a soft rainy spring morning . . .

i've been away for a couple of weeks and have appreciated all of the comments that i received for my scheduled/auto posts. will be replying to all comment's during the weekend as i catch up with things.

in the meantime, wishing you well.

wordless for a while

 

?? 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

crocus and a march fabric postcard

 

 

a purple spring crocus peeping out of a small rock wall in the garden. 

i love my crocus. they are a welcome sight in early spring and i am finding that they have begun to multiply themselves nicely. i have many colors including white, purple orange and yellow.

did you know that they are part of the iris family? and that there are about 80 species? this group of plants  can tolerate the earliest spring temperatures and even snow due to a special natural "waxy  cuticle".  to read lots more about these early spring beauties follow the link that i provided to "The Plant Encyclopedia". LOTS of great info~!!~

 

the green leaves that you can see to the right of the crocus is a tulip coming up. i wonder what color it will be?

 

i have been out of town just about every other day since my last post. around here that means a minimum of an hour drive in one direction. almost two hours if i go north and almost three if i go east. over the past few weeks i've been in every direction (more than once) and it makes for long days. i'm not as resilient as i used to be and so my blog is neglected as i regain my energy and try to catch up on other stuff. dang the laundry and dishes and vaccuming anyway~!

i have things to share and posts within my brain but just can't summon the time and energy to make it happen. i hope to get better about this but am not sure just how to go about doing that. do i need a special blogging calendar, am i unorganized? lazy? or just plain crazy?

if you have ideas to share with me in regards to being a more regular blogger? i sure could use them~! in the meantime, i'll just appreciate a dose of understanding from you.

 

the good news is that since it's something that i have had to do for all of my adult years i have gotten smart about using the driving time to stitch so i manage to keep a few hand projects moving along.

 

today i'll show you the finished postcard that i made my wonderful daughter for march.  

 

 

i went with a green on green color scheme and lots of stitched texture for this card. see that tiny little shamrock within the glass bubble? i've had that since i was in early elementary school. it was on a chain at one time and i frequently wore it as a necklace when i was young but unfortunately i don't remember where it came from. anyway it's been hanging out in my jewelry box for quite some time so i decided that it must have been waiting for just this occasion to be seen regularly again. on the back there were tiny letters engraved into it spelling out various phrases such as mazel tov, good luck, etc. 

i also tossed in a few beads (the largest wooden green one from a trip to Honduras), sequins and even a couple of washers that i stitched around. 

this card ended up being extra bulky so i mailed it in a padded envelope. normally i mail them in a 4 inch x 6 inch clear plastic sleeve.

 

i'm well on my way to getting april's card completed as this Slow Sunday Stitching shot shows. this is a detail of an edge stitch that i am embroidering (a taylor's buttonhole stitch) onto a leaf. the fabric is a leaf printed batik that i fussy cut. i want the leaf to remain (mostly) unattached . . . sort of an experiment but it seems to be going well. i like the way that the edge of the leaf is beginning to curl a bit . . . it seems more natural to me that way. i have to say though that frequently i have an idea of where i'm going visually and as i sew it changes so be prepared for a possible different outcome once finished. that is one of the joys of slow stitching for me: lots of time to consider and work and 'intuit' just what the piece is whispering into my heart.

 

i recently mailed a birthday postcard to my MIL. i'll show that one to you in the next post.

 

i am also currently working on a small doll sized random sampler and have just a bit of applique (more slow stitching) to finish up and then the hand quilting will begin (more slow stitching~!). LOVE that slow stitching~! for a really good summing up on more of the benefits of slow stitching as well as a linky show and tell, visit Kathy at Kathy's Quilts.

 

can you believe that i'm still mending socks~!?

they make a great take-along project on those trips that i  mentioned. you'd think i'd have every sock in the house mended by now but nope, not quite. partly because it's, yep, you guessed it, slow stitching, but i have to admit to actually seeking out socks to mend . . . a stitch in time, saves nine and all that. and yes, i'm still loving doing it. one can only imagine that there is something seriously wrong with me in that respect.

are there other closet sock darners out there? maybe a secret sock stitching society/club/guild or something?   hhhmmmmm . . .

 

 

 recent gifts include:

• getting outside with my camera for a fun spring floral photo shoot around the yard/garden
• the taste of sweet juicy california strawberries
• discovering how much i like the taste of fresh grated ginger in my breakfast smoothies
• opening up the windows on a particularly warm spring day for fresh breezes through the house.

