cue the tornado music from the Wizard of Oz

yesterday as we were out and about we happened to be in the right place to see and record the funnel cloud over Pike's Peak

weird, weird, weird weather!!
 

the DH spent some time at a demo yesterday afternoon about using his scroll saw

while he was doing that I was able to sit at a table in a nice air conditioned store and do some drawing

these drawings are to be used in an art piece I've been thinking about and working on for a while

I think I have finally figured out how to get the look I want with this, so as soon as I get some of the other pieces off my list I will give this a try

the quilting on this quilt has begun

it took me about 3 hours to get it ready to be quilted -- trimming the edges, stitching the panels of the backing together and pinning the sandwich together

I had to rearrange the sewing table too -- need to have more open space to the left and the back of the machine so I can manage the bulk of this piece as I put it through the sewing machine

this book arrived on my doorstep back in May and right after it did things got a little crazy.  It traveled with me to California when I went for a funeral and again to my daughter's house when I went to do pet sitting during her vacation

the book stands up well to being read one chapter at a time

Barton takes the reader step by step in a logical progression from finding inspiration for an art quilt to the last stitch in finishing its edge with the focus at each step being "does the design work?"

the book is liberally illustrated with both drawings and photos of finished works, and Barton explains the concepts presented well

I can imagine this book being used as a guide for a self-initiated study;, as there are numerous exercises to do that reinforce the concepts

in fact, I may use it for that very purpose myself in next year's visioning project