Hey, I really like camping!

I feel kind of bad for having not wanted to go camping last weekend, but it was really relaxing and refreshing. 

I was really inspired by all the colors around me. Vivid greens and blues of the trees and the lake, sun-bleached stones and wood. Everything has a special sparkle in the woods. 

I went fishing with my guys and actually caught the first "keeper" of the weekend. The iridescence of the fish is amazing, the sun glittering on the water is, dare I say it, thrilling. Also sunburn-inducing. Note to self: Even thought it's early in the day and you think you'll be back before you're too exposed, put the dang SPF on.

For the first time in ages, and I do mean AGES, I felt relaxed. Calm. Serene. I discovered I'm pretty good at making a campfire. I can bait my own hook (I'm still working on the removal of fish from said hook). I can drive a boat. Last weekend was full of discovery. I did things I've never done before. I even removed a clam from its shell and caught a beautiful Sunfish using it as bait. Of course, the shell is beautiful inside. 

I took photos of textures you don't always see or notice in the city. I've been using them as the basis for some fabric designs. One I'm especially proud of is of some lichens. I played around in photoshop and the effect is one of watercolor impressionism. Like a Monet. I began playing around with pixelation, color fades, adding and subtracting elements. 

I also began to think that the campsite (on Lake Peavey) would be a really beautiful place to photograph my products. We're going back up this weekend, so I'll have a talk with the owners and see if they're cool with that (and I don't know why they wouldn't be). 

I also designed a line of star fabrics for next summer. I normally hate the star shape. It has become trite, in my humble opinion. But I'm hoping my designs will have enough of a spin on the oft misused geometric shape to make it seem exciting. I also based the different color-ways on different American cities. So it's still "All-American" <eye roll>. That part makes me cringe. Not that I'm not patriotic. I'm very much so. I just don't like how some people use that term. 

Anyway...

I really used this weekend to soak in the beauty of nature and my family and to meet new people. I accomplished that and much more. I even got a couple of flowers done for the baby quilt. Then I went off on my design tangent in my journal. Well, that, and I didn't want them to smell like campfire. I love to sit on the smokey side and get the smell in my clothes, but I don't think I should present a gift that smells like campfire. Though nothing would make me prouder than to have my great-niece wrapped up in the blankie I made for her while she's sitting at the fire pit in my sister's backyard.