Stupid Virus

Yes, COVID-19 is affecting pretty much everyone on the planet right now. Schools and businesses closed, people off or out of work, and yet there are still those not taking things seriously. I'm taking precautions and have had my work hours cut. My doll show in April was postponed until October. I wonder how looking for a new job is going to affect me. It seems like this is how things always are for me. Finally get a plan and something weird happens. And there's not much I can do about it right now.

So, I've gotten back to some projects that were put in the cupboard. I finally finished the top of a hexie table runner using Halloween fabrics. One project at a time maybe. I'm closer to finishing this piece.

And I'm learning how to do portrait embroidery. Maybe I can catch up on that while I have more time.

I will work on getting back to some sketching too. Like some Plague Doctors or something. Be good, take care of yourselves and others. We'll get through this -thing.

February 2020

Yes, it's been awhile since my last post. Working on finding some kind of balance in this one life I have has been daunting to say the least. Anyway, lots on the table this year. This decade. My knee is getting better from surgery last year. I'm back at the job and I'm looking for a new one. Which is another job. Wish me luck. Working on more exercising and eating better. That will work out when Lent comes. I will be able to focus on what I put in my body. I have finished up some projects and still working on others from last year. The last decade was full of heartache, turmoil, and frustration. So here's to the new decade and year.

So far:

• Submitted two short stories for possible online publication
• Finally tacked down the binding of my Double Irish Chain quilt that I started in 2016
• I've been doing little sketches on a regular basis, will turn some into better drawings
• I've been writing on a regular basis, working on editing a pile of stories
• Got a pin loom and I'm learning how to weave on it. I have other plans for the finished pieces. Don't know if it will work or not for what I have in mind but I've got to start somewhere
• Learning more ways to applique and embroider, also for future projects
• Participating in the art challenge 29 Faces for the month of February

From last year been working on some Frida Kahlo dolls.

Also from last year, Christmas ornaments for co-workers.

I bought myself a Wattle & Loop (out of Australia) embroidery/applique kit. I have lots of ideas but wanted to see their process.

Yes, it's the Year of the Rat. These two were commissioned after I drew and showed one for the front page of my Bullet Journal for January.

The mending of my favorite pair of pants that I've had since forever. Like almost 30 years. Cotton twill and they don't make pants like this anymore. Mending the holes, then covering them with hexies. I will stitch hexies all over the pants. I'm also going to work on one of my favorite sweaters that has seen better days. Going to try not to buy more clothes but get back to making my own.

First four of my 29 Faces.

And my Double Irish Chain quilt.

I have missed blogging. If only to keep my wits about myself. I don't know if anyone will read this. Or if they get anything useful out of this but I will keep going. Life is truly a journey if not a very wacky trip. Have a good rest of the week.

Shakes Head

This is still turning into a very strange year. Don't know why or what going on but... I've been getting more hours on the job but it doesn't seem to work out. Pay one bill off and here comes another. So I'm back to looking for more work. Slowly getting back to some sort of creative schedule and I'm doing more hand sewing again. Making hexies and picked up embroidery. I've done embroidery before, many moons ago, and wanted to get back to it because I've seen beautiful work done by various artists. What I want to do and trying to figure it out, was causing me fits. So I didn't do it. But then I found a group out of the UK and they suggested to do a piece with only a few basic stitches. That you don't have to learn how to do thousands of stitches to create unique work. Running stitch, backstitch, seed stitch, French knots, I only need a few to get started.

Right now I'm doing half-inch hexies, a type of English Paper Piecing. I recently found smaller ones that will probably suit my design purposes even more. I'm on the lookout for where to order them.

Seems like every time I have time to be creative and I have a little schedule, something comes up and throws everything out of whack. It's annoying but what are you gonna do? Keep going. Do a little of something on the schedule and list. I do have some time off coming up and will have to dig in and get things done.

Spring has turned into summer, then fall, and back again. I have no idea what season it really is. Again, you just roll with the punches. Have a great day.

