December

December has been a time of deadlines, finishing a few items of quilting for friends/clients and then finally being able to quilt something of mine. I quilted two lap quilts for my niece and nephew, got them bound and in the mail on Tuesday, probably won't get there on time but oh well, kids will like to open stuff the day after too. Now I still have a baby quilt to quilt for a neighbor, but that is no hurry. So... I can finally feel like I have the opportunity to do something I WANT TO, for a change. I need to do ART, with a capital A. Just play and have fun, I'm ok with deadlines, but recently they have been getting on my nerves, they are the priority, so I never get any of my things done. Now, what to do? what to do? Too many choices, painting fabric or collage, finish a project or start something new? Experiment or play with a favorite technique, I haven't had this freedom of choice for a long while. I am beading a scissor holder necklace for a Christmas present for a freind, I am almost done, only about six strands of beaded fringe left to do. I can only do a little at a time, my hand hurts so much, I'm getting arthritis in my right hand, on the knuckles. Very stiff and sore, I can hardly do any hand sewing any more, and forget about hand stitching on a binding. I do love to hand applique tho, so a little at a time. I have a few projects to finish, then I think it will be machine applique for me. I can do very nice machine applique work, I have done several quilts with this technique. Thin bias strips are easy, but sharp points are difficult, so I design with rounded tips on leaves and flowers instead. If it supposed to be rounded from the start, then you don't miss the sharp points.