Lessons Learned...

...again.

"You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life."
Mary Oliver  (thanks Linda)

Like I said yesterday this little quilt was practice....it has several issues and I relearned valuable lessons about topstitching and binding.  First of all I need more variety in the topstitching.  All the patterns in this piece are too similar in kind and scale. I also need to be more thoughtful about when and how I use variegated thread....I'm not sure I like it on the dark blue. Basically I just need to plan a little better and that's always a challenge for this "just wing it" gal.

I wanted to mount this one on an 8 by10 black canvas.  I intended to do a borderless binding but when I trimmed the quilt down I forgot to leave the allowance that has to roll...or turn to the back. Oops!

So the only way to make this one work on the canvas was to bind it.  I didn't like any of the solid choices I auditioned and the striped batik was way too busy.  So my solution was to piece together a binding with random strips of the three background colors with a touch of the stripe. I actually think it's kind of whimsical and fun....but I would have liked the quilt better without it. 

I won't point out all the other flaws and issues but just move on and try and remember the lessons learned for the next time. It's not actually attached to the canvas yet....so maybe I'll give it another go. And who knows....maybe it will grow on me.

Mojo

I'm excited to report that I signed on for my second little art show during the month of May at Dr. Adams office in Lexington. To help me get back in the swing of things I worked on the little mini quilt I auditioned fabric for a few weeks ago.

I was inspired when I found this rainbow scrap in my stash left over from another project...and it just happens to match the Folt Bolt January scheme.

This was my basic plan...very similar to a large one I made a few years ago. "Keeping it simple" is my mantra.



I think this is my favorite batik.  It works with any scheme and makes a really nice little accent stipe. I still have about a yard....but I'm going to keep my eyes open for more...or something similar.

This little quilt was fairly simple to piece it together...it's just 8 by 10. I may have over topstitched....but I'm just getting my mojo back. I had a few issues with the binding but I did finish it this evening. I'll follow up here tomorrow.




You can see that it really is the twin to the 12 by 36 piece I made a couple of years ago for the last show. It may be hard to tell but I even used the same little strip of that great batik.

Three Things

Perfect reminder....Thank You Story of the Day!

Organized By Color

A few days ago I was compelled to take another picture of my found objects....this time organized by color.

I didn't have the little pink doll shoe yet....but it will be in the next one.  For now it's all cleaned up and in the jar.

Each item in this rainbow belonged to someone and has its own little story....I love that!

One Of Those Days

Having just been there yesterday I was excited to see Corey Templeton post this lovely night time view of The Bug Light on his Facebook Page today.



It was 50 degrees and sunny today so perfect for a walk.

I was pretty excited to find a delightful little treasure on the bike path.

I enjoyed watching a family skate.....

....and I loved how the bare winter trees nicely framed the classic New England church across the Battle Green and my neighbors remodeled barn.

Some days it's just easier to notice and delight in the things right outside my door....today was one of those days.

 

Field Trip Friday

Anita and I took a one day field trip to Portland today and it included a quick stop at Bug Light Park...still one of my favorite spots. 

Squiggles and Stripes

On the heels of yesterday's post I was excited to find a bright green squiggle on this morning's walk. It's already in the jar. 

I've been playing around with the fabrics for my "spectrum of quilts" project I talked about a few weeks ago. I realized that before I actually start the first one I needed to have a plan for the scheme for each quilt. It's really important to me that they have a nice flow and look good together.  

I've decided to add in some of my Kaffe Fassett stripes. They're bright but muted so oddly tone things down and they add some interest. Each fabric has it's own color scheme which gives me a jumping off point for each quilt.  These mixed with the polka dots and solids and just a hint of the batiks will work better....I think.  It's still just a concept.

I have a whole layout on the table in my sewing room and every time I walk by I rearrange, add, or subtract. Nothing is final...it's a work in progress.....but there is progress.

I used these striped fabrics to make this large couch pillow for the living room in Lexington. 

Oddly Satisfying

I don't think I'll ever stop picking up interesting and colorful objects I find out there in the world. And everyone once in a while Paul comes home with a special little something he found to add to my collection....he knows me well.

A few days ago he brought home these sweet little baby scissors he found on his way home from work. They're cute as a button and a perfect addition to the jar.

 

Since I'm the queen of distraction I spent a few minutes today assessing the contents of my jar.  There are several new treasures since the Consciously Creative Class....like the little crown and the Christmas bulbs and most of the orbs.  I find this little collection oddly satisfying....and at some point I'm going to need a bigger jar.

Wool Paintings

The Lexington library is currently showcasing the wool paintings of Elizabeth Stubbs.  They are gorgeous and worth a look if you live near by.

I did a little search and found Elizabeth's profile on the Umbrella Community Arts Center website in Concord and I also found her shop on Etsy.

I love working with wool and these are inspiring!

The Letters

Yesterday I mentioned a letter Paul wrote me about his bachelor pad.  Well....there's a little more to the letter story....and WAY more letters....121 to be exact.  Every day from February 28 to June 29, 2007 Paul wrote and mailed a handwritten letter while he was in Madison and I was in Portland. Yes, you heard it right....EVERY SINGLE DAY.  He filled me in on how his job was going...new things he was discovering in the neighborhood, and descriptions of his new favorite trees or what was blooming in the yard. There were love notes, words of encouragement, reflections, and just silly ramblings....whatever suited him that particular day.

