Saturday, February 23, 2019

Finishing Up Some Things

Isn't it satisfying to finish something! To claim that you have finished seems to imply that you faced challenges and overcame difficulties. Sometimes it just means that you showed up and persevered.
Lately I have finished a couple more Interleave quilt designs, a jigsaw puzzle, and some yard tasks.
Moon Over the Mountain Interleave

Interleave #4-Buildings
It helps to iron after adding each strip, and this miniature iron was very handy
 by the sewing machine
Tarbaby demanding attention
Azaleas are starting to bloom. We'll hope for no more frost. The loropetalum bush is about to be covered in color.
Early azaleas


Lorapetalum
 On some rainy days, a puzzle was entertaining; however, puzzles can be so addicting that a few spare minutes would often lead to hours into the night. And I had to discourage cats from napping on it.
 
The finished puzzle



Rahrah staying out of the way


Thursday, February 14, 2019

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day brings about a multitude of feelings of what it means to love and be loved. It is so much more than only romantic love, and I am blessed that my life is filled with love. Love for and love from people and cats.
While friends up north are enduring blizzard conditions, my geranium is happily putting on blooms. I brought it in for two nights but it seems to enjoy these 40-70 degree temperatures.

My friend Leanne Green taught my Southern Fiber Artists group her technique for making cord bowls using fabric-wrapped cotton clothesline cord. Here is a beautiful bowl she made for me last fall. It is about 15" wide by 8" tall, embellished with bugle beads.


I decided to see if colored nylon cord would also work. Here is my small bowl made with camo-colored cord.


I've been working on an Interleave design called Moon Over the Mountain. It is ready to trim the edges and add a black binding. My friend Jackie Watkins is a master at these, and she shared her technique with me.
Winter weather (either here or on TV) seems a perfect time for a jigsaw puzzle. A friend shared this cat-themed puzzle with me and it has been fun to make. Tarbaby tried to help. Puzzles are a real time suck and I can avoid all sorts of necessary activities like cleaning and sleeping when there is one on the table.