fabric — Page 3

I Really Don’t Know Clouds At All

August 17, 2013 at 7:25 am by Claudia

hartfordsky

I was going to insert a little poetry here, as I have the last two Saturdays, but I cannot look at a cloud without hearing the words of Joni Mitchell and then the voice of Joni Mitchell. Or Judy Collins.

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now,
from up and down, and still somehow,
it’s cloud’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all.

And so it goes. The melody, the lyrics, endlessly looping through my brain.

Do you have an ongoing bit of music playing in your head all the time? I do. I hear snatches of melodies, a bit of this, a bit of that, all the time. If not music, it’s dialogue of some sort. It used to be when I had to transcribe lots of text into a dialect using phonetics, I would have a running transcription session endlessly playing in my brain. I would dream transcription. Same with typing on a keyboard. But it’s mostly music that is always there in the background and I’m often unaware of it until I focus for an instant and realize the same tune has been repeating itself over and over like the soundtrack to a movie. Or the soundtrack to my life.

I can’t be the only one this happens to, can I? I bet not.

In other news, I was looking at my hastily pinned up row of strips,

stripsart

and thought how like artwork they are. I pinned them (with sewing pins) to that wall just to see how they might look bordered by white fabric. But I’ve left them there because their bright colors make me happy and enliven a bland corner of the room.

Sort of a neat idea for a graphic splash in your home, don’t you think? Pin some strips of fabric to a wall and presto – you’ve got instant art.

I’m rather liking them here in this temporary living space. Such a wonderful punch of color.

Glory be, I get to go home for two days this afternoon! I have a morning rehearsal for Macbeth, then Don will arrive around 2 pm and we will make our way to the cottage. I have to be back on Monday night for a Tuesday morning rehearsal. That’s okay. I just need 48 hours or so with my little family.

I told Don to bring Scout along on the ride here because I simply cannot wait to see her. My plan is that Don and Scout will arrive, she can briefly come up to the apartment (she stayed here for 3 days in January and she loves the elevator) and we will take her for a walk in the park, which she really loves. Then we’ll pile in the car and head for Mockingbird Hill Cottage, where I will reacquaint myself with the now, I’m quite sure, overgrown garden, immediately decide that I need to weed-wack and, upon entering the cottage, see every surface that needs cleaning.

Happy Saturday.

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On the Road: Playing with Fabric

August 13, 2013 at 9:16 am by Claudia

First, some good news: some flanges were replaced on the car’s exhaust pipe, everything is back to normal and it only cost about $100. I’ll take it. Thank goodness it wasn’t more. Don and I were thinking up how many different ways we could describe the repair: it’s been flangified, it’s flangilicious, it’s flange-tastic, etc.

I hung out in the apartment all day yesterday. Since I was lacking in the sleep department, I ended up finishing my latest Louise Penny mystery, then I putzed around on the computer, watched a little baseball and played with fabric.

tuesolfarotarycutter

Having no plan, I started cutting 3 inch strips from some of my fat quarters. Isn’t that Olfa Rotary Cutter pretty? I got it several years ago. By the way, I only use Olfa cutters. I’ve tried others, but I end up coming back to Olfa. They are the best brand for the money, in my humble opinion. The first cut or two was a bit wonky and then I realized I had to change the blade. Always change your blade after each project. It’s amazing the difference it makes. (By the way, if you follow that link, you’ll see Olfa’s new design called Splash. It’s in my colors. I want one!)

tuesfabricstrips

No rhyme or reason here. I just pulled fabric and cut strips. Then I sewed them all together and cut them again.

I was thinking of Chinese Coin blocks.

tuesstripsonfloor

I was originally thinking about a pillow cover – with a white Moda Solid between each Chinese Coin strip. But I quickly realized the strips were going to be too long for a pillow, so now I’m thinking small wall quilt.

tuesstripswall1

Here they are, haphazardly pinned to the wall which is in a dark corner of the room, hence the color distortion. Imagine 5 or 6 inch strips of white fabric between each Chinese Coin strip with more of the solid white fabric forming a border on top and on the sides.

I’m thinking that it might be a simple yet graphic quilt that just might be the perfect quilt on which to practice machine quilting. After I practice on a smaller scale, of course. I’ve never machine quilted anything; hand quilting is my preferred method. But…as I hand quilted the big old bed quilt I finished last spring, I thought to myself, “There just might be an easier way, Claudia.” We’ll see. I much prefer the look of hand quilting but since I have two quilts already in the queue to be hand quilted, the idea of machine quilting one is increasingly more attractive.

Basically, it just felt good to play with fabric and hear Mabel (my Featherweight) purr. I love her.

