Second Quilt: Flowers in Times Square

The other day I had a phone conversation with E during which she said she was still waiting to see the second quilt that was in the show.  That surprised me as I thought I had bombarded people with my quilts at every possible moment.  But then I realized that because the pattern of that second quilt was not my own and because it was to appear in a book not yet published, I hadn't "revealed" it.

What I can't remember is whether I did show it here closer to the show date, and I don't want to take the time tonight to check.  So if you've seen it before, I'm sorry because here it is again:

My friends wrote a book with quilt patterns that take the Amish simplicity of pattern and use of solid colored fabric only and developed patterns that stretched those ideas.  This is one of those patterns that they called "Times Square".  As a tester of the pattern I reduced the king-size quilt to a wall-hanging and added a large-patterned focal fabric (which resulted in the name "Flowers in Times Square") to show how the size could be changed to suit the quilt maker and large florals could be used in this style quilt.  

It may look as though the center of the quilt is one large piece of fabric but that isn't the case.  The center square has four large triangles on each side (north, south, east, and west) where I had to fussy cut the fabric to make the floral centerpiece match exactly on all sides.  It was a challenge, but it worked.

My quilter was Sue Schoch again (actually this is the first one she did for me), and this time the only thing I did was design the inner dark green border's quilting (taking some elements and the "feel" of the floral fabric as my source).  I was thrilled with the outcome of her work!

While I thought I had done a good job on this one, the judges awarded a second prize, and after reading their comments, I have to agree.  Having my pieces judged was a good decision; I know what I have to work on and have a much better idea of what makes a good quilt. 

The Dog Appears

"Finally," she growls, opening one eye to give the artist a baleful look, "it sure took you long enough to get to the important one in this painting!  Now when do you plan to finish me and show my true beauty and steadfast character?  Right now I just look bored."

Well, she's right.  But at least she is beginning to show:

Now that she is beginning to have presence, maybe I can decide on colors for the shoes and sneakers that aren't there yet, get some more shadows on the street to ground everything.  

I hope to have more painting time this weekend.  We'll see.

Through a Window

Doorways have intrigued me for years.  What's behind a closed door?  Who goes through this door?  What stories could this door tell?  I have taken photos of doors ever since I owned my first camera.  

Windows began to creep into my consciousness, too, because they give rise to similar questions and stories.  But they posed a problem.  Usually I was standing outside looking at a building with special windows and the sunlight would be bouncing off the glass.  Taking a photograph of that window with all that reflected light stumped me.   

Recently I started appreciated windows from the inside.  Oh, I know.  We all like windows and appreciate the views from them; there's nothing special in that.  What I have fallen for is the frame the window makes of the view.  Like a good frame on a painting, it adds to the picture.  It becomes an integral part of the painting or the scene.

So here are a couple of photographs that I took today, and I hope they help illustrate what I mean.  These are taken from my studio of our backyard and part of our neighbor's yard.  The angle is slightly different in each, and I've cropped the second to cut down on the muntins (aka sash bars, and I hope it's the right term!) that you see.  I prefer the second because it seems a more private, personal view.  Is that because it is a close-up or because I reduced the muntins?

The next I love.  The light on the trees, the glimpse of sky, the almost-black off-center sash bars that focus on the branches of the evergreen and sky behind . . . That view might get lost because of the glory of the sun-spangled leaves without the cross-hairs of the sashes.

And finally, a bit of romance.  Through a voile curtain you are looking at the over-the-rail planter on my front porch . . . soft draperies, rigid framing muntins, beautiful color from the coleus.

 This one has a different orientation and a house and sky beyond the planter.  Which of the two do you like best?  or neither?  which of all the photos appeals most to you?  Do you like the idea of through the window from the inside of the house photographs?

Well, it did give me a break today and was fun to do!

New Orleans Musicians Update

One thing this entry will do is prove how embarrassingly slowly this painting has progressed.  But note to self: another artistic endeavor was receiving the lioness's share of attention so there is a good reason this was delayed.

