Paperwork - arrghhhhh!

Well, it's actually it's electronic work now, but I did a mess of it this morning. Whew! I finished the contract for the ACC show and ordered my electric service for it and did some other administrative type stuff for this show. Now I want to get back to making something. The holidays have distracted me from being in my studio. Now it's time to get going.

Today's morning pages were so helpful. I dumped some frustrations on the page and then started brainstorming, mostly asking myself what I wanted. My answers were all about making things. I need to be creating stuff in order to get my energy zooming. That may sound backwards, some people feel they need energy before they can get creative. But I have found that I cannot wait for that to happen -- I need to get moving and get involved in making something in my studio. Then I feel energized. So, morning pages once again got me back on course. Thanks again to Julia Cameron and The Artist's Way.

First, though, I want to get outside and take a walk. It's in the low 50's and mostly sunny today - such a treat for winter. I've been using a DVD for exercise inside lately, but I miss the sun on my face. So, off I go.

It's New Year's Eve and like so many folks, I'll think about making some kind of resolution. A friend of mine always chooses a theme for the next year. I guess mine might be about being more positive and more compassionate in our crazy world. Hard to come up with a word or theme that feels right. I'll ponder for now.

Happy New Year to you and yours. I hope that our world calms down in this coming year and that we will see positive changes for so many who are struggling. Peace and hugs, Karen

Christmas Blessings to All

It's that time of the year when we get stressed and run at warp speed, trying to get everything done until we finally make ourselves stay "STOP" and take time to get quiet and realize what's really going on -- Christmas. Christmas means so many things to so many people. First and foremost, it is the birth of Jesus and time to savor the mystery of faith and hope. Right about now, I'd love to be walking on the beach at Chincoteague - it's where I feel closest to God and the intimate immensity that the ocean brings reminds me of the bigger picture of life.

Christmas is also family, traditions, memories, time together and time to remember others. If you have time, check out this video using Mary Chapin Carpenter's Come Darkness, Come Light  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb4id4rDwd0&noredirect=1 . It says a lot about Christmas and what we celebrate.

I hope that the mystery and miracle of Christmas touches you and blesses you with love for the new year. Karen

Progress

Finally, some progress. I just finished the fifth shoulder bag. I always forget that these things take longer than I think they will. So, I am happy that five are ready for the big show. Here are some photos ...

This is what I call my crazy quilt design. It's made of layers of fabrics, all fused down, then stitched like crazy. I love using the stitches on my machine to decorate these.

This is a nice applique (machine, of course) bag. The opposite side has a fish design.









This last one uses layers to create a landscape of sorts.

I guess I'll start another. Maybe I'll use some of these batiks I've been collecting. It's a good evening to stay in. We are having some snow showers here and it's chilly out there, but cozy inside.

I want this week to go slowly, this last week of Advent. My devotion booklet this year has hope as its theme. With all that is going on in the larger world, we need hope and we need to be God's presence in this world for others, however we can do that. I hope you have time to ponder what this season means to you.

Blessings, Karen

The tradition continues!

Wednesday was our annual Cookie Day. This tradition began before I was married when I spent a day with my then future mother-in-law who taught me some of her favorite recipes. My second married Christmas season found me doing cookie day alone since Katherine had passed away that year, way too young. I have continued making two of her recipes ever since. This was my daughter's 45th year of cookies (sorry Susan for the number) - well, the first two she sat and watched, just as all my grandchildren have done. This year, my daughter Susan, my daughter-in-law Jessica and I were assisted by Abigail, Josh and Bella. It was Bella's first Cookie Day and she became an excellent smasher of peanut butter cookies, with instruction from Abigail.

We've settled on five main cookie recipes, but we make many, many of all of them. The day begins around 8:30 and continues til we are finished - this year it was 12 hours by the time we cleaned up and packed cookies. Here's the morning's first round, which included peanut butter cookies, two kinds of chocolate chips (dark and white chocolate), and Katherine's riscottas.

Then we moved on to do sugar cookies and jelly roll cookies (another handed-down favorite) and Jessica made her peanut candy.

