wherein we think about when more is actually more

often when I'm working on the design of a piece of artwork I will remind myself that "less is more"

this piece, for instance, falls into that category

I have limited the color palette here to just one color - orange - to accent that lovely piece of glass that serves as the focal point

a perfect example of when limiting the options makes for better design


this week, however, I've realized something else about the way I work on projects

sometimes more is more

at least in the last month or so I've become more and more excited about new projects that are becoming available to me -- to the point that I need to think about keeping track of when the deadlines on these multiple items are

so just to help myself keep this all straight, here's the list of what's "in the works" right now:

Quilt works:
Y'upik lap quilt
trees
Summer memories competition piece
On the Trail collaboration
Fall theme competition piece
Fire design

Bead works:
orange crystal competition piece
amethyst cabochon necklace
amethyst cabochon bracelet
Gees Bend tribute bracelet #4
lapis bracelet

I'm excited to get into the studio every day and work on things (to the point that any day I can't work on something I get "cranky"!)

time to get in there!!

a beading good time

I think we're done now

I attached the three crystal drops yesterday afternoon

so now all that I need to do before Tuesday's deadline is to take some photos -- I need to set up the "photo studio" and take shots from different angles and with different props and backgrounds to get the very best ones to use for my contest entry

considering that originally I didn't even have an idea for this challenge, I'm pretty happy with this

and I learned how to do some new things while I was working on it too

all good things!


the beading on this piece is finished

today I should be able to get the backing on this and get it all finished

cool!



last night I finished doing the quilting in the blue section of the Summer Memories piece and began on the black section (see, I got that thread just in time) 

progress is being made on the malamute block too --- the face is slowly emerging

projects are rolling right along!

just a little shopping

when I was working on the quilting of the summer memories on Wednesday evening,  I discovered that the spool of black quilting thread that I had on hand was not going to be enough to do everything I needed to do on that piece

so a little shopping trip was required

and of course a trip to get thread might also mean I find a little item or two that just reaches out and grabs me

these two pieces of fabric whispered to me "I'm part of the malamute" so I brought them home too

the bead store is just a few doors down from the quilt store

and the plan was to try to find some additional raw quartz crystals to create some drops for that white necklace I've been working on

but of course there were other goodies in there too

like this group of amethyst pieces -- in the past I've worked with amethyst as crystals, but they had some cabochons that were the amethyst in the matrix -- I picked up enough stuff to create a necklace and a new cuff bracelet

and I found these unique pieces

there was a whole bowl of stone pieces cut like this, but these were the only two that were this interesting almost pea green

my plan is to turn these into a pair of earrings 





after looking at every piece of quartz crystal in the entire store, I chose these three pieces to turn into the drops on that necklace

as soon as I got home I set to work creating these beaded bell caps

they have been glued and so I'm thinking this afternoon I can get them attached to the necklace






for the past few evenings I've been working on this piece of knitting

this is the first of eight pieces that make up the lion I'm making as a Christmas gift

knitting this was interesting as the pattern is an old one and the format of the instructions is very different from the way things are written now days

it kind of reminded me of the pattern typing we did when we took typing class in high school where you had no idea what it was going to look like unless you did it correctly and even then, not until you had finished it

I'm thinking the second, matching, piece will go quicker

time to get busy -- projects are calling

my own version of fireworks

 when I was a kid I remember we always listened to the Boston Pops Orchestra on the 4th of July -- now days they don't show the concert anymore, just the fireworks, which for me is a huge disappointment -- I want to hear the music!

while we were watching the fireworks on TV last night I was working on quilting this piece

this is moving along nicely -- I've now finished quilting all of the orange section and I've started into the blue above it

and I'm pleased with the way it looks

for the first time I can remember we heard not even one "pop" of fireworks in the neighborhood

guess there's nothing like a big fire to get folks to finally take the burn ban seriously -- that and the fact that the fine this year was $1000 instead of $300 -- we've had enough of seeing the night sky lit up

because I couldn't just run to the store and get what I need to finish that white piece yesterday, I started working on this little piece

this will be a barrette

I had picked up this piece of glass at the quilt show we went to back in May and it's size and shape fit across the top of a barrette nicely

