Quilting...What Was I Thinking???

Quilting is not my favorite way to be creative.  I love quilts and I admire those who make them.  I am just not very engineering or mathematically minded.  So I have always done other sewing and creative endeavors. I certainly have many of the quilting tools as they come in handy for so many crafts.  So this time when my dear friend Donna of Brynwood Needleworks so graciously offered to host a QAL...Quilt Along...I thought long and hard and finally decided to participate.   So I purchased the required book, The Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird.  That was easy enough.

Now for gathering some fabrics.  No, not from my hundreds of choices I already have!  I want something new.  But...what am I making?  A table topper?  No!  If food got on my hard work I would panic.  I couldn't think of anything I needed to make for my home until I remembered the blank kitchen nook wall that has been begging for a painting or ???  So I am now thinking of making a wall hanging for that wall.  How much fabric will I need?  I have no idea.  So off to a fabric store I went while I was in Bakersfield one of my trips.  I fell in love with the bright floral that has a greyish background which will work so well for my beautiful grey wall.  With the help of a very nice sales lady I purchased these fabrics.  In person they are much prettier than this photo I took in my hotel room.  

Here I am in my hotel room with my book and the paper templates I decided to cut out.  The scissors I used are the only ones I had with me.  Tedious for certain but what else did I need to do sitting there on the hotel sofa.  I am in the process of purchasing the template sets that are acrylic which will be much easier to use.

Here are my fabrics all washed and dried and pressed with sizing...not starch...as recommended.  I may use all of these or I may not use some of them and I may acquire others I like.

Another photo of my fabrics.  The large print that coordinates with the floral will be my backing fabric.  This assortment is of greys and yellows which can be found in the floral.  I want this piece to be cheery but understated.

Here is a photo of the floral again with the greens, blues and maroons that work with the floral.  Because I really don't understand the quilting rules of color I will be studying and learning a lot about lights, mediums and darks.
I am grateful for this decision I have made and will continue my path of quilting...at least to see this project through to completion.  I have challenged myself as part of my growth this year.
Thank you Donna for being our knowledgeable and helpful wonderful hostess.
As for our weather...winter is pretty much not here.  The sun is shining and the daffodils are sprouting and life is good.
Now I shall go cut some fabric...one piece at a time.
Have you challenged yourself with a new project?

Surprise Mail Gifties...

 Such a pleasure to receive surprise gifts in the mail.  I did know I was the winner of something however you never really know until you receive how wonderful the goodies really are.  Please visit Vicki of http://rustyroostervintage.blogspot.com/ to see her wonderful creative talents.  Thank you Vicki so very much.  This is such a great package.  The cleverly sewn brown paper bag with the red heart doily stamped with my initial and tied with baker's twine is uber cute.  The little tin mold is super adorable with its glittered rim and wire handle.  Now lets see what is in that bag...

Three more little packages each decorated so cute with stamped card stock headers containing laces, buttons, ephemera and metal trinkets.  Lots of fabulous creativity here for collage pieces or journal art or...well the possibilities are endless.  
I am always overwhelmed at the generosity of bloggers and how they share so much of their talents, skills and supplies.  My heart is filled with joy.
Now I am off to send a proper thank you to Vicki.
Happy blog visiting...

Embellishing Purchased Gifts...

 On one of my shopping trips I was able to purchase some lovely velvet and satin scarves.  Then I decided that they could be embellished with just the right touch of trim.  So me and my scarves went shopping again and searched near and far for the perfect embellishments.  Oh dear the decisions.  Well, as you can see in this photo above I bought lots more lace and trims than I needed for just the scarves.  What can I say?  I love all of it.  I don't think one can ever have too much in their creative stash of possibilities.  You might feel the same if you love to make lots of different things.  How do you plead?

Not being the professional photographer my colors are a bit off.  These three photos are of the same scarf and it is lovely shades of purple.  The photo below shows the colors more accurately.  For this scarf I selected a braided trim which adds a wonderful touch of elegance.  I did bring my necessary pins, thread, needles, scissors and ruler, however I did not bring a thimble and my fingers are a mess from the needle and how thick the trim is to sew through.

I think I was pretty clever to de-stitch the side seams just enough to fit my ruler in so I could have a base to stitch against and not catch the opposite side in my stitching.  Also this allowed me to wrap the trim into the side seam and make it a much smoother finish.  

This velvet and satin is very slippery and not fun to work with.  However I am quite pleased with my end result and will be proud to add it to my gift cupboard...awaiting the recipient I kept in mind when selecting and stitching.  

