Herringbone...

In mid-July, a pal in my quilting guild posted a photo of a herringbone-patterned quilt made with half-square triangles. It got me to thinking I'd like to make one. So I checked out a few more online and started laying out my own. The design evolved through a couple of different color palettes and I finally decided to use those two moda Comma charm packs I had on hand. (Little did I know 
when I bought the second one that I already had the first.) I also had a few fat quarters in the same line. What I think I really 'made' this design was using the solid yellow gold and lime green diagonally in the background.

I started cutting and piecing the top together within a couple of days. As I joined the squares to later split diagonally, I dangled them from a wire grid like fish on stringers. What a great catch!

I also came up with an easy way to accurately trim my HSTs by modifying one of my square templates.
Over the next week or so, I finished the top and started planning the backing. I used up some of the last remaining charm squares and finished with big lime commas.

I knew I wanted its quilting to be special. I strongly considered my usual choice of stitched patterns but wasn't 100% over the moon about any of them. In mid-August, I was in Quiltworks (who am I fooling, I'm in there lots!) and came across so perfect quilting on one of their samples. I made arrangements to meet Wendy Wells and delivered my quilt to her on August 20. By September 5th, I had it back in hand.

I finished binding it (more orange!) by September 20.

I think it's my favorite so far!

Happy 2wenty Thr3e...

I knew I wanted to make a quilt for my dear friend, Kelsey. Back in June, I found this fabric on Etsy—antique cameras—one of the things she collects. I started with this as my base and found more fabric from the moda line 2wenty Thr3e and added some Comma and Fandango. I loved the bright and cheerful colors and prints. They so reflect Kelsey's beautiful personality.

A couple of weeks before, Wanda gave me a couple Villa Rosa Designs cards, and one of them (Intrigue) seemed perfect for this project. The pattern for our Oklahoma City Modern Quilt Guild's raffle quilts for Oklahoma tornado relief was graciously donated by Villa Rosa Designs (Tulsa Town). 

I got the whole thing put together and tried doing a little something different with the backing. I'd already bought the yardage so was a bit limited in options. I finally got around to asking Kelsey how old she was going to be this year. TWENTY-THREE! Well, it was all meant to be and I played it up to the hilt.

Again, Wanda quilted this for me. I loved the vines of hearts. Finally, I had lots of fun with the label on the back and the tiny piece of printed selvage appliqued to the front. I had so much fun making this quilt for an absolutely wonderful person! I love you Kelsey!

Consolation prize...

Back in May, before giving this quilt to a friend (she was right, it DOES go with the colors in her new house!), I decided to make this next one for myself. It's one of the first times I saw a quilt top at Quiltworks and immediately bought the pattern and the fabric on the spot. The pattern is Off Track, and the fabric is combined lines from Parson Gray (Curious Nature and Seven Wonders). Oddly enough, I'd bought a few fat quarters of these lines in December 2012 and more in March 2013. I'd certainly say the look grew on me.

Once I got the top pulled together, I had the thought that it would be perfect for another friend of mine who has a real appreciation for great color and texture. Wait! This is the one to take the place of the last one I just gave away. I've still got it but it may find itself heading west, someday.

Wanda also quilted this one for me. I am just loving having someone do the quilting. By the time I get to that point, I am ready to have it done and am happy to let someone who knows what they're doing and can get it done quickly, for not too much expense, finish it off. I am a bit on a kick of using orange-red for binding these days.

What's next? Kelsey's Birthday Quilt!

Trifecta...

(Forgot to post this on August 22nd!)

Three quilts done, Done, DONE!

One was finished and delivered on July 12. Another given as a birthday present on July 14. And, for now, the third one's MINE!

I started the first one earlier this year. You've seen it here before. People on Facebook are probably sick of seeing it. What's really changed is that I decided to give it to a friend AND I found someone to do the machine quilting. I didn't realize what a huge difference this single factor would make in my output.

I met Wanda Pinkerton-Holley quite by accident. I was at Savage Quilter for some fabric and Wanda was in there offering to quilt some charity quilts shortly after the May 20th tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma. She recently moved her home and business, Expressions in Quilting, from the the Wichita area to be closer to her daughter and grandbaby. Because I'd only had one other quilt quilted by someone else (Stars over Bali Skies BOM), I was not first-hand experienced with edge-to-edge computer-generated quilting until I visited with Wanda in early June. Within only a few weeks, she did these three for me! If 'done is better than perfect,' nothing's better than DONE!

