Tangles and mixed media

 I like to learn new things and take creative classes online. 

I also get ideas online from many sources including FB groups, YouTube and I subscribe to Craftsy, The Quilt Show and take many of Joanne Sharpe classes through Ruzuku. 

I have been following some daily tangle challenges on FB.  In June and July we have been doing a zentangle a day on index cards.  

The FB group is Tangle All Around and has a lot on inspiration!!!

I did a video flip through of what I have done so far in this years class book from Joanne Sharpe class....Whimsies, Words and Watercolors..  I have specific goals to challenge myself to get this book caught up. (Even though...Joanne says you are never behind)  It is such a fun course and I am loving it but I need more dedicated time to get the pages done.  I thought by doing a flip through video I could see where I am now and posting would help with accountability.

This video might not play....I don't know how to post it to make it work. It was only a minute long...fast flip through!

Anyway.....challenges keep me motivated and specific goals help me get these fun creative things done.  

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

To-Do Tuesday #66

  To-Do Tuesday #66 and I have been doing more organizing of my supplies.  I have also sent a lot of kits and supplies to Salvation Army...those crafts that were started many years ago.  

A list of those things I organized in the past several weeks that I didn't mention in my last post.

Clear and cling stamps to plastic sleeves in a large notebook

Stencils all in a plastic shelf container 

Eyelets all together in a plastic shelf container 

Paper punches in a pull out drawer 

Washi tape in a basket 

Here is a photo of some little round wood pieces that Dave made for me and I am gluing them to my round ink pads that I use for distress ink.  AND in the photo are two index cards folded and decorated to put in pockets in a journal.

The next photo shows my new storage system for papers for paper crafting including coffee dyed papers and cardstock pieces.  The larger one for large pieces and the smaller one for small pieces.  The basket is a lot better for washi tape than in a box with a lid that I had to get off of a shelf. 

I am also using the different size Amazon envolopes for storing magazine images and words.  For now that is the system instead of boxes of stuff to go through.  

So my goals this past week were done with the organizing and paper crafting.  But I did not do any sewing machine projects at all.  

In my Joanne Sharpe online class she started a challenge to make some kind of creative play artwork every day.  I have been neglecting this class and I felt a "tug" to join in and follow along.  So I am posting to IG with  #mojowithjojo.  

This is what I have posted to IG this month.  I didn't have any ideas and just picked up the brush and paints and started.  The first one I was going for a whimsical bird and added stamps and doodles. For the next one I used some of my favorite colors of paint and then did some doodling with a quote.  The third one is a page from our class last year and I added some more circles and doodles to the page.  Joanne encouraged us to just do something....anything.  Sometimes I am reluctant to post the things I am doing and I am sure that is the case with a lot of people.  

 I will be linking this week to  Melva Loves Scraps

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/2021/08/tuesday-to-do-linky-party.html?m=1

My goals for this week are to continue with creative something every day and post on IG.  I plan to turn on my sewing machine and do some sewing/quilting.

Smiles and hugs....Caryl.

To-Do Tuesday #55

March Madness is over and I will get back to a goal list to publish!!

This is To-Do Tuesday #55 I will be linking with Chris Knits

Here is a page from one of my little books I made from a class by Joanne Sharpe from the Art Sparks I class on ruzuku

I haven't been doing very much creative over the past few weeks and I felt this is a great quote to share!

The next photo is a wood shelf that was my dad's and was one of those "some day" projects.  After 30 years it is time to hang it!  It had a mirror and instead I covered a cardboard with fabric.  (I drew a flower on paper and then copied on printer fabric....but I didn't like it.)  I will tape/pin notes and photos in this area.  And keep really light things in the pocket.  The bottom dowel will be for little mini quilts I make and change out with my whims!  Right now I looped some fabric and pinned a mug rug I made several years ago.

Here is the side view hanging on the wall 

To-Do Tuesday week of April 6 through April 12:

1. Finish the quilting on my log cabin runner
2. Work on at least one sewing/quilting project every day
3. Watercolor painting on papers and/or fabric every day

FYI.............I have had email notifications when I comment on blogs:

Delivery Status Notification (Failure)

I have changed some things.  I had changed my default browser to Microsoft Edge and I had other issues and I thought that might be the problem...........so I changed back to Google Chrome.  It is still happening but not with everyone!!

I was also hacked on FB Messenger and Instagram.  Crazy world!!  I was glad I had people notify me so I could report it.  

Go check out the link above for the projects for this week and see what everyone is doing!!

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Happy Halloween and some projects

This time of year I enjoy pumpkin spice coffee and creamer and anything pumpkin spice!  So when we were in Julian last month and I spotted this cup...it had to come home with me.  The selfie photos were at Lake Cuyamaca and in Julian on the bench on main street.  It was our 58th anniversary and we had a lovely day in the country.

