Happy Easter!

 If the Magic Easter Tree is blooming, it must be Easter!  This is a dogwood tree in my friend Beth's backyard (in Sacramento, California -- sorry to all of you who are still walking on frozen ground!), and it somehow manages to bloom just in time for Easter every year, no matter whether Easter is in March or April.  It's magic, clearly, hence our name for it.  
 

The little baby blossoms are exquisite, dainty little cups that seem to open a bit more every minute.  I can't seem to stop taking pictures of them.

There are other flowers blooming the yard too -- here's a gorgeous camellia that makes me think of strawberry swirl ice cream. 

I'm here to help Beth for a few days as she recovers from foot surgery.  So she is sitting with her foot propped up high, and I'm fetching things and plumping pillows and bringing medications on schedule.  Today we got her set up on the back porch so we could enjoy the lovely day while we chatted and poked around on our screened devices.  This is the sort of nursing I like. 

How lovely to be able to just sit and soak up Spring!

That slow mood

Do you ever have times where you just feel droopy all day?  I've been in one of those phases. And I've tried chalking it up to a bunch of different things:  the aftermath of the burst of painting and decorating energy I've had, that Daylight Savings' lost hour, the emotional fallout from doing some heavy emotional work via Al-anon ... Or maybe it's just that, since the whole downstairs was in disarray for 10 days, Gemma has come to sleep in my bedroom, and every time I turn over during the night she considers it appropriate to come over to the bed and poke her face at me in delight that I'm there. 

 When I come downstairs in the morning, I make my mug of coffee and go sit in the living room to enjoy the morning sunshine and the new rug and read email, and I've had a few days where I could have just sat there all day reading and napping and waiting for my mom and dad to take their turns in Words with Friends.  Computer games are perfect for moods like that.

But then things need to be done, and I get moving, and I'm happily immersed in planning ahead in the school curriculum and painting the dining room hutch (yes, STILL.  But I'm on the doors which is the last part) and making progress on a new art quilt, and folding laundry.  Well, except for the folding laundry -- that's not something that thrills me but heck, it gets done. 

And by late afternoon, there is time to sit outside in the sunshine while Gemma roams on the lawn.  Those primroses I bought two weeks ago still haven't gotten themselves planted, but heck, I"m enjoying them in their little cartons anyway. 

There's always tomorrow.

Do you have moods like this?  And how do you jostle yourself out of them?

Home Progress

So, the new floors are in and a (relative) peace has settled in the house.  No more workers and saws and buzzing noises and dust!  Well, I should qualify... there is lots of dust around here!  But at least the creation of daily sawdust has ceased.  Phew.  You can see that Gemma is inspecting the floor carefully.

I shopped forEVER for an area rug to lighten up the (now) dark floor and brown couches and brown furniture ... and I finally found one, which arrived last weekend.  And I love it.  (It's from Garnet Hill, btw.  This is my second rug from them and I have been delighted with the look and quality of both of them.) 

I'm not liking the yellow sofa pillows much but this was the first look with the rug down.  I now need to reaccessorize and haul the stuff that I stored upstairs during the floor work BACK downstairs, and get things moved back in.  I also found the perfect fabric to make curtains and soften up the room some.  So it was a good news/bad news thing.  Yay! I found the right fabric!  Oh no, now I have to make them!  Eventually. But that rug makes me very happy. 

And, as long as the floor guys had moved the dining room furniture out to the garage during the work, I decided to take the opportunity to paint a piece of furniture that has been bugging me since we got it.  The dining room is relatively small, with a wall that has two windows and a narrow space between them.  When we found a china cabinet that would fit in that space (at a consignment store for a great price) we grabbed it.  It fits well and it functions beautifully -- but it was very dark, stained wood and I ended up feeling that it loomed over the room in an unpleasant way.  When the floor guys took it out of the room, I felt instantly relieved.

So, inspired by the furniture painting lessons and encouragement on Pinterest and DIY blogs, I decided to paint the thing. 

 One of my favorite home improvement/decorating bloggers, Kate at Centsational Girl, provided great detailed instructions for painting furniture which gave me just what I needed to know.  So I've been spending time sanding, filling, priming and as of yesterday, painting. Here it is with the first primer coat.  (That front piece, which has glass-fronted doors, stacks on the rear piece.)

