thread gone wild!

Here's something a little different for your Monday!


Black Books - Favorite Place from DaBrainkilla on Vimeo.

metal work

 FINALLY!  I have a finished railing!  This followed all of our work to replace the nasty old carpet with laminated wood flooring.  To get the flooring to work and run over the edge to the open room below, we had to remove all of the vertical small log spindles.  We kept the large logs that kept the top rail in place.  I really really wanted something different to go up there, but I had a hard time determining what that would be.  After deciding on getting some kind of metal panels, I had to figure out what that would be and who could make them for me.  I looked at lots of pictures and samples everywhere I could find them.  I finally settled on a rough sketch, knowing I wanted something that wasn't a solid barrier, but still safe for little people.  After a little shopping around, I found the metal works that could make what I needed--Accent Ornamental Iron--in Cambridge, about 20 miles north.

There are 5 panels like this around the loft and I love it!  Bob was a little bit slower to jump on the band wagon, but that's not unexpected.  We have totally different perspectives on design and color.  Bob is all left brain (loves puzzles, analysis, computers, etc.) and I am primarily right brain (love color, design, creativity, etc.).  I tease Bob that if he ever needs a head CT it will show a big empty cavern where his right brain should be!

Here's a tip that helps with some of that creativity.  Last night, I was trying to arrange 8 shades of green from my fabric stash.  I know the picture looks kind of brown more than green, but trust me, in real life they are shades of green!  In the next picture the fabrics converted to black and white (real easy to do on iphone or iphoto in the effects when editing).  Looking at them this way, I can more easily rearrange to get them in order.

With the season definitely switching to autumn, and very soon winter, I found some interesting pieces of nature that don't show up at other times.  We have a little nest on a low branch that seems too big for hummingbirds but too small for anything else.  But it's really neat!  There's one single leaf left on the whole tree, the one dangling from the nest because it's fastened into the nest.  And I got a good close up to really get a good look at the parts and pieces that made the nest.

I could also see several other nests up high that are hidden until the leaves disappear.  I wonder what was living in them?

Even a paper wasp hive that has survived the windy weather.

And some pretty "berries" that aren't really berries?  The first ones are actually on our asparagus plants--

And this is bittersweet growing wild.  It has grown into a nice big vine.

So we're about ready for winter, it's inevitable, so let's get it on!

any recommendations?

I have been sewing up some more hourglass blocks (that's the name given to these blocks that are made up of 4 equal triangles), aka quarter square triangle blocks, for my newest rendition of my Hocus Pocus quilt. I wrote about this not long ago and realized after getting a few of the pieces up on my design wall that the dark brown sashing strips that I had planned (and cut a heap of) were too strong for the look I was hoping for. So now I have auditioned some other choices and have moved closer to what I want, and wanted to share the process with you a bit.

Looking through my stash, I found 2 solids that might work. The first one is that first strip that runs from top left to lower right, it is kind of a muddy goldish color up close. When I saw this on the shelf I immediately thought it would be just the ticket, but up on the wall I am not loving it. Then just to the right of that is a brighter yellow strip. When I saw this on the shelf I thought it was way too bright, but when I see it with the blocks I like it. On the right is the dark brown that is getting the axe. And even though I hadn't really considered it at first, there is the option of going with the white that is the design wall showing up between blocks. A viable option, but I am leaning towards the yellow.

I share this with you because I know that picking out colors to put into a quilt is a big road block for many of the people that I meet at the store. They don't feel they have the confidence or the skill to pick anything that goes well together. Well, I have never had an actual art class, never dabbled in paints, never studied color theory. I do own a color wheel, but it is pretty dusty, which shows how often it gets used! Most of what I do is trial-and-error, just like the process I described above. Some of it is intuition, some luck, partly kismet, and mostly practice. What I choose also reflects my personality and mood. How do you choose? If you have any advice, please feel free to share!