I've got another in the works, just delivered to the quilter. I'm trying Wendy Wells, who has done lots of the model quilts at Quiltworks. I saw one the other day, and the interlocking circles pattern was perfect for my herringbone top. That'll be my next post.

(I'll show some details of these three, plus the fourth, in my post.)

Stuff for OKCMQG...

Madrona Road Challenge mini-quilt

As I mentioned in my last post, OKCMQG was participating in the Michael Miller Madrona Road Challenge. While initially set up as a (national) Modern Quilt Guild challenge prior to QuiltCon, ours is an unofficial spin-off, and smaller—under 24" x 24". We were provided several fat eighths (9" x 22") of fabric from the line (and I bought a little additional yardage to complete my design). We were permitted to use matching solids, but only patterns from the line. To avoid inadvertently copying someone else design, I made it a point to NOT look at other challenge solutions online. (See note below.)

I decided on my design pretty quickly. The idea was to create a macro version of their Broken Herringbone pattern. I chose to use one pattern for each of the solids in the pattern. The 'big' detail I insisted upon was replicating the precise angles and proportions of the original. Most of the time, one would use 90-degree angles for this kind of layout, but THIS pattern was 95 degrees and I was determined to match it! After more work in Photoshop and Illustrator than I should probably admit, I discovered a big error in my layout and had to modify that. I was reminded how often our brains fill in what we think we see even when it's clearly different from what's there. Perception becomes reality, for sure.

Under the heading of 'save everything,' I used an old (bought it in college) adjustable triangle (once used for hand lettering and drafting) to cut my strips. Shown is how I substituted each solid for a pattern. Once I got all of the top pieced, I had a nice wide strip left over that I used for the backing. I did simple straight line quilting. As it worked out, the front and back layered nicely and, seen below, there's an interesting translucence. Yay!

After finishing the mini quilt and before showing it off at our April meeting, I finally looked at the other challenge solutions online. Here are three of its siblings. Even though there are just a few from hundreds created, maybe there's really nothing new under the sun. I enjoyed it all the same!

Here are some of the challenge pieces shown off the other night. Emily showed hers off in March, and Shana did TWO, but I don't have photos.

Cuppy cake!

One of the girls in the guild had her birthday last week. She loves cuppy cakes. I promised her a special treat because I couldn't get her a real cuppy cake for her birthday. It's mostly knitted, but the whipped cream was crocheted. I made a few adjustments to the pattern due to yarn thickness. Pearl-top pins make this an even cuter pincushion! Happy Birthday, Shana!

Next post—my foray into paper piecing my newest Block of the Month subscription!

Closer to done, and just beginning...

I'm happy to report Juggling Summer Shortcake quilt top is done! A couple of weeks ago, it was still a computer image. It went together pretty easily. Once all the blocks were done and I laid them out on the floor following my computer design, I knew I wanted to rearrange the single-pattern ones. I'm pretty pleased with it. I've no idea when I'll finish (back, quilt, and bind) it, or where it will find its home, but I'm glad to have this much done. I'm also liking the idea of photographing against a stockade fence. (This appears to be a popular option of which I just recently became aware. Thanks Amanda and others.) I've tried indoor options up until now—the hot tub cover, a folding screen, and a slide projector screen. So, weather permitting, I'm liking this option as long as I don't mind the wind. Hey, it's Oklahoma, folks!

For at least a couple of months, I've been wanting to check out the Oklahoma City Modern Quilt Guild. They hold their monthly meetings the same night as another sewing group I've been considering. Last Monday evening, I held to my plans of attending an OKCMQG meeting and found it to be quite delightful. I knew a couple of the members in person and a couple others via their blogs or Facebook. Lucky me—it happened to be the night they were sharing the swag they brought back from QUILTCON in Austin, Texas, February 21-24. There were great stories from the event, and I'm already dreaming about the next one in 2015! (They spoke highly of the lectures which are now available for FREE on Craftsy!) Some brought some truly beautiful show-and-tell items. I also enjoyed that members spoke of their favorite fabric lines with the same glee and excitement I've been known to possess. (Posessed—that's me!) Within 24 hours, I signed up to become a member. Tah dah! 