 Upon reflection, it probably wasn't the smartest idea to start with a huge piece with drawers and doors and two big sections ... This is clearly going to take some time.  But heck... I figure that once I do this, any project after will seem easier.   I should add that on this piece, the shelves are nailed in place so painting those bottom shelves equired lying on my back and painting to get the undersides, which are visible when the piece is assembled and glass doors are on  (While swiping away from that not very comfortable position, I pondered  Michelangelo. There is not a Sistine Chapel in my future.)

See that round table up there in the living room picture?  I plan to paint that a creamy white.  I should have started with that, I'm thinking now.  Oh well.  Live and learn.  And paint. 
 

Feeling Springy

The mustard is in full bloom around here, so I am feeling very springy.  Isn't that gorgeous?  When I took Miss C to her horseback riding lesson last week, I couldn't help wandering off to take some pictures of the field next to the ring.  

I've got various projects going, not the least of which is heavy cleaning after installing new floors throughout the downstairs in the house kicked up a TON of dust.  But the result is wonderful and I'm delighted it's in and finished.

I've taken a break from cleaning to finish a project (yahoo!) and start some new things. First, I finally put the binding on the red flying geese quilt I started some months ago, which I call "Every Which Way."  I also realized that I have a bunch of big quilts I've never photographed in full because I don't have a big wall on which to hang them for that purpose.  But I rearranged the bedroom recently and that freed up a wall which will work for that purpose.  So there's a quilt photo-shoot day in my future and I'll be able to show a full picture of this and some other quilts.)

I was so charmed by seeing a lovely scrappy Trip Around the World quilt that I couldn't resist cutting up a bunch of scraps to make one for myself.  All you need is a whole bunch of 2 1/2 inch strips at 16 inches long.  The easy method for making these blocks is here
  and yes, it really IS easy and yes, it is rather addictive, seeing how every block comes out differently.  I've got a stack made, because you know -- when things are busy and you have a ton of things to do, that's always a good time to start a new quilt!  I am looking forward to finding time to sew them together.

Coffee, Anyone?

 During this past week (and for the next few days) the entire downstairs of the house has been in extreme disarray as workers tear out the old flooring to replace it with some lovely dark wood laminate.  This change has been in the works for months, and was originally planned for last November, but product shipping meant that it is happening now.  And that has not turned out to be a bad thing, actually -- there's been a lot of household discombobulation with Mr. H's departure, so having every room in the house feel wildly topsy-turvy seems sort of fitting.  When it's all done, it will be clean and fresh and it will give the downstairs a whole new look, and that is a welcome thing about now.

But here's what makes me grin every morning.  I had to clear off all of the counters in the kitchen to avoid the flying dust and debris while they work downstairs so I brought the coffee maker upstairs into the bathroom.  And every morning, I take a weird pleasure at being able to make my morning coffee right upstairs in the bathroom.  I can even look at myself in the mirror while I do it.

It's such an odd thing but it makes me laugh every morning.  I feel a bit like I'm in a hotel.  Sure, I have to go downstairs and out to the garage to get the milk (I had to empty the kitchen fridge because they need to unplug and move that around to put the new floor under it) but even so, it's a funny  start to the morning.  I know someone who lives in a rather grand and large home, and she has a "butler's kitchen" in her very expansive master suite, complete with a coffee maker, mini-fridge, cupboard for snacks, etc.  When I saw it I thought it was quite odd.  But now I totally get the appeal.

So here is how the new floor looks right now, partially done (and very dirty):

And here is what the family room looks like currently, with the kitchen furnishings crammed in.  This shows the bare concrete and they will be working on adding the wood today:

Oh, what a dusty mess it all is.  But then sometimes life IS a dusty mess, isn't it?  I'm in one of those times now, but gosh, it feels good to have peace ahead.  I could make all sorts of jokes about "a new foundation" or "new footing" or some such things... but it's true. 

Today, while the work continues downstairs, I plan to shut myself into my studio for some scrappy sewing.  And I'll probably drink too much coffee, just because it's so fun to make it up here.

Chuck and I

I am feeling quite empowered these days.  Last week was about wielding a paintbrush (Emplowerment Phase 1) -- this week it has been power tools (Phase 2) What is it about using a power drill or screw-driver that is so exciting? 

I installed shelving in my newly-rosy office.

(Note here to any Black & Decker people reading this:  When you write the instructions for operating the drill, please identify what the "chuck" is on the drill.  When one --ahem-- is new at this, one reads the instructions to find out how to use the tool.  And repeated references to the "chuck" without ever identifying "the chuck" is hardly helpful.  I figured it out, no thanks to the written materials. Chuck and I are good buddies, now.)

