September Quilters' Calendar - Free to download for September screen saver

I decided in making the September calendar that I would load everything to the right.  If  your desktop looks like mine, then all your shortcuts are on the left side of the computer screen.  Now, you can count every school day this month without any interference!  I'm not sure Sunbonnet Sue is walking very fast..... 

An afghan - at the quilt shop

Oh, there was plenty of fabric too, but I loved the pastel yarn in this afghan. 

I still make quilts....some smaller than others!

Front and back of a doll quilt that will go in the mail this week.  Oh, she's going to be four years old and still plays with dolls.  The boys will be there later, no doubt!  Made from the remains of last weeks' quilt.  I am slowly (but surely) sewing up all my fabric!

Two elephants united: A very sad, yet most beautiful love story.....

A day trip to remember

to an upscale small town in Northeast Louisiana.  The old post office in Winnsboro is now a museum and the museum is currently exhibiting the work of Jane Hartfield, a fiber artist in Fort Smith, Arkansas. 

Cotton Calls Me Home

Bulletproof and  Fred Meets Jane on the museum wall



Serengeti  Stroll



Fred's House



Theresa checkin' in.....



Pat and Linda resting for round 2!

We also strolled down the street to a fabulous quilt shop and an antique store. 

and what a great way to use fabric to wrap gifts. 

It was a great road trip - good friends having a good time. 

Half Square Triangle Quilt Top Completed.....

I went through several different design possibilities and finally decided on this layout.....and I'm glad I did.  Since I was using so many different fabric lines  - some I was getting very tired of - with such diverse colors - dark, medium, light and very light, I had to find a way to mix them all together so as not to showcase any particular one.  I wanted all the fabrics to meld, but didn't want the blended look...I wanted it to have a design or pattern, if that makes sense!  

 

Yes, half square triangles work beautifully in a scrap-happy quilt.....it's all about the layout! 

{Post edited 24 hours later to correct my typing... 'triange' is now corrected to 'triangle'!  I would have made this editing sooner had I noticed my error sooner.}

Makin' and Playin' with Butterfly Brush

Woman, Thy Name is Entrepreneur

When I watch this video, I know I am who I am ~

.....and then there were note cards

 black on white note card

5.5" x 4.25" blank inside

white envelopes included

Set of 6 - $12

Making new brushes in Photoshop....

I first took my face sketch on watercolor paper....the one I sketched last week....I used it because it was already in my computer.....and made a brush per Margaret Applin-Happ's instructions.  You see, Margaret is the guest artist at 3 Creative Studios this month.  I follow this creative blog religiously and am very inspired by what Margaret is sending my way!  It's all about black and white: creating personal imagery. 

Grabbed a picture of the fabric I selected to make my next quilt, made a few color adjustments, then added my new Picasso face image stamp!

and then just to make sure I had done this correctly, I grabbed the picture of my August calendar and stamped on it!  I've made a few brushes before but never with the ease I experienced this morning.  Thanks Margaret, Terri and Vicki over at the 3 Creative Studios for the pleasure of your creative company!

The Cure

I know I told you yesterday that I had a quilt in my head....while that wasn't exactly true, once I started pulling fabrics a simple design began to emerge. 

Do I call this The Cure....The Naked Truth......The Last Waltz.....Lady, I've Heart that Tune Before?  You see, I have a few (?) fabrics that I no longer want in my stash!  So, here was my plan.....

(1)  Pull all no longer desired fabrics

(2)  Sort by light and dark

(3) Cut into 5" squares...or 4" or 6" - whatever the size, all  should be cut the same.

(4) Lay a light on top of a dark.......draw a diagonal line corner to corner, then sew a scant 1/4" on each side of the drawn line.  Cut on the drawn line.  Square each and voila, you now have a half-square triange.

I've decided to take the easy way out and arrange my blocks in this fashion.  The half-square design possibilities are endless, however.  This one is well on its way to becoming a charity quilt to (hopefully) make someone have a brighter day! 

I heart breakfast!

I seldom have eggs for breakfast, but a few weeks ago I found a recipe that seemed too easy to resist.  

Crack two eggs into an oven-proof ramekin.  Sprinkle with herb seasonings (fresh or otherwise)....I use Mrs. Dash when my herb garden is out of season, but always have fresh chive, basil, thyme, sage, and oregano available just outside the kitchen door in the summer months.  Anyway, back to the recipe!

Do not stir and pour a few drops of milk over the eggs....again, do not stir. Bake in the oven to the done-ness you like. I like just a slightly soft yellow and a really cooked white. Served with toast and jam along with a slice of bacon and your meal is complete. May be under 300 calories....may be over! I'll let you count your own calories - I have enough of my own! 

Sketches on Paper and Fabric

Now that I've sketched and painted a tad this morning, I think I shall go cut fabric and quilt a spell.  Nothing is on the design wall - like these sketches, it's all in my head!