I'm using mostly recycled beads for this that are out of those boxes and boxes of goodies that my mom gave me a while back -- amazing how well those vintage beads go with the new glass

today I plan to get to the bead store and try to find something to finish up the white necklace -- and I need a new spool of black quilting thread so I can do the quilting on that summer piece

time to get moving

not finished yet

the backing is on, and I finished the"chain" yesterday

but I don't think I'm finished yet

I've waffled back and forth over rather it should have some strategic "drops" from the bottom edge or if it needs fringing

not branched, full, fluffy fringe, but something more straight forward that just elongates the design edge

I'm leaning toward that elongated thought

today I'll try that out and see where it goes



if you're a long time reader here you may recall that I've been involved with a charity auction  to raise funds for a local opera company for the last few years --- during this time we've used a makeshift location in a former retail store across the street from where the performance took place and every year we've worried about the weather ruining everything for us

this year we'll be doing this in a brand new, just completed facility, on the same side of the street, with a connecting door --- we're moving "up town"!

yesterday I got to tour that facility -- setting up this year will be much better -- I'm sure there will be challenges, but it will be a truly amazing location for our event this year

the beauty from the tragedy

part of what happens when the air is full of smoke is that the particles in the air make for glorious sunsets

and sunrises

this was the sunrise this morning

beautiful, but sad to know why it is so



I mentioned the other day that I'm thinking about a piece of art work that will use some of the images of the fires -- it's continuing to form in bits and pieces in my head -- I'll start putting stuff down on paper soon and we'll see where it goes

last night I started doing the quilting on the Memories of Summer piece

got almost all of the quilting done around the silhouettes at the bottom edge







meantime, I have a rapidly approaching deadline to get this piece of beading finished!

I've created more pieces of chain, and encircled some more mirrors -- the "necklace" part of this is going to be very interesting

some light work around the house today, the hopefully a lot of work on this piece!

back to productive work

because the last skirt I made for my daughter was such a big hit, she asked me if I could make her another

she picked out this nice black fabric with a white floral print and I knocked out this skirt for her in about an hour

(yes, I know, the last one was black and white too -- but it's so versitile -- she can wear anything else she wants with it!)










the DH had a doctor's appointment this week, so I got some more work done on an afghan square

this one is number 12 for the year



moving along slowly

trying to feel normal

spent some time at the sewing machine yesterday afternoon

that fabric I got to make pants for the DH has made the transition -- project complete!

then there were other normal things --- like the van having to go to the shop again -- the little engine light on the dash board kept coming on, going off, coming on -- difficult to know if I could trust it or not -- I took it in and they replaced the sensor that had told me that the repair back in May was necessary -- the little computer chip had lost it's mind -- another $170 --- but it could have been a lot worse

the update this morning on the fire -- it's still very hazy here, but no real strong smoke smell at least at our house --- in some areas, people were allowed to go home last night

and we now know that 346 homes are gone -- we also know that one person didn't get out -- and that both of those numbers may get bigger 

linky, linky

yesterday afternoon, for the first time in a couple days I actually got some creative work done

these are the first 3 links that will be part of the chain for the necklace I've been working on for the past couple of weeks --- it took me three different tries at getting this far, but now that I've figured it out I think the rest of them will move along more quickly

this week has been difficult

the last time I can remember being this affected by something in my community was October 17, 1989 -- we survived the Loma Prieta Earthquake -- we knew people that were injured, and people that lost their homes in that natural disaster

like then, we know people in this community that have been evacuated because of the fire -- we may know people that have lost their homes -- we're not sure of that yet, because no lists have yet been released of the hundreds of homes that were burned on Tuesday night

unlike Loma Prieta which was unavoidable, the Waldo Canyon fire appears to have been deliberately set --- unbelievable

