I have a project...I am happy!

I found this small chest of drawers at Goodwill in Georgia and have brought it home.

I didn't get a photo of it with the drawers....but after chalk painting and finding pretty knobs...different ones for each drawer...it has a new life!

I am also painting to be ready for another outdoor art event, Art in the Park!

September 17th at Dave Peel Park in Bentonville. 8:00-3:00.

Also working on 5x5 small paintings for Art Center of the Ozarks.

 

 

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One thing I found this summer that I love is coconut shrimp from Mojito's Grill!

 

It is the dipping sauce which is amazing! Coconut milk, coconut, mango and cilantro!

I make this at home too, sometimes. I bake the coconut shrimp on a rack in the oven! [ My last blog post showed my "girls" enjoying the shrimp from the oven!]

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This past Saturday I went to a quilt workshop. It was about diagonal design in quilts. I started a fun scrappy, strip pieced quilt.

My friend, Paula Mariedaughter was our teacher. Her quilts are exquisite, and she is a good and patient teacher!

Lori had this beautiful antique machine which I enjoyed seeing! A New Home. The company is now called Janome!

This was a wall hanging one student was working on! Bright batiks!

Another friend worked on this split 9 patch block. Fun, lots of small pieces!

I chose something fast and scrappy....it will take about 5 or 6 of these chains, sewn together with contrasting strips,to make a quilt top....

 

Since Paula's birthday was the following day, I made some carrot cake cupcakes! Carrot cake is Paula's favorite! The recipe was published just this week by Susan Branch on her FB page...

http://www.susanbranch.com/carrot-cupcakes/ ( this may not be a live link...but the recipe is below)

Here are a couple of the ones I baked....

Here is one of Susan's beautiful handwritten recipes...for Carrot layer cake...which is exactly the one I made but baked in cupcakes! [ and I added chopped crystallized candied ginger! To her recipe]

 

The latest current project is rearranging and decluttering my sewing space...doing this is like doing an archilogical dig...through 2-3 generations of my family who sewed and saved scraps!!!

The view from the basement stairs, at the moment....my sewing and painting....the big bookcase is headed out to the yard sale!

That's enough for tonight...

 

Welcome Wonderful Autumn! Projects for today....

Yesterday, two friends and I set out to visit our mutual friend, Lizzie, in Carthage, Mo.

A lovely "small town America" destination!

Above is the courthouse.....the town has many Victorian houses from it's glory days when zinc mines brought wealth and made millionaires.

Later, Route 66 added to the retro charm of the area!

However, we weren't there for those points of interest, more just to hang out and visit, to sit around Liz's living room catching up with each other's news, to "do lunch", to have tea and homemade coconut cream pie...! Our time there did include a trip to a flea market, and a couple of purchases!

First, another silver ring,....not sure what the stone is....dark amber in color. What can I say? It just caught my eye and now is on my hand! LOL!

Today, I will put these hands to work on a couple of projects....chalk painting this chair, ( my other purchase from the flea market, yesterday) and quilting this scrappy little quilt! ( made from leftovers from a "real quilt")

Back with finished project photos soon.....ha!

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Here, on a different chair, is my little wid quilt. A thread scribble! It would be cute in the center of a table, or on a wall! Now to get it on ETSY!

 

It is uneven, unbound--I used lots of zig-zag stitching with variegated thread as an edging. Free-motion machine quilted with red variegated thread. Love it!

 

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My messy world...so be it!

Someday I hope to get this sewing studio under control.....but for now, every time I start to organize and put things away, I am sidetracked by the urgency of some project! AND I have a lot of projects. they are my addiction....

Here is a quilt for my six month old great nephew....waiting for my machine quilting (on my antique Singer) and then the black striped fabric will be the binding!

This beautiful 2 yard floral fabric will be cut into long strips while I insert the pieced strips of "Chinese Coins" in fabrics which loosely coordinate with the blue and red floral! This quilt top will be about 60x72 when finished.

Below, sewing machine table with piles of scraps, and the plastic tubs into which they SHOULD be separated by color and size....hmmm....

Over on the cutting table I have pulled out ( from its cubby hole) fleece remnants, buttons and the pattern to make 2 small cuddly jackets...soon!!!!

The mess and projects don't end in the sewing room...

At the moment our living area is cleared out for a painter to do the ceilings.....which means lots of stuff now sitting out here in the art studio! Including this set of old nesting tables which may need to be "chalk painted" in a deep dusty aqua from Martha Stewart. A color called.......

" Hummingbird Blue" !

Now, I have to MAKE myself leave this creative madness and get to yoga class! I NEED it!

because In our mailbox today after class , i will find even more wonderful possibilities.....several yards of fabric by Kaffe Fassett ! [I found them in sale with CRAFTSY!]

