Yoga quilt #3 and wisdom teeth

Beginning of yoga mat quilt #3.

Time to get back to the studio.

I've been feeling artistically lazy and unmotivated lately, but today I had to stay home to help nurse the daughter after she had her wisdom teeth removed so I decided to start another yoga mat quilt.

Step 1: Select a background fabric (green batik) and motif fabric (hand-painted cotton from my stash).

Step 2: Iron fusible web to the back of the painted fabric, fold a center crease, and freehand draw a curvy design on one side of the crease.

Step 3: Fold in half again and cut out along the lines. Unfold and arrange shapes on background. Play with different arrangements.

A slightly different arrangement.

Step 4: Fuse those suckers down. Next will come a lot of embroidery and beading, which I'll start tonight when the sun goes down.

The sparkle comes from pearlescent paint that I mixed in with the plum.

Here is the still unfinished yoga quilt #1, above, and #2, below.

I think #2 needs more contrast -- what do you think? I haven't beaded around the outer motifs yet, but I think it will need more than that to save it. Or maybe the paler effect is OK. I need feedback on this one!

Here's a closeup of the embellishment on #2.

And here is a cheery vase of flowers brought over by our neighbor Rosemary for my daughter after her oral surgery today. Everything is from her garden, and notice how the vase matches the white flowers. Thanks, Rosemary!

Have a colorful day

Ready for Long Beach quilt festival!

My quilting/embroidery/beading travel kit is packed, and in 36 hours I'll be headed to Long Beach, CA, for the ...

International Quilt Festival!

This little quilt will fold up into the travel case (a freebie from Clinique) along with scissors, needles, embroidery thread, beads, and beading thread. It weighs next to nothing and hardly takes any space, but it will keep me busy for hours.

Here's a closer look at the embroidery and beading. It's so meditative -- I don't have to think and I'm in no rush to finish. All I have to do is enjoy the colors as I sew them down. I've already made two passes around the main motif with different embroidery stitches, and now I'm making a third pass with beads.

I hope it's sunny in California, because we've had too much rain here lately. Above are the brave Feet and Forks women taking a break during a chilly, wet hike this week.

Earlier this month, I snapped these gorgeous plants in Nancy's garden. Luscious colors and patterns ... quilt inspiration.

Have a colorful day

Yoga embroidery and coconut cake

I'm making good progress on the embroidery on my "Up Dog Yoga Mat Quilt." Here's the thread I've used so far -- all luscious hand-dyed pearl cotton from Artfabric.com except for the lavender on the far right.

After making one pass around the central motif with a feather stitch in Salt Water Taffy thread, I decided it needed more definition. So I did a chain stitch in purple on one side, and now I'm working up the other side in blue/green.

It's very meditative.

And then there's coconut cake:

Go Sheila! My friend Sheila just got her diving certification in the ffffrigid waters of the Puget Sound, so she deserves the calories in this coconut cake. We recently came into joint possession of it, so we split it down the middle, and boy was it rich.

Have a colorful day!

Upside down yoga quilting

Down dog or up dog?

Yesterday I thought the orientation below was what I wanted, but now I like up dog better -- the top photo.

Lesson from yoga: Be flexible but stop before it hurts.

(Down dog and up dog are yoga positions.)

I finished embroidering around the central motif this morning -- inside because it's cold and gray today. Now I have to decide if I want to use the same thread and stitch on the other motifs or change it up. I'll meditate on it!

Have a colorful day!