Here's how far along the painting was on September 16th.  At this time, the window and the background figures were in place but not necessarily finished.  Actually, they are all a bit more colorful and defined than they should be at this point, but that is another thing I have to learn.

This next photograph was taken on September 30, and it isn't straight for which I apologize.  The man behind the singer (on the left) now has skin on face, arms, and legs, the tuba and trombone players are begun, and the washboard musician is almost compete.  

The date on the picture below is October 24.  I thought I would paint today, but I didn't.  You may remember that in a entry from last week, I mentioned I was waiting for some material I needed in order to finish this painting?  It isn't a problem, yet, but . . . 

Here's the situation.  Last week I spent my studio time practicing painting the bell of the tuba.  To my dismay, I realized I did not have the metallic paints I thought I did.  Sharon kindly let me use hers while I was there, but she doesn't have all I need, either. So when I got home, I ordered the golds and bronze (tuba, trombone, and earrings) and silvers (for the clarinet and drum).  They should arrive this coming week - I hope!  It is a bit frustrating because I'd really like to practice some more (that tuba reflects light in amazing ways!) and get them painted.  Then I can add whatever color I decide upon to the items in the window, tone down the building if it still needs it, etc.  

There is still the background perspective to correct (what was I thinking?), the doors, and columns, and street.  And, of course I do realize that I must work on the dog!  

More Painting

Still working on the second New Orleans painting.  I know; it's taking so long you've forgotten what the first N.O. painting was.  Laissez les bons temps rouler, or in English, "Let the good times roll" featured an empty trolley turning on to Canal Street and five people who may have just gotten off.  This one on which I'm working features a group of street musicians.

Anyway, unlike most people's watercolors, this one is taking a long time.  It's more detailed, but it's also been pushed aside for other things.  Monday I will post another photograph of this painting even though it will not be finished.  I have to wait for some paints to come in (more on that later), I won't be around on Saturday, and D will be home this weekend after being gone all week.

But - progress is being made!

A Little Bit of Quilting and a Lot of Painting

The title says it all.  Today, after changing my closet from spring-summer to fall-winter clothing (yes, I am late at that chore), I spent the rest of the morning cutting out fabric for next month's Block of the Month for the guild meeting.  I've made one sample block of my design, and though I'm not completely satisfied with it, it will do to make a decent looking quilt.  I've named the quilt Autumn Nocturne because that's what popped into my head when I saw the colors together not because it is a gentle go-to-sleep work which nocturnes usually are.

Having spent more time on that than I had intended, I thought that I wouldn't start painting today.  Then as I ate my late lunch, I thought I couldn't give into my the-weather-isn't-nice-so-let's-be-lazy self and decided I'd paint for a bit.  Of course, I spent more time than I thought I would on the New Orleans painting.  I'm feeling good about it and am beginning to think it may actually get finished before Christmas!  Actually, I hope for an earlier completion, but one never knows what may crop up to interrupt.

Tomorrow I have to go to the bank and the library, but I think the rest of the day is free so paint I shall.

Some of My Favorite Things

How lovely that the rain held off until after my walk!

How terrific that I could spend two hours with my studio friends and get some painting done.

How lucky I am to have had time to talk with R and D on the phone today even when not all news is great news.

How super it is to have heard from two of my three brothers in one week!

How wonderful it is to have family and friends.

It's supposed to be gray and rainy off and on all week, and because of the above, I don't care.

Post Show Let Down

As the title suggests, I found myself rather tired and without much drive today.  I had hoped to do some work on the Guild's block-of-the-month today and I did manage to get that underway.  But the painting that I also thought I could get back to today, didn't happen.  

Instead I found myself downstairs reading some of the YA books for this month.  I've read one very good one D-Day by Rick Atkinson and now am reading Pure Grit by Mary Cronk Farrell about the American nurses in the Pacific (more specifically in the Philippines) who were interred in prisoner of war camps.  Fortunately, not all of the books for this month are so grim!  

