A Finish - and More Progress

I am happy to report that I finished the small art quilt that I started in 2015 ---and restarted in 2021.  

Several people asked if this jolly little fellow is a self-portrait.  I will say that it was not intended as one. But the face we all know best is our own. So it isn't uncommon for "fantasy faces" to resemble the maker.  

Confession - I still need to add a label and hanging apparatus (sleeve or something else.) 

Meanwhile, I have layered and basted another section of my large bed quilt.  I can't remember if I ever named this quilt or not.  In EQ it has the exciting (ahem) name of HST Quilt. 

As you can see it is right there at the machine ready for quilting.  I filled several bobbins with an off white Glide thread. I love how much Glide I can get on one bobbin - that means I can quilt longer without stopping. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Under the Needle

Here is an update on my little fellow.  He is under the needle getting quilted in this photo.

Three echo lines, then lots of pebbles for the background. 

I enjoy the effect of a pebbled background on an art quilt.

I used a wool batting for the nice loft it gives. 
I do love all that texture.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Off on a Side Track - or - Squirrel!

The quilt that I am quilting is coming along beautifully.   But I decided to pull out an old project - Oh my, this one dates back to November 2015.   I had a "hankering" to do something in a different creative mode. And now I am not sure when I will be quilting that quilt again.  But I don't plan to let it sit for over five years like this did.   

In the post - way back then - I said "needs to sit and mature for a bit."    - I suspect that five years and two months was just about right.

I pulled out the beginnings and started doing some fusible applique.  It is a fact that I have a bin of pre-fused fabrics that were ready to cut and fuse.  Since I had a good start, it was easy to take off running.  Here is where it is now. 

I am not sure if he is a Jester or perhaps some sort of magical creature.  What I do know is that he is much changed from the original start that looked like this.

I removed those eyes and made new ones.  Then I added to the head piece 

to make it more three dimensional looking.  

Hair was added.  Then the eyebrows had to change also.  

Then the mouth and a nose. 

 He looked like a floating head, so I grounded him -sort of- with the circles and petal shapes.

I took him to audition backgrounds.  I even cut one piece, but it was too busy and distracting.

I finally pulled out a piece of hand dyed fabric - nearly perfect! 

I started to fuse him down - Oh no!  I can't leave that nose. So I pulled off the offensive nose

(it was too dark and drew attention directly to it.) 

I auditioned more fabric for noses. Finally, this piece looked "right." 

I added the nose and fused the entire piece to the background. 

I have lots of stitches to add to him to fasten the pieces securely.  

He needs batting and backing. Then I can quilt it all into one fun little art quilt. 

In case you were wondering, I did get the pieces of the quilt that are quilted joined into one piece. 

I have half a quilt. 

Perhaps you would like to see the back and look at some of the quilting from the back of the quilt.

Which project will I work on next? Who knows?  The muse can be fickle.  But when I am 

smart I listen to her and follow along. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Quilted Photos

The weather has been warmer and there is sun -glorious sunlight to make better photos.  The quilted section is just one piece.   I took two photos because it was easier.  

The first one  shows the sashing and what is actually the top of the quilt but upside down.

I did orange peel on one block, a funky feather on one,  a square flower, 

and beads on a chain (squares and circles.) 

You may notice my little pinned on tag. That helps me to put the quilt together

as it was laid out. 

The second photo is closer to the middle of the quilt.

You can see the sashing again. For the blocks, I did a meander, a feather flower, 

a design I do, but don't know what to call, and another funky feather. 

Except for joining the sections,  I have half of the quilt mostly done.  This half is all quilted. 

Now I have the other half - the remaining four sections -  to quilt. When it is all joined together

I will put on the binding and have a finished quilt.  I think it will be nice to have this one on my bed.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A Bit of Painting

The muse called me into the room where my paints are stationed.  I had been working on a painting that just doesn't want to play right now.  So I took it off the table and set it aside.  I found another partially done painting that I was never happy with and just started playing on it.  I decided to use cool colors - blues and greens - to cover all the corners.  That got the muse in gear and I painted for a while longer adding bits and pieces,  brush strokes and line-work.  

This is where it is at the moment. 

At this point, I am feeling happy about this odd little abstract painting.  For some reason I get a "beach" feeling from it.  With the cold weather we have been having, the beach seems very appealing. I must say that the painting looks better in person than the photo. For some reason, the camera causes the colors to lose some of the depth - making them a bit muddy in the photo. 

