How I Fell Down The Rabbit Hole Of WIPs

When I became a serious quilter I thought every quilt had to be KING size because our bed was king size.
If not king size, then at least bed size.

This one actually got finished and resides in the Master bedroom.

I have finished many of that size including the 8 Millennium quilts I made for my 8 grandchildren.
There are at least 8 of those king or almost king size quilts that are WIP.
Fortunately I woke up before too many years.

Paisley Star mandala was an early quilt that is now owned by a collector of my work. Lots and lots of very close hand quilting.

Evolution spoke to someone who never thought he wanted a quilt and it found a home as art for his office.



And then I veered off in the opposite direction creating miniature quilts and the worlds smallest quilt.

Somewhere along the way I settled on making quilts for the wall, art quilts and quilted clothing.

I made quilts from fabric dyed by others but said I would never dye my own fabric as it was too much work. NEVER say NEVER.

And that is what I am currently doing….dyeing white fabric and making ART from it to add pleasure to my life and the life of others.
I hope you have enjoyed following this brief journey from where, what and why I started until today.

What Do I Get From Writing My Blog Part 3

Along the way another thing that kept me from finishing things was the process of getting my work ready for shows. I also suffered burn out after my solo shows or large projects like the 8 KING size Millennium quilts I made for my grandchildren, each with 2000 different fabrics. In addition I exchanged fabrics with hundreds of people all over the world while I was making them.

Currently I create with fabrics as an artist and I hope when you see my work it will add pleasure to your day and life.
My current work involving my Ice Tapestries is my own proprietary method. I copyright all the work I create. Each piece is unique and the ideas come from somewhere deep inside me from my 78 years of living.
Almost everything I create is available for sale. When you acquire a piece of my art I hope it adds to the quality of your life. Art can provide happiness, enjoyment, healing  and therapy in your life and beauty to your surroundings. .
Creating is my passion which is as necessary to me as breathing.
I never could have dreamed or planned the life I am living. I know I overuse the work serendipitous but it is the way I have always lived my life and it has worked for me.
Since I put so much of myself in my posts, I document all my blogs in a book I have printed every year. I enjoy looking back at these books and see how I have lived these most recent years.
So whether you follow my blog, get daily notices when I post or just check in occasionally I am happy to share my art and adventures with you.

What Do I Get From Writing My Blog? Part 2

If you read the post about my works in progress I have an explanation how I ended up with so many. The lessons I taught were mostly original projects. That meant creating a prototype and one or more examples to use as I taught the lessons. Many times I created a pattern, either for students to trace or possibly even had it printed.

Many projects never got finished back then as I went right on to the next design and project.
It was rare that something I started got finished soon after I taught it, but it did happen occasionally.
Recently quite a few of those older worthwhile projects have made it to completion.

There are still many others that are worth completing. Sometimes I change them from the original plan. These two are high priority projects. The one on the left started out to be 4 small projects.
I still have not resolved how I will finish the one on the right.
Some of those WIPs have now been finished. Others have been either given away or most likely never will be finished.
It’s the excitement of creating new work in new ways that continues to excite me.
Life also got in the way and that was not necessarily a bad thing. Family and friends mean so much to me and without them my life would be empty.
If you read my blog then you understand how important these other parts of my life are to me. They also are beneficial to my art.
This blog is a great reference for me when I want to know when I did something, what date the flowers bloomed, and anything else I can’t quite remember what date if happened.

What Do I Get From Writing My Blog? Part 1

I really get a chance to observe what I am doing and think about why I have been doing it for almost 10 years.
It gives me a chance to think about priorities and what is important for me.
For me it is my personal diary that I share with all of you.
It also gives clarity to things that happened long before I started this.
My blog post yesterday was about the quilts, both finished and works in progress.

It is not a race to see how many quilts I can make. Each one has served a different purpose from the very first quilt from a Lee Wards kit I made to those I am currently working on. There is little similarity from first to last other than the fact that they all use fabric.
It is my passion and since I no longer teach this is one way I can share my work with you. I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to all those students who I have had the pleasure to share sewing and quilting with. They kept pushing me for more, more, more and
No, I very seldom do tutorials, but there are a few.

How Did My Furniture Get On A TV Show?

I always do a double take when I see something I own on TV.
I asked Andy if he put this together for them too and he answered in the affirmative. Then he said "And that’s a good thing!”
That is the same thing he said to me when he finished putting mine together.

