My Newish Room

I have my twin bed back, which is great because I have so many quilts that work on it. But my grand master plan of sleeping sans dawgs has failed, and I have both of them for most of the night, one above the covers, and the other under the covers. Oy!
This view is from my bathroom, which I am now calling my en suite, after watching so much HGTV, and all those Canadians. 
During the day I have those blinds raised and the sunshine pours in like liquid gold. It is so cheery and the view of the pond, iced over at the moment, is lovely. In the summer it will be all garden view, all the time.


Facing the bed away from the TV and under the cathedral ceiling offers me a fresh perspective, more floor space and it makes me feel like reading in bed, instead of TV watching. Nice.
And until the new closet door is installed, I can gaze into my walk-in and sigh with happiness. The French doors are not usable in this configuration, but so? I like the open floor plan better than that 'grand entrance'. With so many doors in this small room, I decided to override the doorway and make my own wall space.

Of course I can still watch TV and knit, or use my computer in this cozy nook. I covered my chair arms and seat with some striped cottons, and made a quickie ottoman cover with more dots. Can't have too many dots. The effect is so girly. Yay!
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And then an update on the quilts in Dave's room.


Machu Pichu is hung for the first time ever. Followed by Nebulosity, Deuces Are Wild, and Lollapalooza Log Cabin.








Sunrise Sky, with Dave enjoying his meal, accompanied by dawgs of course.

Dave's New Bedroom

Dave's  new  room is so close to being finished.  Yes, there are a few things left to paint, and tile, and the bathroom is not yet up and running, but the space is cleared of most construction items, the floor vacuumed, and washed, so why not move in the furniture and artwork? The beadboard I wanted was just hung and painted and the corner trim has been fixed and will get painted next, along with the new stairs.


The new compact ceiling fan is just great, and operates by remote control. The pugs are a riot on this slick new floor, scrambling without gaining traction. But it's Pergo, and doesn't scratch, so we're not worried.


And ta-da! The space is suddenly a bedroom/kitchen/gallery/music playing room. Red and black was the chosen color scheme, and I had to scour my quilt closet for quilts that had the right colors, not too girly, for his walls. The one over the bed is from 1995 and is pieced (!) and named Nebulosity. The one on the stair wall is Lollapalooza Log Cabin, also pieced.


It was of utmost importance for Dave to hook up his stereo to the TV and bring in his speakers. I insisted on the bench at the entrance, so he can remove his boots and drop his jacket. The porch table works for his laptop. The mini-kitchen is for his midnight hunger pangs. Again, everything is coordinated in red and black.


The red locker is now his pantry, and will hold cookies, bread, popcorn, ramen, etc. The frig...beer and pop and leftovers to reheat. It has a tiny freezer and came with a mini ice cube tray.


I found this chair as a discard and he painted it red. I made the cushion. This red table came from a flea market and I paid $15. Dave painted it and coated it with carnuba wax. What a prize. The Marshall amp and speakers are for his electric guitars.



Before we finished the room, a nap was necessary. Here's Tony between Dave's legs, his preferred position.
We love this new room, and can hardly wait til the bathroom is completed. I have one more quilt to hang, but discovered I had never sewn on the rod pocket. So today I will attend to that.

Stuffing, er, um, Dressing!

My sister and I have been dieting (www.loseit.com) since late September and I have lost 18.6 pounds and two jeans sizes. But I am going to EAT BIG tomorrow. In anticipation, I am making my stuffing or dressing today. No turkey this year, just a small pork roast, and hopefully yummy gravy to slather over mashed potatoes and the dressing.
Here's my recipe this year. It changes incrementally every year.
A 14 oz bag of Pepperidge Farm Cornbread stuffing
2 large cloves of garlic minced and added to
1 c each chopped celery and onion, sautéed in a tiny bit of bacon drippings and olive oil until tender.
2 small apples chopped
1 pound cooked Jimmy Dean's Hot pork sausage, crumbled
dried cranberries
and this year, 1/2 cup of hot and sweet jalapenos, chopped,  from a jar.
2 cups of chicken broth and one stick of butter, melted in the broth.
Mix it all together and place in a large casserole dish.
Bake uncovered at 350 til browned. Reheat tomorrow and again and again in days to come.
I am also going to roast a bunch of vegetables, such as parsnips, broccoli, carrots, onions, peppers, red and sweet potatoes. All will be enhanced before baking with olive oil, salt and pepper. Yum.

