Everyday Still Life

I had several hand stitching projects going while I was in Maine this last weekend including my December project...and this was the view on my side table. It's just the kind of mess I like.....

But remembering back to my "Everyday Still Life" exercise from Philippa's Consciously Creative class I decided to take a few minutes and do some rearranging. I moved out some of the riffraff...and used only what was already on the table (some you couldn't see in the first pictures) to create a more pleasing arrangement. Just five minutes...and it's an every day still life. I can see now that if I gave it 6 or 7 minutes it could have been even better....but I'm back in Lexington now so this is as far as it goes. Tips, tricks, and lessons from that wonderful class pop into my head all the time!

One of the things I was stitching was this quick little 3 x 5 collage based on the December color scheme using mostly scraps and recycled materials. 

I bought this beautiful indigo felted vessel when I was visiting my sister Nancy in Minneapolis.  I'm experimenting with adding a rim of beads but I'm still deciding. I know something is going along the edge...