Morning Glory Studio

3 on thursday | 8.9.18

 

Today was my Thursday stitching group's gathering. We met at Hilary's and as we've come to love, the menu was beyond description:

1. Homemade split pea soup with or without sour cream...
2. Tossed salad greens, complete with walnuts, nasturtium blossoms and hard-boiled quail eggs ...is your mouth watering, yet ?... and for 
3. Dessert: a wide assortment of fresh fruit: peaches; grapes; watermelon; and tapioca with fresh peaches .

We keep telling Hilary she could open a restaurant - just for lunch; just for us!

Here's a recipe for the salad, in case you are interested. Enjoy!

Joining Carole and others this Thursday, here.

Cheers~

Thursday 3 | 3.1.2018

Thing #1: Gathering with friends (for the first time in several weeks) for our weekly Thursday stitch-in...and as usual, we began with a delicious spread for brunch. Yum! Yum!

Thing #2 : One thing I like about reading a print book: no annoying pop up ads!  They seem to have increased like dandelions this past year on blogs I occasionally peruse. Enough is more than enough! End of rant!

Thing #3: Point Counterpoint. Colorful spring tulips and daffodils flank both sides of the electric  (gas?) fire...just cool enough today, 1 March, to ward off the chill...

Welcoming March with a concert tonight and my first pass at döstädning before I go...How are you greeting March? Joining Carole et al; do visit to see how others are greeting the month!

Cheers~

 

A page from my journal: ...down the hyggelig rabbit hole...

 

     Hygge: (pronounced hoo-ga) is the Danish "cornerstone of life," and "loosely translates as a sense of comfort," according to jacket copy for The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking. I've had the book in my library since February ...started then but abandoned for other shiny objects, no doubt...but today and yesterday - because it's been downright c-o-l-d! - the book came to mind...I was just in the mood for some comfort reading and ideas to accompany my morning cuppas of tea... I journaled:

 "more sky shows as I look out at "this tree." I recall years ago in Muskegon, my childhood, when on a summer's starlight night we could see the lights of the "aurora borealis." I question if that's the case now and what am I doing to conserve the planet? My answer: undoubtedly not enough tho' I think I'm somewhat conscientious..." One thought led to another and as I looked around, I noted "hot spots" that need a little attention: one, a bag of books to donate to a neighborhood Free and/or the public library and the reminder that I wanted to gather a few books from upstairs..." 

And off I went upstairs.

Books gathered, I sat down at my morning perch - and remembered I have a book on Hygge...in the cubby cabinet. Retrieved, I looked through it and decided to check Amazon for other titles. Somehow I found myself looking at books on stitching...I'm not quite sure how I got there...but suffice it to say I found four titles that intrigued and wound up in my shopping cart - presumably with a tomorrow Monday 13 November delivery date. Time will tell...

Until, I think I'm going to spend a goodly portion of the day wrapped in my (machine) knitted reading shawl ... with my nose in a book or two or three...but no more Hyggelig rabbit holes...however, certainly some ideas, perhaps, for Hygge Holidays .

Are you familiar with Hygge? How does it show up in  your daily life?

Cheers~

3 on Thursday | 9 november 2017

 

 

 

 Three  furry  friends joined today's weekly Thursday stitch-in. Five of us gathered and had a lovely three hours , starting with  a delicious brunch featuring three delicious salads, homemade biscuits and a delicious Cinnamon Apple Cake:

Recipe: 1 box yellow cake mix; 1 can apple pie filling; 3 eggs; cinnamon sugar in middle and on top. Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes. Easy to freeze. 

It's so good I don't think one would have any left to freeze but maybe make two: one to eat and one to savor...

Two tickets to a concert tonight ...Norman and I are attending ...the concert, one of many performances presented by The Clarice, features a saxophone artist and is being held in a new venue on the U MD campus ....it is both a restaurant and craft bar...promises to be different and interesting...more tomorrow!

