Hello,

I always love this time of year after all the wonderful joys of the holidays have become good memories and things seem to slow down and commitments diminish and I can really get some work done.  That does not mean I am not busy- it just changes and I find I am more focused on what I want to accomplish.  I started on that path with a play day with  four friends.

We  ( the QuEG’s – Quilt Exploration Group) got together in Angela’s  new big studio and played.  It was so much fun that we decided to repeat the play part for the next few mouths doing different projects each time.   We will all be “teaching” a technique or leading in the exploration of a new material for the up coming days.

I enjoyed the silk screen printing with dye that we did in the morning and got some nice images.  They are true to the color expected because Angela mixed up the dye that day.   I do not have any idea where I will use these fabrics.  I do know that I will eventually use them.

After lunch we made cards for a fellow creative friend who had fallen over the holidays and could not join the party.

The whole day was great fun and really got me going for this week.

Progress Report: Spiraling Out   I am still quilting  on this project.  I have not done anything this large in a while and I had forgotten how very long the process can take.   This shot is of the quilt under the needle at the top.  It is fun to do the free motion  work again.
 Paper Quilt   I am enjoying working on this project.   I edged the openings  and edges with a  zig -zag stitch and knobby yarns.  I keep trying different solutions to filling the wholes and different arrangements for the four units.   This sort of play takes me much longer than I expect.

I did eliminate on of  my attempts for filler so I feel like I am making some progress.

Lines in Fabric     This is an exploration project.  I talked last week about doing the DMC Quilt challenge.  This shots shows I am still working – but the progress is slow.  Marty  told me  that  I needed to press each seam toward the outside ,cut the “line” fabric and  then sew the next piece on.  That way I can get narrower lines – and that is my goal. I have really not had an opportunity to do that yet.  I will get to it I am sure.

   Diana  I am pleased with how this top came together  yesterday afternoon.  I  added the gold embellishment to the fabric in a class two summers ago.   It is the just the right touch of elegance for this work.     This will be my last quilt for the Goddess Show.  I plan to start the quilting tomorrow.   I have got to get busy with the labels for that show next.

  Rusty Text    This is really a working title for this top.  I needed to do a little creative work that did not include any pressure.    It is also another  bit of play with the Text stuff for  a possible entry into that competition.   I printed letters on inner facing and mixed that texture with silk.  The silk was also printed on in the green stripes.   When I showed it to Marty on Tue she was quit supportive about the work.  I am still not sure about the direction  I want to go with the quilting of this work, but there is not real  pressure here as I have a mouth before it is due.

Enjoy the wonders of winter.

Keep Crating

Carol