It’s been a VERY long time……

….both since I have posted and since I have done any sewing! I went back to school this fall for an advanced certificate in Chemical Processing. Back in the day, I got a BS in Chemistry with a teaching certificate and then I stayed home with my own kids for the next….ummmm…..number of years .  So now that my youngest is a sophomore in high school and the other three are all in college, I decided to get ready to go back into the work force.

I have been enjoying my classes but it seriously eats into my creative time! Actually, it isn’t the time so much as the fact that my brain is too tired when I do have time that nothing much creative has happened.

So a few weeks back, I decided to take some of my free motion trees and make them into cards:

Last weekend, I made a few postcards but didn’t take any pics yet. Today, I was thinking about the delicate balancing act of being mom, wife, student etc. This led to this simple piece:

It measures approx. 9″ by 21″ so it isn’t very big. I am going to make it my goal to quilt and finish this piece by Sunday night.  My dear hubby bought me a new camera recently and I am very pleased to say that these colors are pretty true to life! The picture above was taken with my old camera and should be a brighter purple than the pic shows.

I have another idea for another small piece…..maybe I will get back dow there again tonight! Until next time….

Scary Things Found in the Healthcare Bill……

 A Peek Inside the ObamaCare Bill

I don’t normally use my blog for this kind of posting but so many people are in favor of the healthcare bill and do not even know what it actually says. We must be INFORMED no matter what side of the issue you are on.

Here are a few items in the Healthcare bill you may not know about. I sure hope our reps have read this. This is a quick inventory from Family Security Matters. But please, do not take my word or their word for it, at the bottom of this note is a link so you can read the actual healthcare bill FOR YOURSELF.

I urge everyone pro or con to urge their reps to READ this before voting. You owe it to yourself and this great country to BE INFORMED and to insist that your reps are INFORMED!

Pg 22 of the HC Bill mandates the Government will audit books of all employers that self insure.
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill — a Government committee (good luck with that!) will decide what treatments/benefits a person may receive.
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill — YOUR HEALTHCARE WILL BE RATIONED!
Pg 42 of HC Bill — The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you.
PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill — HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise.
Pg 58 HC Bill — Government will have real-time access to individual’s finances and a National ID Healthcard will be issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your bank accts for election funds transfer.
PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations (read: ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Government will create an HC20Exchange to bring private HC plans under Government control.
PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill — Government mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example — Translation for illegal aliens.
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Government will use groups, i.e. ACORN & Americorps, to sign up individuals for Government HC plan.
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill — Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members — your Health care WILL be rationed.
PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill — Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.
pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue Government on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Government Monopoly.
pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill — Doctors/ AMA — The Government will tell YOU what you can earn.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE.
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay.)
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin ( th e GOVERNMENT) will have access to ALL Americans’ finances and personal records.
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC — “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Yes, it says that.
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.
Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill — Doctors — doesn’t matter what specialty — will all be paid the same.
PG 253 Line 10-18 Government sets value of Doctor’s time, professional judgment, etc. Literally, value of humans.
PG 265 Sec 1131 Go vernment mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.
Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Government tells Doctors what/how much they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion — Government will mandate hospitals cannot expand.
Pg 354 Sec 1177 — Government will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people!
PG 425 Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consultations. Think Senior Citizens end of life prodding.
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in how to die.
PG 427 Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of life. The Government has a say in how your life ends.
PG 429 Lines 10-12 “advanced care consultation” may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from the Government to end a life!
Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION. 1 monthly payment to a community-based organization. (Like ACORN?)

This bill would drive unemployment, taxes, and the deficit through the stratosphere. It would turn hospitals into the DMV, dramatically reduce our access to healthcare, let bureaucracy decide when it’s time for us to die, and guarantee that no one in his right mind goes to medical school. As for the damage this would do to individual liberty — I’d rather not go there.

If this nightmare bill isn’t Obama’s Waterloo, then it’s America’s.

PLEASE READ THE ACTUAL BILL AT:

http://tinyurl.com/mqswlo

 

8-3-09 ADDENDUM TO POST: I received an anonymous comment (I don’t approve anonymous comments as a rule) that I really wanted to respond to here. The commenter said : None of this is true.” and left a link to a web site which claimed to refute all the above claims.  I did go to the site and read the article there. I found it utterly fascinating that the body of this  article itself in fact, agreed  that over half  of these things are true! The link is here if you are interested (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/jul/30/e-mail-analysis-health-bill-needs-check-/) but that is missing the point.

The critical point here is NOT to take info from me, another website, or even the House Summary of the bill but to READ the actual bill itself and make up your own mind if this is what you want. This is what I did. I would not post the above claims if I did not go to the actual document and read it first. I believe these things ARE true. You are free to believe differently, that is what makes this country great. At this point, we still have that freedom…..

Again, my point is not to convince anyone of anything here but to urge anyone and everyone to READ the bill and demand that your reps do so as well.

