Breakaway!

 

Out of the darkness and into the sun
I won't forget all the ones that I loved
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

Written by GERRARD, MATTHEW R.T./BENENATE, BRIDGET/LAVIGNE, AVRIL RAMONA.

 

What a workaholic I am! I had to force myself to take a break for the holiday. Ultimately, I decided upon a trek to the mountains above Monterey Bay to spend time with some fellow yogis. That turned out to be a very wise decision. I feel so blessed to be able to partake of the wonderful fellowship and peaceful surroundings—not to mention the terrific vegetarian Thanksgiving feast.

A Slow Drive Down Ashbury Street

 

I believe I could have made many trips up and down Ashbury Street in the time that it has taken me to embroider just these three letters. I have actually started on the “b” as well, but it is not particularly visible in this photo. Calligraphy is not one of my passions, but this little task is tolerable since the lettering needs to be on the funky side. No need to worry about exact measures here.

Thank goodness for Thanksgiving. I have five glorious days away from work and will be able to indulge myself with some fine hours of embroidery…when I am not indulging in other Thanksgiving treats.

Flower Power

 

This is just the first of several freeform flowers I am using as a filler on my Peace, Love, & Haight Ashbury quilt. These are a little easier to make than the lotus blooms—and a whole lot easier than lettering.

Country Windows

 

Yesterday I finished laundering the last of the quilts I will be including in my Featured Artist display at the Cotton Patch Quilters of Kern County Biennial Quilt Show on February 8 & 9, 2014. I thought I had better take advantage of one of the last sunny weekends we will have as we head into winter.

This quilt, “Country Windows”, has always been a challenge to wash because of the intense rusts and adjoining creams.

Every time I have laundered this one, the rusts have immediately began to bleed into the water—even yesterday, although the quilt is seven years old.

Thank goodness for Synthrapol! I put a few tablespoons into a bathtub full of tepid water, then let everything soak for about 20 minutes. Then I rinsed with cool water, and finally, blocked the quilt on a flannel sheet spread on my back lawn.

Sorry I was unable to get a full shot of the quilt. I decided not to put it up on the hanger above the couch where it usually resides.

I want to keep it clean for the show.

Shopping and Visiting

 

My yoga studio is only a block away from Beverly’s Fabrics. I don’t know whether this is better or worse than when the studio was located near a Starbucks. Some of us used to go over there and get brownies and coffee in between classes. Not exactly food fit for a yogi. Not to mention what it was doing to our waistlines.

This morning I headed down to Beverly’s store after my yoga class. I needed to get some lighter colors of embroidery thread for my quilt. Before I even got started shopping, I ran into one of my Sewful Sisters, Corey. Her shopping cart was already full of  supplies. Corey has some commissioned quilts that she needs to start pronto.

We stood in an aisle and visited for at least a half hour. It was nice to catch up with a dear friend.

Before I left, I actually grabbed some skeins of embroidery thread and a yard cut of batik that reminded me of sea glass. This was the first time I have purchased some Batavian batik. I have noticed it online but wanted to see it “in person” before taking the dive. The quality looked absolutely fine, and it was only $8.99 a yard as compared with most good batiks, which are going for around $12 a yard nowadays. Of course, I had my 25% off coupon, which took another chunk out of the price. Beverly’s was also trying to push their fall fabrics out the door right since it is nearing the end of the season, so the sunflowers were 30% off.

And, no, I did not flash my guild card for an additional discount.

My First Random 5

 

Every week, Nancy hosts Random 5 Friday on her blog, A Rural Journal. The goal is to post five random thoughts about whatever has been important—or not so important—during the past week and share them with other bloggers. Sort of a mind clearing or virtual sounding board. The bloggers come from all disciplines. Most are incredibly creative, intelligent, inspirational, and humorous.

Take a look if you get a chance.

http://aruraljournal.blogspot.com/

Here is my first post:

1. Winter is coming. I know that because Zee, my big furry Maine Coon now wants to snuggle all 18 pounds of her body into a plush pink bed. Two months ago, that would have made her too hot and uncomfortable.

