Posted on

Cards and remembering

Ran out of cards to send, and decided that 9 degree weather was a great time to do some collaging and sewing. I relaxed while I combined handmade paper, fused plastic bags, and scraps of hand-dyed and hand-painted fabrics left over from other projects. Even though it is snowy outside, these cards remind me of hints of spring and maybe a snowy beautiful beach.
my second favorite of the bunch – I love the purple fabric with the circles
The cards ended up in two colorways, one with neutrals and blue, and one with pops of green.

neutrals with blue – the center one in the bottom row is probably my favorite
greenish neutrals with citron





One of our neighbors passed away last week. The Muellers have lived on our street since we moved in twenty-some years ago. We would take our daughters when they were young and trek up their long driveway to trick-or-treat on Halloween (and pet their dogs). We will miss Neil; remembering and praying for Charlene as I made these cards.

Posted on

More subtle celtic crosses?

I still love to work small! I needed more cards that were “quieter” so I started with all creamy colors, but quickly graduated to this warm palette. Just love the turquoise with the golds and grays.
collage circles and falling leaves

… collage circles with sewing accents

collage circles done so far…

and a couple of cards

Posted on

a glimpse

 One of the challenges of collaging is that as you build layer upon layer you need to continue, even if you cannot fully visualize where you are going, or you won’t get to an end result. 
A little like life sometimes. Having the courage and faith to keep going is where we live out most of life’s moments… enjoying and savoring and straining with each step… and sometimes catching a glimpse of the finished product.
The free motion quilting here didn’t feel relaxed or free until the sixth one! But, thankfully it was mostly free flowing before the gray stitching which transforms each one into a whimsical vignette.

Posted on

Tangible moments

As I’ve been cleaning the studio, I’ve been enjoying unearthing scattered remnants of creative projects: dresses, duvet covers, pillow covers, altered skirts, vintage recycled throws, and more. Tangible, visible, colorful, all bring joy to my heart.

While I love fabric, sometimes paper with the words and memories is fun too. In the midst of cleaning, I’ve been collaging and sewing paper for cards.

I find the process of cutting, pasting, cutting some more, and then combining a relaxing process. I’m always tickled when you get lively results and then sometimes the serendipitous flow of mood you weren’t quite expecting. Its hovering near zero degrees and yet my design board looks like summer on the water!

Posted on

Graffiti into thankfulness

As I created cards from graffiti cloth this week, I remembered people who have encouraged me and Taylor this year, a blessing of good memories and time to be thankful.

Posted on

Rusty

Skills get rusty. My “large quilt” skills are rusty. However, I am making progress on the Sandy Quilt and should finish this week. Here is a peek!

Posted on

Runner – half log cabin scrappy squares

My camera is giving me grief, so I haven’t been able to post anything for a while. Photobooth on the mac just isn’t quite the same as a good digital camera!

This is the sewn table runner that I laid out a while back. Used mainly scraps and experimented with focus and movement and light colors. I cannot decide if I like it, or if it is simply ugly. Sometimes the difference is pretty small! Oh well, I will finish it and see how it comes out.

Posted on

With love

Staying with our theme of recyled gift wrapping, we had a lot of fun today with tags, brown paper bags, magazine scraps, and Christmas tree twine. Joy to the world!

Posted on

Christmas stocking

Another Christmas stocking to donate … cheery colors, and happy prints designed by Taylor and sewn by me. Thankful for all I have, giving a little back.

Posted on

Christmas stocking too

Another quilt for the U of M holiday stocking project. Extra squares from the table runner project just seemed to have a happy holiday feel. I painted the red branch fabric to add a more festive feel in a branch fabric.

This project reminded me that even when you are trying to get something done, you should listen to your voices. I wondered if the white fabric was heavy enough to have a good feel, wasn’t sure, and used it anyway. I ended up having to add another layer of heavier fabric as a compromise because it wasn’t very good at all. The back still looks a little muddy because the gold fabric of the lining shows through, but there was no real solution except to completely start over on the body of the stocking. Next time, listen to those voices!