Sweet Sue #2

I got a new car while we were in the mountains last week...a 2017 Subaru Outback to replace my 2004 model.  There was nothing wrong with it, but I wanted the new feature like back-up camera, blind spot indicators, HID headlights, and of course the navigation system and blue-tooth capacity.  I drove it home down our snowy mountain driveway, and it did great.  In fact, I love it!  The color is Crystal Black Silica, and it has little sparkles in the sunshine that look blue or green.

                                

I did get the binding applied to the charity quilt.  It was fun sewing these tropical fabrics while it was snowing outside.  I used the bright turquoise floral print for both backing and binding.  My friend Mary gave me a humongous piece of it while we were making our charity quilt tops in January.  So, this one is ready to turn into the Capital Quilters Guild.  They make charity quilts for premature babies in NICU, and also wheelchair quilts and quilts for families participating in child abuse education programs.

I felt like painting on Sunday, and looked through some Pinterest inspiration pieces to see what I could do.  This one came out nicely, I think!

I am still painting lots of angels, and I made this one for our mountain neighbor's daughter who requested one with this scripture verse.

That's about it for now.  Thanks for stopping by!

Flamingo Baby Quilt...Quilted!

Today I finished the quilting on the Flamingo fabric Yellow Brick Road baby quilt that I began a few weeks ago.

These are some of my favorite colors, and the flamingo print is really cute.  I decided to do an all-over feather design, with a few flowery swirls.

Next is the binding.  I will try to get that sewn on while we are here at our mountain cabin.

Sewing and Painting Fun

Happy New Year from snowy North Carolina!  It snowed once over the holidays while we were at the mountain cabin, and again today here in Raleigh.  


On Thursday, my Wake Forest quilt bee met for our annual charity quilt sew-in day at Whatever's Quilted, Donna Sontag's shop.  It was so good to be with these good friends again and get caught up.  We all brought our machines and some fat quarters to make some baby quilts for Capital Quilters Guild's Quilts for Kids projects.

Here is what I finished today, using the Yellow Brick Road pattern from Atkinson Designs.

I used a fun flamingo print with coordinating fabrics.  I think it is large enough for a baby quilt without any borders.

I will get it quilted some day, but my long arm machine is up in the mountains.  We worked hard on the basement over Christmas.  It is now painted a neutral  beige.  Next:  putting in the suspended ceiling.

We had our older son's family with us the week between Christmas and New Year's.  Once again, we donned our Clemson orange in honor of our daughter-in-law's favorite team being in the playoffs for the collegiate national football championship.  They won!

They are from South Carolina where it hardly ever snows, so they had a great time playing in it and going for Gator rides over the mountain.

I have been trying to learn how to do negative paintings like artist Linda Kemp.  I started with one in just one shade of green, then one in greens and blues.

For the last one, I started with bright yellows, then switched to more golden tones with each layer.

There are some good You-Tube videos on this technique, which I used for these practice projects.  Here is a good one to start with.  

And here is a journal page in watercolors.  I used liquid mask to draw the snowflakes, painted over them with washes of blue and violet, then removed the mask.

If you are experiencing winter weather where you live, stay safe out there!