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I made more progress yesterday on my latest quilt. I added detail to the eyes and the ears. I still have her mouth (which will be hard — I picked out some fabrics today I think might work), the hair, and her sweater (which I will not recreate from the original photograph). I love to see the eyes come alive — one of the best parts.

This is a large piece  & I had to take this picture standing on a chair — which is causing some distortion in the photograph — but I currently work with everything pinned down to a table. I don’t want to disturb that at this point in the process — it might throw off the alignment of remaining pieces. Just keep in mind that this is lying flat — and even though I am elevated, there is an angle from the camera’s perspective as I can’t get any higher without moving it.

Last night, my Fiber Art Fusion group met & had a drawing workshop led by Mary Akers. She is such a talented teacher and was able to bring out the best work in all of her students. No tears — no mad dashes for the door. Using a still life & charcoal, these are the 2 pieces I did using different techniques:

I had so much fun that I may start drawing more. I have a sketchbook, but I don’t use it much. Most of what I do is on the computer.

I have been working on a new portrait of a friend of mine, Susan. When I first printed out the pattern, it was way too large, so I shortened it — and it still seems huge — but I’ve done a few in the 32 x 38 range. It is in the netherworld between 24″ and 40″ that will exclude it from many shows — but it is what is best for a portrait, IMHO.

This is a picture of the pattern traced onto vinyl on top of the base layer of muslin I fuse to.

I have picked out my face fabrics and will start my favorite part today — fusing & cutting!

Someone sent me to this video on YouTube. Since I’m a child of the eighties, I really loved it — and felt that it embodied how hectic Christmas has become for me.

(Unfortunately, this has since been removed from YouTube.)

Although I really love this time of year, I am pressed for time. I buy presents — but I also make some. I cook a lot — and unfortunately eat a lot (I admit I’m a “foodie”). I decorate — and at some point have to cut off my purchases (sometimes I think Christmas decorations are one of the best parts of the season).

I also struggle to finish what I’ve started. I have been working on the sleeping child for a while now. I had to stop her to work on some other projects — and now, as my husband would say, I have lost my “mojo”. I have been struggling to finish quilting it. I want it done before the children are home from break — did I mention that I also have to clean & cook for overnight guests?  Making myself do it is difficult — in some part of my brain, I’ve finished it — although it still hangs unfinished on my wall.

I’ve also been working on teacher’s gifts. Since we are at a new school this year, I thought I could get away with coffee cuffs again. The truth of it is that although I have worked hard at making it different, I have a cool spot in my heart for the teachers and most of the other mothers. It is rather like a relationship with a elderly aunt that lives nearby — for whom nothing truly pleases (when are you going to clean the kitchen like you promised and do you expect a woman to die from lack of company and why are my gutters so full of leaves?) Anyway, this time I have been working on surface design — no piecing, no applique. I’ll take pictures to share later.

Also, last night was the Fiber Art Fusion holiday meeting. We had a 5 x 7 exchange — Rebecca got my small portrayal of Solomon. I have been watching jealously the round robin — which is finally coming to a close. I am hoping that they start one next year. They started it just before I joined. It is hard to belief that I haven’t yet been here a year.