It's snowing! so might as well sew!

Well if you are from the DC area you know that we are getting snow......funny thing about this part of the country..they talk about the expected weather long before it happens....and of course if it finally does hit it becomes the most important thing in the NEWS! One thing at least though snow always looks pretty here....
So anyway when it snows....one might as well sew ;-)
The postage stamp quilt along  is getting interesting.........I showed my beginning steps on a few of my past  posts....so here is newest update.......

Original strips are now cut into 2 1/2 inch strips

Take 5 strips either 2-3-2-3-2 or 3-2-3-2-3 and sew together

So here are 4 of my blocks that have been sewn into blocks and hanging on design board.

This is going to take some time...but will have to wait till after our little ski weekend...we head to New Jersey to bunk at son's house tomorrow and then onward to Vermont ;-) continuation on this quilt top will have to wait til next week.
Hope to get some sketching done while we are on the road........and maybe some handwork? Time will tell.....

getting back on track ;-)

So I am still working on getting back on track....meaning both diet-wise,lifestyle-wise and studio-wise. Wouldn't you know it? Just as my hubby becomes a lifetime WW. they go and change the program? I can remember long ago (when I was in my 30's) I also became a lifetime weight watcher. lol of course would not be able to weigh in presently. Well anyway back then they came out with a new program too! I had a horrible time making the adjustment to the new point system lol lol...well now wouldn't you know it WW has switched to a new plus point system??? Thankfully hubby is still planning on attending his "at work" meetings so hope he can help us figure the new plan out so I can keep on track diet-wise?
Next life-style wise I am back to the pool ;-))))) I have accepted that a pool will always be important to me..it just helps my body keep moving. ;-) So not fighting it!
Now studio-wise it has felt good being back to my sewing....right now I am just centering on some good ole fashion strip piecing and actually working on a quilt along...(notice my one blog button- postage stamp quilt along) So I am a little behind since I had to wait for my fabric to arrive, yet when reading posts from others working along with the quilt along I am actually right on track ;-)

sew strips together for postage stamp quilt along

Sew two sets of strips

Cut 2.5 inch rows of strip sets ready to be sewn into blocks

As usual I have quite a few other projects going........you know my lovely attention span needs way too much stimulation and can lack focus.. lol lol .....Oh well not a problem as long as I eventually complete the projects. SO... #1) I am sewing a cloth book for my grand-daughter Charlotte,  #2)  I finally completed a baby quilt I owed someone ;-) check that off my to-do list.... #3)  I'm prepping two other quilt tops...one will be lap quilt for a special buddy of mine and one is for a challenge due in March. Oh and sewing an experiment to create a special 'little kitty' TV blankie for my God-daughter's daughter.

Besides all my studio time recently, last week Friday the hubby and I looked at 8 wonderful houses located in the Eastern Shore area, [ We are trying to find 'the' perfect retirement home].... this weekend we head to Vermont where my hubby will ski for the first time in over 25 years. ;-) He and my son will ski together while my daughter-in-law and I enjoy our grand-daughter Charlotte and the Resort's fabulous aquatic center.
Hmmmmm I will pack my sketchbook to help me keep up with the sketchbook challenge ;-) (see blog button)
So to everyone...Stay creative and see you later.......

Almost caught up

So I am feeling like I have almost caught up around my studio...lol that feeling might last for a day or two...

I got some free motion quilting completed today on a baby quilt I owe someone and I hope to have the binding on it sometime this weekend, maybe I can pass it on next week. ;-) THEN Check that off my got to-do list!

 I got a couple more sketches into my sketch book...this time completed some in color via markers, I think they were Bic "mark it" pens .... have to say I was not very impressed with the markers, looked cuter in the package...yet they did the trick? 

I also did a couple experimental thread pieces so I could post in a monthly fiber challenge; [this month you were to choose one item from two lists and create something]...I choose cotton muslin and thread...........

so here is one of my sketches AND then a thread drawing of the same...

Experimental thread piece.

Close up of first thread piece...needs to have color to define I think.

Tomorrow hubby and I drive over to the Eastern Shores..Cambridge area to explore..We've booked a room at the Hampton so we can stick around a little and see what we can find of interest in the area....Wish us luck....

Re-Organizing!...

Each year now for the past 7 years my hubby and I end up heading to MI for the Christmas holidays...each year this becomes a struggle for me because though I LOVE celebrating holidays with my family and this year was made even more special because on Dec 27 My folks celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary...I mean how blessed am I??? YES you read that correctly 65 years!! They are the two closest to the front of photo. ;-)