Zee does not wait for me to find the missing cushion that goes inside, nor does she wait for me to put the bed in a proper place. She doesn’t seem to mind that her bed is hanging halfway off the settee!

2. Sometimes I feel like I am hanging halfway off a settee. The uncertainty of the imbalance can be exhilarating. Other times, it doesn’t feel so good.

3. As this year draws to a close, I am very grateful for friends and family who have shared my path and offered their kindness and encouraging words. It has been a year of a thousand tears and a year of a thousand belly laughs.

4. I am still trying to figure out why some people are so nosey.

5. Humor and optimism are powerful. I laughed so hard this week that I cried. It felt really good.

Love Embroidery

 

It wasn’t long after I became aware of the beauty of quilting that I fell in love. My family lived on a 24-acre farm in Southwestern New Mexico, and quilting was very popular. Mostly, I believe, because no one had television. I was three or four years old at the time--probably a little young to tackle a large scale project, but I went through quite a phase of trying to convince my mother that quilting was a good idea for a little girl who had not yet learned to tie her own shoes.

She didn’t agree.

I was also fascinated with embroidery and all sorts of animals, So instead of getting some quilting supplies, I was given three strands of variegated embroidery thread and a sweet little burro who was so gentle that he drank tea out of a cup. I have to say that those gifts did hold me for awhile. In fact, a very long while. I still love embroidery, and I still own a horse who is most likely the reincarnation of my affectionate but lazy donkey.

It’s interesting how in the grand scheme of things, life just doesn’t really change that much.

This past week, I have continued to plod along with the embroidery on my quilt. I got most of the letters in the word LOVE finished, but need to run to the store to get an additional color to give the heart more contrast.

Just when I thought I had every color…

Lucky Junket to JoAnn’s

 

Wow! JoAnn’s is having a heck of a sale this weekend!

My latest quilt is eating variegated embroidery thread like there is no tomorrow, so I boogied on down to JoAnn’s yesterday with a 40% off coupon in hand. Now the coupon wasn’t exactly from JoAnn’s. It was from one of their competitors. I would have been happy to use the coupon at said store, but they do not carry this particular collection of variegated thread. They do carry less expensive collections, but I have concerns about the colors running if and when I ever have to bathe my quilt. DMC is the best!

Not to worry! JoAnn accepts coupons from other stores. See me jump up and down?

Just as I arrived, a clerk was filling up the remnant bins with these great cuts of fleece. Perfect for pet beds. I grabbed four pieces, the fourth being the zany tie-dyed orange fleece that is underneath the others. These were 50% off of the price marked on the tag, making them about $3.50 for around 2/3 of a yard.

Of course, I had to grab a few fat quarters. Occasionally JoAnn’s carries some intensely bright Indian batiks that are of a decent quality. I had to have these. $1.50 each.

Now, you want to see something funny? The “Total Savings” on my receipt is a higher amount than the amount due. And this was without me pulling out my guild card or my teacher discount card. I thought that would be carrying it a bit too far.

Yoga First

 

After a hectic, but ultimately fantastic, week at work, I thought I had better head to the yoga studio before putting in oodles of time quilting this weekend. Besides, my favorite yoga teacher, Francine, has completed her 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training Course. That means she will be home to stay instead of traveling to Ventura every other weekend for classes. I have missed being able to drop by her yoga class on Saturday mornings.

As a result of that and all of my sedentary quilting, my body is complaining. The muscles over my rib cage are stiff and crampy. My fingers are callused and sore.

Nevertheless, I am grateful and happy to be working toward the deadline of my guild’s upcoming show.

I am also ecstatic that my elementary school was just nominated for a California Distinguished School Award, based very heavily on an innovative remedial program I run with just one other teacher at my site. I was hired to help open that program ten years ago. There have been a series of three co-teachers in the other position—all good, fortunately. Now we have to go through the written application process and see whether we actually get the award. I think the chances are pretty good. I am blessed to work at a fantastic school.

Wow! What a week!

I just needed some yoga to level my emotions and relax my muscles so I can carry on with my wonderful journey.

More Peaceful Embroidery

 

Not a whole lot to share this week since embroidery is a slow process. Nevertheless, I am enjoying the designs and colors.

Thanks for looking.