Tuesday Morning...

Working on two new pieces as I contemplate quilting Purple Blocks. I tied PB over the weekend in a symmetrical pattern with gold thread to match the sky components in one of the fabrics. Able to unpin and square off, it now hangs in my closet doorway--Ormond's asleep in there or I'd take a picture and show you. This picture was taken before I tied it but look instead at the gold that I matched for the tying. Apologies for focus...

Instead...

Here are some of the choices to stitch individually the blocks for which the quilt is named. These were STASH also !~! Am I going to be able to complete this piece for Granddaughter without shopping for anything ?~! These threads are Silk & Merino Wool and absolutely luscious to touch. And the colors are superb...

CAT-urday So Soon !~!

Where do the weeks go ?~!

No way to know where time goes when one sleeps it all away. Must say she has good taste in pillows-Toby's Choice. It's an eight foot couch with nothing except that one throw on it. That's where she plants her fuzzy self. Silly girl. She's turning into an outside cat. Loves the sunshine, the bushes that hide her, meeting us as we arrive home in the car, entwining herself about our ankles as we walk... What's not to love ?~!

Have a good week.

Finish it Up Friday--Charlie's OmaLynda Quilt

Another finish in time to play with Amanda Jean and her inimitable "Finish It Up Fridays" where scads and loads and piles of the most delectable links on the InnerWebs are brought for our pleasure. An entire buffet of glorious handicrafts and the craftsmanship is fun to see. Stop by a few of the linkers and maybe you'll meet your next favorite blog !~!

The Picture Essay of "OmaLynda"

The fabric brought by Charlie's Oma from Holland last summer.
Building a quilt for her granddaughter came to me in the wee hours of the morning.

The flimsy glows in the sunshine.

The finished quilt showing how I bound it.
Top and bottom edges I turned the front over onto the back and blanket stitched it down by hand.
The long sides I machine-stitched with a multi-stitch zigzag in variegated purple thread.

Label-my husband named the quilt for the two of us who made it.
Oma and Lynda so the quilt's name is OmaLynda.

Charlie's OmaLynda on the left and Scout's Aqua Balloons-tagged and ready for delivery.

Linking up with "Make It and Love It". Check out her fabulous Linky Party.

Tool User Develops Skills

Few activities in life compare with teaching Littles about the world. My heart is so deeply involved with Littles that trying to tease apart my income stream from my love of them proves problematic. So now I do what I love and my sleep is sweet and pure. I rest without dreams and even my hips are behaving themselves, altho I may have just jinxed that !~!

 Burp's at the age where he wants and needs to do most everything we do: dishes, raking, keeping the dirt on the floor under control. Few activities escape his notice and for the first time yesterday, he grabbed my  hand and led me to the kitchen to show me what he was doing without any vocalizing at all. He's not "led me" anywhere before this and it was a great moment in his development.

Could he be cuter ?~! I fail to see how.

Purple Blocks is now a Flimsy

On to batting and backing and quilting and binding.
Batting: Nature-Fil Bamboo/Organic Cotton (50/50)  from stash.
Backing: cotton small print flowers in medium blue on an ecru background. It's stash and so soft.
Quilting: Don't know yet what I will do. With the blank squares in the center the possibilities are endless...

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation's Needle and Thread Thursday and Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Whoop Whoop.

If I had a Hammer....

Elephants in Various Mediums

Elephants fascinate me and I often see one that intrigues me and so I pick it up. Living in a very small house means we must choose our knick-knacks with care or they just get boxed up in a closet (we have only two closets so that's a self-limiting issue). I have seen stunning elephants over the years portrayed in every conceivable medium. Fabric, wood, stone... I used most of the yard of elephant fabric for my current front door cover and with the remaining strip I was able to cover a pillow which the Burpster had just torn.

Good Intentions Thwarted

My most valuable elephant was carved by a young craftsman in Africa (sorry I do not have any further info about where on the continent) and purchased from Spirits in Stone in Sausalito many years ago. Ormond and I wandered about the store, gazing in awe at the amazing work that is done in this incredibly versatile medium. A salesperson approached us and said, "You may touch them." That was it !~! I saw a particularly interestingly shaped one and when I picked it up, it fit perfectly into my hand. I would have made it out of the store without buying until the stone warmed in my hand and seemed to mold to fit me. Only me. A strangely heady feeling.

