Autoharp - not quilt related

A few days ago, I mentioned that I had ordered an autoharp.  It arrived and I have started tuning it. It is actually holding a tune better than expected.   (yaay!)

Quilting Gail said " I do hope that you show us your beginning attempts ... that way, later, you can say "look how I've improved!""

So,  here is something for you to watch and perhaps have a laugh- especially if you make it to the end  I give myself full permission to laugh at myself when I am learning something new.  It relieves some of the stress. Laughter is good for you, I am certain of it.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Approximately 380

That is how many inches of binding I made for this quilt.  The quilt has been floating around my home studio for several years. I think I started piecing the blocks in 2013.  It was quilted in three pieces.  That was finished in 2018.  Can you tell this is a "slow process" quilt?

One of the reasons for the slow process was the batting I used.  I was trying to use an inexpensive polyester batting that I got locally.  I really never enjoyed doing the quilting on it. And sadly the problems I had with it show up in the quilting. It is not my best work.

Nevertheless,  I joined the three pieces with joining strips that I had made -and actually labeled and saved all this time.  It is one rather large quilt. On my queen bed, it has a nice drop at the foot and on both sides. 
I decided on a brown binding to go with the borders on the quilt.  I didn't audition it as it was dark brown - but it doesn't match.  "C'est la vie"  or in Spanish "Es lo que hay"

Meanwhile, housebound boredom set in and I both colored and cut my hair - in that order.  Fair disclosure, I worked in the beauty industry for a number of years. So I do have some skills in that area.

Here's looking at YOU, kid. 

As you may see, I am not the king of selfies.  I usually look like a doofus in them. I took ten and this was the best. (scary huh?)

Hang in there folks.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative
in whatever way works for your
Quarantined Sanity.

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Creative Questions

As you may have noticed, I haven't been posting a lot lately.  This time of enforced alone time has affected  people in many different ways.  Some have been very driven creatively.  Others of us have switched gears a bit and are doing different things. 

As an introvert, I expected to be just fine and have most everything "as usual."  But, I found out differently.   I am not unhappy or depressed.  I am just "in a different place" mentally.   One thing that has helped a lot is music.  I have been playing my ukulele - sometimes outside on the front steps - sometimes in my living room. 

I have always loved a variety of musical instruments. Over the years I have had keyboards, a guitar, claves, an afuché, pennywhistles, native American flutes, a recorder, a kalimba, harmonicas, and probably some others that I have forgotten. 

A couple that have always fascinated me are the Appalachian dulcimer (aka mountain dulcimer) and the autoharp (and dare I mention the accordion?)  So, I finally decided to get an autoharp to play with.

The autoharp has 36 or 37 strings depending on the make.  It can have different numbers of chords/chord bars but 15 or 21 are most common.  The one I am getting has 21 - which allows for a wider variety of songs to be played on it. 

The downside to buying one online is that you have to tune it yourself.  This means daily tuning for about two weeks until the strings "settle."  Then it is normal to have to tune occasionally as the humidity/ temperature changes - like any stringed instrument.

Honestly I am looking forward to the arrival - Wednesday or Thursday.  But don't expect to hear me playing it any time soon. 

How has your creativity changed (or not) during this time of quarantine?   Remember to judge yourself kindly.  We all have different mindsets and ways of coping.  If you are blocked creatively, just watch some youtube videos that make you smile or at least forget the current situation.  Give yourself a break and carry on as best you can.  And if you need someone to talk to email a friend or two or three until you find one that is there for you. 
And remember to breathe slowly and deeply - and just relax...we will make it through this.

Until Next Time,  

Hang in there! 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A Small Morning Project

A few days ago, I posted a placemat that I made for a Placemat Challenge that was posted by Carole at My Carolina Home.  Today I am showing a second one.

A couple of days ago I put together three panels that make a full quilt.  In the process I had to trim the panels.  I put all the odd batting edges and fabric scraps into a bag, fully intending to put them out with the garbage.  The garbage went out but the bag accidentally got left behind. ( Who was it that said "there are no accidents" ?)
Today I rummaged through the bag and gathered the various pieces of fabric from the pieced backing of that quilt.  Then I started sewing random pieces together. I had a couple of jelly roll strips and a few batik pieces near the sewing machine, so they were fair game also.

This is the front of this placemat.

Since the pieces were largely from a quilt with a pieced backing, how could I resist piecing the backing for this too.  Here is the back of the placemat - or, as I like to think of it, the other front.

I did simple straight (ish) line quilting so that I didn't have to change the foot on my machine.  I used some of the strips that were left for a binding.

Are you doing the Placemat Challenge?

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Artwork Mounted

Even though I did all of the work, this photo doesn't look much different than the last one I showed of it.   But the stitch work piece is now properly mounted and hanging on my wall.

The color is not as true as it was in the previous outdoor shot. 

I mounted the quilted piece on a piece of block foamcore board that I already had on hand. 

I was planning to buy canvas stretcher bars to make the "frame" that sits behind it to 

raise if away from the wall.  However, that store is closed due to the quarantine order. 

