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I’m not a natural artist, but I’ve always been interested in painting. I find that the secret is to know what my skills and abilities are and paint things that are within those limits.

I bought some new acrylic paints a few months ago and have not tried them out until last night. And I’m pretty happy with what I was able to do.

This is a very small canvas — just 3×3 inches square. They are really fun to paint. They don’t take much time. And there’s not a big commitment to a huge project. I’m really happy with how this turned out and it felt really good to have my paints out again.

So today I painted another small canvas as I was listening to a webinar for work. It was a great way to keep my hands busy while my brain was occupied.

Then after out nightly three mile walk, I pulled out another canvas and finished up another painting. I’m really having fun with these little desert landscapes and they’re helping me feel warm!

I’m thinking I may paint six or nine little desert scenes and combine them into one wall hanging. Not sure how I’ll mount them all, but I have a picture of it in my head and I think it will work. I may have to enlist my wood working brother to make a custom frame for me.

I haven’t done much painting with acrylics, with the exception of using them to paint rocks. (I’ll do a post soon about my painted rocks.) I first tried painting with acrylics last January when some friends and I did a “Thirty mini canvases in thirty days” challenge. We were supposed to make one small piece of art every day for a month.

It was really challenging and forced me to step outside my comfort zone to try some new things. Here’s some of the things I made during this challenge with acrylic paints.

That is, of course, a sunflower. And next is a tree made from dots. You’ll see a lot more dots when I show you my painted rocks.

And then these really fun little floral landscapes made from dots. I just love these!

This one is 3×3.

This one is 4×4.

This one is 3×4.

And a little abstract dots painting, 3×3.

And more abstract dots. This canvas is 8×8 and this took forever! That’s a lot of dots, but i really like how this turned out!

Next is this cute little floral. I really want to try this with my new paints. The paints I used for this were pretty cheap.

And finally, I made this painting of Rico, but never got around to finishing all the details. This is 5×7.

A friend of mine commented that all of my paintings that I share on social media are so good. I laughed and told her that I don’t share the ones that are terrible. And I’m not going to share them here.

I’m not a great painter, but I’m enjoying something that is really outside of my comfort zone and my natural talents!

After I moved to Portland 10.5 years ago I started playing with crocheted dogs. At first, the dogs were very free form and sort of like cartoon dogs. Each dog was designed as I crocheted, shaping and creating personality as I went on.

The green one in the back was the prototype. You can see that I roughly embroidered the eyes and nose on. the blue and orange dogs show some improved ways of doing the nose, and I used two buttons for each eye… a white one and a black one. I love the way they look like they’re whistling! I still have the orange one sitting on the buffet in my kitchen. I had a lot of fun with these bright and vibrant colors.

The dogs were made in several parts. The body and head were crocheted all in one piece. the muzzle, arms and legs, ears and tail were made separately and stitched on. All of these dogs are around 14 inches tall from their butt to the top of their heads.

I soon moved onto making actual dog breeds. Of course, I started with Jack Russell terriers. And soon I was making custom dogs to match real dogs. I made a lot of Jack Russells because I know a lot of people with Jack Russells.

This was made in the likeness of my friend’s Natty who is a full older sister to my Skeeter. She was completed with a collar and a crocheted tag with her name on it.

By the time I got to this point I was using pre-made eyes. They gave a really nice finish to these more realistic dogs.

Here’s Natty Two with the real Natty!

When someone would request a dog made to match their actual dog, I would ask them to send me photos that showed the dog’s markings from all sides so I could make the crocheted dog a close match.

Here’s a Jack Russell named Jack showing the markings on his back.

It’s really common for Jack Russells to be mostly white with color on their head and at the base of their tail. It’ not uncommon for them to have other body markings, but many of them are white other than the head and tail markings.

Here’s Jack with his tag.

Here’s a close up of some fuzzy eyebrows I made for a Jack Russell named Scoot.

Here’s Jack and Scoot together.

This next one is a border collie named Tips made as a gift for a good friend of mine who got me started on the path to quilting. I really put a lot of effort in making the markings match the real Tips. He now sits on my friend’s baby grand piano in her living room.

He was a complete surprise to her and she loved this little dog!

Here’s a fun little wiener dog… just because I wanted to make one! He’s so cute.

Here’s a really cute little corgi named Emmy that I made for a friend for Christmas. I just love those short little legs!

I really struggled to get those ears right. In fact, I didn’t get them figured out in time for Christmas, so I gave Emmy as a gift like this…

And one of my favorite that I made was this little chihuahua named Chica. It took me some time to figure her out, but I just love how she turned out. That little pink stomach and pink ears are just too much!

Even the detail in the shape of the ears is just so much fun!

These were really fun to make with crochet because I could do all the shaping on the fly. I could make this with just a pattern in my head. But my hands were starting to give me problems at about this time, and making these was torture. I love a really nice tight and consistent stitch, and it aggravated all the issues I deal with because of all the repetitive things I’ve done with my hands my entire life.

I’m so glad that quilting doesn’t other my hands!