I also assembled a small flat-pack bookcase which holds boring and unattractive legal reference books in the closet.  So with Chuck's help (he not only  drills but he screws, too) I got that thing together in no time.

Today, I assembled a day bed which will double as a comfy lounging and reading place in the office, and guest accommodations.  As my first guest arrives on Friday, I have this thing together just in time.  Between getting it all assembled and then getting the whole thing made up, I figure I've accomplished my work-out for the day.

BUT THEN I went on to Empowerment Phase 3 -- electronics!  The CD/DVD player we've had for years finally bit the dust, and the new DVD player arrived today.  (They are surprisingly inexpensive now, and so tiny!)  So I unhooked the old thing, hooked up the new one, AND rearranged the components on the shelves so they fit better and look tidy.  Best of all, they all worked fine when I tried them out.

I have now thoroughly worn myself out so perhaps a test of the daybed for a trial nap is in order...

Random Thoughts From a Fevered Weekend.

Do I have the flu? Or an ordinary head cold? If I feel like this, does it matter knowing what it is?

Chicken soup never tastes as good when I make it myself.

Changing the sheets on the bed is one of those annoying jobs (especially when the bed is against a wall) but it is SO worth it to climb into a bed with fresh sheets. I marvel over my friend DB who changes the sheets on her bed EVERY SINGLE DAY.

A certain dog who happens to be wearing a big cone on her head (Two knees. Three knee surgeries. Just sayin'.) managed to wedge the edge of the cone under her full dinner dish and flip the whole thing over. Let's hope this is not a new dinner time game.

On Project Runway, when a designer claims directly to the camera, "I am better than everyone here and I am going to win this thing, " you have a good idea of who will crash and burn and leave in that episode. The editors' subtle idea of irony, I guess.

Is it actually possible to have all of the laundry done? For half a day, maybe? Clearly I am dreaming BIG.

Puffs are softer than Kleenex. My nose knows.

A certain cat in the household likes to chew on tulip leaves but will leave other cut flowers alone. What is THAT about?

I seem to be obsessed with the idea of putting buffalo check curtains in the living room. But my mind boggles when I calculate how much fabric I would need. I'll worry about that tomorrow.

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On a good day --a very, very good day -- this is how my office/studio could look.  I say "could" because it would have required extreme effort on my part to keep the work table clean, and to keep that spot on the left next to my computer monitor free of papers and miscellaneous stuff waiting for handling. 

But, as I've mentioned, I now have the room to expand.  The computer desk you see on the left there (a big corner unit), and a table that you don't see, has been moved to another bedroom down the hall.  So I have two dedicated spaces: one for sewing, and the other for work, computer business -- but wait, there's more!  That office now holds a table which I hope to use as a dedicated space for painting.  I can hardly believe it.

Yesterday, the main project was to wrestle the furniture out of one room into the other, and to get the computer hooked up and running.  I will add that, in preparation for that, I painted the office a lovely color and touched up all of the white trim.  As long as I had the trim painting in hand, I went around the house, touching up nicks and dents and scrapes so things like all white and clean.   As it turned out, moving the furniture required taking the doors off of the hinges, removing the feet and some miscellaneous parts from the desk, and basically shoving it through at one point.  But here are a few lessons learned: 1) Move furniture first, THEN do the paint touch up.  I'll have to get out the paint again to deal with a few (ahem) gouges at the edge of the door frame.  2) A silicone ironing sheet does not work as a furniture slider.  Yes, I tried, and no, it didn't really make a difference.  Good idea, though, huh?

Today was dedicated to taking the studio from a full-out disaster zone to reasonably tidy.  No, I didn't take pictures.  But I did fill a whole lot of garbage bags, and in case you need a picture, here you go:

At some point, mystified by some marks on the work table that wouldn't come clean, I remembered I had some of these Mr Clean eraser thingies downstairs.  I went and fetched one, and lo and behold, it worked miraculously.  I don't know what magic product these sponges have in them, but they clean amazing things.  And so that lead me to a somewhat frenzied excursion around the house, swiping away with a Mr Clean eraser and chortling gleefully at how stains or marks I had resigned to being permanent just wiped away.