Tomorrow I am off to painting so maybe I'll have a bit more energy to spare tomorrow evening.

Saga of a Quilt: Complete with Pictures

Since I try to keep my promises, here is the saga of my quilt "The Abduction from the Seraglio, or Oops, I dropped my Slipper."  By the way, if you went to the show, you may notice that the last half of the title was omitted from the description card.  This use of a primary title (frequently a bit pompous sounding) with an "or" followed by a seemingly unrelated, secondary title (frequently a bit silly or mundane) is a literary device meant to clue in the reader to look for a hidden meaning, a hidden joke, a poke in the eye to those who take themselves too seriously, etc.  Basically, the writer (or in this case, the quilter) is winking an eye at the reader, viewing public, the what have you and letting them in on the joke.  So possibly viewers at the quilt show had no idea that they were supposed to laugh.

Ah well . . . .

Here is my original Artist's Statement (which I was asked to shorten considerably) interrupted by photographs and irreverent comments:

Inspired by the first fabric in the Girlfriend Fabric Challenge, the one with the Persian-looking slippers and Mozart’s opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, 

This is the original sketch in red ink on computer paper, drawn right after the fabric was given to us, and finally photographed (since I'm so good at losing things) on October 4, 2012.  My write up omits the fact that each member of the friendship group had to add one fabric (that would add four additional fabrics) that would have to be used in recognizable pieces anywhere on the front of the quilt.  At the time I sketched my "plan", we had only the slipper fabric and the orange fabric.  My donation, the blue fabric, came next, eventually followed by the fuchsia print, and finally the gold.  

Back to the description:

 I knew I had to create a Story Quilt that tells my version of the opera’s story through the main characters: Constanze’s rescue from her captivity in the Seraglio (harem) by her sweetheart Belmonte.  However, in my version of the story, that rescue may go wrong when the loss of favorite shoes makes Constanze turn back . . . 

That was as far as I got initially.  The rest of the story line evolved over time.

 . . . leaving her would be rescuer, Belmonte, hanging over the garden wall.  Making those characters as “bendy” dolls adds to the whimsy.

Trust me, making pipe-cleaner dolls occurred to me very early on, but I really didn't pay attention to that small, insistent voice in my head.  When I really accepted the fact that this quilt would be merely a bit of fun without a serious bone in its body, I realized they would be perfect.

The setting for my version of the story is a bird’s-eye view of the enclosed garden of the Harem - from the center surrounded by gardens, 

Below is the inner garden of which three sections are ribbon embroidery and  the other three are Kaffe Fassett fabric embellished with Swarvoski crystals. In my story, the ribbon gardens are the Constanze's idea. Their purpose was to alleviate the boredom of the women of the harem languishing in their rooms behind the three colored doorways (fuchsia, orange, and blue). The challenge was to design and grow the prettiest garden representing their "color" and the winning group would be given additional time outside in the cool of the evenings.  Each section features the color of that particular group and is nearest their doorway.

  

walkway, more gardens, 

Now you see the walkway where two of Constanze's "slippers" have fallen out of her makeshift bag.  If you look very carefully, you'll see the third in the "grass" above the walkway.

and benches and doorways in the outer walls.  Behind the walls against the night sky are palm trees, mosques, and minarets.  Finally, the border fabric of elegant slippers which began this story.

Now you can see not only the majority of the quilt but also see the wonderful quilting done by Sue Schoch. For the first time, I drew out what I wanted the quilting to be, but it's one thing to draw it and another to have a quilter who understands, is able to, and will do what is asked.  With her help this quilt earned a blue ribbon (first place) based on the average of the points awarded by two judges, and the pink ribbon is a Judge's Award for her favorite quilt.  And both were really a surprise though the latter knocked my socks off.  I had heard so much about "art quilts" being so outside the norm of the quilting world that they didn't fare well in judging - and mine is a story! - what would they think of that?  Wasn't I lucky to have two judges who must have sense of fun themselves!  