One of the projects OKCMQG is doing their own Madrona Road Challenge—theirs a mini-quilt using several fat eighths from the line supplied by Michael Miller Fabrics. I picked up my bundle of fabrics last Friday and came up with what I wanted to do pretty quickly. As usual, I worked out my design on the computer first—Illustrator and Photoshop. I took three good stabs at it, refining details along the way, and I am finally happy with my layout. I have some of the fabric cut and still need to go buy some solid white to use as a background. We're all bringing our submissions to the April meeting. I can't wait to see what everyone else has done! I expect to get it put together in the next few days but may wait to post it until after April 8th. I'm pretty excited about it!

OH, and I almost forgot to mention it—I signed up for The Local Quilt Block of the Month at Quiltworks. It's that wonky piece with those fabrics I love from Carolyn Friedlander. So, starting in April, I'll have another something to keep me company for nine months. (I'm still thinking about creating some blocks based on my own homes over time.) It's lots of paper piecing and I've only had limited experience with that process in a class I took in May 2011. Here's to jumping into the deep end—head first!

In the works...

This is the Photoshop layout of the quilt I'm working on right now. The pattern is Shortcake and it's made for jelly rolls. I am using the Zen Chic Juggling Summer jelly roll I bought about five weeks ago. I discovered/fell in love with the fabric line just before this past Christmas and used it it two of my favorite pieces.

Quiltworks offered a class in this quilt pattern but I decided to download the pattern online and set out on my own. I wanted a 'modern' vibe, so opted for using a medium gray as my neutral—new concept for me. This is the second quilt top in a row in which I've used significant areas of solid color(s).

Although I've managed to streamline the process a little, it's a bit more tedious than quick-go strip piecing. Yesterday, when Savage Quilter (moved two doors north into far more spacious and better lit space) had its 5th Birthday sale, I bought the fabric for the binding. I haven't really thought about the backing yet. I've only done a dozen blocks so far. I'll keep you posted as it comes together.

<— Oh, and here is the original pattern. It's a much different and daintier look.

I'm in love...

There's a new line of fabric in my life. It first crossed my path when I saw the upcoming Quiltworks BOM. I liked the quilt pattern but didn't really NOTICE the print until a week or so ago. Since then, I've fallen hard.

After a hard search, I have some in my hot little hands. I found a jelly roll on Etsy and it arrived today.


It's called Architextures, designed by Carolyn Friedlander. Of course, I love the architectural elements, but even more so, it reminds me of the old textures we used to use in graphic design—Formatt, Chartpak, Letraset, and prestype—and all the old art board mechanicals we did in the dark ages, before computers/desktop publishing. Nostalgia!

The new BOM program does not start until April, and I haven't yet committed. Instead of standard piecing techniques, it uses paper piecing and I wouldn't mind learning more about that. When I first saw this quilt pattern, before I really looked at the fabric print, I was thinking about designing my own using this as a theme. Mine would have representations of homes in which I've lived over the years. I sketched out a couple and think it's all doable. So, do I buy their BOM and do it their way; customize it; or buy the fabric on my own and do my own thing?

Right now there appears to be a scarcity of this line fabric. Quiltworks is getting theirs in soon and says they're getting extra bolts to accommodate backing yardages. What shall I do? Ah, decisions, decisions.

Kapalua Batik...

I am not sure how long ago I purchased this jellyroll, but I know it's been sitting around awhile. I never had much of a plan for it, but finally made a quilt top from it this month.

I knew I wanted to add some solids (yes, SOLIDS) to my next project, so what better place to hide some in plain sight among all these colors? I found four solids I could love—a bright chartreuse, a deep raspberry sherbet, scrumptious eggplant, and bright orange. I played around with several different designs on the computer. I wanted to intersperse the solids but wasn't sure about its order—randomness, hard pattern, or perceived randomness IN a pattern? And then, what would be the easiest way to sew it all together? My first runs at it looked something like:

Colorful, but not too orderly/orderly enough. Then I was reminded of a zig zag pattern I liked and came up with how I wanted to  sew 20 sets of two strips, then each of the solids onto that. I arranged all 40 strips into a spectral order I liked, numbered them (you'll see number labels in my layouts), and paired them. Here are those 20 sets of strips, arranged beautifully. Yes, it did take quite a bit of manipulating to get them to lay this way, but what good is having beautiful fabric if you can't fondle it?

