How creative am I, really?

I generally think of myself as being a creative person. And, I always thought that if I didn't have to work, I'd be creating all day long. Designing new quilts, finishing projects, designing those tote bags I've had running around in my head for ever and all those little Christmas ornaments that peep from the corner of that oh so creative spot in my brain.

But, I haven't done any of it! I haven't been working for more than two months now and what original thing have I created? Nothing. Sure, I'm job searching, interviewing, etc., but I have plenty of extra time and I still daydream about those creative things, but I don't sit down and actually do them.

I think what I'm discovering is that creativity is also work. Daydreaming isn't enough.

So, my plan. Add one hour of creative time per day ... dream the dream and act on it. One hour a day!

More to come ...

By the way, the kitchen curtains didn't get made (surprise, surprise). I broke down and hung the cow curtains. And, now that it is nearly time to put up the Fall curtains (these are already made, thank God!), it's time to move on and think about other things. Enough of curtains for now.

I will post tomorrow about Birds of a Feather ... 'til then, night-night!

Debbie

I'm back!

Hey there everyone in blogland, I'm back! Maybe you didn't notice that I was gone and, in reality, I never left. I just haven't blogged. Life took a curious turn for me ... I was laid-off from my job, so my life has turned into a big job search. It's been nearly two months now, got some job hunting irons in fire and hopefully one of them will pan out.


In the meantime, I have been quilting. I finished two small projects and have started a new block of the month. I'm also "working" on (quotation marks because I have the fabric and know what I plan to do) new kitchen curtains. Not the bird houses I designed ever so long ago ... anyway, you'll see. I'm going to get these done this week and will post here. (My poor husband is tired of the bare windows in the kitchen ... I promised to get these done or else I'll have to hang the old cow curtains that I so tired of ... ugh!)


Here are the two small projects:

This was from a class I took on Flag Day in June (the 14th) ... very fun and very quick. The poem is embroidered:

This was from a class I took last summer (wool applique on cotton background), but never finished ... completed it up before 7/4 of this year:
Both projects are hand quilted.

I'm also working on making another one of these Scrappy Flags ... got this pattern from an episode of Simply Quilts on HGTV ... I made and finished this one last year, it hangs in the livingroom:

The half square triangles for the new quilt are made and squared up and ready to be sewn into stripes ... smooth sailing from here on out. I'll explain what the second quilts is for later when I show you the finished project ...

The block of the month is "Birds of a Feather" you may have heard of the book ... I love, love, LOVE this project and am really enjoying working on it. More about this in a couple of days.

Okay, enough for now, I'm off to visit other blogs and say hello ... I've missed visiting with you all, hope you stop by!

One final photo ... my flower gardens are a disaster this year, but my pots are doing great ... nasturtiums, blue lobelia and spikey grass-like plant (whatever that is called).
Debbie

My Favorite Tree

There are many trees that I love, but this one, is special. I love to watch it move through the seasons. This tree, stands strong through all weather, good and bad, it is a very a strong and determined tree. Here it is today with it's spring leaves finally unfurling:

It was my birthday recently (happy birthday to me) ... here's a couple of photos from the "big" celebration (well, we like our celebrations small, what can I say ... it was a wonderful birthday).

Lee and Pip singing "Happy Birthday" to me ... Bailey was singing as well, he was sitting on the floor, and I didn't get his picture (sorry Bailey!):
And here's my birthday ice cream adorned with a cute little candle and candle holder from Angela (thanks Angela!):
Quilting?? Oh yeah, this is a blog about quilting ... I nearly forgot! Only kidding! Right now, I'm basting the border pieces for Aster Blast and I've started a new project ... more about that, next time! :-)

Visit to Pickity Place

One of my favorite places to go, especially in the Spring, is Pickity Place in Mason, NH. I went there recently with my friends Marie and Angela. We had a wonderful meal (all meals are made with fresh herbs from their gardens) and then had a walk through the gift shop and gardens.

Here we are enjoying our lunch:

This was a special birthday treat for me ... thanks again, Angela and Marie! I had a wonderful time!

