Morning Glory Studio

simply a moment | 07 (may 2013) | a lovely day...

Simply A Moment    16 May 2013      circa 11:45 am EST    

The temperature is 82 degrees and it's sligthly humid - but not enough to matter cause it's a beautiful spring day: Bright. Sunny. Vivid blue sky. Spilt-milk clouds float by.

I am in a little plaza-like park at Pennsylvania Ave NW and 4 th Street NW, adjacent to the Canadian Embassy and across from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. I am on my way to meet my friend Eileen, from Albuquerque, NM. She's in town for a few days and we've not seen each other in over a year. 

Since I'm a little early, I decide to sit in the park and people-watch: Some are reading; eating lunch; walking and talking with friends. Several groups of helmeted riders whiz down Pennsylvania Ave  on Segways. A gaggle of high-schoolers, in bright red T-shirts, run across the street when the light says "walk." Others, like me, are just sitting, taking in the sights, feeling the gentle breeze on our arms, reveling in the beauty of this day.

Sunlight darts in/out of the clouds and the sweet smell of a nearby flowering bush wafts by. Birds are happy, chirping and adding their sweet melody to the cacophany of the traffic. Flags on the Canadian Embassy flutter gently in the breeze. 

I check my watch - 12:10 pm. Time for me to cross the street and go to the National Gallery to meet Eileen for lunch and what turned out to be a long, five-hours conversation. We had a lovley, lovely time...

Cheers~

 

Simply a Moment was started by Alexa of Simply Alexa; you can read more about and join in here .

 

april showers bring may flowers...

Yesterday it rained all day...not a hard, heavy or cold rain, just a soft, steady, wash-away-the-tree- pollen rain. T'was a great day to stay put and that I did. Norman, on the other hand,  adhered to his daily schedule and managed to log three walks - each about a mile - including a banana run.

I spent the day  prepping  two more blocks for my flower garden quilt.  Believe it or not, auditioning fabrics, trying to decide what color palette/s I want to use for which blocks, takes time. I started about 11:30 am and at 5:30, my feet screamed: Time to Quit!

Here is what I chose for the next two blocks:

this will be block #4

this will be block #5

I'm looking forward to seeing how each turns out

Today, May 1, has been absolutely perfect: a vivid, bright blue sky; temperature a perfect 70 degrees with no humidity , so I took an extra long walk today (making up for yesterday) and enjoyed the azaleas like these, courtesy of Mother Nature:

 I think my #6 block's going to have to be pink! Don't you?

Cheers~

how does the garden grow?...

Several weeks have passed since I blogged about my newest, exciting quilting project.  Week before last, my quilt guild had its biannual quilt show - that took up most of the week. And last week...well, last week was unreal. On Friday, as the events of the day unfolded, I kept saying to Norman, you just can't make this up...Thank goodness the nightmare is over - we trust - and life in these United States can return to some semblance of normalcy...

In my flower garden quilting project, I  have completed three blocks:

Only 21 plus the four borders to go...but there's no rush! I am prepping the next three blocks and that process  - choosing the fabrics and color palette - I totally enjoy. I am also enjoying the hand stitching, especially in the mornings with the sun streaming in the windows. And the more I stitch, the better my appliqué becomes. (Sorry the block on the left is so dark; I'll have to take a better photo.)

Spring has been on again/off again  this year; today, we're actually enjoying warmer temps and sunshine. I'm thinking I'll take a super long walk and check out my favorite dogwood tree - it should just about be  in full bloom.

Enjoy your day and I hope that flowers are in bloom for you too.

Cheers~

 

simply a moment | 06 (april 2013) | the Boston Marathon...