Once all of the pairs were put together, I needed to add them to their solids. Which way to best attach the solids—long strips or short ones? Short ones won the day. (Based on the arrangement in this shot, I am wondering if I am a wanna-be bartender? Look at the cocktail napkin fanning of those blocks!) Problems I ran into in this jelly roll of strips was the fact that all the long edges were already 'pinked' and they were not all consistent in width. Using all those edges as guides gave me some wonky dimensions. This required some adjusting of seams along the way and that gobbled up lots of time. In the future, I will straight cut all the strips into a width I know is consistent and even.

So I had the idea in my mind and printed out so I could follow it while piecing. Zig zag. I attached 80 pairs of paired batiks to 80 solids and started thinking about the vertical strips I'd build to make the zig zag. Hold on a minute. What if I rotated these blocks and mixed up the pattern a little? Hmmm. Sure, I could do that. It wouldn't be a hard zig zag, but more of a suggested zig zag?
Time to commit. Here's how the columns of blocks went together. Having to go back and 'fix' some of the strip inconsistencies made this part of the process a bit more tedious than necessary, but all in all, it still went together fairly well. Oh, did I mention I wanted the back seams to be pretty, too? I pressed and flared my seams and love the effect even though no one sees them.

I'm not sure how I'm going to finish, back, or bind this top, but I'm happy to have this much done. Right now it's about 54" x 67". Voila!

T-shirt quilt...

This was the first I've ever done. When my friend, Denise, said she'd saved all of her daughter's T-shirts since she was little and wondered if I knew how to make a T-shirt quilt, I figured—sure. The learning curve wasn't too steep. Some parts of the process were definitely easier than others.

Part of my process is to layout my design on my computer first. I took photos of all the fronts and backs I was going to use. After I figured out some consistent measurements, I chose which designs/colors would be where. I presented Denise and Kayleigh the computer images for their approval. The chosen layout was without the sashing and border (bottom image).

Once I got all of the shirts cut, I adhered each knitted panel to fusible interfacing to stabilize each panel. After that, I joined together each column of panels and then each row together. And this is where it started getting heavy. Ah, ha. Add to that a layer of fleece (used as batting, and another layer of fleece for the backing, and you get one rather ungainly mass of fabric. After a couple of hit-and-miss tries (read: stitching and ripping out), I wound up hand-basting the entire quilt sandwich together. I think  this totaled ten rows of basting—multiple runs horizontally, diagonally, and vertically. And though that was a bit time consuming, it made quilting all the layers together much easier. I just stitched-the-ditch and called it done. I found I also need to make my binding narrower. This one wrapped a little wide over the backing. Somewhere along the line, I got the idea I needed to make 3" binding. After further investigation, I think 2.25" might work better.

Anyway, here's the finished piece. I appreciated them waiting over 90 days from start to finish. Rumor has it, another one of their family members wants a T-shirt quilt, too. Because I 'gifted' my labor, I have no idea how much I'd charge for something like this. Early in the process, I was thinking, while I was on a roll, I wanted to make one for myself. After I was done, I decided I needed a break.

Two years later...

Back in July 2010, before I gave serious thought to ever making a quilt, I came across this quilt when I was merely fabric shopping at Oklahoma Quiltworks. I was in the midst of becoming enamored with poppies. This was one of two quilts I fell in love with. Only recently has its colors reminded me of Italian giardiniera—simply lovely pickled vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, and peppers. Did I mention I loved bright greens and oranges together? I bought fat (22" x 18") and linear (44" x 9") quarters of each of the fabrics with the idea of making little fabric yo-yo discs, but with no final project in mind. Those pieces became the beginning of my now-sizable fabric/fat quarters stash.

Fast forward a bit. I came across a pretty little quilt pattern called Lemon Pepper from Madison Cottage Design. What attracted me to the pattern was that it was made of fat quarters, and I have lots of those on hand. I made the crib size one, with a bit of variation. It called for 35 blocks (five across by seven down), but I made 36 blocks and arranged them six-by-six. That total helped me mathematically as well. Oddly enough, I did NOT build this in Photoshop first. That said, it meant I organized the fabrics differently.

The instructions for this quilt were not exact. It said 'mix it up.' Random order? How does one make order so it appears random? That took my brain on quite the hamster wheel ride. Each block contains nine fabrics. Nine. Like Sudoko. I can find a solved Sudoko puzzle and assign each fabric a color number and arrange them accordingly. Ouch. It started out as a good idea but wound up searing my brain. So I ranked the fabrics and noted/classified the nine as three greens, three reds, and three grays. I let the greens dominate the order. Oh, did I mention in this strip quilt, each row is made of three widths of strips. Sorting strips to make the 36 blocks was another short course in random order. 1-2-3, 2-3-1, 3-1-2, 3-2-1, 2-1-3, and 1-2-3. It made sense to me. Once I arranged each three-strip, nine-piece block, I knew I didn't want them jostled. I got the idea to lay each block's components within a 'page' of a filing sorter—31 plus 12 slots (below).