Cleaning with these is weirdly addictive, and I say that as someone who is decidedly NOT a good cleaner.  The weird rust-like stains on my white enameled bread box?  Gone like magic.  The scuff marks at the bottom of the door to the hall closet?  Vanished.  At one point Miss C came downstairs to remind me it was time for our trip to the animal shelter for volunteer kitty time, and I found it hard to stop cleaning.

Hah.  I know.  I think I'll have to check at Costco to see if they sell these things in bulk.  If you don't hear from me in a week or two, send help -- I might be doing laps around the house, eraser in hand, scanning for marks to clean.

I will post pictures when things are settled.  But for now, I'm enjoying the new space and feeling proud of myself for all of the stuff I'm purging and the dirt I'm erasing. 

I think I deserve a hot bath and a brownie tonight.

In the Pink

Apparently there are people who can paint a room and end up with all of the paint on their walls, instead of on their bodies and clothes.  I see them on HGTV all the time -- they toss on an apron over lovely clothes and start painting and by the time they're done, they look just the same.

Me?  Not so much.  When I titled this post "In the Pink," I was speaking literally.  I have spent the last few days painting the room I'm converting to my work and computer office.  It's a small room -- 10x11, maybe, nothing complicated.  Still, I managed to get paint EVERYwhere.  On my clothes.  On my arms and legs and glasses and feet.  There was one exciting (and I mean that in a bad way) moment when I knocked the paint tray off of the ladder and it fell straight down, landing upside down of course.  Thank goodness I'd taken my messiness into consideration and covered the floor liberally with plastic-backed drop cloths.  And how many times did I then STEP into the spilled paint splotch?  Once is bad enough, but yes, I did it more than that. 

Sheesh.  How do those HGTV folks do it?

I can at least report that I did not get a single speck of paint on my Ipad, which I had in there to listen to NPR and TED talks while I painted. 

At any rate, aside from a tiny bit of touching up on the white trim (which I'll do tomorrow), I am DONE. 

 I can hardly wait to start moving furniture in and organizing the office.  And then that will lead to re-organizing my sewing room to take advantage of the space vacated by the desk.  So more excitement ahead, but at least the painting is done. 

And, by the way, I now remember why I vowed after painting the family room and kitchen a few years ago that from then on I'd hire painters. 

A New Sense of Well-Being

There are times in one's life that present opportunities for reinvention.  Sometimes we recognize them, as with the start of a new job, or a move to a new place; sometimes they seem like part of life's progression, and only in retrospect do we recognize how much our lives and our roles in them evolved.  Graduating from school and transitioning to the working world, getting married, adopting a child -- I look back at those times and while I knew those were big milestone events that would change my life, I didn't appreciate how much they'd change me and my sense of myself.

I've been in transition over the last year, and I'm glad to report that I've entered a new and contented phase.  It's definitely a time of reinvention -- I'm viewing myself and my life in a new way, not quite sure what will come, but feeling hopeful and peaceful and energized.  I feel a bit like that branch in the photo up there -- something has been lopped off, but something new is starting to bloom, too.  It's odd, and a bit scary at times, but mainly it feels good.

So I've been working on cleaning house -- literally and figuratively.  I feel the need to get the space around me tidied up and uncluttered and serene.  (Okay, I'll confess that I've got a long way to go before things get to "serene" around here -- I just have too much stuff around me that I love and get pleasure from seeing!  But it's getting better!)  On the literal side, I've hauled boxes of clothes and shoes and household items to the Salvation Army, and I've weeded books from the shelves to donate to the library for its next sale.  I'm moving things around, and I've even begun painting the room that will soon be my working office in a delicate ballet slipper peachy-pink, so I can work in a rosy glowing space.  My sewing space will expand a bit (moving the desk out gives me a few more precious feet of space -- hurray) and I'm creating a corner that will be dedicated to drawing and painting so I don't have to put away the sewing things before I can break out the watercolors. 

And I'm making lists, lots of lists-- and setting some new paths for myself (I'll avoid the dreaded Resolution word) to get back to things I have loved and missed (like blogging here more regularly).  When the weather warms up a bit, I'll get out to the garden, too. 

Oh, so much to do, so many ideas and plans ... and it feels very good. 

Here comes a new year!

You may have surmised by my frequent silences here that the past year has been a strange and difficult one for me.  I've found it hard to write blog entries -- talking about what has been going on in my life has felt too personal and too revealing and, at times, just too hard, and trying to talk about other things has felt, well, superficial and sort of phony.  The good part is that I've done a lot of inner work, and I've looked at some hard things, and I've realized a lot about myself.  So I think I can call this past year a Year of Discovery and move on.  (Not that I plan to stop reflecting and discovering. But I'm ready for FUN discoveries.)

