Sparkle

 I needed a little bit of sparkle and found some sequins.

They are tiny! 

Adams Alliance Crop

 I am spending a few days with friends at a scrap booking crop. Working on my art quilt.

Why Do I Keep Working on This?

 My Art Quilt as I call it was started in 2016 for a class I took at the Cincinnati Quilt Show. I put it away and then pull it back out. I have a goal: to finish it before March 2027. We will see.

IHSW December

 I did a bit of stitching this weekend.

First, my art quilt:

Start

Finish point.

Christian Henry by Sassafras Samplers: start

Finish:

And a new start - Lizard by Mill Hill 

TUSAL December 2025

 Last post on my orts for the year!

Play

 I have given myself permission to just stitch on this piece. First photo is where I am now. Second is where I was a little bit ago.

Different angles, same section. I am moving somewhere else now. Just playing with needle and thread 

Doodle Cloth

 I have been working on my art quilt for years now. I take it out and put it away. I keep wondering what I like and what I don't like about it.

I think I was trying to make the quilt say something that it isn't saying.  So I decided to just start stitching on it.

While stitching I realized this is just a huge doodle cloth. Not a doodle cloth to practice stitches, but a cloth that I doodle stitch. 

That thought made me happy.

Art Quilt

 I did work on this piece in 2022, but it needs more attention.

Or to be cut into tiny pieces......

Working on My Art Quilt

 I took a little time and pulled out my quilt to stitch. Yes, it is warm here in Illinois, but I put a fan on and plugged away.

I am trying just to enjoy the process.

#the100dayproject Yes or No?

 

I have participated in this challenge a couple of times. One year I worked every day on Here Lie My Needles:

I tried to stitch on my art quilt last year and got very bogged down:

I liked working on it, but taking a photo everyday on something where all I was stitching was detached chain and french knots was a bit dull.

I mentioned it to Gary over at Fiber Talk and we did a show about it and organizing threads...

 Podcast 

YouTube 

(Let's not discuss organization, shall we.)
I am not sure what I will be doing for the challenge. Back to my art quilt? Or maybe work on some gifts for my family? Several of them have asked for things that are stitched... I will let you know what I decide. I have until January 31!

This is the link to the information about the #the100dayproject.

If you decide to join Gary and I, use #ft100day2021 so I can see what you decided to do.

Art Quilt Challenge

I joined a local art quilt group, although I am not really sure why they wanted me. Anyway, they challenged us to use yellow in a piece to signify courage during the virus. This did not come out the way I had planned, but I am fairly happy with it.

I will use it for the cover of my next Bullet Journal. It was fun to stitch, but I must get back to my WIPs!

December Already!

I have been busy with college students home for Thanksgiving so it was hard to post photos. I have yet to decorate for Christmas nor have I started my holiday baking. I would like to take a day and decorate, but the urge to bake escapes me this year. Probably a good thing as I don't need all those calories!
I have been working away at my art quilt:

It is fun to just stitch and not care if every stitch is perfect.

Slow Stitching

On Instagram there is a hashtag called #slowstitch. I think the idea is to meditative as you stitch a project and also just to be more mindful. I already knew that taking a few stitches on a project calms my mind and makes me focus on what is truly important.
I have been working on this quilt for a bit. It is truly slow since I am really not sure what I am going to do on the piece but just decide as I go.

A lot of the seams need something done to them. French knots, detached chain stitch and woven spiral stitch give it some texture. Not sure this will ever get done, but I do like working on it.

Art Quilt

I am trying to put a little bit on this daily. It will take me forever to stitch this at the rate I am going, but I do enjoy it. I am close to a finish on my Christmas Stocking, but I don't want to post here until I am done. I may be begging someone to FFO it before Christmas...Any suggestions?

Lots of Stitching This Weekend

I was able to get a bunch done this weekend. I can taste a finish on this piece!
Here is the piece at the beginning of the weekend:

Here is where I ended up:

I also worked on my art quilt:

And finished my biscornus:

Art Quilt Changes

I have been playing with this art quilt for awhile. I was with some friends on Friday and they helped me play with it.
This is where we left it on Friday:

I posted it on Instagram and my daughter commented that she thought the lavender was too much. As did  Cheryl . I looked at it and decided I agreed. I love fuchsia and purple, but the lavender did not make me happy. So I took photos and started playing.
Here is the upper left corner from Friday in color and black and white:

 Note that the pink and lavender are the same value-medium.

I painted some of the lace with some fabric paint I have and took some more photos:

  I am going to play with the lace a little more and try to get a little more of the dark fuchsia in some of the lace. Also, I will paint some of the lavender and make it purple.  I pulled a blue thread I dyed earlier this year which I think will work to pull this color around the quilt a little more. I am very excited about this piece and feel like it looks so much better.
I have TONS of ideas for stitching on it, but I need to get this base layer down.

Art Quilt

I am taking this to the library to play tomorrow. I have decided it needs more layers...(Thanks for the help Cheryl!)

I think the doilies will help, but I need more than these. I will start by attaching them and then seeing what to add next.

Nancy Eha Beading Classes

I am back from Cincinnati and the Quilt Festival. This first picture is of my dragonfly from the Dragonfly and Sashiko beading class. No sashiko on it yet, but I am planning on doing some... This is from the Organic Beading for Art Quilters class.

Not great pictures but the class was excellent.

If Nancy is teaching near you, I highly recommend her. She is great!

Art Quilt

I am going to the big Quilt Festival in Cincinnati, OH. I was lucky enough to sign up for a class with Nancy Eha who is a great beading teacher. (I good friend, Linda, recommended her.) The name of the class is Beaded Dragonfly and Sashiko. I hope to get into another class of hers that I wish I had sign up for called Organic Beading for Art Quilters. http://www.quilts.com www.beadcreative.com I am too computer illiterate to take you to a photo directly.