I got it all pieced together and wound up taking the top with me to Prairie Quilt where I'd gone for a demonstration, but I hadn't really thought about what I wanted to use for a backing. Loved the demo on hexagon piecing. (I absolutely love the folks at Prairie Quilt! If I ever need to buy another sewing machine, I'll get a Pfaff from them!) The demo was upstairs which is also where they display their sale fabric. And from across the room, my eyes lasered in on the same orange lantern pod fabric used on the front! Okay, to have a real appreciation for this amazing find, consider this: I found this two years later, in a completely different shop, AND on sale for 30% off! Divine providence for sure!

The last trial for this quilt was in the quilting. I still have not gotten comfortable with free-motion sewing. It's kind of like 'random order'—very foreign in feel and uncomfortable to do. But maybe I could build up some muscle memory and power through it. So I did. I used my Bertie's BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) to stagger, swirl, stutter, loop and curl my way over my quilt's surface. I told a friend it looked like I had Tourette syndrome spasms—and I probably inappropriately cussed a few times, too! Sigh. I finished up the binding and now it's done! Haven't a clue what I'll do with it, but think I will use some of the left over strip pieces for some gifts. I glad to have another project done, especially because it goes back to the beginning of this fabric journey of mine.

Almost done...

Stars Over Bali Skies BOM complete quilt top

Yippie! Hurrah! Hallalejer! My BOM quilt is almost done! I finished the November block and added the border for December. Next, I need to purchase/prep backing, then send it out to be quilted together. Add binding, and DONE! An aside from last month, that troublesome block was really no trouble at all. Maybe I still have the luck of a novice and didn't have the sense to be scared of it! Gonna lay off BOM's for awhile (this one lasted 10 months) and see whatever sewing mischief I can find for myself! I am thinking about taking a class on making fabric bowls; finding projects using a few dozen of those hundreds of fat quarters (which I've recently reorganized! [see below]) I've collected; and dabble in this-n-that.

From Simple Gifts Artists Sale

I've been having quite a time with the Zipper Bracelets I made for the Simple Gifts Market last month. In addition to selling quite a few to friends and customers, I sold over 30 to Blue Seven, a specialty gift and clothing store. That was pretty exciting. I haven't decided if I'm going to continue making them or change 'em up a bit. I've got all sorts of tools and supplies so think I'll be playing 'jewelry' in the future, too.

I finally got tired of my fat quarters collection being only 'kinda' organized. I dumped out each of the boxes, re-color-coded them, organized them as images on my iPad, then refilled the boxes. Ahh, Fabric Peace. Yes, this is how my brain works. Scary, I know.

Mostly fat quarters—three boxes plus batiks!

Eloise, aka Ellie

Checked out the Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar today down at the fairgrounds. I pretty much got what I went for, an adorable sock monkey from Fried Okra, aka Adrian Mix. I was especially tickled to find a 'just perfect' little sock monkey for a little one coming into the world in a few short weeks. But this one is mine. She is Eloise, but I'm gonna call her Ellie. I absolutely love her dots and stripes (dashes?). Maybe her last name is Morse. And that big, cheesy grin—what a girl! She's already got a built-in sock monkey family here and they welcomed her with open arms. I'll get a picture of the whole gang posted next time. I also picked up some wonderfully fragrant handmade soaps. I'm a sucker for a good scent!

I've almost completed my first year of quilting. It's been a fun and productive time—new sewing machine, lots of fabric. And while the BOM is my magnum opus, I've enjoyed all the other smaller projects, mostly for other, especially the baby quilts.

C'mon 2012! Whatcha got for me?

Busy October...

Where HAS the time gone?! I got a late start on the September BOM, so October's fell fast on its heels. Instead of knocking it out in the first couple of days, I saved it for Quilt Camp!

Gwen hosted her First Annual Quilt Camp! From the sixth through the ninth of this month, I enjoyed a delightful little getaway—three nights away from home! Along with two sisters and and a sister-in-law, there I was! We had lots of sewing, laughter, conversation, challenges, creativity, wine-o'clock (what happens at quilt camp stays at quilt camp!), and poignant insights (personal, relational, artistic, and spiritual).