I am thinking about doing a series of art quilts as a way to help myself deal with how I feel about this whole thing -- images of the fire are flickering in the back of my head

today I hope to get some work done

this must be what Dante saw

this is what it looked like last night at about 5:30 pm

what looks like a big black rain cloud over the apartment building behind us is actually an enormous plume of smoke from the fire burning across the valley from us -- just 10 miles away

since Saturday, when the fire started, it had been burning in the canyons on the west side of the city

yesterday afternoon the winds shifted and drove the fire over the ridge and into the thousands of homes that were built in one of the largest urban/wild land interfaces in the country

it was, to quote a local reporter, "a firestorm of epic proportion"

the sky glowed orange all night -- it was like looking into hell

the 65 mph winds that drove the flames over that ridge also carried ash across to us

on the left side of this picture is the biggest piece that I was able to pick up in the yard -- its about 3.5 inches long

and this morning the wading pool that we set up to help the dog keep cool has a film of fine black ash over it's surface

the sky this morning is hazy and everything continues to look orange-y

it smells smoky here

we had planned to mow the yards this morning, but in these conditions we have decided to wait --

the advisory for folks our age is to not do anything that requires a lot of physical exertion


I have to say I have not gotten a lot done on projects the last couple of days --- knowing that there are people I know that have probably lost their homes is unnerving


praying for rain --- and safety for everyone directly touched by this fire

more sewing

finished another pair of shorts for Mr Cute!

these are more "dressy" and should make his mama happy because they will go well with all those cute printed t shirts he has

and since these were to be made from the same fabric as the new pair of pants I'm making for the DH, that pair of pants got cut out too -- guess that tells you what the next item to go to the sewing machine will be



since I have now finished the Christmas sweater, I needed to find a new knitting project

this is a very old pattern that I was able to download from a source on line

I'll be creating the lion for a friend

an ADULT friend for whom in the past I've made teddy bears and knitted zebras

this should be fun

 this is what the smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire looked like from our back yard last night

this morning it's hazy and smells very smoky


words fail me

what the best dressed toddler wears

designer shorts made by grandma!

Mr Cute is going to be the best dressed kid at school

these two pair of shorts took less than an hour from the pulling out of the fabric to the final press

and both of them were made out of fabric left over from the making of sun hats -- the green fabric with the jungle print was last year's sun hat for Mr Cute and the blue "choo choo" print was left from the making of the sun hat for his friend earlier this year

over the weekend we got some fabric to make another pair of custom scrubs for the DH and I got enough fabric that I'll be able to make another pair of shorts for Mr Cute from that too

it's funny that I'm back in the clothing business again -- in the last week or so one of my art quilt groups has been talking about how many of us came from a sewing background --- yup, I'd be part of that faction!  and I can tell you that this is like riding a bike -- once you know how you don't forget (although that is not so true of my bike riding skills)


last night, as I sat in my recliner with the cooler running full blast over me, I finished the annual Christmas sweater for my daughter --- here's hoping all this summer heat will keep her warm when she wears it this winter!

as I write this at about 9am, it is 81 degrees -- we've already been out to do the garden chores, so we'll be trying to avoid the heat and the smoky air for the rest of the day --- soon as I get the laundry done I can work on projects in the studio --- nice!

time for some breakfast

practical repair work

foam head phone covers don't last forever

this is a perfectly usable set of head phones, but that hole there in one of them (and a smaller hole in the other one that doesn't show) meant they weren't getting used

after all, every time you touched that foam you came away with little black flakes all over your fingers, so putting them on your ears just seemed really wrong

my daughter had asked if I had a spare pair for Mr Cute to use to listen to his music when they fly, and these were good -- except for those covers

yes, I know you can buy replacement foam covers, but that would have meant a trip to a store and the spending of money and in a year or so we'd be right back in this same place

let's not go there

so, I raided the rag bag for the sleeve of a worn out locker gray t shirt

cut out two ovals, gathered them with strong thread and covered those head phones with custom, grandma made covers

no more icky, flaky foam thingies

these will be going to Mr Cute for his big airplane ride along with the Busy Book

