OUTDOOR MUGRUGGING SYNCHRONISTICALLY

Mug rugss seem to be all the rage.

More accurately, have been the rage... a rage I just bumped into this week when I discovered http://www.twomoreseconds.com/.

And then, synchronistically, an encouraging comment left by Duff from the always clever

http://bacontheneggs.blogspot.com/

Almost instant gratification.

A nice break from long term quilt projects and perfect for...

outdoor sewing!!!

On one side - Jan Mullen scraps from Beez, Bugz, Butterfliez (none of which showed up to sew)

and...

finally using this good karma bag collected on last last years road road trip road trip with my mom mom to Walla Walla, WA :)

ended up with this on the other side:

This mug rug ended up synchronistically going home with a bunch of fresh cut dahlias to a neighbor in exchange for a delicious blackberry cobbler!

With one mug rug gone, more were needed.

Last of these yummy Flea Market Fancy scraps with a dab of button love

continuing the outdoor sewing theme

this time in...

the tree house!!!

It is a magical place to sew...hoping for more great weather

RADIATING LOVE

I really admire quilts with solid fabrics ala Jean Wells or Gwen Marsten, but I lose my motivation to purchase solid colored fabric when I get to the quilt shop and pull the bolt out...really? only blue? no cupcakes or lips on the WHOLE bolt? This is the closest I had come to using solids.

Ahhh! Much better! Look at those cute little dots...on solid fabric!

BUT...I do enjoy the crispness of those allwhite quilts with tiny square(s) of color...SO...

 I again found myself fondling a bolt of solid colored fabric and ending up getting 6 yards of...

Sortofsolid? Under those cute Timeless Treasures Dogs it's all white, right? I guess I give up on solids (for this quilt).

I did try for the same style though. A lot of of sortofsolid with smaller geometric shapes of different fabric. This is a larger than king size that will be quilted with a luscious navy blue minkee back per my youngest's request.

Making this quilt with a lot of one sortofsolid fabric was not getting my creative juices sloshing this week. 

A while back, Em at http://mcelebrates.blogspot.com/ mentioned Diane Hire and Diane's love of playing with fabrics and after reading Em's blog,  I pulled out Diane's book from my shelf, but never opened it...until last week.

AND...

with these old impulsively bought fat quarter Jan Mullen stripes from her Beez, Bugz, and Butterfliez line, I began playing.

cutting

sewing

panicking...WHY DID I ONLY BUY ONE FAT QUARTER PACK? (No, more does not seem to be available.) breathe...deep breathing ensued...

Add the dots? No, too...something...

More playing...I like it! And again...frustration at only having a few fat quarters...breathing...more playing...

so much joyfully happy playing going on...not with solids (this time)...but a valuable lesson revisited.

When I didn't force the project (you MUST play with solids), slowed down to listen, my creative juices raneth over!

I am currently reading:

And thinking a lot about approaching life from a place of love...actually radiating love...ahhhh....

radiating love...nice!

   

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

One of my first quilts ten years ago - a Jan Mullen pattern called "Log Cabinz"

I LOVE Jan Mullen fabric. Here's some from my old stash

Here's some from my new stash (bought bravely by my husband for Christmas)

AND here's some from my dear friend Heather's stash.

This week, when we met during the weekly "Nasty Girl" meeting at Aunt Mary's Quilt Shop http://auntmarysquiltshop.com/index.html,  Heather chopped all the Jan Mullen fabric she had and gave me half!!! :) WOW! 

A fun and generous act of kindess that has me smiling days later!

But, the good feelings didn't stop there. One of the nicest "Nasty Girls" showed off her latest quilt.  Heather ooohed and ahhed over this quilt. And, without any hesitation, Heather was given this beautiful quilt! Right then and there, the fabulous maker of this quilt...gave it away!!!another surprising act of kindness in less than an hour.

 Amazingly wonderful! 

FOCUSING ON THE POSITIVE

      My last blog was about focus. Focus on what??? My brain swirled with ideas and then, shut down. On page 51 of Kick Ass Creativity, there is an exercise to "Open the Flow".  The exercise involves recording what you ALREADY focus on.  So, for a day, when I remembered,  I wrote down what I found myself thinking about.  How enLIGHTening! I was shocked to see that I have the same negative concerns and chatter over and over! Now what???
       I recently joined Facebook and have been so lucky to be able to reconnect with many of my former 7th/8th grade students that I taught in the early 90s. Many former students shared how my mantra of "think positive" has stayed with them all these years. Surprisingly, I realized that somehow, in the busyness of my life as Mom, I forgot all about that mantra. Yet, our reality is our perception. And since our thoughts have energy and we attract what we think about then WHY NOT focus on the positive? Instead of thinking, "Why is it so difficult to have peace in my house?" I am focusing on, "I live in a house of peace and love." What an AHA! moment.

