PROGRESSING....

 

Early morning shot of my new Amaryllis--

are we ready yet to bloom? 

And what color will emerge????

Meanwhile....

very slow progress 

is evident on my 

rescued

amaryllis...

Definitely growing..

and gives new meaning

to "slowly".

**************************

I've begun my new puzzle...

Moving right along...

the lower section will be 

the most difficult. 

****************

And here is where my

Dark Days

Comfort Cloth 

stands...

I've added 3 rows of stitching around the 

center block--

[oh -- and I took out the next 4 rows as they

got increasingly uneven...

the coffee dyed fabric

seems to be difficult 

to needle through.

So last evening 

I re-rinsed all my

pieces...

and am letting them dry

overnight...]

As you can see, I only dyed small

pieces ....they look really

dark here, but as they dry they will

lighten up..

.a lot of the coffee-dye 

still leached out until 

the water ran clear...

↓↓↓↓

Notice the Paczki, off to the

background, which we will

scarf up with our 2nd cups of

coffee this morning;)))

It's that time of year again...

Our favorite flavor is

"Bavarian Creme"

Y  U  M  !!!!!

I hope the rest of your week is

a good one...

hugs, Julierose

(a-bit-of-everything-euse)

Happy Lunar New Year

COMFORT CLOTH / "DARK DAYS", PROGRESS, et al

 

I couched a pin/lavender sari silk

ribbon in a circle on my 

Comfort Cloth this week--

and

then

I did  a running stitch surround

on the outer rim...

and

This morning I whipped that running stitch

and added an inner running stitch on the 

inside of the circle

and added a 

whipstitched wool/felt

heart...

[Here you can also see the whipped

outer running stitch better...

I love how it thickens that simple

running stitch line]

💗💜💗

I will be adding more stitchery to this first

block, but I am not sure what I want to 

add as yet...

This January block (18" +/-) 

can be added to:-- as ideas/

emotions/feelings/happenings

occur to me...

It is meant to be a 

"cloth of comfort "

to turn to 

during these

tumultuous, difficult

times....

A slow-stitched

journal of sorts....

***********************

This noon I will be putting together

my chicken soup from the leftover

chicken dinner we enjoyed

last Thursday; 

meanwhile,

we have each had another total

meal and also 

sandwiches from it.

 There is just

enough left for a good,

warming soup for our

supper tonight...

Soup is so good on these

cold, gray days...;)))

😍😋😍

Hugs, Julierose,

La blageuse

(cooking-euse)

TAH--DAH, et al

 

All Done 

👌👋😊

I'm letting it sit out there for a few days...

before I begin the next one that 

I received for Christmas..

**********************

On the Amaryllis front:

My new one has

still not opened up:

It's been on the verge for a good

week now...

Waiting, waiting...

and

The rescued one is growing

but.....

see for yourself...

↓↓↓↓↓

V E R Y  S L O W L Y 

It looks like it's a

huge effort--

and perhaps it is....

;(((((

Meanwhile my Cacti have 

begun to bloom:

↶↶↶↶↷↷↷↷

A Lovely pink lined one

and

 

this pure white with a hint of pink inside and at the tip...

and

what looks like it may be peach with hints of pink, too...

*******************

Keeping myself busy, I put down the base layers

for two more pages in my Junque Journal;

went food shopping, and made a new-to-me

stove top recipe for beef and noodles,

[I will report on how we liked it or not],

and pinned my now complete 9-patch

to its backing cloth...

I hope to be able to invisible baste it

to its backing tomorrow...

I hope you are all doing okay

these difficult days...

hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse

(sometimes-we-just-need-quiet-euse)

"DARK DAYS" VARIATIONS, et al

 

Four coffee dyed blocks

&

Four "Roses" blocks

& 

Two of each.....

The final tally of votes:

Coffee dyed:  8 

Roses   :       4

Pebbles:        3

Red:             1

I want to thank all of you

who took the time to vote...

I really appreciate 

all of your input...

It really helped me come to

my decision...

💖💗💓

**************************

I have decided:

TAA-DAA:

💃

To go with

all four 

coffee dyed squares..

I think it gives me the best

options to then add surrounding

fabrics...

Tomorrow,

I will start sewing the blocks

together into the 9 patch

and pick out the backing fabric.

************************

I would begin sewing 

this evening but the

skin right next to my right

thumbnail has split from the

dryness and from 

using glue on my paper crafts

without wearing gloves...:(((((

👹Ouchy!!!!👹

It sounds like a little thing, but it

is pretty painful and I cannot

sew with it right now...

it is covered up as best as it can 

be in that corner spot...

😬

*****************************

Our predicted snowfall amounts

for tomorrow 

keep going "down" with each

weather forecast; so

I do not know just how much we

will be receiving...

 now they say it 

will be  2"-4"...

Hugs, Julierose,

La blageuse

(nursing-the thumb-euse)

"DARK DAYS" CHOICES ,,,

 

I know, I know ;))))

I can hear you saying--

she CUT them apart????

Whaaaa?

I could not seem to work with 

a long strip 

for a center..

so, I cut these

apart...

Yup...

👀😐😟👀 

(after a whole lot

of measuring to leave 1/2" 

on each side.)

That was hard work for me--

the math challenged gal.

They came out measuring

4 7/8ths unfinished.

