Summer's End

Campus is still quiet as summer draws to a close. Next week all the students will be back, and I will probably not take lunch time walks for a while. I always have mixed feelings since I like both the quiet interludes and the excitement of all the crowds and back to school activity.

My weekend was lovely and peaceful as Jerry and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. When we married, I was younger in age by about six months than our son is now (21). I had a notion of dragging out and scanning a few nearly thirty year old pictures, but stopped myself just in time. Also, I couldn't find the ones I wanted. (How in the world do you misplace your wedding album?)

I am nostaligic and yes, a little sad, that the years have gone by so quickly. I also know how lucky I am to have such a good friend and companion to be my life partner

A little color 

Interesting branches 

What I've been working on...

Closer view. Just starting thread work, deciding on the rest . Not a new theme here, but it is my design.
This is what is on the design wall now...I am deciding about adding a few more vibrant leaves or whether I want a border etc. I am also trying to decide if I want to incorporate all of the seasons in the same quilt, or make them separately. I have figured out how to get pearl cotton to work in my bobbin, so that I can sew the thick thread by machine, and it's giving me great texture on my trees. More pictures when I get more done. I'm so glad tomorrow is Saturday!

I guess I put these photos up backwards.....scroll down to see how I got to this point.

When I talk about putting "all the seasons in one quilt", I have in mind to make four different
pieces (the above being just one of them).

Closeup of rocks and fabric 

Leaves and sky 

More trees 

Making progress 

Working on the background of the new piece 

How I spent my lunch break

Today was a nearly perfect day in San Diego. I had to go to work, but as you can see by the pictures here, I had a very nice walk around the campus at lunch time. I enjoyed my time, taking photos for future use. Who knows where all this lovely inspiration will lead me?

Late summer branches 

Koi and goldfish 

Turtles at the pond 

The pond by Scripps cottage 

Intriguing form and texture 

Peeling bark 

Great trees with peeling bark 

Roses 

A Quilting Day with Friends

Our friend Diane gets a comfort quilt from us.

Another quilt kit sample being finished 

Gayle and Lisa. Gayle helped Lisa make her very first quilt, all hand applique. 

This is a closeup of a beautiful fall quilt that will be a sample for a Quilt In a Bag . My friend Pam Tobias has a business selling quilt kits at shows and from her web site. She was inspired to create her business after surviving breast cancer. Every quilt is dedicated to someone who has had breast cancer, and she donates $10 from every kit to the Susan G. Koman foundation.
There will be a 5K walk/run in October, and somehow I agreed to be part of the team. I have been exercising every day, so I hope that when October rolls around I can make it! (I believe I have mentioned that I am not in the greatest of shape). I can only hope I don't embarrass myself. Oh well, if I do, at least it's for a very good cause.

Yesterday was as much fun as I hoped it would be. We sewed and chatted and generally enjoyed each other's company. We were very happy to see our friend Diane join us. Frankly, I was astonished that she looked as good as she did and that she stayed nearly all day with us. Only a few weeks ago she was literally at death's door following a surgery gone bad. Well, in the interim we have been busy making her a comfort quilt, and we were happy to be able to give it to her yesterday.

On the artful front, I have been busy in the studio, but I am still not going to share until I am farther along with the piece. My workroom looks like a cyclone ran through it. So, no pictures of that either.

A Peaceful Interlude

Thriving pond plants

A bit of remaining garden color.  

Although there is nothing peaceful about the world at large, my little corner of it is very, very quiet right now. Our son moved out (again) on Friday, taking with him all the noise and traffic of his friends and all their comings and goings. Not to mention loud music, "jamming" in the garage, guitar and drum practice, large groups of young people sitting around in the kitchen or out in the breezeway. I had forgotten how very quiet and peaceful it is without him here. Consider also that my husband is away for a few days on a trip, and voila! no one here but me and my dogs. I may feel differently in a few days, but for now being alone is heaven.

I sat out on the deck Friday night in the cooling late afternoon, listening to the birds and watching the light change until sunset. I thought I would share a few pictures of some of the remaining color in the yard. Thankfully, it has started to cool and the humidity index has dropped, but the last couple of weeks have been so hot that most of the flowers are looking a little blasted. All the trees are thriving, though. I don't know if I mentioned that we have planted over 30 in the last couple of years. I'll spare you the details of the "tree story" just now, but we had our own little set of adventures choosing and planting them.

Saturday I stayed in my pajamas until late afternoon, when a friend called and asked if I wanted to come fabric shopping (I did). I had wandered back to the studio, cup of coffee in hand, and started a new project. After blissfully working away for five or six hours, I had just about decided I needed a break when my friend called. Talk about good timing! Fabric browsing was fun and carefree, and I really bought very little except for a few pieces of net and organza to be filed away in the stash. It was great not to have a schedule.

Today will be another fun day spent sewing with friends. Yesterday's project will stay in the studio, since today I will be working on something more traditional. To tell the truth, more visiting, eating and laughing are more likely to take place than sewing, at least for me. And that's ok. Tonight I may get back into the studio, or I may not. By next Tuesday, I may be bored and lonely, but today it feels peaceful, and I am content.