I was looking through some old photos on my computer last night and came across some of my old felted wool projects. I think I started making these about the time I moved to Portland ten years ago.

Here’s one of my favorites.

This was made from scrap wool that had been used on other felted projects. It was made on my own pattern that I wrote up and have sent to many knitters who have seen this bag online. I never really liked using wool that would felt for a garment. It just made it too hard to take care of. But it’s wonderful when it’s felted!

I made several bag bodies on this pattern, but finished them differently. Here’s a blue striped one that I gave to a friend.

To make these bags I would hand knit a really big bag and then felt it in my washing machine. It would shrink significantly once it was felted. Here are some pictures of the bag before and after felting. My little Jack Russell Skeeter is there for scale. She’s a little 12 lb dog. (Skeeter now lives with a friend of mine in Seattle.)

This next bag was knit on the same pattern and then I needle felted the sunflower design onto the front. I was pretty happy with how this turned out. It was given to a good friend of mine.

Here’s another bag that was made on the same pattern and was also needle felted with a floral design.

Here’s one that’s a little bit of a modern take on the same bag pattern. All of these bags were finished with a batik lining, complete with a zipper pocket and a slip pocket and a snap closure.

I also made a bunch of little round coin purses that were always some of my favorites. These were hand crocheted on my own pattern, felted in the washing machine and finished with embroidery. I think these are just the sweetest little things.

I also made a bunch of these little shoulder bags with sheep needle felted on them. I think I could have sold as many of these as I could make. But I got really tired of making the same thing over and over. But they were pretty cute.

I also made a couple on this pattern, which is also one I designed, and added embroidery.

I also made a whole bunch of these little wallets in different shapes. These were all hand knit on patterns that I made up, felted in the washing machine and then needle felted with floral designs…. and more sheep!

Then I made a bunch of these little round shoulder bags with needle felted designs. These were crocheted on my own pattern and felted in the washer.

I really loved making these bags, but I lost interest in needle felting pretty quickly. Drawing doesn’t come natural to me and needle felting is basically drawing with wool. I was really happy with how these pieces turned out, but I wasn’t very driven to make more. Another reason I stopped making these is that the knitting and crocheting is just so darned hard on my hands. I love knitting but don’t do much of it these days. I only make an occasional hat or other small project. I wish I cold do more because I really love it.

Now for my other projects. I’m about 3/4 done with the batik jewel box quilt I’m working on. Only the top row in this photo needs to be assembled, then a couple horizontal seams and I’ll be done. I’m forcing myself to get that done and off the design wall before I move onto my next quilting project… and I’m itching to get onto the next one!

As a quick afternoon project today I decided to make myself a couple microwave bowl holders. I have one that I made a few years ago and I use it all the time. I really needed more.

Here’s the pattern I used for these, in case you’re interested. There are a good number of free patterns and tutorials available for these on the internet.

It was really rainy today so we didn’t get a walk at all. the dogs are not happy about that. I have another sheep herding lesson tomorrow afternoon, so I’m hoping we can get a good walk in tomorrow morning. The weather looks like it will be a little better… still raining, but not a downpour like it was today.

I’m plugging along on making these scrappy sunburst KFC blocks. I finished up nine after my dog training lesson tonight. So I’m up to 32 blocks total. It’s helping me stay away from watching the news about the presidential vote count. But I’m still stressed. I find myself gritting my teeth throughout the day.

I’m really loving this quilt. It’s so funny to me how I can think about a quilt for months, wondering if it will work, how it will work, how it will all come together. And then BAM! There it is! Up on my design wall.

Holy cow! KFC scraps do make a really pretty quilt1

I’m just putting these blocks up as I finish them. I’ll need to eventually move them all to the larger design wall and spend some time arranging them. Then I have to figure out what I’m going to do with the setting triangles. I’m thinking I’ll just make the same blocks, but a little bigger, and then cut them in half to finish the edges. We’ll see once I get to that point, but I’m guessing that’s where this will go.

So yummy!

We’ve had such a gorgeous fall here in Portland. October was essentially rain free, and every day was prettier than the last.

Look at those trees against that amazing blue sky. GAH!

I planted this little red maple tree a couple of years ago. This is its third fall foliage. I just love this tree. It’s exactly the color that I was hoping for when I selected it.

I noticed yesterday that it’s actually grown quite a bit since I planted it. They have a saying around here for when you plant trees and how you can expect them to grow: First year sleep. Second year creep. Third year leap. And it’s true. This was its third summer and it really had a growth spurt.

And after this amazing fall season, the rain started today. This rainy season will last until May or June. The winters in Portland are mild in temperature, but we do get A LOT of rain. Here’s what our next tend days looks like. And this is pretty much what the next eight months will look like.

I’m glad Saturday and Sunday are nice. I’m heading up to Washington with a friend this weekend for a sheep herding lesson in a new place. Rico is getting close to being ready to enter his first trial, but we need to get him to a new place on new sheep first and see if he can do what he can do at our regular place.