I should also tell you that in my version of the story, Belmonte is fed up with the rescue business and has decided to pursue a career as a model for the cover of romance novels.  And Constanze doesn't want to go back to being the dutiful royal personage she is expected to be.  Instead she hopes to convince her father to underwrite the cost of the chain of shoe boutiques she wants to open that will specialize in peep-toe shoes .

From initial idea to final completed quilt took a long time (2012 – 2014) because each woman in my friendship group had to contribute her choice of fabric, but mostly because I had to figure out how to make a hexagon – the shape I had decided the quilt had to be.  Thanks to computers and a yardstick compass, I was finally able to draft the size I wanted, but I held my breath until I sewed all the sections together and found I had indeed created a hexagon!  However, at that time I also discovered that fussy cutting the Persian slipper fabric left me without enough fabric for the outer border.  Once again I had to call upon my limited math skills to figure out the “wedges” needed to complete that border.

My journey through the construction of this quilt was one of imagination, trial, error, learning, and stretching!

On to my next idea . . . but not right away.  There is painting to be done, holidays to sew for, and a studio to set to rights!

Down to the Wire But Finished!

The quilt was officially declared (by me) finished some time between 4 and 4:30 this afternoon.  That included the fussy work on labels and label covers, more crystals (panicking when an entire package of 90 crystals wouldn't adhere and fell off the quilt scattering all over the floor), checking for stray threads, inserting the middle stabilizing wooden rod, and panicking just because.

There are now over 200 crystals (best estimate is 225), ribbon- and machine-embroidery, raw edge hand- and machine-applique, charms, dolls, and beads, on the quilt - probably a few other minor details I don't remember right now.  

I am nervous about how it will stand up to the wear and tear of being folded and carried around by me, and also of being folded, carried around, and hung by others.

But, it is what it is; I am proud of the way it turned out and the work I did.  Sunday I should find out how it was received by the judges and learn from their evaluation (and also wonder what story they heard when they looked at it).  Then I will bring it home, take photos (no, I haven't forgotten, E!), hang it up, and get ready to work on Christmas gifts while the next story quilts simmer in my mind.

Have an exciting weekend; I hope your weather and projects are as you wish them to be!

Count Down to the Show

Affixing approximately 150 crystals to the quilt took more time than I anticipated so tomorrow I will have to get the labels on - in a hurry!  

Tomorrow evening there will be guild meeting after which D and I will help with the retrieving and then the set up of the frames on which the quilts will hang.  At some time before or during that procedure the quilts are turned in, placed in plastic bags for safety and cleanliness during the wait to be hung on the frames.

Between getting up in the morning and going to the meeting and helping with set up, I must finish all that I would like to do to the quilt.  Label first and then - more crystals as crystals impart fantasy (okay, and sparkle plenty which I do like!).

Photos on Monday.

Almost There

The end is in sight!  Tomorrow I attach the second doll to the quilt, sew the label to the back, then, strange as it seems, cover the label with a another bit of fabric so the label can't be seen (insures objectivity during the judging process), apply the swarovski crystals, and after a final check, that's it!

The only thing I have to do on the second quilt is the covering of the label bit.  Oh, and both quilts have to have their registration number on that label cover.   Those numbers are assigned when one formally registers a quilt with description and photo in order to get into a non-juried show.  The number is matches the one a card that I have to show when I pick up the quilt both to make sure the correct quilt is being given to the owner and to make sure it is really the owner who is claiming the quilt.  There's a lot that goes into a quilt show that I hadn't known and hadn't really thought much about before now.

Below is another of Nancy DiDonato's quilts.  Imagine figuring out how to support the weight of the center, heavily embellished medallion in the border frame without having that border bow and sag!  Nancy has a lot of engineer brain cells beside her creative cells running around in her brain.  Whenever I get into a "pity me" phase in quilting, I'll stop and think of her.