This was a Halloween finish I made last month and gifted to a friend.

The photo shows a page from my creative journal.  Documenting the day in a creative way is so awesome......and I always enjoy it!  It is a great way to remember the day!

This last photo is a page from one of my practice notebooks of drawing abstract flowers in an online class with Joanne Sharpe. 

Not many finishes but I am working on the binding on two quilts and I will blog about them when finished!

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Christmas in July...a finish + liberated log cabin and other projects

 I just had to start and finish a Christmas project in July.  I had some of this fabric left from when I made tabletoppers in 2011 and 2013 and I made one similar to the ones I made back then.  I used machine quilting and hand quilting.

 The back of the mat is Debbie Mumm fabric.

 Here is a photo of half of the batting cut off close to the stitching.  I used the backing as a binding.  I cut it 1" from the outside of the mat and folded over halfway and pressed.  Then I clipped and pinned and did a machine stitch around the outside edge.  I used #332 on my Bernina.  That is the same stitch I used to quilt down the center and across the middle.

 Here is the little quilt I got so excited to start back in June when I watched an old show on TQS.  I blogged about it in this blog post   I was going to make it larger but changed my mind.  It is really difficult to piece something not straight and then try to get the outside fairly straight!  I thought improv making up whatever I wanted would be easier....but there has to be some kind of plan!  I am hand quilting it....fun....fun!  I am calling it Not All Solids.

I decided to do some big stitch quilting on this rail quilt that I had machine quilted about half so far....many many years ago!   I needed some hand work to do.  The tutorial I watched is
https://crafty.house/big-stitch-quilting/     I will go back to machine quilting when I practice some more....I have gotten very rusty with not doing it!!!

This photo is from my 2019 Artfully Inspired Life journal with the class I am taking with Joanne Sharpe.  It is the January page (she says we are NEVER behind)....and under the window shutters are my goals I wrote out for this year.  I had written them in January and just copied into my book this week!  The little shutters were made using my sticker machine and the acrylic papers I had painted and cut into tiny strips!.

I am so excited that I am NOW able to see The Quilt Show and my ruzuku classes on our big TV screen in the living room using Amazon Fire Box.  Really a great way to watch and get my steps at the same time.  Healthy eating and getting my walking exercise every day is a very important part of each day!

Linking to http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/2019/08/oh-scrap-new-color.html

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

crazy improv quilt mat finish and other projects

 I made this little mat to sit on top of a cabinet in our bedroom.  The cabinet belonged to my dad.  I used the same fabrics and technique as I did last summer with the other mat I made for our bedroom furniture.

 It is crazy improvisaional and from a Bluprint class.  The next photo shows the back with the crazy matrix quilting.  So fun and so easy!

 There are so many interesting classes online.  Several weeks ago I watched The Quilt Show #2310 with Lynn Carson Harris.  She was using tiny bits of scraps.  Her liberated log cabin caught my eye and I couldn't stop thinking about it and had to start piecing little pieces together.  This is what I have so far.

 Sew Sampler this month had a pressing mat that I really like.

 I enjoy classes by Joanne Sharpe online.  I got the idea from her of cutting out letters out of magazines to use for journals, scrapbooks....and I used some for a card.  Very fun to search for letters larger than a penny.

 The following photo is the two pages of assignments from the class...2019 Artfully Inspired Life with Joanne Sharpe.  The background is acrylic layering.

 I used a practice journal to check out different acrylic paints for class projects and decided to use a white pen and doodle!  The following photos are of two pages I have done.

That's it for now!!   Smiles and hugs....Caryl

A quilt sew along

 There is a sew along starting now.  I have printed out the pattern and this is the jelly roll I have chosen.

This jelly roll is about 10 years old and I need to use it.  I think I bought it to make a purse and that is not happening.

Regatta Quilt Sew Along by Home Sewn By Us is where you will find the sew along if you want to join in the fun.
The pattern calls for each row to have the same fabric.....but I don't have very many strips that are the same on this jelly roll so it will be a mixture of patterns but the colors will be close!
So now I completed the first part of the sew along......select the fabric.

I have chosen my word for the year and it is............consistency.  I am going to do a page about it in my creative journal.

I started two new online classes this week:
       John'aLee's Jubilee class about journaling and planning.  Setting up a bullet journal.
       Joanne Sharpe class 2018 Artfully Inspired Life

Anyone else going to do this sew along??

Linking to Linky Tuesday  freemotion by the river

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Another charm box mini quilt

 I really like making this charm box quilt pattern and the first one I made was smaller.  I posted about it last year.  This one is 18" square.  I am hanging it in the kitchen where I had the smaller one.  I have been working on it for awhile and finally finished it today!!  It is a free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop and is Lori Holt fabric. 
It is so good to have a finish it up Friday to push me along!!

 Joanne Sharpe has a new class online Draw Your Awesome Letters.  SUCH FUN!!