Goodbye November

That's all she wrote. November is outta here. Unbelievable. I can sit here and wonder where the time went but I won't. It's gone and I keep moving on. I was able to get an apron made for my upcoming craft fair. I've always wanted one to put things in so I won't have to look for them on the table when I need them. I have pockets for my cell phone, pens, my credit card reader, and a pocket with a flap and snap for money.

Working on my witch doll and I took a poll on which hair color to use. Red or blonde. Believe it or not, I got more votes on using both. I've got to make her hat and add some embellishments.

I got the first part of some felt skull pins put together and now they are ready for some embroidery.

I have other pieces in varying degrees of being finished. Three scary cupcakes, three box heads, six holiday table pieces, three zombies with elf hats, and a Krampus ornament for a group swap. Pics coming soon.

November

Well what do you know? It's another month. My, my, my. I'm a little shocked. A little saddened because this year has gone by so fast. A little relieved that it's getting a little better since the crash and burn a month ago. Do I get a little hopeful? Or do I stay in skeptical mode? Or do I say, whatever and work towards something new? The adventure is still on. I've hit a couple of bumps but nothing catastrophic. So I will take a deep breath and move forward.

I have a nice list for November and I'm a bit of a coward and probably won't show it. I won't say it's massive but there's a lot on it. If I stay focused and enjoy the process, I should get most of it done. I am not going to wait for the New Year to continue to make changes in my life. I will keep doing it starting today. I mean, why wait to make a change? Do it now. The thing I want to get back to is enjoying the process of creating. Yes, I want to make things to offer for sale but I want to have fun doing it. I will continue to work on being kind to me. Give myself time to grow, to learn something new. To finish off some old projects and to look forward to the future. Not dwell on the future. Live in the moment, think more about today. Take time to do one thing I like to do each day. It can be for five minutes or thirty. I deserve that.

Now that the weather is cooling down, I want to walk more. Wanting is good, doing is better. I went for a walk with my friend Kate. I got tanned. Really? It was beautiful. Blue skies, some puffy white clouds, a slight breeze, and the leaves are finally starting to change color. I want to walk more.

I will continue to do monthly challenges. I've done and pretty much completed four this year. Not bad. The challenge this month is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWrimo). I haven't made my goal of 50,000 words in the past two years but this time around, I will succeed. I'm working on an adult fantasy but have other stories in the wings in case I get stuck. The point of this challenge is to get a rough draft done. I met with my region's writers last night. At least some of them. They seem like a nice bunch and we will encourage each other to finish. There are a couple of write-ins scheduled too and I will try to go to most of them.

Last month I won a nice Jack 'o Lantern guy from an online giveaway. I was quite shocked. I normally don't win anything. He's cute and he lights up. He's made by wonderful Halloween artist Pat J. Gill.

I also got two preemie quilts longarmed. They might be my last two for awhile because I may have to give up my machine. I hope not and I'm working to keep it.

And I'm still working on my Cosmic Smashbook journal which is part of my adventure.

It's a brand new month. And today is a new day. I've got things to do and I will enjoy. I wish you all a wonderful day too.

New Stuff

I colored in my adult coloring book the other day because it does soothe me and helps me to relax. I need to do it more often. A friend sent this to me one Christmas and like I said, it helps to calm me down. I have to remember I have it. This book is Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford.

 I also finished off two of my latest preemie quilts by stitching down the binding and putting on quilt labels. These are 36 inches by 36 inches.

Yee Haw!

Moving right along.

I am a list maker. Some people think it's a waste of time. Good for them. As for me, I make lists. Always. Daily, weekly, I used to do monthly, and sometimes things I really should get done for the year. And then there's that wishful thinking list that used to be a 'Bucket List' is now called a 'Life List'. I may or may not get to everything on the list but I need a guideline of what needs to be done and get done. What I have been doing is writing everything to do on a particular day. Then at the end of the day, I only see that I've ticked off maybe three things, I get frustrated and I don't want to do anything because I didn't see any progress. Still thinking things through, I decided two days ago to do a short list. Instead of filling up a whole page (one of those yellow Junior Legal Pads), I try to do half. I have small things to do for a couple of projects. I can work as long as I want on each project as long as I do something. It's kind of working. Still need a little tweaking, like maybe the things that didn't get done or a lot worked on, go on the next day's list. I also have a master list to pull things from. I tell you, I've been able to get back to projects started some time ago.

