Is it over…?

Well I guess summer is over and I enjoyed it.  I didn’t go on a big vacation anywhere.  I stay close to home and we enjoyed some mini weekend trips.   We found  there was lots of things to do right in our own back yard.  We took the boys to the  zoo, the aquarium, lots of festivals and the Nature Center.   My goal was to stay within 150 mile radius.   We did that.   It was educational and we had lots of fun too. We didn’t make it to the water park this year.  The boys enjoyed lots of water fights  in the the back yard !  The bonus was – savings ($) and we were not drained like you can  sometimes be when you return from a long trip.   I worked on lots of projects by staying home…added bonus for me.  Now, with  school back in and the evenings turning cooler, my  mind immediately switchs to Autumn.  The quilt in the picture is the result.  This piece could be  a  nice memory/art quilt to add your own touchs with pins, mementos, photos, etc.  I  used Autumn colors  for this piece – thus came the name Autumn Jewels.  This quilt is for sale in my Etsy shop www.rainstudio.etsy.com . Over the summer most of my exploration projects were color studies using strips of fabrics.  I’ll be posting some of those pieces in the coming weeks.  Well I’m off to check on a piece I’ve got out back.  I hope it hasn’t blown away…exhale.

New Beginnings….

 

I know it is February and I haven’t blog for a while. Family obligations took  first place on my list.  However I do want to go back to reflect on the New Year and a new President.  All this is reason for hope and promise  in a world that seems to be out of control.  The beginning of a new year,  some of us  make resolutions that  we don’t keep.  For years I have done exactly that.  This year is about new beginnings and starting fresh.   Since I need to stay true to myself and be realistic at the same time I plan to take small bites.  This I think will be the best way to accomplish some my goals.  And of course I always make that list too long, knowing full well I won’t finish it.  But that’s OK!  I am not going to be hard on myself.  If a accomplish half I feel am closer to where I want to be.  I am just going to keep it real always!  Well here’s my list for 2009.  Exhale…

My Goals for 2009

1. Keeping my focus on God.  

2.  Learn new skills, like painting on my quilts and more surface designs. 

 3.  Learn  one  new fiber technique every month.   

 4.  Expand on fiber techniques I have tried before.  

  5.  Time with family - outing once a week (away from home).    

  6. Do one Journal Quilt – Small format -weekly/or monthly.     

   7.  Dedicate time to experiment with new materials.

   8.  Eat healthier and exercise  

   9. Update Statement and bio                

    10.  Create a line of fiber art jewelry/accessories               

    11. Do 2-3 sketchs a week!                        

    12. Exhibit a little more (shows , galleries, etc. - 8 to 10 per year).      

    13. create more series work          

   14. Plan and implement marketing campaign.          

   15. Get new business cards.

Haste…

Haste  (hast) n.   1) Speedy of movement or action; 2) Necessity for speed; urgency. 3) hurry; preciptancy. – in haste 1) Quickly. 2)Thoughtlessly; rashly. – make haste  To hurry; rush – v.t. & v.i. hasted, hasting  Archaic To hasten (<OF<Gmc.)

Exhale….We rush  the things we do everyday and in our haste we don’t realize the mistakens and the  hurt we leave behind until it is too late and glaring in our faces. We rush meals, holidays,  projects we are expected to do and even rush our families along when  our to-do list gets longer.  We always say things like’  I don’t have time right now’ and ’ maybe later’ is always a favorite. We rush that project making mistakes along the way. All the while thinking you are so smart because you finish it before the sheduled  date.  Then presentation day arrives and you discovered you have not done it correctly. You didn’t ask enough questions. Maybe so?  Why?Because you thought it would be so easy.  All a long saying  ’Oh, I know how this goes. I can do this with my eyes closed  Well, they were closed. And you got it twisted!  You rushed right along smarty pants and got it twisted. In ( e’bon!&??!!nic)  terms! Well you know how the youngsters would say it.   Yo’ !you got it twisted granny!  And I say ‘ If you just had stop long enough to think about it and map out a plan.  Stop to listen and talk with your family.  It may be important to them !  Take time to stop and smell the roses (before they are gone forever). And please get all the details before you start that PROJECT!… Please!

Summertime and the living is e….

 

 originally uploaded by Rains Studio.

Exhale….ok its not consider summer yet, until June 21st.. The heat has already arrived here and we have had a few days that soared to the 100s. So, it looks like its going to be a hot one. I have been working away on some projects. In July we’ll be going to Huntsville for our Family Reunion. I have been pick to be the planner for next year’s reunion. I screamed,” I DON’T HAVE THE TIME!” Then I declined to decline. Finally I had to accept it. It was my turn. After all everyone has had a turn. Some twice I was told. I will definitely have a full plate with the reunion and other stuff too. My daughter promised to help with the details. PROMISED – that’s the key word here! Well, I just wanted to check in. Fabric Lane will resume after labor day. Have a SAFE and FUN summer. And stay COOL!…..