And not to forget the green bean casserole with required mushroom soup and fried onions on top.  I think I will be making enough to freeze several portions for future cravings.
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We got snow last night and flakes are still falling today. Just a bit. The roads are fine however, but we are staying home and hopefully finishing Dave's room, at least enough for him to move in tomorrow.
Yay!! Pictures of the big reveal to follow.


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I am feeling very thankful this year. In particular to YOU, my readers, who have given me so much encouragement and loyalty and enthusiasm. I love being able to make you knits and quilts and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for filling my life with purpose. YAY YOU!

That Free Pattern-Again

Back in July I offered a free pattern to my readers. Here are some more results from that post.

Deanna Davis sent me these photos:

Thought I would show you a couple of pictures of quilts that have grown out of our Meet-Up project using your technique. We have all really been having fun with it.  It is so interesting that this really seems to push people's buttons and gets them designing freely and without stress.  

First picture is a piece by Lark Stratton who has never worked this way in her life.  In her words; 

"....Your words are so kind. Thank you so much for your encouragement.  It is okay with me if you share it.

Also if you send it to Melody please tell her thank you from me.  I have just not known for so long how to get started on an 'art quilt' and this was so helpful.

Lark"

and also:

"Thanks to all of you for helping me to finally learn how to begin something like this."

 

From me: Letting go of rules can be fun!

Collaborating with Cindy

Hi Melody, I'm so excited that it's my turn! This is such an inspiring project, and I've been eagerly reading your blog each day to see what you're creating.
I love your bright happy colors and improvisational style.
 I want to give you plenty of room to work without too many restrictions, so here are a few of my favorites:
Radiant Orb - for the happy colors, circular design and stitching
Desert Sky - for the composition and the stitching
Stack Series - for the depth of composition
Cross Series Citrus and Leaf Light - for the leaf motif that drew me to your work years ago and the wonderful lime green in Citrus
Cruciform Series Green - for the stitching and the color
Tree House #7 - for the whimsy
Bon Bon 2 for the wonderful color

And here are the answers to your specific questions
1. choices of size: 24"
2. orientation: horizontal, vertical, square completely up to you
3. color scheme: pastel, high contrast, dark and murky, neutrals, vivid, earthy - bright, high contrast 4. surface treatments such as hand quilting, fancy machine quilting, hand or machine embroidery, embellishments or stamping/paint (no beading!) - I love your machine quilting, so I'd like it to have that at least, and whatever else suits you
5. imagery: abstract, botanical, geometric, atmospheric - probably abstract, but I'm open to your creativity!
6. fused or pieced. no hand applique. - either fused or pieced is fine

Thanks, and I look forward to collaborating with you on this project. I can't wait to see what you come up with! Let me know if you need anything else. Happy Thanksgiving and thanks so much for doing this.
Best,
Cindy

Make Me a Quilt: Judy

Ginkos for Judy
Hand dyed silks, cottons and commercial cottons,
fused, hand embroidered and machine quilted.
23.5x19"


I was really happy to revisit the ginko leaf quilts and find a way to incorporated the purple-y colors Judy requested.

FYI, things don't always go smoothly in the studio. Lots of painting in the adjacent room, putting that room's furniture into the studio, so crowded that I couldn't work. Then another trip into town for supplies and further delaying my start. When I finally got to the quilt, my mood was dismal and the fabrics I chose reflected it. I quit for the day, unhappy with the result. But the next day dawned brightly and a solution was found. I removed the darker borders, added brighter colors and all was happiness and delight.