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.

Busy, busy!

I'm so stoked about my latest venture. Sooooo Stoked!
I really get in the zone when I'm designing fabric. It's about as close to a runner's high as I'll ever get. I'm not a great runner (to be honest, I'm more of a walker/trotter), but when I'm at my computer with the colors and the shapes, the patterns and the possibilities.... man! That is a high.
I spent part of last night gathering my thoughts about how I'm going to present this to my husband. He's probably going to need a fair amount of convincing, but I figure, if I really have my poop in a group, he might take it seriously. That's the hope, anyway.
I've made my lists of how I want to proceed, and I checked in with mom this morning so I'm not losing momentum. I've added more color options to the collection and I've scrapped the ones that stink. I adjusted a few to be more on trend with the colors I found on the projected trends for the next couple of years and changed the scale on a few of them to have more options. I was inspired by a blouse I saw Kyra Sedgwick wearing on a magazine cover, to really bring the scale down to a tiny size. Wouldn't it be killer if she wore MY designs on the cover of a magazine?
I'm going to go work on the garment designs now. Wheee!

PS - I got the swatches back for the Harriet Collection and the pink did NOT turn out. I'm going back to recolor them, however, some of the designs were fine and they are now available for purchase on http://www.spoonflower.com/collections/17669

Spinning Wheel...

I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past week or so, mostly because I haven't been able to accomplish too much with this FMS flare up that is just being stubborn. I've also done a fair bit of designing and "soul" searching. I've come up with a plan and I'm going to try to put those plans into action. I don't want to say too much, but it could mean a fabulous change in my life. 

Today I had a really great conversation with my mom about my creative arts, and how to parlay them into a career that I will love and will give me, not only a sense of purpose, but security, as well. My husband plans on retiring in about 3 years and I've been trying to figure out how I'll be picking up the slack. I know he won't completely stop working and his retirement plan is quite good, but I've had a career-shaped hole in my heart for a while. I've been really good at finding obstacles to my plans over the years. Of course, that's mainly because I try to do everything by myself. My mom and I put our heads together this morning during our regular phone session and came up with a few ideas and connections I have that would make this project seem not so out of reach. Now, I just have to sell my husband on the idea.

I have to say that reading Kaffe Fassett's "Quilts in Sweden" was partially responsible for this little kernel of inspiration. Fassett not only designs fabric and quilts, but also yarns and needlework. So, along with my quilting and the fabric I have on Spoonflower.com, I'm going to start working on a line of clothing and accessories using my own fabric designs. I looked at some fashion trend reports, and what I've got in mind for my designs is right on target for the colors and prints they're forecasting all the way into 2014. That was terribly exciting for me to see. Usually I come up with an idea and a week later it's being released by someone who had been putting those ideas into action for the last year or so. This time, I'm right on trend with what the future is bringing. I really don't believe in fate or signs, but I'm sure those that do would tell me that this is a door from which someone is calling me to enter. So, I'm being called. So, sue me. (No, don't. I haven't got any money!)

I'm going to continue with this blog, though it may now include things not related to quilting. On the other hand, designing quilts is a decent sized part of what I'm envisioning doing, so for the quilting fans out there, never fear. I'm just adding some other stuff to that which I do. Because I'm just not busy enough. (Yeah. That was, indeed, sarcasm.)

I have two, possibly three theatrical productions coming up in the following year. I intend to keep those commitments. I also want to go back to school, one class at a time, since that's what we can afford at the moment. I'm prepping to sign up for a math class <shudder> as I write this. I want to get my degree somehow. This will help me with my plans. I also want to see if I can get into a pattern making class. I know how to take an existing pattern and create what I need. I can also cut fabric without a pattern and create what I need, but making a pattern from scratch is something I have NO idea how to do, particularly if it's very detailed.

