Recouperating

I had my sinus surgery this week on Wednesday, in Moncton, a couple of hours from here. It used to be such an uncomfortable surgery (this was number 6) but they've made such advances that it was all very comfortable.

It is a short surgery, but still requires a general anaesthetic so I'm taking it easy. The hospital that is near my home is doing renovations and the noise of the continual pounding of girders has kept me from snoozing. They start at 7:00am, even on Sunday's.

Today, we visited our in laws at the beach and I went off to the front porch where I had a lovely nap with the sound of the surf in the background.

I managed a couple of short sessions in the sewing room. I really want to get this piece onto the quilting part of it.

You see the bottom left corner? It won't be staying like that. I ran out of blue and silly me I had some in my hands at the quilt shop Tuesday, and didn't think I would need it. I must call first thing in the morning to see if I can get it.

The snow is receding from our yard and my raised bed is free. Hubby came up with the idea of using the old shower doors for the top. It will help melt the ice and I'll be able to start early veggies.

 

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Time off

I'll be taking a short break from my sewing and quilting for a sinus surgery this week. I just started another baby quilt as I like to have a couple on hand. The bottom is on my design wall should I be able to do a few seams here and there.

A simple Trip Around the World.

Have a good week!

 

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Livening up reject Prints

I had only a short time to spend in the studio today, so I turned to playing with a small screen printed fabric that I felt was pretty ugly.

The blue/pink/purple was not intense enough and the white flowers were hard to see. I decided I'll use it for one of the baguette zippered pouches that have the vinyl window in the front.

I got out my Neocolor II crayons and added some of the blue and pink around the flowers for more definition.

It makes a difference. Once I add a bit of free motion stitching, it'll be fine. It's fun to experiment with these little bits and satisfying to make a much appreciated small gift with them.

Never give up on a piece. Scribble on it, cut it up, stitch over it, add some fused leaves or flowers, have fun.

 

 

 

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Rainy Tuesday

I was just thinking that it's been a while since we've had a mild and rainy day. It's amazing how the snow has melted. This is the messy part of spring--the smelly, wet and muddy part when everything is gray and dirty and nothing has come into bud yet. Sounds unappealing, but there is hope--the ice has retreated from the Bay and patches of grass are slowly revealing themselves. The migrating birds have returned and today I noticed a male goldfinch with yellow patches as it slowly turns from its grey winter color to its bright yellow Summer color.

I met for some hand stitching and lunch with my quilting friends and we were reminiscing about the desserts and puddings that we grew with. We were all acquainted with tapioca. I had the craving and had to come home and make some.

My mom used to serve it with syrup or fruit and sometimes she made a chocolate version. I opted for a tiny drizzle of maple syrup. It is the season after all.

I had about an hour to spend in the studio. As usual I've got a few projects in different stages.

I'm stitching up a sleeping fox cushion for my mom's birthday. When she was in her house, a fox used to curl up in front of their sliding doors on the deck.

I'm still in the mood for little projects so I grabbed this small sample piece of one of my screen prints and added some Neocolor II crayons for the background color.

When I'm looking to make another bag or mug rug, I'll add some painted or applique flowers.

I'm almost onto the outside borders on the sun prints piece. The blue all around, I think. I'm anxious to get to the stitching and quilting parts.

 

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Sun prints

After the market, groceries and lunch, I headed into the sewing studio.

The first thing I did was to take updated photos of myself. Don't you hate doing that? It was time though. My header looked great to me but to be honest, it needed updating. It was a younger version of myself.

What do you think of the wider format? I'm not sure about it yet- still could change it to a single line of squares.

I then turned to the sun prints on the design wall and put the two top sections together. Oh my, I am so indecisive lately that I'm in a continual state of confusion! I have repieced the whole thing-- not sure if I like it better now or before.

These are the two top sections, not stitched together vertically yet.

I will carry on though. There is always an unsure stage and it's better to finish, however it goes.

I've been playing with the tiny strips that I cut off when doing the strip piecing. My idea is to use them for a background. I'm not sure if I want to do it horizontally--

 

Or vertically.

And can I make it work with all those colors? Decisions, decisions!

 

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Playing with Gelli prints and free motion stitching

I've been feeling a bit scattered and frazzled lately even though I do work at trying to stay relaxed and focused. This week I'm a little more grounded. I've simply stayed home, eating good food, and doing what I love, being aware of my need to take breaks.

My sun print piece is almost where I want it to be, so it's a matter of putting it all together.

I'm letting it rest on the design wall while I play with s few Gelli prints from last fall.

These ones were deemed a little less than 'perfect' and I de idea to chop them up and have some fun fre motion stitching.

The one above and below is made with a piece of a dried astilbe that I printed onto an already printed Gelli background.

To take something that at first doesn't seem what I'd hoped for and then have fun with it is satisfying. Even better is to make them into some little projects that I will use for gifts.

I'm making needle cases.

Here are the insides of two more ready to go.

Besides playing in my studio, I hung out a line of clothes, packaged up a piece of artwork for mailing, and managed a 12 minute walk to check the mail.

I even tried a 16 minute Qi gong sequence that I found on the net. I think it would work well for me with the osteoarthritis as it seems easy on the joints. It's more of a workout than it looks as well. I wish there was someone here in town that taught it.

A good day.

 

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