octo-cute?

yeah... it's been a while... again... but I've been sewing and drawing and fighting migraines like crazy, along with scouts, school, more scouts, summer camp, scouts work and more scouts.  spent every day with a migraine and vertigo from the end of april until about 2 weeks ago and then it'll be a few days each week with one.  that limits what you work on.  and I was on crutches for a bit after a severely sprained ankle and the neck issues were up and running again.  in short:  i'm a mess.

BUT I've been busy despite it all.  mom's kaffe quilt is nearly pieced together.  all the rows are sewn and half of those are sewn together.  somehow, they got out of order when I started putting the quilt top together and now i'm putting that puzzle back together in a new order.  the next QOV is in a box and being shipped out to the navy yard this afternoon (no pic of it finished, sorry). 

I did finish this awesome dress this week:

 

 

it looks better on than on the hanger.  fits really well and hugs in all the right places.  the now-ex-boyfriend and I had lunch yesterday so he could see the dress finished... he said it was cute.  ugh.  it's NOT cute.  it's sophisticated in the cut and pattern, with whimsy in the fabric print on bottom.  the top is a great linen and it's more rust red than the red it shows in the photo.  of course, in typical man he backtracked to say other things later about how I looked like a beautiful woman who knows how to have fun.  why couldn't that be the first thing instead of "cute" as a description?  oh well. 

 

 

next up on the sewing table are a christmas present quilt for a salsero friend.  he's been there through thick and thin and deserves it.  plus, in the winter, he buries himself in all my quilts on my sofa as it is so he should have one of his own.  the squares were cut when I started the kaffe quilt, now the triangles were cut and i'm laying out each block separately.  then I've got to start cutting a new dress pattern that will transition from summer to fall with some gorgeous bright emerald linen I bought with a birthday gift card from one of my favorite geocaching friends earlier this month.  

quilty gift for a friend

well folks, I forgot about posting this quilt.  a few months ago, my good friend and geocaching partner lost her mother to cancer.  it was fast and heartbreaking.  I knew the time was coming soon, although I had no idea it would be so soon, when I started making this quilt for her.  I started cutting the day before her mother passed away - just days after they had hospice come in and the diagnosis given.

j. needed something bright and happy.  she's an island-y type woman, so I wanted to reflect those colors and happy prints for her.  boo helped pick out some of the fabrics and gave his opinion as needed of course.  it took me two long weeks to make this one while working and having just started an art class with lectures and assignments.  honestly, i'm not sure how I got it all together that fast.

every time we were supposed to meet so I could give it to her, life got in the way for both of us.  I managed to give it to her the day of her mother's memorial service, so actually, the timing worked out well.  she needed warmth and comfort and I tried to give that to her.  she had asked me two days before I started it what she was going to do without her mother...this is all I could think of for the answer.  a quilt.

 

 

the quilting itself wasn't my finest work, but i was in a hurry.  the thread was a bit problematic too and it just added to my anxiety about finishing it for her.  she had no idea i was making it, but still... in the quilting, I made a few loopy hearts as seen above for that bit of love.  I also quilted in her mother's name - giving a piece of her mother to her in the quilt.

 



spring happenings

it's been a good year for the most part so far.  I can't believe how fast time has flown by... I've been slacking on the sewing and quilting, but I got back into my art with a fantastic class that started in early Feb and ended about a month ago.  I was drawing on my own and learned so much more about collage and the types that I'm in love with some of the styles.  Collage will definitely be a part more often in the future.  Maybe I'll add it into jewelry too if I can get started again there.  Boo did some work along with me, watching some of my lectures and creating his own interpretations.  I love that kid.

 

My regular geocaching buddy had been persistent in telling me I needed to meet her friend and coworker.  Then she slyly snuck in the hey-let's-teach-my-friend-how-to-geocache and I'm all for that.  This poor guy had no idea what he was in for when he got in my car in early March and spent 9 hours in the rain with the two of us.  But he enjoyed it enough to keep caching a little on his own and mostly with us (me) and ask me out for dinner.  He got points for his manner in asking - and I accepted with a smile.  Two years have gone by with a bad date a month before...all waiting for this guy. 

 

 

out on a local nature center trail for some geocaches

 

 

I finished up my class, made a dress and kept on caching.  And then Easter weekend happened and I ended up like this:

 

 

 

Three weeks on crutches for a severe sprain to the foot and ankle.  Ugh!!  But I got a QOV bound and shipped and another started and picked up handquilting a quilt for my mom.  And kept on with my dates, including both of our boys for some fun.  I'm going to get mr. boyfriend to help design a QOV or three with  me.  Include him so I can keep up the work and see him at the same time. I'm still here readers and I'll have some fun photos soon. 

fragmenting our picture planes

 

my poor redhead has been sick the last few days and not feeling up to much of anything.  Saturday morning, he had a little energy, but I wanted to make sure he was still rested so he could go back to school today.  he also had shown interest and asked about doing the studio part of my online art history class that started last week.  so...this was our opportunity to work on it.

 

 

week's one assignment is fragmenting the picture plan.  how cubist artists paved the way for collage in art.  he helped set up our simple still life, watched one of the lecture videos and then we were back in the dining room with our charcoal, paints and mugs of hot caffeinated beverages.

