A wonderful birthday!

A watercolor done this week at a workshop with Arkansas artist, Richard Stephens ! The workshop was three wonderful days at Eureka Springs School of Art.  We played and painted, doing exercises and watching Richard's demonstrations.
You can read more and see more of my exercises HERE .

So, I was able to leave sewing for a bit....maybe I will have some of these new watercolors for sale soon!

Victory Garden Quilt in progress

The pattern I ordered (from the link in the previous post) came so quickly, I was able to start these blocks this week!

To date, I have made 7 out of 15 and it is so much fun, seeing the combinations come together.....in order to save fabric [I had picked up 15 fat quarters for this at our guild's "fat quarter frenzy"], I am paper foundation piecing the corner units.  The directions call for 5/8 yard for each block....a lot of extra waste of course. So, I trace the corner block (and the reverse) from the pattern onto lightweight tracing paper,  then I am ready to sew!

These photos were with natural light, the first photo is with artificial. Interesting how much "warmer" the artificial light looks! 

Here, I am auditioning a possible lattice fabric, the lavender floral (after all it is a "garden").

Today is rainy and cool....getting cooler by the minute as a front moves in.  Our first really cool weekend since the long dry, hot summer!  I won't be sewing though....

I have an apple cake to bake and shrimp tacos to assemble for an evening with some friends!

Victory Garden Quilt pattern

I've had fun in the past making pillows with floral British flag designs!
Today I saw this quilt on the screen at "24 blocks" Facebook page.

It was made by a quilter who writes the www.diaryofaquilter.com  blog.  Sure enough, I found her posts about sewing this one and the pattern, which I just ordered.  I think this will be really fun for a small nap-time quilt!

Mysteries worth reading......by Lousie Penny

Author Louise Penny

"I'm often asked two questions: should the books be read in order? And, what is the order?

Both excellent questions. At the risk of appearing to want you to buy more books let me say that while it's not necessary to read them in any particular order (they're designed to be self-standing) there is quite a strong character development arc. I think you'd enjoy the books even more if read in order.
Now, here's the order, from the first to the most recent:

STILL LIFE
A FATAL GRACE / DEAD COLD
THE CRUELEST MONTH
A RULE AGAINST MURDER / THE MURDER STONE
THE BRUTAL TELLING
BURY YOUR DEAD
A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY

Some of the books have different titles, as you might have noticed. The publishers did this not, as you might suspect, to be annoying but because they genuinely feel their readers respond to different titles. I hope it's not too confusing."

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Everything above was from Louise's web pages.  I love her books! That is if you can love reading about a victim of murder.....and I don't always like that part....but the characters are very good, and deep.  The setting is charming.

Read this one first.......[it is being made into a movie by Canadian Broadcasting Company]

And before you read The Brutal Telling , you could read this by Susan Vreeland

as it is the source of the title phrase, "The Brutal Telling".

Now, I have just finished reading TBT ( the brutal telling) and must go and find the next one which will wind up some loose ends.... Bury Your Dead !

AND I am really looking forward to reading her latest, "The Beautiful Mystery" which is set in monestery with vows of silence.  [watch the movie "Into Great Silence" to get a bit of monestery atmosphere!]

Status report

Yesterday, I made a trip to a nearby flea market to get another Singer 337.  Just love them, and it was still there!

Then, I made the winning (only) bid on Ebay for this original manual.

My problem with tuning up these machines, is that I can't get the machine to stop sewing while it winds a bobbin.  Not a big problem. but I would like to "solve" it.

[By the way, this new blogger format is even more difficult for me to control the layout,  I keep forgetting to try doing my post in WORD then cutting and pasting it here!]

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I am also doing some assorted watercolors of mangoes for a special request....

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Then I came across a luscious (to my eye) quilt here, and combined her idea with an idea from my friend, Paula.  Paula showed me how to use selvedges in string piecing.  So this will be a soft, gentle quilt with hidden messages in the fabric.  This selvedge says "Paris Flea Market".  Another I will use says "Pretty Little Things".
Sort of combining "found poetry" with lovely fabric images!  I even have a pale rendering of the Eiffle tower which will become the center of a quilt block.

Meanwhile, I have been sewing one more little ruffled dress.  This one is for a 2 year old to wear to her mother's wedding.  The wedding color is pale peach.

The scraps from this sewing project are perfect for the Paris Flea Market quilt project!

Bing Cherries

Cherries are a super food ! I love eating them just as they are or with yogurt!  I even bought a cherry pitter this summer.
Now, I can pit 4 cherries at a time and make wonderful desserts!  This one is gluten free too!

A pan full of pitted cherries.....

Then batter made from gluten free muffin mix.  I used half a package and so halved the recipe on the back...adding almond extract...and I threw in a handful of mini chocolate chips which were on hand...

And topping the batter which was poured over the cherries, with sliced almonds and a little sugar.

Baked at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until it tested "done".