My Works In Progress List Is Getting Smaller

This morning I did some updating on my Excel spread sheet that lists all my quilts.
It lists my 490 all time finishes.
Then it lists works in progress in a somewhat prioritized order. That order changes as I see fit.
At one time there were over 100 on the works in progress list.
Slowly I have whittled that down to only 35 as of today.
This has been an ongoing process for a long time.
Not only did it take finishing some of those and also newer ones I started, but I found a few more ways to make it happen.
I have given away or donated some of my works in progress to our guild to finish as charity quilts.

One of the cleverest ways I came up with is adding a few other lists: Rework or abandon, Maybe I don’t want to finish it, Low priority and Not real important.

Those lists are still on the spread sheet but I don’t count them. Occasionally one of them does move up on the list and gets finished.

Warm Shoes For Cold Feet

If you are a Facebook friend you are probably tired of hearing about these shoes.
They are shearling lined Troentorp clogs which is a brand I wear all the time. It was so chilly here that I ordered them from Sweden. Usually delivery takes 2-5 days….NOT this time. They kept being delayed and delayed and I finally had to call Fed Ex to get them delivered. Of course when they got here it had warmed up.
But today and the next few days were chilly again so I got a chance to wear them for a while breaking them in. They are a little snugger than usual with the shearling lining.
I DO love them and they are one of my favorite colors.

Am I Blue

As I went through some of my dyed fabrics deciding which ones needed to be over dyed these were some I will NOT over dye.
At this time they are hanging on a design wall so I can study them and hopefully come up with some ideas on how I want to finish them.

New Mandala - Rerun

I am still making wonderful new Ice Dyed work. This is one of my new pieces and it is  favorite of myself and others who have been able to see it.
The colors have a very Southwest flavor. The design is quite different that anything I have previously created.
Don’t ask me how I manipulated the fabric to get this design as I don’t know. Each time I do a new piece I try something new. Not all pieces are this successful , but when they are it makes my heart sing. My goal is to continually create new work and not duplicate what I have already done.

To Be, Or Not To Be

As I was selecting fabrics to overdye with my next batch of shibori dyes I put some aside to consider how I was going to handle them.

I came to the realization that a few of them didn’t need overdyeing. Yet those were ones that I would have to really think about how to utilize them to really make them sing in a composition.


Some will be used as a whole piece to be enhanced with additional fabrics.
Some will be sliced and diced.
And for some the decision has not been made yet.
One last thing I need to consider: Are these worth my putting any more time into them or should I be spending my time on some of my major pieces?
I could put some of these up for sale adding quite a few more. Who would really appreciate them and who would understand them and be able to make a finished work of art?

What Is On My Agenda?

I am preparing fabric for my next dyeing session.
If it looks like these are already dyed you are right. Once is not enough in many cases.
These are all fabrics that can be improved with one or more additional dips in the dye buckets.
There are no failures, only opportunities to create a perfect fabric.
As they say in the wine business “We will serve no wine before it’s time”.
And I say “I will use no fabric before it’s prime”!

909.909

It’s a double numeric palindrome.
Some of you know that I am a numbers person.
I love interesting number.
This is the total number of all time views of my blog as of less than a minute ago.
About 10.000 views in the last 10 days.
That is most likely a record as I head towards ONE MILLION VIEWS!

Have You Seen It?

I am sharing some of my work that I don’t think I’ve shared before. I do believe they have all stood the test of time.

This silk quilt glows. It is made with my Round Trip Around The World Pattern. It is a perfect quilt for a dark space.

This was the first quilt I made with fabric I dyed. I designed the border in the wall in the room and painted it to compliment the quilt.

Apple Blossom Time was made from decorator fabric and hung on our lanai seasonally for 12 years. It did not fade at all in that time. It no longer worked when we changed the colors.  It now lives at the home of my Florida daughter.

Love My Lanai Light

It took me a long time to find this light. I previously had a pink and white light similar to this one.
It didn’t match the colors when I redecorated the lanai.
I actually jerry-rigged this which started as a hard wired hanging light. I just used the basic shade and attached the leaf/flower streamers to the shade in the manner it was supposed to be done! But it was one of those things where you felt like to had to climb inside and turn you hands inside out and get pricked by the pin like attaching parts.
I then used the original cone and light cord, etc. from the previous lamp.
I have it on a timer to come on as it gets dark and shut off a little before bedtime.
I love to see it either from the lanai or through the glass doors.
I have not fully enjoyed it for the last several days as it has been very cold. The cold radiates right through the glass doors and I have to shut the honeycomb blinds in the evening.

