Still Around

Yes, still around. Working on getting back into some sort of creative groove. I did pick up another longarm job. That will go on the frame today. I did manage to hand applique a piece I started awhile ago, I got tired of looking at it and knew that soon the pieces would all fall off. I want to start another one but need to get this one further along and done.

I also got a doll. A Blythe and I will be making some clothes for her. Her name is Aisli (A-lish).

There are finally some Halloween dolls on the drawing table and some small paintings too. It's almost time to look back on the month. Good grief! Where is the time going?

Garden

Oh yeah! It's spring. And I finally got some plants in the ground. A friend let me use his empty beds and we planted two types of tomatoes, purple cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, and in the small pot on the deck, some herbs.

Tomatoes and cabbage with some marigolds. I love marigolds.

Cucumbers at each end and peppers in the middle. The cukes will be trained to grow away from the peppers.

On the deck we have two types of basil and some oregano. We forgot the thyme. There's room. I had so much fun digging in the dirt. There's something therapeutic about it. And it's Earth Day! Lots of salsa coming.

Workshops

I've been busy this past weekend and week. At least so far. Saturday and Sunday I took a Regency Spencer making workshop. I've fallen off the costume wagon and will eventually get my Regency wardrobe together. It will take some time but I'm stoked right now. I have made a short stay, chemise,  reticule, and now I almost have a Spencer. A friend had given me some leftover silk from one of her projects and this workshop came up. Voila! I still have to finish some opening seams, my sleeve treatment and the back treatment. Time to look for or make buttons and bows.

Yesterday, I took a needleturn applique workshop through the Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild. I got in at the last minute. The workshop was taught by Mary Sorensen and she was a hoot. Learned a lot and will be working on my sampler piece for awhile. I may have to just hand applique my Halloween Cat piece because at this point in time, I'm not feeling machine applique. There's just something about sitting in a chair and hand stitching.

I won't even say what's on my list for the rest of the week. I will do projects and post later. I've got writing to catch up on, more quilting, and maybe sketching. And I've got to do better than four posts for the month. Eegads!

Have a good day!

Getting Back to Me

Spring has shown up and there are storms everywhere. Hibernation is over and oh boy, I am in need of some serious moving around. No more winter foods. Back to grazing good things. And I will be planting some things in a garden very soon. For the past two days, I've gotten a morning walk in. It's been rough. Muscles are mushy, tendons are tight. Right now everything aches but it's a start. I didn't cry when I got on the scale this morning. I do know I have a lot of work to do. It will take time, just like it took time to allow the weight to get on.

My creative mojo is coming back. That feels so good. I know that sometimes things happen one right after the other and you just don't know which way to turn. You want to crawl under a rock and go to sleep. But you take a couple of deep breaths, push the rock off your back, get up and stretch, and get going again. Sometimes you just have to go to that space, you just don't want to stay there. It's a brand new season. Working on a new me. That's okay too. If one thing doesn't work out, move onto something else. Keep going. It's all about the process and the journey. It's taken me awhile to understand that. Enjoy the process. Enjoy each day.

I have several things on my docket for the rest of the month. I've been writing again. Yes, I know, again. I just can't seem to give it up. I'm working on a short story. I want to get the rough draft down this month and polished by the end of June. My birthday month. The next Halloween challenge theme is Monsters in My Room. I have an idea for it and will sketch is today. I did a sketch of a Halloween girl with her cat last night. I'll work on her today too. Lots of binding quilts too. We shall see. It's also nice to have a partner in crime.

Onward!

I am so grateful that I have a friend who knows his way around computers. My laptop is cooperating right now. Things are being backed up. Back to posting and writing. Still working on my short story and new quilts.

I liked working on my challenge piece that will be for sale. I will post the site information when I get it. It really felt good working with Creative Paper Clay. I'm still new to it and still working it out. I know what to do the next time. And that's coming up because the next theme is 'Monsters in My Room'. I won't say what I'm doing but will post my progress.

The first challenge was 'Cast a Spell'.  It could be a book of spells, a witch, whatever. I decided to do a witch holding a wand and a crystal ball. I had lofty ideas which didn't turn out the way I thought they would but I finished and I like her even more. Lots of mental notes for the next project.

I started with a drawing the size of a shadow box I was going to use.

Once I started building her up, I realized the shadow box was too deep and I would need something different. So I thought of using a frame, which worked in the end. What I learned, for next time, is to make a small flat base to add the clay to, which can then be glued onto a board. I was also going to use a real marble but it didn't look right in the frame. If I had used the shadow box, the real marble would have worked better.

Here she is done. I like her clay hair, her hat, and the ghosts coming out of the ball. She's got a goofy look that I like too. I painted the frame (wood), using a gold metallic opaque marker. Gotta get more of those in different colors. The frame can sit on a desk or be hung on a wall. I like her as my first non-quilt project for the year. See ya!

Yeah, I'm Late

Okay, I was supposed to post this on the 1st but the schedule didn't allow it. So here it is.

Grrr!
The last two days of March were very good. I was productive and actually finished a project for an online challenge. Got pics taken and this morning I couldn't get onto a friend's wireless service. Something in my laptop was being persnickety. Really? Trying to keep this creative streak going and I can't connect to the internet. March wasn't that good. Business for the quilt service was very low. I started to think that it was a bad idea and proceeded to beat myself up. I told myself that the business is still new. Continue to practice on Leonidas and look forward to good things. My creative mojo was coming back. I was ready to get started on a new month and I can't get online. My friend thinks there's a glitch in the connection in my laptop. Which means I may not be able to get online even with a cord connection. Really? Seriously?

I could have spiraled back into my dark hole I just crawled out of. My laptop is getting old. It's almost six years old. Not now.

So I took a deep breath and prepped fabric for another quilt. I will cut out pieces today. The next challenge them is 'Monsters in My Room'. So I'll sketch that. I will make today a productive day. I'm writing this out longhand for when I'm able to get online.

Here's what went on last month:
3 - Books read
1 - Short story worked on
2 - Business quilts longarmed
1 - Wendy quilt top made
1 - Day trip to the grand opening of Trailer Stash Fabrics
4 - World of Wendy Lu blog posts
9 - Wendy B Quilts blog posts
1 - Quilt workshop attended, made two blocks
2 - Practice wall hangings done on the longarm
1 - Challenge piece, 'Cast a Spell'

Not bad. Looking back at things. Not great either. I will work to keep my creative mojo moving in the right direction. And I will work on being nicer to me and cutting myself some slack. I repeat, cut myself some slack.