Stitching, Stitching, Stitching

If only I could stitch faster!  Today I managed to attach two ribbon embroidery "garden" triangles on the quilt which seems to take more of my time than I expected every day.  Naturally there are three triangles to attach (so only one to go), several charms, bendy dolls, Swarovski crystals, and oh, yes, a label.

Because this is for a show, I haven't shown any photos of the quilt in progress.  Things always look better when they are completely finished - or at least, this one will make more sense.  There will be photos of the finished wall hanging next Monday; that I promise.

Until then, here is the set up for the last triangle before it was embroidered.  What you are seeing is the design drawn on tissue paper behind white tulle bordered in fabric.  The latter borders were added to the tulle to keep the ravels to a minimum and also to make the piece large enough to fit in a 4.5" hoop (which gives you an idea of the size of the triangle).

Each triangle has a different design, and I embroidered through the tissue paper and tulle, removing the tissue paper (or as much as possible) when I completed the embroidery.  Needless to say, the designs were altered while I stitched  to accommodate time, practicality, fabric, and over-all appearance.

Wish me nimble fingers!

Classes with Nancy DiDonato

Friday, Nancy DiDonato began her day and a half teaching at the Q.U.I.L.T. Delmar Guild.  In case you are not familiar with her work, she is definitely an art quilter, and one from whom I was most anxious to learn.

The fist day she spent most of the time talking to us about alternate "materials" - those quotation marks are because she didn't mean fabric.  She meant paper, wire, paint sticks, and industrial cast offs.  Okay, I'll add a visual to make it easier to understand:

This is the center medallion in one of her pieces.  I missed what she said about the center curly-queue because I was falling all over about the wire work.  She just takes any kind of wire that is easily bendable, twists it however she wants, and couches it to her work.  It's dead simple, and I love it!  Of course, I immediately twisted my piece of wire into non-repetitive shapes and declared them the antler's on a magical deer and as he bounded across the landscape, the wind and snow swirl from his antlers to hide his hoof prints . . . well, there's a story there.  

Nancy was very kind and refrained from patting me on the head.

She had us make origami boxes of the kind she made, took foam blocks, covered them with silk ties from the 60's, embellished them, mounted them on gold circles, and:

Voila!  These are a few of the boxes among several more in this quilt.  

Weaving fabric was another technique she shared.  That may seem very simple (and it is easy to do), but what I never thought about was the difference between weaving fabric strips that have been cut with a rotary cutter and those that have been torn.  She had examples of the two methods using the same fabrics and the difference between the two was remarkable and easy to see.

She shared many other things like the uses for tulle, odd things like discarded corrugated vent ducts, Tyvek house insulation - and all those other things I watched our builders throw away without another thought!

Finally the next day she showed us how to design "wonky" log cabin blocks.

This is a gorgeous purse she made with beads, stones, and silk.  The body of the purse is done in a wonky log cabin - the central square is a metallic, sparkly copper color.  I wanted to know how to make those:

This is how it is done.  The upper left is an example of a square (like the two on the evening bag), then I practiced drafting an equilateral triangle, followed by notes on how to draw an octogon, and finally a scalene triangle.  

The best part of that class was that she taught us how to draft such figures for ourselves.

I was and am in Heaven!

Art Quilter

My brain's in a whirl because I spent from 9:30 - 3:30 today in class with Nancy DiDinato, a most amazing art quilter.  This was a class to which we were instructed not to bring our sewing machines.  Instead we had pencils, rulers, graph paper, paper scissors.  We learned how to incorporate things like Tyvek (yea, the stuff that wraps houses to insulate them), glimmery fabrics from places like Jo Ann's, flannel instead of batting, gray thread instead of black thread in stained glass window quilts, the thread to use for the "lead" in those windows (four layers of thread!), wires, notions, yarns, and well, you name it!  

