I stumbled across the Vignettes Quilt by Heidi Parkes on Instagram.  I immediately purchased the pattern.  I love  Heidi's work and also welcomed the idea of learning more about the principles of art.  I have been exposed to some of the terms and basics in other classes but never have had a good understanding of them. Whether designing intuitively or approaching a design with a plan we all use the same six elements of art. Line, color, shape, form, texture, value and form.  I am using this quilt along as an opportunity to reframe some childhood m ..read more

 Today my work took me to Durham.  Instead of eating lunch I went to one of my favorite places.  The Scrap Exchange is an arts recycle and re-use center.  I love this place, whether you are a knitter, weaver, quilter, basket maker or just a curious type it is a great place to explore. Today, I was so excited to find these.  There are only six and the mint green background fabric looks a little dingy.  I would love to know how old they are. Hexies carefully handstitched.  In the pictures below you can see the needle and thread still tucked in ..read more

 Last week was a very long work week.  It had the requisite 5 days but instead of forty hours it was sixty and felt like one hundred.  I spent the week in far western NC.  We were in court all week in a contentious hearing.  It was emotional and stressful.  Made worse by the flash flooding and leaving my suitcase back home in Sanford.  Oops! I as usual was in awe of the mountains and the beauty of Haywood County.  However, that did not solve the problem of no underwear, medications, toiletries or craft supplies.  I shopped for the necessities ..read more

 Otis and I are planning a new tapestry, wedge weave of course! We needed to pull some yarns first and choose a loom. Tidewater Yarns Coastal Plain Yarns Piedmont Yarns Mountain Yarns Warped and Ready to Weave! Who helps you plan your tapestries ..read more

I am laying on my couch procrastinating, you know the feeling.  There is a long list of to do items and my inner pajama clad toddler wants nothing to do with any of that grownup stuff.  I want to stay comfy on the couch looking at pretty tapestry stuff on my tablet.  A waste of time you say... I think not. In my direct field of vision is this tapestry hanging on the wall.  Holding Space.  I thoroughly enjoyed planning this,  dyeing the yarn and weaving it.  The fingers are itching to weave again.  My quilting is a lovely way of working feelings out in a ..read more

 Last Sunday I drove up to Arrowmont for my much anticipated class with textile artist,  Helen Geglio.  The class "The Keeper's Quilt" was about using treasured textiles in a newly designed quilt. This is my fifth visit to Arrowmont and it is something I look forward to each year.  My only disappointment year after year was never seeing first hand the much lauded black bear visit.  But during lunch one day, two bears ambled through.  They did not approach us even though we were eating about 30 to 40 yards away at the picnic tables outside.  What a ..read more

 Last year my annual trip to Arrowmont was canceled due to COVID.  That makes this year's trip all the more precious.  I am taking Cloth, Needle and Stitch: The Keeper's Quilt with Helen Geglio.  I have been collecting old pieces of quilts, lace and trim.  This weekend I did some natural dyeing. Osage Orange Logwood It did not take long to dye my way through seven yards of linen and some commercial text print fabric. My array of purples and gold I also took some of the leftover dye stuff and steamed some wrapped bundles for some variations ..read more

  My latest improvisational quilt, Love Is Not A Victory March.  This quilt is inspired by dishes.  My husband decided he wanted red dishes and started buying them every time he went grocery shopping.  Yes, grocery store dishes. Unfortunately he did not appreciate my devotion to my white stoneware.  It was oh so versatile and we had the platters, cannisters, gravy boat and service for twelve.  It was from Belks not the grocery store.  The white stoneware was packed up in the garage and I struggled not to resent these damn red dishes. It occurred to me tha ..read more

 This has been a good week off from work.  I did some spring cleaning, taking a carload of yarn to the Scrap Exchange and loads of household goods to the habitat resale store here in Sanford. Believe it or not I kept enough yarn for future tapestry weaving and did not even touch the knitting stash!  I was overwhelmed by all my craft supplies and wanted to gain some emotional and physical space.  Quilting is what I am passionate about now. Quilting, like tapestry is another way to communicate thoughts and feelings when words aren't sufficient.  Right now fro ..read more

 Since December my weaving mojo has been missing in action.  I have been conflicted about blogging about quilting on my blog, The Weaving Song.  It felt all sorts of wrong!  Sitting quietly with a needle and thread feels like a homecoming of sorts.  I spent many happy hours as a little girl making Barbie clothes. I love scraps.  Those bins are all my scraps, sorted by color.  I blogged about the wonderful scrap bin at The Cary Quilting Company. Normally I don't have scraps strewn across the floor but this was a spontaneous scrap pull. I fell i ..read more