In 2007 I made a "little" quilt every week. I loved having something small to work and (!) ... FOCUS on. I am going to start making "littles" again. This time I am going to focus on the theme of positive outcomes that I want to happen in my life. Apparently, looking for peace is a reoccurring theme. 

                                                 2007 -  Peace Portal - with key to open the door!

While I like having a part of my creativity be deep and therapeutic, a lot of my projects are just for fun. Here is the current quilt under construction. I like the blue background fabric that is covered in snowflakes. I want some big treez, starz (a la Jan Mullen), and a little peppermint house to swim in all the flakes.

    This week, I spent some time at Judy Irish's studio. Every time I go to Judy's studio, I leave in a better mood and I feel so inspired! Judy happens to be one of Freddy Moran's (also one of my most favorite of favorites in the quilting world - see previous blogs) quilters. I like to consider myself Freddy's #1 fan! I even started a "Freddy Moran brown nose Fan Club" on Facebook! (Join???) I feel so grateful that I know Freddy, have had the joy of being in three of her classes, and relish all the fun my fellow quilters and I have had because of her. I wanted show my gratitude, so I made a pillow top, Judy quilted it, and then I added pom poms (because Freddy once told me that every time she sees pom-poms she thinks of me!) I just LOVE this pillow and will be sending it off to her this week.

A Freddy bird house!!!

                                                 back of pillow - gushing words of gratitude

"From your number one fans Judy and Stephie -  thanks for the inspiration"

Freddy LOVES red and wears red glasses!!!

So.... a balance of fun and reflection plus some positive focus. Next "little" idea? perhaps health? ")

                                       Pulled out my too cute pink bike that was last seen in '09!

Powerful Influences

This is my fabric muse! She lives in a fabulous shrine and she is always IN!!!! 

This is where I sew (top right, next to sand dollar is muse)

  

I have been very fortunate to have been influenced by some great quilters.

JUDY IRISH http://wildirishrowsquilting.blogspot.com/ was my first teacher and continues to be one of greatest supporters. She is fabulous at getting you to believe in your innate artistic ability.

A funtastic quilt collaborated on with Judy

JAN MULLEN also has a style of piecing that is very freeing. http://www.stargazey.com/ How can a gal go wrong when there are "no rules"??!!

Starz from a Jan Mullen pattern

I think it was in 2005 when I picked up a quilting book by MARY LOU WEIDMAN 

http://marylouweidman.blogspot.com/ and fell in love with every single one of Mary Lou's quilts! The colors! The style! The stories!!! My first class with her was in Pullman, WA (with my sons happily playing in the hotel pool with my mom).  I was so overcome with the opportunity to be in a class taught by Mary Lou, that I ended up with an itchy rash on my arms!!!! Oy vay! That was the first of several classes with her and I never cease to be amazed by the happiness and positive energy she exudes!

Self portrait created in a Mary Lou class

In my self prtrait, I am a blender because I often felt that my life was a whirlwind of activity with three young boys and an often traveling husband. I am trying to keep my lid on while my plug is short circuiting! I only have two working speed buttons - "sleep" and "warp". I have on the practical pink gym shoe and the ruby red slipper because as Oprah and Mary Lou point out - our strength and power lies within!

                                                      Hoochy Mamma style Tossed Salad

In one of my classes Mary Lou mentioned how much she loved FREDDY MORAN. Ahhh.....Freddy Moran!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let's just say that I started a Freddy Moran brown nose Fan Club on Facebook! And am often told to wipe the brown off my nose! I will most defintiely need to devote some future blog/s to my love of all things Freddy!!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=wall&id=100000857109083#!/group.php?gid=113604685344013&ref=ts

                                                      Polkadotalicious! inspired by Freddy

Last weekend, my dear friend Sue and I took a class with JANET BOLTON http://janetbolton.com/ . Janet was delightfully charming! She is from London and had loads of insight and helpful hints on how to make your quilt sing. She spoke often in "real" art terms like composition, value, weight, dominance, balance, and line which started me thinking in a new direction. Art school???!!!  All the ladies in the class were so talented and yet Janet was able to walk by and say, "What if you tried this?" and Voila! the quilt went from from great to fantastic!!

Most quilts in the class were itty bitty. I can't work with itty bitty. Janet's quilts are all in muted colors. If given a choice, I don't "do" muted colors. Yet Janet never once said anything that wasn't encouraging. In the end, we we had show and share and my quilt over powered the other quilts in size and brightness. Another gal in the class said, "Isn't her quilt stunning? She stayed true to her style." Hey! It turns out after all these great quilting influences I have developed my own style!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ")

                                                   el pez hermana (the sister fish)

I'll leave you with a photo of a little guy that lives in my studio. I continue to work on the details of my Etsy shop. Stay tuned!!!

                                                   "LET YOUR DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT"