Today was "nature" day at the river. This morning when I went out, there was this huge garden spider. They are pretty amazing web builders. Then around lunch time five deer showed up (one not in the pic). The one in the front is "Sunflower" and then her yearling is the second one. Not sure how the other two females and the buck that is in the back fit in to the family tree. I am sure that the buck will be kicked out soon as he is starting to get his horns - they are about 6" long now.

Also, a fellow blogger - Blase' www.blaseimho.blogspot.com came out to the river for a visit. He got a tour of the studio and then we took a hike down to the river. It was really nice except for it being so humid! It is always cool to meet someone in person that you have only known threw the internet. And we always love to have company!

A couple other blogs to mention:

I want to thank Nancy www.nfall2rt.blogspot.com for chosing me as a winner in her latest contest! I won tons of cute notecards and envelopes. Be sure to check out her blog and also her Etsy and Artfire stores (links on her blog). Thanks again, Nancy!!!

Also, one of my guilds is having another contest: http://shopswithlesssalesartfire.blogspot.com/2009/08/wheres-waldo-august-contest_15.html Vabeachquilter is the sponsor this month!!! She has some great items, so take a look.

Things go in circles

I just finished making my daughter's quilt that she will be taking with her to college on Saturday. As I was finishing it, I started thinking or remembering the first time that I started to sew and also about me moving out for the first time....

I started to sew when I was very young, maybe around six or seven. My grandma came to visit us and we spent a good part of the time sewing pin cushions. They were shaped liked bunnies and chicks (it was around Easter when she visited) and they were made from scraps of material and felt. She had a neat tool that made pom poms and I wrapped them to make the tails for the bunnies. That has been my pin cushion ever since. It still sits beside my sewing machine!

Then maybe two or three years later, I went and stayed with my grandma for the summer. She set me up a place in the living room with a table and her sewing machine. I spent the entire summer making stuffed animals. My favorite was a snake that was about six feet long, that I made out of blocks of material. The mouth even opened and was lined with pink satin.

When I was thirteen I went to a boarding school (at the time we lived in PA and the school was in SC). I remember that I showed up with one dress folded up in my suitcase. I was rushed into the ladies room and was made to put the dress on (I didn't know). I wore that same dress for a week until I could get some more. My Mom bought me a sewing machine and I started to make all of my clothes. I had a couple simple skirt and top patterns and made tons of outfits. I even made a white dress-suit for graduation.

I have also made dresses for my daughter and Halloween costumes for both of the kids over the years.

I have since given the sewing machine to my daughter and she has made some clothes and lots of bags and purses. However, my sewing machine died on me so I used that same sewing machine to make the quilt for my daughter. It still works great after all these years.

It is amazing how things go around in a circle.

Table cloth and napkins on bed and my first quilt!

I lot of people do not think that sewing or quilting is an art form - but I do! It is very different than when I am working with glass or clay, but it is all a creative process. There are quilt museums: so it has to be art!

My daughter gave me a table cloth and four napkins for Mother's Day. She knew they didn't match my kitchen, but she just thought that they were so pretty (and so do I)- a black and white design. They sat for several weeks on the kitchen counter. I kept hoping that I would be inspired somehow and make them work in the kitchen. But - nothing.


Then I found out that my Mom was coming for a visit (it has been several years since she has been here). I started thinking about the "guest" room. Which is really just a single bed, computer work area, and work-out room and it has all mismatched furniture. It sounds like a perfect project for one of those home improvement projects.


So, I took the table cloth upstairs and put it on the bed. It fit perfectly!!! Then I took two napkins and sewed white material to the backs and made pillows. The other two I sewed together to make a third pillow. I could have had four, but I ran out of batting, so this was the best solution.


All of this started me on a black and white theme for the room. I ended up buying some pre-cut squares and a "jelly-roll" of material off of Ebay. And I made my very first quilt! It is small - a lap quilt, but still it is a quilt. It only took me a couple of days to finish it.





My daughter will start college in the fall and I finally figured out what to make for her: a new quilt for her dorm! It has been started, but I am having trouble finding material to match what I have started. I was hoping to have it finished by Friday, but I don't think I am going to make the dead line.

Don't for get to check out my website: www.liquidambarstudio.com and my items on Etsy http://www.kittysartandstuff.etsy.com/