Wednesday, May 28, 2014

HERONS, EAGLES, AND THE LATEST

We found the heron rookery in Kenmore!
So many herons!
I continue to practice being awake
and in the "now"
and was delighted to read that the heron 
is gently reminding us to be in the moment!



Meaning of the heron deals with being comfortable in spaces that are neither here, nor there. It prefers hunting at twilight, which is a symbolic and magical time of 'in-between'. The heron will have one foot on land, and one foot in the water - this action has been recognized by ancient cultures as a sign of liminality - of crossing into the a space that is neither here, nor there.
All this talk about being in the space 'in-between' illustrates a remarkable lesson. We are not our environment. We are not even our bodies. And the 'in-between' represents a space suspended - without time or place. It's what Eckhart Tolle might refer to as the "NOW" in his book The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. Heron's are in the Now. They can help us be in the Now too, which is a vital practice in maintaining stability, calm and fluidity in living life.

taken from - http://www.whats-your-sign.com/meaning-of-the-heron.html



We've also been seeing lots of eagles lately.
My son spotted this one in our subdivision.
And I spotted the pair 
looking for lunch
as a farmer churned up his field
gently reminding that anything is possible!

Size does matter to the Native mind. It is the mammoth size of the eagle that, in part, wins its title as the King of the Birds in myth and lore. In spite of its enormous size, the eagle still takes flight, seemingly effortlessly. This is the first of many symbolic cues from the eagle about perception (not judging a book by its cover) and, not allowing the illusion of limitation to ground us in our flight.

taken from - http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-eagle-meaning.html


I've been playing!
I started with  3 1/2 inch squares of gray
and added bits of orange scraps in two corners.
What if I join the squares together? 
What if I don't match seems?
I like it!




I liked it so much,
I tried it again.
What if I vary the size of the color bits?
What if I add a different color?
I really like how my eye goes from the color to the white.
And I like how the white becomes "lattice" that varies in thickness.



I continue plowing along with
my shooting star idea...


making some diamonds every time I sew...


...as many new ones as I make,
it seems like there are always more that are needed.
I might call this one
"Burst of Insanity!"


Speaking of burst,
a few months ago,
Dorothy and I took a basket class with Gwen Marston.
My idea was to make baskets out of egg fabric
(don't put all of your eggs in one basket).
I finished all the baskets and felt
a bit ho hum about it.
Then I had a burst of mojo!
What if all the little baskets were part of one big basket?!
(Turns out all the eggs are in one basket after all!)





Lots of eggs are in the Walter basket...
our rescued starving stray
is no longer starving!
Turns out he is quite intelligent and eager to please!
He We just passed level 1 of obedience training!
     


When he slows down and gets in the moment...
anything is possible!


Friday, May 16, 2014

WINNERS!

Whew!
My little blog just about popped with all the comments!
THANK YOU!

Lots of great comments about quilt shop experiences -
desire for friendly but not overpowering attention
desire to be taken seriously despite being a young quilter
desire for fair prices and great sales

Strangest story to me 
was the lady who was told she could get her fabric cut
after the worker had a smoke break!

Saddest stories 
were all the creative gals 
who have never been to a quilt shop. 

OK!
Drum roll please!

Winners are:

1 - Mary Lou Weidman fabric -
Monique Belmer

2 - Chickens and eggs -
Jeannie D from the blog -
http://kindwomanliveshere.blogspot.com/

3 - Olivia fabric -
Kathy from the blog
http://carpelanam.blogspot.com/

4 -  Scrap bag of polka dots! -
Desiree from the blog 
http://choochooskadoo.blogspot.com/

5 - Kaffe Scraps! -
Stephanie from the blog
http://quarterincher.blogspot.com/

6 - The much coveted AMH fat quarters -
Barb N from the blog 
http://mountainquiltworks.blogspot.com/

7 - Gold fabric! -
Kat from the blog
http://katandcatquilts.blogspot.com/

I am in between 
Mountain bikes races and 
bowling semi finals with my boys 
this weekend, 
so I will personally contact the winners on Monday.

THANK YOU AGAIN
for all the great comments!
I tried to reply to as many as I could.
Big hug to you all!


Monday, May 12, 2014

GIVEAWAY!!!