 

One more Top This hat approximately 2/3rds done! And speaking of hats: I  am, along with hundreds of  thousands of voters, especially women, ecstatic with Tuesday's election results...so unlike this time last year! Not only were there big winnings and women who won seats in their local governments, I am so impressed with the statistics that show We WOMEN voted! And in celebration I am going to wear my Women's March pink hat to tonight's concert! It's certainly going to be cold enough and the hat keeps me warm. Go Women Go!

I am joining Carole and others with this post. What are 3 things on your list? 

Cheers~

Work in progress...take 1

"I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else." ~ Picasso

   Earlier this week, I posted the first exercise of my class. Today's photo is the mock-up, in fabric , of the piece...in progress. In this photo, the rectangular blocks are just pinned onto the background. Eventually, I will "piece" them in - that is, insert them into the background fabric. And then, add either black cording around the perimeter of the individual blocks or a moss green variegated #8 Perle cotton ...I am leaning toward the Perle cotton. One of the challenges I've had was to add green - not a fave.color in my palette...but as I sit here, looking at the view outside and at my PiP (project in progress ), I can "live with the green."

Clearly, the "in process" of the final piece only has a slight resemblance to my paper beginnings ... but  I'm liking it, so far.

To be continued... 

Cheers~

3 on thursday: noted ...

 

(lemon-bars - yummy)

I. Nourish

Thursday Stitching: We had a lovely brunch: totally delicious corn pudding -like quiche, a green salad and several desserts...one, a lemon bar was to "die for." And I have a bar for tomorrow's treat. 

 

 

II. New 

Shopping @ Nordstrom: On my way home from the Thursday stitching group,  I stopped at the Columbia Mall. I was looking for casual clothes for my trip and wound up buying 2 pair of stretch leggings and a top. And nope, the new concept store is nowhere on the horizon, yet...

 

III. Nap Time?

As I pen this draft, I'm sitting in Nordstrom's  Cafe´, enjoying a glass of Perrier water with lemon...still full from today's brunch; it's about 4:30 pm  and I'm tired, ready to head home and collapse. I think I'll put my Pellegrino in a carry out cup and make my way out...or else, I might find myself napping! 

Joining Carole and Friends for Three on Thursday; do pop over to Carole's blog to read what others have shared.

Cheers~

 

she persisted...

Our respite from the heat was short-lived but lasted long enough to take a walk to Zeke's this morning; fortunately, their A/C has been fixed. 

"Energy and persistence conquer all things." ~ Benjamin Franklin

Right on Ben! I am delighted to share that I figured out where I was misconnecting with the tea wallet! T'was a simple mistake that a fresh look after a good night's rest and cooler temperatures, tho' the latter is short lived, revealed. Karen suggested in her comment that maybe the moon was having an effect; could be...even tho' "Science" may  debunk... I'm game for considering it as an influence. ..Yesterday was the "new moon." I did a little research and ran across this article; quite interesting reading...

One of the new books I received last week is: A Writer's Guide to Persistence by Jordan Rosenfeld. I started it this morning and I think I shall go bury my nose in it, now!

Enjoy your Monday!

Cheers~

 

on saturday...

 

 

 This morning I told my friend Pat that I was just not movin' with steam in all 4 cylinders ... It's been so hot that all my  get up and go just plain disappeared. She totally agreed that she, too,  was feeling the same way. We decided the word of the day was lethargic. We chatted a bit longer and then, I  had to hang up because the battery on my landline phone was about to die (don't know what's with phones and us around here these days). I thought about reading for awhile but decided I'd sew instead...I've been "making" (actually thinking and messing around with pieces of fabric) a tea wallet - I've made at least a dozen plus and  shared them here ...Today, for some reason, I have just not been able to get the durn thing made...something is just not clicking...so, after spending the afternoon and ending it in total frustration, I  have given up...for today! Tomorrow, I'll have a try at it, again; eventually, it'll click. Funny, I wrote in this blog post, April 22, just three months ago : "tea wallets; stitching this time around a breeze!" I have no idea what changed from then to now!

