Wednesday, April 26, 2017

The Right Stuff

Lately I've been in a non-sewing mode - and mood! All I want to do is play/practice my ukulele (!), and on an occasional evening, crochet in front of the TV.

Ukulele music doesn't lend itself to visual options for blogging, but I can point you to a song that I've become completely obsessed over! "I Lava You" is a darling tune from the Disney Pixar short Lava. My uke friend, Sarah, told me about it, and since seeing it on YouTube I've been watching it repeatedly to learn the uke chords and lyrics. I adore it! Sarah and I are talking about working it up as a duet to play and sing at our Ukulele Players Club.

As for crocheting, I've worked out the counting issue I was having with the Moorland afghan, and have a steady rhythm for it now. I can't wait to introduce some of the other colors in the pattern - dark teal, orange, and yellow.

My Central Florida MQG solids challenge project is finished, but I can't share anything until the May 8 reveal and Viewer's Choice at the meeting. And because I haven't touched my scrappy prints Slopes project since my last blog post, I have only a little free motion quilting as proof of being at a sewing machine.

For weeks I looked at this box in our bathroom. It's Member's Mark facial tissues from Sam's Club.

Once it was empty, I carried it to my sewing room to fulfill my strong urge to copy the design in quilting.

I used a lovely piece of Quilter's Dream Pink (80/20) batting, and chose navy solid fabric to contrast with white Aurifil 50-weight thread for quilting. I first used an arc ruler to quilt the clamshells. Then I went back to freehand quilt different fill-in designs.

In hindsight, it would have been better to quilt a half-circle rather than these arcs. The broader slope of a circle would have allowed for more filler options.

Celina's senior pictures all came out so beautifully that it's difficult to narrow down which few to share. She has grown up since we met her as an eight year-old. And isn't she a beauty?!
Celina and Milson

Celina made her first quilt during one of my visits to Sydney. It warms my heart to know she wanted it in a picture.


Also in the past week...
My Dad was in the hospital, is out now and doing well.
I've seen a cardiac electrophysiologist to consult on the drug I've been using for PVCs (premature ventricular complexes); I'm now on metoprolol, a beta blocker.
I've have picked up the frequency of exercise. Now I line dance four hours a week; walk for 40-45 minutes; and participate in weekly dance aerobics.
I continue to daily make and drink 8 to 10 ounces of fresh-pressed vegetable juice. So does Dan.
It's the right stuff, just not much quilting. Linda

7 comments:

  1. Balance and moderation--both worthy "no sew mojo" days! Celina is beautiful, and it warms my heart also to see the quilt in a pic!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Celina is a beauty and wonderful that she chose her quilt for a photo op. What an excellent idea for a quilting motif. You are so smart and observant. Your quilting is prettier than the original design on a flat box.

    We had a guest speaker at our guild last night, Casey York, http://whileshenaps.com/2015/08/the-pattern-that-changed-my-life-casey-york.html, a Modern Art Quilter with a Masters in Art History. She spoke for an hour on where she finds inspiration for her quilts--from past art masters, pre-17th century and beyond. She is an excellent speaker and has had several quilts in Houston, Quilt Con and other shows.. You may know about her already. She has written 2 books (one to be released soon). She would be real proud of your tissue box find. Those are some of the things she said to help define quilting and applique for your quilts. Of course her's was more in architectural structures, stone work, tile floors, paintings, Inca stoneware vases, etc. It was such a great lecture that I know you would have loved.

    I am glad to hear that you are taking good care of yourself. What does the pressed veggies help do for you? If it gives you pep, I may have to start that too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. bravo! Having lots of diverse interests ensures you won't get bored with one!! And being healthy is the most important activity!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. its difficult to believe that Celina has grown into such a beautiful young lady! Where did the time go! When you girls perform your duet, I want to see a video of it! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your quilting is beautiful. I think it is ver Art Deco, in design. It would make a great border design! Selena is indeed a beayoung lady. And Milson is pretty cute too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Okay, okay--I watched the whole Lava song (I'm a sucker for romance) and definitely think you should learn and play it. So cute and great music.

    Having done almost no quilting for 3 months, and even very little in the year before that, I'm happy to be quilting. But I do think we need a space in our creativity and need to learn other things to make our love for what we do flourish. As my Dad used to say, Too many irons in the fire put out that fire. So branch out and enjoy, and stay healthy! You are our treasure and we want you around for a long long time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I admit I watched the whole video too!! So cute and we definitely need a video. Celina is so grown up and beautiful. So glad your dad is okay.

    ReplyDelete

I reply to comments! If you are a no-reply commenter, or your profile appears as anonymous, I will reply to you directly on this blog post. Please check back!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin