Some Much Needed Sister Time

My birthday was last week, and my sister made the trip to my house from Tennessee. We have both been very careful with COVID protocols and both are in agreement that being with family is essential for our mental health. She made my favorite foods--her chicken salad and a big German Chocolate cake. We ate on those all week. They were both DELICIOUS!

We took a little drive to our hometown (Orleans, IN) to visit some of the places we knew as children. It is funny; the town sure seemed much bigger back then. We placed flowers at the cemetery and drove by the home in which we grew up. We made a few trips up and down the familiar streets to see how things had changed since we lived there. We really enjoyed reminiscing about the "good ole days."

After we had covered Orleans, we drove to Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, IN. We didn't want to stop to eat anywhere in public, so we brought a picnic lunch. We had such a good time.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day--hard to believe the temperature was so mild for mid-August. 

Later in the week, we made some new masks. I just LOVE them (well, as much as you can "love" a mask). My friend, Debby Cresanto, sent the fabric to me. She said when she saw it, she had to send it to me (because she knows I love bright colors and all things flamingo). I tweeked a pattern to provide a bit more room around the nose, so I don't feel quite so restricted. I used some flat nose "wires" I had ordered along with some "soft elastic" which feels really good on my ears. (Debby sent the soft elastic too.) I made a pineapple and flamingo mask for each of us.

We had a really nice week. I have found a little "family time" can certainly give me a nice pick-me-up. I need that every now and then. 

In the Meadow--Wool Table Runner

Last week I finished up some things I had started LONG ago. I found three wool projects--all in different stages of completion. I still liked all of them and decided it would be worth my time to finish them.

This is the first one I finished. I think it is really cute and will be gifted to someone special this Christmas.

This is a Backyard Friends pattern called #292-In the Meadow. I really enjoyed the hand stitching, and the added plus is that I could work on it with two cats in my lap! LOL!

Dryer-Sheet Quilt

I have been working on my "dryer-sheet" quilt this week. Used dryer sheets are the foundation for the blocks. The dryer sheets are thin enough that they won't have to be removed once the blocks are finished.

I have completed several blocks and am ready to put the blocks together. I have put the blocks up on my design wall and have to decide how to put them together. Here are a few of the arrangements I'm considering.

This one is VERY busy and would take A LOT of blocks. There is something about it I like, though. I think it is the diamond shapes and the secondary design of the X.

This one is also VERY busy and would take A LOT of blocks, too; but I like it. It could be really interesting if the same color family was used to make the middle zig-zag portion of the block. It would make the zig-zag more prominent and more organized.

This version would use sashing strips and small stripped squares. It gives your eye a place to rest. It would take A LOT of blocks across the rows (horizontally) since the block is SO narrow. I'm not sure I would like lots of blocks across the row and fewer blocks vertically. I'll just have to see.

For this setting, it would take three blocks across for the size I want to make. (I just didn't have room to put that many up on my portable design wall.) I think this one looks a bit more "modern" than the other settings. It also uses the sashing with the added small stripped squares.

What do you think? Which one do you like? What should I name this quilt--High and Dry, Scrappy Diamonds, String Diamonds? I'm sure you all can think up a name much more clever than my ideas. You'll have to check back to see which one I decided to make. I'll put up a picture when the top is finished.

2020 Stitched Art

I have found that hand stitching brings me a kind of peace I can't find doing anything else. It is like meditation for me. I am currently taking on-line classes through the Textile Artist website. I belong to what they call a "Stitch Club." I pay a monthly fee and get three classes a month led by VERY prestigious fiber artists. This week's class was led by Cas Holmes, whose work I have loved for a LONG time. She showed us how she uses momigami (kneaded paper) in her work. The "assignment" for the week was to do a small landscape using momigami, fabric, and stitch.

I'm not really a "landscape" kind of girl, so I went my own direction. (I know that will surprise those of you who know me. LOL!)  I had been wanting to do a piece to represent how 2020 has affected me and had been thinking about it for a long time. I decided to make my piece using momigami. I started by printing off this pic I had manipulated on my computer.

I used this paper (printed out from my printer) as my paper for momigami. I distressed and worked it with olive oil and used it as the foundation of the piece. I pinned it to a background of recycled linen from a pair of pants I had purchased long ago and, then, pinned the fabric mask to the piece along with some other pieces of fabric.

From there, I added more fabric and stitch to embellish and finish the piece. The glasses, eyes, and ears along with the middle background colors are the exposed paper.

Here are a couple of detail pictures.

I can't say how much I enjoyed working on this piece. 

Something to Do While You Work/A Trip

Since the last post, I have listened to two more audiobooks and have made a trip to Arkansas and Tennessee. First, I'll fill you in on the books. My favorite book was This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. 

I have heard from people who read his mystery series. (I haven't read any of those but plan to.) These books are definitely not mystery books. This book is about four orphans trying to make it on their own during the Depression. I got so involved with the characters that I didn't want the book to end. Goodreads describes it this way.

"Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphans will journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an en­thralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole." I can't recommend it enough.

The other book is The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. 

It is a fictional book about the life of Jesus (which I didn't know when I started the book). It took a little bit for me to "get into" the book, but I REALLY liked it. It really made me think about what might have been. Goodreads describes is like this.

"Grounded in meticulous historical research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus’s life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring account of one woman’s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place, and culture devised to silence her."

Last week, I visited my son's family in Arkansas. My granddaughter (June Beth--named for me) turned 7, and I wanted to be with them to celebrate. Little did I know that my daughter-in-law would have a cake for me too. (My birthday is August 19.) I SO enjoyed my visit. I cannot go without seeing my family--it is a quality of life issue for me. I guess we all have to decide what is important to us during this pandemic.

I also stopped in to visit my sister in Tennessee on my way home. I hadn't seen her (in person) for WAY too long. We had a nice (but short) visit.

Anyway, I didn't get any sewing or quilting done. I DID get my two latest art quilts professionally photographed while I was gone. (I picked them up on my way home.) Now I have to apply to an exhibit in which I'm interested. That is another thing I don't really like to do. 😒