The Sedona sun is back!

The sun has returned to Sedona! We did our first hike with our son and daughter-in-law around Courthouse Rock and soaked in the glorious red rocks and blue sky.

 
 

Back at the homestead, I broke out a jelly roll pack of Bali Pops in the colorway Splash. I'm making another Jelly Roll 1600 quilt, which will shape up pretty quickly in the evenings.

Have a colorful day

Sedona snow!

So we arrived today in Sedona, AZ, to start our month of fun in the sun, and this is what greeted us! We drove down this morning from Flagstaff, where a massive snow storm was shaping up. The wind buffeted our car and big snow plows prowled along I-17 waiting to spring into action.

We were warned -- we'd been watching the weather reports all last week -- but it was still a shock. Fortunately, after a little more rain (not snow) tomorrow, the sun will be back. I'll keep you posted!

Have a colorful day

Loose ends before Sedona

I'm tying up loose ends before leaving for SEDONA! Nothing like a trip to motivate you to clean, sort, organize and catch up on obligations. Last night I made the doll pin -- I call them "Personality Pins" -- to donate to a fundraiser for our local YMCA.

And today I picked up my 20-year-old jewel box quilt from Quilt Revolution, where they worked their magic and quilted it with wintry swirls. Nancy used white thread on the front so it wouldn't detract from the piecing and red thread on the white backing for a striking design. They do a GREAT job if you have some tops that need to be turned into quilts. This is the first time I've had anyone else quilt one of my pieces, and I'm very pleased with it.

Then the packing continued, with clothing for everything from the snow that's predicted for the first few days to temps in the 70s, which I hope predominate. Chilly desert evenings, sweaty mountain hikes, and of course colorful clothes for the Mexican restaurants.

This year I'm taking the scale to keep me on track, because even with hiking every day I always seem to gain from too many restaurant desserts.

Bunners seems to know something is up, because she's been awfully cuddly the last few days. I'll miss her furry little face.

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Sew Day inspiration

Sunday was Sew Day with the Nuts, which means a lot of inspiration, food and fun. The most fun project was Nancy's string of chickens, which she made using the Here - Chick, Chick, Chick pattern by Myra Mitchell. How can you not smile when looking at these crazy chicks?

Did I mention food? Linda J. set a beautiful breakfast table that included her homemade double-sided napkins with sparkly napkin rings and a pitcher of warm maple syrup.

After breakfast we had show-and-tell, where Linda J. showed us this colorful sewing project tote. I forgot to get the name of the pattern.

Then we got down to work and Carolynn almost completed her gorgeous richly embroidered and beaded crazy quilt table runner. All she has left to do is apply some trim along the seam between the border and center.

I finished piecing this top, which is made from a pack of Sea Glass Tonga Treats and a fractured pinwheel pattern by Osie Lebowitz for Broome Street Patterns. I have NO idea of how I'm going to quilt it -- maybe swirls.

And here's the latest update on my new mandala, with embroidery and beading to come soon.

Have a colorful day

Prepping for a new mandala

I need another handwork project, so I'm preparing the base for a new mandala that I can embellish to my heart's content with embroidery and beads. I'm tracing a mandala template multiple times onto Wonder Under, then I'll fuse it to these luscious solids from Quilt Revolution in Gig Harbor.

Since I'm not sure where I want each color, I'll cut out extras of all the pieces and then play with them before fusing my final selection onto the turquoise fabric.

The plan, for now, is to float the mandala on a turquoise square on this piece of Moda fabric that I think I bought a few years ago in Arizona just because it was so vivid and pretty.

I prewashed everything to make sure the Wonder Under will stick, and now I have this pile of gorgeous frayed threads to save in my "pretty threads" bag.

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"Yoga mat quilt" and sun!

I started this "yoga mat quilt" two years ago on Valentine's Day 2013 and blogged about the process here: http://sherriequilt.blogspot.com/2013/02/sort-of-valentine-heart.html. Today I put the almost (I think) finishing touches on it as the SUN poured into our living room!

I added the filigree doo-dad in the center of the orange circle and held it down with green translucent drop beads. Then I added some lavender embroidery to a spot that I missed when I worked on it in 2013.

Here's the sunny spot where I do my hand work, the spot that has had such a grey view for so long. I'm jazzed about the sun!

I thought I'd better show you the view of the BLUE water and BLUE sky, too. It's supposed to be like this most of the week!

Outside, the plants think it's already spring and have burst into bloom all over town. We'd been having rainy but unseasonably warm weather for awhile, and the warmth and now sunshine seem to have tricked the plants.

I'm linking to Nina-Marrie's Off the Wall Friday, where you can see what other fiber artists have been doing this week:  http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

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Mandala finished -- 2 years later

Mandala detail, by Sherrie Spangler

I finally finished my little (13"x13") mandala quilt that I started two years ago. I blogged about it here: http://sherriequilt.blogspot.com/2013/01/have-mandala-will-travel.html, then I got hung up on how to border it.

This week I'm focusing on UFOs, so I just threw on a colorful border, the sleeve and label and called it quits on this one. Now I have to start a new center to work on next month in Sedona. (The light there will be SO much better for photography, with the sun making everything glow.)

"Mandala On Blue Sky" by Sherrie Spangler

The inspiration for the mandala came from "The Art of Mandala Meditation," which I reviewed here:

http://sherriequilt.blogspot.com/2012/11/mandala-book-review-and-giveaway.html 

For a great post on fear and art AND to see what other fiber artists have been up to this week, hop over to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Fridays at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/2015/02/fear-and-art-off-wall-friday.html

 

   

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Texas quilt two-step

Detail: "Winter Solstice," by Sherrie Spangler

I just sent off one quilt to its new home in Waco, Texas, and welcomed back another one that's been on tour in Texas. It's the quilt version of the Texas two-step!

I made "Winter Solstice" for Virginia Spiegel's THE 100 Fiberart For A Cause
fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Virginia raised $10,380 to fight
cancer in just 2.5 hours by matching up 100 donated art quilts with patrons who each donated $100 on Wednesday. Thank you Mary Ruth from Waco for your generous donation and thank you Virginia for inviting me to be a part of this worthy cause!

"Winter Solstice," 15x19", Sherrie Spangler

Below is my poorly photographed "Forest Fire Spirits," made way back in 1997 with some of the first fabric that I ever painted. I was living in El Paso when I made it, and it's in the book "Lone Stars III: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1986-2011." It's been on tour for years, and I was so excited to see it again that I spread it on the dining room floor for a quick blog portrait.

"Forest Fire Spirits," 57x51", by Sherrie Spangler

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Fifty Shades of Grey ... Right Outside My Window!

It's been grey, grey, grey, with more of the same forecast for the rest of the week. (This is why the books were set in Seattle, and no I didn't read them and I'm not going to see the movie!)

 

 

Even my husband's car is grey!

Have a more colorful day