Around 3 PM, I wrote this haiku,  just before we had quite a weather event:

Storm's a brewin...

And the rains, they came. Cooler?

Only time will tell.

I'm happy to report that the answer is yes!  A cool 76 degrees F !

And now, I think I'll go read!

Cheers~

 

unraveled wednesday | summer solstice & stitching...

 

 

Earlier this month, actually at my last quilting association's last meeting (excluding the luncheon) before our summer break, we had a guest speaker who owns an online + brick/mortar quilting store. Webfabrics . The best of both worlds... and the shop is located in Purcellville, Virginia... an hour and a half s drive... Road Trip!

She brought show and tell - what's going to be hot in the near future. For example: grey (color, fabric, accents, etc) is out. The new grey is navy. As she talked, my creative juices started to gurgle - it had been a few weeks since I'd even set foot in my sewing studio other than to dump stuff or iron, let alone do any stitchin.' I made some notes and bought a few items; a tool for weaving fabric strips; some magic clips one can sew over - no need to remove from the machine; and a quilt pattern: Clay Court that gave me an idea for the dozens of photos I've taken since the #the100dayproject  began, April 4. 

After the talk (and lunch with a few quilting friends), I stopped at our local quilt shop and bought a few more quilting items: a jelly roll of fabric, a 60 degree cutting triangle to use with the Clay Court pattern  and some more clips - these are teeny tiny. And then, for the past couple weeks, I reverted to my former pattern of not even setting foot in my sewing studio other than to...bad habit.

This morning I had a dexa scan appointment (every couple years) and after, went to IKEA for breakfast and to browse; it has been a while since my last visit. Wandering through the store, I saw a  pillow that reminded me of my project idea. A  few minutes later, I saw a little mesh 3-drawer unit that I thought I could use in my sewing studio so I bought it ($15. The reviews are mixed...will see). And then, on my afternoon walk, of course, summer's flowers and plants captured my attention..

All of this - inspiration and thoughts - has conspired to reawaken my interest in reacquainting me with my sewing studio and quilting/stitching projects. After my walk, I sat in my studio, looking around and thinking some more. Ideas and thoughts began to swirl. In Writing with Quiet Hands, ( a nonfiction book I'm currently reading ), the author explores the relationship and meeting of inspiration and craft via quiet hands. I think I may be at the juncture.

Joining Kat and others for Unraveled Wednesday.

Cheers~

 

 

the 100 day project - 2017...

 

 

 

We are halfway there! Today marks Day #50 of the project and to celebrate, as well as catch(myself) up, I created a photo collage with the COLLECT app for the first 50 days: 4 April - 23 May, 2017. I started the project with a vague idea of what I would do: something that involved stitching, mandalas, an occasional drawing, Haiku... and that's about as concrete my vision was. Plus, I would do a daily Instagram post. Ha! That - the Instagram post -  quickly fell to the wayside - blame it on the quilt show. In the meantime, I was taking photos daily of the evidences of spring, the season; some days I easily added 20-30 pictures, dare I say hundreds? (Probably stretching that number a bit). As I selected photos for the collages, I looked for: 

• color, as evidenced in the sky - both sunrise and sunset;  
• flowers;
• line as depicted in photos # 12, 14, 21;
• shape/s; and 
• things I saw on walks, etc

In addition to the photos, I have also journaled and  kept notes throughout...

Of course, in the background, my mind has been  chewing on the project...just what will I do, wind up with? Something - probably a quilt, a wall hanging, no bigger than 30" x 30" square, consisting of a varied background. Color, line, stitch  and shape/s , brought together to create a pleasing and intuitive piece, perhaps in some sort of grid - tho' all pieces  may not be equal in size. I have pulled yarns, embroidery threads; perused a variety of books in my stash, including some new  that I ordered/received over the past few weeks. 

My goal is to finish near the July 12 end date...my intention is to continue to do something every day that moves me closer to a tangible end product. I am looking forward to whatever materializes.

Watch this space...

Cheers~

Click on photos to enlarge and let me know if you want more info about any photo...