An Awesome Favorite Miniature

This miniature was a work in progress for years. The thing that kept me from finishing it was the fact that the binding had to changed color each time the color of the border changed. I finally decided it was now or never a little while ago.
I used the technique I developed call Magnificent Miniature Graph Patchwork to create this. Each log is 1/4 inch wide. The finished piece is about the size of a piece of notebook paper.

It is hand quilted by me from the days when I hand quilted!
I am so pleased to have it finished after so many years.
I am including some links on this post to other blog posts sharing some of my miniatures.

http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-miniatures-variation-of-technique.html
http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2009/09/this-is-another-miniature-done-with.html
http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2009/09/magnificent-miniature-patchwork-quilts.html
There are more so if you are  interested in seeing them just click on Miniature Quilts in the right hand column.

Delightful Story Without Names (And No Pictures)

I live a serendipitous life and love when special people appear to make an otherwise boring time interesting and memorable.
On a recent flight most of the passengers were even older than me…yes, that is possible!
I was sitting in my usual aisle seat and the other two seats were empty.
The flight attendant was helping a very young girl who was flying unattended for the first time find a seat. I asked if she would like to sit in my row.
She took the window seat.
She looked a little scared, yet confident.
I asked her how old she was and what her name was. I told her my name.
I showed her pictures of some of my grandchildren that were the closest to her age.
That broke the ice. She was one of the most delightful children I have ever met.
She shared her home made chocolate chip cookies with me. We both agreed they were far better than the treat the airline was giving out.
She gave me her Dad’s business card and I gave her one of mine.
She really got excited when I started to show her some of my Ice Dyed Mandalas. I told her about my upcoming show, Florida Ice.
After the flight I received a message from her Mom telling me how excited she was about the show and that she told her mom  “Mom, We have to come to it”. I sure hope they do.
I know this little girl is going to have an amazing life and will accomplish great things.

Florida Ice–Show Details!

I was waiting until all details had been confirmed to share this blog post with everyone.
My show will open March 16, 2018 at the Ocala, Florida City Hall.
There will be an opening reception from 12:30-2 p.m. on March 16th.
The show closes on April 26, 2018.
The city hall is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
It is a beautiful building which will highlight my work. These are my Ice Tapestries that started as white cloth and I have dyed using my own unique method of ice dyeing.
There is a large free parking lot.

Greetings From Edon, Ohio

We lived in Edon, Ohio from 1961-1963.


I found these postcards on eBay a few years ago and I love the style of them. They are from 1909 and 1917. The postage to send them was a penny!
I have many fond memories of the short time we lived there. Almost 10 years ago I reconnected with our long lost couple friends from there. Sally and I now live 15 miles from each other and see each other often. Grace was able to come from Omaha, Nebraska to visit us a few years ago.
More recently I found a mail list from the area and joined. I am now in close touch with several people from Edon. Only one still lives there. All of us treasure those years. People were very welcoming and friendly.
It was a great place to live. When we lived there the population was around 500. As of the 2010 census the population was slightly over 800.
So here’s to you my Edon friends: Sally Rue, Grace and Vern Thomsen, Nancy Herman Dunnavan, Karen Jones, Carol Darr Moore and Dan Thiel.
55 years and counting since we left Edon!

Record Clock

This is my new clock from ReVisions Gallery in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
It is made entirely of old records or discs.
The artist is Deborah Dickenson.

Honey, I’m Home….Again!

My reservation has been honored here at Seldom Inn


Thanks Andy and Tina for picking me up at the airport in your Cadillac.
Here we are having dinner at the Olive Garden on the way home.
An enjoyable time seeing both of you.

Last Memories From Christmas 2017

Since this blog is also my personal diary I am going to include a LOT of pictures on this one last Christmas post. I can access them when I want to remember the experience and if for some reason the blog would ever be shut down I print each year in a book to keep them forever.
 
Christmas pillows

Fisherman Nick’s fishy gifts!

Jared’s treasures

It looks like these top knots have inspired these guys to become sumo wrestlers!

Julie is sharing her Christopher Radko New Years Ornament, so appropriate as we celebrated Christmas New Years Eve.

Heidi and Jessica and hand crocheted tree ornaments

Greg enjoying a book of pictures


Jared and his Santas.

Jessica with her fingerless mitts and her felted bowl.



Julie enjoying Grandma Sorensen’s antique cobalt blue and clear butter dish.

Julie with the felted bag I knit for her.

Jessica with her Door County bag of coins.

Oh Christmas Tree!

One more time! These men are the best dressed!

Our Green Bay Packer elf off the shelf says “See you all next year!”