Creative Life Sampler

A Gift Idea from the Sewing Room As we head in to the holiday season, many are turning their thoughts to gift giving. It's not too late to be creative for someone in your life! The example above was made for a friend going off to UCLA, so I chose the school's colors. To personalize it even more, I cut the paw print from the second color, and used iron on fusing to put it in place. Then I used a zigzag stitch around the outside to machine appliqué the paw on just the yellow length of fabric. This is a very popular way to make a cozy lap blanket. Stack two lengths of polar fleece and square them up so they are the same dimensions. While they are together, make a fringe around the outside edge by cutting toward the center about 5 inches in, and at least 1 inch apart. (Bear in mind: the wider the strips the bigger the knot will be, which means you may want the strips longer, to make sure you still have dangling ends. Of course, the longer the fringe, the less solid c...

Thanksgiving Day 2018 This is one of my favorite days of the year. I love that we take the time to think about all the good in our lives. Even when things seem really bleak, if you start with the most simple blessing, more are sure to fill your consciousness.  Isaac Watts, the English theologian (1674-1748) who expressed his faith in about 750  hymns (wow, talk about being inspired to create!), wrote: "Heavenly blessings without number  Gently falling on thy head." I thought a would share this happy, positive song with you as a little Thanksgiving gift : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFkTu8Y1KLs May you all possess the quality of thought that opens itself to the blessings surrounding you, today and always.

Linen Closet- California Lava Twist There was a point when I was drawn to the patterns of black and white and red fabrics. In 2010, I finally found the pattern that seemed appropriate for the stash I had collected. As the black, white and red theme began to come together, it felt a bit boring so I added a bit of accent color: orange. At this point, we had already gone through at least one wild fire scare near our community, so the title for this quilt was clearly a reaction to "fire season" in California. This pattern, "Milky Way", can be found in Quilts from the Quiltmaker's Gift, which is a companion book to the lovely children's book,  The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau.  The center of the quilt was "stitched in the ditch", outlining the twists. The border is done in variegated black and white thread in swirls that mimic some of the patterns in the fabrics.

Checking in at the beach While we're on the subject of beaches and temporary art work, I thought you might like to check back in with the rock sculptors at our local beach. I've collected a few examples of cool arches made of rocks from the shore line over the last couple of months. Still pushing the boundaries to see what they can create. (See this link for the beginning of my obsession with these temporary installations:  https://creativelifesampler.blogspot.com/2018/03/give-man-person-canvas-and-materials.html  )

Remembering I wasn’t sure I would be able to post anything this week. Due to the wild fires in Southern California, we were without internet access for several days. Ours was an inconvenience, others are dealing with the loss of their homes, or their loved ones, (due to the recent mass shooting in our area). Given the turmoil and tragedy this community has experienced in the last week, perhaps the lack of access to technology was a fitting “moment of silence”. It allowed for a time to reflect. Then Veteran’s Day was observed over the weekend, and this news story about soldiers’ portraits in the beach sands of the UK caught my attention. There are so many messages to take away from this project. It was a creative and poignant way to pay tribute to these soldiers. Check out this link: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/remembrance-day-2018-stunning-images-show-sand-portraits-of-casualties-who-fought-in-world-war-one-a3986991.html In the waves washing over the portraits, w...

Nurturing New Ideas I'm always on the lookout for creative people who share the way they generate ideas and express themselves in their chosen medium. The quote for today comes from the literary world: the "Grande Dame of Mystery", Agatha Christy. In the introduction to her small volume entitled Passenger to Frankfurt she writes: "The first question put to an author, personally, or through the post, is:      'Where do you get your ideas from?' ... If one idea in particular seems attractive, and you feel you could do something with it, then you toss it around, play tricks with it, work it up, tone it down, and gradually get it into shape. Then, of course, you have to start writing it. That's not nearly such fun- it becomes hard work. Alternatively, you can tuck it carefully away, in storage, for perhaps using in a year or two years' time." Obviously fresh ideas involve exposure to unfamiliar experiences and "things". Some...

Project Update: Circles II The second in my series of appliquéd circle wall hangings is finished... yeah! I tried something new with this time. Instead of mixing and matching fabrics for each square and then working with the result of that random approach, I began with laying out the background colors. This provided an overall "canvas" on which to plan out the circles. The color palette is aquas and teals- the blue green/green blue families.  I stuck with the polka dot fabric theme from  Circles I , and the embroidery stitching in each square, though this one is slightly larger than the first wall hanging (To check out Circles I, here is a link for that post: https://creativelifesampler.blogspot.com/2018/05/project-update-circles-1-circles-1-is.html ) On to the next project... 😉

Election Day in the USA! We went to vote at our polling place this morning and, beside the satisfaction of participating in democracy, I had the happy experience of discovering some artistic expression... in the sidewalk! I've voted at this spot for years and never stopped to notice these mosaics. Beauty everywhere... keep your eyes open!!!