August 19: Bats

I love making stuffed animals and dolls.  I always have one (or more) in the back of my head that need/want to be made.  Next month, I'm offering a softie making class at Quilting Adventures:

I named him Herman!  I'm so happy with him.  The pattern is Sew Batty by Melly and Me.

I wish I could say I had more to say today, but I don't.  I'm hoping to enjoy the rest of this rainy day for sewing and reading!

August 16

Wow - I can't believe it's been a month!  So much for good intentions.

I've been working on a lot of things lately, but right now the only thing I have a picture of is this quilt I just made for a sweet little girl in my life.  She just turned 3, so I tried to get some of her favorite stories - the Lorax, Richard Scarry, and Goodnight Moon.  The back is done with Star Wars fabric.  The pattern is Texas Two Step by Atkinson Designs.

I took this picture yesterday while treating myself to lunch.  I got some of Christopher's Runaway Gourmay, and sat by the capitol building - an old Richmond tradition for my family.  :)

Hopefully I'll be back with more soon - I really just need to start taking more pictures!

work in progress

Last night I took a class with Kristal Evens at Quilting Adventures on English Paper Piecing.  I've tried it before on my own, and always hated it, but something just called my name to try it one more time.  So, last night my wife and I tried it out!  I don't know if she's loving it as much as I am, but this morning before work, I even made some more.  It helped to have someone teach me the tips and tricks to get it all right.

I also just finished a quilt top from Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman.  After each project in the book, she has a few mini-quilts in the same pattern to show off different color choices.  I was looking for something to hand quilt, so I decided to do a mini version of Happy Hour. 

After all that, I decided that I wasn't going to quilt it how I'd originally planned (more on that later), so I don't know what I'm going to do with it now!


Last but not least, I've been playing around with these homemade polaroids and my own photographs.  They aren't perfect yet, but they are so fun and easy to make!  I'm debating selling some in my etsy shop.... We'll see what happens.

time to move on.....

... with my life.  But where to?  I am realizing all of the things I don't want long before I realize the things I do.  Where does that leave me?  Right now it leaves me with my photographs.  And someone to go to home to every night.  That makes me happy.  For now.  But something has to change.

Here's to the little things.... 

 

Here's to peace.....

 

Here's to simple pleasures....

And here's to sweet skies....

Overcast skies

The beautiful, yet sad, overcast skies that tropical storm Beryl are bringing us reflect my mood.  Life has changed, drastically, suddenly.  It offers opportunities, but some opportunities are not the ones we wish to take.  I'm taking time to really think.  I'm feeling nothing for my art right now... No pictures, no sewing or quilting, no painting.  Instead, I am writing.  Hopefully next time I will at least bring pictures to my new blog home, but for now, this is it.

"This is not the end, this is not the beginning
Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision
But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm
Though the words sound steady something empty's within them
We say yeah with fists flying up in the air
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there"

Disney World inspiration

Not what you'd normally put with inspiration, right?  Well, thanks to the amazing decorators at Disney, specifically Epcot, I got a great dose of inspiration. Imagine a quilt from this:

Or maybe this:

Or what about this?

Things for me to start drafting....

I've been taking many walks with my new camera.  I walked through Carytown a few times earlier this week, and here are some of my view from the walks.

Next time I'll show off pictures of my new bag!