The first day in Jamaica, I set foot on the beach and felt something smooth underfoot. When I pulled it out of the sand, I was pleasantly surprised to find a heart-shaped rock for my collection. I didn't pick up another rock the four days we were there. So yes, we were at the beach and now we're home. The girls were sleeping when we arrived last night. It was fun to wake up my little loves this morning and receive sweet valentines that they had made for us while we were gone. I hope you enjoy today with all your valentines,too.

The first day in Jamaica, I set foot on the beach and felt something smooth underfoot. When I pulled it out of the sand, I was pleasantly surprised to find a heart-shaped rock for my collection. I didn't pick up another rock the four days we were there. So yes, we were at the beach and now we're home. The girls were sleeping when we arrived last night. It was fun to wake up my little loves this morning and receive sweet valentines that they had made for us while we were gone. I hope you enjoy today with all your valentines,too.

Fatty was just lamenting our lack of houseplants when - BAM! - two friends gifted me some this weekend. I thought that was kind of funny. I also really LOVE how my friend planted this in a beaker. It fits our shallow windowsill perfectly and made me realize just how much I miss that super deep window from our house in Western Springs where I'd line up all my McCoy pots planted with ivy, herbs and primroses. So I'm on the hunt for beakers now so I can have green things to look at on these gray winter days.

The auction quilts are now quilted and await their bindings. I'm super happy with how they turned out and can't wait to share that and some other auction projects with you all.  I've been spending a good deal of time at school so no sewing or knitting or much cooking for me.  If I would have had the time, I would have made this skirt today. Super cute and relatively fast and easy (just my speed) and it would have been *perfect* for my destination tomorrow. I actually dreamt about finding two free hours in my day to sew it. Then I woke up. Oh well. I'll still make it when I get back.

I better get packing. I have a few more things to throw in the suitcase and a book or two to find. I'll be back here sometime next week once I've returned. Take care.

Fatty was just lamenting our lack of houseplants when - BAM! - two friends gifted me some this weekend. I thought that was kind of funny. I also really LOVE how my friend planted this in a beaker. It fits our shallow windowsill perfectly and made me realize just how much I miss that super deep window from our house in Western Springs where I'd line up all my McCoy pots planted with ivy, herbs and primroses. So I'm on the hunt for beakers now so I can have green things to look at on these gray winter days.

The auction quilts are now quilted and await their bindings. I'm super happy with how they turned out and can't wait to share that and some other auction projects with you all.  I've been spending a good deal of time at school so no sewing or knitting or much cooking for me.  If I would have had the time, I would have made this skirt today. Super cute and relatively fast and easy (just my speed) and it would have been *perfect* for my destination tomorrow. I actually dreamt about finding two free hours in my day to sew it. Then I woke up. Oh well. I'll still make it when I get back.

I better get packing. I have a few more things to throw in the suitcase and a book or two to find. I'll be back here sometime next week once I've returned. Take care.

There are moments when I feel like I need to create right then.  Unfortunately, it's not entirely possible or practical to give in to those whims all the time. The other night, however, after working on auction projects for many hours, I gave in to my desire to make.  I quickly gathered a pile of scraps from the over-filling grocery bags on the studio floor. The blues and bits of red were calling to me so I dug until I had a good assortment to choose from. I started playing with fabric, cutting bits and stitching them together.

I guess you'd call it a potholder - there are a few layers of batting sandwiched between all the fabric and I did add a red twill tape loop. In my mind, though, it's a little more than that. One of my goals this year is to not be so restrained when it comes to sewing. I really want to play more - developed palettes, use different techniques, loosen up a bit. I want to ride the creative waves when they appear and see where they might take me. This is a start.

I used free motion for the quilting which I find much easier to control when I use it for small details. Go figure. As I said, the fabrics are all scraps, including the linen piece with the nest. I printed that with my gocco a few years ago and was happy to find it in the scrap bag. I quilted the back differently because I didn't want the reverse of the words showing. I think it was a good decision.

It felt great to make something without a plan. I need to give myself permission to do that more often.

In the meantime, I'll be working on the auction quilts (almost done!!!). As I finish up the other projects, I'll share those, too. I'm really happy with how they are all coming together, but there is still quite a bit of work to do.  Back here soon.

Most of my creative time these days has been spent working on our school's auction art projects. These are two quilts (one in warm tones, one in cool tones) that the fourth grade classes made using the glue batik method. I'm waiting on one block for each top and then it'll be time to finish them. I struggled with how I want to quilt these - I really want the artwork to shine and I am worried that dense quilting might compete with the large-scale blocks. I've given it lots of thought and I think I have a solid plan. I am going to use variegated thread in the hopes that it will blend in a bit more than white would.  We'll see! For the most part, I am really pleased how they are coming together and hope that they do well in the auction later this month.

(Does the auction talk bore you all to tears? I'd like to share more of the projects, but am unsure if it's interesting to anyone but me.)

Most of my creative time these days has been spent working on our school's auction art projects. These are two quilts (one in warm tones, one in cool tones) that the fourth grade classes made using the glue batik method. I'm waiting on one block for each top and then it'll be time to finish them. I struggled with how I want to quilt these - I really want the artwork to shine and I am worried that dense quilting might compete with the large-scale blocks. I've given it lots of thought and I think I have a solid plan. I am going to use variegated thread in the hopes that it will blend in a bit more than white would.  We'll see! For the most part, I am really pleased how they are coming together and hope that they do well in the auction later this month.

(Does the auction talk bore you all to tears? I'd like to share more of the projects, but am unsure if it's interesting to anyone but me.)

Inspired by Tif, I sat down Saturday morning with a pile of card stock and started cutting hearts.  I used a little patterned paper and a lot of off white.  I tried to stick to three sizes and I cut them all free form.  I sewed them together with the sewing machine and hung them with some masking tape.  Easy.  Cutting took the longest amount of time and I still have a good number of hearts left over for more garland.  I love that they are festive but not over the top Valentine's decorations.  And seeing them makes me smile - especially good on a rainy February day.

*****

I've updated the blog design - long, long overdue! A great huge thanks to Rachel and Tracy for their help.  I couldn't have done it without you! Some photos on the tutorial page are missing - those will be here by week's end. In the meantime, the links should all work. If you find an error, please let me know so I can fix it right away. Thanks!