Did I Say I Was Taking July Off ?

Here's a couple of treasures I received from Hannah, one of my Grandkids. I am so happy that she is doing things like this. She's one of those kids that enjoys learning about everything. Reminds me of her Granny,,,

In the mail this month, I also received these little gems. 

Now what do you think I'll be up to next?

I was taking July as a month to refresh.  I chose to skip any formal meetings. I actually got some areas of my house not just clean, but uncluttered and organized. And I invested time in my creative pursuits. 

 I finished making some previously quilted fabric into a tote. I've been going to get this done for about 3 years. Sometimes a girl just can't decide which buttons to use. I used the pears on the fabric as the design for quilting. The front pocket has Peltex in it for helping the tote to stand up, and a notebook will fit into it nicely. My usual would have been a pocket all around the bottom, but I decided to do something a little more artistic this time. I am pleased with the outcome. It may get a stiffened bottom, but is very useable right now. 

Batik Improv Triangle quilt is completed. It definitely takes me longer to do improv pieces than a predetermined block. I do like how the colors all played well together. 

Mystery BOM is completed. I am crushing on the thread play of this one!

Ice dyeing of 8 Tshirts was fun and I got the colors I was aiming for. I'll put up a separate post with specifics as to colors and my methods, probably mid August. 

Pieced 2 Impatiens placemats. They need centers, quilting, etc. I'm not sure if I'm going to appliqué them onto a pieced background and make them into table toppers, use stiff stabilizer and make some wallies, or do the placemat thing. Time will tell. 

We spent some time visiting Fort Moultrie, on Sullivans Island. I was impressed with how big it was, and how many cannons they had at one time or another. I almost got lost in the underground maze of ammunition storage areas. 

I started an improvisational knitting project. This time improv means 'flying by the seat of my pants'! No idea of where I'm heading, just using some luscious yarn I got in January from our 'Studio Destash' with the Palmetto Fiber Arts Guild. 

We were invited to a pot luck at Summer Salt. George cooked three pork loins; a spicey BBQ, an orange marmalade with soy sauce, and a blackberry with jalapeño peppers.   All of them were delicious. But by far my favorite item on the menu was his Blackberry Cobbler made in a cast iron skillet. Yummy!

I received 4 quilt tops from clients. I told them I wouldn't be starting them until August. But, when something is sitting there, well, I can hear it calling me and I do enjoy running my longarm machine. 

Patriotic Colors got Starburst Flower Meander, a design by Mary Beth Krapil. 

Orange Sorbet was done with a Nancy Haacke design called Circle Meander. 

You can see the texture this design creates. 

Daisey Days was quilted with an HQ Design called Daisey Marie. I'm really liking these new designs I'm working with this time. I especially like the use of white background fabrics in this quilt.

And the last one was a delightful string quilt, done with a gentle meander. 

Enough Pie, Charleston SC, asked if I could help out again by cutting some squares for dyeing at The Indigo Vat Shack this summer. I've done squares and 'strings' for the rag quilt project back in May. This time we changed the size and I got a total of 225 pieces for them. And a tiny bit of cut offs. This will be picked up on Monday, in time for their Wednesday workshop. 

Visited Edisto Beach.

Fort Sumter was awesome. If you ever get the chance to take the tour, GO! We're seniors so we paid $17 each for the boat ride and tour. Well worth it. Here's the hubs as we arrived for the tour. That sign makes one think we were out west somewhere. However, we don't have buffalo at Fort Sumter, SC. It's just the Park Systems signs, I would think they would be more area or site specific, but that's a quilter for you,,,

McKade's and Eliza's quilts are ready for the UPS Store. 

Top 5 colors from my ice dyeing adventure where I did 36 fat-quarters, each with its own color. Hard to believe, but each of these 5 pieces are dyed with only ONE color. The ice makes very interesting 'splits' of the colors. 

My two pieces for the 'Call and Response Challenge' for PFAG, due in August. 

I twined a 24x36 inch rug for in front of my fireplace. This took the better part of three days! I have since given the frame, and a placemat sized one, away. I enjoyed doing it, but I have other things I like better. And they get done quicker! 

