Monday, June 19, 2017

Taking a break







 However pretty the garden is...and it's looking great - we've actually had rain this year..and have found a spray that actually keeps the deer away but is not obnoxious for humans - however lovely home is....sometimes it's good to get away from all one's myriad activities and take a complete break.....
 So I'm leaving behind my lovely "Mister B" (i.e. my old piano!) and piano inspired quilt beginnings....I love black and white!!!  (despite all those pink flowers above, I don't think I have ever made a pink quilt!)....
 ....and also taking a break from the current mini class I'm teaching and filming  - small sections only - for illustrations for the next online class I'm writing (it will be Fall before it's done, probably late Fall).....
(meanwhile of course I have seven other classes running with the academy ).......
Here are my willing victims selecting their fabrics!  sketches are already done....one lady called it her "map" which I think is a great term.  The map shows you where to go, in large terms...it doesn't get into tiny details of how many steps you must take, every little signpost along  the way, potholes and traffic lights and so on....so my victims will follow their maps and hopefully arrive at wonderful quilt destinations!

but - meanwhile - I'm off with my Magical mystery tour companions to explore Idaho and Wyoming.....and, with luck, come back refreshed and raring to go on all these activities!

When I'm not actually so focussed on these (and several other!) activities, I find that I get many more ideas about what to do...things that just pop up in my mind - and (with a bit of luck) get noted down (I usually just send myself an email - I lose little bits of paper! ) to be cogitated upon further at a later date. Never forget to listen to your ideas and note them down!

If you have been, thanks for reading...and I hope that you are all enjoying - or planning  to enjoy - taking a break!   do write and tell me about it...and let me know why you think it's important too.
Elizabeth




7 comments:

Jo Vandermey said...

I am taking a lovely break! Home has been hectic with caregiving, self care and activities. I am visiting with my sister and family in Vermont. Routine for them is a break for us.

Pat and Govind said...

Although we aren't able to get away from home this year, I'm taking a break from my usual summertime activities: weeding, stitching, and reading. Instead I am simply sitting on the deck each morning, hands and mind quiet, until the humidity drives me indoors.

I'm immersing myself in chipmunk warning calls, squirrel circus acts, and the current rules of Dr. Spock for sparrows. Some guilt? Yes, especially over the weeds. But perhaps the experiences will bear fruit in later stitching. If not, so be it.

Have a wonderful time on your magical mystery tour, Elizabeth.

Pat

Pat and Govind said...

Forgot ask if those are maples you grew from your own seeds? From one Japanese maple we get so many variations, and it's fun to see how they turn out.

Pat

Elizabeth Barton said...

some of the best holidays are taken at home! and visiting family is good too...when possible - which, alas, isn't always the case.
yes we pot up all the baby Japanese maples (acers we call them) and gradually they all develop their own personalities. I give then away to visitors...trying to spread the word that they actually grow very well here in the SE! And also am planting them down in the woods around here...their fall color is just lovely.

Elsie Montgomery said...

We just came back from a couple of weeks in Italy... great food, lots to see, and red poppies all over the place (Tuscany). Among other art things, we enjoyed the textile museum in Prato. The only downer was the fabric stores - cotton is about $60 a yard for very thin stuff and about the same for shirting. We also saw embroidered tulle that was 800 Euros a meter. Yikes. Didn't bring any home, but did get here with lots of ideas for more quilts.
Enjoy your summer plans!

Michelle Eaton said...

I was recently in Toronto at the big QuiltCanada show. The best category by far was the Abstract Quilts! Great design work and thought provoking ideas were evident in almost every piece. Some caught you from the other side of the room, and others enticed you to get very close. The Best of Show came from this grouping also.I hate to say that the worst section was the Modern Quilts (and I am a Modern quilter). Not enough thought and experience led to substandard quilts- in my opinion of course. I also got to visit with my daughter in nearby Hamilton, so it was a fantastic trip. If only the humidity wasn't so high!

jeanne Marklin said...

I'm intrigued by your comment of finding a solution to the deer. Please share - the deer love every thing in my garden and graze regularly.
We're going to Glacier NP for a week and then to Salem, OR for the total eclipse. Should be interesting!
Jeanne