 

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Back to chalk painting!

Last week I found this old office chair at a thrift store. It rocks, swivels and rolls..I think it might work well at either the easel or the serger! Not sure, but it is worth trying in different places!

But of course, it is very homely now and needs to be transformed! ....I thought about a bright aqua paint but settled on "tangerine" by Behr.

Behr makes a paint with primer included, I add calcium carbonate powder ( 2 parts paint to 1 part calcium carbonate) to make it into chalk paint. One small sample size jar-- cost about $3.00-- will paint almost any average wooden chair.

Here it is in the bright sunshine! Needs its coat of Minwax finishing wax and it will be ready!

Hmmm, perhaps a nice colorful cushion too!

When I remember that these chairs from Pottery Barn ( below) are priced at $399.00, I feel REALLY good about my new chair!

 

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today's project...or I have too many hobbies!

Yesterday I found a coupon for a free 8 oz. jar of Valspar paint in one of their premixed "summer" colors....I chose the green called "Crocodile Smile".

Now mixing it with calcium carbonate to make chalk paint.

I have a small wooden chair waiting for the paint....no prep needed with chalk paint. Don't strip or sand, just a general wipe off (dusting) and it's ready for the paint!

Still needs a second coat of chalk paint....but looking great with my Cath Kidston patches quilt!

 

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Home and busy...fun!

While at my art retreat, I found a little table in a thrift store, bought it, brought it home and yesterday used the chalk paint which I had mixed and not used on the armoire....just about 1 cup of paint...it goes really far...did two nice coats...( I think my gallon of paint will last for many projects! Yikes!)

BTW, I had some accidental "over painting" smears on the sides of the drawer. this mrning, drubbing alcohol and a soft cloth took them right off!

Next step will be to rub it down with 2 coats of clear finishing wax from Minwax..

This little table will be perfect to keep some of my hand sewing supplies out of sight but easy to find!

While the table was drying, used my sewing machine and some Kaffe Fassett striped cotton to sew this dress for my adult daughter...She loves it, hope it fits! In the mail soon!

Still inspired, this morning, I pulled out the little package which had come ( in the Royal Mail!) while I was gone last week.

Small scraps of Cath Kidson, Laura Ashley and other sweet English fabrics! Purchased on Ebay from Great Britain. I added just a bit from my stash and now have a little lap or crib quilt top. Just need to quilt it!

Sometimes I make myself soft fabric souvenirs of places I haven't been recently....Japanese fabric works that way for me too!!!

 

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Quilts find a home

My armoire is finished and ready to use! This is how it was, sitting my garage five days ago!

 

Now it is in the guest bedroom, filled with quilts large and small. Several are family antiques, flower garden quilts made by my mother and grandmother.

 

The others were made by me, everything from a hand-pieced and hand quilted red and white feathered star, to a recently made contemporary improvisational machine pieced and machine free motion quilted.

Currently, I am making several scrap quilts inspired by the "Sunday Morning Quilts" book. Scraps and strings of fabric make colorful quilts!

Now down to sew or organize my sewing space...maybe some of both!

Here is a photo of a quilt which showed up on my Facebook ....I may try one of these soon!

Nice and scrappy! Easy blocks too!

Now for a smile....

 

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Watercolor

I bought a beautiful bouquet of local flowers (our natural foods store sells these!)......

 

Plop them in an antique enamel pitcher and try a painting.....using a huge brush and working wet into wet at first...to stay loose. Then back I'm to sketch with an ink pen. All working on my kitchen counter....with the clutter.

Some days creativity is more important than tidyness!

 

However, I really WOULD like to have a light, simple, clean studio to work in. (My basement sewing room is too dark for art, and the back porch is too hot or too cold....and really not just MY space....)...Maybe i should get my own little airsteam trailer set up in the backyard....?????? A girl can dream, right?!!!!

I found this image in tumblr from midwestmanhattan.....she loved it first!

Looks like the good life to me!!!!

Now back to painting in the kitchen....really painting will come soon....when I have to repaint all the cabinets in here! Hmmm, chalk paint could be good for them too!

Speaking of chalk paint (thanks again Sally for telling me about it!),here is the armoire, all painted and waxed and ready to move in and fill with quilts! It was late afternoon sun, casting shadows ( of me too) on the piece....I'll go take a better morning photo now.....

The greenish color so good in this photo above. The morning photos below are greyed down....

Interior is painted with egg shell latex, exterior with that same paint made into chalk paint by adding calcium carbonate....exterior is waxed with two coats of furniture paste wax...

Before waxing, the exterior was lightly distressed using sandpaper!

I will post about it again when I move it in and stack quilts inside! Something like this!

 

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