AndThree More

I couldn't stop with the houses. I really like the wintery one on the right. It looks a bit Japanese with the long red flag on the side. On the middle one, I wish I had cut the red window off at top of the gold so it would look less like a dragonfly (which it is) and more like a curtain.
Tomorrow I'll make some trees.

Cat Houses

I felt the urge to start something new today. As a result I have four cat houses. I have a large piece of fabric that is all cats so I thought I'd put some in houses. The bottom left has a pretty wonky window. The top left is the first one and I made a few mistakes on it but I like the color of the walls so it will stay. I'll probably make some trees to go with the houses and possible set them along a street or in a square. I had forgotten how much fun it is to make these little houses.

Another Pillow

Another pillow top and another UFO used up. I was trying a technique from Quilter's Playtime and it never made it into a wall hanging.


This morning I made Ratatouille-Moussaka which is veggies (sweet potato, eggplant, zucchini, onion, tomato, garlic, mushroom) roasted in the oven and then topped with white sauce, egg and ricotta and sprinkled with Parmesan. It was delicious but most of it went into the freezer. It was much too big for the two of us.

Autumn

Autumn has arrived and the leaves are just starting to turn. The amazing thing is that we are having the best and warmest weather of the whole summer. Hopefully, it will last a few more weeks so we can enjoy the autumn colors when they arrive.


I was not feeling very inspired today so I dug out one of my practise pieces and made a pillow top from it.

Tie Dyes

I dyed a couple of tee shirts today. I used a wrapping that I hadn't tried before and was quite happy with how they turned out. The one above was the first one.


Here is the second one all tied up.



And the finished product. I sort of like the softness of the first one. The one above is a bit brighter than it appears in the picture. I'll have to get somebody to model them but I am alone in the house right now so this will have to do.

Featherweight Padding

I saw this idea on the Featherweight newsgroup. There is a screw that sticks out on the end of the machine that could damage the part of the bed that folds up. This little padded cover prevents that. My machine is in such immaculate condition that I don't want to take a chance on getting any dings on it.

Odds and Ends

Here is my score from today's thrift store. The gold pieces are quite delicate so I'm not sure if they will be suitable for cuffs. Maybe they will be all right if they are sewn on very securely at each point. The dark blue is a very nice velvet ribbon. I see more cuffs in my future.

A Walk in the Enchanted Forest

And that was the Enchanted Forest yesterday. I didn't take pictures of the people but there were over 100 here so we feel it was quite successful.

A Little Preview

Here is a little preview of some of the pots you might see if you come to our art show tomorrow.
The trails are groomed, we'll be putting up lines and ropes for hanging later today and hanging the art tomorrow morning. We are open to the public from 1 PM until around 6 PM. Everyone is welcome.

Tie Dye

Today I dyed a few t shirts. This one is by far the most successful. The others are much more diffused, probably because the knit is not so tight. Also, I got them at the thrift store and the labels were cut off so I'm not sure they were 100% cotton. This one makes up for all the rest though. I just love how it turned out.

Background Options

I finally moved these boxes to the center of my design wall and started playing around with backgrounds. With the orange background I was sort of thinking of an explosion.


I'm afraid the boxes get lost in this dark background so those triangles will have to go into the parts drawer.
I want to try some purple but don't have any suitable fabric. Does that mean I have to go fabric shopping? It sounds like it to me.

Paint Job

Our freezer broke down and the drier was taking three hours to dry a load of towels so we bit the bullet and bought a new front loading washer, drier and chest freezer. While the old ones were out (I did keep the old washer connected until the new one arrives but in the summer I hang my laundry outside) and the new ones not delivered yet, we decided to paint the laundry room. I always hated the previous color. We had a nice antique brown for the kitchen but not enough for the laundry room. We thought we'd just add some white but it turned a really ugly pink. We used it anyway, not wanting another trip to town. I am so glad it's finally covered with a nice pale yellow. Now I hope our new appliances will be delivered soon.

Enchanted Forest Show Redone

The general consensus is that this is a better picture of how the forest show will look. I didn't like it as well because my chicken quilt doesn't show up as nicely but it is more the idea of how they will be hung. As you walk along the trails you will come upon art just hung wherever the artist decides. There will be a LOT of space so it should be interesting.

Enchanted Forest Show

Here is a little preview of what will be happening here next Sunday (if it doesn't rain). We are planning an outdoor show of paintings, quilts, pottery and any other art that people bring. We'll hanging the art in the morning, open to visitors at noon and end with a wiener roast at 6. Everyone is welcome and if any nearby bloggers are interested, you can contact me for driving directions. I can't believe how beautiful quilts look in the dappled light of the woods. I can't wait to hang them all up!

Cleaning Up

Yesterday I spent a lot of time cleaning the studio. I still haven't re-organized my fabric and notions but decided that would have to wait for another day. The cuffs above are a bit plainer. Some boys have shown some interest so I thought I'd do some that are a bit more masculine. Not sure that I succeeded though. I love embellishments too much.


These are winter/Christmas themed ones. If I have a sale in November people might be interested in these. It's hard to think of winter right now. We had a huge thunder storm last night and lots of rain.

Lazy Susan

I found this sewing lazy susan at the thrift shop. It sits on a table beside my sewing machine. I put the spools that are almost empty on it. I use them for hand sewing and don't like to mix them with full spools. The full ones on here are too tall to fit into my spool box. It also holds some extra feet that won't fit in the tool box and a couple of lint brushes. It was still in the original box that looked like something from the 70's.

Group Cuff Therapy

Yesterday Lori and Angelica and I made some more cuffs. Angelica made the two on the left. They are a different shape that I normally make. The one on the right has lines made with textured fabric paint.



The one on the left is a Christmas themed one . I thought that if I have a craft table in November it might be nice to have some like that.

Cuff Mania

Here is one of the chokers from yesterday with a matching cuff now. It sits at an angle on the neck so it won't sit properly on the shelf without being held up.


This is the newest choker with the matching cuff half done.

Sewing With Friends

Brenda and Lori came over today and we made cuffs together.


This is a choker and matching cuff that I made.


Another wider choker. It pretty much chokes me!


Brenda's Wizard of Oz cuff.


Lori's autumn cuff.
We had so much fun that we are planning another cuff making day very soon.