CELEBRATE with me! It has been too long since I did a giveaway.....

Reality show takes over my little abstract quilt. I so badly attempted to make a simple solids abstract house boat floating in Lake Union but then....the drawer of people and text lured me in! Can you imagine living under this roof for an evening, week or until the season is cancelled......I cut out the UPS delivery man but figured I had to stop before it was over done!

As I review photos of quilts that I have designed and created since moving to the NW, I am curious how our creative souls can be tweaked by environment, stations in life and.......WHAT? Celebrate with me how your creative soul is influenced! My top photo is an abstract interp of the floating home on Lake Union posted below the quilt. I have wanted to play with the abstract ideas and the buildings of Seattle and this is my first attempt. So badly I wanted to leave without an embellishment, but could not. I love this text quote and found it on my recent trip to West Seattle. There are more from where it came! My place mats with silly ditties are taking off and I am delighted because they are a riot to create. These 2 are based on the theme, "NATURE".....more about human nature than Mother Earth but I could not resist when I found beach fabric and Want Ads for Paramours.....Thanks to the Quilting Loft in Ballard! And of course the staple of Seuss and Dick and Jane will continue to be incorporated. So excited! I have gotten a commission to make another Tree of Life. It will be based on my original posted on Green Fairy's Blog but with certain animals chosen by Jess who is requesting the quilt. I am tickled that I can supplement my income doing something I love. I realize that my style is not for everyone but with each hobby comes a group that will enjoy the jounrney and so I thank you who follow me! I will leave the contest open for a couple of days for the drawing. CELEBRATE! what's on your heart and what makes it beat! Leave a note of what you would like the prize to be.....It is your drawing, make it matter to you! Love, Em

Guess what?

I can barely contain myself!.......Visit the Green Fairy today!

Ahhhhhhh, Doesn't it feel good to finish a quilt?!!!! and find some giggles ....

Do you ever ask yourself, "How did my quilt end up looking like this, taking this direction and shape....I bought a pattern and fabric and some thread and then POOF!" or...."When I awoke this morning did I have any idea that this is what was in store for me? The mind and the heart is amazing to me especially during the creative process...whether that be creating a quilt, dinner, a love of your life or THAT moment when you just are grateful. With heart comes a need for courage to take the plunge sometimes and today....Porsche became SUP-Dog "Stand Up Paddleboard" Dog.....When I slow down....oh the beauty I see! Can you tell when Roxy is begging to quilt next?......And finally, 1 year later....the Van Gogh cats are ready to be pieced. I think Tula Pink may have the perfect pattern for them....at least for the initial plan, he he! And then there is the Poppy quilt to play with for a friend, Jen.... And how many hours are left in this day, Oooooooooooooo! Happy TOOsday, Em

Eye to the memories of loved ones while creating memories of my own and CELEBRATING the puddles along the way....

Memorial Day.....As I begin this post and found the bottom photo that speaks to me of an abstract eye with wisps of hair tickling the forehead, loved ones flash by like slideshows and I smile and sigh simultaneously. While remembering Grandpa I CELEBRATE the memories that my family and I are creating each day that will one day be a sigh and a moment of reverie. Last summer my quilting breaks were on an ATV....now they are a kayak and paddle board with my boys. And the quilt....so close!!!!!! The two side borders and then this little silly ditty that is not so little, DONE! Seems to have a childlike primitive ju-ju and I am enjoying it. I hope you do too! And the fun of this quilt....Friday night I attended Seattle Modern Quilt Guild and played with the author of Quilting Modern, Katie Pedersen. Her blog is SEWKATIEDID@wordpress.com. She is so fun!!!!!! and her inspiration, OOH OOH OOH! Buy her book and you will want to create every quiilt! Oh how fun this little life in the NW is!!! Love, Em

When you see the word BEACH......and Mom's current applique....

What came to mind? I make yummy noises and smile and begin to go down reverie road. As Roxy and I swirled and currented and imagined the markings of sea and sand....This quilt is my sketch pad. I practiced new fmq designs that I have wanted to try and was scared to do. My back is a complete disaster with the tension but that is how it goes. The learning curve, once what took me to to the psychiatrist's couch due to my perfectionism is now OK......The title of this quilt was once Sea and Sand...now it is, It has One Side, Front. And of course, gotta CELEBRATE mom's current applique project. Isn't the leaf fun? The little eagle is adorable that will soon adorn it! Off to play with Gwen Marston's Medallion ideas.......

"You know that feeling when you see someone you love and the only thing that matters at the moment is that moment?"

This post will be one of few words because it seems they would cheapen the sentiments of my weekend. I even become emotional as I begin to type the post. My boys were both with me for the weekend, mom and shop hopped to island quilt stores while eating ginger snaps and tatting and reading on the ferry and....a quilt class I will never forget nor could have imagined the beauty that was in store as I signed up for it. Sitting in a circle listening to Gwen's stories, revelling in the quilts as she brings them out and advises on the process of making a small quilt and my favorite....as she made the rounds and she sat down next to me and looked in my eyes as she spoke to me and nodded as she was listening. A woman who I admire and now I love because of a fun intimacy she shared with us. Her adorable stories and little giggles as she would tell the punch line, teach us the secret to small curved strips in a piece and sitting in a group as we talked about little boys and their love for scraps and how fun it must have been to be with girlfriends in a red tent.....She told me that quilting is the process and if we all leave having had a good time that day then it was a success and a quilt top would be a bonus.....And my project, a tiny quilt for a dear girlfriend who shares the joy of art inspired by maxi pads.....hence the stuffing left as embellishment and the labels from packaging. Off the wall but so is she! Speaking of off the wall, something about a lady coming up behind me and asking, "Are you Em?" Turning around to my delight and having Stephanie a dear blog friend introduce herself and have our cyber lives become real. We shared a table, stories and I found it hard to believe that we were together. Love to you on this Sunday! Em

Jean Wells, I like your inspiratoin!!!!!

I love Ms. Wells' advisement of finding inspiration for quilts in our everyday world...How about a surf magazine ad? I guess I did it a little backwards....began the piecing and quilting of Sea and Sand and then found the pic that was what I had visualized in my mind. With the help of the design Earn Your Stripes also. May you find some inspiration during your Friday moments!!! Em