I don't know if I will leave it like this or add more paint. For now, it is "resting" at this stage. 

The quilt is still going along slowly.  I have layered another section and have begun quilting it.   I didn't take any photos. I am waiting for a "pretty" day to take photos of the quilting.  

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Quilting a Section

Now that all of the sections are sewn, I finally got back to the quilting.  On Friday, I layered and basted the third section of the quilt and started quilting it.  I started in a solid block that is hand painted fabric. 

I quilted my version of "square flower" on it. Since I started off center, one side has an extra petal.  In the overall scheme of the quilt, it will not be obvious. 

Then I did a quirky pattern on a pieced block.

I think I am calling this one "feather flower."  I started with a circle in the center and then added a modified feather going around it until the block was filled. 

I also did another solid block with random quilting designs - I made it up as I went along.

I did another block with just meandering, but I didn't take a photo of it.  I also did all of the sashing/border areas.  That means that this section is more than half finished. 

But UPS came with my late "combination birthday/Christmas" present to myself.  I spent the rest of the evening playing with it and just being very happy. 

This is an Evoharp - an autoharp designed by Evo Bluestein.  I chose a diatonic that plays in the keys of "F" and "C."  Yes, that limits what you can play, but the advantages are greater volume and a nicer sound.  I  really love it. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Preserving Food - Kimchi

One of my "other hobbies" is preserving food and if possible making it taste better.   I love cabbage anyway, but when it is made into sauerkraut or kimchi, I love it more. Plus, I get those lovely probiotics that come from fermented foods.  

I will say that I have never met anyone who was indifferent to kimchi. It is usually love it or hate it. Many years ago, my brother-in-law was stationed in Korea.  My sister went to visit him there. She stayed a while and lived and worked there. Of course she learned about the culture and the foods.  When she told me about kimchi, I said "YUCK."  To be fair, she told me that they "bury it in ground and let it rot." 

Forward many years, but still a few years back.  A friend took me out to eat.  He said, "Let's go to the Korean cafe. I am sure you will enjoy something on the food bar."  By this time I had become adventurous in my food choices, so I said "Okay."   One of the things I tried was kimchi - I don't remember if  I knew what it was when I put it on my plate, but I do remember that I went back for more at least twice on that visit. 

Then a few more years passed.  I saw a recipe to make kimchi on the internet.  I searched out some ingredients and made a small batch.  I have used different recipes but I have been making it since then.  

A couple of days ago, I made two quarts.  Today, I made two more.  They are sitting in my laundry area,  where it is dark, to ferment.  

I keep an old beach towel over them to help keep them warmer. And they sit in an old baking pan in case they get "active" in fermentation and run over - it can happen. 

For these batches, I used the "Emergency Kimchi" recipe.   I have learned a lot about Korean cooking from this site. She has many kimchi recipes.  One of them uses chayote - a type of squash common in Mexico.  I made a batch of it some time back and realized that I could use chayote to replace the Korean Radish or Daikon Radish in kimchi.  So these two batches have chayote in them.  I have made it this way once before and I know that it is good.  I get the chayote from a local Mexican market.  I also substituted yellow onion - chopped nicely - for the green onion.  And I added a couple of good dashes of Oyster Sauce also.
This kimchi is delicious eaten by itself. But I also love dropping in a nice portion in a bowl of ramen noodles (with most of the high sodium seasoning left out.) The kimchi flavors it wonderfully.  I also enjoy eating it with rice.  But possibly the most surprising way I like it is with pinto beans and cornbread.  Does that make me a practitioner of Fusion Cuisine?

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Quilt Update

I have been a bit quiet on this blog because I allowed myself a bit of a holiday from quilting. I am still planning to "go slow" on the rest of making this quilt.  But I made a leap Saturday night. 

All of the pieces are now sewn into the larger sections that will be quilted.  

Here is a peek at it placed on the bed in the configuration I am planning for it. 

There are two pieces of hand dyed fabric that I pieced into the last sections that I just love. 

Those are prettier in person than they appear here.  I can hardly wait to quilt on those luscious colors.  I will be fun to decide how I will quilt those squares.  

I am also working more on my music lately.  I am doing a lot of trial and error learning on the autoharp.  That is taking a lot of my time.  So far, I can only use it to accompany singing.  But I know that others use it for playing actual melody.  Eventually, I hope to be able to do that also. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.