last weekend, was a little disappointing.  we had been expecting to open our home to a 4 year old great dane.  but a series of unfortunate events meant that our visit had to be postponed.  we are crossing our fingers that he'll come tomorrow.  
but in the classic way of my life, i believe the postponement may have been a good thing.   for on monday a major change came to the studio.  this massive quilting frame and quilting machine has it's own room in the studio and has officially transformed me into a rogue quilter.  now my quilts are even less conventional as i swirl them with my own flow of quilting.  moving the machine over my collection of fabrics is very satisfying.  but it's taken me all week to get it rolling along.  and now i feel like i have no limits.  like the quilts can glide out into the world with no restrictions.  i'm pretty excited. 

i've made a few quilts, but this is my first one.  i'll have them up on my etsy soon.  it feels light and limitless.  which is always good for my creative direction!!

i also opened an instagram account yesterday.  it's such fun, playing with photographs and making a little visual record of my life.  if you want to follow my instagram photos my username is 'chasinglightningbugs'.  (big surprise).  i'm new, so i'm hunting through photos looking for people to follow. i'd love to follow your photos!

 

much has been happening in my little world.  at least for me it's alot.  changes.  major newness.  and uncertainty.  
it has been 2 months since we lost edgar.  and he's never out of my mind.  he's part of everything i do.  at first i was devastated and paralyzed.  unable to work or do much of anything.  now i'm working, in fact i'm swimming in quilts and fabric.  but change is coming....to both home and studio.  
recently we have become involved with a couple of great dane rescues.  i have never had a rescue dog, but now i feel like our lives are in a place where that is more reasonable.  and there are so many wonderful danes that are begging for the love and security we can offer.  we have found a lovely guy who was found starving and being used in a horrible backyard breeding situation.  he is loving and sweet, just not crazy about cats.  so, he's coming tomorrow to have a little test run with us.  to see if we can convince him that cats are ok.  
and quilt tops are piling up and quilting them on my little kenmore is no longer even kind of feasible.  megan has been busy quilting  as well, but there is only so much she can do with her busy little family.  so i've found a second-hand quilting frame and machine that will take up an entire room in the studio.  i'm fortunate to have the space to accomodate it, but i'm nervous about the transformation and the commitment.  to say nothing of the frustration of figuring out how to use it. 
so, my weekend is full.  and my nerves are aflutter in anticipation. next week will be full of new challenges for us!!!   

this quilt is a celebration.  a joyful collection of a childhood.  jumpers and dresses, pyjamas and skirts.  all cut and sewn into a collage of fabric to cherish for a lifetime.  i'm really happy with this quilt.  and it's been a great experience making it.  for many years people have asked me to make these sorts of quilts.  but they really didn't fit into my repertoire.  since i don't use a pattern or tutorials or follow any sort of direction, i have to work my way into a new direction in my own fashion.  and for so many years, the squares i used were too large for these sort of quilts to work.  but now that i'm concentrating on my farmhouse quilts, it's the perfect fit for this sort of application.  and i felt an immediate connection with the customer when she contacted me and we started to discuss it.  i felt that together we could make this work.  
a box of fantastic clothes arrived at my door....a little like christmas in february.  and after sorting through them, i had to start cutting.  it was hard to start cutting into these little gems.  but once i got started, the vision came to light. the clothing has a presence and we worked along together ironing and sewing little strips of fabric, layering colors and patterns until the beauty of the quilt emerged.  i imagine the family snuggled under the quilt, remembering good times and recognizing fabrics from favorite clothes.  
i think this sort of quilt is also a beautiful way to commemorate a loved one after death.  it's so hard to sort through the clothing of someone you've lost and who you miss so much. clothing is so intimate.  like the touch of the person is still in the fabric.  but having a quilt that carries the memory forward to another generation is  really special. 
the quilts i make are always teaching me, carrying me in new directions.  and this latest path is a beautiful new chapter.  
    

it was in an art history class in college that i learned an important little bit about myself.  i remember the moment. almost casually. the discussion was about materials.  and that artists have a visceral connection to their materials.  i knew that.  but i'd never heard it said.  i knew that i needed to have paper and paint around me.  that i would feel lonely and a little lost without brushes and colours and sketchbooks.   i would dig into my materials like a meal.  i would stare at them, enjoy just seeing them piled before me. little tremors of joy.  and that has always been my drive.  the process and the love of my materials and tools. canvas and linen in rolls.  stretched on wooden frames for painting.  then i started finding fabrics i wanted to paint on. strange gothic fabrics that would carry the texture through the paint. and that was the beginning of my fabric collection.  buying it because i loved it.  and incorporating it into the work i did then.  
now the materials drive me through this latest incarnation of what i make.  it isn't art in the same sense as painting was for me.  but i approach the making of my quilts in the same way.  no rules.  no directions.  i leap in and let the materials carry me away. and i love the materials hard.  i think this energy is palpable in the physical delight that the quilts are.    

i rarely do shows outside of the studio.  i just don't feel comfortable outside of my little domain.  but i'm beginning to find some that i want to be part of.  today there is one of those shows right in our neighborhood.  at the harbour, just three houses down from ours.  'she creates' showcases women and benefits interval house.  i'm not sure of all the services that interval house provides for women, but i know it is fantastic.  when i was dropping off my table fee, i was at the door with other people who used their services.  a mother with a small boy.  climbing the stairs to the door, the little boy said 'look mama, this is our nice house'. a toddler who appreciated having a safe place to live.  i was crying when i got back in the car.

so, if you're in the kingston area, come by portsmouth olympic harbour and support the work that women do to help each other.  i believe there are activities for kids and adults too.  today from 11 until 4.  i'll be there with quilts and a few smaller items.      

the nightsounds were loud above us as we slept.  i lay awake to the music of heavy icy rain pinging off the metal roof that covers our bedroom.  the darkest part of night.  the rumble of sleep and stella's frantic hunt for warmth as she snuggles under the duvet and into my arms. i stayed in the dark snuggling and listening until the other cats began pacing and whining for me to start the day with them.  
the rain has stopped. the cats are fed and the fire is warming the library.  the kettle is on the boil and blueberries rinsed for breakfast.  the day is on it's way.   

stella has climbed on my arms as i'm typing.  she is enjoying a quiet hour with me early in the morning. the light is beginning to break into day.  a friend of mine is here, asleep at the studio next door.  yesterday we had a full day of visiting and laughing while i worked on quilts and custom orders. friendships that endure years and many miles are so very special. and i love having friends in the studio with me as i work.  last night we made pizzas and watched the bachelor....laughing and cutting up the fake romance of it all. and this morning we are heading to my favorite greasy spoon for breakfast before he heads back home and i head back to work.  24 hours of catching up. this is how my week started.