 I got a new palette tray and it is easy to swipe the little distress ink pads and then using a wet brush and water do backgrounds for my creative journals.  I got the idea to get this from Kathy at The Daily Marker.  It is fun to add all kinds of things to my creative journals!

 We spent a great day walking around at the Safari Park.  It is nice for my hubs to be able to walk easily without pain in his knee now!  Before his knee replacement in April the pain was too much to walk for any distance. 

 Here is another scrappy rectangle block. 

And in September we celebrated our 56th wedding anniversary.  We went to the Lake Cuyamaca Restaurant and walked by the water.  We spent time in Julian and Pine Hills...........some of our favorite places to visit.

Linking to finish it up Friday crazy mom quilts   and Linky Tuesday.

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Projects working on and want to start!

 There are TOO many fun projects that keep popping up and I can't resist!!

The first photo is Boden from Pat Sloan's Teach Me to Sew Triangles.  I came to a halt on quilting this several weeks ago and it just sits here waiting for some inspiration on how to finish!!

The next photo is Solstice Challenge block 5 and I came to a halt on it too.  I started using the tiger tape for the last stitches I did and I really like using that for this purpose.

Here is a LIST of SOME of the other projects I am either working on or want to start:

• 2 more Sunkissed placemats in two different designs
• More Pat Sloan Solstice Challenge blocks 
• Charm box mini quilt quilting
• Picnic quilt quilting
• 70 9 patch quilt from 2009
• Scrappy rectangle blocks - 5 more to make
• Log cabin blocks 4½" and larger
• New project trial with charm squares - stack, cut and shuffle
• Gudrun's new tablerunner project
• Gudrun's Strip Maze sew along starting this week
• Pat Sloan's Grandma's Kitchen Sew Along
• July mystery in a group I am in
• Bonnie Hunter's leaders and enders project - rails and checkerboard
• Joanne Sharpe online classes
• Craftsy online classes

I am in a daily journal challenge Weight Watcher related that is so helpful in my lifestyle change with eating and not calling it a diet!!  The members of the FB group take turns posting the prompt for all of us to write each day.  

I like to do multiple projects each day...........but there comes a time to get some of these done!!

I just had to write this post and have it out there in the universe.  I am sure there are others like me with tons of fun things to do.  Join in the fun....so many people are so encouraging and inspiring!!

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Some small finishes for the week

 I started this tickertape extra large placemat (19" x 15") several years ago.  The center is bosal and I trimmed it and did a blanket stitch around the outside.
This week I am working on some old UFOs from past years.  I save all scraps even if they are very small and this is a good way to use them.  It is big enough for a journal and markers and a nice padded surface to work.  The next photo shows the back.

 I made another scrappy rectangle block this week with my Kaffe Fassett jelly roll and black and white fabrics.

 Another small project finish....quilt-as -you-go with scraps of fabric stitched onto bosal.  The orange strip and teal strip are around 3/8" in this.

 Here is the back that shows the quilting.  AND blanket stitch around the outside.

 I have it on the extension table of my sewing cabinet and keep my scissors on it.

 New book by Joanne Sharpe.  I really like her art work and classes.

Yesterday I dug out a QAL I started with Amanda Jean in 2009...one a day 9 patch.  All the rows and sashing were done and just waiting to sew the rows together.  I love that quilt and it needs to be done!!
I like to jump around to different projects.  There are so many UFOs to finish and there are so many new things I want to make!!  AND lots of creative journals to fill and online classes to learn more.  There are a lot of inspirational websites of wonderful creative new things to do.....I did a post in January of creative ideas websites to check...link to the post here


Linking this blog post to crazy mom quilts    finish it up Friday
AND to Freemotion by the River   Linky Tuesday.

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Some of my projects I am working on this month

 Joanne Sharpe has a class online at ruzuku.com "Paint, Stitch, Play".  I started this class last year and stitched muslin pieces together to form this fabric sampler journal.  I am now getting back to the class and painted the title!  The class goes along with her book, "The Art of Whimsical Stitching".

 I am hand quilting my 2nd charm box mini.  Pattern from fatquartershop.  Different quilting than the first one and this is a little larger than the last one.

 I am doing the blanket stitch on this basket for Solstice Challenge block 5.  A challenge project designed by Pat Sloan.  I am way behind on these blocks!!

 I am doing a scrappy quilt I call strips, scraps and squares.  It will have a lot of different blocks.

 I finally opened two bunches of 2½" strips that I have had for awhile.  I really like the look of black and white with colorful blocks.  So I am using Kaffe Fassett fabric for the first time.  These blocks are 4½" long.

And this is another block of the scrappy rectangles.  I saw these on IG and just had to make some!!

I like to work on a lot of different projects and jump from one to another!!

Linking with Connie at Freemotion by the River Linky Tuesday.

Smiles and hugs....Caryl