 

My quilt guild meets on Monday mornings and afterwards, a group of us generally go to lunch. Afterwards, usually before I head home,  I make a stop at JoAnn's (fabric store) or a Michael's (crafts store) for some item/s I need... such was the case this past Monday.  I finished my errand,  got in my car and looked at my watch - 3:15 PM DST - and thought, great, I can probably get home by 4 PM - providing I don't run into any traffic backup...so, I turned on the radio to catch the traffic -  always on the 8s - fully expecting to hear a few assorted commercials and was greeted, instead, with breaking news about the bomb explosions that turned the annual Boston Marathon into an unfathomnable, indelibly seared in our minds, forever, tragic event. I, along with everyone, was flabbergasted. And then I remembered: one friend in my quilt guild had just shared with us that her son was in Boston, running the marathon.

I shuddered and said outloud: On no! I hope that he is OK. And of course, I thought about my friend all the way home. My trip usually takes 40 minutes, or so, and fortunately, there were no traffic backups. I got home just at 4:15 pm, and called another friend who lives in the same neighborhood as our friend and asked had she heard the news about the marathon...she hadn't and so I told her and also, that our friend's son was in Boston. She said she'd immediately call our friend and go to her house, in case  our friend - had either not heard the news or if so, hadn't heard from her son. About 5:15 pm, my friend called to say she'd indeed heard from her son: he'd finished the race about an hour or so before the bombings and upon learning the news, sent a text message to his wife and parents from a local pub, saying he was OK. 

We all exhaled.

Gave thanks.

Prayed for the victims and their families.

Trying to make sense of it all and of course, we can't because there is no sense.

My friend's son shared the race and the tragedy on his blog; you can read it here.

 

 

Simply a Moment was started by Alexa of Simply Alexa; you can read more about and join in here 

 

flower garden...

 I have always loved flower gardens that are organic,  filled with a bevy (I have no idea why this word popped into my mind, it did and I looked it up just to make sure I was using it correctly)  of different flowers that are a cacophony of color and take over all the space of a yard. A cottage garden...

A couple weeks ago, a member of my quilt guild introduced me to a hand-appliqué quilt she started in January. She says it's so much fun that she's been stitching on it almost non-stop. I was instantly intriqued and looked up the designer on my iPhone - I rarely use my iPhone to search the web - not wanting to wait til I was someplace with wifi in order to use my iPad.

The designer, an Australian quilter, Kim Mclean, has quite a collection of hand-appliqué quilt patterns; each one totally magnificent. I was sold. Now, I only needed to make a selection.  Decisions. And of course, I had to share this find with Pat, who loves to hand stitch...and besides, we needed a new project now that we've finished our Crimson Tweeds. So, that Wednesday  afternoon, we looked at the patterns and each of us made our choices. She chose the Flower Pots and I, Flower Garden. We ordered our patterns and waited, impatiently. Our patterns arrived that Saturday. Full-sized templates on tissue paper - well worth the $30 each pattern costs.

I had a snippet of a fabric whose colors just jumped out at me, so I decided to use them as my color palette. Basically, the flowers use an assortment of quilt fabrics - Kim uses all Kaffe Fassett fabrics, ooh! I have been going through my stash looking at fabrics that I think will work, as well as looking for any Kaffe Fassett fat quarters I have. 

On Monday, March 18, Pat and I went shopping (unfortunately, we didn't find any fabrics at the quilt exhibit we attended the weekend before, BUT, we both found some Kaffe Fasset and other fabrics to use for the flowers and borders)  and purchased fabrics for our backgrounds - mine will be pastels, primarily yellow. 

I need another project like I need one more hole in my  head but I find myself totally excited and enraptured by this one. Baffles me but I guess I'm committed: so far I've spent nearly $200 for the pattern,  the background fabrics plus an insert so I can use a portable sewing table I own as a light box.

This project speaks to me cause it's colorful, it's portable, it's creative, it provides the opportunity to practice and improve my hand-appliqué skills, and there are no looming deadlines. It will be done when it is done! I am curious if I will find it as addictive as my guild friend has and just complete all twenty-four blocks (doesn't include the borders) in a couple months. Clearly this is one project that will accompany me on the plane when I travel to Oregon soon.

