More Lucky Stars

I got a little time on our mountain weekend to cut and sew a few more Lucky Stars blocks.  Here they are, laid out on my kitchen counter!

These are my two favorite.  I love the blue/yellow combination.  I fussy-cut the big sunflower on the left block.

I played with a few of the sashing strips.  This is going to be so colorful!

Sewing in the cabin is somewhat challenging because I don't have a dedicated sewing area.  It has been a long time since I have had to drag everything out, clear the dining table, find extension cords, etc.  On top of that, I got a new iron and a new sewing machine for Christmas that I have only used about twice, and I was referring to the manuals for awhile before I got going.  But that's okay.  It was a rainy mountain day and I got to do one of my favorite things.

Lucky Stars

Guess what, quilters?  I've been sewing!

My good friend Marcia collected lots of fabrics from travels to France and Italy, back when her mother was still alive and an active quilter.  Marcia has now given me the bin of fabrics, and we went shopping last spring for background fabric to make the Lucky Stars quilt pattern by Atkinson Designs.  Then life intervened when my husband was diagnosed with cancer, and this project was put on the back burner.  It has rained the past few days, and I thought I would finally get started on this project for Marcia.

The fabrics are in cheerful primary colors with some greens and golds.  There are both Provincial prints and some fabrics that are solid or that read as solid.  There are also some other fabrics from her mother's stash that I think will blend well with this project.

The background fabric is a pale yellow cotton.  I wish we had chosen one that did not have a right and wrong side.  I have already had to unsew a few blocks because it is hard to tell the right side of the fabric.

After you sew the stars blocks, you trim them down to 9.5" square.  I have not done that yet, since my square ruler is in the mountains (I think...will have to look this weekend.)  

This is meant to be a Fat Quarter pattern.  You cut strips from each fat quarter, then subdivide to make both squares and rectangles.  The longer strips will form a sort of double sashing around each block.  I have not sewn the sashing strips yet, just placed them around the stars to get an idea how the top will look.

  

Now I have made about eleven stars.  To make a king size quilt calls for 122.  Yikes!  I guess I will get faster as I have more strips and pieces cut in advance.

I also painted two more maple leaves to go with the series I began earlier.  This time I traced around the actual leaves and built up the color more slowly.  I also scratched some veins into the wet paint with a craft knife.  I added a little bit of shadow around the leaves to give a little depth.

Getting there!

Maple Leaf Studies

Yesterday I practiced painting maple leaves.  What could be prettier this time of year?

 

Influenced again by artist Bob Burridge, I am trying do series of paintings.  I brought in some maple leaves from the yard and put them up on the drawing board with some 5" x 7" papers.

 I sprayed some watercolor paint  to get the mottled effect.  

On the next one you can see the drips from the painting above it on the board.  I kind of like it!

I think I got the colors right, but feel like the paintings are a bit overworked.  I think I will try it again, and seek a lighter touch. 

Coffee Time

Artist Bob Burridge has a weekly newsletter/video called Bob Blasts that I have been following for awhile.  When the latest Fall in Love With Journaling Prompt was Tea Time/Coffee Break, I decided to try to emulate his coffee cup series using watercolors.

First, I did just one cup in a small 5.5" x 8.5" Strathmore Mixed Media journal.

 Then, in my 9 x 12 Strathmore Visual watercolor journal, I did another and added some text on card stock.

 Finally, I did a double page spread in my Canson 7" x 10" Mixed Media journal.  

I think I like the first one best.  Bob recommends working in a series and painting very loosely.  He is fun to watch on the videos.  By the way, he sells his coffee cup paintings (9" x 12" acrylic on paper) for $195 each!

The Smell of Chocolate

The latest journal prompt from the Fall In Love With Art Journaling Challenge was "Do You Smell That?"

I immediately thought of the delicious aroma of chocolate that hits you upon entering Norman Love's Chocolate Shop in Ft. Myers, Florida.  I painted some of his jewel-like candies with watercolor for my journal page.

I loved that place.  It appealed to all my senses...well, maybe not Touch!  Do you see the sign in front of the chocolate bouquet?

 Love me some chocolate!

I just found out that there are two chocolate shops in downtown Raleigh.  Field Trip!

Back to the Mountains

We were able to rest up enough to come up to our mountain cabin on Wednesday.  It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day.  We were so excited to see the autumn leaves on this lovely drive.  And of course our own little piece of Heaven was a sight for sore eyes.

On Friday, both of our sons came up with their families.  It was a joyous reunion.  How wonderful to all be together again!

 As you can see, the weather was considerably cooler than it was in southwest Florida!  Jackets and hats were necessary on those rides up the mountain.

Some other friends and relatives also joined us.  I will end with this giant group "selfie!"

Gratitude

We said goodbye to Florida on Monday.  We arrived back in Raleigh, NC at 11:30 PM after a long day. 

This post is to thank my brother, Jeff, and his lovely wife, Anna, for taking care of us for over two months.  They made it bearable to do what we had to do.  Staying at their home was calm, peaceful, and therapeutic.

Jeff and Anna took care of our food, housing, and transportation needs while Charlie was being treated at Dattoli Cancer Center in Sarasota.  They are both great listeners and encouragers.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!