Celebrating 65 years of marriage folks w/3 daughters w/ husbands

YET there is also always a feeling of struggle I go through every year no matter what I do?  During our visits I get reminded of "My Stuff" and it always ends up making me feel in limbo!  What makes this harder is that no matter how I try to explain to my husband or children what I mean by this expression "I feel in limbo" they do not seem to relate to my feelings or thoughts?
Well I have been  dwelling a little on trying to rid myself of these feelings. Sadly My feelings of living in limbo may not be able to completely dissolve until we either move back to the MI residence OR the hubby retires and we finally choose some other area to purchase as our retirement main residence and then finally sell off the MI residence. I feel in limbo because I have stuff, [MY STUFF] in MI and VA.
We live in VA with my hubby's old stuff (meaning before Teddi ;-) along with some items of my stuff (meaning before Bill ;-)..along with some of OUR stuff (which we have purchased since I moved to VA). Yet most of my stuff is in MI, and in VA I have been very low key in a semi temporary state of existence. Funny though temporary is now going towards 8 years.....can anyone relate to my thoughts of being in a state of limbo? Oh well....
This year when we went home to the MI residence to celebrate the holidays, our tenants [Brian and Heather] were the holiday hosts AND they have new family room furniture! My daughter-in-law had the house beautifully decorated, Oneida has NEVER looked better!..
Well I took a lesson from the kids this weekend and bought some new furniture........Bill and I finally after over 7 years have bought a couch,ottoman AND accent chair for our family room for people to actually sit on. I figured I will take the attitude someone shared with me recently..Build it and they will come ;-))))) 
So to keep moving forward with what has become my new rule of thumb lately... when buying something new one must get rid of something old ;-)
So we are getting new couch and ottoman but we are getting rid of an oak cabinet from our dining room.  I am going to try to keep downsizing and de-junking towards our future move! So my photos this posting are of our family room before photo and in flux photo... waiting for the furniture delivery next week which we have to move some TV cable plugs before the couch is delivered Thursday. My other photos are our dining room revised. ;-) 

before family room

in flux family room

revised dining room

revised dining room minus large oak cabinet

revised dining room, freshly hung family antique mirror

Now I am off to my sewing room to reward myself for completing the revision of dining room....next week I revise the kitchen cabinets ;-))))

More Sketching..

So I must share I am enjoying my new sepia sketch pens... I like to use pens versus pencils when working in my sketchbooks and encouraged my high school students to do the same because I have found that using pens might help one to "just go for it" in other words DON'T dwell on perfection, Ya can't erase pens so just go with the flow and except what you draw.. sketching is meant to be practice. It's a way one can practice hand/eye coordination or should I use the word connection hand/eye connection?  The hand and eye working together to help one express what one sees.

So to continue on with the sketchbook challenge January theme  highly prized  I intend to share a few treasured memories from my years of teaching in public education.
I continued working in my sketchbook today with drawings of my hands...Hands are handy subjects for an artist to draw...You always have a model on hand ;-) lol  lol "YEAH bad joke"...but I assume you get my drift...
Tomorrow I think I'll shoot for drawing shoes, another object I had my students use quite often as subject matter to practice drawing what you see ;-) Enjoy!
Now I am off to my sewing room....

Finally....

I committed myself to participate in a sketchbook challenge back in December. The Challenge began1-11-2011...... Hmmmmmm YET I seem to have had a tough start...? Cannot exactly explain WHY?  but?........{Can you spell P-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-i-o-n?} So then decided rather then use one of my 5-6 sketchbooks I have laying around the house all the time for me to jot down ideas, etc. I decided to buy a new spiral 5.5x8.5 sketch book AND a new set of SEPIA Faber-Castell artist pens hoping it would help spark me???? FINALLY this morning I forced myself  to sit and sketch! This month's theme is highly prized...after giving much thought and procrastination I recently came across a few of my EX-high school students on Facebook [Proud to state they have grown into lovely young adults, some parents ;-))) hate to sound like a proud parent BUT YES I am proud of them as if they were my children.]  Anyway back to my story ;-) connecting with a few of my ex-high school students made me remember the olden days that I gave my students weekly sketchbook assignments AND YES they would also balk...so I assume turn about is fair play? or possibly it this is an example of "What goes round comes round?"  So "MY" highly prized began with memories of former high school students sketching away, how I used to tell them to practice practice practice ;-)  to sit & draw what they see ;-)

I sat today in my highly prized sun porch and drew what I saw! And so it finally begins!

So this was fun and looks to be cute?

So I am finally getting to try the "disappearing nine patch" to help me complete for another quilt from my list of "I owe you a quilt " ;-) This looks like it is going to be cute! thankfully!
 So since I long ago took "The pledge to try to show my process" so here goes....

First sew together 9 patch squares

Take each nine patch square and...

Make first cut

Make second cut now you have 4 new squares.

Take second nine patch and cut.

Take final nine patch and cut.

Place new squares into a design., notice nine patch squares have disappeared,
now complete by sewing quilt top together.

Happy New year to all! It's 2011!

So to start my year off I have committed to a new challenge...notice the button on my blog that states "sketchbook challenge". click it and join in the fun ..... ;-)
I have always been a true believer in sketchbooks and I have many lying around...usually I have more then one going at once yet sadly none are that organized, most hold bits and pieces of my thoughts, ideas or mini sketches. So my personal challenge is to try to get a little more organized through out this year long challenge when it comes to my sketchbooks. I assume time will tell, but I am thankful that someone got the idea and ran with it and choose to include anyone interested.

So over the holidays while in MI and staying at the MI residence (guests of my youngest son) I made an interesting discovery in one of the closets. A plastic bag of old fabrics along with these wonderful strips of strip piecing I assume my mother had sewn????
So I grabbed the bag to bring back to VA in hopes of possibly completing her creation.

One fun part was discovering my mother actually had sewn part of this strip wrong 

 

 

 

 

 So after getting out the seam ripper ;-)  quickly correcting the slight mistake I discovered I pinned the strips to my design board to view. Was a nice thought to know my mother must have known what a seam ripper was too! ;-) lol

So now the fun will begin, but first I need to have a discussion with my mom. ;-)