CQ Pics and Other Project Progress

Back to reality. A wonderful week in unlpugged bliss in Canada. The weather was not cooperative...Friday we actually had a fire going all day in the cottage, but I can sit and stitch just as well there as on the sandy beach...so it awesome.
It was a no cell phone, laptop week as I don't have an international phone plan and was not willing to pay the extra bucks, so phone was actually turned off for 7 days.
I managed to sew many-a-seam on CQ flower petals. I made these pieces (round center and 6 petals in red and green) 1 1/2 years ago. Not much stitching on them as most of my CQ stitching is on RR blocks that end up in my friends hands! I will get a picture of the "idea" and post soon.
Today was spent working hard on the manor. Seemingly 50 lbs of weeds were tugged from the front gardens over 4 hours this morning. Ugh.
Cleaning various surfaces in the kitchen & bathroom took more precious moments away from my creating time! Any woman reading this knows the shock of returning from a great vacation only to realize all the work from all those days is waiting for you to catch up on in mere hours. Whatever.

Before I left last week I mailed off my "Quilter's choice" gift in the ongoing Homemade Holiday Swap I am participating in on HGTV message board. This round had us doing whatever we wanted, which for me was tougher. I like the assigned theme that goes with the other holidays.
I had planned to send Julie the silk scarf I made in my katazome class.

I should have left it alone. I thought the resist image was too faint, boring, anticlimactic. So I over dyed it using Dynaflow fabric paints thinking the purple would settle into the light areas and darken the lavender but what really happened is.......WHAT?!.....the image was lost. Totally. Not discernible. uh oh.
So I had to come up with a plan B.
I pieced a feminine block and stabbed away...many an hour, right up to my lunch on the day it had to be mailed! Hence the pic of the pillow on my front seat.
I do love how it came out. I think Julie did too.
The next theme is Autumn/Halloween/Thanksgiving. Our choice. Love Autumn colors and leaves are always a thrill but like Halloween too. Not even remotely sure what I am going to make.
Here are a few close-ups of the pillow.

I took these after the pillow was stuffed, thus the unusual angles!
The dyed birds lace and fan lace are from my friend Nicki's etsy site. You will find the link on her blog.The glorious fringe was from my friend Thearica. Thanks!
The button cluster (and normally I am not all about them) recycles vintage buttons. Love that.

Bakers Dozen  is the group of 13 women that have been gathered (online) to share and encourage each other to make art quilts. We get to try things incorporating a theme that each of us has come up with for the ensuing challenge. FREEDOM was the first challenge that Karen gave us. Interpreted any way we want, in any size and any technique. I had this sketch from last year. Loved it and knew I would use it someday.

Here is my quilt (approx 22"x30", since it's not done yet I am ishing the measurement!)

I started machine quilting it today. I really like how it has come out. I made the red fabric with felt, sheer fabric and my Singer er10 embellishing machine I wrote about a bit ago. The female form is cheesecloth.
It represents me and all women who are fortunate to live in a country that recognizes women as equal and gives us many opportunities that women in other countries do not have.
Our current challenge theme is Beads, Baubles & Bling from Colleen. She is a wonderfully talented jewelry designer.

These are spectacular. So it isn't hard to see where she got her motivation from! I am not sure where I am going with this. I did sketch out an idea in Canada last week. ??
I have been busy.

I have learned:

1. How to do a tequila shot. Lick salt, drink up, bite lime.
2. I like Margarita's. 
3. I don't like boats on water. Especially choppy-lake bodies of water. 
4. How to Zoomba. On the beach. No, we didn't care what the "neighbors" thought. It was fun!
5. I can actually turn on an ipod and navigate the playlist. I need to learn to download songs now. 
6. My laptop is getting cranky in its old age. The audio is going. It is slow. I need to back up my files. Of course that would entail me knowing what I was doing to do that.
7. Cliffy  is doing a trial run at Melissa's. He has been lost without her these past 4 months. She missed him as well. He is a missable cat.
8. Love my Cupids Arrow phone cover.