One year ago today, I started this blog.  I began blogging to force myself to be more creative.  I find myself doing more creative stuff just because of the responsibility of this blog -- which is good.

I have found a couple of advantages to blogging that I didn't expect.  I now have a record of my work -- finishes, starts, and works in progress.  I also now have a record of the various different things I've tried -- stitching, adding color, and different techniques for embellishment.

A couple of posts ago, I started playing in EQ7with the Chubby Stars that Tracey at TracyJay Quilts is featuring in her Quilt Along.  I have figured out how to do it with the chain block in between the snowball blocks.



What a fabulous quilt this makes!  This is the twin size layout.


Here is the Full/Queen size layout.  I saved it without the lines between the patches.












And just for fun, I recolored it in the throw size.





I did one in king size.  With border blocks that complete the chain.

I have bunches of garlic chives growing in the front garden.  They came with the house and they're very tasty.


They have always attracted a lot of bumblebees, which are amusing to watch, but otherwise useless.

But lately, I've been noticing more of these. Honeybees!

It's becoming an issue because all of these flowers turn into seeds and, as much as I like the chives, their use is limited.  I don't need nearly as many as I have growing, so in an effort to slow the takeover of the garden, I have been ripping off the ...

Last Friday, I went to a class with a very friendly group that meets in Monroe, Wisconsin.  We meet a couple of times a year to do a fun and easy quilt project.  We always eat brown bag lunches and have show and tell.


This time the project was "Chain of Brights."  I finished piecing the nine inch blocks Saturday afternoon.


I used a piece of rainbow-dyed fabric from last summer's dyeing projects for most of the bright patches and a fun print with purple whales and other silly-looking sea-life for the background.  I think I'm going to ...

While blog-hopping, I discovered these really cool stars: Chubby Stars!  They are part of a "Chubby Stars Quilt Along" by Tracy at Tracyjay Quilts.  She has a button you can add to your blog:

Because Beth asked, I took a picture of the back.  It's not the best -- I'll try to get a better one after it's hung.

 I pieced together three different fabrics -- all from my stash.  There are two pieces of the tiger  print that was the inspiration for the whole thing.

This was created for a challenge to Madison Contemporary Fiber Artists for a piece of environmentally concerned art.  It will be on display with others from this challenge at the Madison Senior Center on Mifflin Street, Madison, Wisconsin, during the month of September.

I painted used dryer sheets, then cut them up and fused them to a piece of batting which was stuck to a scrap of stabilizer.  This was inspired by Terri Stegmiller's "mosaic collage" technique.  I printed the frog image onto a used tea bag, cut it out and stitched ...

SewCalGal has opened up voting in her Pets on Quilts Show!  Click here and vote for "Creative Kick" for best dog, cat,  and "other" pet!  There are lots of cool prizes that I would like to win -- so feel free to go on over there and vote!  The original post I wrote is here.






Thank you for your indulgence in my silliness.  And this shameless pandering for votes.  And feel free to check out the other entries, if you must.

So today I blew off all the things I was supposed to do and just played.



I used the hand-dyes I dyed last week.  I also pulled a few old ones from my stash and just started cutting and stitching.

"Moonlit Stars" 8" X 8"

My daughter (age 10) also worked on something she's been making out of scraps.  With just a little help from me, she was able to finish this today -- all by herself ;-).  She fused the stars after she pieced it, then used the walking foot to quilt it.

I think I'm going to introduce ...

I spent some time dyeing fabric for a couple of projects that I have in mind.  I need darks with lighter edges.  These pictures are one half of half-yard cuts.






I also need something that looks like a sunset on the water.


This is a yard by width of fabric -- about 43 inches.  I did this first -- I think this will work for the project I have in mind. Sorry about the wrinkles -- I did iron it -- obviously not enough.


This was the third piece I dyed for the sunset on the water project.  I don't think it will ...

The ABCs of Aging

Or:  You Can Learn New Tricks!


Ever drool over those striking stripy hand-dyes?  Ever think: oh, they're too complicated for me?  Well fear not. Those beautiful fabrics, a type of shibori called arashi, are easy and fun to do.

You need to get some poles -- I bought mine at Home Depot -- and your basic dye supplies.  I purchase dye stuff from either Prochemical or Dharma. Their websites also have all sorts of helpful tips for dyeing, painting, and a whole slew of other stuff.  I generally do half yard cuts of PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric that has been ...

SewCalGal is hosting a virtual quilt show featuring pets on quilts.  For all the information , click here.


This is a quilt that I made for a shop sample at Stitcher's Crossing.  To see the whole thing, click here.


Rosie in her super-hero guise wearing another shop sample from Stitcher's Crossing.  I made this quilt in summer 2007, before I started blogging.


I finished the thread work on Flora.  Unfortunately, I guess she doesn't really qualify as a pet on a quilt for me -- we can keep chickens in our back ...

I am thrilled to announce that "Bamboo Tiger" has been juried into the AQS show in Des Moines, Iowa!  The show takes place October 6th through the 9th at the Iowa Events Center.  Now if I can just figure out how to get myself there too...

Cool green in the garden
soft summer evening
the old stone wall rhyme
etched with mossy design

May I take your hand
as we walk alone together
under the darkening trees
in the cool garden green

No flowers here grow
those hothouse floozies
their raw fecundity immoral
in the garden's green cool

This quilt is adapted from "Pieceful Nights: A Sampler Quilt" by Lori Smith.  I swapped out the center star for a double feathered star from Feathered Star Quilt Blocks I: Really Hard Blocks That Take a Long Time to Make by Marsha McCloskey.

As I have mentioned before, the first Thursday of the month is the machine piecer group.  This month the blocks were:

Now that I have your attention...

"It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature."

Yeah!  I got all the freezer paper backing off without destroying my work.  She's stuck to the background I hand-dyed for her.  I'd tell how I did it, but I'm not really sure -- I think it's a miracle...

To check out other people's design walls, click here.

Next up: thread work.