Discharged Fabric

more UNFINISHED Business ~ Design Wall Today

 Not from the military, although it kind of looks like Drab Green/Grays ...  It's Discharged.
Meaning - it's been, quite simply, BLEACHED
...  follow this link for a tutorial, on HOW to ALTER Fabric.
I like to get Blacks from different fabric lines, and see what the base color is.  The above photo started out Blacks and Greens
{there is a bit of blue ;0) at the bottom *obvious* }
I think i will piece it - chop it up some more - and applique with wool!

I think the Wool & Embroidery will really pop on here.

THIS HAS POTENTIAL!
iT's UgLy Now ... BUT Just You WaiT!
 

~ unFinished BUSINESS ...

~ a beautiful day to play hooky!
things to work on:
> Mary Anne's blocks (KC Scrappy Bee)
> Quiet book
> dejunk & inventory WIP's ...
> maybe clean a wee bit, maybe
... {HAD to a bit cuz my computer knocked a FULL cup of coffee over,
amazing how far it can go so fast, how much it can ruin,
and how long it takes to clean it up!}
... but first, heading to Qt for a DP with a LID
... in my jammies, still, cuz i can! ...
(sending DH in~! i'll drive, i'll pay!) ...
then, i will come home and move a table for him

... happy playtime to you! Share your stuff! 

WIP Wednesday: Habitat Countdown!

Just wondering ... Will i get done?

... Will i get the back pieced? 

... will i get it layered?

Will it get Quilted in one week?

... will there be binding on it by the KCMQG November meeting?

The weather is cold and chilli - and i MISS my studio,

but i come home from work exhausted,

... i go in to change out of my work clothes

my bed is so warm and inviting. My kitty needs to cuddle.

I need rest, so i will go to bed early and DREAM about finishing it.

... i have ideas for making the back fun

... but for now i will finish the top (nearly done!)

... just the finishing the final vertical seams! ...

Habitat Design Wall - Sneak Peek!

... see how well the fabrics play with the Linen? ...
Even though my daughter came home from a visit from Kstate,

and exclaimed:

"omg mommy, that is the ugliest thing i have ever seen on your design wall!"

~ it's kind of grown on me
... KINDA!

I'm getting excited to see what the other's have come up with,
it's so fun to see the diversity we can come up with the same fabrics!

~ i'm looking fw to show-n-tell ... 

See ya' next week! 

To Blog? ... or to Quilt ...

... off to PLAY with the Habitat Fabrics ... 

AND catch up on BEE Blocks ...

Later: Upload photos and Blog ...  NOW: Sew! ... See Ya!

... " a chair of your own" ... ?

~ oops, i've done it again ... spent time blog hopping and gaining terrific inspiration

... and it's OK!

 I grant myself permission for some 'me' time - It's a beautiful day for sure.  I have gained inspiration to be more with less: mini lessons and enjoy my space ... (i really am not sure i got to those links, other than, i have a few fav's and each day i log on, with a cup of coffee and start hopping for 15 min or so~ i love where my blog-friends lead me! .... If you have a favorite link that inspires you ~ please share below~! LEAVE A COMMENT... and see what happens!)

"Every woman must have money and a room of her own ... " Virginia Woolf

So, whilst enjoying my 'space' recently and working on the KONA Challenge ... this has been my Work In Progress (WIP) ... i'm taking a moment away from it to start on the Strarlight Mystery quilt, (i will show you my fabric choices when i get them uploaded ... I am i bit behind there!) One step forward, two steps back! ...  Here is the Process of what i have so far ~>

~ so FIRST i thought i would group them by color 

and do a 'split 4-patch' variation ... 

~ then i moved them around and thought it a bit 

... i dunno ...boring? ...

~ now it's kind of taken on a mind of it's own and turned into a traincrash! ... I think i may want to regain some control... ? Playing a bit with the improv style ...So, folks, this is what happens when you are tired of patterns, play with color and too many ideas collide!

~ what do you think?

