My workroom

This is the room where I do my quilting. It's a great space.  I especially love the sun in the afternoons at this time of year.  That afternoon light is one of my first signs of spring.

Lit from within

I love this piece by Melody Johnson.  I like the skinny lines and the dots and  the colors and, most of all, I love how it looks lit from within.  I found a blog entry from around the time she made this piece.  She had been feeling stuck and making these little quilts gave her a sense of fun and freedom, which is what you need to be unstuck.  She writes about it beautifully here.

I am crazy for things that look lit from within, which is different than just light and dark.

Colorwash quilts have a lit from within look, too.  Wanda from Exuberant Color does an amazing job making that happen in her color wash quilts (and in other types, too).  Here is a type she calls confetti (because it is made from small scraps).

On my design wall today

I use my design wall to experiment and play.  Recently I am working on methods to get narrow lines in quilts.  I've tried piecing, fusing, zig zagging.  The method impacts the durablility.  How much use will it get?  Is it a wall quilt?    

The lime green back ground piece on the right is something I hand dyed and then fused on some colored shapes.  It's not done.  It was inspired by Melody Johnson and her stack quilt method.  This gallery has more examples of her stack quilts.  She uses mostly her own hand dyed fabric.

My design wall focus hasn't changed much lately.   I am still fascinated by the skinny lines.  I have made some more skinny line blocks.  I do have a vague plan.  It's vague because I want a usable quilt and the most graceful lines I've made are fused, making it not very durable.

This was my design wall three months ago.

A satisying rinky dink project

I "made" new curtains today and it was a real rinky dink project.  I had some leftover lace curtain tops from when I cut down the curtains for some other windows.  The leftover top part had the rod pocket but the bottom was a raw edge.  I put up the curtain and glued the hem in place.  It was easy to get the level right because the curtain was in place.  They look good, I used stuff I already had and they were quick to do.   I call that a satisfying rinky dink project.

 

the house kitty corner

I am working with the Google+/Chrome photo editing tools for the first time and I accidentally did this to a photo I took.   It's the house kitty corner from us.  The flowering branches are our viburnum bodnantense, which is in bloom now.

Murphy bed piano

I've always had a fascination with murphy beds.  I like rooms with multi purpose uses.  I once lived in a tiny apartment with a vintage murphy bed that pretty much filled the room when it was open.

This piano and bed combination is over the top, though.

source

This is more like the murphy bed in my old apartment.

Tangy spicy green beans

 Tonight we had tangy spicy green beans, a favorite meal.   The beans are washed and dried, coated with coconut oil and oven roasted.  Then they are stir fried with ground pork and a sauce.  Yum!

Handsome Harpo

Harpo has become more of a lap boy.  He likes to sit on my feet like this.  I like it, too.

First gardening of the season

I am feeling better.  It seems this wretched virus is widespread in Portland now.  My computer problems are almost under control;  I am writing this from the Google Cloud, so to speak.  It's taken some effort to get things fixed up and moved.  I am really impressed with my new Chromebook and how easy the transition from Windows to Google has been (so far).

We had a gorgeous day today.  We went for a walk and got in a little gardening.

Viburnum bodnantense smelling mighty fine

This is sarcococca which smells so wonderful that people walking by ask what smells so good.

And after we finished our bit of gardening it was nice enough to hang out on the porch for a bit.  The days are getting longer, the light is changing and today spring seemed at hand.

Double whammy

I have a cold and my computer won't boot.  No fun!  See you soon, I hope.

Skinny lines

I have this thing about skinny lines in quilts and how to make them.  I like them crooked and I like them wavy and I like them straight.

Look at these two beauties that I found.  Aren't they something?

caliente

Lust in the Log Cabin

I am thinking about how to make skinny lines in my quilts.  There must be lots of ways.

Two quilts that are calling my name

I love both of these.  The colors.  The crooked lines... they speak to me.

source

source

Popsicle Sticks almost done

I am getting close to finishing the hand quilting on this one and then I will need more handwork.  I seem to be always running out of handwork.

The blocks for this quilt are about 16" square and the overall quilt is about 54" by 70".

Refrigerator Art

I like to make small pieces where I just play and experiment.  I call them "refrigerator art".

Here is one I made this week.  I love the look of the smaller strips cutting across the squares.   The strip fabric is actually a batik floral design but you can't tell that.  I  like how the design on the fabric changes when it is cut into such a small piece.  The little strips look textured, like the bark of a birch tree.  Unfortunately the hand sewing doesn't enhance the fabric texture, except I do like the one I did with french knots.

It's made from 2.5 inch squares, fused onto cotton batting.  Then I cut small strips to lay over the squares.  The strips are hand sewn on with perle cotton.

I stuck the piece on top of a finished wall quilt.  I am not sure if it is finished or even if I will EVER finish it.

Inviting vintage kitchen

Wouldn't this be a pleasant place to work?  Quite a lot of counter space, too.

Source

Bathroom project progress

Our bathroom project has been moving pretty slowly. We've had some discussions and John pretty much settled on a design for the vanity he is going to build. And today we bought our sink. It's like a pedestal sink that sits on a counter top. I really like it.  Here it is!

And here is how it will look installed.  We don't have the room for a pedestal sink and a cabinet.  This sink will "sit" on top of the vanity countertop.  Pretty cool.

Bathroom Sinks by Lakewood Kitchen & Bath Designers Quality Bath

Getting really really high

Gulp!