Posts Tagged ‘Toucan’

Holiday’s, next piece, misc.

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

I hope that the holidays were fantastic for everyone. I had a very nice holiday season, largely because I finally had some time to sew.

Here are pictures of my newest piece. I have not named it yet, but it is done (except for labels and formal pictures). Dye painting is so difficult and unforgiving, but I am very happy with this piece. I have spent the last several days doing all the hand sewing in the evenings and on the holiday (the 1st). Between the binding for this piece, and the upper and lower hanging sleeves for both this piece and the Toucan I have been hand sewing for days. I kept getting up to go and do something else, anything, like laundry and cleaning the toilet. I normally like the finishing process, but having to do the finishing work for 2 pieces together was not fun. Note to self…don’t do that again.

I have also begun to think about another piece that I wish to make. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to share that journey (should I undertake it) until after the competition is over.

Here is a small quilt I recently made that now hangs in my kitchen. It was a fun little piece and looks great hanging near the black fridge. I think the undulating waves are inviting, and the red fabric is one of my hand dyed pieces.

Shoulder news – I have completed my formal physical therapy course and have been given clearance to (slowly) return to normal life. I continue to have pain in certain positions, there is extreme tightness in the posterior capsule, as well as a healthy dose of clicking and cracking, but so far so good. The thought process is as follows: I am now at 6 months since the surgery and should be healed. If I am not healed and there is something still wrong, then I am not going to get healed. The resumption of normal life over the next couple of months should either show that something is wrong or else help with the tightness and clicking. I will be doing daily stretching and 3-4x week of self directed PT for at least the next year.

Toucan is done

Monday, December 1st, 2008

I am happy to report that my Toucan piece is done (well nearly done). I just took a snapshot of the piece on my kitchen floor. I still have to make hanging sleeves and take formal pictures of the piece, but here are some snap shots.

The piece was inspired by a vacation I took a couple of years ago to Central America. I often take a spring vacation trip to someplace warm. Winter in upstate New York is long, and often we don’t feel “spring-like” weather until well after the calendar says that spring has arrived. To fight the long winter, I often go somewhere warm in March.

BTW, my trip next year will be the biggest and longest of my life (aside from the summer I spent in Austria when I was 17). I am going to China (Beijing, Xian, Hong Kong) and then on a cruise to Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore. It will be very expensive, but I am exited about the experience.