Gettin' Busy ... quick peek

Just a peek, I'm not telling anything more, but I am forcing myself to work a little more in the 'Improv'  style, and it is harder than i thought to be more 'free form' ... i'm finding myself stopping to think and trying to just play! ... I've done it before, but life was different then.  Simple. 

due date: this Thurs ... ack!

UPDATE:
KCMQG Kona Solids Challenge
{~ Thx to Nikki ~ for taking great picts! ~}

Oh, by the way ... 'my husband lets me have as much junk as i can hide'

~ those ear-rings you just got yourself,

& the other junk....

... Happy Valentines Day! ~ 

We don't traditionally celebrate VD, or other commercialized events ...  We agree that you should be able to tell each other how you feel ANY DAY - the kids are embarrassed when we do just that,  and are under the impression that sometimes we *gasp* fight,

when we simply express our feelings~ 

~ We discuss, sometimes loudly.  Don't tell 'what's his face' - but i really do love him! I appreciate that we can share our points of view, and agree to disagree, having our own opinions is HEALTHY!

 .... Yesterday, after spending some quality time with girlfriends, {&they said he could hang with us, just a bit, cuz they actually like him also} ... He was kind enough to accompany me to places i like ... i told him we'd go were he wanted too ~ but, he couldn't think of anywhere. We got out and enjoyed the somewhat still gloomy, yet warmer weather... We obtained some Greek seasoning ETC; some stuff from at Beadazzler Beads for a wall hanging i STARTED eons ago ~ the purple/green majesty ... and we wandered to Harper's Fabric just before they locked up ... then got some TART, but yummy pastries ... 

~ THEN,  we headed home, and i was ever so slightly ;o) motivated ..  to dig out the old project: DISCHARGE FABRIC DYE ~ Started ... way back in Arizona ... Circa 2001.  ~ the darker 'squares' are dark 'green' ~ what the lighter green were originally ... then the others are a variation, believe it or not, of purple and black ... i thought it was quite ugly and stashed it away - but, the thing is kind of growing on me.  Ideas i toyed with post taking fabric dye and design classes from Adriene Buffington.  I was reminded of the project when i was thinking of what to do with the luscious Kona cotton challenge! (relax, i'm NOT going to bleach them!)

~ So many ideas, so little time! 

~ why is it on Sunday eve i finally get my creative mojo

just when the work week awaits me?

~ Happy Week ...

~ WHAT'S ON MY DESIGN WALL TODAY ~

KCMQG Kona Solids Challenge!

TONIGHT: Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild !!!

Confession: I think i do have QUILTERS ADD.  I have more than (3?) projects.  Truth be told ~ i know this is going to come as a shock: I am behind in blogging....

~ I wanted to rush right home the night after we received our

"KONA CHARM PACK GIVEAWAY!" 

~ thank you!!!

~ happy happy joy joy! ... I fantasized i would post this right away~! and get many pictures of the mad dash of all the greedy little OVERJOYED quilters suddenly inspired by FREEBIES! (what cool craziness!) ... Back in NOVEMBER as an early Christmas gift to US we each got to pick a light/bright/dark  CHARM PACKS ... to PLAY with! ~ DUE BY: MARCH ... that's reasonable  ALMOST HERE~! what the heck?! ~
I've had several ideas competing in my brain

... i think i am just going have to CUT LOOSE .. quite literally 

... just get my rotary cutter and QUIT ADMIRING THE FABRIC! 

 I picked: DARKS ...

 here "it" is, isn't it PRUDY! ...'the dark Charm Pack'

 ... and here is some of what i had,

more solids than i thought ...

i really have some fun ideas,

I just need to get busy ... and get going, ....  

 see ya' later!

Thank you, Kona

Snow Days ...

... you know your grown up when you still have to go to work in it ... 

 So, Feb 2 ~
"Olathe received a record 15 inches of snowfall. Due to the nature of the snow event (involving heavy snowfall and drifting snow), this will be a lengthy clean-up effort. However, City crews will continue around the clock operations until streets are plowed...."

& frostbite warnings
=0(

... They say more of the nasty weather is on the way. 

so, HAPPY GROUND  HOG DAY anyway ...

