Punche Needle Mania...Oh No!

A friend and I have recently discovered punch needle embroidery. Boy is that darned stuff addicting. I finished the above piece in about 6 hours over two days. I just couldn't stop punching that fabric. My kids thought I was obsessed because every time they came into the room there I was hunched over this small frame...poking that tool again and again .

My husband was on a business trip when I started this piece and when he got back he just couldn't get use to the punching noise so I had to stop for the night on day 1. Oooh man was I having serious withdrawal symptoms that night. All I could thing of was the fact that I would get to it tomorrow.....

" Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow,
you're only a day away"

Anywho...I thought to put it in a frame but I have an idea for a small quilt. Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish it this coming week.

Isn't that about the cutest little house you've seen? Speaking of houses, been working on a new house quilt. Will show that soon.

See ya next time "In the Hayloft",

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hubby and 6yr old with my first poinsettas of the season

Hope everyone had a gobbly good Thanksgiving. It was nice just having the family around but it felt strange as well cause we usually have friends over (they also have no other family near them) but this time they chose to have a quiet day themselves. Got a call from one of them and he said he missed being at our house! Ohhhhh. So me thinks we'll end up together again next year as was our tradition for over 12 yrs. Ya live and ya learn.

Yesterday, because we didn't have guests I got to do some of my own thing (which I promised myself to work on) and I finished the look of my website...the struggle with that had more to do with being content with what I produced enough to like it for the long run.

I have a few pages to fill out...one being the "about myself" page, aaagrrh (waxing on about my accomplishments is something I'm still not very comfortable doing) and secondly I need to take good pics of my large quilts to post on my gallery page. Have to set it up outside to get good pics cause I don't have a studio wall big enough.

Wish me luck that it works the first time around so I can finally upload it to a server so that the whole wide world can see me. Yikes! Just the thought of that gives me the heeby geebies but...I WILL NOT GIVE UP, I WILL PERSEVERE!!!! .

I know, I know you're probably thinking"she got a blog for goodness sake, how's that for worldwide" but having a website is somehow different in my mind. Here I'm just enjoying "chatting" with friends.

By the way I usually end my nights just before I go to sleep by finding something everyday to be grateful for. But this Thankgiving I am more grateful than you can imagine for having my family, all my children at home to celebrate the day with. We've been in upheaval for such a long time it was good to just appreciate them all. Of course my 6yr old kept telling me, "Mummy you're staring at me again". What can I say, they make me smile and those tender feeling just rise to the surface.


See ya next time"In the Hayloft",

Quote of the Day

I love little life sayings, serous and funny alike, and have post-it notes filled with them, some stuck on the wall in front of my studio desk, some in my bedroom, a whole page of them in my sketchbook and some I post on my daughter's bathroom mirror at night so she can take it with her during her day.

The one below I love because it speaks to me everyday. It's in a prominent spot...everytime I look up from the computer I see it. It says:

Who looks outside DREAMS
Who looks inside AWAKENS

Carl Jung


See ya next time "In the Hayloft"

A New Pattern

My time has not been my own of late and I have not had a chance to create anything new but finally, a new piece "Bloom Where You Are Planted". It's only a small wallhanging that I still have yet to write the pattern directions for but at least the top is done. I originally wanted to make it for my daughter to let her know that her beauty will shine no matter where she is in life.

The ragged boot I absolutely love how it turned out. The only thing is I'm always stymied trying to come up with quilting designs to enhance my quilt tops so I've been auditioning designs on my makeshift design board. It's just a piece of plexiglass that I place over an unquilted piece and draw on with a dry erase pen. It's much easier that way because I get to erase the design without having to unpick any threads.

We all have so many ideas for quilts in our heads and think we'll never get all of them out in a sketchbook, far less in fabric? Well...I'm here to tell you...you probably won't get to them all (hee hee) but every one that's plucked out is another one you can feel good about. And then another 2 are ready to take its place. I'm glad this one is finally out and almost finished. Hurray!

See ya next time "In the Hayloft",

My First Ribbon!

Look, look, I won a ribbon!

One of the guilds I belong to is the Lake Norman Quilter's and we had our first show last Saturday. We are a group of about 44 members and we worked our butts off to put on the best show we could muster. We had very good feedback from attendees who loved the variety of quilts (about 224 at last count) we had on display.

And lo and behold. I won a first place ribbon for one of my quilts "ColourBlocks" (which is also a pattern). Yippee!!!!!!! This is only the second show I have ever entered and I am tickled pink to get my first ribbon! I also won a 3rd place ribbon for my quilt "Bluberries and Mint Parfait".

Not bad for a newbie huh?

See ya next time "In the Hayloft",