working title: The Bird Quilt, or how sewing has led me to the next chapter of my life

Brandi Carlile 'Wherever is your Heart'

 The Bird Quilt, what there is now; scrolling downwards and see how it evolved in Time; yes I know still a long way to go............

once again I'm following an online class over at Jude's Small Cloth
if you love working in cloth and don't yet know her, visit her site and prepare to be amazed and/or blown away, I highly recommend joining her class!

a moon from Jude
this patch determined the size of the patches in the 9patches sewn here

As I grow older, I continue to learn; amongst many things I have come to understand that if I want to grow as an artist (and as a human being) I must accept and embrace what works for me; for example I'm not one for measuring and one of the things we are learning in class is working with 'puzzle patches'...now an inch means even less to me than a centimeter, and so here are the cardboard squares I've traced around the patches I have been working with; so even though the numbers don't add up, they work for me...
as can be seen in the photo above, the patch on the middle left was too small so I added another small strip to make it fit; as I am pretty cavalier about measuring it does mean I have to often add a strip or two here and there

As Bob Ross always liked to say 'we don't make mistakes, only happy accidents'

rough sketch made in the middle of the night when I woke up and could sleep no more, I have, of course I have!, deviated from the plan,
another one of my working methods

our house guest for a couple of weeks, a Springer Spaniel aptly named Springer
she has one switch: she's either on or off

I am seriously considering getting a Small Springer for me now, she is such a delight to walk with

the magic of thread

lucky break in my life, or how many signs do I need? after having had a minor* mental set-back a couple of weeks ago, I yet again fell into so many supportive arms: my husband, our sons, my GP, a favourite cousin, a therapist, friends, even a job coach! the road ahead is uncertain, but I feel very positive and am now totally committed to making my Art the main focus of my working life, this is my dream and it has been for so long now and it is now going to be the reality of my life, so here goes  woooooosshh 

* compared to last year #