he calls them trinkets

No, I haven't given up quilting but lately I have been making necklaces. Here are a couple I finished this past weekend. Most of this summer I seem to have been "stuck" in terms of creating, particularly in terms of making quilts. Giving myself permission to not make quilts has given me the freedom to "dabble" with the beads, wire and other found objects. (My husband calls them trinkets.)

My jewelry-making and quilt-making processes are similar and seem to include:

• searching for interesting objects and materials
• reading books and blogs for inspiration 
• taking notes and recording ideas although not usually sketches of any particular design
• assembling a selection of materials and tools and then just playing around with them.

garden

"Confine yourself to the present."

~ Marcus Aurelious

a deadline and a rainbow

Saturday afternoon I gave myself a deadline to make a new necklace to wear when meeting a friend across the mountain to go antiquing and out to dinner.

My approach to jewelry making is much the same as the one I use for quiltmaking. Rarely do I use a pattern or plan out a design. Mostly I just try to work with what I have. In this case I spread out the materials I had with me, and then started playing around with arrangements.

Some of the components include moss agates wrapped earlier, a quartz purchased at the last Bead Fest, a vintage bead, some new beads and a crystal. I also used an element from Industrial Chic, one of my favorites, the witch hazel tin.

Friday night we saw a rainbow.

simply be

"It is important

from time to time

to slow down, 

to go away by yourself,

and simply

Be."

~ Eileen Caddy

experiments and pumpkins

I have some dyeing or staining experiments going on in the breakfast room window. Can you guess what they are?


pomegranate peels

leaves from the driveway (from so long ago I no longer recall what kind they were)

blueberries and coffee.

The only results so far are from the blueberry mixture and I am pleased enough that this is a second try.

Of course since then I have read that I should prepare the fabric with salt or vinegar before attempting to dye, so this will truly be an experiment.

 Our volunteer pumpkin is coming along nicely.

with a little help from my friends

Apparently the storm is never going to pass so I really must try to learn to dance in the rain.
I have this nice reminder from my friend Nina Lise

who made this little quilt for me and sent me this.

Recently I also participated in an atc exchange with my friend Dotti who sent me this.

She also included a wonderful card. 

It has been raining for quite a long time now and just when I thought it had subsided, I find it hasn't. 

"Accepting the unacceptable" is a phrase I came across in a book I started reading last week.

I've been working on it

over 

and

over again.

I don't want to have to do it again.

knowing but not knowing

knowing but not knowing

I'm a little behind in some posts of I have yet to create.

a little neglectful in creating much of anything new.
I felt it.  I also dreamed it. Mothers are like that.
knowing without knowing.

textile cuff completed

and while it was fun it was harder to make than I thought it would be.

vintage and new beads
crystals
buttons

lace bits, yarn and blueberry stained strips.

erosion bundle book completed project

Earlier I posted a glimpse of my progress on the altered book I've been working on with the contents from my erosion bundle.

Since then I've created a small quilt, cut it up, added it to the book, and continued to alter the book in a variety of ways.

I further altered some of the fabric, cutting it into strips and staining it with coffee and blueberries.

Here are a few of the pages.

In addition to quotes I've added a couple of poems.

This is the top view.

This is the back.