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.