Old Face, New Lanyard.

As we are going into October and the Halloween season I am reposting a painting that I did.  This is my Friday Face Off face. 

Morticia!

Morticia was an exercise in using a failed UGLY painting to create 

something different. Morticia is certainly different.

As I have been going to the gym fairly regularly,  I needed a way to keep up with my key for the locker. So I decided to make a lanyard with some lovely hand-dyed fabric. 

These colors will really pop when I am wearing a black t-shirt for my workout. 

I am linking up with Nicole at the Friday Face Off.

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.

I missed Friday-Oops!

It has been a busy week and I honestly lost track of the days. So I missed the Friday FaceOff - but in reality it was not posted at the normal time. So I am a day late.  

I am still quilting on the bargello quilt but haven't taken any new photos of it.  I did go to a concert at the local venue. The band was Sawyer Brown, they were on Star Search in the 1980s and managed to go on to a 40 year career (and still going) in the music business. 

Mark Miller-singing and Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard playing keyboards are original members of the band. 

It was a sell-out crowd and I was very happy to be on the third row. Several times the crowd was on their feet.  I did lots of singing along Ha ha. 

I am still smiling. 

I am linking up with the "Friday Face Off"

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 Quilting Update-Bargello

The bargello quilt was put aside while I did the "special" project that I showed sneak peeks of last Friday. But now it is going back under the needle as I have time to work on it.  I had (?foolishly?) mentioned that I was going to do organic lines and that I "may add some small motifs randomly on the lines"

Of course, one dear reader commented "I'm looking forward to seeing the random small motifs"  So naturally I feel compelled to add some of those random motifs in amongst the organic and wavy lines. 

First just some organic and wavy lines:

Then several random motifs close together:

A random pebble and a small wave:

And a couple of swirls:

At the bottom you may see a tiny "heartbeat-EKG" that almost got 

cropped out of the photo (oops!) 

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.

My Sister

A long time ago,  forty years to be exact,  my dear sister left this earthly plane
 due to a medical accident. 

A few years later, for an English Composition class, I wrote a short essay about my loss. On this anniversary of her birthday, I am sharing it with you. 

A Final Goodbye

        I stood  in the cemetery  looking down at the headstone. 

 The marker stated a name and two dates.  The first date is not within 

my memory.  The second date burns and pulls at the corners of my mind.  

 This date, May twenty-ninth, 1983, is a day that I cannot forget.  

You see, this plot of ground is my sister's resting place, and today I

 visited here , alone, for the first time.  As I visited this grave site,

I came to feel sadness, to accept loss, and to appreciate the release of 

emotions.  

 

        The cemetery was empty when I arrived. 

 There was a solitary car standing guard near the office building. 

The wind was blowing slightly, as the storm sirens began to sound.  My mind 

transformed the sirens into a funeral dirge that would not stop.  I longed 

to sing that same sad tune if only to give voice to my sadness.

 

        My sadness was the result of a great loss.  When my sister died 

I experienced the loss of three people.  The first loss was obviously

 the loss of a beloved sister.  Yet she was far more than the word sister 

can describe.  In our younger years she had been my defender, and now I 

felt undeniably defenseless.  Most of all, I had lost a friend.  While I 

stood there, a sense of acceptance washed over me. Finally, I could accept

the loss and still keep the warm sweet memories of her impish smile and 

loving manner.  

        

        Emotion had overwhelmed me, causing tears to run down my face. 

 Feelings of grief, sorrow and loss were jumbled up carelessly among the

 feelings of love and devotion.  Having been able to release these emotions,

 I resolved to never put my feelings in chains again.  Now I will cherish 

the release of emotions.  

 

        Still standing by the headstone, I looked down, one last time,

 before leaving.  I saw the roses carved into the brass plate that stated 

only a name and two dates.  I knew that she would not wish for me to be 

sad or lonely, but I knew also that she would embrace the release of 

emotions.  Goodbye my sweet sister.

 

=================

Yes, I still miss her wit, her smile, her joy in life, and her love. 

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.

Friday 9-15-23

This week has flown by for me.   The first of the month, I got a gym membership and have been going at least 5 times a week.  I am already seeing improvements in my attitudes as well as in my body.  However, it does take up time each day.  So I have been a bit less productive. 

Mom, my brother and I did put together a puzzle in the past week. When I bought it, I thought "That looks pretty easy."  Ha! Looks can be deceptive. 

The blue blanket and the basket were the hardest parts.

But I just love the face on that yellow kitty. 

Since the cats have faces, I am linking up with DVArtist/Nicole for the Friday Face Off. 

Meanwhile, I decided to take a commission for a small wall quilt.  I normally don't do commission work as  I find that it tends to block my creative process. However, for this one I was told that there was only one suggestion - and I was certainly able to use the suggestion. So I took on the task. 

First up, I did a fabric pull for the background and the applique pieces. 

As lovely as those background fabrics are, I worked for most of a day trying to coax them into what I envisioned.  Finally I said "No, this just isn't going to work."  Hopefully, I can recycle parts of that piece into pieces for a book cover. 

Then I went into my batik stash box and pulled out an array of colors in batik. With those I created a totally different background.  This one is making me very happy.  I can't show you the entire thing because I don't know if the recipient reads my blog - and I don't want to spoil the surprise.  But here are two "hint" photos. 

I have more work to do to finish this piece but I am sure it will be loved by the recipient. 

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.

Horses from the Past - Plans for "next up"

A couple of years ago, I did a lot with machine embroidery work using horses. I made several quilted notebook covers.  Most of those were sold.  The first one below I am sure was sold quickly.  The embroidery design is one that I purchased and used on that lovely hand dyed fabric. 

The next one uses a horse design that I digitized for the embroidery machine. I think I did a darn good job on the digitizing on this one. Again, I used hand dyed fabric for the front cover and for the two strips on the back of the notebook.   I think this one sold also.  Of course, I can always make a similar one if someone would like to purchase one. 

Since the horses have faces, I am linking up with DVArtist/Nicole for the Friday Face Off. 

Meanwhile,  I have chosen a new project to complete. The top shown here was completed in January of 2020. (It is NOT the oldest un-quilted top in my pile.)  I didn't follow the kit directions for the pattern exactly. I decided to make the version shown that I call "Kissin' Cousins" 

 I have the back pieced together and the batting cut.  Next up it will be time to baste the layers together so that I can quilt it.  As there are so many seams in a bargello design, I have decided to quilt this with organic lines from top to bottom just to make it easy on myself. Some of the lines may end up being wavy if I get bored with doing the organic "straight" lines. And of course, I may add some small motifs randomly on the lines.  Ha ha.  I have a "changeable" plan at best.

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.

Friday - Quilt is Finished!

My latest project, the quilt for my bed is finished.  I finally got photos of it made to show you. 

First the front of the quilt

I love the variety of fabrics, the wild piecing, the orphan block areas, a couple of "special to me" fabrics - I love all of it. 

Now the back

There are some special fabrics on the back also. 

There are hand dyed fabrics, batiks, and somewhere near the center there is a piece that I stamped with a leaf stamp that I carved.  

The joining strips on this are not so obvious as they are scrappy, just like the quilt. The binding is also scrappy. 

Now as it IS Friday, I need a face to join the Face Off group. 

Here is one where you might recognize that guy in the middle:

That is one of my distant cousins in the center playing with his band. 

Left to right: Jason Mowrey,  Clint Black, and Hayden Nicholas

They really put on a good show. 

Here is a close up of Jason:

I was fortunate to be on the third row for this show, so I got a few good photos. 

I am linking up with DVArtist/Nicole for the Friday Face Off. 

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.