I had some strips of fabric left over. I grabbed a length of yarn and proceeded to tie each strip onto the yarn. I tried a new knot that I found directions for online. Why do I have such trouble with knots? I always have. If you could have listened in on yesterday’s knot-tying adventure, you would have heard lots of cursing and swearing. The diagram looked simple. But somehow I was able to muck it up several times. I would clearly make a bad sailor.

Anyway, I ended up doing this:

tueswhattodowithlamp

Not necessarily something I would do at home, but heck, I’m on the road. The lampshades here are crooked, old and not very attractive. Why not prettify them a wee bit?

Today I don’t have to be at rehearsal. That makes 2 days off, which I could have spent at home if the danged car hadn’t been a problem. I’ll have to find something to do today that will keep me from being too homesick, though it looks like it might rain.

Happy Tuesday.

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Fabric, Updates and a Blogging Anniversary on the Horizon

February 15, 2013 at 8:22 am by Claudia

I cleaned out my craft-and-everything-else-under-the-sun closet. (And I finished shredding. Just thought I’d throw that in there.) I have a lot of fabric in wire bins, but I also found some fabric in another container. It was the fabric that I bought in San Diego a few years back. Cheery colors. Some Amy Butler fabric. And, sigh of relief, more of the blue-green print that I have used as a border on the quilt. Now I can use it for binding.

Now, please tell me this happens to you. I found some lovely fabric that I cannot remember buying. I have no memory of it at all.

firfabric

I stared at it. Was it vintage? No. But I could have sworn it was for a moment because it reminds me so much of the fabric here:

friheadboard

I had to take it to the bedroom and compare it to the headboard fabric.

Then there’s the fabric on the wicker rocker cushions:

frirocker

Which is a faded version of the same sort of print. And by the way, not long after I bought this rocker, I realized that the fabric I used to cover the piano bench is almost the same pattern as this one.

fripillow

And here’s the vintage pillow cover on the bed.

Can you tell I like big flowery prints, with red/pink flowers and green leaves?

Some updates:

• Dad is in the nursing home/rehab wing. They are trying to regulate the blood thinner before he goes home. He’s still on oxygen. His room is right next to my mother’s, which is good and bad, because he’s in there all the time. She’s used to having some quiet time. My father is a complicated, often difficult man. He’s scared right now, which ups the difficult factor and I pray each day for more patience in my dealings with him. It isn’t easy. But I need to do better.

• I mentioned a while back that I would be starting another blog, one where I helped other bloggers with their blogging problems. I did all the ground work, even developed the beginnings of a website. I got hung up when I started to think about what I would charge. And that’s where everything ground to a halt. I just don’t feel right about charging for my services right now. Yes, I’m pretty good at figuring out what might be a problem with Blogger or WordPress and I like that sort of challenge. But, my gut tells me that now isn’t the time for that. I’ve learned the hard way to trust my gut instinct and, if every time I tried to wrestle with what my fees would be, I turned away from the project, that tells me something. So, no blog fixing business. That’s not to say it won’t ever happen. It’s just not happening now. If you have a question, you’re welcome to email me and I would be happy to give you any advice that I might have.

• On Sunday, I will be celebrating 5 years of blogging. (Stop by. There might be a giveaway going on.) Since I started this blog, it has gone through all sorts of redos and updates. It took a while to find my blogging voice. It took some time to settle into what I always wanted this blog to be: a friendly place to visit where I share my life here at the cottage and on the road with you. I’ve realized over time, that though I’ve added advertising and that advertising gives me a little additional income, I’m never going to be one of the big bloggers. Nor do I want to be – simply because that would mean I have to concentrate on one thing. On one niche. Personally, that would drive me crazy and would stop me in my tracks. Always writing about decorating? Or crafting? Or gardening? Or whatever? I love all these things and love sharing them with you, but being limited to one thing is just not me. So, if being a big blogger means finding a niche, this girl ain’t going to be a big blogger. I doubt I will ever earn enough on this blog to make a significant difference in our financial life. But I’m oh so grateful for what I do earn.

With the move to WordPress last August, the blog finally became what I want it to be. I love what it is. I love all of you. I love having a conversation in the threaded comments. That, to me, has been a wonderful change for the better. I’ve accepted the fact that I really don’t care about SEO or all the myriad tips out there for building your blog. My eyes glaze over. I. Don’t. Care. Because that stuff takes any joy out of blogging for me. And this blog is and must remain a joyous endeavor for me. That’s why I do it.

I have settled into who I am as a blogger. It took me a long time to do that in my personal life. But finding that truth about myself helped me to find the truth about this blog.

Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. I treasure your friendship. I value your advice. I thank you.

Happy Friday.

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I Really Don’t Know Clouds At All

On the Road: Playing with Fabric

Fabric, Updates and a Blogging Anniversary on the Horizon

claudiahillsparks

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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