Violet Protest and hang loose saguaro

 

I just finished five squares for the Violet Protest project, which aims to send 50 handmade red and blue textile squares to each member of Congress -- 26,750 squares total. Each square must use the same amount of red and blue, which when combined make violet.

The squares are being sent with a message that we support these core American values: respect for one another, citizenship, compromise, country over party and corporate influence, courage, candor, compassion and creativity.

Before being sent to our lawmakers, the squares will be exhibited at the Phoenix Art Museum this year.

In other quilt news, I decided to sell my "Joy" quilt and listed it on my Etsy shop, www.sherrielovescolor.etsy.com. I made it when I was trying to recover from the loss of my marriage and it served its purpose, so now it's time to send it out in the world to bring joy to someone else.

Last night's sunset reminded me of the colors in "Joy."

Now it's time for the saguaro photos! This first vista is one I gazed at for quite awhile the other day while resting on a bench in Catalina State Park. It was so quiet and peaceful. I only saw one other hiker on the one-mile loop, and the only sounds where an occasional whisper of a breeze. It was about 70 degrees.

This next sassy saguaro is giving us the hang loose hand! A mutation causes the growing tip of some saguaros to form into a crest-like fan, so they're called crested, or cristate, saguaros. They're rather rare, so hikers get excited to see one in the wild. This one is near the Pima Canyon Trail in Tucson.

While I was hiking on that trail with a friend, we stopped to chat with a young woman who had a beautiful desert tattoo on her arm. Each plant has a story behind it that's special to her. She plans to extend it down her arm with images of the desert underground, including the little creatures that shelter there during the heat of the day. Some tattoos are bleh, but this one is a work of art. 

Have a colorful day

First quilt top and first hike of 2021

Today I finished my first quilt top of the new year! I can't decide if I want to orient it this way (above) or this way (below).

I also tried out this variation, along with about 50 others. In the end, I decided it didn't really matter, as long as the stronger blue and dark orange pieces were evenly distributed.

I also went on my first hike of the new year today: Canyon Loop Trail in Catalina State Park. How do you like my snazzy new hat? The visor that I had been wearing did a good job of shading my face, but it let the top of my head get too hot in the sun.

I drive up there about three times a week now to hike by myself. I can feel my legs getting stronger from the steep hills. Every view is like a postcard, with the Santa Catalina mountains and saguaros.

 

There's a cool piece of tile art at the trailhead, with people's names and sayings on the tiles.

Here are two of my favorite sayings:

Have a colorful day

2020 wasn't all bad

 

Despite Covid-19 turning our lives upside down and taking far too many lives in 2020, I have found some bright spots in the year. I went after my dream of living in the desert and moved to Tucson, where I've embraced the sunshine, hiking, Mexican food, and new friends.

Today I went for my last hike of the year, in the Santa Catalina foothills. It was peaceful and beautiful, sunny and 50-some degrees.

I'm gradually exploring the trails in Catalina State Park, which is less than 10 minutes from my house. I'm even starting to get to know the individual saguaros!

After a blistering hot summer spent sheltering inside my house, I finally was able to start hiking in the fall and got to know these two wonderful women on a Meetup hike. We clicked and have started hiking together every week.

Besides desert hiking, this year also has brought me hundreds of spectacular sunsets and some pretty amazing full moons.

Above is a full moon hike in the desert and a sunset from my front courtyard. Below is the sunset from my sewing room.

Speaking of sewing, I got a LOT of sewing done during the summer when it was just too hot to do anything outside except at 6 a.m. I embroidered little bowl stuffers for friends ...

... and tea towels for friends and family.

I started painting fabric again!

I sewed Southwest decor for my new home.

And I opened an Etsy shop in November to sell what I sewed, including this batch of masks.

Yes, I got lonely being away from my old friends. Yes, I desperately wanted to visit my parents, who are almost 90 and who I haven't seen in more than a year. 

Yes, I missed visiting my kids, but I'm so happy that they each have a special someone to hunker down with during the pandemic. Here's my son and his wife ...

... and my daughter and her boyfriend:

I'm learning to love my own company after finalizing the divorce this year. I embrace snuggling in my pajamas in front of the fire on chilly evenings with a good book or movie.

And I'm going to carry these "lessons from a Christmas tree" into the new year. Happy New Year to all of you, and thanks for following my blog!

Have a colorful new year

New quilt started

With the Christmas bustle over and a new year almost upon us, I decided I needed a new quilt project to keep me busy when I'm not hiking. A few days ago I pulled out this pattern that I bought ages ago and never used. It's a stack, cut, shuffle technique that appeals to me because of the abstract design, curves, and surprise juxtaposition of fabrics after they're shuffled.

I started with colors that remind me of the desert in spring: turquoise sky, beige sand, greens from trees and cacti, pink and yellow cactus flowers, and fiery orange sunsets.

I stacked six fabrics in each pile with a square of freezer paper ironed onto the top fabric. Then I drew five gently curving lines on each stack and cut through the lines. As per pattern instructions, I shuffled the pieces of fabric ...

... and then sewed the new layers together. I've done five so far and plan to stop at a dozen.

There are countless ways of arranging the blocks, which will be a lot of fun. I'll take pictures of each arrangement to help decide which I like best. Here are some arrangements with the same two blocks.

I also hiked again in Catalina State Park with my  new hiking friends. Our hike this week was windy with unusual clouds. Here's a shot of the sky that day with more of my cherished saguaros.

Here's a plaque on a bench in the park. I think that's a really nice way to be remembered, as a place to rest and enjoy the view. (If my kids are reading this, remember it when I kick the bucket! My plaque can say, "Have a colorful day.")

Linking to Nina-Marie and other fabric artists: happy-new-year-off-wall-friday.html

Have a colorful day

Wool applique Christmas book cover

I just finished a wool applique cover for the big binder that's stuffed with my annual Christmas letters and photos going back to 1999. (I have another one going back to 1985, but that one already has a nice cover.) I embroidered "Our Christmas Story" on the spine, and I thought I'd show how I transferred the letters in case it might help someone.

First I printed the words out in a font and size that I liked. Then I traced them onto the non-sticky side of a piece of Glad Press 'n' Seal.

The Press 'n' Seal is sticky on one side, so press that side against the fabric where you want to embroider.

Embroider through the Press 'n' Seal and then peel it off. You may need tweezers or the tip of sharp scissors to pick out the small pieces. Voila!

Here's the front of the cover. I used a black cotton background and wool scraps. The trees and Santa are from a table topper pattern.

Every year I pull out the books and read through my old letters, which each have a picture of our family. It's like going back through a time capsule. Here's the latest:

And some of the older ones ...

And it wouldn't be a blog post without a desert picture, so here's a shot of a majestic saguaro cactus from yesterday's hike on the Linda Vista Trail near my house.

(I'm linking to Nina-Marie's Off-the-Wall-Fridays, where other quilt artists show what they've been working on this week: merry-christmasoff-wall-friday.html)

Have a colorful day