Such as Hank Frank. I had an idea, started the piece and then stopped. Call it a little fear because I didn't have a clue as to what to do next. He sat. In a spot where I could see him. And I put 'find plastic mug' on the list. I found it and then started his arm and hand.

I made binding for the two preemie quilts I've been working on and got it attached to them yesterday.

More work on mug rugs. The first group with batting and quilting done. Then I shored up the edges, ready for binding.

The lone mug rug. I only had enough of this fabric for one.

And I finally started a new applique project. After having several not-so-good starts, I decided to give it a go again. I will figure this out. This is of a Kokeshi doll. Love those dolls.

I painted the pants on my little creepy ornaments. Oh, and more writing. That's what's been going on this week so far.

Hello August!

I was going to do better about posting but life seems to always get in the way. It's summer in the south and still hot. Even though the temperatures have gone down a bit the humidity has not. I have been able to turn off my AC (air conditioning) for the past two days and it would be nice if I could keep it off a bit longer. Not very hopeful about that because it's in the dead of summer now. The heat and moisture and cold breezes that come through are ripe for late afternoon and early evening storms. Rain is needed, so I'm okay with that but the sun dries everything up again. It looks like there's some storm activity in the Atlantic but we probably won't feel anything from it. Oh well, life marches on.

 I saw this  cute little plant at the grocery store. It was inexpensive, I love flowers (fresh), and I wanted something alive and pretty in my apartment. It's a chrysanthemum. And I got another preemie quilt top put together.

I'm back to writing after a few days off. I have one big story and several short stories. I've a lot to do by the end of the year and Halloween is in full swing. I got the first bit of paint on my creepy ornaments. They were supposed to b voodoo dolls but now... I don't know. We'll see.

Blah!

It was a weird day today. Starting out with voting. I felt like I was being interrogated but I got through it. Then the AC in my studio is still possessed by the heat monster and still not cooperating. I did get the binding stitched down on my mom's quilt. And I did some sketching but I had nothing else to give to the day, so I left. Got home, took a nap and sketched some new Halloween pieces. I'll show them later. But here's one project I can put on my Done/Finished list.

Another drawing for my challenge.

And more guy faces for the 29 Faces challenge.

#29faces #blythedresses

Losing Count

I'm losing count of my challenge days. Oh well, I will continue.

I longarmed one of my mom's quilts. She made the blocks, I did the sashing and borders. I also made the binding and attached it to the quilt. Tomorrow I'll stitch the binding down.

I also got binding on the last 9 mug rugs. Will have these done this week.

I'm Back

This past weekend was my quilt guild's bi-annual quilt show. I was the lead volunteer for most of the volunteers for the show. It was a good show and you can see quilts over on my other blog. wendybquilts.blogspot.com

And for the past three days I've been trying to recuperate, do laundry, get some food in the apartment, and catch up with longarming (the job), and get back to my challenge. I'm way behind on that but I will do the full 30 days. So stay tuned.

No Pic Post

My challenge has been put on hold for the next three days. My quilt guild's bi-annual quilt show is this weekend and I'm heading up the volunteer ladies. So I will be MIA.

Day 4

I was busy at the studio with two quilts. I attached binding onto my Around the World quilt and longarmed a baby quilt. So by the time I got home I was beat. Most of yesterday was spent at the studio and then I had a quilt guild meeting, got home and sketched. My brain is wondering what the heck is going on. I was determined to do something toward my 30 Day Challenge goal, so I sketched. I'm still trying to figure out what kind of hat I want to make for a dress that's almost done. I'll keep working on it. I also sketched some Halloween stuff. Because they were screaming to get out of my head.

Yikes!

What a day! Eegads!