We folded paper origami style to make boxes that could be covered with fabric, filled with insulation, covered, and embellished, folded kimonos from fabric, learned how to weave fabric strips, and even shown the difference between weaving rotary cut fabric strips and torn fabric strips.  The difference was significant, and one could immediately see the different ways to employ each method.  

The uses of silk flowers, tulle, men's ties, pipe cleaners, and . . . well, the list goes on and on.  She is full of ideas and each idea gives rise to another; her brain never stops.

Tomorrow there will be another class in the afternoon after the quilt guild meeting, and I can't wait to see what she'll show us then!

This Lucy Found Her Locket!

While rooting through some drawers looking for something to take to a quilt class tomorrow, I came across a badly damaged locket that I've had for about 40 years.  I had forgotten about it, but when I saw it again, I took it out for a possible item for the class since it can't be fixed.

Naturally, I opened it to see if my memory was correct that it was in two piece just held together by stubbornness and so could be used with no guilt.  I was right; there is no salvaging the piece as jewelry.  But I also opened it to find out whose picture was inside (almost all the old lockets I have have picture in them) since I couldn't remember that.  Here's what I found:

I thought I'd find an old photo of my mother, but I didn't.  The picture on the right is my father as a young man which was quite unexpected.  The lady on the left is not my mother and not my mother's mother.  I'm not sure if it could be my great-grandmother, but I will compare it to a photo I have of her as an older lady.

The other idea that occurred to me is that it might have come from my father's side - possibly from his mother.  That could make the woman my father's grandmother.  However, I think the hair style pre-dates my great-grandmothers, but of course, I could be wrong.  It's a mystery.

And that poor locket. It must have been quite a treasure to whomever originally owned it as it would have been very lovely and precious.  I think I may have to put it on the crazy quilt I'm working on to honor the women of my family. 

Oh, and I most certainly sent the photo to my brother D who donned the mantle of family genealogist and does it so well.  He doesn't know who the woman is, but my money's on him.  He'll find her.

Bendy Dolls are Dressed!

Finally both bendy dolls are clothed satisfactorily!  Of course, both need to visit the hairdresser (moi) and a millinery shop (acorn caps/berets are all the rage in the bendy family - which is a good thing given the millions of acorns we have).  I'd like to give the male a doo-rag, but I have to be logical about both the amount of time I have and the amount of experience in crafting such headgear for a 16 mm wooden bead masquerading as a head.

Today was also a day in the studio where I enjoyed a glass of Blumond Diamante Prosecco thanks to a painter in the group. That was an amazing treat!  It makes me think about a brunch for D, brother D, and E on a lovely day at the lake!  Ahh . . . 

Oh, I was going to talk about the painting.  It's coming along quite well I think for something at this stage.  I'm going to wait to show it again until there is more to show.  Not only is it slow going as I mentioned last week, but also class is the only time right now that I can work on it.  We don't always have a full two hours for painting and next week we're going to work on developing out art critique skills.

It can't be fun looking at a painting and saying to oneself, "Okay, which three brush strokes did she add today?"

YA Book Group

It's the first YA Book Group meeting so I know fall is really here.  It's always fun to see the teachers/librarians et al who turn up year after year after year - and fun to meet those who have come for a few years or for whom this is their first time.  There are three of us who have have been taking this course since it started 15 - 20 years ago and one of us is the teacher!

The books for next month fall into the "new" category of "Books Possible for Whole Group/Common Core Use".  Now doesn't that make you glad you aren't a teacher?  Or maybe you are a teacher and wish you were in this class!  At any rate, there are some books that sound really intriguing for grades 3 to high school - all 20 of them.

