moving right along...

Christmas has passed, the New Year hasn't arrived yet, and Chanukah is on night #4 -- New Year's Eve will be the last night.  I can't remember when there has been such a perfect confluence of holiday dates.

I'm in Florida and I spotted a menorah in the kitchen cabinet.  But it appears to be child-sized-- which mystifies me, since no children ever lived here. I wasn't even sure the candles would fit, but they do -- and the wax drips all over the counter in little blobs.   
 
I thought the $6.99 candles would burn much longer than the $1.99 candles, but I was wrong. Oh well.

In the meantime, lest you think I have been idle, my guest room has turned into my sewing room. It is just as messy as the one at home, but it didn't take as long to get this way.  I will show you the neat parts:

And no, I haven't cut into that African fabric yet. Maybe in January.

Ok, the candles have burned out, so I can go to bed.  Last night I was so tired I went to bed at 8:30 and woke up well rested -- three hours later.  Good grief! I had to stay up for a few hours so I could go back to sleep. (what is wrong with this picture?)

Hope you are having some sort of vacation this week. I am off to bed - it is now a civilized enough hour for that. xo

Where did the time go??

Ha - it went away.  Have spent most of the last few weeks in my guest room - now temporary sewing room - playing around with some ideas.   Some worked out; others, not at all.  And the one that I should have cut up before I quilted it is sitting on my wall, looking sad.    I can't even show it to you -- it is too embarrassing.

When I left my sewing room, it was for the supermarket or to Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy a vacuum.  My mother's old one from the 1970's is great -- except that the retractable cord retracts every time I take a step, so I can only vacuum in one spot.    So, after having read every vacuum review on the Internet, I decided on this one.  It has been lying on the floor for 3 days because I haven't got time to put it together.  I got as far as following the first instruction.

•   Lay the machine on its back.

The next step requires me to get down on the floor, from which I will never get up.  Phil, my partner and engineer, will not be back until the end of January. So here I am, back in the sewing room, which has a floor that looks like this (and this is not even the worst part).

It is raining.  I have beenup since 4:am.  It is now 6:45 and my NY Times has not

yet arrived - grrrrrr).   There is only one cure for this before I get on with my day.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

 

Help! I am a prisoner in my sewing room!

This is not exactly a complaint, you understand.  I have lost no time in making my Florida guest room into a mess.  There wasn't enough horizontal space, and there is barely any storage space. The bookcases are now almost devoid of books and have been replaced by piles of - ha - fabric.  I had to buy a folding table, 24" x 48" - and I bought one that lowers so I can actually sew on it without getting a crick in my neck.

I am using up leftover bits from another quilt and was trying to make something modern and restrained - but it wants to be something playful, so I guess I have to go with it.

Honestly, it never pays to have an idea of what you want because you are only disappointed when the piece sticks out its tongue and says "nyah nyah, you can't do that. You are doing it MY way!"  

I've been waking up at pre-dawn hours, so I'm trying to stay up a little later tonight. Maybe I can sleep till a civilized hour and work on that silly piece tomorrow.

On another note, my African batik arrived a day or two ago and I hope to live long enough to use it. Here are two sections of it.  I think the turquoise is a mistake, but it is at intervals so it might be intentional.  In any case, I love the effect.

So that's my story for today. Stay tuned. If I don't have anything interesting to say I will try to invent something for the next blog post.

 

Apologies - or explanations.

Thank you, dear readers, for having checked to see if I was ok.  True, I have not posted since I came back from Switzerland.  Short of time, I have been doing quickies on FaceBook and Instagram but there is really no content with those posts. I was home for a week between Switzerland and Paris; time to unpack, do laundry, and repack.

I have tried several times to post from my iPad, but since Blogger discontinued its app, it is impossible to post and edit properly.  So - since I have my computer with me, I have finally made some time (mid afternoon??) for a blogging break.

In the meantime, a bit of backtracking.  My class in Geneva was terrific - and I taught and lectured in French, which was very cool.  One  of the exercises I gave them was to use black, white, and one color to make a piece.  Here are some of the results.

 

My life has been hectic and my week in Paris was book-ended by funerals.  My visit to Paris was a belated condolence call to my cousin. I enjoyed spending the week with her and seeing the rest of my extended family.  Paris was chilly and gray for the most part, but we did go fabric shopping. Since I was in Africa last year, I have been collecting a variety of African fabrics -- and there are plenty in Paris. Have I used them yet? Of course not.

We also spent one day in the Marais - my most beloved neighborhood in the whole city.  It, too, was filled with color and pattern.

 

Le Marais is filled with wonderful shops, but this one stopped me cold.

 

I could have bought everything in the store.

 

 

But because I had only one little suitcase and one little budget, I came home with this one. 

Since I got home, I have been juggling and I have now juggled my way to West Palm Beach for the winter.  I have brought my entire stash and my old Bernina, in case I want to quilt something while I am here.  Today, I received a yummy piece of African batik from Judy Gula at www.artisticartifacts.com.  I have washed it and it is out on the porch, dripping onto the carpet as it dries. 

SO - that's the short version.  I am deliriously happy to be staying in one place -- although will be driving up to Savannah to attend QuiltCon for a couple of days at the end of February.  But I promise, you will hear from me before that!
xo