Karen writes about life as a Quiltmaker in Austin, Texas; surviving in an empty nest, marriage, cooking, gardening and (did I say?) Quilting...

Friday, December 04, 2009

Waiting for Snow...

The forecast today calls for a 60% chance of Snow... indeed a true "chance" occurence here where snow is a true novelty.  The clouds of the morning however seem to be lifting a bit, and we have reports of snow SOUTH of us... so, we may miss it. Here's a nice picture of the fall leaves from the studio a few days ago... The leaves have all but fallen now, but the light was gorgeous that day, shining through the brilliant remains of fall. It is an Eastern Gum, and despite the terrible heat and drought of summer did put on a nice "show"...

But with the morning off, it was time to start on cutting those charms for an upcomind workshop with Gyleen Fitzgerald. Called Humble Tumbler, we'll learn to make a simple, small charm quilt, choosing two expanded "colorways". What else could I have picked but red and green! My collection of Christmas fabrics (and red and green in general) will more than fill the bill.

I'm hoping to learn a lot from Gyleen, I'm especially interested in her color theory, but even more so on her self-published works. She has some lovely books for children, and a book of quilts and poetry that looks like a great addition to the library - maybe even a nice gift for someone special!
Here's a link to her website ...  http://www.colourfulstitches.com/
She also has a book on "finishing" something I've been struggling with of late. More on that subject soon.


Here's a look at the worktable today: a typical spread of tools. The reds, the greens and those that might go both ways.

We are supposed to think about "expanding" the color way to include adjacent colors on the color wheel, but I think it may go to far beyond my Christmas theme.. will see where it goes tomorrow.

I'm trying the ergonomic rotary cutter of late  (upper left of the pic) to try to reduce pressure on those joints that are NOT likeing the advent of winter!

Well, as my hubby says, it's off to "sewing machine world for an evening of work...still NO SNOW :-(