So I chose an older painting that I had done that I really didn't like - and was planning to

 paint over anyway.  I painted the edges black to match the foam core and attached

the foamcore and quilt to that.  It has a hanging wire so that it hangs on the wall 

just like a painting. I know I will enjoy looking at it as long as I have it. Of course, 

if anyone offers me an appropriate price, I will certainly sell it. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Stupendous!

The class I took on Craftsy, (now BluPrint)  is called Stupendous Stitching by Carol Ann Waugh.   I have made a few pieces using the technique since then.  But, I decided to start a project to use for hand stitching during rehearsals.  Then WHAM,  quarantine happened and rehearsals were no more (for now.)  But I had lots of free time, so - why not?

I stitched in odd minutes.  

Some of it was simple straight stitches. 

but straight stitches form lines 

and lines create shapes and paths. 

Before you know it, one of those paths led me to a finish. 

Well, an almost finish.

This piece still needs to be mounted.

For the photo it was simply propped up 

(and re-propped when the wind crashed it to the ground.) 

Yesterday I did the quilting on it.  

Today I added the rattail binding around the edges. 

Hopefully I will get it mounted in a few  days. 

But.....

Isn't it Stupendous?

FYI - hand dyed fabric from Ricky Tims. Hand dyed threads by Laura Wasilowski  (and me too.)

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A Small Project

Even though we are under a "stay home" order,  I have to go to my Mom's daily.  She is almost 84 and not fully self sufficient.  She can still cook some things, but I carry food to her on a pretty regular basis.   Due to the lack of paper products on store shelves, she has started hanging a towel on the oven handle to dry her hands in the kitchen.  I think that is smarter than paper towels anyway so I am encouraging her to continue doing that. 
But, I noticed that one towel she had hanging was a bit ragged and was getting threadbare.  I mentioned it and she said, "Yes, I thought about throwing it away, but I can use it a while longer."
When I arrived home I checked my supplies and found a kitchen towel that still had the tag on it. There were also some brand new white washcloths. 
A bit of "research" and a plan was made.   Crafty Gemini has a tutorial on YouTube  that also has a link to a pattern piece for a towel topper.  To the stash to pull out some fabric and a bit of interfacing and the project was underway.   On the towel with the brown stripe, I decided to add a piece that matches the topper. 

The other one is two washcloths with a topper added.  For that topper, I used the leftover pieces from cutting out the topper for the first one.  The shape is a bit different but it works.  Instead of adding buttons and doing button holes,  I decided to use velcro.  The big plus is that it is easier for older hands. Also, I have the straight stitch machine in my table and this prevented having to switch it out.

I think they came out really nice for a first try.  I may make some of these to give as gifts when I can shop for towels again.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Placemat Challenge - My Entry

Over at "From My Carolina Home" there is a challenge that Carole has created.  It is pretty simple, you just sew a placemat.  She has several options off what you can do with it.  She is collecting them for her local "Meals on Wheels."  That is a great way to bring joy to the person that receives it with their delivered meal.  OR  you can donate it locally. OR  you can keep it for yourself.
Personally, I haven't decided which I will do yet.

But sew a placemat, I did!  I chose some lovely strips of Island Batik fabrics from my magical bin of batiks.  then I just played. I started by sewing a few strips together.  They I started cutting some strips from at strip set.  And then the fun of "I wonder if...." began.   It wasn't long until the front was finished.

Then I had to decide on a backing.  I still had a nice chunk of the strip set left..but it didn't fit. Hmmmm.. but if.....
Yes, cut of a strip and rearrange it to make it work with another added strip or two.

And that makes it delightfully double sided.   Then, as you can see in the photos, I did some fun free motion quilting all over it, pulled another chunk of Island Batik and made the binding.

There are some fun prizes provided by the talented fabric dye studio Colorways by Vicki (Vicki Welsh.)  I cordially invite you to join in the fun and make a placemat or two- or more.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Fabulous Finish

At least that is how I feel about this finish.  It is fabulous and I love it!

The quilting on this is some of my best ever.  The rule that I set was to use only floral motifs.  The exceptions I allowed myself were the corner setting triangles and the border.  Oh yes and feathery flower motifs that I still think are close enough to the rule. Of course, it is my rule and I can break it as I see fit.  Ha ha.
 But let's step back a couple of days.  I had sewn the binding to the front and left it draped on a recliner.  I walked by and said "Wow, I did that!" when I saw the quilting on the back in the solid area.

Here are some close-ups from the front that I took while it was hanging.

And last, here is a photo of how I did the Sunshine Feather Flower.

I took an old computer disk and used it as a template.  The pink pencil is a chalk type pencil that I used to center the disk AND to mark the outline that acted as the flower spine that is sewn as you create the feather. (You do not sew it first.)

And if you are wondering, I sewed the binding to the back by hand.  It gave me some time to sit and watch a movie (and a few sitcoms) on Prime while I was doing it. The trick is to watch something that doesn't require full attention -so no action movies!