 

 linking up with:

 

 

TAST week 16 ~ french knot

the daffodils are officially announcing our spring by beginning to bud and flower . . .

this week it's the french knot on TAST.
i generally avoid the french knot as in the past i have found it difficult to control. so this practice was really good for me. and thanks to a few tips that i found i actually did relatively okay with it.

what would spring be without a bumblebee~!?
:-D
i've changed things up a bit and have used the stitch on a postcard rather than a christmas stocking this time. the card needs to be in the mail asap and i liked the idea of dimensionalizing (is that a word?) the bumble bee that was printed on the fabric with some of those french knots. in fact, i wonder if this counts as stump work . . . will have to look into that.
i'll get back to the stockings next week.

within the comments section of the week 16 post on Pin Tangle there are some delightful samples of this stitch in use. 

there are some lovely flowers using the french knot: grape hyacinths and these look like hollyhocks, or foxgloves or maybe even gladiolas . . .

tiny spring peeps are adorable using this stitch.

and there's even a clever stitcher who created some oxygen with this one~!

and last but not least, its all about beautiful textures on this blog~WOW~!!~

please take a second and check these sites out. you'll be delighted by what you see.

recent gifts include:

• rain coaxing the grass into green
• wind keeping things minimally muddy
• snow keeping away (~!!!~)

15 minute challenge ~ april 10

 my crocus continue to bloom and apparently they're thirsty~!


this week's report:

tuesday, april 3rd:  hexie basting (paths)

wednesday, april 4th: (TAST) satin stitch onto wonderful husbands stocking

thursday, april 5th: (TAST) satin stitch onto wonderful husbands stocking

friday, april 6th: hexie basting (paths)

saturday, april 7th: hexie basting (paths)

sunday, april 8th: hexie basting (paths) ~ working on a postcard

monday, april 9th: working on a postcard

this week seems pretty boring after last week's finish but i did manage to sneak in my time every day with the 15 minute challenge group over at Kate at Life in Pieces.

i am working on a postcard for someones birthday which has been fun. that bunny fabric is going to yield quite a few cute cards i think.

recent gifts include:

• an easter weekend barbecue 
• the weather being actually spring like and allowing a good bit of enjoyable time outside
• time to enjoy the pond and watch my beautiful goldfish and think about not much of anything except the wonders of the pond.  

15 minute challenge ~ april 3

the crocus are blooming~!


my weekly report card for the 15 minute challenge:

tuesday, march  27th: quilting the pink lemonade quilt (alternate squares) 

wednesday, march 28th: quilting the pink lemonade quilt (alternate squares)

thursday, march 29th: quilting the pink lemonade quilt (alternate squares)

friday, march 30th: binding machine sewn onto pink lemonade quilt

saturday, march 31st: finish work for binding on pink lemonade quilt

sunday, april 1st: label onto pink lemonade quilt

monday, april 2nd: hexie basting background/path pieces 

i had a few close calls but did manage to get all 7 days in for the 15 minute challenge with the group found at Kate at Life in Pieces.

we've been helping the wonderful daughter to move on to the next adventure in her life. she'll be working on her master's degree and living a few hours away in a new apartment. so once again out of town a lot. the good news is i managed to finish the (easily carried along) pink lemonade quilt.
when i got to the machined part of the binding i was at home just long enough to get it sewn on and pack it back up again for the last of the handwork done on yet another road trip.
i'm pleased to say that even the label is done.

this cute piece is one of the pink lemonades done as a quilt-a-long project with Lori at Humble Quilts.
there's a whole dolly quilt show of these cuties here. if you've never been there you should definitely link over and check out this great blog.

and i still totally love those frolicking bunnies on the back~!!~

recent gifts include:

• robins loudly announcing the onset of spring as i woke up 
• a warm sunny day
• the satisfaction of finishing

if you haven't entered my giveaway yet and you would like to try to win a few of my photo art note cards click here.

i will draw a winner on april 9th.

selected sketches from march

i thought that all of my crocus had been destroyed by the dogs this year but today i found a few just barely poking their tips up. as you can see, they haven't even outgrown the mulch yet. if they remain lucky, i might even see some flowers . . .



i've managed to meet my sketching goals this month.
the The Sketchbook Challenge for march was "flowers".

a quick sketch from memory

of my own hibiscus flowers.

<>

   ink and colored pencil sketched (from

   within the recesses of my head) as a sort of

   fantasy flower.

  i think it looks related to a flamingo . . .



also a quick sketch of  snowdrops from a

botanical book.



a daisy type flower (out of my head) using pen & watercolors.





a bird of paradise blossom. quick sketch from a botanical

book.



another fantasy flower using pencil.

recent gifts include:

• finding those tiny crocus struggling towards some spring sunshine
• the anticipation and enjoyment of a simple soup and crusty bread supper
• getting out and using the colored pencils and the watercolors

15 minute challenge ~ march 13

the sun has been out for a few days and the earth is beginning to warm up . . .
look what i discovered under a small pile of leaves.
daffodils just barely popping out of the ground. i was careful to put their protective cover back on as we have plenty of cold weather to anticipate yet.


my weekly report card for the 15 minute challenge:

tuesday, mar. 6th: machine felting  

wednesday, mar. 7th: hexie sewing

thursday, mar. 8th: TAST (running stitch) onto the wonderful daughter's stocking

friday, mar. 9th: hexie basting 

saturday, mar. 10th: sewing on the flower garden top 

sunday, mar. 11th: sewing on the flower garden top 

monday, mar. 12th: sewing on the flower garden top ~ brainstorming the (string tulip) jubilee project 

it was a good week for me. it must have been the giveaway i won last week from  Kate at Life in Pieces~!
nothing like a wonderful bit of bloggy generosity to stoke the creative fires. thank you Kate for the nice book and charm pack. i can hardly wait to receive my goodies~!


