i've been steadily working on some AAQI quilts and now have two ready to label and one more ready to quilt. next step is looking into the shipping process/instructions and getting them mailed out.

for these star quilts i went through my orphan blocks and came up with three that i thought would possibly work. after measuring them it was just a matter of applying simple outer borders to bring them up to the 9 x 12 inch size (the maximum that they will accept) that i wanted. i think they turned out okay and was happy to be working towards the goal of furthering the research into Alzheimer's Disease.


the newest project in the works is also related to the AAQI project.
i did receive a couple of comments that suggested i try using my zentangle pears as a jumping off point for one and then some serious brainstorming began. 

i decided that i would try appliqueing a pear and stitch/quilt/embroider (?) some 'zentangled' type of designs within it. but what to applique it onto . . . ? . . .

as i thought about it i remembered having seen (in various places) some cloth work that was hand stitched and free-form and sort of had that 'doodled' look . . . as if created spontaneously right off of the top of one's head. this lead me to some googling and after lots of research i've finally found a resource that i'm thrilled with. Jude Hill of Spirit Cloth has a blog that sums things up rather nicely for me. if you are interested in this type of work i highly recommend a visit.

after all of this reading/research i still didn't have any real instructions per se. maybe this work somehow defies instruction . . .  after all it's a whole lot about intuitively 'listening' to the materials at hand and the project being created as it comes along.
so i decided to just jump in and see if i could create a background from some skinny/selvedge edge strips that i had originally set aside for rug making. i deliberately chose pale and mostly neutral colors. i ironed them and trimmed them to approximate lengths of 12 - 13 inches and then began weaving them together securing them with a running stitch as i went. no seam allowances as they are stitched rough edge to rough edge with some having fringey edges (which i love). i carefully trimmed off any fringe/threads that i felt were too long as i stitched them together. this piece has no backing (yet). it was a little slow at first but as the piece grew it became more and more it's own self/cloth and not so much small strips that needed taming.

i've used quilting threads that were still on the needle to sew the strips together. it seems that there is always some left in my needles after completing a piece and i generally leave it on the needle and then tuck it into the spooled thread for future use in that color. well, i've gone through my quilting threads and am using up those various threads. quite randomly, just using what is closest at hand as i go. in future i anticipate using various threads from my embroidery tin . . . etc. there are lots of possibilities here.

so this is what it's looking like so far. i'm only putting in enough stitches to hold everything together nicely but i will be going back over this and adding more. when i feel happy with the way it looks and behaves i will begin the process of appliqueing the pear onto it.

in the above photo you can see one of the edges and how that looks as it's 'growing'.

and here a very close macro of the stitches and the 'woven' unions.

this is a wonderfully soothing way to work with fabric. it actually moves along more quickly than i anticipated it would but certainly is not as fast as sewing by machine. the cloth being created has a beautiful soft hand/feel to it due to being hand sewn and working in this way feels meditative and calming. i don't want to put it down once i've begun and i very much look forward to picking it back up again: a lot like when i hand quilt, embroider, crochet, hook a rug, etc.

so this is my newest stitching adventure. it will be fun to see where it takes me.

this is my 'poster' picture of a dog that strayed into the yard right after the fourth of July and was in need of some TLC. fresh water and food have been provided as well as some comfort in the shade should she choose to stay (and she has).  she was in pretty rough shape and seemed to need lots of rest as well as wounds that needed tending. at first she wouldn't even let me touch her and acted as though quite traumatized. she now won't let me out of her sight when i'm outside and lays by whichever outer door she thinks i'm closest to when i'm inside the house. i come home from going somewhere and she's there waiting on the steps for me. on the poster i've stated that she will be taken to the pound on the 20th if no claim has been made. we've had a couple of calls but none that panned out. the nearest pound is an hour away as we are so rural.  today i realized as i sat down to blog that it's the 20th and some decisions are going to have to be made . . .


today's gifts include:

• the house to myself ~ so nice and quiet
• time to blog
• time to think
• time to stitch
• time
• lovely. quiet. time.