I worked on projects a bit yesterday, but my usual evening, in my recliner in front of the TV work didn't amount to much -- I was actually watching the TV

across the valley from us a wild fire started around noon yesterday -- by evening it was over 1000 acres and growing -- we could see the column of smoke (in fact the whole sky was a weird orange-y color) -- and they had evacuated several areas of the city itself --- scary stuff

and as for a restful night?  forget it -- between the heat (at 10:30 pm it was still 89 degrees) and the wild life coming out of the high country (there were bear sightings less than 5 miles away from our house) the dogs in our neighborhood - including ours - were going nuts

I think I already need a nap -- as I write this at 9:20 am, it's already 92 degrees -- we'll now have a chorus of a Cole Porter song -- "it's too darn hot"!

From the garage workshop

the completion of a project!

the DH has been working right along on these two bed side tables

the furniture in our bedroom is all circa 1890-1900 -- big solid red oak furniture -- except there were no bed side tables that came with the set

over the years we've used an odd assortment of different tables for the lamps and to set the clock and our glasses on, but all of them were really too short to look like they belonged in there

the DH built these from his own drawings of oak that he used the red oak stain on so they are a perfect match to that antique furniture

and the "drawers" are actually deep baskets with old style colonial looking pulls and they're big enough to actually put things in

awesome!   what they need now are the doilies on top!

and he has already started on his next project -- rebuilding a toy box for Mr Cute

on Wednesday I was talking about the fabric packet that arrived for the fall quilt challenge

since then I've been thinking about a design that uses those fabrics

the restriction is that the quilt is to be 30 inches square

and square is not the usual choice I make for my quilt format -- I'm more a rectangle -- either vertically or horizontally

this, however, is my rough sketch for this challenge -- and now I need to figure out if I actually have enough fabric in hand to make the whole top, or if I need to order a bit more of one of the fabrics

I'll be working on that when I get into the studio today

yesterday I finished the knitting of the Christmas sweater project and started with the assembly -- knocking those projects off one by one!

and I have finally finished the beaded edging both around the outside edge and around the openings in the inside of the white and silver beading piece, and I've started on the right angle weave tube that will be the "chain" for that piece

as I write this at 8:30 am, it is already 81 degrees here -- we'll be holing up with the cooler  for most of the day -- right after I make a quick trip to the store for bread and a couple of other things

onward!!

more finished objects

another hot pad

this is number 9 in the ongoing stack

since I only work on these when I'm on the phone for more than a quick phone call, it takes a while to do one

this one looks like cool summer sorbet






and the new purse is finished!

this one is slightly wider and considerably deeper

and on the inside I included a loop with a clasp that can hold my keys and keep them from going to the bottom of the bag -- I used a repurposed piece of pink ribbon to stitch it into the lining

and there are two good sized pockets on the sides to put little things in -- like my phone and my business card holder

hope this one stands up as well as the last one did

we're supposed to have another spell of hot weather --- lets see what I can get done in the studio while I'm avoiding the heat

another piece of the puzzle

finished this one last night

love the big polar bear

and now there is only one more of these ivory on blue blocks to do

which means I'm also going to spend some time looking for the fabrics that I need to do the big center block of the malamute 


spent some time yesterday stitching on my new bag, and I think I'll have that finished today


and I have now finished the outside edge of the beading project, so now it's on to the openings in the body of the piece


today's priority is getting the lawn's mowed -- time to get to it

because there's nothing else going on

I started a new project - heh, right!

