

i am now realizing that my umbrella has gotten caught up in the wind. the weather was crazy windy for a few days last week and not just in my imagination/art.

i also now realize that the 'protection' my umbrella was giving me is 'gone with the wind'.

maybe i don't need it after all . . . weehheeee . . .

 

on tuesday, it became windier still . . .

on friday a.m. i had a few minutes to add a water color pencil vine to the "up, up, and away" page on a small piece of hand made paper that i stitched onto the bottom

this page is also not quite finished.

 

i had fun art journaling this week although i realize that my pages are taking a bit too long to finish. oh well, it will all "art"out in the long run i suppose.

 

today i am linking up with both the Art Journal Every Day forum at Balzer Designs and the Journal52 workshop.





 

 

 

 

recent gifts include:

• making my own beef broth 
• feeling the warmth of a morning cup of coffee in my hands
• sunshine. blue skies. sunshine. and oh~! some sunshine
•  anticipating a quick weekend visit from the wonderful daughter
• smelling the garlicky pasta sauce simmering on the stove

jubilant slow sunday stitching

i turn 50 this year. this is a bigger deal than i thought it would be and i have very mixed feelings. i guess i have all year to work through those though and one of the things i realized is that i have never made a quilt just for me, myself and i.
it's high time i fixed that and so i will be working on my jubilee quilt (a quilt celebrating my 50th year). i plan on selfishly excluding as many other projects from this year as possible so as not to "steal" time/energy from this milestone project.

i will be using my string pieced tulips and i think that 50 is just about the right amount to include. they're actually quite large and so i won't be setting them into blocks. when thinking about this project previously i kicked around a variety of ideas but i've decided to set them into rows and create a tulip 'vine' with them. lots of scratching around with a pencil, calculator and graph paper has resulted in a rough plan and so i have a big green hand dyed vine and three tulips beginning to grow . . . this is largely a slow stitching kind of project and will take quite a while.

speaking of slow stitching, i was unable to work on my art journal/Journal52 prompt yesterday so this a.m. picked it back up again. it's looking like this might be a fiber page . . .

lots of slow stitching planned for today between the art journal page and the jubilee applique.
i'm joining up with Kathy of Kathy's Quilts for the slow sunday stitching event. it's been a while and i'm happy to be returning to see what everyone is up to within that forum.



recent gifts include:

• being able to help when needed
• noticing the colors of an early morning sunrise: swirly peaches/purples and intense blues
• hearing the coo of the doves as they crowd around the winter feeder
• enjoying a day out with other quilt minded ladies and a yummy pot luck lunch

art journal every day ~ friday 10, 2014

on tuesday i was thinking about and tapping into the possibilities of:

not clipping my own wings.

then i began my art journaling . . . 

 

• using a masking off paper for my base (this paper can be found in the hardware store and is called red rosin paper ~ it comes on big rolls and is economical for art journaling purposes)
• a white paper doily that i did some stamping off  (cleaning the stamp) onto
• cheap markers found while cleaning the office
• dyelusions spray ink (purple and white)
• punchinella ribbon as a stencil

wednesday i didn't feel like a had a lot of extra time so opted to simply add some running stitches around the outer part of my paper doily in a cotton mid weight orange thread.

 thursday i created another hand carved stamp. ever since i did my first one (pear) i have been wanting to make more and after reading this post on Julie's blog (Balzer Designs) i became even more inspired/motivated.

in fact, i was so inspired that i made another one.
the umbrella is going to be used within an art journal workshop/challenge that i have joined called Journal52. This is a free year long art journal workshop hosted by Chelle.       
the first week's prompt is "up, up, and away". 
i discovered this wonderful opportunity when recently reading fellow free spirited artist Dawn's post at Girl Unwinding.
maybe you will become inspired by this workshop as well.
 
so the following a.m. i happened to do some reading about aspirations/setting goals and realized that i need to give some thought to having aspirations without attachments. i need to remember that i can have hopes/dreams/aspirations without being so attached to them that i ruin my life trying to attain them.
"it's about the journey", my muses whisper to me again and again.

i feel that this subject has some relevance to the up, up, and away prompt and my first mental image was a floating balloon and then an open umbrella . . .  i went with the umbrella.
i imagine i chose it because an umbrella is used when one needs protection from the elements . . .
maybe i lack faith as i float "up, up, and away" . . .

i guess brainstorming isn't about logic.

i stamped the umbrella image onto some unbleached muslin. 

friday i snipped out the negative spaces within the stamped umbrella (on fabric) and then laid it onto a yellow subtly printed fabric and embroidered it.

i'm not sure where i'm going with it from here . . .




i know that i've "jumped tracks" with my art journaling this week. first working on my " . . . not clipping my own wings" page and then leaping into the Journal52 workshop/challenge.
perhaps i'll come back around to the first piece as i work through the year . . .
art journaling is like that. it's exploration and creativity . . . not necessarily working continuously on any one piece of art. it turns out that it too is all about the journey, not the destination.

today i am linking up with both the Art Journal Every Day forum at Balzer Designs and the Journal52 workshop.

recent gifts include:

• a sweetly quiet holiday spent with my wonderful husband and daughter
• time to think about what is important to me in my life
• whispering muses