I have requested 13 of them and may tell you about some of them.  For those of you with grandchildren, you might find some of these interesting, too, and some of you may simply find them interesting enough to read yourself.  There's even one on bullying - today's "hot" topic, and if I remember correctly, the target is a girl (boys are not the only ones bullied or who do the bullying).  It isn't one I chose to read but I may try to squeeze it in: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina.  There was a conversation about the title and how parents might react to it if the book was recommended for class discussion.  Too bad that could be an issue.

Saga of the Bendy Dolls

It's Sunday, and I forgot!  I spent almost all of the day working on the bendy dolls for my quilt (wrapping the pipe cleaners with embroidery thread is a bit trickier than one might think) and the evening on the clothing - or on one article of clothing.  

For the first shirt I made (for the male figure), I used fabric I had used in the quilt.  As a matter of fact it was the challenge material from ME - just realized that.  The first try didn't work because it was too light weight, and I didn't want his arms to show through because they look like - well, like pipe cleaner arms!  The second try used two layer of fabric but that was getting too complicated so I scrapped that notion.  Next I tried wool, and that really works well.  I spent the evening fancy stitching the jacket and just before I came upstairs I put it on the doll.  Mistake.  Not the putting it on because that had to be done.  No, the mistake was in not doing it earlier.  I wasted all that time working on a jacket that is way too large.  Wool doesn't drape like light-weight fabric; it stands on its own.  The poor doll was engulfed by his jacket!

Disappointing.

Ah well, tomorrow is another day, and at least the boy doll needs only the jacket from which I have learned enough, I think, to make the girl's clothing much easier to design.

I hope!

Halloween

Tonight was a quilt guild meeting so I feel a bit tired and ready to go to bed and read.  That being the case, I will simply finish up with the fall/Halloween decorations and say good night.

I hope you'll be able to see this as it has my favorite Halloween character - Jack O'Lantern!  Here is is with his walking stick and his friend the button witch (riding the white chalk ware cat).

The glass collection has stayed the same since last Christmas; it merely gets washed and is given the appropriately colored candle (lit only if they are in their own holder) for the season.  This pumpkin is another former classroom decoration.

This witch is doing her darndest to get out of the pan on the scale.  You can't blame her, after all.  At her age and girth she's not happy to have been plunked on a scale!

The other classroom pumpkin head with my bas relief sculpture.  Always thought the tree in the sculpture looks a bit scary and Halloween-ish.

And now off to bed where I'm going to try to finish the second Flavia de Luce book by Alan Bradley.  If you haven't read them yet (the first one is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie), I recommend them - good mysteries, great characters, and humor.  What's not to like?

More Fall/Halloween Decorations

Today wound up being laundry day as neither Monday nor Tuesday were feasible.  Since D was out on business the entire day, I knew I could get it all finished as well as some extras that the construction and new bathrooms made necessary.  That and still more putting away, looking for missing items, and tidying in general kept me busy all day.  Well, to be honest I did spend time on the computer since D wasn't needing it for business.

Then I changed the calendar pages in the kitchen and my studio.  Uh-oh, it's October, and the quilt show is October 18 & 19th!  That means that I have a little more than two weeks to finish the second quilt.  I'm going to have to set aside other activities until that is done.

It's a good thing I took care of the fall decorations before now as I'm not going to have that kind of spare time for a while.

This is a simple fall look for the top of the wooden pantry in the kitchen.  The only addition is the bouquet; everything else has been there since the kitchen work was completed.

Here is the kitchen table at dusk with the hand- and machine-pieced table runner I designed several years ago.  I finally found some gimp for the embroidery I have planned for the borders, but that won't be done for - well, for a while!  Closer to the window is the Halloween tree my father-in-law gave me a long time ago for my classroom.  It comes out every year, and it reminds me of him and gives me great pleasure.

Also in the kitchen on the pass through between kitchen and family room is the goblin town that D gave me.  It was in the entry of October 31, 2013 with the Halloween tree so I didn't take another photo today.

Tomorrow I will probably finish with the displays in the family room.  Until then, have a happy and healthy Thursday tomorrow!