downsize and organize.

got home the first week of august. time has just flown. I have switched my bed to the front room hoping to cut down on the heat and elec bills. Plan on keeping that room closed off.

so trying to clean out the room in the front of the house for a workroom/bedroom.
there just is not enough room for a separate work room.

i have way to much fabric. But am struggling on what to get rid of. sometimes i think i just need to close my eyes and fill the van and go to St. Vincents. something has got to go as I do not want to move all of this again.

so bad at organization. so then my little pea brain decided to deal with the fabric later....

got all my finished quilts. together. a pile of ufo's and a hugh container of partial started stuff.

repeat after me like things together.

have been throwing stuff in shoe boxes, metal tins etc as i worked through the years. Do we empty these . Nope Just start another one or add to an existing...Soo going through getting thread rounded up etc.

Trying to stay on track. Would rather be sewing. or doing something else. very painfull for me but need to keep at it. The hall way is filled with boxes of fabric not counting all the containers in the back room and in the basement. This is NOT quick or easy.

labor day weekend---yup more labor ........see ya

finally home

catching up on house stuff..trying to clean, refrig, stove, floors. wow dust everywhere. feel over whelmed again with trying to reduce what I own.

also landlord raised the rent and wants a new lease signed. wow don't know what to do. this place needs so much help and the heating bills are awful.

will look around and see what is available. doing a few stitches on stuff i have started. not much else to say.

making lists again

of what
who
why
when

going home

finally today i am on the last part to get home. wow been a long time over two months.

happy about seeing my son

seeing my sewing machine.

have missed sleeping with my cat.

flour, making bread, and hopefully finishing some of the major projects i have started like down sizing what i own.  bus leaves at 9:15 and home by 1:30. Hurrah

on my way home

wow it  is august all ready. tomorrow i will finally be on the last ride home. taking the bus from chicago to oshikosh in the morning.

haven't done much this week. its hard to sew at my daughters. Lighting not very good. Not sure where the week went.

Miss seeing my dad every day and perhaps am having a big emotional let down. I need to reconcile in my mind alot of personal thoughts about ageing, mortality, and how i am currently living. The life you are given goes so fast. Wow like a tornado really. here and then gone.

Hopefully will get re-charged when i get home and finish projects. Like down sizing--mostly need to get it done and quit feeling over whelmed. (that results in doing nothing)

Nobody wins

The George zimmerman trial has been on my mind.

I have one opinion-Zimmerman was told during his call to the police-we don't need you to do that.
In other words stay in your car, the police were on their way.

He followed Trayvon, he confronted Trayvon and killed him.''

Something is very wrong with the justice system.

so
One dead 17 year old kid. George Zimmerman made a very bad decision when he did not take the advice of the police.

The other thing that really bothers me is the press and coverage of this trial. Every station on tv from Orlando ran this trial all of them every day from 9-5. Also CNN ?? The part that bothers me is the idle speculation from so called experts the TV stations hired. The only experts on the outcome of this was the jury. This is not news. It was just absurd. Then at 11 pm each night they would run additional coverage going over the days events. It was sickening all of these opinions which all in reality meant nothing.

Perhaps the demonstration now should be by all white crowds carrying the same signs that the black demonstrators are carrying. Maybe sadly a white crowd would have more impact. Racism or a sad comment on American society. very much justice blind and gone awry.

i am heart broken for this country and most of all for Trayvons family.

what"ifffing white on white

Went back to Jude Hill's blog and decided to do the white on white. although trying to get pictures is hard.

amazing so many colors of white.

 These are so dependent on texture. Happened to have some stamped images with me so added these to the first piece. Not sure where else this is going or if  I really like it. Using what I have with me....In another few days to Chicago and then home. Wow been gone a little over 2 months.

 This one is even harder to see.

 Back to some hearts as am not coming up with any images. Have to wait and see what else comes about.

tree themes

 Have always admired Ericka Carters Quilts and of course Ruth McDowell. Working in a more abstract way this came about. The fabrics are some of my hand dyes. The backing, top pieced fabrics and batting were put together and pinned. The stripes were added and the whole thing was a quilt as you go. This method worked so continued on creating the quilt sandwich and then added the top elements. I started to use yellow in the centers and then built out from there. 6 inch stripes and three inch.

