Early Summer

Lately I have been a faster sewer than photographer. A nice twist. I've been sewing quick and simple: strips, squares, down right unruly scraps. Far off from my stated mission (the art quilts are living in storage- although that doesn't stop me collecting fabrics for them and adding them in), I am living through and appreciating this phase for what it is, me as a little beach hobbit, looking out when the sea and the air have no barrier between them and all before me is a seamless expanse of one, marred only by a resting tugboat sashed in hunter green.

Dumbly sewing I sit, and center, and think; then I release all the concerns and the things people may have done and said that persist inside my heart when they should be thrown away in the trash in accordance with their merit.

The roses are loaded, but a rainstorm dampened them down a bit this morning. This is the basket I use to pick my humble arrangements. The roses love it by the sea and are blooming profusely. I missed their start because we headed out for a quick vacation to California. Where I did what I do best, bought fabric along the way.

I am finishing up nine patches for Crazy Mom Quilts quilt-a-long, here are just a few:

They are very scrappy and I am happy to report making empty space in the bins that the scraps come from. I'm also doing the quilt-a-long at Red Barn Co., and hope to post my finish later on. I did teals and greens and cheated using some fat quarters instead of half yards.

There is so much inspiration to be found on the beach. I walked at one of the lowest minus tides this year, and there are all manners of creatures exposed. I could create a thousand art quilts alone just studying seaweed.

I have three, going on four quilt tops ready to be quilted, and I may well wait till winter before tackling that issue. I need to learn to release creative control and pay someone to quilt them. But I like thread too much and the methodical hum of the machine.

Quilt-A-Long

Charm packs make 4 nice 2.5" squares, I'll be using them for the Quilt-A-Long at Crazy Mom Quilts. I like this idea of a nine patch set in a sashing. Simple, a good project for a tired soul at the end of the day. I still can't decide what to sash them with, but that will come.

Some of the larger art quilts are packed away for my time living by the sea. This is o.k. I have found that the fabric pieces for these works are still in the process of coming my way, so I can accept that they are not ready to see fruition quite yet. Thought my studio is whittled to a three drawer cart and musical machines, I find such peace in sewing where I can see the sea, hear the gulls, and watch tankers swiftly make their way out again. I wonder how they counter boredom on those long hours at sea, or if it is much like the home, always a task that can be done.

The sun streams in, beating down hard on the geraniums on the deck. White, planted on each end of the window box, I have not found yet what is to constitute the middle. My husband sleeps on the couch in the shade of the blind.

Days by the sea pass with thoughts of the horizon. An eagle flew past today while I ate breakfast in the soft shaft spotlight of morning light. A day with both the eagle and my favorite blue tanker, definitely had the makings of bliss.

Marblized Color

Spring weather somehow induces me to sew. Quilts, a dress, a handbag perhaps - I haven't made one yet and have been wanting to, with a matching wallet. All in time, I planted white geraniums, they stand out but nicely commend a background of deep blue sea, but somehow the garden doesn't hold it's allure quite yet.

Here is an organizing project, my DMC floss boxes covered with marblized paper to add a touch of class that plastic just sadly lacks.


I think about a thought- will America become a stronger nation? Amid all the worry for our country and our citizens, that is one comfort I suppose, that we stand to gain with loss.

Resolution

It took me a month. But I decided. I needed one simple resolution, nothing complex, just deep.

To be a better person.

That's it.

The writing is going, slowly, scratched pieces of lined legal pad paper which flow along to the cadence of the sea. I will type soon these little snippets, and hopefully get back into posting some of the projects that have been going on.

Living by the sea, the sea air, saves me. The tugs are spraying water today. I watched two tankers come in this morning.