but seriously, while my sister was here last week she was making herself a new tote bag which reminded me I needed to get busy on a new bag for me

the summer purse I made a couple of years ago is starting to fray, and I knew I needed to replace it, so I already had all of the materials right here in hand

but just a plain fabric bag was not going to get it

so yesterday I drug out the paint and the stamps and all of the necessary messy parts and stamped these

the plan is to stitch them to the outside of the bag to give it some "art-y" interest

now that the paint is dry, it shouldn't take too long to get the bag done


while I was in the studio, I did get the memories of summer quilt sandwich pinned together, so it is ready to be stitched on

meantime, I got this packet of fabrics in the mail

it is for a fall quilt challenge

I'm thinking about what I can do with it

I can add some fabric to it if I need to

right now I'm just thinking about a design



after several days of very hot weather it was a pleasure to wake up this morning to a cool breeze from the north -- today and tomorrow are supposed to be cooler then the temperatures go up again --- we've decided to take advantage of the cool by doing some yard work -- then we won't have to do that when it gets hotter again over the weekend

time to get to it

where the back took almost as long as the front

yesterday's studio time was mostly spent creating this

before I can start quilting the summer quilt, it needed a back and I try to make the backs of the quilts coordinate with the fronts

these fabrics were part of a challenge packet that I got last summer, but the quilt never happen -- they just seem right for this piece

the theme for this competition is "what does summer mean to you", and I'm considering using the white stripes to write words that answer that question

so what does summer mean to you?





the busy book is finished!

I used the setting on my sewing machine that stitches an embroidered eyelet to create the "holes" spaced like a sheet of notebook paper

then big sharp needle with some 1/8 inch ribbon to create the rings

and those handles were created with the rest of the belt that I used for the buckle page

I hope he likes it!




and at long last, another finished charity sweater

this one is bigger than the first two I did, so it took a bit longer to make

I have the necessary yarn to make another one, which might get started tonight



it was very hot here yesterday, and will be again today --- not my favorite thing --- time to go get the necessary errands run then hole up with the cooler again!

a finished object and two nearly so

its summer (or nearly) and Mr Cute is wearing shorts

and have you noticed that a simple little pair of shorts is as expensive as the longer, heavier pants?

grandma and her sewing machine to the rescue!

this pair of shorts were whipped up in about 30 minutes from some fabric left over from a pair of scrubs I made for the DH last summer (oh look, he can match grandpa!)

these are going in the mail this morning (a "squishy" for Mr Cute!) -- his mama will let me know if we need any pattern adjustments before I whip up a couple more pair for him

and I'll be going through the pattern drawer for the pattern I have for sweat pants and sweat shirts for the cool weather
got the letters stitched on the cover of the busy book

it was fun cutting each letter out of a different color felt

I've started stitching the pages together -- I hope to have this project finished in the next few days







not quite finished with the beading on this, but its very, very close

while I was digging through the big tub that the felt for the busy book was in I found several more pieces of the kind of suede and upholstery velour that I use to back these pieces --- which was wonderful, since the little box I had with the beads was getting pretty empty





it's supposed to be 100 degrees here today -- and I do not do heat well, so I'm trying to get things done early today so I can hole up with the portable swampy cooler and work on projects

stitching along

ta da!

this is the second (and last) of the 16 by 24 pieces that runs horizontally on the quilt

which means today I might get started on the two 16 by 24 pieces that run vertically --- one of those is a bear and the other is an otter

cool


and this is the progress photo of the newest art quilt

not only did I manage to get the little silhouette figures fused at the bottom edge of the piece, I also got all of the exploding fireworks fused on too

the next step on this is to put the sandwich together and start on the quilting and embellishing --- and I have a piece of sheer fabric that has a gold shimmer that I plan to use as the top layer, which I think will give the piece a "glow"



other time in the studio included work on the cover for the busy book -- I'll be stitching the letters to the cover next and starting to stitch the pages together and making the eyelets at the edge so it can be strung together

and I have a pair of shorts for Mr Cute cut out that I hope to get stitched together and shipped off so his mommy can tell me if I need to alter the pattern before I make another pair

the beading on the white piece is getting closer -- I hope to have the beading done on that in the next couple of days

seems like the more projects I have in the works, the more ideas just spring into my head!