As I started the day this morning I noticed how dry my hands were feeling and I stopped and put some special hand lotion on them.  I tend to get splits on the tips of my thumbs and index fingers in the winter.   But I can keep that problem at bay if I pay attention and keep them well lubricated.   I learned the value of my hands  when I had to have a carpal tunnel operation and had to live without the use of my right hand( for me the dominate one) for six weeks.   That was six years go now and I am fine- but I learned my lesson about the value my fingers are to my creative life!   Hands have always been important to me  and a subject of may drawings.   I think every sketch book I have ever

created has at least one hand drawing in it.  And one time in high school a drawing of friends hands won a ribbon in a school fair.   I wonder if she still has the drawing.    This  drawing is from the current sketch book.  My hands are not what I would call pretty, in fact I find the fingers short and stubby- but they are still my most reliable tool!   They are get a lot of use on a daily bases from  tying of shoes  and putting butter on toast in the morning to opening pill bottles before bed.  I have a needle threader on my sewing machine- but tend to do it by hand any way.   And they are always giving me information about the texture of things.  And texture is one of my passions.  My friend Susan  suggested that I may just love texture because the world has become very slick.  Smooth cups, cans,  handles, nobs, screens, surfaces  and smooth phones as well as various other devices that we use every day.   She does have  a point- but I think that touching a texture is very reassuring and individualistic.   A baby’s hair, the fur of a cat, the stubble of my husbands beard,  a brad all are hair but have very different textures and I enjoy them all for their differences.    When I mentioned my thing about textures at the Tea Cups meeting a second friend named Susie agreed-ed with me and went on top point out that texture catches the light better and is more attractive to the eye too.     So I had better keep the lotion flowing on  my fingers so they do not snag on my material as it passes through the machine on its way to becoming  the next textural  creation.

 

Progress Report

I seem to be a bit stuck on Blue Frogs.  When I looked at the image  at the end of the post last week I realized I did not like the lay out.  So I put the work on the bottom of the stack and I have not looked at it for a week.  Even in my minds eye I do not see a solution so I will continue to let is set.    I did not touch Golden Rounds either.  It is all ready for some intense work but I have not had a block of time to work on that type of thing this week.

Spiraling  Out

This may be as far as I can go on this quilt for a while too.  I have used over three fourth’s of the buttons that I had in the pale blue and purple.    Most of them are from my Aunt May’s button box and some are from Grandmother Esters.  It looked like so may until I started applying them.   So I have asked a few of my friends to do a little searching to see if they can help me finish up the spiral.  And I got some additional buttons already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sax Circles- DMC 5

This quilt is the fifth quilt using the DMC fabrics plus two additional ones.  The pale blue green and the blue printed fabric are additional.  The  building process is similar to several of the others in this series as well.   I am nearly finished with this work.  I am going to mount it on black fabric and stretch it.  I am working on different ways to present my work and this is just one more exploration.  I may frame it when the stretching is done, that will be a decision I make later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DMC 6

  I was frustrated with Blue Frogs and the paper quilt so I moved on and created this new top with more of the left overs from the DMC fabrics.    I do not have a title yet nor do I know were I am going with it.   That will come with the process.  I think there may be enough basic DMC  fabric for one more small top and then I will have to close this combination.  I have enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cycling Circuits

  I finished doing the back of this quilt this week.  Then I added the circular appliques to the top.  I am now ready to quilt the circuit connections into the work.   I also want to add some painted  lumiar  in the openings.    Because this quilt is about 40 inches wide and 44 inches long is it a much slower process than the other work I am doing.   I like how it is going however.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friends

  This is a  before shot of the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   This is the newest form of my friend Sally’s top.   She was unhappy with it and she sent it to me to work with.  I decided that the shapes she had used were too big so I sliced them and added in three batiks of my own.   All   the additions  were horizontal stripes- one in pinks, one in creams and one in blue purples.   There simplicity worked with the others to break up the surface and not destroy the unity of the work.

 

 

  I have quilted this quilt with words that describe my friend and how I feel about her.   I put a heart between each word to make  it easy to see were one ended and the next began.    In looking at the quilt this morning I see that I will need to add additional row s of just the hearts in the spaces between the rows of words.

Mini 2

  This is the next in the mini series.  I am going to give it to the Meals on Wheels  program for their fund raisor.  I am also going to give them a small quilt- but I have not decided what one yet.

 

 

I hope you are all being creative.

Hugs

Carol