We all had Beef Wellington ... yummy! And the dessert ... lemon cake with blueberry sauce in the center and a lemon flavored whipped cream ... YUMMY!
The flower was from their garden and edible ... I did eat mine, because I am a mildly brave person as far as food goes ... it tasted like grass to me, and they always seem to taste like that for some reason. I guess I don't have the most sophisticated palate ... :-D

The cottage at Pickity Place was used in the illustrations for the Little Golden Books version of Little Red Riding Hood.


The big bad wolf is still waiting for Red (sleeping under a quilt, of course!):

Here are a few glimpses of the grounds ... it really is beautiful there ... even though we had a cold and rainy day.

Signs of Spring II

Finally, some quilting news ... I've completed the Signs of Spring wall hanging. This was begun ever so long ago ... when we were still under deep snow! It's now hanging in the planned space in the kitchen adding some Spring cheer on a cold and rainy day.


I haven't had a chance to decorate around it yet, so here's the wall hanging by itself:

One of the things I loved about making this was the embroidery! I learned to love sewing by doing embroidery and crewel work when I was young ... as I recall it all started at around age 9 or 10. I can remember sitting on the beach in the summer and stitching away. Doing the embroidery on this project brought those memories back. I also remember reading and laying on the beach all slathered up with baby oil. Ahhh! The glorious 70's!

Anyway, a couple of my favorite stitches were of course, the Lazy Daisy stitch and French Knots! I guess that's why all the memories came flooding back ... here's the detail:
What a sweet little face ...
Happy Spring!

Mythological Creature in Rural New Hampshire!

On Thursday, May 1st the mythological "Dachsicorn" was spotted in rural New Hampshire. This animal, long thought to be an old-wives tale, was spotted and captured on camera by a resident of southwestern New Hampshire.

The story goes that this creature was infamous for a loud, dog-like, barking noise, it's desire to "taste" it's prey by continuously licking their hands or neck (or any bare skin) and it's insatiable lust for belly rubs.

Here's a view of the creature at rest:
Note that it's bed is in need of cleaning ... the Dachsicorn was also infamous for it's lack of tidiness. Also note it's chubby and cute physique ... this trait was intended to catch it's victims off guard in order to procure treats and even more belly rubs! Pure evil!

A close-up view of the beast:
Be on your guard!

Spring has sprung! Subtitle: Support Hose for Greyhounds

Where does the time go? I wrote on Monday about my wonderful Pay It Forward gift that I received from Jacquie (that I'm still enjoying immensely) ... had other things to write about, but the week slipped away and here it is, Saturday evening.

Well, better late than never, I suppose!

So where does the time go? Well, first of all. I've finished all but the binding of Signs of Spring. I plan to finish this tonight and will (hopefully) show you tomorrow.

Otherwise, I've not been doing that much quilting ... but I have been walking, walking and walking some more ... here's my walking companion.

This is Jolene and as you can see she had a bandage on her leg. Jolene has arthritis in her back legs and was having trouble getting up the stairs of the deck and into the house. She scraped her legs on the steps and had to be bandaged for a couple of weeks. She's doing much better ... no more bandage and, with the help of daily aspirin, is feeling much better. In the meantime, we're walking more ... twice a day ... down to the lake (or further) and back ... good exercise for both of us!

We're experimenting with "support hose" or leggings to try to protect her legs ... I made these from an old pair of leggings ... they fall off when we go walking, but I'm experimenting with the design. She's much happier without them at the moment. Maybe it's the color ... maybe She's worried that all the other dogs are going to make fun of her for wearing stockings ... she looks pretty mortified in the photo ... ("oh mom!").
In the meantime, Spring is finally here ... here's a daffodil in our garden ... (thank you for the bulbs, Dan!) ...And some down the road ...A neighbor's forsythia ...
I love that yellow and green ... so bright and happy!
And Laurel Lake, with beautiful Mt Monadnock in the distance ...
It's a beautiful place to walk every day!