Don't get me wrong. It was a good day. I got quite a bit done. Yesterday I wasn't in the studio because of sinus issues. I'm feeling much better today. I got into the studio, cut out and sewed two dolls; cut, made and stitched binding on my two preemie quilts; and I finished working on my last Sashiko piece. Phase one of that project. But... but...

I was irritable all day long. Everyone irritated me to no end. Kids running up and down the hall, people slamming doors, inconsiderate young woman locked the outer door to the lady's restroom. Seriously? There are two stalls in the restroom. It told her that when she got out and she didn't get it. I repeated it and as to why she had that door locked? Then she got it. She did say a weak "Sorry" but I had to go. Now that I think about it, why would you lock a woman's restroom when there is more than one stall. Ugh! Not going to think about that right now. My blood pressure is finally going down.

Why the irritability? That crazy planet Mercury is in retrograde. Now you may not believe in that kind of stuff but I do. I was very proud of myself that I didn't break down and cry or break anything over anyone's head. But the whole day was just weird. One moment I'd be happy and I could conquer the world. The next minute, yes minute, I just wanted to crawl into a ball and cry. Then I'd be back up again. I kept telling myself that I know what's wrong. So keep going. Which I did and I'm very proud of myself. I was talking to a friend today and she said that her mentally challenged clients were being weird too and one of her co-workers asked if there was a full moon. They even checked the calendar and there wasn't, then I told her about the retrograde. Her light bulb went off. Mercury hits the space road on the 23rd I think. It won't be soon enough.

So here's my last Sashiko piece. I will be working on phase two next week. I've been planning this project when I finished my first piece. I hope it works out.

Wrapping It Up

Yes, the end of December. I am astounded how fast it went.

• Longarmed 8 quilts
• One commissioned quilt done
• One Sashiko piece done
• One preemie quilt top done
• 2 Books read
• Wrote 9 times - journal or stories
• Day excursion to Krankies Craft Fair
• 8 World of Wendy Lu blog posts
• 6 Wendy B Quilt blog posts
• Watched Netflix 6 different times
• Stuffed a doll's head and body that has been sitting around for a year

I do hope everyone has a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve. See ya next year.

Fall Again

After two weeks of rain and weird temps, we've had late summer show up once again. Very weird. Yesterday was I think 72 degrees and today in the 50s. It was very pretty out and temps are supposed to dip the next couple of days. I really like fall, autumn. Sometimes it's a very long period of time and sometimes we get a week and then it's winter. I want fall just a little while longer. My new neighbors tried out their fireplace last Saturday and I love the smell of a wood burning fire. That's part of fall for me.

I took this pic this morning. I thought it was pretty. It prepared me for the day that was coming. Boy, did I ever need this pretty picture. Because people were crazy out today. I don't know if it was because it was pretty out, warm, both. Or because the holidays are coming up and they are upping losing their minds. Some were tailgating, not stopping at stop signs, driving 20 in a 35 at the busiest time during the day Go to a park or something. Then there was the young female who hit a mail truck. Really? Not paying attention. I mean, those things are kind of big, white, have flashing lights and she plowed right into it. And the leaf guys. Shutting down roads and not having a clue as to where to direct traffic. Yeah, I love fall.

But I made it. Got another t-shirt quilt on the frame, Ran lots of errands which included the grocery store. I'm grateful I had money to go to the grocery store. But what I needed I can't eat. You know, cleaning supplies. Gah! It's all good.

And fall is coming back.

Welcome November!

Well, October sure did fly by. Once again, I didn't decorate like I wanted to. Things seemed to speed up and I missed everything. I'm sure the move into my studio space didn't help and getting that all set up. I was too tired to venture out for Halloween and well... I guess I'll have to make better plans for next year.

My art table is a mess. I am participating in NANOWRIMO this month and so far I'm on target. But I've got to do something about this table. It's jamming my creative frequencies and I have too much to do this month.

So this is what I accomplished last month.