Here is another work in progress.  This lace trim is actually a wonderfully soft chenille and feels fabulous.  It was much nicer to stitch and didn't require the use of my newest thimble I ran out and purchased after the pain of the purple trim stitching.
Even with my time and traveling being so helter-skelter I can feel good about finishing two projects to put away for this year's Christmas gifts.  Being productive feels so good.
I know some of you are working ahead on holiday gifts to avoid the stress of the busy hectic Christmas season.  I am happy to be included now in that plan ahead group.  If I just get at least one major gift done every month I would be able to enjoy the season and that would be a real blessing.
Are you working ahead on birthday or Christmas gifts?  I tend to do birthday gifts closer to the date instead of way ahead of time.  At least birthdays are spaced throughout the year.
Now I shall work on the next project...
We finally had rain and some snow.  It was only about 3 inches of snow overnight but it has lasted three days so far.  Winter might just get here after all.  Our weather is certainly cold enough for winter.
Note:  I am not one to do well with changes and have no technical skills when it comes to computers so I am  not certain what will happen when Windows Internet Explorer no longer supports Blogger as I read will be March 1st.  I have switched to Google Chrome for being able to create a post for my blog.  Today I was able to add a new "Follow Me" on my sidebar for Linky Followers and I invite you to follow me on Linky.  I have just followed a couple of my very favorite blogs with Linky as they suggested.  We shall see what all this will come to be.  In the meantime I certainly hope the fright of "Y2K" and the millenium is going to be as benign as this newest blog commotion should be.
May you be blissfully creative...

Just Right Goldilocks...

 Do you like getting new furniture?  I really like it but don't do it very often.  However this week I was shopping and found this little chair.  It is made of metal and not very big.  I think it is for a plant to sit on it, however that is not what I had in mind.  Let me see the price tag...Really?  In that case I shall carry it around with me and decide if I really want to purchase this little chair.  It is not very portable and I was traveling with the car.  It would be quite the nuisance and Mr. C would never understand nor have the patience to pack this with all the other stuff I acquired...including two new brooms for the house as mine mysteriously disappeared both upstairs and downstairs brooms.  Why I felt the need to buy them while away is beyond even my understanding.  So as I am carrying around this little chair deciding if I should buy it, too many other shoppers are eyeing my find...hungrily eyeing my little find.  Yup!  I must buy this little chair and pack it home.  Note:  even the housekeeping staff asked about my little chair I sat on the coffee table in our little room while we were in our cozy little cottage...again.  Mr. C is not thrilled.  Ahh...now we are home and this little chair is perfect for exactly why I bought it.

I introduce to you, Anne Sherry.  She is so happy to have a new chair to sit in.  Mr. C bought her a nice wooden chair years ago, however Gwendolyn stole it from her soon after it came home.  I shall save that story for another time.  So Anne Sherry tried all the chairs in the house and just like Goldilocks she found every chair to be too big or too small.  Not this chair as she says it is just right!  Here she is happily sitting in her new chair with her favorite book she is reading.  To celebrate her new chair she is wearing her pink butterfly wings and her recently acquired crown.  It is good to be the queen!  She isn't even letting Gwendolyn get near her new chair as she is sitting on the opposite side of the room right where she can keep her eyes on the other dolls just in case they get any ideas.
I am so glad I spotted this little chair and carried it around and brought it all the way home.
Thank you Mr. C for putting up with the ackward packing of stuff in the car...chair and brooms.  As for the Cuties that spilled and rolled all over the parking lot...well that is another story.
The sky is drizzling and the sun is playing hide and seek...more hiding than anything else.  It is cold but not frigid and this is a wonderful weekend to relax and just enjoy being home. Chores are calling me and I don't even mind.
What is something you have purchased while away and then had to wrangle to get it home?
Happy weekend...

Fractured February...

When I decided upon using a word to help me in my daily pursuit of life I thought of doing one word for the entire year.  That was in 2010.  I chose my word of focus and it has served me well even still to this day.  I find I pay more attention to my surroundings and happenings. 
Then in 2011 I selected the word now as my guide.  That allowed me to get things done and not put them off as much as I had done in the past.  Good word and I am still benefiting from that choice.
This year of 2012 my word is play and I have not really done it justice in the short amount of time we have had in this year.  I am finding the hours and days and weeks are just flying faster and faster for me.  I am not getting a lot of play time and I think I know what has happened.  LIFE!
I recently saw a quote that fits this perfectly...
“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
― John Lennon

Now for my blog title today I must explain...
I experienced "Disconnected December" from being gone several weeks with hubby to do a consulting job helping a good friend and then getting very sick on our one week vacation in Maui.  No Christmas and not even a visit from Santa was just NOT how I wanted to enjoy December.
Then 2012 brought along "Jumbled January" and my new year was off on the wrong step.  Please understand I am not a pessimist nor do I relish in drama.  I was merely hoping for a simple routine of my comfortable life of homemaking and of volunteering in my community and going to my joyous Zumba classes.  Well that did NOT happen.
As we enter February I must label it "Fractured February" as it is following in the same pattern as the two previous months.  So I shall take a very deep breath and stay on target to a peaceful and serene daily life of flexibility and happiness.  I shall give February a reprieve until Valentine's Day and then based on what happens then I might be able to re-title this post "Fabulous February". 
In the meantime my pursuit of play continues...
What are you playing with and creating? 
I have been seeing lots of beautiful hearts being created.
Our winter has remained very mild however there are changes coming this week...could it be snow???