Two quilts that I did the quilting on for my quilt guild. They had a competition much like Iron Chef. I wasn't there, but I could be a help by making the backs and doing the quilting. 

Two more pillow cases were made. I really like the colors of these and I may just keep them for my bed. I say that, but someone will tell me they match their decor perfectly, and away they'll fly! 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the projects that got my attention this month. It's been a more relaxing month than I expected it to be. 

May God bless you with enjoyable projects and sufficient progress to encourage you along. Luann 

Got A Sweet Tooth?

I have a sweet tooth! There, I've admitted it to all of you. Most of you already knew this, but transparency can be good for the soul. This is how I'm going to handle it from now on. 

Please don't let Publix know that by them moving the florals to the entry area, they may just have given me a method of getting out of there without purchasing any sweet treats. Like, hmmm, Milkduds!  This little bouquet was $5.99 and a box of my favorite treats run $2.49. So, yes I spent more cash, but I saved myself hundreds of calories! Now if say that was 500 calories, which its way more than that. But, at 500 calories times by 7 weeks means 3500 calories. This would be one pound not put into my body! That means almost 8 pounds in a year! And the $2.50 per week is cheaper than any program out there. So, I think they shouldn't call it the Floral Dept. They could use my approach and call it the Beautification Boulevard! Maybe we should let the store in on this,, best thing is I kept looking at the flowers and walked right past the junk. I had my 'emotional fix' and my kitchen is prettier, not to mention the calories unused on junk food. 

This is a win-win situation for me. 

And now, I'm off on my next creative adventure. 

May God bless you throughout your entire week. Luann

Ice Dyed Treasures - Icey Delights online class work

I just finished Icey Delights, an online class with Lynda Heines. Bloom Bake Create blog. We have been experimenting with various techniques using a method that incorporates ice for transporting the dye powders into your cloth. I've done something similar in the past but I never did 'controlled' tests, much less kept track of quantities and color names. Following are images of the 36 fat quarters I recently finished. Each piece was folded to fit within a space for photographing. I also wanted to be able to read the label in the future. 

Most produced a significant splitting of colors. These were all mixed Procion MX dye powders from Dharma Trading. No pure dye colors were used. A few, even though mixed hues, only had varying tints/shades of the color and no true splitting happened. Perhaps more dye powder, or longer batching time would have produced different results.

I have a significant amount of undyed (white) areas. This doesn't pose a problem to me. I can over dye the entire piece and those areas would be more subtly shaded. I doubt I'll do that, but then, it's all about getting the answer to the age old question, WHAT IF?

Let's create today and find another possible answer. 

May God bless the thoughts to your mind and the work of your hands. Luann

June Review and a Seashell Basket

This is the seashell basket that sits on my screen porch. It has been known to contain 'treasures' left by a mermaid. Just ask my grandkids. 

So how did June turn out for me?

My intention was to finish more than I started. I was actually thinking more along the lines of finishing projects without starting ANYTHING new. Can you imagine a month of not starting anything new? 

First portion of additional project:

I took on the project of sorting thru over 30 boxes of books and stuff. I was determined to find good homes for as much as I possibly could. I am very happy with my results. A few items went to a charity's resale shop, some old paper handouts found their way to my recycling bin, and very little had to be completely discarded. Many people have been blessed with the outcome of this project. So even though this was a new start, it was a finish as well. 

And just before the last couple of boxes were sent on their way, my garage started looking better. 

I declined adding a couple of projects, for others. That's a hard one for me. I like being involved in community projects. I needed to pull back and take a more realistic look at my time and how I wanted to utilize it. So, even though this isn't a finish, it's a positive step for me. 

I finished the binding on my Batik Star quilt in time to take to the guild meeting for show and tell. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I finished sewing the binding on the back by hand. 

I also ice dyed 36 fatquarters. Each was done in a different color, none were pure colors. These were done to test the splitting effects of mixed dye colors. I loved how some of them came out, but not all. The only image I have is when I was waiting for the ice to melt. 

