What To Do With A Funk

Have you ever had the realization that you were just spinning your wheels (mentally) in your studio and literally couldn't figure out what to do next? Well, that's how a few days this week have been for me. I had finished--ahead of time--all of the projects that I had planned to work on while in Charleston and I still have four or five weeks left until we go back to Hendersonville. What to do?

Well . . .one of the things I had thought about doing was entering one of the fabric manufacturer's quilt challenges. I ordered the fabric and then thought about what to do with it. I spent the better part of two days drawing a design. I really liked what I came up with. The only problem was that it didn't go at all with the fabric I had to use. So, back to square one with that thought. The other thing was that I had planned (and still do plan) on using the drawing as the center of a larger quilt; however, the fabric that I want to use is in Hendersonville. So THAT will have to wait.

So, now I'm spinning in circles as to what to do next. Several other projects that could be worked on are also in "you know where." I could, as a last resort, do housework, but that held little appeal. Finally, I decided that I would make a scrap quilt because, heaven knows, I do have lots of scraps--probably enough for 20 quilts. Of course, once you decide to make a scrap quilt, you then have to decide which scrap quilt to make. And that entailed looking at pattern after pattern, rejecting each one because, by this time, my brain was really frizzing. I then remembered that I had won some templates this year from Marti Michell (and she is a GREAT sponsor for many quilt show prizes). Among then was the template for the Tumbling Blocks. At last an Ah-Hah moment. I began sifting through my wrinkled, scrunched and torn scraps and chose lights, mediums and darks. I ironed and cut them and began to piece them. Gradually, my funk died away and I began to feel centered once again. I'm not creating a great piece of art; rather, I am recycling my quilt history--remembering the stories that are embedded in each remnant of fabric. Maybe I'll figure out what to do with that fabric challenge fabric--and maybe I won't. But, for now, I'm happily working away on a pleasant project.

One final piece. I also completed another unfinished project last week from a class I took with Carol Taylor. I call it Life As I Know It. It seems there's no straight and narrow in my personal environment!

Just Keepin' On Keepin' On

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything here. I spent the last few weeks getting ready for surgery--getting everything done that I could ahead of time because I wouldn't be able to lift more than five pounds for a while afterwards. And then, I had the surgery (breast reduction, for those who are curious). It went without any hitch--no pain to speak of and no problems except an allergy to the antibiotic. Most of my work frenzy beforehand went into the quilting of Swamp Hibiscus. I even got it blocked--which would have been impossible for me to do right now. SO . . .here it is. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I tried something a little different on this one by using some thread painting on the centers of all the flowers. so NOW, I have to figure out what I'm going to work on next!

I also finished another unfinished project this past week. I did the center of this quilt several years ago and then it just kind of sat around. I added the checkerboard and border and called it a day. I call it Sunflower Afternoon. It reminds me of some of the wonderful sunflowers that I have grown in the past--ones that tower over you as you stand in the garden and have seed heads that are as large as a dinner plate. And then, in the fall when the heads have dried and hang their heads downward, along come the chickadees and tufted titmice who dangle upside down and feast on the overabundance of sunflower seeds. Now, that's entertainment!

Nothing more to report on just now. I'm working on another unfinished wallhanging and, hopefully will finish in the next day or so.

Happy New Year

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I hope that it was a good one for everyone. Each year, we try to do at least one thing with a Christmas theme and so this year we went to see the gingerbread houses in Asheville at the Grove Park Inn. To say that they were wonderful would be a gross understatement. When you look at this particular house--with a scene inside--it's just really hard to think about the hours and patience that it took to complete it. And everything on it has to be edible. This other house struck my eye because it was so funky. Neither of these were the Best of Show but they sure were great. I used to make gingerbread houses for my grandchildren every year and they would decorate them and it was loads of fun. We have taken them to see this show in Asheville a couple of years and I think they appreciated the effort that went into them after working on their own.

Another thing I do whenever I go to the Grove Park Inn (which is a work of art in itself) is to take my camera and photograph wall hangings and china that they have displayed all around . I almost always come away with new element idea for a quilt.

Since I have been working on quilting my summer hibiscus quilt for the last few weeks, I really have nothing new to post. So I thought I'd post a quilt that I recently finished (about 6 months ago) that was an unfinished project from a class I took several years ago with Barbara Olson. She does a lot of quilts with a cosmic theme and these she called cosmic spirals. I really love her work. I finished the spirals almost right away and then did the black and white border and THEN, it sat. I got inspired a few months back and finally finished it and it hangs over the fireplace in our house in Hendersonville.

So that's all for now. I hope that everyone has a truly Happy New Year and that this year will be full of many blessings for each of us. May we be kind to those around us and appreciate our neighbors and may the creative muse overtake us and send us to places we never dreamed exisited.