One slice was carefully removed but disappeared before I could get a good photo! LOL!

Common threads

I'm finally finishing my "Fonthill" quilt from Kaffe Fassett's book, Passionate Patchwork !

I have never made so many half-square triangle pieces!

 Last year, as I was working on the quilt, I came across this article in June 2011 Family Circle magazine. About Cynthia Kerr who started a charity making pillow cases for hospitalized children. ConKerr Cancer, One Million Pillow Cases.


In the article she is shown standing in front of a wonderful quilt.....

it's the "Fonthill" pattern from the book by Kaffe! Her's is so pretty! I was inspired!

This week, I bought fabric for 4 pillowcases. ( 3/4 YARD MAIN FABRIC AND 1/3 YARD CONTRAST FOR EACH)

 And by following Youtube directions on making the pillow cases, I have 4 ready to send!

 [Dogs and cats, Strawberry Shortcake, and small pirates!]

Now, back to reading my library book, Bel Canto by Anne Patchett.  A very good read!

Finished projects!

Two little ruffled sundresses.....

two pink hooded terry bath towels...(I made two blue ones too for the new grandson)....

the shirt for my sister's birthday.....

and finally, 2 garden flags for friends!


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A neighbor has this rusting faded aqua pick up truck sitting on the curb.....

I find it strangely interesting and my have to try incorporating it into a  painting!

Seeing!!!

Yesterday was my sister's birthday.  Her present still looks like this!

So my plan for today was to make this and get it mailed to her!   

Sewing will be even more fun, because now I can see!  I picked up my new glasses....rosy purple, love the color! So, for the first time in a long time, I can read tiny print on medicine bottles, AND see the leaves on trees across the street with the same eyewear! Fabulous!

 

Painting watercolor has come alive again for me too!  I can now see the marks, especially the detail, without having to take off my glasses! Fun!

[below this morning's work in progress....]

That was my plan.....paint and sew today, as I have the day off!

However, I just got a phone call.  A certain person left HIS best glasses at home this morning and is needing them for work.....so off to deliver them and then yoga class to relax....sewing and painting later... (I hope!)

Painting plums

A new watercolor journal and a "art in the moment" sketch of seasonal fruit! This was yesterday's art work.  Happy to be painting again!
Now to bake a gluten free plum kuchen......

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I made this wonderful Thai influenced coconut (milk) shrimp curry  for dinner last night.  I used a rice cooker, but otherwise did exactly as the recipe suggests, using fresh basil from the garden!  Will definitely make this again!  You could substitute salmon or chicken, I think.

We are enjoying a break in our hot dry summer.  This morning is cool, in the 60s!  I am taking my coffee outside to sit near my garden of zinnias!  Life is good!

How to slow down the morning...

Just head out to the screened porch and do a watercolor sketch of your breakfast cantelope before you eat!
Here is today's sketch, zinnias and melon.

I have a brand new, handmade paper (from India) watercolor sketchbook which I used for the first time while doing this sketch. I think I am going to love it.
 I look back through my older sketchbooks and find that, though "imperfect" (charmingly so?), the images bring back floods of memories of that moment.  For me, the sketch brings more memories than a more accurate photograph can, as I have to spend more time to get the "moment" sketched than to grab my camera!

Here is a sketch from last summer, when we were visiting family in Colorado [the brown chair], onions done at a time I was loving how my watercolors flowed and dried with interesting edges, and the last one here, from the wonderful, much-needed, rain storm which blew in Thursday afternoon!

I need to develop the part of myself which can creatively make an art studio more inviting and organized at the same time.....since it is going to be 100 + today (and I have just spent 2 hours watering, filing the bird bath and catching an occasional morning breeze) working down in my studio would be a good project!
We'll see....

Weekend in the country

A quick sketch....watercolor....

We have just returned from a visit to my brother and SIL in Clark County, AR.
Very peaceful and enjoyable....and did I say, "HOT"?  (Of course it is hot here at home, too!LOL!)

This black angus bull, "Baby", is a family favorite....almost a pet! ( he is eating his breakfast out of a "feeder"...part of an old tractor tire)

A hanging pot of transcancia adds color near the chicken pen...

A rooster, whose days are numbered, (and the hens will rejoice) struts and crows.

[I brought home several dozen VERY fresh eggs! Now to find recipes which use lots of eggs!]

With the help of hoses and sprinklers, the flowers are thriving and delighting us!

Bird houses are in abundance.....

this one is now the home of a opportunistic tree frog!

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Inside the kitchen,  on the counter, are these unusual fruits .....paw-paws!  These came from a creek on the farm.

I forgot to taste!  Hope I have another opportunity!

An old-fashioned deep pink climbing rose at the front of the house.

The view when looking up from floating in the salt water swimming pool. So peaceful!

After the swim, its back inside for some really cold watermelon!  This really beats the heat!

One of my current "icons'' (below) old lawn chairs...these will inspire more fantasy garden paintings to come!