The Dove Book # 1 is completed

A two signature book -  56 pages front and back - 90 weight ivory watercolor paper - to sketch or journal on.  Of course, it's for sale....I'll get it posted and add more picture in my Marty In Motion gallery!   I'll do that ASAP....in the meantime, I'll be enjoying that a book project is completed. 

Easy 3-fabric quilt pattern

I awoke last night to the sound of thunder, a rare phenomena in these parts of the country in the hot, hot summertime!  Since the pitter patter of raindrops was so restful, I slept in but awoke again thinking of quilts so went searching through my fabric bin and found four fabrics I purchased when last at the Paducah quilt show (stop to catch my breath) with limited quantity and no desire to search the market for more of the same, my friend Dorothy shared this pattern with me....a pattern made available free to her when she last visited the Bernina sewing center, Plano, Texas. 

Now that all that is said, here is the pattern and my disclaimer because I know my picture is showing four fabrics. The brown/pink will be block No 1.  The green/pink will be block No. 2 and the outside border.  Green/brown will be first narrow border and the small print brown/green will be the rails.

This truly is a 3-fabric quilt....the pattern tells me to use the same fabric for block No. 1 and the outside border and the same fabric for  block No. 2 and the inner border but I thought my fabric design was too large for such a small inner border so I added the fourth coordinating fabric.   The thing about quilt patterns (especially free ones) are that they are so adaptable.  And the thing about having fabric on hand and no desire to buy more is to adapt what you have to the pattern on hand! 

Oh, blessed rain - hugs to all this Saturday morning!   

UpDate:  Finished and ready for the quilting.  I'm excited about the way it turned out.

The Three Musquilteers

Not only do they quilt, but The Three Musquilteers also sell quilts!  Visit their shop....they are adding more as they complete each work-in-progress.  I also hope you notice the pink and brown quilt in the banner.  I was thrilled when they called to see if they could use my pink and brown.  Well, of course, the answer was a resounding YES.  I love sharing with other quilters and I wish Eve, Anna and Ray much success! 

Two new book covers

Doves in the tree...they are the same, yet different.....two new book covers I've been painting.  Now to get these books finished! 

Quilt Inspiration

In.spi.ra.tion:  The action or power of moving the intellect or emotions. 

I found a free pattern on Quilt Inspiration that moved me!  "Birds of a Feather"  hard to see in this picture, but every birdhouse, every bird, every branch and twig is all plaid. So adorable and the free pattern is available from The Learning Channel quilting crafts how to. 

But that's not all....Seeing  Karen Griska at Selvage Quilter's asterisk tutorial is what inspired me  to dig deep into the unfinished quilt projects and complete a long-ago-started quilt project....my asterisk quilt.

Oh, and that is still not all.....Quilt Inspiration is the place that featured my Stairway to Cat Heaven quilt in "The Best of Cat Quilts" series.   



Thanks for including me and my works in Quilt Inspiration.  It still feels good! Congratulations to you Quilt Inspirations on your 200 blog posts and 200,000 page views.....you still look good!

Sketch on Watercolor Paper

Amelia

I found this little 5" x 4" watercolor paper this afternoon with the blob of blue background....but before I could get it to the trash, I saw Amelia.   With my micro ink pen Amelia got a bonnet on her head and a teeny little smile on her face just below her button nose.  Is it my imagination or is she blushing for the camera ~

El Hombre! a poster

How have I spent my morning....!!  I found this old "pony tracks" poster in the poster archives....put it onto a clean blank file, put a twist on it and added my own Spanish!  That only took a few minutes.....so, what took me so long to get this posted?

I looked up a few words in Spanish - like el hombre....translates to English....man.  duh!

From there, I went to el hombre lobo.....the werewolf.

Moved on to rodeo....para rodeo

and finally calf roper.....para roper becerro

That gave me lots to think about! 

Face Sketches

It's too hot to garden or take bike rides so I've been sketching...here are two out of the studio from yesterday afternoon!

Her name is SuLynn

.....and this is Serena

 And they've joined "The Sullen Girl" on my wall ~

Calendula Officinalis

Kingdom Plantae – Plants
       Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants

          Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants

               Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants

                    Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons

                         Subclass Asteridae

                              Order Asterales

                                   Family Asteraceae – Aster family

                                        Genus Calendula L. – marigold

                                             Species Calendula officinalis L. – pot marigold

Additionally, just add Calendula petals to an egg salad sandwich!  Simple enhancement to an already great luncheon spread..... 

You Are Beautiful original art notecards

 You are Beautiful

Set of 6 4.25" x 5.5" notecards with envelopes

On heavy cardstock, blank inside

$12

This log cabin quilt wants your vote!

The Road Less Traveled

"The Road Less Traveled"  a mini log cabin quilt is requesting your vote.  Yes, yours!  I've been a big fan of The Quilting Gallery blog for a long time and Michele never fails to keep me interested.  So interested that I decided to participate in the Weekly Themed Quilt Contest: Log Cabin quilts.  Go there to vote and repost my pictures and blog to invite your friends to view and vote too!