Next post is back to quilt art which I hope to do some of today ……However, at the end of the day, this is my blog and I retain the right to add postings about anything at all that outrages me, moves me, makes me cry or laugh hysterically, or just gets my dander up. So, I appreciate those who read and take what they wish from this blog as well as those who choose to leave graciously after deciding this is not for them! This will remain a blog primarily about my artistic pursuits but you have been warned that approximately one post out of 50 may read otherwise!

Have a wonderful day all!

Visiting family…..

This past week, my youngest daughter and I traveled from Michigan to Wisconsin to visit family. THis is a picture of the lighhouse at Manistique, Michigan:

Michigan really is lovely! I took the next picture on the walkway up to the lighthouse:

What a wonderful picture of perseverance!

Thanks to everyone who left comments on spurring creativity. All were wonderful ideas and so I had my daughter randomly choose the “winners.”  They have been notified by e-mail and I cannot wait to see what they come up with for the hand dyed dogs!

Tomorrow, we are making the long drive home to Michigan and real life. It has ben great fun seeing family again but I am missing the kids and hubby I left at home!

Until next time…

Trying to get the creativity flowing again…..

I so appreciate all the suggestions you left for how to get out of the doldrums creatively! Yesterday and today I pulled some fabrics and just started cutting and sewing.  Here are a few shots of my progress:

Hmmmm…..not too bad but decided to try this:

Nope, liked the first one better. So I sewed it together. It is funny how straight a seam you can sew when you really don’t want to!

Wonder what will happen if I turn it on its side now:

I think I might like this best but will think on it for a while. What do you all think? Should I add something more?

On another note, I decided to leave my Giveaway Challenge open until Monday morning (see last post for details). While I had quite a number of visits to the blog, not too many comments! This I find terribly amusing, I guess most of you  thought they were as ugly as I did! These puppies will be a challenge . I will contact the “winners” on Monday morning to get mailing addresses.

Dye Painting Experiments and a Giveaway Challenge!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE to dye fabric . I became obsessed with it last summer and I think I love dyeing about as much as sewing! It finally got warm enough here in Michigan for my first dyeing session of the summer. I tried some new (to me anyway) techniques  and for the most part, loved the results!

“For the most part”…….hmmm…..you know what is coming! But that goes with the Giveaway challenge so I will leave you in suspense for just bit and come back to that.

First, look at this luscious stack of mottled colors that read as solids from a distance:

 I also love to dye multicolored pieces though I rarely use them in my own work! I love the element of surprise I guess. So I have decided to see  if any of my readers would be interested in them. Here goes!

1. Yellow/Blue/Green 20″ x 30″ , Kona PFD $16

 

 

2. 16″ x 21″ Kona 200 Muslin Turq/Blue/Moss Green $8

 3. 22″ x 24″  $12

4. 24″ x 22″ Multi – this picture is pretty darn close to the actual colors. It is on the dull side. $10

 

5. 19″ x 21″ This  piece I love. It is very much multi colored but I love the way it is muted. It would make an awesome background piece for sure.$8

 

6. 22″ x 23″ If you think  this looks a bit like #4, you would be right! This was the second piece in a layered technique.  They end up looking slightly different even from one side of the fabric to another! Pretty cool, I think. $10

 

7. 21″ x 34″ $12

 

8. 22″ x 23″ This was layered with piece #3 above. The bubbles create a lot of texture. Reminds me of the pics from the Hubble space telescope . $12

9. 32″ x 44″  Brown This piece is not quite a full yard. The colors in the detail shot are the most accurate for this piece. Browns seem to be hard to photograph! $18

Detail:

 

10. 20″ x 34″ Green/Blue $12

 

I have listed them by numbers (the  number for each  is given first and the fabric it refers to is below)  so you can e-mail me here and refer to them by number to see if they are still available. Prices do not include shipping. Since I have no way of knowing how these pieces look on your monitor, I have decided that any piece may be returned for a refund within 7 days. I will refund the total price you paid to me, including shipping though you will be out the cost of shipping the piece back to me. Fair enough?

Also my one disclaimer, I rinse and wash in VERY hot water until everything is colorfast with the detergent/water/machine that I use here at home. However, I cannot guarrantee wash fastness as your soaps/water/etc may vary.  I use Procion fiber reactive dyes from Dharma Trading Company and either KauffmanKona  200 count bleached muslin or Kona PFD (78 count) 100% cotton fabrics. In this lot,  all are the Kona muslin except for pieces # 1 and #10.

Now for the  GIVEAWAY CHALLENGE!

Here are three dog pieces. Three “what was I thinking?” pieces. Three won’t you PLEASE use me pieces! I overdyed two and still think they are ugly.  But you may see something in them…..somewhere…….maybe? I will give one piece each to three lucky (unlucky?) people  with the challenge that you send me a photo via e-mail by September 1st with the results. I might even throw in a scrap of something a bit nicer . You can stamp it. shred it, paint it, dye it, quilt it, make a coin purse out of it, just send me a picture when you are done so I can post it to my blog. These all three measure approx. 16″ x 22″ and are crying out to be made beautiful by someone!

