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.

trying to stay cool

in this record-breaking heat with some stitching on cool whites and off-whites. I've started three in a series of nine which will be assembled together.

Still practicing bead wrapping. It turns out that it's something I can do while riding in a car. But I can't actually concentrate on a design or assemble the pieces together. Interesting. I can sew and piece and applique while riding in a car but not do embroidery or add embellishments.

The flowers I started from seeds and finally transplanted outside are doing well. There is also a volunteer pumpkin plant.

I really like the mottled look of these roses.

dyeing to be blue

Last week I experimented with dyeing a few strips of fabric to be used for a project scheduled for an August 1 unveiling.

Staining would probably be a more accurate description than dyeing. This is a coffee and blueberry mixture.

I'm pleased enough with the results that now I plan to try it with some old linens I purchased at an antique mall a few weeks ago.

a small key

“The key to your universe is that you can choose.” ~ Frederick (Carl) Frieseke

“In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.” ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

“A small key opens big doors.” ~ Turkish Proverb

path with heart

a few additions to one of the cuffs, including wrapped beads

a button,

pieces of an old necklace

walking along a path,

finding a heart-shaped stone     

  

the steep path

started a new textile cuff bracelet . . .

bought a few buttons and pieces at an antique show . . .

and added some of them to the first cuff . . .

practicing wire wrapping after forgetting how to do it . . .

walked through the woods . . .  

Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even.  ~ Horace

textile cuff

 a new project.

Finally there is a break in the weather. A little rain. A drop in temperature.

I can breathe better and have started a small new project.

A few years ago I started making textile cuffs but only made a couple. 

This is a new one . . . still in progress . . .

just playing around with some elements and a new (to me) hardware store finding: screw rings.

practice stitching

it is still hot
but I've managed to do some stitching

"practicing"
on a couple of
leftover blocks

dock and lillies

Our guests have returned home and it's time to figure out a creative routine. It hasn't happened yet.