But you know, 2012 had a lot of wonderful things.  And although I'm looking forward to 2013 with a sense of eagerness I've never felt for a new year before, I don't want to ignore the great things that I've experienced in 2012.

* I have the BEST friends.  I won't name names -- they know who they are.  But gosh, what a wonderful thing it is to feel the love and support of dear friends, new and old.

* Our Twelve by Twelve project continued with a year of new challenges -- 12x20 in size, with some very challenging themes -- and even while we all found ourselves and our project evolving, I continued to appreciate and treasure the amazing bond we've formed through 5 years of sharing our art quilts.   And even while I wasn't bursting with art quilty creative inspiration for much of this past year, I did appreciate the 12x12 deadline and commitment, to take me back to fabric and my sewing machine.

*  I think I held my breath through the month of October -- but what a relief the outcome of the November election was. 

*  Singing with the Healdsburg chorus has continued to be a delight and never fails to cheer me.  I've made some lovely friends and opened up a whole new world of learning.  I still marvel that I ventured into chorus because I thought my husband would like it and it'd be something we could do together, and while he didn't have any interest, I've ended up loving it.  I'm already looking forward getting back to a new batch of music in a few weeks.


*  Homeschooling Miss C has continued to be an adventure.  I find surprising enjoyment in the process of finding material and ways to present information to Miss C so it will resonate and maybe even be enjoyable.  Seeing her devour a book of Edgar Allen Poe stories, laugh at Mark Twain's "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" were real pleasures for me.

   
* My explorations in drawing and watercolor painting have continued to provide me with a lot of pleasure.  And through the wonder of online classes, I've been able to learn new things and I've met some delightful and talented artists.  I'm looking forward to more drawing and painting and learning.

* Most importantly, I'm so glad that my family is healthy and I'm so grateful for their love and support.  

Through the wonders of Smilebox (free) slideshow maker, here are a few more photos from the last year. 

Free photo slideshow created with Smilebox

It's Not about the Autism

In the wake of the horrific events in Connecticut, so many of us are wondering how such a thing could happen.  News media have begun to speculate about the involvement of mental illness -- how could anyone NOT, with what has happened -- and there have been mentions of the possible connection of Aspergers and/or Autism.

 For those of us who have family members on the spectrum in our lives, this is frightening on a totally different level.  We know it's natural to want to find a simple explanation, or something to blame.  But understanding what autism spectrum disorders are, and what they are NOT, is important, in this situation, and for all of the people who live with it. 

Jill, a mom of a child on the spectrum and fellow blogger, expressed it beautifully and has given permission for her words to be shared.  Her original post is here: http://yeahgoodtimes.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-connecticut-tragedy-and-autism.html   Here is what she said:

****

Dear Community:

There has been much discussion online and in the news about the connection between the Connecticut school shooting and the fact that the shooter may have been diagnosed with autism. As our families and our community discusses this issue and tries to find a reason for this heartbreaking tragedy, I feel that it is very important to remember the following: There is no connection between planned, violent behavior and an autism spectrum diagnosis of any kind.

Autism is not a mental illness; it is a developmental disability. Many autistic people may have emotional regulation problems, which are impulsive expressions of frustration and anger, that are immediate and disorganized. They may lash out with threatening statements or behaviors, but these behaviors are impulsive reactions, they are not deliberate or organized plans. Once the situation has been diffused, the behaviors will stop. What happened in Connecticut required methodical planning of a deliberate and tremendously violent act; this is not typical behavior of an autistic person.

Right now we are all struggling to find a reason why this kind of atrocity would happen, and we can speculate about the mental state of the shooter; about gun control laws; about the current state of our country’s mental health system, or about whatever else that might help us make some sense out of this. Please know, and please tell your children, that even if the shooter was autistic, autism is not the explanation for this tragedy.

If anybody has any questions about autism, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you very much for your time,

Jill

It's a Sweet Day!

Today we are revealing our responses to the theme "Sweet" over on the 12x12 blog.  Here's my response, which I call "Millefiori."  I was inspired by the very sweet -- in terms of flavor AND appearance -- candies. 

Be sure to head over and see what the other Twelves have done. As always, the interpretations are fun and strikingly different!

