Oh Dear! What Can The Matter Be?

 

I have used the word 'minion' a lot in my life. As a worker bee that's what I considered myself to be. A minion to my employer. I am tickled that the word is now widely used thanks to the whimsical animated characters. The Easter Bunny brought me this Peep Minion! Perfect!

These days I am allows to be my own minion. I get to "work for myself". I have become a minion to almost too many quilt projects for this year. My time is well spent in planning (I am doing much more of that than I am used to), cutting and sewing both by machine as well as by hand (the more hand work I do the more I enjoy it).

I felt that I needed just a bit of a hand sewing break and so I exchanged my sewing needles for knitting needles for a day. It was refreshing! I WILL get my shawl finished before too long! It's almost time to add the blue border.

All is well in my world! The sun is back and the temperatures are rising again, but I am trying to fend off a compulsion....an addiction if you will. Mixed media. I love mixed media, but I had made the decision to focus on quilting only this year. My energy levels are low (thanks to the cfs/fm) and I have managed to fill every bit of of my day with quilt related activities. I have also managed to disregard the siren songs of paint pots, brushes, stamps and assorted ephemera for many months now, but every time I catch a glimpse of those wondrous possibilities sleeping on my desk my resolve weakens. If I yield to my paint pot addiction I will fall behind with one quilt project or another! Oh! The tormenting choices of the retired! What can I do? What should I do? Will I be able to overcome the magnetic pull of paint and brush?

And I suppose that I need to consider a teeny tiny bit of outdoor activity too. I have not really gardened in years, but there is some trimming to do, some raking and tidying. My madder needs to be thinned and repotted. I have some plants that need to go in the ground ....the sun is shining....

In a perfect world all of our decisions should be so pithy and 'important" ! Yes! I am truly grateful to have so many remarkably 'meaningful' choices to make! But there remains the thorny dilemma of what I should do about mixed media.........sigh.

Oh no! There are also two shirts tha I have a strong hankering to make....and make soon! The fabric for them tantalized me.......below is one of them...gently textured, glorious soft cotton...who knew Yoko Saito would design such a wealth of color?!

What decisions are on your horizons?

What delightful choices must you soon make?

• Taxes?
• Gardening?
• Project ideas?
• I hope that no one has to deal with difficult real life, challenges.
• May your decisions all be small and delightful...

Happy Spring to all!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy...a great little app for IPad...c2016 mzjohansen musingcrowdesigns

The Ennui In Equinox

During the Autumn and Spring ...at the time of the Equinox...I seem to get a bit flummoxed. I feel tired, slightly off balance, a bit grumpy and low. So it goes. This year is no different.

I was away at quilt camp which was wonderful, but, let's face it, one (at least this one), never gets as much done as hoped for. The time at a retreat is best spent re-connecting with friends and sharing laughter and fun. I came home behind...mostly with The Farmers Wife 1930's which I started simply to use up stash. I can tell that my brain was not firing on all synapses...the block at the top is what I made. The block shown below in the book is what was supposed to happen. I am okay with it really since a bright dash of the potent orange was probably enough. If I was on top of the project I probably would have re-done it...as it is- it will do. As of today, rather than releasing two blocks per week, there be only one..that will help me a lot!

The "unmentionable" project is moving along. I am pleased to be current and up-to-date with my two versions of this unusual project. I am hopeful to be able to share more details about this quilt at some point in the future, but for now it remains a "mostly mum" endeavor. The EPP'ed blocks below are, I admit, rather boring. Both seemed to furnish a good resting point for the eye though (amidst their more colorful block brethren) and so they will stay "as is" for now. I won't really decide what blocks may need to be reconsidered or redone until I can look at all of the blocks all laid out together...not for awhile yet.

I had been far behind on sending out a small mixed media exchange project for two friends. The "theme" was "hand". They seem a bit dull looking, but my intention was make them appear 'natural' since I used some co-dyed silk noil. Not perfect, but done.

Also, this past week, a small group of us traveled South on the mainland to visit Okan Arts. It is a place that I had wanted to visit for some years. Imagine bolts upon bolts of colorful vintage Japanese yukata fabric...my friends are all taking an amazing 5-day workshop with Patricia Belaya (owner of Okan Arts) this Fall. I was a happy "tag-along"

Below are the treasures that I found. Now, to decide what will become of them!

On the horizon for next year. Possibly. This pattern from Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts. Barbara Brackman had featured an image of this quilt made with a dark green background on her her blog, "Civil War Quilts" and the possibilities began to dance in my head- despite my not ng overly fond of 'star quilts' n general.

 

For now, I await the time when my equilibrium returns to normal, dream of future projects and hope to have enough determination to complete those projects that are well under way.

As for you?

• Does the Equinox pass easily for you or do you too take awhile to adjust?
• Do you ever begin to feel bored with an on-going project? What do you do to get back in the groove?
• Do you think about future projects?
• When does 'Spring' begin for you?

 

Posted with Blogsy...a great little app for IPad...c2016 mzjohansen musingcrowdesigns