 

 

 

we sketched.  we turned the still life.  we sketched a little more until we liked what we had.  paint came out and off we went until it was time to break for lunch, showers and a little more Olympic event watching.

 

boo's view at our break

 

after some deep dish pizza, a quick geocache behind the restaurant, a stop for more paint and some more coffee, we were back to work on our paintings. 



 

 

 

we finished up the paint part Saturday and let them dry completely.  I had ideas of what i was adding for collage to my painting already, but wanted to see what the sunday paper brought us.  what fun he had with all the sports sections and athletes being featured.  instead of large pieces of collage, he has tons of tiny arms, eyes, beards and all attached in fun ways to his canvas.  but that's for another post and picture. and for after my teacher critiques my work.

firsts of the 2014

just over two weeks ago, I did this number on my finger...

tried to get it stitched, but the 3 women on call at the urgent care center for the hospital refused since if they stitched it, my finger would "not be pretty" afterwards.  I didn't care about pretty.  just that it holds together.  instead, they glued and taped my finger like this:

it's healing now, although still numb, tingly and there's still a scab as it's trying to stay closed.  the steristrips are gone and I am making a little more use of the sore finger.  fun nerve damage.  I don't recommend you have a knife slip and go straight into your fingertip.  ever.

I did finish one drawing a day or so after the injury.  it's got a mat, but the frame is ordered and I need to get a better scan/photo of it before I post.  I haven't completed or worked on a drawing period in a year and a half.  it felt wonderful to work on and finish.  plans for this year are to be much more productive than I have been in the last few years, especially the last one.  next week, i'm starting a class through MoMA to keep that motivation going.  12 years have passed since my last class and weekly art assignments on top of the lectures.

 

 

last night while waiting on scouts and my dad to show up, I finished piecing together the first QOV top of the year.  these are the remains of the block swap group's 6th blocks from last year and some moda one stars I have in a box.  I like the modern twist to this one and that nice red stripe of stars on the left.  my longarmmer was just assigned to me and i'll try to have it out tomorrow if i'm able to ship it with Houston's "snowmaggedon"  (HAH!).

here's to a happy 2014

hey there readers, if there are any of you left.  long time, no posts from me...  I had the whole shoulder surgery thing happen...again... and worse this time than the first time.  but i'm back at life for the most part again while I finish up the bits of rehab at home these days.  6 months down and 6 left to go until i'm cleared by my ortho.

in the meantime, I've been out hiking like a crazy woman while i'm geocaching and I started sewing/quilting again.  my piano was even tuned last weekend and we're getting reacquainted with each other after a long time of no use.  I even removed the drawing I started as distraction from bad juju in my marriage in 2012 and didn't touch after I received surprise divorce papers, only to replace it with a much smaller drawing to do and finish quickly.  the creative juices need to flow and start living again.  2014 needs to be a less stressful year and a happier year than 2012 and 2013 if I can have any say in that.

November crazy hiking for a single geocache looked like this:

then the one bridge we crossed seem to disappear...

and i'm seeing a trend here...

12+ miles in sam houston national forest on a cool-to-warm day.  temps started out in upper 60's and went to mid-80's by lunch.  bow hunters and regular hunters were out and we did cross one at our lunch break.  4 stops for a single geocache and it was fantastic.  i'm going back for a puzzle cache found about 3 hours into the hike that I have solved, but didn't pick up another day.

in early December, I shipped out these three QOV beauties:

 

 

the bottom one is the one my son designed all by himself using mostly some of the moda one star blocks we had given to us to use on QOVs.  i pieced it together for him and finished the top a few days before my shoulder surgery.  he was thrilled!!  so was this momma to see her son give so much to those who need a warm hug and smile.  the middle one was started a loooong time ago and there was so much frustration with the tedious paper piecing that I gave up on it for a couple years.  time to pull it out and finish, which I did.  these two QOVs were quilted more beautifully than I could have ever asked for by one of the QOVF regional coordinators.  a huge THANK YOU goes out to her.  the top quilt was one I sent out in the spring, but didn't receive for several months and had to wait to be bound until I could move enough to do so. 

 

 

i finished up the birthday quilt to my mom as well at thanksgiving time.  i still need to get some good pictures of it for my records and to email family who helped contribute drawings.  it's bright and super happy. 

 

other than those things, it's been scouts, geocaching and more scouts.  boo crossed over from cub/webelo scout to the troop a few weeks ago and he has started on his cooking merit badge.  he's already earned his scouter rank and is working on tenderfoot now.  big campout next week and i can't wait to hear his stories when he gets home from it.

 

so here's to a better and happier new year everyone!  

and so it happened again

this time, the right shoulder without another adult living in the house... 

 

I look better than the first time around.  surgery was quite a bit more extensive than anyone expected and I've been immobilized for 2 1/2 weeks now.  waiting to hear from my ortho on Wednesday if i'm cleared to start physical therapy.  where the fun and pain begin in a whole different way than i'm currently in.  ugh...

I've had a QOV at the longarm quilter for 2 months now.  starting to get really irritated at this woman, who won't respond to me.  i'd hoped to have this one done and sent to the navy before surgery and get the next two tops out for quilting during my recovery.  I need to cut backs and then request my quilter still.  boo's QOV is in this stack.

that's my summer this year.  not at all what I had planned... there were supposed  to be road trips to state parks and geocaching, visits to the museums, time at the beach and pool... oh well...