Stitching and eating with the Nuts

Last weekend was Sew Day with the Nuts, and we fell into our wonderful routine of eating, stitching, eating, stitching, and this time a third round of eating and buying fabric. What could be better with dear friends?

Nancy hosted and set a cheerful table with roses, dragonfly napkin rings and hand made napkins. Breakfast was a fabulous quiche, muffins and fruit.

Then we moved on to sewing, where Linda made these fun, reversible placemats.

 
I don't usually make anything from a pattern, but I fell for this strip kit that makes a prism quilt, so I started sewing the strips together.

Carolyn brought the first quilt top made by her grand daughter ...

... and worked on the free-motion quilting.

After all that hard work and talk it was time for lunch: chicken salad sandwiches and more fruit. Yummy and healthy.

 
Then we went on a field trip to Quilt Revolution for the Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop and to do some shopping. Here we are with our purchases. I bought another kit, this one for a zippered pouch made with the flowery shop hop fabric.

After that we were forced to get ice cream because it was almost Nancy's birthday. It was very yummy.

Have a colorful day

Western Washington Shop Hop

 

It's shop hop time in Western Washington -- the biggest quilt shop hop in the country -- and Quilt Revolution in Gig Harbor has a special exhibit that you should see. The last day of the hop is Sunday, tomorrow, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., so get yourself down there if you're in the area!

The exhibit is 14 shop hop quilts done by local quilter extraordinaire Becky Curneen (with quilting by Rose Flannigan and Kim Stotsenberg) from 2000 through 2013. Becky's retiring now after more than 700 blocks, but you can look at every one up close in this amazing exhibit. 

Here, in no particular order, are some of the quilts and individual blocks. Enjoy!

 

 

For more info on the hop, go to www.washingtonquiltshophop.com

Have a colorful day

Stalling on the studio setup

When I last left you, my new studio space was piled with boxes and I was feeling overwhelmed. I've gotten rid of a lot of the boxes, but now I'm stalled on putting things in order. I guess you could say I'm being lazy and you'd be right. That's why I'm blogging instead of organizing.

I filled the shelves that Dave made, but only the half with cottons (below) is in order. The other half, which I'm not showing in a closeup, is a mish mash of bags and bins stuffed with organza and tulle and mesh produce bags and other special fabrics, most of them scraps.

I have a mantel that was perfect for these treasures: 

Wanda is settled in on the couch, which is where I keep ending up every time I go down there to face the mess. Maybe she has the right idea! Needless to say, I haven't gotten any sewing done to show you but I've been rereading a lot of my old Quilting Arts magazines and books to try to get excited enough to get the studio in working order.

Have a colorful day

 

STITCH meets on island

Our STITCH art quilt group had its June meeting on an island accessible only by ferry this week. It's always exciting to take a ferry ride, even if it is only 15 minutes long.

Linda's fabulous scarf coordinated with everyone, so I had her pose on the ferry with me, Delaine and Barbara.

 Before spending hours relaxing in the sun on the deck after lunch, we had our show and tell.

Delaine showed a very textured quilt that she just made.

Detail of Delaine's quilt.

Judi showed a packet of collaged cards that she's still working on. We had an optional 3-D challenge, and this is her 3-D project.

Andrea wowed us with the intricately pieced heron that she started in a workshop with Ann Shaw.

And Anne showed some "perky aprons" that were indeed perky thanks to her great fabric choices and the flaring hemline.

Then we indulged in a major potluck -- there were 10 of us, so we had 10 different dishes including two kinds of brownies and a rhubard crisp, plus chicken paninis and a variety of salads, veggies and fruit. It was wonderful.

Back home, I was faced with this mess that's my studio. I finally started unpacking it last night and got a few hours worth of organizing in today. I feel the urge to give a lot of it away and just not buy anything else until I use up what I have ... like that will happen : )

Have a colorful day

Orange and blue

I poured these tomatoes into a glazed pottery bowl just now as I was fixing dinner and was struck by how good the orange-yellow and blue went together. I took a picture to help hold the combo in my head until I can get back into the studio. I can see it as an abstract with orange silk scraps collaged over layers of sheer blues.

I took these other blue and yellow photos over the weekend. The first one is a view of snowy Mount Rainier on the horizon with layers of evening clouds streaking across it. The second photo is part of a kayak.

 I can feel the creative juices starting to flow again ...

Have a colorful day

Mojo missing in move

I think I lost my creative mojo in the month-long move that's still not quite over. I feel as foggy when it comes to quilting as the water was this morning in a thick shroud of grey.

But watching the fog clear and reveal sparkling blue sky and water gave me hope that the creative juices will start flowing quickly once I get the studio unpacked and organized.

While I'm waiting for my mojo, I'll post photos from around the new homestead. We're on the Hale Passage in the Puget Sound in Gig Harbor, WA, and the view is gorgeous.

It's a gravely, rocky beach and the water is frigid, but it has its own appealing character.

This crow calmly shared the neighbor's roof with a weathervane heron for a good while, but when it took flight it acted astonished to see the metal bird!

Away from the water, I snapped photos among the plants. I thought the condensation on this hosta was in focus, but it wasn't.

 Our front entry reflects the beach surroundings and is a peaceful spot to arrive and depart.

Maybe if I sit with the Buddha for awhile I'll find my mojo and slip back into the rhythm of sewing soon.

 Have a colorful day