13 Weeks, Week 2

Week number 2 is a success! Here's quilt #2 (and FYI, expect to see it's twin in a couple of weeks)

Right now I'm happy playing with pretty fabrics in simple patterns, using up some of that stash!!

Pound #2 is also off. WooHoo!! In spite of the smoke cutting into my walking days!! (Today was the worst yet.)

Recipe of the week was a recipe I made up - chicken in oj, red wine, & mango chutney. Kinda sounds disgusting doesn't it?? It was WONDERFUL! That's a definite keeper! (By the way, for those of you that have access to a Fresh Market, they're having great meat deals on Tuesdays. Check it out!) (No affiliation - just a fan!!)

I'm really into this 13-week thing and see more of it in my future. I've also been very intrigued with the 12x12 quilting group (see them at twelveby12.blogspot.com or twelveby12.org) and think I may start playing along with their theme and their deadlines. I'm finding that this deadline thing works well for me. I shouldn't be surprised, tho, since my entire working life was deadline driven!! Looks like I'll be getting some quilting done after all!! Retirement is great!

Thanks for stopping by!

Shooting Blanks

I've been doing the hand stitching on small-works blanks today. It's incredibly satisfying! I feel like I'm accomplishing something while sitting on my duff listening to audio books. Of course I AM accomplishing something, because the handwork must get done and I don't always feel like doing it. I also did some sketching of ideas coming into my head as I stitch. Learning to sketch at age 60 is going to be a challenge but I have accepted that there are no mistakes; just learning.

It's very exciting to be retiring in a few days. So many new worlds are opening up to me! I'll be sketching, doing journal quilts, doing a whole series of small works, making a series of jackets, and the thing I'm looking most forward to - working on whatever quilt strikes my fancy on any given day! I'm excited that I'll be able to head downstairs to the studio, open the cabinet doors and see what strikes my fancy that day.

I bought Lyric Kinard's book "Art + Quilt" when I was at the World Quilt Show in West Palm Beach a couple of weeks ago. I've read the book and am so very thankful for Chapter One! The timing is perfect and the words really sank in: I'm not suppose to be perfect - I'm just starting!! Thank you, Lyric!!!! I highly recommend the book for anyone wanting to stretch a bit. No affiliation - just an appreciative reader.

A new place for the quilt journal

Well it's certainly been awhile since I posted here! Oh well life has a way of taking priority, doesn't it?

The weekend was spent at Cinnamon's quilt shop for our bimonthly "retreat". I think there were about 18 of us. I got so much done that it inspired me to post here. I don't seem to be keeping up my quilt journal as I should, yet I'm blogging more, so I'm switching to this blog as my "quilt journal". Especially now that I know I can have it put into book form!

Over the weekend I finished all the blocks and the piano-key border for the pink/Kaffe H-block quilt that I saw in West Palm last weekend. I also finished the last of the half-square triangle blocks for the guild give-away quilt. I should be able to get both those tops together this week and get them to the quilters. (Funny that I would still take quilts to the long-armers since I have one myself. But I'm not yet practiced enough on my long-arm to do my own quilts. Soon, though!!)

I'm not ready for pictures of these yet but they'll come later. I also have a whole new direction for my Ace of Spades piece....I think it's going to be fun! And I've picked "stitches" as my theme for my first year of journal quilt experimentation.

2011 will be a busy year for me! I'll be retired (in just a couple of weeks - YAY), I'm traveling to lots of quilting classes, and I'm experimenting with new "stuff". I also plan to do some experiments when dying fabrics. It'll all be journal "stuff" so there are no failures - only experiments. I've picked up 2 block-of-the-month (BOM) projects from Quilting by the Bay (QBTB) and there will probably be a Kaffe-usage group meeting at Cinnamon's each month. Whew I'm going to be one busy woman!!

I need a name for the H-block quilts because I have two more noodling around in my brain. Something will come to mind. Till then it will have to be just H-blocks. I'm thinking about another in Aunt Gracies, one set on point, and then there's the H-block alternate where the center is the different color and the rows are offset. That's 3 more, I know, but maybe it's the Aunt Gracie that will get set on point.

OK I'm off to see the wizard!