Okay, just to make this a bit more fun, to get one, leave me a comment sharing one thing you do to foster creativity in your life. I will pick three from the comments to receive one of these doggy….er….lovely bits of hand dyed fabric for the challenge.  Then we will wait to see what you can do with them!

Second post this week!

I actually got time to sew yesterday too! Woo hoo! I am on a roll . It seems there is a plethora of babies being born among my local circle of friends and family and I am in need of baby quilts. This top is likely the most simple baby quilt top I have ever put together. Six inch squares. That’s it. It took about an hour to put this together once I decided what to do. This is for a friend that is decorating her nursery with …..gulp….frogs. I can’t stand frogs. I could not bear to make a froggy quilt of any sort. So I decided to go with froggy colors.

These are fabrics I dyed last summer. I presoaked my fabric in the soda ash solution then stuffed it in a plastic shoebox. I poured lemon yellow dye at one end and turquoise at the other end and let them run together. So in actuality, I only used two fabrics to make this top. Couldn’t get any simpler than that! This mom-to-be is not an old fashioned girl so the typical 30s repro fabrics that I often use for baby quilts just wouldn’t cut it.

I am struggling with the fact that this was TOO easy. I never make gifts that are this easy. It feels like cheating. But then again, I only have a week and a half until the shower. Not sure how I will quilt it yet. I am thinking random wavy lines from top to bottom, maybe with a varigated thread or perhaps using a number of different colors pulled from the dyed fabric. I keep thinking it needs something that looks like sea weed.

Tomorrow I hope to find a backing fabric and get it basted. Until next time.

Finally!

For the first time on months, I am finally getting back to sewing…..at least a little bit! It is vacation time around here and after a long weekend of camping, I stole away to the sewing room for a bit and started to play with some strips of hand dyed fabric I had laying around. I think these pieces could be considered my very first landscapes. Here is the first one:

This one actually measures about 5″ x 7″. The color here is not exactly right, something I need to work on. Here is the second:

This one is a litle bigger, probably 8″ x 12″ or so. Too lazy to get a ruler . I foundation pieced both onto a piece of Warm and Natural batting. Now I need to decide how to finish them. I am thinking about mounting them to canvas and adding a frame. Any ideas? Not sure I will add any more quilting but I reserve the right to change my mind!

So this is a start. I hope to steal a fe more minutes today to do something. I need to get past the idea that everything has to be a masterpiece and just play again. It has been too long.

If it ever warms up in Michigan, I want to dye some fabric again. Yesterday, on July 1st, 2009, I wore sweats and wrapped up in an afghan to stay warm while reading a book IN MY HOUSE! This is ridiculous! Where is that global warming anyway?

Until next time…..

Where have I been?

My poor blog has been so neglected! I have been busy getting my oldest ready to move out of the nest. He leaves for Arizona in two weeks to start school at UTI in Avondale. He will be gone for at least a year and it is highly likely that he won’t move back home when he is done with school.  He had been working full time until the end of Feburary and since then we have been getting everything in order for him to go. His youngest sister is already redecorating his room….at least in her mind!  He has most of his stuff packed away and no doubt little sister will have a paintbrush in her hand before he reaches the end of the driveway!

The only thing fiber related thing I have  accomplished lately is the pair of socks I finished knitting:

See that little ball of yarn in the picture? That is all I had left when I finished the second sock. Whew! That was close! If it appears that one sock is bigger than the other, you are very observant…..grrrr. This hasn’t happened since the first few pair I made. I don’t know where I miscounted but I must have gone to many rounds on the foot of the second one. They also look a bit out of proportion. That is because I make short cuffs on my socks. For some reason, I don’t like knitting the cuff so I tend to make them short. I also tend to make my socks too big no matter how hard I try to get it right.

I have decided I need to learn “toe up” sock knitting. I have been watching some youtube videos to see how this is done. I made a practice toe tonight. Not bad.  The best part seems to be that I don’t have to do that pesky Kitchener thing. I will have to work more on this.

I can’t handle wool next to my skin so I always make cotton socks. Anyone know of any great cotton sock yarns?

Until next time.

SACRED THREADS!!!!

I am so excited I can hardly breathe! My first entrance and first acceptance into a real, important, juried quilt show! I got a big envelope from the Sacred Threads show to be held in June in Reynoldsburg, Ohio in June.  My quilt Long Dark Night of the Soul was accepted and my Justice quilt was denied.

I am not sure when my feet will finally touch the floor and my kids say I have perma-grin .  They are right!

My Birthday Dessert!

I am one of the worst cooks on the face of this planet. My kids say, where there is smoke, there is dinner. Seriously. They LIKE school cafeteria food! So how in the world did I end up with an amazing daughter who aspires to be a chef? Don’t believe me? This is what I got for my birthday:

That stuff that looks like fire is sugar! Isn’t is beautiful? Almost too pretty to eat but eat it I did. And it was incredible .  She is amazing.

Not much sewing got done last week due to a  bout with the flu. Yuck.  Later today I will post pics of the current state of the sewing room and UFOs. Until then….