I have mentioned here that lately, life is complicated.  I'm doing lots of sorting out and evaluating and deciding and understanding and learning.  Things are changing, which is not a bad outcome.  Just ... well.. complicated.  Transitions generally are.  So please forgive what are likely to be continued gaps while I sort how my new life will look.  I see light ahead and I know I am moving toward something peaceful, and that is a good thing.

This morning I was reading blogs (oh, how I love the Flipboard app on my Ipad) with my morning coffee, and I came across one in which a life-coach sort of fellow brought up the subject of analyzing his life in terms of the non-negotiables.  And that got me thinking: what in my day to day life is non-negotiable, in terms of how I spend my time and where I put my priorities? 

Here's where I am so far:

1.  Taking care of my daughter -- making sure she is well and happy and emotionally supported
2.  Feeling good about my living space
3.  Being connected to family and friends
4.  Feeling hope -- looking forward to something each day, however small
5.  Reading -- I need to read like I need to breathe.
6.  Doing something creative.  

I undoubtedly could come up with more the longer I think about this.

Thinking of "non-negotiables" applies to all sorts of aspects of our lives, now that I think about it.  Values.  Qualities in a relationship.  Requirements for life-work.

But for the day to day, priority of activity, what is your non-negotiable list?

Get Sketching

   Thank you to all who have commented or emailed with nice words about my watercolor experimenting!  I have really appreciated it.

   I am in a phase of life where I'm feeling a lot of turmoil, and I think that sitting down to draw and paint something is becoming an addictive sort of meditation for me.  The act of really looking at something, studying its lines and shapes and colors and shadows, is a very focusing and calming thing.  I'm also making some discoveries about self-acceptance along the way.  At first, I was irked at feeling like I couldn't draw.  Now I feel like I CAN draw, it's just my own, wonky way and it's not perfection I'm aiming for anyway.  I'm accepting and enjoying the process, and finding that the imperfections are what make these drawings MINE.

   Ah, a bit of psychological discovery with pencil and paints.

  

  Yes, yes, this is all about me.  But here is the good news for YOU:  Jane LaFazio, the delightful woman who set me off on this free and fun sketching and painting path, is offering online classes again at Joggles.com, and they start soon -- November 8 and 9, I believe.  Jane is a terrific teacher, and her focus is on giving tips and encouragement.  It's less about learning specific drawing or painting techniques than learning to LOOK, and to just try, and to experiment and have fun.

  The online course "Sketchbook and Watercolor: Journal Style" is the one I started with, and was very loose and fun.  It starts again on Nov. 9.  It's 6 weeks and you work at your own pace.  

  I did the dumpling squash page in response to an exercise we did in that class, and we all had so much fun with it (extrapolating designs from things) that Jane turned it into a separate class called "Watercolor Sketchbook: Designs from Life".  That class starts on November 8. 

  So if you are inspired to try a bit of sketchbook style painting, I highly recommend these classes as a way to jump-start you. 

Where does the time go?

I just realized it's been over a week since I posted here last.  Oops!  I've been catching up after my quilty week away.  And I've been working on a new goal: to do a bit of sketching (almost) every day.  I'm finding it very fun to take along a little kit with pencil, pen, and a small watercolor set -- it makes me stop and celebrate the tiniest of moments.

Today, I returned books to the library, and paused for a bit to draw.  Very relaxing! I highly recommend it. 

Irresistible Polka Dots

 I have been at PIQF for the last 5 days, taking a 3 day course on quilt judging, teaching a unit on art principles applied to quilts, and shopping and quilt viewing and having a darned good time, Just before that, I was off at my twice yearly retreat, where one of the things I did was learn a bit about drawing on the Ipad with the app Brushes 3.

I have unpacking and household catching up to do, but in the meantime, here's an iPad drawing of the box of polka dotted fat quarters I could just not pass up at the quilt show. Happiness in a box, isn't it?!

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List Sunday: Autumn

Into the paints again

     I am trying to get back into doing a bit of drawing and watercolor painting, with the help of a group of friends.  We decided to give each other weekly challenges, and this week's topic was "Bird."  Here's mine, of a china figurine that sits on a shelf in my office.

   It felt good to splash about a bit in my watercolors!

An Art Disaster Revealed

 
Are you interested in seeing the art quilt projects that go badly wrong?  If so, I tell the story of a "maverick" quilt that went from bad to worse, here.