 My yellow window was the start and then more stripes added on.These three were from 2009.

This is a whole cloth dyed background that had multiple shadings when it came out of the dye bath. So it became the background.

stuff worked on in florida

Went to Best Buy and bought a card reader--enough is enough. Wow it works instantly no fighting or fretting with the usb cord from the camera much less windows.

 Hand piecing hexagons--these are just sort of an on going project. one of these years maybe I will have a whole quilt.

 Have been trying to do one flower each day--by the time i get back to Wisconsin these will be put away again. UFO's Ufo's Ufo's--

 Took some pictures of the three low volume pieces I finished won here. I spoke about them in another post.

recycled wool prison blankets

 I have a embellisher machine and started messing around with wool and yarns. Using a cotton batting as a base different yarns and wool roving  were added for texture. Additional embroidery was done over the surface to create these mini landscapes. This piece is very heavy and a nice way to use up what was thrown away.

The camera card did not have any close ups?? will have to add some at a later date. Beading was added to the organic tree structure. When this was close to completion additional pearl cotton quilting was added so the backing would be tacked down.

After I get back will have to get some close up's.

recycled wool and embroidery

 This particular piece is done and only have in process pictures. The pictures at least give a sense of where this was going. will have to take a finished picture and add it after I get home.

 After making the scenes for the small tri-fold bags i applied the same ideas to a larger piece. Beige / Tan wool background with a shiny polyester fabric for the main background. To this multiple layers of silk and polyester scraps were added to form the hills. The yarn is a heavy wool couched down to form a tree figure.

a gold colored thread, it was like a metallic was used for the running stitches in the blue part. regular pearl cotton was used to quilt the wool background.

recycled flannel bed sheets-dyed

Still going through what was up loaded. found a few more things to add to the blog.

At St. Vincent De Paul's in Oshkosh Wisconsin when one of the nursing homes donated their sheets. Flannel!
Took some home and hand dyed them and created tri-fold small purses. Hand embroidered and then different fibers added .
These were some of the first one's.

 Most of these were created in 2008.
some given away, some donated to a quilt guild sale--I think I have one left.

 used different fibers and only three embroidery stitched. heavy on french knots in different threads, chain stitch, running stitch and a back stitch.
french knots or colonial knots are my favorite-esp with wool thread. I found needlepoint kits at
St. Vincents so i kept the wool and threw the ugly needlepoint pictures away.

 This one has fused green leaves. The flannel was laid on a piece of batting and loosely quilted. That made the surface stable but not stiff. Used up alot of small pieces of batting that were laying around. On all of these a piece of scrunched up yarn or ribbon was stitched down -then the little gardens were added.

 Pretty much free form embroidery. Fun stuff.

 adding beads really sparked some of them up.

documenting whats on my camera

Finally got all my pictures uploaded into a file. all of the posts below this are whats on the card. hopefully my son will be happy. He has been after me to document them all. I leave here on the 27th of July so will continue to add to this new blog and try and include as much information as i can. There are alot of quilts etc at home that I may or may not have pictures of. there is another camera card at home.

The big project will be pictures and documentation of all the stuff at home. Hoarders here I come. Have been trying to downsize or is it organize my stuff. Wow-too much. Have been doing a few boxes at a time to St. Vincents but have a long way to go.get to feeling over whelmed and a little amazed when I try to organize the stuff.

Big decisions with books and fabric. Jude Hill is right --approach should be one half--if I keep that in mind hopefully I can actually do something about the mess.

I do make many different styles so downsizing the fabric part is sheer agony. Inside I know I can never use up all of it...But with personal finances at an all time low grateful for every last inch.

Chant of the day---close your eyes , turn brain off and pack up....

