7/7

Okay, I mentioned that I was having a hard time creating in the past month. I don't know why I forget why it happens on occasion and what my remedy is. My work space has been a mess. Couldn't find anything. I knew I should clean up. But the procrastination pixies were running rampant. So instead of sinking into a pit of melted marshmallow mixed with peanut butter and crude oil, I decided to do something. About the mess. With the longarming of my own quilts, I had a pile of batting leftovers. I went through them, separated them, and put them into see through (that's the key) plastic bags and labeled them. The larger pieces I measured each piece, labeled, and nicely folded. They can be used for some nice size wall hangings. The next size pieces were too small for wall hangings but could be used to make some ornaments (I guess I should get going on those because you know what holiday is approaching), those also went into a labeled bag. The pieces that were too small for ornaments but too big to throw away, went into another bag. I will use those pieces to wrap doll bodies. That took about two hours of the morning but was very happy with the results. I continued to rearrange other things. I do have a few stacks of things to go through but they are neat stacks.

I practiced Esperanto, posted a blog, went to the library for more books, watched some paper mache videos, did not go on Facebook for the day (which was a bit difficult but stuck to my guns and was able to get things done), I got back to working on Verity (a pattern by Deana Hogan) and I was enjoying it. It's been awhile since I worked on a doll. I don't know why I'm so down on cloth dolls. Maybe because I've made so many of them that I want to do something different. That's fine, but I don't have to give cloth up forever.

The legs and arms have been stuffed. I now have to stitch the fingers on the hands and stuff the head and body. Her lower legs are out of a striped material to simulate stockings. I picked an olive green fabric for her dress.

I made a trip to Trailer Stash Fabrics this morning. Love that place. Got another Sashiko kit and a dress pattern. And I got into some more trouble. I signed up for a Quilt Top Challenge. We could list up to six quilt tops that we want to finish. The owner of the shop picks one of the numbers for us and that's the quilt we work on. It's not to finish the whole quilt, just the top. And the one she picked for me was my Halloween Cat wall hanging. I guess I'm going to have to get it done. I have a month. And I signed up for an open workshop that starts in the Fall. That one will be like a block-of-the-month. I can't wait to see the designs. I'm off to work on that cat and some other things. See ya later.

July, July!

No pic post today. I do hope everyone had a nice, wonderful, or uneventful 4th of July. Mine was uneventful. I house and pet sat for a friend. Latte stayed by my side through the booming storms and fireworks. She does not like them and at one point, neither did I. They were loud. Like canon fire. But it's all good. Over until next year.

It is July! Half the year is definitely over. The summer solstice has come and gone and the days are getting shorter. Yep, I said it, shorter. Some people are not having a summer yet and with time flying by, they may not get one. I feel sorry for them. Here in North Carolina, we are definitely having summer. And rain. And today, it's humid. My curls have curls and I just give up with the hair thing. Even though I was born in the summer, I've never really cared for it. Except for growing things, When I was younger my aunt had a vegetable garden every year and I helped take care of it. Now that I'm older, I deal with it. I love fall, then spring, then winter, then summer. In winter, you can always put more clothes on. In summer, well, there's only so much you can take off before the risk of being arrested. The other thing that's starting to get on my nerves is the rush for Christmas. Can't they wait until the little ones go back to school? I have seen a couple of commercials hawking Christmas. And a 'buy me' channel was hawking decorations. I have no problem with that holiday but it's still summer.

Last month was okay. I had fun doing things for my birthday celebration but felt it a bit stagnant on the creative front. Don't know why. Nothing seemed to jive and I didn't want to do anything. ANYTHING!!!!! I don't know if it was the planets doing sky bowling or the weird weather patterns we've been having. I wasn't really inspired and felt lost.

I'm still feeling a little lost but getting better. A few hours of Pinterest and watching creative videos on You Tube can help bring back the creative mojo. I have so many ideas running around in my head now, that I need to stop and sketch them out. Plus, Halloween is coming and once again, I'm not prepared and behind schedule. Gah! I have been reorganizing my creative space so I can find things and get busy.

Until next time, have a great day!