• one book read (very bad indeed, so behind)
• worked on various writing projects three times (again, not good)
• 6 business quilts longarmed
• worked on applique once
• took a day trip to the Catawba Valley Quilters Show and a woodworking show as a bonus in Hickory, NC
• for entertainment, I went to a bottling party at Sutler's Spirits
• 10 World of Wendy Lu blog posts
• 9 Wendy B Quilts blog posts
• one Halloween drawing
• started watching a new series (for me) on Netflix
• started my first pair of mittens

For this month, I will work hard on being nice to me. I seem to forget that. I will do more of what I like to do and learn some new things as well. 

Yee Haw!

Getting settled into the new studio. I've been busy quilting and you can go on over to www.wendybquilts.blogspot.com to see those quilts. I'm still thinking about decorating the place but that may have to wait until after the holidays. You know what? I'm feeling lots better. In most areas. One quilt was giving me the blues, so I took off Saturday afternoon and Sunday to not do anything quilt related. I refused to think about quilts. I watched a series from Australia on Netflix, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, worked on my mitten, and read. I went back into the studio yesterday and finished the unruly quilt. It turned out quite well. But... but, I did something else that I hadn't done in years. I did some sketching on some new zombie Christmas ornaments. It didn't stop there. I made a pattern, got fabric, cut out and sewed five of the little buggers. I stuffed them when I got back to the apartment and will attach heads today.

I can't believe I created something else in the studio that wasn't quilt related. It felt really good to go from sketch to actually putting something together. Usually I just sketch and put them away. Into a sketch purgatory. I should rescue them. So I'm still here. Got a busy day today. Lots of running around. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Today- No Pic Post

Another post I wrote this morning before the sun came up.

How do I feel today? Okay. Just thinking about today and what needs to be done. Still working on finding my happy again. That will take time. Still battling with not hating. My mitten class last night went well. There were only two students. We laughed. that was a good thing to do. The other two students will join us next week. I'm not far ahead on my mitten but as soon as I get a little more done, I will show some pics. I now know that I can't have years in between knitting projects. My fingers and shoulder are killing me. Now, I really have to finish my jacket. I've been given a reprieve in the temps. It warmed up again but I know more cold is coming.

One good thing today. I get paid for longarming a quilt I finished yesterday. I'm not going to wonder or worry if I'll ever get to a point where I don't have to wonder or worry about paying bills. It is what it is. Also today, I will start my second business venture. I don't know if it will work. But hey, you only live once. Might as well give it a shot.
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My NANO piece is coming along or I should say pieces. The last time I succeeded at NANO, I started off with three different stories. If I got stuck on one, I could work on another. I need 50,000 words to make the goal of writing a rough draft of a novel in a month. One story eventually took over and I reached my goal. Surprisingly, that story was supposed to be a short story. Go figure. This time I have two novel ideas (adult), one short story (adult), and one mid-grade kid story. So we'll see which one wins.

One the docket today:
- put borders on Bargello quilt
- put together my next Tula Pink block
- put the collar on my jacket

I only got to the first one today. Will be working on some new stuff this evening. Toodles!

Today

I wrote this this morning and just getting a chance to post it now.

It's Thursday and my second full day at the new studio. I am excited. Still meeting neighbors. There's so much I can do to decorate but I've got other projects to start, work on, and finish. No running around on errands today. Lots on the docket.

• stitch down binding on a lap quilt
• start cutting 2 1/2 inch squares of scrap fabric for some paper piecing which I've never done before
• design some doll clothes
• cut out a few more Halloween dolls
• start some mug rugs
• figure out some Halloween/Christmas ornaments
• start a Tula Pink square from her book 100 Modern Quilt Blocks
• prep for NANO, yes, I'm attempting it again. I seem to hit every other year and this is that year.
• work on Sashiko

I've crossed over what I got done so far today. There are still a few more hours before bed where I can work on some other things after dinner. But, I do not like moving. I can't find a project I've been working on and I know I packed it but can't find it. Looked all over and nothing. Very frustrated. Of course it's a small project too. Ugh! Oh well, I'm sure it will show up. I hope it shows up now that I've figured out what to do with it.

Two and a half inch squares to paper piecing.

Colors selection for Tula Pink pattern number 9.