Oh! Oh! Oh!
I just love linking up
 with Sew Mama Sew 
http://www.sewmamasew.com/
for giveaway week,
don't ya know?!
(Did you catch the poetry? hee-hee)

In my never ending process of 
using/sorting/rearranging
my way too big personal fabric shop stash
I have gathered 
some yummies 
for you to chose from.

Here are your choices:

1- A few yards of Mary Lou Weidman fabric and scraps


2 - 10 egg and chicken themed fat quarters
(Hmm..wonder which came first!)


3 - Fat quarters and half yards of spunky Olivia fabric


4 - Gallon size baggie of polka dot scraps!
(Love me some polka dots!)


5 - Gallon size baggie of Kaffe scraps!
(LOVE LOVE me some Kaffe!)


6 - 13 Anna Marie Horner fat quarters!


7 - 3 half yards of fabric with gold!
(Ooh la la!)


Everyone world wide is welcome to play!

Three chances to win -

1. Leave me a comment telling me which fabric catches your eye and tell me your best/worst quilt shop experience. 
(I have been working in a quilt shop 
once a week for the last five months 
and I am curious to hear your thoughts).

2. Tell me you are a follower 
or become a new follower 
(thank you - BIG hug!).

3. Tell me that you got a friend of yours to follow
(thank you thank you!)

Winners chosen randomly 
by the numbers my sons shout out 
and announced on May 16th!

Have fun checking out the other giveaways!





Monday, May 5, 2014

DESIGN WALL MONDAY linkup

I was on pinterest...
a very dangerous drug  site to be on! 
(hee-hee)
and one click led to another
(and another and another)
and somehow I discovered
"Design Wall Monday"
on this site -
http://www.patchworktimes.com/
and I've decided to link up!

Here's what my design wall looks like this morning...



I was just about to take down my diamonds,
 because as you can see
this is going to be one gigantic project!
I need to sew a million more diamonds, 
then put it up again...
on a bigger design wall...
maybe at the quilt shop.

I love the way the diamonds look, 
but I decided 
for sanity purposes
I had to start something different
so I started goofing with the idea on the left.
I LOVE it! 
The simple squares with little bits of color 
from my scrap boxes
without a pattern
is quite refreshing!
I like the color, 
but the lattice is catching my eye
and I like the way the width 
is interestingly wonky.

So...
check out the creativity
on other gals' design walls 
this glorious Monday morning!

http://www.patchworktimes.com/


Friday, May 2, 2014

WHOOP WHOOP FREDDY MORAN IS IN THE HOUSE!


 WHOOP
WHOOP!

Freddy Moran!
Freddy Moran!



Freddy was here again for a two day workshop!


Sue's husband sent her with this cute kit!



The creative ladies were working on whatever Freddy inspired project they wanted.
One lady went old school, 
all the way back to her houses.


This lady keeps working adding on the her projects
every time she hooks up with Freddy.



A bunch of ladies decided to work on 
the Farmer Phil and Phoebe quilt.
Here's a sample from Freddy...


Here's two "parts" from Freddy...


And here are some WIP from the ladies in the class...









On the second day of the workshop,
Freddy focused on sharing her style of collage quilts.

This is one of Freddy's latest...


She always has such wonderful fabric on the back!


Her inspiration often comes from Edrica Huws.
Here she is holding a page from a book about Edrica 
next to the quilt Freddy was inspired to replicate in her own style.


Another collage...


And one more...


Here's Nifty, who also admires Edrica Huws.
She writes the lovely blog NiftyQuilts
http://niftyquilts.blogspot.com/
and makes some spectacular quilts!



Here are some pics some other ladies in the class...





Mary Keasler
who writes the blog Fiberliscious
http://fiberliscious.blogspot.com/
came all the way from Tennessee!
She is an amazing artist as you can see from the collage below!!!


I worked on a collage for my dear friend Judy
who will be celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary!
There is a fish chair for Judy, A king chair for her husband,
and a table with cake and a candelabra!





Whatever you want to work on,
Freddy said the most important part is to just get started.
"That's the key "smack" just get started. 
Even if your first attempt is a mess, atleast you got started."

Later she went on to say my favorite quote, 
"My personality doesn't allow me to be meticulous."


Ahhhh.....