NOT ALL ACTIVITIES ARE FIBER RELATED

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day as a group of us headed out to enjoy the mountain backroads in Western North Carolina. The scenery takes your breath away and as is typical, the abundance of curvey roads was satisfy to this gang of Porsche drivers.

Thank you Lee for the great planning and setting the pace with your lead and David for taking car of the sweep duties.  Bliss......

BETTER IDEA NEARLY COMPLETE

Despite being short of time in the studio lately, I'm realizing that sewing a few blocks here and there DOES add up.  So, here's the human's 'man cave' quilt as opposed to the 'dog's  newly created one.

Sooty's quilt was made to protect our leather couch cushions, which she's now claimed as her own.  My quilt is to protect me from freezing to death!  When we watch TV in our lower level I'm always so cold.....ceiling fan is always on and french doors open....my ideal temp. is about 78 so having a quilt on hand is a necessity.

Since my goal is to utilize fabrics I already own, this one had me a bit worried for fear of running out of this color way.  I shouldn't have worried, there's actually a nice amount left over....maybe pillows are in my future. 

Now, onto figuring out how to quilt it....the least favorite part of quilting for me.  Then followed by hand sewing the binding in place, one quilting task I most look forward to.  Ah....the good and the bad.

'Refreshing' work continues in our home.....as is always the case...it takes twice as long and twice the set budget before it's complete but I've been snapping photos to unveil before and after photos.....keep your eyes peeled soon.

WHY WE AREN'T MOVING

Here's your laugh for the day.......I've mentioned the deliberations we've gone through deciding whether or not we should move....mainly to downsize with the goal of finding a home more suitable to our aging process.

Though this is extreme, in some cases it's not too far off the mark of what we saw when home shopping.  The condition/decor/and cleanliness of most of the homes we viewed was a complete shock to us.....thus our decision to stay put and make our home as maintenance free, with a nod to handicap accessible as we can.

Check these photos out.....yes you will laugh.

No post is complete without at least one photo at hand.....here's a peek our deck/s, railings, staircase in the process of being replaced with Trex.

BETTER IDEA

Sometimes we find ourselves wanting to use specific fabrics so much so that we ignore the little voice in our head that says 'no'.  Fortunately, the time commitment for my bad idea was short (see my last post).

I've switched gears and and am proceeding with a zig-zag set string quilt instead.  I'll have my fingers crossed though, hoping there's enough coordinating brown fabric in my stash.  I've dug deep, some of these prints were purchased when I began quilting back in the mid. 1980's.

Our home refresh is in full swing which is diverting my attention, allowing completion of only 12 of the 42 blocks I require.  Stay tuned..... 

BAD IDEA

Since Sooty got a new quilt, I decided I needed one in the man cave as well.  Neither 'the husband' or I like a/c, so in the summer we often head to our lower level for evening TV watching.  However with the overhead fan going and French doors open....I realize my comfort zone is 10 degrees higher than his.  So I really do need a snuggle quilt.  

Trying to work in a brown/black color scheme and using some wonderful authentic Indonesian batiks, I began my quest.  I've actually brightened this photo so you could see the prints....in real life they don't stand out enough due to the black sashing, nor coordinate enough with each other.  

So, those fabrics got refolded and put away.....a new batch of browns were pulled from my stash with a new piecing plan.  Not all 2:00 AM visions work in the daytime.....happily I only made these 2 blocks before I knew that the fabric choices were a bad idea.

Stay tuned won't you?

SOOTY LIKES HER QUILT!

After weighing all the pros and cons - to move or not to move.....we are staying put.  This has generated some home refresh projects and painting is on the 'to-do' list.  With 27' ceilings in our great room, open to my loft studio, I'm purposely choosing not to start designing another wall quilt till after the painters are finished.  Sooty's no brainer lap quilt became my 'busy' work......made to protect the 'man cave's' leather cushions that she insists belongs to her.

 From this....

She's helping me to attach the binding by machine, I normally do this by hand.

 To this....

To this.....

SOOTY GETTING HER OWN QUILT

What is it with dogs?  Why when they have a perfectly comfy dog bed do they insist on sneaking up to recline on couches or human beds???  Our Sooty is no exception....turn your back and she leaps, curls up small to be invisible (as small as a 60# lab can get) and ignores eye contact when told to get down.

I give up......my new project is my version of putting plastic covers on our leather furniture....ye gads.....Plastic ?? NEVER.....   Anyway, Sooty's preferred couch is in the man cave.  It will soon have a quilt to cover the leather cushions. 

I've cut 3.5" wide brown strips in varying lengths and 1" wide x 3.5" black strips surround each.  Quilters who are chain piecers will be horrified by my lame approach to piecing.  Each row is arranged next to the previous one, making sure none of the black sashing strips align next to each other......then it's moved to the sewing machine, double checking as I go to be sure the placement is still accurate. The cut rectangles are at hand on the design wall to grab and place as each row is auditioned  

Nah, it's not a masterpiece of design, but it will coordinate with the decor and I suspect Sooty will love it!  I'll share a photo when it's finished.

LANDSCAPE PIECE FINISHED

What they say is true....persistence pays off......despite the construction issues I had getting this dye-painted Liberty of London Lawn fabric to behave....it's now completed and ready for a new home.

APPROACHING DUSK - 25" x 18"

AVAILABLE HERE

Artist hand dye-painted landscape on Liberty of London cotton, densely thread painted, machine appliqued & quilted. Prepared for hanging. 

A BLUEGRASS EVENING

One of our favorite bluegrass bands happens to be a local one.  Carolina Blue is hitting it big, but as is so often the case, what appears to be an overnight success is actually one of long years of hard work and dedication to crafting one's skills.

 We attended a simply wonderful early evening outdoor concert at the Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, NC.  The weather was perfect, as was the setting and the music was fabulous.  I love the group for their traditional bluegrass approach.  They write a lot of their own music but it's steeped in the basics of the likes of Bill Monroe.

Each month during the summer the college hosts a music event and we are so delighted that Carolina Blue was featured for all their local fans to enjoy.

UNIQUE PCA CLUB DRIVE

We had a unique experience this weekend with our local car club.  One of our members, an employee of the National Forest Service, organized an hour+ Porsche SUV drive on forest service roads in the Pisgah National Forest.

Looking back 'the husband' and I spent more time than I can believe, doing real off roading in the 'Northwoods' of Wisconsin with our Jeep and Land Cruiser....always equipped with a winch to get us 'unstuck'.  This drive was bumpy and a tad scary in some areas where there had been wash outs and no guard rails.  However 13 cars made the trip unscathed...naturally they were all 4-wheel or all-wheel drive SUV's  The sky was sunny and the roads were dry...we all paraded to a local restaurant for a hearty breakfast where our fellow member Rob gave us lots of info about the roads/national forests etc.   

We are so delighted to be members of this very special PCA club!