October Sprouted Wings and Away It Went

Highlights of the month in pictures:

The above box (packed yesterday & shipped today) contained these 3,

And these 3,

And these 6.

This brings our total to 29 that have been completed and shipped out. We have about 2 dozen more to finish and get sent out. 

George snapped a couple of pictures of the peanut fields and cotton fields that are being harvested at this time. There's a field trip to a cotton gin mill coming up soon. 

The Dimensional Weaving Workshop with Martina Celerin was an experience I won't soon forget. This is the one I started planning way back in January. Two years ago when I accepted the nomination from a fiber art guild to do the job of programs, I had no idea what I was getting into. There wasn't any format given to me to follow and it was a 'learning as I go' experience! I learned that I'm not good at making every person happy, just most. I won't lament it any further, suffice it to say, I no longer belong to that group. However,,, the workshop and the instructor were terrific. Here's a glimpse of my piece, not done, but definitely 'in progress'. I also worked on a free standing turtle, but he needs legs and a tail before I can show him,, he's a bit shy! LOL

I also finished my journal cover. This was the locker hooking project that I took to Wisconsin on vacation. I also took the instruction book in case I needed it, as I was teaching myself this new technique.  I made this to fit composition books that have the black and white mottled covers. I can fit 3-4 inside. I might attach them to each other, OR use an old book (pages removed) as the base for attaching creative adventure pieces to. 

And the other side,

I spent a little time at our local fair, visiting with people coming through the Creative Arts building. I was sitting at the Cobblestone Quilters Guild table, and everyone was so friendly. I really enjoy my Quilt Guild.  

And when I got home I got busy with clean up,,,,

I've been cleaning, clearing, and sharing with others. After I make a backing and cut binding I decide if there is enough fabric to keep as is, or do I want to cut it into 2 1/2" strips, 5" or 10" blocks, or, or, well I'm sure you get the idea. I've been using my Accuquilt Go cutter to help with this. 

Two very large bags of fabric scraps and trimmings from the batting were given away this month. I also gave away a bag of selvedges. An overstuffed bag of yarns, threads, strings, etc. has gone to an after-school teacher at the Y. And, an extra machine found its way out the door to a person interested in machine felting. 

And YES, I am putting together some of the month's proposed projects for our Creative Adventure Journal. What this amounts to is:

We each have something that we love to do, and want to do, and sometimes find it hard to get around to DOING! I can't believe how many others are putting something like this out there for people to join in on.  I'm on the same page as a lot of them, but I'm not going to sell you anything. I'm just going to let you 'look over my shoulder' as I move through 2018. 

With that being said, if you want to play along start to think about what area you want to focus on for YOUR Creative Adventure. The journal could be a notebook where you keep your 'notes' about your focus area. Or it could be a picture album, no notes, just pictures of what you've been up to. Another idea is to use a 3-ring binder with page protectors to gather your info throughout the year, and then make a decision during 2019 how you want to keep it. I plan to start with the binder, collect things along the way, then as I feel comfortable with an idea, I can explore an option for keeping them. A box where you tuck 'items' inside would work nicely too. 

I already know that I want to:

Finish some 'half baked' sewing and quilting projects into fiber book pages.                                    

Explore making paper, book binding, carving stamps, and using mixed media in my projects. 

Work on wet felting, machine felting, and hand felting along with more dimensional weaving.  

Knit and crochet my beautiful yarns into useful gifts, and to enjoy spinning yarn on my drop spindle.  

Create 'something' with the volumes of buttons I have collected. 

I'd want to say that I have a husband that loves to cook, and he likes it when I don't get cranky about the clean up! So, my time in the kitchen is usually based around arts and crafts, not cooking. But, this year, I think I'd like to make cheeses (again), artisan breads (again), and artisan pizzas (not again!). Obviously, losing weight isn't a main focus for me this year,,,,

So, start thinking about your focus for 2018, and how you want to 'journal' , or not,,, 

I think journaling is such a personal thing that telling anyone they SHOULD is not my style. I hope you enjoy reading about my adventure, and that it entertains you. I actually have one very big disaster that I really MUST share early in the year. I can laugh now, but I wasn't laughing when it took place. 

And here's an image of the orchids my hubby brought me when I was having a sad moment recently. 

It's always nice to be treated, acts of kindness are never wasted, and remember that a word of encouragement can be more healing than medicine. 

My big intention for November is to finish out the Quilts for Houston project, and be especially thankful on this Thanksgiving Day!

May God Bless the Work of Your Hands. Luann