Because there are five of them

{that ole Magic Number 5};

I decided on a 9-patch setting...

Above are the four choices

I have on hand for the other

four blocks...

I want to use four of one 

of these patterns,,

Here they are separately, so

you can tell me which one you like

(or none of the above?? hahaha)

This one  is my own coffee dyed fabric

representing "making do"

and gives a more Prim, homemade feel;

this one represents a 

"Rocky Road" ahead!!

Dark roses.....representing

"Climate Change"

[which is REAL!!]

And

Deep maroon...to pull in the center...

[this last one is the most "matchy"

and the darkest choice]

*************************************

I am following K3N on Youtube in making the 

Comfort quilt tutorial she is presenting as

a year long project...

This will be all done by hand--

and slowly....

As you can see, I have pressed all the

seams on the Pom blocks' 

and those seams are 

invisibly basted down....

I will do the same on the last

4 as soon as I make a decision on

which one to use...

After.....

The blocks will be whip stitched together

into the 9-patch

and then appliqued to a big 

20" backing cloth--

probably cream???-- I haven't

decided yet.  

Let me know what you think.

about the choices.

I really like them all--;)))

each one gives a different 

"Feel"...

And....

there will be other blocks, so these

fabrics will figure in those too,

but  

in different configurations...

and still using some version of the 

9-patch in each..

Hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse

(deciding-euse)

WATERCOLOR PLAY, et al

 

I got this lovely set of 

Sennelier Watercolors 

for Christmas...;)))

I decided to give them a 

bit of a play...

I find water coloring very intimidating.

But.....

After watching "K3N Cloth Tales" on

Youtube last night give a 

tutorial on this process

I decided to

give it a try to see how

it goes...

First, I collaged scrappy bits 

all over my

inexpensive Mixed Media paper 

I just used glue stick and tore up papers from my 

collage fodder folder:

torn pieces of brown paper, 

coffee dyed papers crinkled up, 

a picture of one of my stitcheries I copied,

and some torn tissue paper bits

along with scrapbook paper orts.

Then I searched and found this magazine picture 

of a woman looking out into the future.

I thought :

she is looking at the "unknown"

which lies ahead of her...

and, reflects my state of mind

these days.....

I left this to dry thoroughly

overnight...

Then....

I wet up some Payne's Grey and

Rose Madder--two of my

favorite colors...

and proceeded to just blob them

all over my collage --

except for her image.

The result is a subtle, slight change...

which I really love.

It integrates her into the background

a bit more I feel...

💟💜

I will let this dry overnight and

then proceed to add some 

"mark making"

over the surface...

What a fun and easy way to tip toe

into using watercolors...

👀Have a looksee

 at Katharine's 

"Cloth Tales" Youtube channel for

all sorts of lovely tutorials...

in both paper and fabric...👀

😊

*******************************

This morning we ran a lot of errands and

stopped into the Waterford "Shack" 

restaurant for a late breakfast

(brunch really).... 

I had the "Classic": 

2 eggs (over med), toast,

home fries, and bacon-- 

(I won't have to eat the rest of the day!!)

Yikes!! I haven't eaten like that

in ages--what a treat;)))

And Tom had his beloved Hash special

which included all my items plus hash...

Wholley-Molley!!

😉😋

**********************************

Now I feel I need a nap...

What a luxury to be able to nap

in the afternoon...or whenever!!

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse

(waiting-for-drying-euse)

"DARK DAYS" FABRIC PULL, et al

 

Here is my first fabric pull for my 2025 

statement project:

"Dark Days"

Maybe the dark roses for

the upper section↧↧↧

and

this earthy one, 

 for the lower half...↥↥↥↥

I may be making some improv

shapes for the surrounds...

I no longer have any of the 

fabrics I used to make the

pomegranates..

And,

seeing that I am just going

to use what I have on hand

these are my first choices...

It will reflect my own feelings

going forward (?) into 

2025....

******************************

On a lighter note I am happy to

report that I was able to 

👏👀FINISH👌👀

the embroidery x-stitching

bordering my little redwork

yearly calendar piece

from my Kathy Schmitz kit!!

Such an adorable piece...

I do love her drawings...

SO HAPPY

😀😁😂😃😄

I switched out to my own darker 

red/maroon-ey thread after the

first 3 top blocks...

Which you can see if you click 

to enlarge...

↓↓↓

I ironed it this morning

And

will now be looking to see what I 

have in stash for borders and

backing.  

No batting as I stitched it

to Pellon 101 before

sewing...

*********************************

Tom is working on setting up our stereo 

speakers in the living room

while I am working on

one of my Christmas gifts:

It is a 

"DOOZEY"

😅😆😕😗

This is how far I've gotten

Two border pieces (top sky area) seem to

be "missing"--uhhh

or perhaps I haven't put it together

correctly.......  

(Ask me how I know this may be true)

[👿👺👹]

I will say, as a "puzzler" since

childhood, these pieces do not

go together and stay put easily...

They are not as thick as I prefer...

But....

I am still enjoying working out 

the different areas...

and have finally gotten all the

pieces right-side-up!! 

And sort of

arranged in areas where 

they may be used...????

We shall see....

Stay tuned....

Hugs, Julierose,

LA Blageuse

(puzzling-pieces-and-fabrics-euse)