Here is a composite image of some of the quilts that were worked on or brought for show and tell. Julie, the seester-in-law from Arizona, prepared a couple of 'breakout sessions.' She showed us a couple of tricks with 9-patch and 4-patch blocks. A couple of the girls used the 'Disappearing 9-patch' (click here for blogger Susan Wood's technique) to start new quilts.

Julie also brought a nifty little tool with her. In the 'real' world, it's a wide-angle viewer (under $5) one might use for a front door. In quilt world (over $12), it serves as a scope enabling the viewer to see the whole quilt at one time. Even better, Julie picked up some while we were on a mini road trip and gave each of us one! Thank you, Julie!

Another hit of the weekend was a belated birthday gift I had for GweNaomi. Again, in the real world ($8), it's a suction cup grab bar that could also be used for gripping/moving glass and mirrors. In sewing/quilt world ($20), it's a sturdy and stable way to hold onto one's rotary cutter guide template. I think I first saw one in use about a year ago but found the less expensive substitute at Harbor Freight on sale for a dollar less than normal.

This is also evident in something as simple as pens. The big buzz in sewing/quilting community is about Pilot FRIXION pens—at Staples (plenty of stock), three for under $6; quilt store (if they can keep them in stock) only two for the same price. On paper, they are erasable—cool enough. On fabric—just iron over the mark and it disappears! Lesson: If you see a sewing/quilting tool you like, try finding its counterpart in the real world—you'll save lots of money!

One of the projects I took to quilt camp was my October BOM. I ran into a little trouble when I mis-cut one piece of fabric and had to substitute it with a batik I'd bought on sale earlier that morning. Sewing has always been a solitary activity for me and I suspect all the social distraction took its toll. But all was well—I finished the block and moved on to another project. Even better—I am only one month away from having all of the BOMs and border!

Update on the hooded towels project. Sadly, none were bought. I was hoping Autumn would embroider one with the OU logo so they'd more quickly sale/invite orders, but there were too many personalization orders to get that done that weekend. So now they're going into a consignment shop—we'll see what happens there. It's disappointing but hopefully they'll find a clientele with a different marketing strategy. Or EVERYBODY gets hooded towels for gifts this/next year! I'm not kidding! Lucky you!

Sock Monkey! Years ago, in college, I think, I bought a pair of the traditional Rockport Red Heel Socks and made one. I don't think I had one as a child, but remember seeing them around. Maybe my Aunt Velma had one, along with those wonderful yo-yo dolls (made of puffy fabric discs strung together [I've got some patterns to make a cat, dog, and monkey yo-yo critters]) and chenille bedspreads. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Paton yarns sent me an email describing their new book of Sock Monkeys to Knit or Crochet. Oooh, aaah! I downloaded the book and was able to get started right away. This is what I have done of him/her so far. I've also done (and customized) the ears and muzzle, but they get sewn on later. I still have the arms and tail to knit. I'm looking forward to finishing it!

Zipper Bracelet. I first came across this a few weeks ago on Pinterest. Once I read the instructions, I knew I wanted to make some. Hmm...now where to get the zippers? As it happens, a friend was starting a jeans quilt a couple of weekends ago and has a stack of jeans zippers to spare! I expect to have those in a few days. Yippie! So far I've experimented with a couple of metal zippers out of Tom's retired khaki slacks.

Zentangles®. It was just over a year ago that Gwen had her Zentangle workshop. I was an instant fan and had plans to get down to drawing. Enter sewing. And quilting. And every other distraction. I got back to sketching some of the patterns again by using a quadrille rule composition book to practice eight designs per page. I'm still having that little battle within—do I have to practice ALL of the tangles and not just the ones I like? There are some I just find unappealing or don't like drawing. Should I feel compelled to draw them, too? Silliness, I know.

Tonight was paper bead night at Jana's! A few of us who have not seen each other for awhile got together to chat, catch up, dine (luscious!), and make paper beads. I think everyone had  lots of fun!

With Halloween upcoming, Tom is finally ready to costume himself as a superhero! Yes, he's already MY superhero, but who he wants to be is Mermaid Man (the elder), as seen on Spongebob Squarepants. He's 'threatened' to do this for a few years. THIS year he's gathered all the clothing and props necessary so I can't wait to see it all pulled together!

There are still 11 more days left to the month. Hopefully I can keep up this pace or things slow down! It's all good!