Here are our helpers, Abigail, Bella and Josh celebrating their success and ready to eat COOKIES. All the children  love Cookie Day because all dietary limits are set aside, as you can see from Bella sampling her mom's peanut candy.

As you can tell, this is a wonderful and important day for me. It's so nice to spend time with family, making yummy goodies and carrying on the tradition. Cookie Day adds to the specialness of the Christmas season and gives us gifts to share with others.

Now I have to get to work. I have gatherer's bags in progress and fabric and socks ice dyeing (some are gifts). More later.

What special tradition do you cherish? Karen

No photos today

Today I received an early Christmas gift from my daughter Susan and her family - an orchestra seat at a matinee performance of The Lion King. It was amazing, magnificent, wonderful, breathtaking. I was enthralled and mesmerized. If you haven't seen it, go. The music was energizing and took me back to my days spent in dance studios. I'd love to dance like that. The costumes are amazing - they take the place of scenery. Rich textiles were used in wonderful ways. I really don't have the words to describe all of it. I'd love to see it again and again. I'd love to go backstage and see things up close. Thank you my dear family for a day of magic.

What has left you speechless lately?

Karen

Some progress with a break for tea

The past few days have been busy - time in my studio and time for tea. Actually, tea was a lovely annual Christmas Tea at my daughter's church. Yummy scones with clotted cream and jam. Tea sandwiches. Tiny carrot cupcakes. And, of course, tea and cucumber sandwiches. This year was extra nice because Jessica, my daughter-in-law, sang several seasonal songs and led us in some carols. Jessica has a beautiful voice and was a gift for all of us. Susan, my daughter, gave a great introduction, pointing out that the rest of the family cannot carry a tune or stay on key - it's true, singers we are not and we all admire Jessica's talents. The tea was a nice break from work and a true blessing in this Advent season.

The previous few days have been fun and productive. I played with one of my fused pieces and now have two versions, each with different finishing touches.

First, it was horizontal with confetti. Hmmm.

Then it became vertical with some skinny pieces.



I'll look at them for a couple days before I do the next thing.


Then I took a break from these color play blocks to start some crazy quilt fabric for some bags to sell at the show. I have made several bags of different sizes for myself using this method and constantly get admiring comments on them. So, I'll see if others want them. Here's side one.

Color play and Tea - a lovely start to a new week.
Karen

So much fun

Oh what fun it is to play with fabric and try new things. I put together two pieces following Rayna Gillman's book - well, kinda followed. I'm not sure where either is going. I just have to go to the next chapter in her book. Both have promise. The first is using two of my hand dyed, stamped fabric from a workshop. I like what the turquoise is doing. The orange brightens it. This odd shape is inviting in a goofy way.

This strata (or is it stratum?-don't like that word) was put together by just pulling some strips from a drawer of scraps. I will chop it up and add some boundaries.

Today I plan to do some fusing to make some crazy quilt fabric that will become bags for the show.

It's a gorgeous day, not too cold yet and the sun is shining. My kind of day and a good day for a walk - to walk off some of those calories from all that good food last week.

Enjoy. Karen

Number 33

For the last few days, I've just been coming home and dropping things. So, today I tackled and organized my chaos. Part of this was inventory-ing the quilts I have on hand to take to the ACC Show - 32 are finished! Hoo-ha.

Then I got to sew and put the binding on No. 33 - the small sunflowers. Here it is ...

To celebrate, I opened my thank-you gift from my son and daughter-in-law - deep dark chocolate. Her mother and I watched the children while Sean and Jessica went on a trip. Last night, they gave us a dinner and some yummy chocolate. Really gooooooooooooood!

Now it's time to begin a new piece. I just received Rayna Gillman's newest book, Create Your Own Free Form Quilts. I started reading it a few days ago and felt that I didn't have time to try new techniques; that I should FOCUS on the next ACC piece. I just love her methods and freedom of design. After sewing the binding on the sunflower, I realized that doing that inventory gave me time to play and try something new. As she suggests in the book, I pulled out three pieces of dyed and stamped fabric from a workshop and looked for some go-withs.

Next step -- cutting them up and playing. And I feel that this is play, not work. I'm excited to see what emerges. 