That quilt will get its spa bath (in the washing machine) later. I am sure it will look even better then.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Oooh I love to Dance a Little Sidestep

So I put on my dancing shoes and pulled out the empty loom.  I had a warp in a bag that had been there since April of 2018..... So roughly two years....not bad, right?  Ha ha.

This warp is from a class that I went to called "Dye that Warp Party."  We came with warps made and tied up ready to dye.  The dye we used is a thyrene dye that the teacher gets from Japan. It contains both a bleaching agent and an overdye.  That all happens in one pot, like magic.  I have never seen anything like it.   I think she had two or three colors and this one went in the "red"  bucket.   The original warp was colorful with shades of blue and yellow.  We did some resist techniques to cover parts of the warp so that those areas would not get dyed.  As you can see the bleaching agent did not totally remove the color. That resulted in some oranges and purples where the red blended with the original colors.

Warp coming over the back beam

View from the back of the loom.

The colors in this are so happy and so "me."  I will be weaving this in odd moments when I want to do something different.

I am still quilting on the colorful quilt with the batik on the back. I think that there are only six setting triangles and the outer border that need quilting, so that will be done pretty soon.  Good news!  I remembered to put the label on so that it is both sewn down and quilted onto the quilt.

Keep your head high and your hands washed. Stay home and maintain social distance when you must go out for essentials. I am going "old people shopping" tomorrow morning. I have already set the alarm. I have my mask, gloves and my pocket bottle of hand sanitizer ready to go.


PS - Angie, you are a no-reply blogger so I can't respond to your comments.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Getting Some Quilting Done

I looked and looked at the quilt top and could not determine how I was going to quilt it.  The muse was very quiet.  When I decided to look for a different quilt on my blog, a photo showed up that made me go "Ooooh, I love the way that is quilted."  So I pulled out the quilt and looked at it. While this will be different in many ways, that quilt told me what I needed to think about to quilt this one.

Do you look at you past work for inspiration?  Or do you maybe have an "idea board" or some other type or plan for inspiration?  Some days we just need a kick start.

What I really loved on the older quilt was the way the quilting was divided into sections that all worked together.  I saw that I used several "Square Flower" motifs.  It is one that I learned from Lori Kennedy. That link will take you to her blog tutorial. Of course, I have changed the motif a little and made variations.  But I love the basis of it.  To quote a country song, "When the bones are good, the rest don't matter"  and the bones on this are excellent.  I learned from Christina Cameli and Leah Day that you can take a basic design (the bones) and create endless variations.

Here are some sneak peeks including a photo of the main backing fabric.

Square Flower

Floral with Leaves and squiggles

Backing fabric and some quilting

This backing batik is a "mystery" batik that I bought many years ago.  Cutting it was difficult because I love the way the colors change and blend.  Using it for a backing was perfect - and it was big enough if I added a nice solid to either side.

For now, I am planning to use a huge floral-ish motif for each of the big squares. I have not yet decided what I will do for the setting triangles and border. I drew my inspiration from the quilt below.  I may well draw more inspiration from this fun quilt.

The stitching isn't perfect but it certainly makes me smile.

Oh yes, the "other side" of this inspiration piece can be seen here.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Quilt Basted and Stabilized

You may think I have just been hanging out and doing not much.  But, I have done things - I just haven't posted in a few days.
Honestly, in the current situation, it is hard for some of us. I will survive because I am a survivor.  But, still, it is hard.  (sorry just being honest.)

Anyway,  I got a quilt basted and the stabilizing (ditch quilting) done.  I don't ditch every seam but I did outline all of the rows - and as this is set on point, that was challenging for me.  One thing I did while doing the ditch quilting was to listen to Ricky Tims reading today's chapter of Lizzie Albright.  The link should take you to the playlist so you can start from the beginning.  I love children's books and children's fantasy is a favorite.  Think "Wizard of Oz" meets "Harry Potter" with a quilt providing some inspiration.  It is quite interesting.

Back to my quilt.

Here is a partial photo of it after basting and stabilizing as it lays on my bed.  I confess  that I had a hard time seeing where I had ditch quilted and where I hadn't.  (yaay)

Here is the photo of the top from Dec 2018.

Another thing I had been doing is some weaving.  I had a narrow warp on my loom so I wove it off into two separate pieces. One is cotton while the other is synthetic yarn.

You can see two sections of the cotton on the left while the synthetic yarn piece is on the right.

I may be missing for a few more days as now I have a nice basted quilt to be quilting on at my leisure.  I hope you are being kind to yourself and not feeling guilty if you aren't staying busy.  You have my permission to just relax and simply exist.  But please be aware of safety guidelines if you have to leave your home.  Wash your hands and wear a mask at the minimum when you have to go on an essential supply run.

*** FYI -  I wasn't apologizing for being honest, but for being a "downer" - which I don't like to do.  But I felt that folks should know that even the "happy face" people are struggling right now too.... I want folks not to feel guilty for having what I think are pretty normal feelings. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.