      I did get a little time to 'play' and NOT in the snow.... I got the fabric postcards into the mail - finally. 

~ The January Starlight Quilt Guild Meeting - i missed, due to having one of those days where you know your missing something, but you cant remember WHAT? (my sister says they make a pill for that) ... I've really enjoyed the 'small group' meetings too!

... I made a yummy dinner for my family, which is rare - (making dinner) .Meatloaf & smashed taters' ... my son asked, "don't you have somewhere to go?" ... I thought it was because i was reminding him to do his chores and homework! ... 

I heard it was a great meeting ~ 

~ i also, missed the KCMQG meeting, due to work =0(

     ~  I feel so very blessed to have  two such great guilds filled with such creativity and inspiration.  I just wish my joints would cooperate - this nasty, awful weather has me hurting - but, EVEN-THOUGH it's too cold for my husband to go out and do woodworking - HE is down in the basement riffling through my DENIM stash - cutting up jeans i've been saving for years to make raggedy quilts - since everything i make i seem to give away - and i have never made finished a quilt for my husband.  poor fellow. HE even bought his own flannel. He even offered to make ME one ... lol.

*** 

Works
- in -
Progress:
{WIP}

Split 9-patch ... playing

  ? ONE block for Jessica ? (sssh!) ... 

  `scrappy leaders & enders' 

& Fabric postcards 

... which made it into the mail!

 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it sow ... SOMEWHERE ELSE!  

(more later, will share our 'Nan's girls day' ) 

what's on my design wall Today ... uhm, yesterday!

well, tonight i took these blocks to the KCMQG meeting ... the top 8 are for 4 different quilts for the NICU unit at St. Lukes.  ~ the bottom 4, left are for Andrea for our Scrappy Bee, the Virtual Swap I'm having fun with! ...

leaders & enders

Once upon a time, with my Prime Time Quilt group (Az), we did a 2" fabric swap (everyone brought x amt of 2" strips [dark/med/light] and while we chatted we chopped our squares... then we divided them into BIG paper grocery bags - by lt. med dark - shook them like powdered donuts, proceeded to pass those babies around and grabbed a handfull of each until they were all gone.) ... Of course, while we chatted...
[can you believe some women in the group actually rushed and finished their quilts? our challenge was to mak 9-patches. Theirs turned out fabulous, but now i bet their bored, right? poor things.]

Fast Forward:
... it dawned on me that i could use it use those squares that i'd been saving ... for a rainy day project... for "leaders/enders" ... (i was already 'saving thread' by using scraps to start/stop when i'd start/stop while piecing)  ... WHAT A CONCEPT!

Well, it turns out, i'm not the only one doing this ... and there are even books published! duh. Great minds think alike ... "Adventures in Leaders & Enders, more quilts in less time"  and then, almost moments after i had my ah-ha moment (ok. i ran out of scrap and remembered the squares) ... i went to the KCMQG meeting and Carla - is also an over-achiever ;o) ... has finished quilts! and shared them and her style during the meetings "ten minute tip" !!!! exciting stuff.  If only i'd thought of that first...!

k. i'm off to make more 'scrap' ... later.

for Mason, continued ...

So, my Starlight small group met the other day to 'collect' or squares ...
and Shirley has kindly offered to put it together - and has added borders, i can't wait to see it finished ...
The backing was donated by Ginny,

& will be a black on white Tennis Shoe outline fabric! ... 

 

These are my 4 squares - green/black 9 patches; soccer 9-patch; Lego's; & games/Transformers

 I was informed he liked "checkers" ... the pieces are buttons! .. so much fun!

This was on Shirley's design wall, while we auditioned boarder fabrics...

For Mason

IN PROGRESS: 

Our Starlight *small group* is making quilt for Mason! 

Besides Green ... Here are a few of his favorite things - 

    - rocks/arrowheads and a tiger

    -  bikes and KU

    -  soccer and books

    - Lego's and games, preferably checkers or chess

    - cats, preferably black and white

    - & fishing