A Work in Progress

I have been making my grandgirl clothes since she was three months old.  When she was three and a half, I made her three outfits as Christmas gifts.  By the time she opened the third box, she looked at me and said, "I hope it not clothes again!"  Since I always hated getting clothing for a gift, I promised to never give her anything like that again as a gift (unless she asked for it).  And she hated the top that went with the pants, saying it made her look like a clown (remember this fashionista was only three!), so I promised to take her with me to buy both the patterns and fabric.  It has worked out fine.


Every year since kindergarten, I have made her five outfits in the fall for school.  As she ages, the clothes she wants have become a bit more complicated, as have our lives.  So I don't always get the tops and dresses and skirts completed in time for school.  This year is no different.  I have two of four things completed...and my sixth grader begins school the day after Labor Day.  It's a work in progress.

I also decided to start a new mosaic project.  I have been playing around with mosaics for a bit over a year now and have had lots of fun.  Each project I did was small but different from the previous one.  First one was with tiles.  Second one was a 8x10 picture frame size.  The third project I did three, all in 5x7 frames.  This time I decided to do a window.  When I went to the reuse store, I found TWO windows, six panels each, that had once been cabinet doors.  Perfect.

Next was finding the image/scene I wanted to create.  I found several I loved but one was seemingly great for this project.  I wanted the scene to span the two doors/windows.  Doug took it to work and increased the size so that it was split in quarters across and thirds down.

I decided to use glass and beads to create the scene.  I like lots of sensual texture--visual and touch.  When finished, this will hang outside from the porch.  I want the sun to catch it as well as just giving me visual pleasure while I sew.

First day on the project, I was able to complete the flowers at the bottom of the panels.  Except for the stems, I used beads.  I love a simple flower, but these I wanted to make rich and complicated.  So I made some simple, some complicated.  I used buttons for one.  And the large daisy will be made from glass. It's a work in progress.


When I returned home from southern California, I immediately completed two small quilts that only needed binding.  They will be going to children in the Portland Community College Adopt-a-Family program.  Each year some of my quilting friends and I make quilts for each child registered in the program.  Last year we gave away nearly 60 quilts and pillowcases.  So I try to start early in the year making quilts. It's a work in progress.  The quilt on the left was made from blocks donated to me from my friend Myra.  The quilt on the right was simple made from 9" blocks I wanted to play with and when I made enough, I put them together :)

Physically I have not been doing well.  I have had multiple flair-ups of fibromyalgia.  Perhaps someday I will find the perfect thing that will help when this happens.  And my toes have had multiple flair-ups from the neuropathy.  Perhaps someday I will find the perfect thing that will help when this happens.  But I discovered rosewood essential oil and the scent of this makes me happy :)  It's all just a work in progress.

peace~~~