Those were full and sometimes difficult days for me. I was busy with a full time job as a high school special education teacher,  packing up the house, single parenting our son, and dealing with more snow in March than I could ever remember. And yes, even a flooded basement.  It was all pretty daunting and the letters were often the bright spot in my day.  They were a piece of Paul's heart and a glimpse into the new life ahead for us....and they kept coming.

Sometimes they piled up for days because I just didn't have time to read them....or I was too grumpy to even open them. At those times I wanted help....not a letter. At one point I put several of them in the recycling and woke up in the middle of the night and frantically rescued them.  How could I even consider throwing them away!

I still have them all....or at least I think they're all there....the sweet and thoughtful letters from Paul.

They Needed Color

About 10 years ago there was a 5 month period when Paul and I lived in different states. Paul was starting a new job in Madison, Wisconsin, I was finishing a teaching post in Portland, Maine, and our youngest son Sam was finishing his senior year in high school. There are all kinds of things to reflect on from that time period, but this post is about one letter Paul wrote to me about his sparsely furnished bachelor pad.  It was kind of a funny letter describing the almost "locker room" decor being "drab to the point of ridiculousness." But what what was most surprising is what he had come to realize....HE NEEDED COLOR! And for a guy whose favorite color is gray...that's saying a lot. 

 Did you know that Jim Carrey was an artist?  He needed color too!

https://vimeo.com/226379658

I stumbled across this video and was quite taken with the passion and thoughtfulness Jim puts into his art work.

"I found myself looking around at a very bleak winter in New York...I think I NEEDED color."  Jim Carrey

"You can tell what I love by the color of the paintings...you can tell my inner life by the darkness in some of them....and you can tell what I want by the brightness."  Jim Carrey  

For those of you who know Paul you won't be surprised that he added color by displaying record album covers on the mantle.  We all have our gifts....and most of us need color. 

Strips and Inserts

I just finished adding the color swatches to the next strip for the second half of my cathedral window quilt.

Now it's time to sew it to the larger piece and insert another row of color squares. For every new strip...you get two rows of color. I lay it out and pick the swatches ahead of time and bag them up....one bag for the "strip" and the other for "insert."  

You can clearly see in the this photo where the insert  colors will go once it's sewn together.

 

Magnificent Chaos

This quote is reassuring!

The last couple of days have been magnificent in an organized chaotic kind of way. I've been bringing a lot of my craft supplies from Lexington up to the studio in Maine over the past month or so and it was time to spend some time organizing. I was distracted by interesting papers, fabric, strings, and buttons....what Anita and I call the BSO (Bright Shiny Object) syndrome. I did a little of this and a little of that slowing down my main project making a little more mess. It's just the way I roll.

So all I have to show for my time are a couple of rainbows: a little quilt I'm auditioning fabric for and some beautiful vegetables Janice prepared tonight. 

Dinner with Dana and Ann last night....stitching with Jane this afternoon...and dinner and cards with with Jay and Janice tonight were nice breaks from my magnificent chaos. All is well.

Fresh Snow

"Sometimes happiness is a feeling....sometimes it's a decision."

The drive up to Maine yesterday was lovely with the fresh snow clinging to the trees and bushes...it was a winter wonderland.

I was amused with this line-up out my kitchen window this morning.....






...Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear.

And I did do a little 100 piece puzzle during lunch.

Passionate

about puzzles!

Another perfect "in a funk" activity for me is a puzzle...and I'm making progress on the new one. If you're not a puzzle person you might want to stop right here...I'm going to ramble on a bit about strategies. Consider yourself warned. (that would be you, Paul)

First of all you have to figure out how you manage the extra pieces.

I'm one who doesn't like a lot of pieces on the table unless there's plenty of room...just the pieces I'm currently working with.  And I certainly don't like too many loose ones sitting inside the border. My table is pretty small so I use the "box-top tray" method and I stack them up on a TV tray next to my chair. This time I have 5 trays....and I keep consolidating as I make progress. Sometimes they are sorted in the box tops...sometimes not.

I think most people do the border first....and that's certainly the case with me. This one is a 1000 pieces so I have to work on it sideways because it's too tall for the table. If it was some sort of a scene this would drive me crazy.

You've got to start somewhere so first I pulled all the pieces that any dark purple, brown, or black in them because there were only a few and super easy to spot. Then I pulled all the pieces that had pink....then light blue. And that's where I left it before we drove up to Maine today. 

Maybe a little dose of Maine will help me get my mojo back...but I'll probably work on a puzzle here too. 

Last week when I was in Maine I completed this 500 piece one in 3 days that I borrowed from Linda. It practically put itself together. My side of the family has been posting our completed winter puzzles on Facebook.  It's been fun celebrating the Miller family's passion for puzzles! Kudos to anyone who made it to the end of this post....you probably have one going on your table too.

Tiny Stars

Every once in a while I get into a little funk....I'm guessing some of you do too. I've learned over the years to ride it out because I know it will pass. During these stretches I'm better off sticking with projects that are familiar and a bit mindless with immediate gratification.

Last evening I channeled my friend Adam and folded stars....tiny, bright, cheerful stars. It was comforting.

And when you make little stars you need something to put them in.  I saved this tiny little jam jar from a trip Paul and I took to Door County WI many years ago.  If you zoom in on the label, like us, you might wonder if Bea should have reconsidered the name. You just have to chuckle.