I'm ready for a change. I have been for quite a while, I just didn't know what to change, exactly, and I've spent a lot of time and energy on what was probably not the right path for me. I've been pushing back this other idea because, I don't know, maybe I thought I couldn't or that no one would like it. I'm also very aware of my age. I keep telling myself I'm not good enough. But I am. And, gosh darn it, people like me. And they like what I do. I'm going to listen to them for awhile instead of just listening to my inner critic (who is really loud and obnoxious, by the way). I'm also going to ask for help. I've never wanted to ask for help. I'm afraid people will think that's the only reason I want them around. But frankly, I wouldn't want you around if I didn't genuinely like you. I don't want to surround myself with people I can't stand simply because of how many connections they have, or money, or whatever. If you're an asshole, I don't want to work with you, either. That's something I just have to get over. I hate the idea of imposing myself on someone. I cringe at the thought. So, if you happen to be someone I ask, know that it's because you rock. You rock a lot.

Surviving the Scourge...

For whatever reason, the past several days have been nothing but fibromyalgia pain-filled misery. Undaunted, I've tried to make progress, but I've not accomplished too terribly much.
Just before that, however, I managed to get 5 more flowers done for my niece's baby's blanket and I sorted through several boxes of old stuff that has been out in the garage for years. Found some great stuff and some stuff that was kind of depressing, but, that's how it goes when you go through old junk, innit?
I also got on to Spoonflower and made some more fabric designs. It's one of the few artistic things I can do that doesn't cause too much pain or take up too much energy. I'm going to be going through my designs soon and discontinuing a few, so if anybody wants some, now's the time to get it. Unfortunately, Spoonflower doesn't have "sales". Well, that I'm aware of. I think I've found a mini project!
Interestingly the designs I worked on yesterday were ones I imagined for garments, instead of quilting. Not that they couldn't be used for quilting, but I could envision some really great clothes out of the stuff I did yesterday. I'm not sure if those will actually go up for sale or if I'll dare to make a clothing line out of them. It is something to consider.... hmmmm....
Here are three of the new flowers I did last week.

I'm trying to make sure to use combinations of the old and new fabric so I don't have this set of flowers here, that set there... I wonder if we can change the block name to Auntie's Flower Garden? I have 7 step-grandchildren and one great-step-grandchild, but I'm not really a grandmother yet. I know, I know. It's a Grandmother's Flower Garden.
Well, let's see what the next week brings. Hopefully today will mark the end, or the beginning of the end of this bloody fibro flare up, and I'll get something done! I'm missing my Summer, dammit!

Quilty as Charged...

Busy month! Had a table read for a play I wrote (went very well), opened Crimes of the Heart at the Bloomington Civic Theatre on the 18th (Also doing very well, I'm playing Lenny) and last week, through a miserable cold, I went to 6 auditions (and was cast in one of them). Also got my eldest son set up for his IEP at school and found him an amazing therapist. Then our washing machine broke. Tomorrow the new one arrives. I had a load of fabric pre-washing when it went down, so I don't have the backing ready for Lillian's quilt. Needless to say, I didn't get a whole lot done in the quilt department. Quilty as charged.
On the other hand, over the last weekend, I put together the top of the pink quilt and made 26 multi-colored blocks for my niece's baby. I then made a bed runner from the pink/black/grey scraps, organized the other scraps by size and color, cleaned the bathroom, helped my husband replace the mini-split (heating and a/c) units in the boys' rooms, cleaned my eldest son's room and found him a new desk, a table that was made from an old treadle sewing machine stand. It's got a built in fidgit! (He's on the autism spectrum and has a hard time sitting still) I (finally) cleared the gutters, baked meringue cookies for my friend's Memorial day cook-out and designed two full fabric collections for my Spoonflower account. Not bad for someone who "doesn't work" LOL. I guess I really shouldn't beat myself up about not getting on to blog. I still have to take photos of the stuff I did get done, but they are on their way.
For next month, I have to plan my younger son's 6th birthday (Transformer cake - check!) and figure out something special for Father's Day and our 10th Anniversary. And go to two graduation parties. And attend a workshop on how to audition for musical theatre. And have two more weekends of performances. And... <insert exploding head here>

...then I'll have 6 weeks with no shows. Maybe I'll get something done then?