May Days

and here we are, already more than half way through the "merry, merry month of May"!

a little utilitarian stitching!

this was originally a t-shirt style top, and my daughter loved the print (I can see why!), but even though it was a size that should have fit her quite well, it was just too snug to be comfortable

so she asked me if I could cut it down the front and make it into a "jacket"

yup, I still can do that!  I even had a piece of an old orange t-shirt that I could cut pieces to neatly face that opening

yeah!

work on the commission continues

after I took this photo, we decided that the bottom edge looked a little stark, so I've added some little bits of grass along there

the binding is on now, so all that is left is a sleeve, a slat and a presentation bag

this will be done well ahead of my deadline

this piece is titled "View from the Farm House Window"

it is a 12"x12" piece that is my donation to the annual SAQA fund raising auction

it will be going in the mail tomorrow morning -- the auction is in September

in among other things, I have been working on the garden

I've added the wind chimes, put some pale shadows of the arbor at the bottom and painted some lighter areas in that very dark green in the background

I think I'm ready to quilt this (I know, that's what I said before, and I may change it some more, but it is getting closer!)

sometimes when I start a piece, I decide that it is going the wrong direction

I originally started doing the barn for the next piece I'm working on in brown tones and very narrow "planks"

which did nothing but frustrate

it has been redesigned, and I'm cruising along on the new barn in weathered gray "wood"

much better!

and since I am now quilting on the last fused piece, I'm now working on the design for the next one

this is titled "Sailor Boy", and I will be doing the entire piece in blues -- like an old cyanotype

looking forward to getting started putting fabric on it

of course there is more going on than just what I'm doing in the studio

back on April 18, we had a big wind storm (70 mph gusts!) that resulted in some significant damage to our roof, so we will be having a new one put on

just waiting to be "next in line" on the roofer's schedule to have this done

 

from time to time when Mr. Cute has a day off from school, he gets to come and play at gramma's

I introduced him to the concept of weaving -- every kid need to have some experience with those plastic frames and loops of fabric!

if he wants to do more complex stuff, there is a 4 harness loom in my studio he can work on!!!

and of course there was a bit of playing around with the dog

and it's gardening season again

this year I basically have a "salsa garden" --- lots of tomatoes, peppers/chilis and red onions --- but I do have two zucchinis and two cucumbers out there too

now we just hope for no hail!!