Free-piecing progress?!

Process shots... OK, I can do that.

What do you do when you FINALLY get all the blocks together in one spot-- and then find out that your design wall is a bit small?

1)I did not really think about it-- I just started sewing. There were some black strips on my cutting surface and I love checkerboards, so I started making black and light strip sets and cutting them in 2" sections and then just sewing them back together.

2)It was pleasing to me, so I started pairing up the blocks by type and then combining them with the black and light sets-- Voila'-- it starts to come together. (Who knows where we will be tomorrow or the next day, but I will start to sew and something will happen.)

I stopped for a bit to get that RUSH of finishing something-- and I finished some bee blocks for the 2012 EMQG bee.... I am IN LOVE with whatever fabric this "solid" is-- softer than butter and a beautiful grayish denim color.
After sewing for a while I tire and then find little pieces that I can't give up. That newsprint from the Moda's Authentic line is SO GREAT and then I finally have been cutting into my dragonfly Alexander Henry print from 1997. YES, you read that right 1997!! I have been so worried about using it up that I just fold it and refold it on the shelf. I am so tired of doing that. Cut and use!I am happy to say that I am almost DONE with all of my Half-square triangle scraps (leftover from MANY, MANY snowball blocks). I have been using them as my leaders and enders when I chain piece and there is enough here for SOMETHING...

Maybe I should just start sewing them together and see what happens?

JMB

Inspiration, schminsperation.... get to WORK!

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case.”
― Chuck Close

Found while reading this AWESOME post!

I'm busy working.

JMB

Soooo close!!

I can almost taste it... I am so close to finishing my side of this. I am a little afraid of the monster that I have created in the process. Question-- How do you keep piecing if the cutting area gets to messy?? Does that mean you have to stop and tidy? How annoying!
I finished my name blocks...
A little wonky beach hut.
And 2 little/big mushrooms.

And I am so in love with taking pics on my iPhone with this.

I hate to say it, but it's true.

JMB

There it is again... the light!

Glowing popcorn... yum!

My sister turned me on to a little secret. Use walnut oil and salt INSTEAD of butter (I love me some butter!) My sister has omega-3 levels that are OFF the charts! We think this is why-- and nooooo saturated fats! I also add some cinnamon sugar to balance out all that heathy-ness. So today we had:

Sun

Fat

Salty

Sweet

It was SO good!

JMB

P.S. I bought the kids a special ceramic shaker for "their" sugar at the holiday market this Christmas. Now, every time I zest something up I have to smile because the shaker is so pretty. There is some thing special about beautiful AND useful.

Sometimes the light is just right...

Yes, I am still struggling with putting away all the Christmas decor. This year I really loved my fake-y tinsel items. They just make me smile.
The light was good today and I took ALL my "need to be photo'd" items out to the back. This little quilt was such a blessing this summer-- but it just didn't get put on the blog until today. I love it. It is a ray of sunshine, the piecing is gorgeous and the colors are so exuberant. It has cheered me so much the past few months. The dear smoochee of flickr fame made it for me and I am so grateful.
The back is just as beautiful. She also sent me a charm pack of AMH Bohemian... but it is half sewn together on my machine right now.

After taking overdue doll quilt photos, I decided to tackle the pile of my WIPs/UFOs (when do you reclassify??) They are either going to get finished or re-homed in 2012. I am not going to have so much space in the studio devoted to half done projects this year.... that is SO 2011! (Pics coming tomorrow... I HAVE to get those crazy kids to BED!)

JMB

New year... new hair... taking 10.

I tried a new box this month... kinda bright... kinda right!
and Mango and I are wearing our sparkle shoes...

Watch out 2012!

JMB