Day One

We started sorting and cutting tapestries for our bags and for some tapestry fabric packs for etsy..
We figured out a cool way to piece the patches abutted to each other... will post pictures tomorrow..

I'm ready and so is the barn.... tomorrow!!!

If you were a follower last winter you remember the sewing room (12x30') in the barn looked like this...  I posted about the history of the barn.  Cathy and I mostly emptied bin after bin of "fancies" from under the counters so  the material on the racks is all still there...only folded .  It is all tapestries and home deco

This is what the table  looked like after my neighbor "Super Woman" Liz came and helped me  .

Today I nailed up heavy duty shade cloth over the long wall of window and hooked up 2 large box fans because it is supposed to be hovering around 90 degrees all week.. In February Cathy and I worked out there with big propane heaters and wore our coats and even gloves one day.  There's a long bank of double 8' fluorescent fixtures and I replaced all the bulbs  and hooked up the power cutter..  With two chairs, three sewing machines and a serger...we are good to go when Susie arrives. 

I'm thinking first we'll dive into tapestries and make our choices for our BoHo bags and in the process put together some tapestry packs to sell.  Then we can start sorting trims, ribbons, heavy laces etc. and make some final decisions on all the fancy trims for the pincushions...  During the hottest part of the day we'll have to retreat to the house and do hand stitching...  I'm so excited... I'll take pictures of it all....

As a special treat and eye candy extraordinaire I hung Lisa DuCoing's Arachnophobia quilt in Susie's room... It is one of my prize processions... Sorry the picture is not the best... it is so lovely..  I'd like to bring it to Colorado retreat with me...

It was a test and Morris failed!!!

Because he used to chew  up everything, Morris had to be left in the laundry room when we left home...  Well he rarely chews anything anymore and we were going to be gone about five hours so I felt sorry for him all alone in the laundry room and thought we would try once leaving him loose in the house with Molly....

This what we found when we returned... He had not only removed all the cushions and pillows from the couch, he had STACKED them... and to the pile he had added two throws, all the blankets from the dog beds, various shoes, toys, and a water bottle he found upstairs...  BUT to his credit he had not chewed up anything!

Remember when he was so little and innocent?

But his true colors soon emerged!

But how can you not adore a dog whose favorite thing is to nap with is your bra!!!

And of course he's always is the picture of innocence...  WHO ME????

Ritva's Artist RR block done...

Sometimes I finish a block and say YES!!!!! this time it all came together...  I'm going to keep it until Monday before I send it off to Hideko so I can share it with Susie who is coming Sunday evening...

And this is was my inspiration... Lace, flowers, and birds...what more can a girl ask for....

Next in line for the Artist RR - Helina's blocks

Gayle posted her work on Helina's blocks in the CQI artist RR... Here are the three that are completed... It makes my heart sing to see this kind of teamwork... The artist Helina chose was Helene Schjerfbeck, a Finnish artist. 

 
 

All three stitchers chose a very light, airy , minimal approach... They all did a couple seams and something floral...  So since I want whatever I do to fit in with their work I will have to follow suit... What??? No lace, no birds???  I'm thinking I'm going to look through a couple of my Helen Steven's books for inspiration...  She is by far my favorite needle person...  The blocks won't arrive until next week but I did look in the files to choose which block I will do.