She has a body and some clothes now, and the woods have grown around her.  I have a plan, but I can’t seem to concentrate on it amid the holiday doings.  Maybe I’ll work on something mindless for the next few days and start

Sharon at Pin Tangle chose generosity as the theme for the December challenge.  She asked us to represent in fabric what it means to give.  The optional color challenge included red, green, gold and white.  After seeing my husband&rsqu

Sharon at Pin Tangle (formerly In a Minute Ago) chose the theme of “typography” for the November challenge.  My first reaction?  No way am I doing this one.  Then I got to wondering how anyone could relate typography to a f

I’m proud to have started and finished a challenge piece in the same month.  This quilt measures eleven inches squares.  The blocks are four inch.  Sometimes the pictures make things look smaller or bigger then they are.  &n

The theme for October is “your textile workspace”.  My workspace doubles as the guest bedroom.  It started as my sewing room.  At that time our third bedroom served as the guest room.  When our son was born, the guest

I honestly don’t know how I’d get anything done if I didn’t go to retreats.  I took all my pieces for the Quilt of Valor with me thinking I’d have it finished or ready for the last border by the Friday night.  I sewe

I picked up our son at school yesterday after the bus brought him back from camp.  Finding my son and his luggage among 340 kids and their luggage, with half the kids wearing the same camp t-shirt and all black luggage, turned into quite the sca

Our son went to camp this week as part of the school curriculum.  They call it an outdoor learning experience.  It looked more like a resort to me, with an in-ground pool, onsite mammal and reptile houses (like a small zoo), cabins that loo

I had a chance to try out a few stitching techniques on the June TIF Challenge yesterday.  I found one that solved my issue with the stitches showing while still meeting my need for speed.  The closest description I can come up with is a mo

Have you ever known where you wanted to go, but didn’t know how to get there?  In 2003, I went to the World Quilt Show in Lansing, Michigan with ladies from one of my quilt groups.  I had never gone to a large show.  Both Kimberl

I groaned when Sharon posted this month’s Take It Further Challenge topic.  How could it be time for another challenge?  How could I get so far behind?  How long until retreat when I have a whole weekend to catch up?  The Se

The theme of August’s Take It Further Challenge is balance, as it relates to a person’s life.  I hadn’t planned to work on the August challenge yet since I’m still working on the June and July challenges.  Just when

I finally finished the May Take it Further challenge  piece.  The theme for May was “what do you call yourself and why”.  When I started the challenge I posted about not calling myself anything except creative because label

So many projects hanging in the breeze, wishing I would finish one of them.  I’m maintaining my backlog and working two months behind on the Take It Further challenge pieces.  Every time I decide to skip a month, an idea sneaks into m

Progress on the May TIF challenge continues.  Flowers bloom across a grid of green.  A few more blossoms, some beads, and an edge treatment will complete the piece.  Sketches and notes pile up for the June TIF challenge.  As one d

I basted the May TIF challenge last night and wondered how other quilters baste their quilts.  I always pin baste, whether I’m machine quilting or hand quilting.  I thread basted a quilt once with horrible results.  That one expe

I’m making progress on the May TIF challenge piece.  I’m compelled to work on this block every time I go into the sewing room.  Even when I plan to work on something else, I walk over and pick up this project instead. 

I took my son to the Jewelry, Rock, Gem & Mineral Show/Sale at the fairgrounds today.  He loves anything to do with rocks and fossils.  He has a large rock collection that he cleans and touches and looks at….kinda like me and my

Sharon B gave us the theme of “stories that are, stories that are possible” for the June Take It Further challenge.  What a fun topic!  Whenever I think of quilts with stories, I think of antique quilts.  I seldom know the

I finally finished the March TIF challenge themed “the little things”.  The block did not go as planned.  My original design called for stamped images in all the different sections, with white space between each color change.&nb

Sharon B. posted the theme for this month’s Take It Further Challenge, “what do you call yourself and why?”  The question relates to how you view yourself as a crafter, artist, hobbyist, etc.  My first reaction - I don&rsq

I stamped shapes in silver, but I forgot to take a picture.  Blue Shiva Paintstik over rubbing plates created the last layer.  The first plate didn’t leave much of a design, so I switched to a leaf pattern.  Then I removed the fr

I am moving forward with my April TIF piece.  I started with a square of white fabric painted yellow.   I ironed on stars cut out of freezer paper, then sponged on pink metallic paint.   I added long shapes, again cut out of

“Nothing happens until something moves.” – Albert Einstein  Now that we’re three weeks into April, it’s time for me to get moving on this month’s TIF challenge.  Sharon chose “how you see change&rdq

I’ve fallen behind on the TIF challenge in spite of how much I enjoy it.  March got away from me, so now I’m behind on April too.  I haven’t kept up with everyone’s posts to update their progress, which is my loss.&n