I am also motivated by the enthusiasm other quilters who have done/are doing Flower Garden that I've encountered on the web. The project is so popular that there are four separate blogs: two in Australia, one, Denmark and one in Holland dedicated to quilts designed by Kim!

My intention is to share my growing flower garden as the florals bloom...so, without further adieu, here is my first block:

Stay tuned.  This is so exciting! 

Cheers~

I am nearly done with block #2...can I say I'm on a roll ?

hello dolly...

Today, Dolly, my oldest grand-niece, is 27!  It is hard to think that 27 years have elapsed since she was a wee little one.

Happy Birthday, Dolly! May your everyday be better than the one before!

 

Cheers and Love~

simply a moment | 05 (march 2013)...

3.15.2013   circa 2:55 pm DST  

I'm siting in the bar of the Lancaster Marriott & Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I'm tired, just plain tuckered out. Early this morning, too early 'cause my body's still not quite adjusted to Daylight Savings Time (even if the clock says something else, my brain & body say NO!!! not quite so)...I was up at 4:45 am (which was actually 3:45) giving myself an hour and a half to get ready for a 45 minutes drive to catch a 7:30 am bus along with a group of other quilters for a trip/excursion to Lancaster for the American Quiltter's Society (AQS) annual QuiltWeek: quilts, quilts, shopping, lectures and workshops (none which I attended), etc. 

We arrived about 11 am and went straight to the exhibits and walked and walked and walked, ooh-ing, ah-ing, looking at demonstrations, looking for that definitive something:  piece of fabric, a new gadget, an idea, inspiration... About 1:30 pm, I decide it's time to eat - that banana, tea and handful of pretzels with peanut-butter mini snack crackers were no longer working their magic, staving off hunger. And besides, I just needed to sit down.

I feel better after a taco salad and bottled water and  decide: I've seen enough exhibits and quilts for the day and besides, I've spent my allowance (mentally calculated and set). I need to find a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, a somewhat quiet place away from the hustle and bustle. In short: the bar.

It's 2:30pm, and  here I sit on a comfy couch, facing a window and a pretty big expanse of the bar. Relaxing. Taking in the sights and sounds. Recording the moments as the clock ticks to 3:15 pm and the time to just be mindful of my surroundings on this day. Sitting across from me is a group of quilters who too are taking a break; shortly they will leave for their bus trip home. We laugh together about taking photos of our glasses of wine with our iPhones and share our finds. We're strangers and we're not because we have quilting in common.

They leave and I hear laughter and conversations from others in the bar/lounge; some are quilters - others, not. I look out the window and see a homeless woman pulling a grocery cart, loaded with all her worldly possessions... a really tall man walks by...and a really big dog and a woman, out for a walk,  have stopped for a rest break. It's windy out and the sun peeks in and out of the clouds.

3:11 pm. Coffee's cooled; I debate about going for a warm-up and decide not, remembering the return bus trip and the possible need to go to the bathroom later. I could take a nap but of course not...

3:16 pm. Pat and Margaret (my friends who are also on the excursion) arrive and have a glass of wine, too. We share our finds, catch up with one another since lunch and  just relax, leaving ourselves enough time to make one more quick visit to an exhibit booth before it's time to board the bus for the return trip home...

A tiring and yet, very satisfying day. 

Cheers~

Simply a Moment was started by Alexa of Simply Alexa; you can read more about and join in here.

making a difference...

Today is March 14, the date my mother was born. Were she alive, we would be celebrating her 98th birthday. I believe this photo of her was taken when she was in her early teens:

Today's Values quote especially resonated with me, so I thought I'd share it. It says alot about how we remember and regard my mother:

“Each of us can look back upon someone who made a great difference in our lives, someone whose wisdom or simple acts of caring made an impression upon us. In all likelihood it was someone who sought no recognition for their deed other than the joy of knowing that, by their hand, another's life had been made better.”  ~ Stephen M. Wolf

Thanks, Mama, for the tremendous difference you've made in our lives.