I really need to do a post of each fabric and the color used. I took an online class with Lynda Heines over at Bloom, Bake, & Create. Serendipity with a bit of planning! I enjoyed the class, and she is very easy to understand and follow her methods. You might want to check it out. A real bargain, under $40. 

So, here I am at the end of the month of June, halfway thru 2016. Often I have looked at July as a time for a new beginning. This year is no different. In looking over the past 6 months, I realize that the ebb and flow of life often dictates just how much I progress with the creative portion of my life. I will continue to be mindful of how my time is used, and who is making the decision. I have lots of projects started, and a gazillion more on the way. 

May God bless the work of your hands. 

June in the Rear View Mirror

Sometimes I need to look in that rear view mirror, not just a quick glance, but really look and see what is past. This month has been a month of passings. 

My mother in law passed away. She will be missed, but I have the hope of seeing her in heaven. 

We also dealt with the passing of a very dear member of our church family. Mike, will also be missed. And I have the hope of the Lord to see him again one day in heaven. This flower reminds me of him. 

Also in the rear view is my Batik star quilt. Completed and already put to occasional use. I hope to get it up on a wall, but that may not be its intended spot. Only time will tell. 

I became the recipient of over 30 boxes of books, yarns, notions, etc. from another church family. The lady had passed away, and the family wanted her fiber related treasures to be shared with like minded people. I was able to get the sorting done over the course of two days. Whew!  I took 11 boxes to Fabulon Studio on Wappoo Rd in Charleston. They will be shared with people that visit the studio. This was just the tip of the iceberg. 

I have several more boxes ready to go to various places and people. This endeavor has given me another heads up on my own collection of "stuff". I plan to do some destashing, trashing, and a lot of sharing. I have enough resources to keep several people supplied with creative activities for, well, for more years than I will live! 

When does having sufficient supplies turn into excess and hoarding? I wondered about this and there's not a difinitive answer. However, somewhere along the line, I can spot excess has crept in. Now just to put your minds at ease, I don't plan to eliminate everything that I can't use within 5 years! My plan is to do a destashing in a mindful way. I may just need to touch a piece of fabric again before I am willing to send it out into the world to become something special to the next recipient. 

With this in mind, I doubt I'll be back to the blog for a bit. I want to put in some much needed time with a favorite creative of mine, ME. I hope this doesn't sound selfish, it's about taking care of me so I can continue to help others. 

Goodbye May, Hello June

I just can't believe that it's June 4th already. Time has a way of moving swiftly when you're busy with enjoyable activities. I spent the last week with family, most often at the beach!

These are the two munchkins that brightened our days at the beach and touring Charleston.g

I thought I hadn't gotten very much accomplished during May, until I reviewed my calendar. Oh, yes, I did get quite a bit accomplished:

My Dragonfly book pages are now a book

The two Desert Sky layouts became two quilts. 

And this one has already been given away. 

Quilted up this fun Bugs quilt for a client. 

Made two pillowcases to coordinate with my tumbling blocks quilt. 

Iced dyed 4 tshirts for the girls. 

Finished my whole cloth quilt challenge. 

Cut over 500 squares and more than 600 strips for Enough Pie's Indigo Vat Shack 

Attended 6 meetings, 1 concert, and visited family and friends in Orangeburg several times. 

And stopped by The Edisto Memorial Rose Gardens

I also finished the quilting and first step of applying the binding on my Batik Star quilt. 

I think that's a pretty productive month, and I got a lot of reading done too. 

Almost forgot a major project,,,

Did I hear someone ask "what's on the horizon for June"? 

Today is the first of several meetings. 

The upcoming week will be spent mostly with family. 

This month's intention:  more projects finished than new ones started. 

That's a big challenge in and of itself. I'm always thinking up something to try my hand at. Like the loom and embroidery stand that I picked up. They 'JUST' need to be assembled, and I haven't found any directions to help me with that as of today. But I'm still looking. 

May God bless each and every one of you with loving family and friends to make memories with.