Is there something you need to do that will bring you freedom for something new? Hmmm.

Karen

Fun, Food and Laughter

Thanksgiving weekend is one of my favorite things. This year, three dinners, time with my children and grands, lots of good food, lots of laughter, even a parade, and glorious weather. Three different desserts over the three days. And tonight, when I finally got home after working and a side trip to get some stuff for the ACC show booth, I ate my soup and the last of the desserts - a yummy black bottom cupcake. A good way to end the weekend.

I live on top of a big hill and overlook Westminster. Tonight I can see holiday lights twinkling in many areas, signalling the start of the holiday season. Fun. I wish folks would leave those lights up until the end of February to brighten winter's darkness.

I have a confession -- I was one of those nutty people shopping at midnight Thursday night. I must admit it was kinda fun. People were nice. There was lots of laughter amid the lines waiting for those bargains. I was amazed at the number of big screen TVs going out the door. I guess I thought everyone had one already. AND I actually went out again on Friday morning. AND I did my Amazon order last night. So, I am way ahead on my shopping. That's a relief because the countdown to the ACC show is below 90 days. So I have to get to work.

Karen

Happy Thanksgiving

Don't you just love these gourds? The middle one is know as a Mexican hat. Happy things for my table.
With thanks to Mary Lou Weidman, I recommend a very moving and inspiring video on gratitude ...

http://www.wimp.com/simplegratitude/. It's about 8 or 9 minutes long, but it has a lot to say.

I believe that every day needs time for gratitude. I begin and end my days by giving thanks to God for at least five things. Today began with gratitude for sunshine after several days of heavy rain and gray skies and that Bella is recovering from a long and difficult croup attack. I have found that focusing on being thankful lightens my mood and helps me get through dark times and moves me from negativity to a new view.

This morning, as I sit here typing, everywhere I look I see another thing that I am blessed with - flowers, photos of my family, these crazy bright gourds, books waiting to be read, a painting I did years ago that I love, the radio with shows for this day, a finished quilt, the next one in line to be sewn today, lots of bright fabrics, and the notes on my calendar for family dinners this week. Absolutely wonderful, make that wonder-filled.

I hope that your day and week and year are blessed. Check out that video - it could change your day. I give thanks for all of you who are sharing my journey.

Hugs to you, Karen

A full and fulfilling weekend

This was a busy weekend. I taught two workshops and shared a Thanksgiving dinner with my Benedictine friends. Each event filled me. I like to teach and I like to eat and I love being with friends. AND I feel really good when participants go home happy.

Today I led a group through what I call "Praying with Watercolors." Every time I've led this workshop, I have felt so blessed as people shared what they did and how a few hours doing something new or different has refreshed them. I know it's not me - it's Spirit being present and gifting us all. Truly awesome.

What a nice way to start a new week.

What blessings are you bringing to this new week?

Karen

Yikes - 98 days til the ACC Show

This countdown thing makes me nervous. How will I ever get everything done that I want to have done for the ACC Show in 98 days? And I sure don't have time for worrying or panic. It all will get done, maybe.

I have made progress this week. The hummingbird is complete and bound and actually hanging. I started working on the small sunflower wall hanging - put two borders on it and here I am testing the outer border ...

Today I put two pieces of fabric into ice dyes to be used for backings. I really like this process of dyeing fabric. It's pretty low tech and low effort AND since the fabric isn't sitting in the dye, the rinsing process takes a lot less time. Below is a photo of an ice dyed piece that will be the background for a field of sunflowers.

This weekend I have two workshops that I am leading. So, I won't have studio time until  Wednesday. Another YIKES! OK, I have to quit whining. Sorry about all that. All these things are great. I am very blessed to have work to do, to have this show to be in, to have workshops I can share with others, and to have three Thanksgiving dinners to look forward to.

Now, if I could only figure out how to make this blog work like other blogs, I'd be giggling all over myself.

One more photo of a really cool ice dyed fabric.

It reminds me of a spring garden.

Time to get back to work. Oh, this is really cool - tonight is the peak viewing time for the Leonid meteor shower AND the sky is clear. So, maybe I might see some dazzling meteorites flying through the sky.