June Wrap Up

I can't believe that another month is gone. The Summer Solstice has happened and the days are getting shorter. For many, they haven't even begun to have summer yet, for me, I'm ready for the cool breezes of fall. Fall and spring are my favorite times of the year. I can wait. I have a garden this year, so summer is okay. But soon we will be bombarded with back-to-school commercials and Christmas commercials. It would be nice if things would just slow down and we could enjoy the moment.

I did some nice things to celebrate my birthday month. I had fun and decided it was time to make some big decisions in my life. And right now, I'm very excited and looking forward to the future. So here's what I did this month.

• 5 books read
• 2 business quilts
• 1 Sashiko kit
• 4 day trips- quilt shop; Sparta, NC, Black Mountain and Asheville, NC; picked blueberries at Sandy Creek Farm
• 10 days of practicing a new language (didn't start until late in the month)
• 13 World of Wendy Lu blog posts
• 4 Wendy B Quilts blog posts
• worked on my roombox- painted the ceiling and walls
• started 2 new dolls
• went to a dance recital, art reception

It may not seem a lot but it worked for me. I did a lot of soul searching to figure out where I want to be, what I want to do with the rest of my life. I am off to a new adventure. I hope you will join me.

A New Year!

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a fun time doing things throughout the month to celebrate my special day. Capped it all off spending time with some friends at an art reception and eats at Muddy Creek Cafe. It was so good talking and laughing with good people.

Today starts my New Year. I have some major plans on the drawing board and will have to work like a maniac for the next two years for it to happen. I've been in this spot for nine years, it's time to make a move. I have started my recons to the  mountains of North Carolina and I think I've found the spot where I want to settle. It has everything. A great art/craft vibe, lots of interesting people, tons to do: tubing down a river, rafting, hiking and biking, fishing, museums, great places to eat, lots of festivals just about all year round, and natural beauty. That's for the move, I will also kick up the creative projects up a few notches. My artwork, quilts, writing will all go into override because I am moving to the mountains. I've been toying with the idea for the past several years and now I've put it out to the universe.

Am I scared? Heck yeah! But the excitement is even more powerful. You can accomplish a lot when you're excited about something. And I will document everything. So let's get started.

I got these today from a local craft store. It has a point program and if you get so many points by the end of the year, you get a $10 coupon. Yeah, yeah, you spend more than you get back but when that $10 comes in at the beginning of the year, that's when I really need something from the store. So I'm good. I've just about run out of my paints. Some, not very good ones, so I've decided to go for the gold and get better paints. One, you don't have to use as much to get the color you want. The color saturation is so much better and basically, you get what you pay for. Plus, I haven't used artist grade paints since I was last in college and that was a long time ago. Years. Eons. You get the point.

I love the little beach chair. What will I do with it? I don't know but if I'm going to go back and get a couple more, I need a good reason to do so. I have an idea and will start sketching it out. The paint is Golden Manganese Blue Hue. Coupons help too.

I've got a list to attack. Have a great day.

Sashiko

I got my first Sashiko piece done. Once I got into it, I really enjoyed working on it. Now I will have to get another kit. I don't know what I'll do with this one. Oh well, it's done.

Monday... Again

Another Monday. Okay. My eye is bothering me. I spotted a white something on the edge of my right iris. Scared the you-know-what out of me. It feels like there's a bump on my eyeball. Of course seeing so many horror movies and a couple of episodes of Monsters Inside Me has freaked me out. I called my optometrist's office this morning and have an appointment this afternoon for her to check this space spawn out.

I finally broke open my Sashiko kit. I can't get the needle to go the way I was shown, so I'm winging it. Maybe in the near future I can learn how to do the stitch properly. So far, I just want to get my stitches even but it's very soothing once I get into a rhythm of doing the stitches.

I'll keep practicing and probably get another kit with a different design. Make a wall hanging or something. I have an idea for a bigger project and that is still on the drawing board.

I worked on the Verity doll pattern by Deanna Hogan this weekend too along with watching a bunch of movies with a repeat of The Blues Brothers. I thought this was going to be an easy week but the eye has me on edge. I have a day trip on Thursday and a blueberry festival planned on Saturday.

Cruise In Part 2 - Cars

Cars

Corsair- Corsa

Didn't get the name of this one.