Monday, February 28, 2011

Pies and Tarts

As soon as I saw this collection I knew it would not be long until we were intimate friends. I had just bought the Inklingo circles shape collection and thought that my inklingo longings were sated and then along came 'Pies and Tarts' to tempt me. 
I am a fallen woman. I cannot resist the siren call of the shapes. As I drift off to sleep they dance and beckon. It somehow mesmerizes me. My mind goes into alpha mode and I let go of the days troubles. And I dream of shapes undulating in the soft breeze.
I think about which fabrics and colors I will use (hand dyed)(maybe batiks) and which pallette-reds and pinks?blues and greens? What about neutral. 
Nah. To me fushcia is a neutral.  I am not capable of doing true neutral quilt. Not in my DNA.
please check out these blogs for inspiration 

all about inklingo     quilt obsession
momma made this    inklingo projects


Monday, February 21, 2011

knitting-Juneberry

working on it! 
Juneberry, by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed, In Shelter. I love this wool!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Oh how I compartmentalize
pentameter
sestina
the delicate petals of haiku
forged unwillingly 
into steel
are we
     .
I would go down into the ground with her
to bring her back from the arms of hades,
wrest her from the flames of the forge
all the while
recalling the perfume of persephone

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

spoonflower fabric

this quilt top center was put together using the larger center diamond shapes from the Inklingo Jane Austen collection.. I will make the corners from the fabric below. The printed diamonds are also from spoonflower fabric and some batiks. It will be a Very Bright Quilt.The center is made and I need to figure out how I am going to use the fabric from below to the best advantage.
Wow. That is all I can say. I will use this fabric in a quilt with similar colors and just wow. If you have ever wanted to create your own fabric, Spoonflower is the place to try your chops. excellent. and thanks to my dear friend for the gift certificate. xo.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentines Day

Every night Mike sets up the coffee pot. This is true love. happy valentines day.
Illustration by Mike.
The first thing Mike ever gave me was a snickers bar and a coke. I was much thinner then. 

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Storm at Sea, top completed

So here it is at last, photographed in natural, albeit dwindling, light and obligingly undulating in the breeze. Using Inklingo made cutting of the shapes perfectly uniform and in my parallel existence I am sewing this all by hand. Many of these blocks are hand stitched and I love the way the seams are flat but in real life I am a machine jockey. I had a the colors in mind, but also went wildly astray as I am wont to do-which also meant that I sometimes did not cut as carefully as I should have (picture me like Edward Scissor hands at my cutting table, scraps flying) and there are some corners that are a wee bit not so pointy. But I think once it is quilted it will not be an issue.the last one is the blocks on the wall before they were rearranged which makes a huge difference. The fabrics are mostly handy dyed and batiks with a tiny bit of other toile like fabric. 


Saturday, February 05, 2011

Owls

The bodies were made from a cotton sweater so the shaping was a little unpredictable.
Link to Blue Moon
These two are ready for  stitching. Lovey pattern from Mimi Kirchner -what a fun pattern! I was a woman possessed.

The sweater was my grandmothers and I wanted to use it for these owls as soon as I saw that Mimi was publishing a pattern.
Today stretches out before me, inviting me back into the quilt cave. Storm at Sea blocks are ready to sort out. I have a stack of triangles ready to use for leader ender stitching , the owl supplies to put away.
And a new book about knitting charts titled 'Charts Made Simple'by JC Briar that I bought from Blue Moon FIber Arts. . I still love actual paper and ink books no matter how many books and charts I can have on my ipad.
I am three quarters of a mitten away from a pair that I made for a kid at work.
And we will be watching the superbowl tonight. Maybe I will finish a mitten then.

birds feeding in the morning and so on...

Love the shape of the bird in the top.

woman cardinal flew away when she heard the beep on my camera-but not too far.
That's my car when after it broke down while attempting to take Bailey to work. I am sooo grateful it did not happen on the highway. We were able to pull into this parking lot after the power just cut out. We were coasting and able to turn into the entrance and then pushed it further in. No one honked at us but no one stopped to help either. Mike will trouble shoot.
What I did yesterday. I went to the doctor for laryngitis, and spent most of the day right here, with the support of Poppet the lap cat. My voice is slowly coming back. But I still sound like I am talking through a bad speaker.
The cardinals only feed at the beginning and end of the day. Otherwise it is pidgins and swallows,

Flap is made of wool squares with silk overlays-to keep the  pieces from shifting when you open and close the book. It is secured with 'measuring tape' trim that I got from purl soho. The cover of the book is heavy duty iron on interfacing covered with fabric . I am considering keeping the bottom open to use for storage- I can slip fabric into the space between the fabric and interfacing on one side where it is not glued. Not very elegant but it works.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

preparing packets

Pixie is intrigued by the ticking of the clock.
   So - four people responded that they would like some fabric and four shall have. Today I am home, scheduled day off, and I am happy to be here, unaffected by all of the awful weather events that are whirling around the world. Here's hoping that all are safe from the storms, wherever you are.
 

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Mimi Kirchner

Mimi Kirchner
Don't you just love this? I do love her work!