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You are here: Home / Archives for Claudia

Mabel & I Finish the Quilt Top and Maggie Gets a Present

May 20, 2013 at 8:19 am by Claudia

Quilt top: done

I finished it on Saturday. Then I tried to take photos by climbing up on every raised surface.

Kitchen counter. Chairs. Sofa.

It’s also been rather gray and rainy the last few days, which doesn’t help. I’m not happy with these photos, but here goes.

quiltop1

The aqua in the borders is brighter than this photo indicates, as are many of the other colors, but when I tried to mess around with saturation, the colors got too bright. I’ll try to get a better photo on a sunny day.

quilttop3

Note foot on granite counter.

This photo captures the colors pretty accurately. But still not quite right.

I really love this design with its simple graphic appeal and colors that make me smile. It’s a happy quilt. Or will be when I actually quilt it. Right now, without the quilt sandwich, it’s merely a top.

Later on this morning, a few of us are going grocery shopping and I’m going to see if I can bribe my colleagues to hold up the quilt top for a photo op. Cross your fingers. I will be my most charming as I ask for a wee favor.

In other news, Maggie Rabbit has a new scarf:

maggiescarf

This yarn came with the kit – Alicia included a pattern for a cape. I wasn’t crazy about it for some reason, but I love the color of the yarn, so last night I pulled out a crochet hook and made her a little scarf. I think she likes it.

She also had some very minor ear surgery. Just like those of us who experience the sagging of our once-firm skin, Maggie’s right ear was a bit too floppy. The operation was done on an out-patient basis and within 10 minutes, she was out of surgery and up and about.

Maggie is one tough rabbit.

Happy Monday.

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Filed Under: crafts, On The Road, quilting 54 Comments

Scenes From My Home-Away-From-Home

May 19, 2013 at 9:10 am by Claudia

Life on the road:

meexperiment2

sundayrotary

sundaymuchado

sundaybasket

sundayquilt

sundaydresser

sundaymabel

sundaypals

sundaytwelfthnight

sundayflowers

Claudia’s prescription for life on the road:

• Bring your camera along

• Make sure you have some creative projects to work on; a Maggie Rabbit, a quilt top and a future coaching project

• Bring along your pals; in my case, Wayfrum, Maggie Rabbit, Little Lamb and Mabel

• Fresh flowers are an essential

The quilt top is finished. Photos tomorrow.

We have three preview performances under our belt. At this point in the process, I watch every performance leading up to opening night and take notes, which I then pass along to the actors. Even though the play is now in performance, there are still rehearsals where technical problems are fixed and changes are made – this will go on until opening night.

Which is Friday.

That means I go home on Saturday. (Insert smile.)

Next week at this time, I will be once again writing from my blogging chair with my Scoutie by my side.

Happy Sunday.

signature2

Filed Under: On The Road 30 Comments

A Favorite Thing #37

May 17, 2013 at 8:01 pm by Claudia

afavoritething

Welcome to A Favorite Thing #37! I’m just getting in under the wire here tonight. It’s been a hectic week, with lots of tech rehearsals and preview performances and I’ve been working very hard. Add to that the fact that I came home on our break today and finished sewing my quilt blocks together and you’ve got a recipe for a late post. But never fear, I finished in time. Just. Now I have to eat some dinner.

Let’s look at some highlights from last week:

DSC_0539

Linda, of More Fun, Less Laundry shared the most glorious tree with us. It’s a flowering cherry and it hangs over her deck. Its blossoms are simply beautiful. Oh, how I’d love a tree like this. I’ll say it again: glorious!

P1080020

Betty of My Crazy Quilt Life, shared a charming miniature garden she made. Isn’t it adorable? I love the walkway and that adirondack chair.

Kanga-Peek-A-BOO

Debra, of The Homespun, share photos of her beautiful cat, Kanga. Kanga fell in love with some cloth napkins that Debra had never used. She played peek-a-boo (like in this photo) over and over. So sweet.

My favorite thing this week:

firstfolio

Shakespeare.

As you know, I work in the theater as a Voice, Speech, Dialect and Text Coach. I coach all kinds of plays, but for the past few years, I’ve worked almost exclusively with Shakespeare. That’s fine by me. I know a lot about old Will Shakespeare and his words and the wonderful thing is that every time I work on a play – no matter how many times I’ve coached it before – I learn something new. I can’t imagine a richer text to work with, or a better playwright. He was the wisest of men. He knew all about the human condition, coined many words we now use daily, wrote in iambic pentameter, and he continues to touch our hearts almost 400 years later. He was an actor, a playwright and a poet. If you’ve read my posts this week, we’ve had two preview performances for students and they completely understand what’s being said. They stomp their feet, cheer, boo, and laugh with glee. Who else can elicit those reactions in both adults and children? I’m so grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in his wise words. Thanks, Will.

Now it’s your turn.

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

Enjoy!



Filed Under: A favorite thing 23 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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