February Respite

Been away for awhile and wish I could show you great things I have accomplished. While I know I am not alone, it has been a struggle to find a direction the past week or so. We have had a small family crisis to work through and my beloved sun just can't find a hold with all the storms coming in from the Pacific. My 80 year old mother is coming for a two month visit this weekend and I am so excited but this has also kept me out of my studio. I keep my fabric stash in our guest bedroom and somehow organizing that closet led to a major cleaning and purging of every closet in the house! There is one truth I am starting to realize about myself and that is I am a hoarder. There is not one thing that if I can't wear it, use it or eat it that I don't think, well, I can make something out of it. I do feel a bit justified that I am doing my bit to save the planet by recycling stuff, however, some of my 'stuff' is over 30 years old!

 

Since I have no new work, I thought I would share the quilt I made for mom last June for her birthday. I learned so much with this as it was only the second 'real' quilt I have ever made. All the photos were transferred to fabric using Bubble Jet Set after my daughter Julie and I spent months finding, scanning and restoring every picture we could get our hands on of  her. I used some left-over upholstery fabric, pillow ticking, cotton batting, lace, ribbons and buttons. The six pieced friendship stars were to represent her six children and the 'moon men' appliques to show that Cancerians are ruled by the moon. The Friendship Star pattern can be found here.

It has just started raining big fat droplets and is to go on all day and night. I see on the news a big snowstorm is spreading all over the NE and people are bracing for it, so I guess the groundhog just might be right this year. I think I will go make a cup of hot tea and finish the ATC's I had started before getting into closet cleaning. All four of the first ones I made (that you can see below) have been traded! The cards I received in return are beautiful so I can see how this just might be addicting. But really, it fits right in with my hoarding tendencies don't you think?