Japanese Fabrics... Yum, Yum!!

I managed to jump off the hamster wheel this week long enough to attend a big quilt show. While I was a bit underwhelmed by the quilts on display, I was able to get some lovely fabrics...


such as these Japanese striped Yukata fabrics, which traditionally would be used to make a man's lightweight robe. They come in long rolls that are only 14" wide. I thought they would be perfect for making table runners.


Here's one that I just started... will probably add some patches to it, and then bind it and wash it up... I love the washing part as that's when all the texture emerges.

I also found these wonderful Japanese prints...


The texture is like bark cloth, and the fabrics have all these terrific hexagons in various prints, which I am hoping to cut apart and use for hexagon patches.


And just to note, I know I said that I would be listing a few more pincushions for sale at the end of this week, (which it is right now) but I've decided to hold off until I get some of these runners made up and hopefully some more various items as well, as it would be nice to offer a variety again... wish me luck that I can manage to keep my focus and stay off the hamster wheel!

The Hamster Wheel of Life

Well it's taken me 2 weeks to make a whopping 3 pincushions. (For comparison, 2 weeks is how long it took me to make my last Work Quilt... what gives?) I feel like March has been one big hamster wheel, and I'm the hamster!


These three pincushions are now available in my shop. I have a few more in the works, but at the rate I'm going I may not finish and post them till the end of the week...


I hope April proves more productive then March has been for me... I think I'm starting to develop a complex :0)

P.S. I used the some of the Sulky® Cotton Blendable Threads for the hand stitching. I like the subtle shifts of color and am anxious to machine quilt with them, too!

Distracted (Blame it on the Weather)

I have been totally side tracked lately by the weather. First it was seemingly unending wind and rain that always seems to find a way into the house... hard to stay creatively focused when you are sopping up leaks... but then the sun came out and I truly lost my focus.


This sudden burst of light and warmth has distracted me even more. I am completely enthralled by it, and the knowing that Life is quivering right beneath the surface of this nearby field, and that soon everything will be lush and green... well I feel like a kid anticipating the arrival of Santa Clause.


The Snow Geese, (above) and Tundra Swans have made their yearly pilgrimage to Middle Creek, a wonderful Wildlife preserve just a few minutes from my home.


That patch of white off in the distance is a large flock of Snow Geese. They later came right up to the road, exactly when my camera's battery decided to die. Sigh.


Those white dots on the lake are Tundra Swans. (I definitely need a camera with a good zoom lens.) I cannot describe the thrill I get when I see a flock of swans fly above me.


Here's Ellie Mae balancing on a log and hamming it up for the camera... she's happy about Springs arrival, too!

Irma's Dreams Come True

Remember the School Photo series I did a while back? Well, today I received the very best and most thoughtful gift... photos of one of those school children. It was dear Irma, all the way from Paris!

I knew I was in for a treat when I saw the wonderful envelope, complete with a great illustration of Irma...


Inside were the best pics of Irma, traveling all around Paris...


and visiting places from one of her, (and my) favorite movies, Amélie, which takes place in lovely Montmartre, a village in the north of Paris where Irma now happily lives with the lovely Véronique of Verte Adélie...


This is Irma in front of the Café des Deux Moulins which is where Amélie worked as a waitress in the movie...


(I hope she orders the crème brûlée d’Amélie Poulain!)

I bet she thinks she's back in Lancaster County, Pa. in this photo...



Irma visits Basilique du Sacré-Coeur and rides the merry-go-round...



For Irma life is now a cabaret...



I adore each and every photo, but this one was my favorite... Irma in Roscoff, Brittany... she now finally knows what the ocean smells like, which was her most burning desire when she lived with me. (Everyone should know the smell of the Ocean, and I am so happy that Irma has now experienced the magic and beauty of the seaside.)



Seeing these photos of Irma makes me feel as if I have wings... I know my heart does, for it is flying with happiness. Thank you Véronique! xo

Pincushions, Productivity and Bupkis

Made these pincushions several weeks ago, and have just finally gotten around to posting them in my Etsy shop, which has now, (finally) reopened!


You can see more pincushions here. (Update: Since posting this last night I have already sold 5 of the six pincushions listed. (Yeah!) But you can view them in the "sold" section of my shop. Hoping to post more soon.)



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This past week was going to be one of great creative productivity... that was the plan, Stan, but it didn't exactly pan out that way. I got bupkis done. I didn't even find time to visit everyone's blog, (hangs head in shame.) Don't ask me where all the time went, I've looked but I can't find it... life must have gobbled it up when I wasn't looking. Does that ever happen to you? Hoping next week proves more fruitful. Till then have a great weekend, Everyone!