These spring colors are making me happy.
Tiny Piecing Continued
My shop sale last month was amazing. Thank you to all who purchased pieces.
I’ve just started a some more and am playing with different color combinations.
Tiny Piecing - framed collection
I’ve been in my happy place working on some tiny art pieces the last couple of weeks.
I will be adding this collection to my shop here on the website in the next week or two. The white frames measure 10 inches square.
Grief - Domestic Abuse quilt 20
Grief 16” x 16”
Grief is a long-lasting, ongoing symptom of abuse. Ambiguous and unresolved grief takes new forms over time as it encompasses more lost time, memories, possibilities, and relationships. Family and friends of an abused person may grieve what they've personally lost as well as what the abused person they care about has lost.
Often, people grieving a death are told that grief reflects the love we have and share with a person. For some, the idea that the ache of this loss is filling a space in direct proportion with the love they've lived can be a great comfort and reminder of the joy they've experienced. In the case of ambiguous grief in the face of abuse, this construction of loss is a harsh reminder of the hurt an abuser has inflicted on an abused person and their community.
If you have a friend or family member who is experiencing abuse here are some things you can do to help. The most important thing to remember is that the choice to leave or not is theirs. You can't make them leave a bad situation but you can be supportive and helpful in their choice. They will need someone they can count on when/if they do decide to end or leave the abusive relationship.
Domestic Violence knows no boundaries when it comes to race/gender/sexuality/age/socioeconomic status/geographic location/culture.
Remember, domestic abuse affects ten million people in the US every year. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please know that the folks at the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1 800 799 SAFE or thehotline.org) are ready to listen and support you, as well as refer you to a local program or organization. If you observe someone being abused, you can also call the hotline. A good samaritan call can save a life!
All of the quilts in the Domestic Abuse series so far can be viewed here.
Frog and Toad
I made a second set of Frog and Toad stuffies for my younger grandsons.
Frog and Toad had a long visit at grandma’s house before going to live at their new home and are happy to finally be reunited with their friend Lowly Worm.
Cat Face Pillow
Miss P loved the first cat face I made in the Making Cat Faces class with Melissa Averinos so much that I made it into a pillow for her.
Those quilting lines are 1/16th of an inch apart, the closest I have ever done matchstick quilting.
I’m still trying to decide what to do with the other 16 faces I made. I could make individual wall hangings, four larger wall hangings with four faces each or go all in and made a larger quilt. My concern with making a larger quilt is that the face parts which are currently held in place with glue stick. would fall off or move before I could get them sewn down. What would YOU do?
Making Cat Faces with Melissa
I gave myself a creative gift for my birthday, Melissa Averinos’ Making Cat Faces class. The zoom workshop was a blast!
My first cat face was pretty simple but I quickly got in the groove and had fun creating different facial expressions.
My two oldest grandsons were visiting by the other day and were interested in the cat face making process. They chose colors, suggested shapes, and helped arrange the face parts. My oldest grandson cut those adorable eyebrows shown below and I LOVE them.
Below are the faces we made together. See that green cat in the upper right corner? My grandson said the mouth should be a smile shape but with a turn down on the side. Just like that! We had a fun time creating these faces.
I made a few more and tried a couple of fluffy faces.
Here’s the whole cat collection as it stands now. I’ve put them away for a while to get back to other works in progress.
Lowly Revisited
I made Lowly Worm for my almost two year old grandson who just became a big brother. It is made from a pattern in a vintage Richard Scary book. It’s made of felt, wool stuffing in the head and pipe cleaners in the body so that it is poseable.
I made another one of these for another grandson’s birthday in January.
Here’s a link to the blog post containing the pattern that I used.
Holly Girls Retreat
In September I attended the last of the Holly Girls quilting retreats. Pat and Sue took over Gwen’s Beaver Island retreats when she retired 9 years ago. I have been attending this one week retreat since the 1990s.
I completely unplug while I am there and focus only on the sewing and creating. It is always a much needed brain switch for me. This little bear paw block was the first thing I made this year and it helped my brain get in the groove, so to speak.
I quickly moved on to other tiny things. These purple and pink bits went into that 7” block you can see below.
Stars are always fun. These cuties finish at 1.5”
The last finish of the week was this bitty 4” block comprised of 168 pieces. I am in love with it.
Ombre Socks
I finished knitting this pair of socks earlier in the summer. The yarn is creates an ombre effect as you knit.
Because of the patterning in the yarn, the color change went from the lightest purple and got darker at the toe of the first sock. The second sock started dark and changed to a lighter blueish purple. I love them, but when I wear them it kinda looks like my socks don’t match.