Linking up with Amanda today on Crazy Mom Quilts and all her fabulous Finish Friends. Check some of the links others leave there is stunning workmanship to be found by clicking a link.

It's CAT-urday Again and CC 2.0 is Ready

Happy Cat-urday

What's happening here, no water, no food, no litter.
It's a strange and wonderful location.
Perhaps we should vacay here next time ?~!

Purple Blocks in Progress...

I started working on this piece one night last week when I was unable to sleep. I have no  idea where it is going or who will be the recipient... I work a lot like that - idea, execution, deciding who to give it to... These colors will definitely make their desires known to me soon enough.

Ideas of which fabrics may come into play are on the left of the photo....

The beginning a week or so ago.

Here's where we are this morning.

I'm linking up with Richard & Tanya - they have the cutest quilts (and kids) and both are supremely talented.
Linking up with Linda at Natural Suburbia. Her blog is exceptionally creative and she does incredible things with yarn !~!
Sarah at My Quilt Infatuation's Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Weight Off's readers share great links to explore at her weekly party. I love the quilt in her blog header and hope to emulate it someday.

The most difficult part of this weekend will be NOT using those 'nanas for bread Again for the third time this week. How, or is the question Why, does a loaf of  banana bread disappear at the speed of a comet dragging its tail thru space !~! Nom, nom, nom... Is it socially acceptable to lick the crumbs ?~!

Animals and Humans

Incredible pictures

Is there a happier baby on her first time aboard ?~!

Is it conceivable that the whale knows it is interacting ?~!

There's no doubt about the feelings in this one, is there ?~!

Or this one. Look at the way that horse hugs with his front leg !~!

First time I saw this I cried. I love firefighters and have since childhood.

Who feels love ?~!

His body posture speaks volumes about where his heart lies.

These two have met before.

These two will know one another forever.

Creativity Starts...

Wherever I find myself with a few minutes to let myself drift away from the present: Off to a desert, beach/shoreline, forest, staying close by and going inside my head, prowling my heart, wondering about everyone I know...

The ideas flow as visuals stream past to the tune of thousands a day

Where begins your creative journey ?~! 

Do you "pack a bag" or go commando ?~!

Easter 2014

Happy CATerday !~!

It was a quiet week here in LyndaLand. Baby's off "Back East" to meet his grandparents so we only had his pets to look after. Jak, the Dog you met earlier this week and Jak's familiar, Bugs, a solid black kitty with a sweet temperament and a great purr. I wish I had a pic of Bugs to show you but his Royal Blackness doesn't photograph well (or I can't photograph him well) so I will grab a generic black kitty for demo purposes:

This looks just like Bugs. Handsome, sleek, talkative and sweet as my CatCats.

Everyone is home now in their old loved spots on the couch and under the window. It's a fun time when they are here shaking up our routine in the sweetest possible way.

Happy Easter Weekend. Be Safe.

The view out my front door. Luscious, isn't it ?~!

Needle and Thread Thursday-Scrappy Blocks Highlighted

This small lap quilt quickly became a favorite when I finished hand-quilting it.
It hangs over the back of my chair for when I need a bit of extra warmth.

Love it most for the eye candy.

Isn't that orange with beige feathers just the prettiest !~

And Hello Aqua !~!  with small circles...

and honeycomb pattern too.

Ellies in the top left and sailboats under the date;

green batik nudges red mushrooms.

I love these scrappy log cabins.

A gift quilt for my Favorite Teacher in all the Land.

Abby's Nautical Indigo

My original CatCat napped atop each current project.

My dear Neighbor/Friend found this piece of Shibori
in a thrift store in the City (SF).

I love how my window coverings photobomb. 
Scrappy Log Cabins R Us !~! 

The urge to create more scrappy blocks percolates in me. Every day I feel it more and more. There were nearly one hundred blocks in this last cycle and I love every one of them. I see new combinations coming alive in my mind's eye-it's hazel with gold flecks, that eye !~!

Have a lovely weekend. 

Be safe.

Happy Spring, let no more snow fall here nor there...
(I'm looking at you, Smith Falls, Ontario!!)

☼     ☃     ☼

Wordless Wednesday-Naming our Feelings

This wheel opened a world of expression to me. Never did I realize there were so many ways one could feel and that they cold be sorted so cleanly. Lots to learn from this drawing.