A couple summers ago I bought a roll of fabric strips. Because my aim is to try to use up fabric, I grabbed them, and pieced blocks. But I had to buy the yellow, and the border. And the back. Not exactly using up stuff as much as I wanted to do.

Two views of a stone I covered in linen and stitch. It’s a Petoskey, the stone of Michigan, found on the beach by our cottage. Almost all of the fossil design is covered, sadly. But the exercise in unusual stitching was fun.

I got the idea from Quilting Arts magazine, the current issue. It’s a small way to pass the time while I had bronchitis. It did not take much time or energy, of which I had little. It makes me smile.

Last summer Carla Sonheim had a free art making week for children online. I decided to do the steps myself, using fabric. First she had us look at a painting by Chagall, a carousel. Then we cut an arched shape for the background. Then we cut a horse.

Now, I deviated here. I wanted to use my fabric in whatever shapes I found it. That’s why my background is a funny shape.  And I have a box full of fabric prepared with Wonder Under on the back. I use it for fused quilts all the time, and have many scraps. So I pulled out fabric, and built a horse with minimal trimming.Then I looked at the shapes I had, and created animals to use those shapes whenever possible. I did cut some deliberate animals, but they were inspired by a scrap, most likely left over from a flower. (The shark needed only a little bit of trimming.)

They each have a stitched post on which they move. The clown is juggling my ideas. I always need a fish, to whisper secrets to me. As I work bits of music float around my brain, so they are shown. I added a bunch of flowers. At the end I was thinking of making a silk purse from a sows ear, I’m sure you’ve heard that expression. So I made sow’s ears all along the bottom edge.

My carousel is in a circus so I needed sparkly lights. So I quilted stars all over for light.

This quilt is going to the IQSD quilt show in Dubai. I may never get to U.A.E. but my quilt will be seen there. Pretty cool, huh?

I made this book last week, using 140lb. cold press watercolor paper. I used 2 little quilts I had for the cover. The spine is stiff bookboard, covered with a band of quilted fabric.

My friend Deb has been painting in watercolor for a while, and I hope to learn from her. Deb is a patient, gentle person. She plans, and works with deliberation. Me, not so much. But after 20 years of friendship, I am trying to emulate her example. A little. My painting skill is beginner level, but I like this one. I really liked making a book again. And this is a great way to use the little quilts, which were finished too late for the show I intended.

New Years resolutions don’t work. People don’t even try making them anymore. So this is not that. This is a reset. Like ctrl/alt/del works on a mixed up computer to straighten things out, I am resetting this blog to a new reality.
Here we go.

At least once a week I will post what I’ve been working on, because it’s always something.

In case I don’t have a picture to share of my work, I’ll show what has been filling my time.

Even when that time is full of gazing at the wonderful artworks of others, in which case I’ll share it.

I think I got off track because I have depended on my smartphone too much. It’s a bad habit to have the phone stuck to my face, when I could/should be doing instead of watching. Too much of life is spent thinking about, instead of doing. Also, laziness.