Getting Back to Work

I've been taking a bit of a break from sewing as well as blogging and am discovering that it's hard to get rolling again. eeek. But I have done a bit of sewing on my Love Anna Williams-style quilt.

Slooow progress. I've not just been bad about my own blog, I'm way behind in reading too....

I've had her blog in my links on the sidebar, but I'm not sure I've ever directed you to Sujata Shah's blog called The Root Connection. Sujata is currently in India and I'm eagerly awaiting her stories and photos upon her return. I adore her work, very scrappy and imprecise (at times) and colorful and occasionally harkening back to utility quilts. She's only been blogging since January, so it's easy to catch up with her, but these are some of my favorites here, here, and here. And a string quilt here.

Another blog I am loving right now is Victoria's The Silly Boo Dilly. She's been doing some large stitch hand quilting (sometimes mixed with machine quilting) on shot cottons that just leave me drooling. Check out her Work Quilt series. This quilt is my favorite.

Sorry about the title in my last blog post. I'm the one who's been missing from blogging. Lily, as well as the other kitties, is just fine. Here's an even closer-close-up of the Lilster:

Missing in Action

Sorry I've been neglecting ya'all in blogland. It's a confluence of events: a friend visiting (and then getting "stuck" here because of all the cancelled flights to Europe), a new camera and new imaging software, as well as the prior research into those purchases. 

Photoshop Elements 8 is kicking my you-know-what. I'm pleased with what I can do and yet frustrated by what I still can't. I've been working for hours to cleanly get rid of the modem in this picture with Lily but have not yet figured it out - it all looks too fake. Who knew having fun could be this much work. 

On the positive side, the camera is turning out some great photos. I just need to become a much better photographer. I got an entry-level digital SLR on the theory that I can take photos of my quilts good enough for publication. Of course so far I've just used it for cats (darn this thing focuses slow) and Miami Beach (more of that in a separate post).

Good thing my husband is an awfully good sport - I got the camera for his birthday. And the software. And the books to figure out both...

Love Anna Williams

I have some Show and Tell. I've been playing the last week and a half with a pile of L-O-V-E (and sometimes I) blocks. Take a look at the little top I made for Lynne of Patchery Menagerie. That started me off and all I wanted to do was keep playing with these blocks.

They actually look really cool - must play with Bars sometime... I didn't want to spend time making a lot more letter blocks, so I just made thirteen unruly 4-Patches:

I'm really excited about one of Anna William's amazing quilts. It's been in my inspiration folder for ages and I finally decided now is the time to play with it, using my LOVE blocks as the centers:

This is as far as I've gotten:

That looks kinda cool too. Maybe sometime I'll come back to this idea.

I have been struggling to stay focused lately. I made some more cat blocks and just couldn't keep going with it. I WILL do a tutorial, just not as soon as I thought. Need to be a bit more energetic first.

I've been battling my knee, the one I've had problems with for ages. I've been putting off going to the orthopedist but it's finally at the point where I just have to make the appointment.

I have been working on something else: copyediting the Letters book. I have three stacks: one pile of papers with just the words and one with my illustrations (with modifications), and a bunch o' photos. Still doesn't look like a book yet, but definitely progressing.

This tiny creature has been doing well:

It was a year ago that Pokey first became ill with what we later learned was a symptom caused by Chronic Renal Failure (CRF). I did so much crying last April - I was completely convinced we were going to lose her. Instead she's doing really well. She still has CRF - she'll never be healthy - but she's doing great under the circumstances. She's put on some weight and has been lively and happy. For a while there she was groggy and miserable when I brought her back from the vet's with her 6-days worth of subcutaneous fluids, but no longer.

I don't know if it's been the surprisingly cooler than expected temperatures, but Pokey has been in cuddle  mode sleeping on me and wanting her belly rubbed. Ah, that's wonderful. Wonderful for me, not so wonderful for getting things done. Everything else can wait.