What dazzles you?
Karen

Check one more off the to-do list

Well, it's almost finished. I just have to put the binding on this charming hummingbird and then it's ready for the show. Whew! The design is based on native American/First People of Canada/Inuit styles of drawing and painting animals and birds. It has a flavor of drawings from totem poles. The figure is broken into basic shapes within shapes. I have a pin that inspired this design. In native cultures, the hummingbird is a symbol of joy and healing.

The hummingbird was one of the blocks I did years ago for an autobiography quilt that never got made. My next small quilt is another of those blocks - a sunflower. Here's the beginning.

One more photo from my family. Last night was Matt's last football game. His team made it to the finals and came in fourth for the league. The best part was that he played in this game. Congrats, Matt.

I keep getting emails about November being gratitude month. I am certainly grateful for family and completed projects.

How about you?
Karen

One more photo from Assateague

"You never know who's watching" - that's what my older brother used to tell me when I was a teenager. It was his way of telling me to behave. Yeah. But often, I'd find one of his buddies nearby. So, mostly I behaved.

On Friday as I walked back from my windy view of the ocean at Assateague, I was pleasantly surprised by a woman who had been watching and said she had taken a couple photos of me battling the wind and would be happy to email them to me. With thanks to Lorelei, here's a shot of me in that wind.

I really was struggling to stand upright in that wind. I like this photo also because I look thin and fit, and almost tall. How nice of a stranger to send this photo. What's that quote about strangers being angels?

How has a stranger blessed you lately?

Karen

Something old, something new

Every time I think I'm running out of ideas, something pops up. I have two large pieces that I want to start, but I'm not ready - a bit of fear about messing up these two gorgeous hunks of fabric. So, I procrastinated some more and woo hoo, this hummingbird appeared.

She's five or six years old now. She was one of a bunch of blocks that I intended to put together for a quilt for my bed. Didn't happen. I just kept moving the hanger holding them from closet to closet, saying one day - maybe. Lost interest in them. The other day I moved them again and the hummingbird called. So, she is becoming a nice little wall hanging. But, what to do, what to do, to make that happen? I pulled out some batiks (batiks always work for me) and started making wonky flying geese to become the border.

Hmm, these could play together nicely. Hope they can hang out til Wednesday. Tomorrow is Tuesday with the girls and then a guild meeting.

What's in your closet?

Karen

Where the deer and the horses play

I know I was only away for 36 hours, but I feel so full that it seems like days. My Thursday began with this marvelous sunrise ...

It was an easy and quick drive to Delaware. My first stop was at Serendipity Quilt Shop in Dagsboro. If you are a quilter and you go 'down the ocean', you have to stop there. It's a delight to visit there. I was only going to get some 505 basting spray, but some  fabrics called my name. Then I headed up to visit with my friends Peg and Neil. Peg's in round two of chemo and I was so pleased to see how good she looks right now. Prayers always help with the healing. We gabbed and caught up on some TV and I sewed on two bindings. A great visit.

Then I was torn between just visiting Assateague National Seashore or spending a night at Chincoteague. Well, the weather helped me decide. It was getting colder and very, very windy. But I needed to see the ocean in a natural state -- without buildings and clutter. So, I decided on Assateague. Just driving down the highway that leads to the parks felt joyful. These trees jumped out and called to be in something one day. Something about a path ...

For now, I'll settle on several photos. As I drove into the park, the critters appeared ...

The wild ponies live all over Assateague Island, but only roam freely on the north end.  In the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge, the ponies are fenced in to protect us and them. On Friday, I saw only a couple. I think they had more sense to stay in the woods and avoid the high winds. I had to walk out on this walkway and at least see the ocean for a few minutes. And that's all I could do. The wind was so strong, I could hardly stand up. You can see the sand whipping up over the boardwalk here.

And the surf



When I got back in my car, I was surprised to find sand inside my socks. Way too windy for me, but not for some hardier souls in a tent yet. 

