Confetti Quilting

I have always been intrigued by this method of art quilting so when I needed to learn how to do it for my November Quilt Club Group I was excited.

I had just finished up another successful retreat and the drive from camp was so beautiful with the changing leaves.  There was a spot on a farm with one tree by the fence that seemed to just glow.  It stuck in my memory and I sketched it out upon arriving home.  Next came the studying up on what confetti quilting is and how to do it.  Armed and ready I went to my stash and began looking for the colors I remembered from the farm I had passed.   That is the mess you see on the left above.  Next was the fun part-cutting up the fabric into small pieces of confetti which is the middle picture above.  It was now time to get serious.  I first made tree trunks and a fence from brown fabrics that had a bit of texture to them.  I decided to piece a background of sky fabric and a soft green.  I then began to lay down my confetti for the background of the trees and grass.  I had found that different artists used both tulle or sheer fabric.  I decided to try the sheer effect and see how it went and I chose a green sheer, laid it over my background confetti and stippled it on.  Next I laid down my tree trunks and fence and finished with the confetti for the fence and trees.  I laid a second piece of sheer over that and did a final stipple stitch through my backing, batting and top.

I am generally pleased with my first attempt and learned that next time I would use tulle.  I'll keep the sheer when I want a foggy look or to change the tone of color a bit.  The true beauty and color of the fabrics did not show through as well as I was hoping for.

It's a busy weekend coming up with 7 classes to teach.  So glad I have the privilege of doing this for a job.  May you find the things that bring you joy and do them with gusto!

Dee

Little Bits

Little by little does the trick.

            Aesop

I am often asked how I get so much done.  The truth is I really don't get that much accomplished on a regular basis.  Most of the time I am just getting the have to's done for whatever class or event that is coming next.  In between I get to do what I call my fun stuff done.

I come from a family of 13 children.  My mother was a very busy woman all the time.  Without really knowing that I was learning and mimicking her for most of my life I now know I picked up an amazing skill from her.  As you can imagine she had many irons in the fire and she would move through her days getting the have to's done and doing the in between things a little here and a little there.  She sang hymns while sweeping or vacuuming, prayed as she did gardening and other chores, weeded flower beds (two or three weeds at a time) on her way to something or returning from somewhere and the list goes on.

I rarely ever clean house in one day, rarely do the laundry all at the same time and am on the move through my days.  For example, today I started with a have to - Quilt Club is this week - noticed the bathroom downstairs was in need of cleaning so I cleaned it, went back to the have to, remembered an email I had to send and while doing that finished other email chores, finished up the first have to and proceeded to my next one.  Once I finished that one I needed a break from sitting so I watered the plants and realized how long it had been since I wrote on the blog.  Here I am in between the have to's doing what I want to do.  I still have a meeting to plan for this week, a few phone calls to make today and a pattern to trace.  The sewing machine is calling to me and I must answer the call.

For me, little by little the work gets done as long as I keep going.  May your days be fruitful and may you accomplish whatever you want and need to in the way that works best for you.

Blessings,

Dee

New Adventures

Over the last few months I have started a few new activities.  (Like I needed more to do :) )

I enjoy history and recently have become interested in our families ancestry.  So I joined a genealogy class at the local library.  It has been wildly fun and interesting and led me down some interesting paths in our family histories.  I found out that I am related to one of the women I work with at the quilt shop and am a direct descendant of Martin Luther's mother.

To help out with the family income I have started to piece quilts for RJR Fabrics.  I haven't decided yet if it is really my cup of tea.  We'll see how it plays out.

Lastly, I have started an online drawing/art class.  Posting my work is a bit intimidating, especially when you see how good the other students are.  They have joined the class from all over the globe which makes it interesting during the chat sessions.

I am also working on picture and video tutorials for the blog.  Soon, I hope........

What have you been up to?  I do love hearing from you.

Blessings and happy work!

Dee

Design Wall Cleaning

It goes without saying that it has been awhile since I have been on the blog.  It has been a busy and productive time for me with all the "things" I needed to accomplish.  It has also been a dry spell on the creativity front, mostly because of lack of time.

I had a rare day today to be at home with nowhere to go and nothing pressing to do.  Spring cleaning in my quilt studio caught my fancy today.  It is wonderful to have a dust free and tidy space to create again.  The sun shining outside was inspiring and absolutely wonderful.  Lunch on the patio today!!!!

While cleaning I noticed how much dust has settled over my design wall and the million and one threads also stuck to it.  My favorite and quickest way to clean my design wall is with the hardwood floor cleaning head and vacuum the board.  In minutes the threads are gone and the dust is spinning inside my Dyson.  Maybe you have another way to clean your wall, if so, I'd love to hear about it.

On Wednesday I am off to Paducah, KY for the Quilt Show and am so excited to get the chance to do this.  It has been on my bucket list for quite a while.  Thank you to some wonderful friends who have a room they are willing to share and will be traveling with me for the company and laughs.

Enjoy all the Beauty around you,

Dee