Love~

 

"structured procrastination"...

My quilt guild's biannual quilt show is next month. All of us - or at least many - have been busy putting the finishing touches on our quilts. Last month, Pat and I did a workshop for the guild on the Gee's Bend Quilters' and their style of quilting. In July 2009 and again, 2011 we both attended workshops featuring the Gee's Bend quilters in Sisters OR...and we each made a block. I decided that I'd put my pieces in the show this year ---I decided I needed to put my pieces in the show this year and stop procrastinating about getting them done. After all, we did encourage the members to finish the pieces they started during the workshop so they could be a part of the quilt show. And I hadn't quite figured out how to not show up; I didn't think  don't do as I do, do as I suggest was the message I wanted to convey... for the past couple weeks, I've been working on finishing the two quilts. One is 99.9% done and the other, 85%. I should be finished with both no later than the weekend, if not before. I'm aiming for before.

I think I've mentioned that I'm participating in Big Picture's One Little Word year-long class with Ali Edwards - in fact, as I am typing this post, I'm participating in the chat session with Ali and others in the class...multitasking?

Our prompt for March was to choose a goal or intention for this month and to focus on the intention. I looked over mine and I really had no problems making the selection: my intention for March is to "take action on my actions." And I am...though I'm not as proactive as I'd like to be. One problem I've encountered is I have so many ideas and plans and projects and things-to-do on my agenda; in fact, I am actually making lists and referring to them (typically I make and don't use them.) And that's helping me implement my intention for this month. I am hoping that this focus will result in a change of habit and contribute to establishing a different daily routine...which happens to be another stumbling block for me. I find that some mornings MSQT lasts wa-a-a-y longer than it should but I love it so much! 

Today, as I was checking email, I ran across a link to an article on procrastinating, structured, no less, thus the source of my blog title for today. Basically the concept is to procrastinate on something that you must do but haven't done. Instead, you do something else on your list that is easier or not as high a priority.And eventually you'll get to the item you've procrastinated...I am going to revisit the post and try the technique...I'll let you know how it works or not for me later this month.

Well, the chat is about over and I'm getting hungry, too so I guess I'll close for the day. Let me know if you read the article and what, if anything, resonated with you.

Cheers~

 

 

art enables...

Our major snow event yesterday turned out to be a no show snow event ...just a day of rain and snow mixed and all in all, yucky weather; a good day to stay inside. Fast forward to today and  imagine the lure of sun and bright blue skies punctuated by billowy white clouds; a definite invitation to take a long and very much overdue walk. Borrowing a clue from Norman, I decided to couple my walk with a purpose: I needed some deoderant.  About  eight blocks north  is a dollar store; I remembered that I'd once seen the kind of deoderant I've used for 44 years: Tussy! Armed with my iPhone, listening to Mozart on Pandora, I turned on my MapMyWallk app - so cool; check it out and thanks Mary! and headed toward the store to get the deoderant. Arrived and no such luck. 

On my return trip, I decided to walk back on the sunny side of the street 'cause it's a bit brisk, even though the temperature's in the mid 40s. And just after I crossed the street, I encountered this: 

Naturally, my curiosity was piqued and in I went. Inside is a gallery and studio, Art Enables, a non-profit organization,  featuring art made and in the process of being made by adult artists with developmental disabilities from the Washington DC metro area. Sixty percent of the proceeds from the art sold is given to the artist. The artwork - ranging from painted canvas, drawings, wooden birdhousees brightly colored with paints and design to fun one-of-a-kind shoes that have been turned into objets d'arte - is fascinating, colorful and of course, creative. 

I plan to make a few return visits, buy a piece or two and donate some art supplies that I am never going to use. More importantly, finding this place and seeing the art  inspires me to connect with my own art-making and creativity in a whole different way. 

Ah yes, indeed art enables.