I wasn't there very long and I didn't get to walk along the water's edge, but I felt blessed by nature, by the ocean, by its rawness, by the power of the wind. As I drove home, I was filled with gratitude for the whole visit. And I'll be back ...

What are you grateful for today? Make a list and give thanks.

Karen

Computers, quilts and stitches

This morning was one of those 'technology stinks' days. My daughter's computer was giving her nasty messages about 'disk read errors'. That's not what you want to see. I heard some panic in her voice - there were no backup copies of all her files. I put on my old techie hat and went over to help. Somehow I got past the error screens and was able to copy what she needed. She home schools her children and a lot of her files were school related. A couple hours later, we had success and a full DVD. Panic was averted. Then I got back to my studio for some work.

I've been out for the past three days, but managed to sneak in some time on a couple pieces. One is playing nicely and the other is back on the wall. 

As I played with Sun Rise, I was taken over by a desire to do handwork, to put in quilting stitches by hand! Wow, what a surprise. People who know my quilting style might tell you I get a bit OCD about free motion quilting. I like lots of details and lots of thread in designs. So, here I am quilting one stitch at a time. A nice challenge. I like what's happening here. Who knows what else this quilt will ask for?

But I sure don't know what these 'blue spirits' want. I keep looking at them and nothing comes. I showed it to a friend who hesitated before saying anything - then said she wasn't sure what these things were -- bowling pins, coffins? So, it's back up on the wall .

Tomorrow I'm off to Delaware for a couple days to visit my friend Peg. We tend to sit and gab and watch a movie or two so I am taking two quilts to be bound and Sun Rise for more hand work. I may have to stop and get a fresh apple pie from Baugher's to add to our visit. Hmm.

Karen

Choosing Happy

This week brings the one year anniversary of my move to Westminster and my cozy home here. I had moved in September to an apartment I thought would work well, but very, very soon, it all turned sour and difficult. Something told me to save all the boxes as I unpacked them. Good thing, because I moved again in less than six weeks. That experience was the final blow in a very stressful year. Quickly, I found this delightful place to live, moved and settled in.

A week later, I took a workshop on story quilts with Mary Lou Weidman and began having fun again as I designed and sewed my new shower curtain called 'Home At Last'.

Notice my creative flower garden, my hot cowgirl boots (I asked for cowgirl boots every year as a child), and my curly blond hair. It's fun to walk into the bathroom every morning and smile at the colors, patterns and my new year.

I almost did not take the workshop, thinking I should get unpacked and settled in my new home, but a little voice in me told me to go have some fun. And I did. Looking back on this past year, I can see more and more times that I chose to do what would bring me joy and laughter. I chose to be happy. It is a choice that we all have over and over. It's easy, especially in these trying times, to let the world bring us down, but we must look for the beauty, embrace the joy and live out loud in happiness. As Roger Miller said many years ago, 'you can't roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you've a mind to, just knuckle down, buckle down and do it, do it, do it.'

Where will you find happiness today?

Karen

Family = Joy

Matthew is my oldest grandchild. He's 17, a senior in high school and a freshman in college at the same time. He's quite a guy. Last night was his homecoming game. He's played football for three years and loves it, follows the Ravens and does the fantasy football thing. At halftime, they honored the seniors and their parents, then read some notes each player had written. Our whole family was there to honor him.  He was disappointed that he could not play because his hand injury flared up. While we all would have liked to see him play (and the team win), we were there for him and all are proud of him. He's a good guy.

I cherish these family gatherings, just as I cherish each person in my family. A friend asked why I would go sit on cold metal bleachers and get precipitated upon if he wasn't playing (a mix of mist and snow flakes) - well, it's family and that's important to me. All the other grandchildren cheered the team on and cheered even louder as Matthew, oops he likes Matt, was honored. As the few snow flakes appeared, Juliana declared school might be closed on Monday and Bella, who has watched a few Christmas videos, looked up at the lights, saw some snowflakes, declared it was Christmas, and then stuck her tongue out to catch snowflakes. As we left, we all hugged and Bella wished everyone Merry Christmas. A really good night.

And to top it off nicely, the car heater worked fantastically.