i've started thinking of the hexie project as my 'flower garden top'. that's a positive sign i think.  i've also spent a little more time brainstorming my string tulip blocks for the jubilee project.  i've decided that i like the single tulips on a block better than multiples. i'm leaning towards setting them on the diagonal because it doesn't seem as 'static' to me.

after looking at these photos i think i've decided to set them on the cheddar fabric and use the red for sashing. i'm not sure what i'm doing with the cornerstones yet.

what if the flowers are not set exactly the same way in every block. the stems could lean or curve a bit differently in each block, the tulips themselves could 'nod' as they please . . .

i've done some more sketching and realize that i will probably have large triangular areas along the edges . . . if i use the red fabric (or the same fabric i use for the sashes) in those spaces they will form a sort of border . . . my sketch doesn't currently have any color and it might help if i added some to help with those decisions. these sorts of large spaces can be great for interesting quilting designs . . . 


i've also fully realized that this project isn't even going to dent my string tulip stack~!

 

recent gifts include:

*a movie and pizza night with the family
*discovering new green growth underneath the leafy mulch
*the good of giving

Texture Tuesday

it's Texture Tuesday and here i am right on time~!
:-)


using two of kim klassens (free~!)wonderful textures this time: Not to Shabby and Portrait

if you haven't already discovered this great site and you're interested in photography and  what you can do with your own shots you should really click on the Texture Tuesdays button on my sidebar and check it out. i've been dancing around this activity for years and finally feel like a have a wonderful community of support in which to actively learn and use these skills. i do have a lot to learn and a long way to go to get as good as many of the participants but their talent and sharing spirit is totally inspiring.

this week it's a "garden party" going on over there~it's okay to be fashionably late but do at least come and partake a little~!!~

 Anticipation

this is my original photo which is part of a series of shots recently taken in my garden. i shared another of these shots in a recent post but felt this one was a bit "washed out" looking. i do love what the textures did for it.

today's gifts include:

• starting a new novel and being totally drawn in (The Help)
• seeing many different (and beautiful) birds at the feeder as they make a pit stop on their migratory paths
• water warmed and at the ready whenever i should want or need it (that shower felt good this morning)

today has been a rainy day. i've enjoyed the soft silvery light and the way that the steady fall of moisture has deepened the greens in the grass almost as i watch. that almost sounds as if i've been just sitting around and watching the grass grow doesn't it!?!
;-)
in truth i suppose that i did do some of that today . . .

the tulips and other spring flowers have been graced with an array of moist silvery pearls.

inside the house i have my seed/sprouts. the night time temps are still a bit too iffy to risk planting them so i faithfully carry them outside during the day and bring them back in at night. they really can't be called sprouts anymore though. the above photo is a part of one of those pumpkins that i planted. sometimes i feel like Jack and his beanstalk when i look at them in the morning. they have large buds and blooms on them that i really should be trimming off but i can't always do it . . .

i know the photo here is not a good one but the yellow summer squash that i started have begun to bear fruit~!!~ the smallest one in the above shot is about the size of my thumb and some are bigger and some smaller but these plants are already prolific. we may be eating squash off of the plants before i can even put them in the outside garden if they continue as they are doing . . . now that i think about it we should be picking those off too and eating them as baby squash so that the plant can continue to work on roots and leaves.

we have managed to put the tomato plants in the ground with the cold frame erected around them. they should be okay unless we get a hard frost. i'm hoping to have a large yield this year so that we can preserve them for winter eating. i believe i have about eight plants in there so we should be kept quite busy when the time comes.

my hands/needle have been working on these small bird applique blocks. i'm not sure how many i will ultimately make but i thought they might eventually get combined with the vine i recently finished . . .

i think they're pretty cute.
they are part of a bigger pattern called "Homespun Nest"within the magazine shown below.
btw i did not completely follow their instructions so have a slightly different result than them. it seems i almost always have to change things at least a little bit and i won't sew them up as part of that particular quilt although i found it quite cute. i have another idea brewing around in my head . . .

i actually found a lot of cute ideas and patterns within the Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine and am pleased to have a subscription for the next year's worth of issues.

todays gifts included:

• the pleasure of hearing the rain and enjoying the soft cloud covered sunlight
• the realization of just how many creative blogs/friends i have on the internet (due to my accidentally having deleted the WHOLE list in one fell swoop)
• a settle on the sofa to watch the first hummingbirds find the feeder which led to a very nice nap

*****   *****   *****   *****   *****

so as i said i did have a bit of an accident with my sidebar list of blogs. i'll just have to add them back as i can. i hope everyone understands and if you were on there before and i've overlooked you feel free to let me know and i'll get you back up there.