Heading for…

Exhale! Had my cup of tea, some toast and a egg. Fed the boys breakfast and now we are on our way to story hour at a local book store. I’ll see if they have the Clothpaperscissor’s Studio issue there for my Sister. She has been eyeing mine. Grammy ! Mcdoonos…..OK…OK!  We’ll have to stop for lunch and back home it is. I am figuring when the boys lay down for their nap, I’ll grab a piece of muslin, head for the basement. I have an idea I need to try……  Exhale! 

Grammy I’ll drive!

 

originally uploaded by Rains Studio.

 

They multiply!

 

originally uploaded by Rains Studio.

I was on a roll when making these little dolls. I’ll be using these in some other projects of course…… I’ve got my great nieces in mind for some sweet gifts.

Cards for Kids

 

Cards for Kids Project, originally uploaded by Rains Studio.

Exhale!  Yesterday, I made a few fiber post cards for the Children’s Miracle Network. Got up this morning, had a cup of tea, some toast and fed the boys breakfast and off to the post office we went.
The dolly one reminded me of when I was a child and my passion was playing with paper dolls. A friend gave me the pattern for this patchwork a while back and I decided it would be perfect for a sweet little girl. I made the other card with a St Jude’s print from long ago. I stitched on a crayon cut from another print and used crayon to color in the pole. Well on the way back I stop in Joanne’s to pick up batting and noticed that Clothpaperscissor’s Studio book was out. I had been waiting to see this book. I grabbed one and three other people did too. This issue won’t last long on the stands. I thought most quilters/sewers are thinking of better ways to store and organize our creative spaces. This issue deals with the storage dilemas we all face. It is packed with ideas for storage and some creative and useful projects also. And you get to peek inside others creative spaces. Excellent publication. I will be planning a new space myself, which will be much smaller than what I have now. So I plan on putting some of these storage ideas into action and I’ll be posting the results here later this summer.        …Exhale!

stress…less

Exhale!..I am still working away on my projects: 1) 7/30/365 Art Card Project. I have been lingering around six cards a week and don’t think I will get to 7/30/365. Fear not I am not the least bit stressed over this. Its suppose to be a fun stress free personal challenge. And it is. My cards are all fiber post cards. I’ll post them all after the challenge year. It will be nice to see just where I began and where it leads me. Of course, I may not always be able to even do the six I’m doing now.  Life gets in the way sometimes and causes things to slow down a bit or come to a screeching halt. I’m not anticipating anything major except a move in the near future ( date pending) and dd’s knee surgery the end of this month. So the two little ones will be under foot quite a bit more. Lucky me! And I do mean that. They are my heart strings. Moving on to number 2) The journal quilts which has not been going as planned. I have only completed two months.  The plan was to do at least one journal quilt per month.  March is in-complete and April is really up in the Air. No stress here either. Its my personal challenge. One of my goals was to explore more this year. Some of my fiber cards will be exploration pieces and some will reflect feelings and other stuff.  The journal quilts, same rule applies. I find myself jumping between projects and starting new ones before finishing the older ones. I bet you’re thinking I probably never get any thing finished. Actually once I get going and I’m on a roll my UFOs start to quickly move to my finished pile. I have to keep telling myself to put them out of sight, least I look at just one and decide its not finished yet until I…… oh well!  And this is two out twenty-three…goals I made for the year.  How in the world will SHE EVERRR…… ? No stress here! You can tell by now that one of these was to be more calmer this year and don’t stress over everything. Anyway, most of these are a mind set for me and some are just small task. Which I might move to my to-do list.  Least this list is getting longer….oh well…. Exhale! 

Remembering…small details

Exhale! Looking around about a few months ago, I discovered the take it further challenge site by Sharonb. I really like the challenge she has put together. I thought about the last two challenges in retrospect to myself. The little details in life and how they become a part of something much larger and things I remembered.  I thought about my creative soul and how when I was eight or nine years old, I had begun to make wearable art clothing for my dolls.  Oh! no Barbie couldn’t go out in any old plain jacket.  I had to decorate her jacket with patches and sequins. Small pieces of wool, silk and velvets became beautiful ensembles with embellishments for my dolls. These goodies were scraps given to me by my great aunt who was one of the most talented seamstress I had ever known. She had only a few customers who she equipped with gorgeous wardrobes. She could duplicate a designer coat for a fraction of its cost and did this many times for my mother.  My cousin,who was her granddaughter didn’t just wear the latest trends, she wore beautiful clothes that looked as if they came right off a Paris run way.  My aunt gave me my first glimpse into the world of creative sewing.  She had a sewing machine which must have been the first viking electronic sewing machine. I just remember it had all the bells and whistles. Lots of stitches and lights. She would add decorative stitches to a plain Jane dress and make it sing. Thus, began my creative soul, because when I was thirteen I wanted my own sewing machine. I got one that next year and I began sewing my own embellished wardrobe. Later on came traditional quilting and this evolved into art quilting. Something which started small is now a large part of my life and remembering the things that brought me here definitely share the same space and time. Exhale!