How do you celebrate family? Karen

An ADD Day

Focus was elusive today. I kept jumping from project to project and finally decided to work on another thing hanging around for months. Having a large design wall is really great but things seem to grow on it. This is a good thing really since I have to make more stuff for the show in February.

Anyway, I made some progress on a piece currently named 'blue spirits' - not because they are sad or depressed but because I printed all these spirit figures in blues. Here's the start of it ...

But I could not leave it the way it was, so I cut some figures out and moved them around til I liked what I had and decided to put it together. The hardest thing I did all day was choose a backing fabric. You would think I'd have something in this stash, but it took forever. I blame it all on having an ADD day.

Tomorrow I have to clean this place. My friend Lynn is coming from WV to teach on Saturday and is staying with me. So I must dance with the vacuum and clear away debris so we can sit and talk. I hope I can get back to the 'blues'. Then I'll go to Matthew's homecoming football game and hope it doesn't snow. He's a senior and will be honored at half time for three years of football. Let's hope they win. Here's Matthew enjoying one of his favorite activities ...

Have a great Friday. Celebrate by hugging those around you. Karen

Back in The Studio

Back to work today and listening to the piece on the wall. Since that previous photo, I added a rising sun and stitched in 'rays'. Stepping back from it, I knew I had to do some things to give it pizzazz. First came the gold points using Shiva paintsticks. I thought I would add more gold in the next set of points using thread, but could not find the thread to match. So, I found my trusty brush and used silver fabric ink to fill in the second set of points. It's coming along. Not sure what's next. So, I'll play with another stamped fabric that's been on the design wall for a bit. Here's Sun Rise so far:

And a close-up of the top. As Bella, my three-year-old grand says, 'it's working'.

And here's Bella. She was a ballerina that day. Don't you wish you could wake up each day and decide who you might be for that day? It's too bad we can't remember what it was like to be 3.

Thanks for journeying with me. Karen

Mondays and Tuesdays are my days outside my studio, working and helping family. I try to stay present in those modes, but there is a part of me always drifting back to my studio and what I am doing next.

Over the weekend, I dyed two pieces of fabric using the ice dyeing technique. My apartment is compact and has carpeting almost everywhere. So I use the bathroom to set up the ice dyeing containers, close to the tub for dumping and rinsing. With ice dyeing, the fabric is placed on a rack in a container, covered with ice, sprinkled with a bit of dye powder and left to melt for 24 hours. As you can see here, the bathroom is pretty crowded, but the end result is worth it.

I'll take a photo of the end results later. In the meantime, I'm starting to ponder what the next step is on this piece (which has been hanging around for over a year).

But for now, I need to focus on Tuesdays with the girls. More tomorrow. Look for the sunshine. Karen

Wild and Precious

About a year ago, I took a workshop with Jane Dunnewold on Complex Cloth. We painted, dyed, stamped, stencilled and just plain messed with fabric. One of the pieces I came home with was the start of Wild and Precious based on Mary Oliver's wonderful words "How then will you live your one wild and precious life? I began by painting the fabric with transparent paints from Pro Chem. Once dry, I used blue glue to write the words, let it dry again, then covered it with a flour paste and let that dry. After crumbling it up and breaking the flour paste surface, I painted it with black paint and let it dry.  This is what I came home with and taped to the wall.

For a long time, I touched it as I passed by and did nothing else to it. Now with the ACC show in the future, I took it down and began. The first thing was to better define the letters. I got out a favorite brush made by my friend Keith and gold fabric ink and filled in the shapes.

That sorta worked, but not enough. So, I used white opaque fabric paint and that wonderful brush again and got ...

Now I liked the words. "Imagine" had been added using a stencil with matte medium and white gold leaf. Now it was time for borders. Version one ...

Ouch, those blocks have taken over the piece. So, I ripped that off and got new borders. Fast forward to the end, I used a few different free motion designs to quilt it and VOILA, the end piece ...

And just a close-up of those important words ...

The final size is about 19" x 29". I like it. It seems to work. The best thing is that I finished it in less than a week. Working on small pieces is new for me, but I plan to do more.

Thanks for reading through this one. Enjoy the sunshine. Karen