The Softer Side of Quilting

This quilt was made a couple of years ago as a goodbye present for my work friend Jackie. After quilting it, I became unhappy with the way it turned out, so I grabbed my scissors and chopped it up. After "flipping" some of the pieces and stitching them back together, I added a little applique in the center. Jackie loves her quilt, and she uses it to curl up under when she reads.











New babies mean new quilts...I made this one for my great neice (that makes me sound frightfully old, doesn't it?). It is bright and fun and backed with very soft flannel. It is made to take a beating, and from what I understand, it does.












This quilt was very, very easy and fast and is made with some lovely fall colors and a healthy dash of purple. Something about the color combo makes me really happy. My SIL Barb and my neice Colleen came over and helped me make this one, and we all presented it as our gift to our other SIL Jane on her 60th birthday. It adds a splash of color to the back of her couch every fall season.

I think of these types of quilts as being the "softer side of quilting". Made to give comfort and warmth, they are a very special gift for people I love.
They are completely gratifying to make in a way that is utterly different from my art quilts, and I will probably always make them.

Fun, and Sometimes Strange

I have been lazy about getting pictures, so instead I am offering up this link. I have been having a great time reading "not martha" and looking at her wonderful photos and links on "how to make stuff." For not being Martha, she certainly gives a lot of fun and interesting information!

Check out the "The Renegade Craft Fair" as well. Yes, yes, I know we are "artists" here, but some of the vendors websites are pretty good. I am always a sucker for handmade items, be they "art" or "craft".

Another creative site to check out is "Fast Fiction". The premise is, people email this blogger an illustration or photo and he does a very short and imaginative story to go with it. Fun, and sometimes strange.

Weekend Walking

This weekend I decided to vary my "exercise" and go somewhere to walk. I am getting bored, bored, bored with my eliptical machine, despite the fact that it is arranged to give me a good view of the television. Perhaps I am just getting bored, bored, bored of TV in general. I am going to try to make exercise more fun, otherwise I will be back on the couch curled up with a good book before you know it.

Sadly, I forgot the digital camera, so you will have to wait until the next trip to get pictures. I thought about driving down to the beach but wimped out when I considered the traffic. Instead, I visited Lake Murray, a popular spot for walking, rollerblading, and biking located in beautiful suburban La Mesa. I enjoyed watching the people, dogs, fishermen, and hundreds of ducks. The geese were a little intimidating, so I gave them plenty of room. They were a rowdy, noisy bunch, obviously fun loving but a little cross at having so much company.

The sunlight glinting off the water was lovely, and the air was fresh. I noticed all kinds of desert wild flowers and a large variety of eucalyptus trees. I kept my eyes open to avoid rattlesnakes (they have warning signs up), but I didn't see any. For communing with nature, fewer people would have been better, but for safety it was just right. Did I mention that it was HOT? I arrived early, but the sun was already out in full force.

Later in the afternoon, I actually went BACK to the lake for another walk, this time with Jerry. It was nice to have company for the second walk, and the late afternoon was much cooler. Afterwards, for supper we grilled some food and had a nice salad with fresh garden tomatoes.

Happy Friday!

Friday at Last! It has been a mixed week, some happiness at seeing old friends, some sadness at seeing other friends move, some good time spent working at what I do for myself, and a huge adjustment to the "back to work schedule." I expect to have a little quiet time this weekend, and I am really looking forward to it. There will be housework and laundry, of course, but if in the right mood I can knock that out in a couple of hours.

Thursday nights have become a favorite of mine since we started making it the unofficial "Starbucks" night. However many quilting friends who can make it meet there, and we have coffee (or green tea or whatever) and just relax and talk for a couple of hours. Once in a while there is some sharing (of quilting) but more importantly, there is lots of laughter. I have had the blues lately off and on, but seeing my friends helps me remember to count my blessings. God bless girlfriends, they really keep you sane!

Back at Work

Well, I am back at work, and needless to say, I am exhausted. Let's just say that a month off is long enough to really get used to it! I am still adjusting to getting up at 5am again, and I miss those 8 hours a night plus the odd nap. I should hit my stride again by next week. I think the best part about retirement will be not worrying about gettting enough sleep, and if I have insomnia I can just get up, work in the studio, and take a nap the next day.

I spent a little time on Monday backing and quilting the "Feathered Forest". I am still working on it, but so far I'm happy with it. Thanks very much to those of you who left comments! It's always great to know somebody's reading. Mrs. Mel asked if it was decorator fabric, and no it isn't, it actually came from a thrift store sun dress with a dropped waist and a full skirt. Very ugly fashion wise, but plenty of fabric to salvage. Nikki asked about process. I pieced the back- ground from some hand-dyed and commercial fabric. I cut out the "feather leaves" and other shapes and fused them. I did not make a preliminary sketch, just played around working "intuitively" until I was pleased with the composition. I know it looks like I might have done something interesting with paint to the fabric, but it was already like that.

Tonight I started fooling around making some "thread sketches" for A Simple Still Life. I like using the thread to sketch. I started with a batting sandwich made with PFD fabric because I will probably paint it AFTER most of the thread work is done. I will take more pictures to show process, and IF it doesn't end up a great mess, I'll share.