Two Down

These mini-quilt nursery wall hangings were so much fun to make. They are approximately 10" square and are machine pieced and embroidered with hand quilting. I'm quite pleased with how these turned out.

I have a set of chestnut brown napkins to embroider and am trying to decide whether the traditional fall leaves or something a little different. Maybe a 'simple' cornucopia without a lot of fill around it. Or maybe I let them set for the day and see what my creativity says in my sleep tonight.

I have several more strips cut for the nursery wall hangings. I think I'll wait on those to see what response I get from my etsy store. (It's beginning to sound as if I'm procrastinating - if so, not intentionally.)

Back to the studio - Hugs - Marie

What to Do?

Less than 6 days till we leave on a cruise - 5 nights to the Bahama's and back. We just decided yesterday to join M and family. It will be the first cruise for all of us. I am already worrying about what to take. No, not clothes - that's the simple part - shorts, sun dresses, sandals, and swimsuit. I'm worrying about what to take to do while on the cruise. Something fun, easy and doesn't take up much room. OK, here are my choices - maybe all three.

1. Work on assembling the hexagons that are cut out


2. Baste my corner scrappy cuts for my 'flower fields' mini-quilt


3. Add the decorative hand stitches and texture to my Mr. St. Helen's interpretation
   
   

Oh yeah, get this! M and the Dude both got e-readers for Mother's Day and Graduation. Grandma has to take the old fashioned book with her on the cruise. Something is not right with this picture. I may have to find a deck chair on a different part of the ship. I plan to plant myself and do absolutely nothing unless I want to do it. I can hardly wait!! Big T is worried that they only have 8 meals a day.

The cooler weather feels good but it is still too humid to open the house. The Dude says the pool is freezing today; hard to imagine when it was so warm a day or so ago. I'll take this weather any day.

Hugs - Marie

What's Going on During the Heat Wave

It was so hot at the pool last night, the water was like stepping into a bath tub. I loved it - could have just floated on my back and stared at the clouds all night. Getting out was a little cool, but it didn't last long. It is still hot and humid - maybe a 'slight' break tomorrow (don't count on it).

Here is my finished landscape mini-quilt (9" by 12"). I am fairly satisfied with it - at least enough to show it to friends. I used multiple machine decorative stitches for the machine quilting and also did some hand quilting with it. The tree, of course, was done on my embroidery machine. I love combining the multiple arts.

This is my second attempt. Still a mini-quilt (15" by 20") but a little larger. As you can tell, this one is not finished yet. Still have the couching to complete and the quilting and binding. This is my interpretation of the devestation caused by Mt. Saint Helens in 1980. We moved to the state of Washinton just three months after the volcano erupted and saw the devestation caused by the volcanic ash firsthand even 250 miles away in Spokane.

I wonder if the heat wave is the direct cause for my creating a quilt containing a volcano? Interesting.

I also took a two hour class in 'hexies' this past Saturday. So my hand stitching time is now working on some initial hexies. Who knows if I get bored, they might become colorful potholders or trivets for the table.

Hugs - Marie

Christmas Decorations

Bah humbug! I hate taking down Christmas decorations and this time I waited as long as possible before tackling the hated job. Big T helped pack them all up and they are stored in their little secure corner of the attic. It makes me so sad that I usually end up shedding a tear or so before it’s over.

The question of the day – when you buy new Christmas decorations, do you get rid of the old ones? Or at least quit using them? When I make new placemats, do I pass some old ones on to someone? No?? I thought not. How can you throw Christmas decorations away? I’m sure there must be a law against it somewhere. I feel guilty when I throw used Christmas cards away. I’m sure the Christmas card police are waiting to go through my trash.

The house looks so empty and sterile now. All my Christmas quilts are put away and I don’t have anything out now. (I have to dust first. After all I couldn’t dust while the decorations were out, now could I?) And to top it all off, Big T has found an “oldies but goodies” radio station and listening to music from the 60’s makes me even sadder. These are the same songs we listened to while we were dating – boy that was a long time ago.

My new home studio (aka sewing room) is coming along beautifully. I broke down and made something yesterday before it is 100% finished and I loved working in it. I have to hurry and take a picture to post. The last part of the make-over is my quilt wall. Hopefully, we get that finished before too much longer.

My first project in my new room was a mini-quilt with a patchwork heart on it. I think I will use this as my “valentine swap item”. It’s so cute, I may make several to post on my Etsy shop.

We talked to Little Miss on the phone last night (which means we talked and she just made adorable sounds and giggled). She has learned to say Grandma even if it does sound like “Bob”. After all, The Dude called me “Adam” for several years.

The homemade potato soup was absolutely fantastic (and the second bowl was too much). I love hot soup on a cold night. Actually, I love soups in general. I would rather eat soup than a salad. My grandmother always had a pot of soup simmering on the back burner of her stove. Many years later, we discovered that she simply opened a can and poured it in the pan. She was a terrible cook - I should have known something was up when we could eat the soup.

Hooray - I'm starting to get proof that someone is reading this. I'm so excited. Thank you! I'm no longer just talking to myself.

From me to you, lots of hugs and thanks for joining me in my new adventures of learning to be creative and artistic.

Marie