fairies' wings . . . i just love this shot~!!~

i think this is the mughos forming some brand new cones. i've never really noticed them quite like this in the past . . . not sure if it's because they haven't ever done it before (which i doubt) or just that i notice so much more since i started with the photograpy and this is especially true when i have the camera in my hand.

the grass that grows near the pond is starting to flower. these are especially difficult to shoot because the actual bloom is not bigger than a strand of hair. if you enlarge this photo, you will see reddish coily parts of the blossom . . . really amazing in macro~!!~

i have two jacobs ladder plants, also growing by the pond, one is white and the other is purple. they are both blooming nicely right now but what i really like about these plants is that their foliage resembles ferns. in our growing climate it can be really really REALLY hard to get ferns to take hold, so i rely on my jacobs ladder to give me fern-like texture around the pond area. i know, that isn't what i shot today, but the flowers have sorta stolen the show~!~

this is just a photogenic weed. again, a very tiny cluster of blossoms . . .

remember back to when i was doing my scrap management project~!?!~ well, i had sewn up a coin quilt top and sent it off to be quilted . . . this is the back of the quilt.

this is a detail of the front.

and this is the little quilt (child size) all finished. i have the binding done and the label sewn on and it will be leaving the house this afternoon on it's way to being donated to a local/community charity/auction/benefit that is being held later on this month. and that is my wonderful daughter holding it for me . . . i would like to post photos of her but to tell the truth, it scares me. maybe one of my readers has advice on that . . .

there are so many horror stories about various and potental mis-use of them . . . am i being paranoid or should i really not be posting photos of my daughter!?! after all, she is an adult now . . .~!!!~

once she goes to Honduras i will be able to get back in the habit of "scrap management" and then, hopefully, will have more of these quilts stacking up for future use as gifts and charity donations. it sure feels good to have this one completed and going out to be useful~!!~

i also have a happy update on the lost and found dog: he was adopted out last friday to a family happy to have him~!!~ i was so glad to hear that he didn't have to spend too very long at the shelter before someone realized that he was a "keeper".

"Is This Your Dog?"

this day started out nice and slow and peaceful like . . . i even got to drink my first cup of morning chai tea at the proper temperature. you know not too hot but not cooled off yet either . . . i was just beginning to imagine the day with some extra time for a bit of stitching, or reading, or yea, you get the idea. when along came this dog. he just wandered right up onto the front porch and had a look around. i went out to investigate and discovered a friendly dog with no collar (thus no immediate i.d.). he's young but not a puppy and he actually is well socialized and someone has worked with him. he can sit on command and he heels when on leash and told to and he will lay down and stay if you are firm with him . . . so: he's clearly somebody's dog and other than being a bit on the skinny side he's been cared for and worked with. so, my day continued with me taking the dog to some immediately obvious places where he may have wandered away from . . . no luck. so then we had to take photos and hang posters . . . and because we have now put our name on the posters we have to care for him until somebody turns up to claim him . . . i love dogs~!!~ i really do, but, it's been over a year and a half since we've had any and life has seemed comfortable enough with a few cats. cats are nice. they don't require me to take them out and walk them or train them or in any way wear me out with what little energy i happen to be lucky enough to have on any given day . . . so today was interesting and exhausting and we still have a dog . . . a very good boy of a dog . . . but, i'm not sure i can do this. so let me ask you: Is this your dog?

the good news is that i did get a chance to stitch after all. later this afternoon when all posters had been hung and everything that we could think of to find his this guys family had been taken care of for the moment. after he had been offered a bowl of kibble and some fresh water and played with . . . after all of that, he was provided with a blanket to lay on and indeed he did nap~!!~ i, on the other hand, had to keep an eye on him (just in case he woke up and got into trouble) so i got out the postcard that i am working on for my first blog give-away (to celebrate my 100th post) and worked on that. i did make some progress and thought that others might be interested in seeing how it's coming along.

this is today's texture study. it is a section of dried rose.

the japanese cherry tree continues to be beautiful even though petals are now raining out of it on a steady basis . . .

this parrot tulip was nestled in among the small evergreen bushes and i couldn't resist getting a shot of it too.