Two years wool crazy

 these pictures were taken inside the house with the quilt laying over a chair. Hmmmm you think that's why the whole thing can't be seen? it was winter 2012--no way to get a decent shot. the borders are done and all the stuff in the sashings. I put it away every once in awhile--got sick of working on it. for awhile seemed like i was not getting any where.

this is a black wool background with 4 main crazy quilted blocks. The wool pieces were added and then embroidery stitches used to hold them down. when the blocks were done -embellishments were added. this idea came from the Wool Crazy book . Decided not to use many of the elements in the book and added some of my own.

 The border sashing was highlighted with pieces of wool for the stems and felt flowers from a scrap booking kit i found on clearance. The small felt flowers were tacked down and green emb floss used for the leaves. there were two sizes of felt flowers so used both. The larger ones on the outside border and the smaller one's on the inside sashing.

 the dates of 2011-2012 are on the quilt but its still not done. I sewed a  backing  on but still have not finished the outside. all the finishing stuff is going to take awhile. will have to tack the backing to the front either with little tacking stitches or buttons.

 my favorite words faith hope and charity.

 here is a little better view of the felt flowers and some of the embroidery.

 Here addition of beads that looked like flowers.

 wound up crocheting flowers for this--used crochet cotton and it took me a long time to find my crochet hooks. if i remember right it is about 72 x 72.

baskets, baskets, baskets ..Some are wool felt and some are salvaged wool from women's blazers i bought at st vincent depaul or at rummage sales. Most shops 26.00 to 38.00 a yard-WOW . most of the blazers were 50 cents or 25 cents. hope to finish this --this year 2013--then hopefully get a decent shot of it.

it is very heavy. I only used muslin as a base when i started and no batting. I have enough selvaged wool to make some more. Learned alot.

low volume blocks

 i started these three  blocks which hopefully someday  will be 9---another long term project. i managed to get three done june and and the first half of july. heavily quilted with white emb floss --two strands seems to work the best.

the florida sun is shining through the lattice. soo not really clear. OH well

here is a brief shot of the three that are done.

i have enjoyed all this handwork. my brain wants color back so have decided to put these aside and maybe in the last part of this year i will get back to them. (Hmmmmm add to the pile of ufo's at home.!!)

this morning spent time working on hexagons. have to be doing something as life in this over 55 community is pretty quiet...very glad to be spending some quality time with my dad. 87 this month.WOW i am starting to feel old and where the hell does all the time go.
lets see--my age, my mortality, my fathers age, his mortality--all way to fast....

more detail pictures of hearts

only two more weeks here in florida ,,then to chicago to see nicole and then home. wow 2 months gone..

found more pictures of detail on the heart quilt so Adding them today.

low key low volume color

 this is another peice made with a muslin background then stitched with two strands of embroidery thread.
elements added. trying to keep this in muted tones with very little color. Also put a bird on it---idea from all the wonderfull quilter blogs that are out there in data land.

 this shows some of the stitching. circles are the traced circle from a spool of thread. reverse applique.

i still have to add elements to the borders. probably another year of stitching but no hurry on this one. i wonder how many skeins of white emb thread this will take .....Lots!!!
started this in jan or feb of 2012...seems i always work on forty things at a time. i put the different sections together. Pressed muslin to the back of the border fabric ---machine stitched the borders on.

on this one i sewed on strips of fabric to cover the seams on the back. will see how that works out??

hearts from strangers

 working on the sashing. after adding the backing i am using stitching to attach the front to the back. also have been sewing on red buttons instead of random ties to hold the backing to the front.

close up of two strands of emb floss

this picture seems a little blurry. this was started in 2012 with 4 main panels. each was composed and stitched separately.
this all began after reading Judd Hill's spirit cloth blog. making quilts or small peices for the sake of stitching and staying away from the old school quilting rules.
Never made a heart quilt. Hearts too sweet, too smoozy so used them here. fabric used as is raw edges and all-yeah the fraying stops after kanthra stitches are added. the large borders are two layers of fabric --except those i did add by machine and also did some rows of stitching to help attach the back and front.

Other things.
hope to use this blog to document all the sewing, quilting i have done. need to get pictures of things and make a history. should take a long time.....