Invisible Woman

through my window: primping

 
Earlier this week, I spotted a little Costa's female through the dining room window.

 

She was perched in the shade of our ash tree, doing a little hummingbird primping.

  

And looking quite lovely, indeed.

almost finished...

 My wall hanging project is nearly done... the squares are assembled and machine quilted; I just have to decide how to mount them on the wall. Currently, I'm leaning towards mounting them on the front of 12x12 canvases to give them additional dimension.

Anyway, here are closeups of the 5 squares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here they are, laid out on the floor side-by-side in their intended sequence: 

 

They'll be mounted on the wall space above our huge window that looks out to the backyard and the desert preserve beyond.

This project challenged me in many ways. These Marcia Derse fabric motifs are more abstract than what I usually work with, so the design itself was the first hurdle. Then, I wanted the machine quilting to enhance rather than compete with the motifs, but I didn't want to do just a square stitched grid. So I began by taking a cue from the fabrics that had the most overt linear patterns, and that put my brain in the right place to figure out the rest.

Until these are hanging in their new spot (ladder time -- 10 feet up!) I can't be sure that this group is complete. But I'm pretty optimistic, and really pleased with how this has all come together so far.

 

Marcia with a touch of Kaffe

The pillowtops I've been working on are on hold, pending the arrival of their backing fabric and purchasing of zippers.

 

So today, I decided to try arranging my Marcia Derse fabrics in some square layouts, as my wall hanging plan currently involves making a series of 12 inch quilted squares.

 

Here are some of the combinations I've landed on so far, using three Marcias per square with a narrow Kaffe stripe strip.

  

These are just mockups, whereas the actual squares will all be similar if not identical in their proportions. I'm too much of a symmetry/control freak to do the popular wonky-piecing thing well. Orderly chaos is more my speed.

 

The initial plan is to make five or six squares, to be hung horizontally across the wall space above our huge back window. By tomorrow I should have some pieced squares ready to pin up and evaluate.

And so, back to the sewing machine I go.

 

before & after

 
For once, I remembered to take a photo of the quilted and unquilted versions of this pillowtop, just to show myself the difference the stitched texture adds.

Inspiration for using the variegated quilting threads came from work of Victoria at The Silly BooDilly blog, and specifically from this piece which I have long admired.

It feels so good to finally be back in sewing mode again!

slow progress

 
Making slow but steady progress on the Kaffe Shots & Stripes pillow quilting. With this piece being the prototype for this (potential) series, every thread choice and each row of stitching is unduly agonizing. About a half hour ago, I was pondering tearing out all the quilt-stitching I'd already done. Instead, I added more stitching, and that did the trick.  

Back to the sewing machine. 

Lucy's rainbow

 
Early this morning, curled up at the front window, our lovely Lucy.

The breaking day cast a magical tiny patch of rainbow upon her as she dreamed her kittycat dreams.

 

Friday Night Lights: farewell

 
My thanks to all the talented folks who gave us Friday Night Lights, which concluded last night on NBC after five fabulous seasons.

One of my favorite shows ever.

Who'd have thought that a series built around high school football in a small Texas town would totally win my heart -- especially since I don't even speak or really understand football.

But you didn't need to be a football fan to love Friday Night Lights.

This series courageously examined so many tough contemporary social and familial issues. It was insightful when it could have been cliche. It wasn't afraid to tackle controversial topics that sometimes resolved in realistically untidy outcomes.

The production quality and attention to detail was amazing.

And best of all, the acting was superb, in that you lost any consciousness that it was acting. The characters were remarkably nuanced, perfectly imperfect human beings.

I don't usually go in for series reruns on DVD, but I'll probably make an exception in this case. Once around with Eric and Tami and the folks of Dillon was not enough. It'll do my heart good to go back for another visit.

 

details: morning light

 
One of my favorite times of day is when morning light filters through the high window above the front door, and the angled beam gradually creeps across favorite objects atop the entry sideboard.

This morning, the beam of light fell perfectly on this handmade fluted glass bowl, washing the deep blue-aqua color onto the quilted runner and illuminating the metallic glazed pattern on the pitchers behind.

Admittedly, I fiddled with this a bit in a Photoshop program to add some subtle moody character. And the faux border, too.

All the while, the Kaffe and Marcia Derse fabric arrangements on my sewing table continued to percolate through my subconscious. I'm hoping for the elusive wow moment to surface soon, so I can start stitching.

*     *    *     *     *

Late afternoon, progress report:

 
This is my progress on the Kaffe shot cottons & stripes so far -- still not wowing me, but some of the magic doesn't happen until it's stitched together and quilted -- texture adds so much. Thus, I'll likely proceed with this plan in pillow mode and hope my instincts don't fail me too badly, since I'm a bit out of practice.

And here is the Marcia/Kaffe marriage at present:

 
I'm thinking that the solo black fabric needs to be repeated or echoed by another dark element. Quite possibly these fabrics will be remixed and added to for a series of small quilted wall pieces that could hang in our great room.

Maybe.

Time will tell.

Still percolating. 

through my window: mini-quail

 

This little mini-quail and its parents joined us for dinner yesterday.

So cute, and in constant motion. You can't tell from this photo, but it's so tiny that it would likely fit easily in my hand... and yet it's so quick that I'd never be able to catch it!

In less photogenic doings... I'm still getting my brain back into sewing mode, the main obstacle being indecision about what to make with all my latest Kaffe and Marcia Derse fabrics. Maybe today I'll feel brave enough to cut into them and actually start stitching.

 

time traveling via catalog

Pages 62-63 of the Nordstrom 2011 Anniversary Catalog:

 

It isn't often that I wish I was 40 years younger.

But this picture is from a catalog that came in the mail today.

When I saw this, I suddenly felt that same wistful, longing-to-be-her feeling that the back-to-school fashion mags sometimes evoked when I was in my teens.

A younger (& thinner, back then) incarnation of me would love to wear these comfy-looking, slightly funky clothes. Especially the two outfits on the right.

And yay for contemporary models looking pretty, fresh and natural, like young women should look.

(Not stuffed into sleazy skin-tight outfits. No faux-addict eyeshadow. No comic-book-hued tattoos.)

This reminds me that the girl I was at 17 must still be lurking somewhere deep inside, much to my surprise.

Thanks for this sweet little time trip, Nordstrom.