I’m taking Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off next week prior to the end of year fundraising period getting started. It’s a killer time for us and I need to refresh a little first. I’m hoping to drive out to the coast and spend a few hours on the beach. Not sure the weather is going to let us do that.

I’m so stressed and so unenthusiastic about the quilt I’ve been working on that I sat down with some Kaffe sunburst fabric and a box of Kaffe scraps tonight and started sewing. Phew. I feel better already. And here’s what happened…

The photo doesn’t show the colors as bright as they are in person. That’s one of the challenges of taking photos late at night. But I just LOVE how this is turning out!

I’ve wanted to use these fantastic little sunburst squares for a quilt like this for some time. I don’t know why I’ve waited so long. I thought I’d make a couple of blocks tonight, but whipped up these nine in no time.

I recently purchased a yard of several color ways of the sunburst fabrics to add to what I already had in my stash. It’s no longer in production and it’s pretty fantastic! I’ll have enough for a few other future projects.

Each sunburst is almost 4 inches square. They’re not precise, so if you demand precision you might want to stay away from this fabric!

I have a love for scrappy quilts and with these amazing KFC fabrics, they are even more fun. I love it when my sewing room has piles of scraps everywhere!

Oh, and I’m making even SMALLER scraps that will be perfect for more crumb piecing!

I’m really going to have to force myself to finish that drab batik quilt I have on my design wall…

I’ve finished all the pieces for this Jewel Box quilt made from batik charm squares I had on hand. I had to add some extra batik scraps to make this big enough for a throw quilt. This will eventually have a border on it. I had to order some extra of the off white to add a smaller outer border before I add a batik border. Luckily I kept the cover sheet that came with those charm packs and was able to find some.

There’s still a fair amount of sewing left to do on this. I have the four patches and HSTs all done. I like the way this looks, but I’m not crazy about the fabrics. It’s just so dark after all the bright and beautiful prints I’m used to working with.

I really wanted to make some of these blocks prior to making this same quilt pattern in a collection of KFC fabrics. I’ve learned a few things and will adjust accordingly.

First of all, I’m going to cut my fabric pieces a little larger so I can square up the HSTs and the four patches at 5 inches. For this quilt, I was able to do some squaring up of the HSTs at 4.5 inches, but there’s not enough of the four patches to square them up. I want that precision before I assemble these pieces into larger blocks.

So today I’m going to do some calculations and make a couple of practice blocks to make sure I’ll get blocks I can trim.

Here’s the Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics and a Kona off white “snow” that will make up this new quilt:

The fabrics appear much softer than in this photo. Oh and that fabric third from the left (Ombre Stripes in Pink) was hard to find! I looked all over the web and couldn’t find any. It’s out of print. My friend did find a fat quarter in her stash. So I went to one of our local shops yesterday that carries a LOT of KFC fabrics and they had it!!! It’s a nice pop of various pinks that this needs.

The weather has turned somewhat cold here, but the rain hasn’t started yet. It’s been a really gorgeous fall so far. It’s such a great time of year to be outside. I took the boys for a nice forest hike yesterday after Rico’s sheep herding lesson. We’re heading out for a nice neighborhood walk soon.

I have decided to wait on putting together my Jewel Frames quilt. A friend of mine planted some doubt in my mind about the size, so I’m going to wait until I have a new queen size bed. When will that be? Good question. I need a new mattress and box springs, and I’m going to move up to a queen size bed and will need to buy a new bed frame.

So I’ve changed plans.

I still have my second Ruffled Feathers quilt to make. I’m still planning on doing it, I’m just not ready to dig in yet. I also have a couple ideas for other quilts I’m ruminating on and firming up plans and I’m waiting for some fabric to arrive. More to come on these as my ideas firm up.

So I was feeling like sewing tonight and thought about the Jacob’s Ladder, AKA Jewel Box quilt. So I found a tutorial from Jordan Fabrics and remembered that I had some charm packs of off white fabric and batiks. So I decided to dig in and try a few blocks.

OMG! These blocks are so wonky! I did square up the half square triangles, so they’re not bad. But those four patches are a mess!

One of the quilts I’m thinking of making is from a fun collection of light and bright Kaffe fabrics and I thought this pattern would be fun. But I’m going to increase the size of the blocks and allow enough extra so I can square up the four patches. Or, if I make the four patches big enough, I might not need to square them up.

This quilt is really simple to make. It’s made with just HSTs and four patches. Here’s the one block that you make over and over again.

Good grief! So Wonky!!!

I don’t remember why I purchased these charm packs of off white fabric. I’ve had them for years. I do remember why I bought the batik charm packs, but lost enthusiasm for that project long ago. So this is a good use for both.

I got absolutely no sewing done over the weekend. Instead, I met my brother and sister in law in Cottage Grove, Oregon, for a long walk along the Row (pronounced like cow) River trail. We met in Cottage grove because it’s almost exactly half way between my place in Portland and my brother’s place outside Coquille, Oregon near Bandon, which is on the coast. We each had a two-drive to get there.

I hadn’t seen my bro and SIL since February. They had come up to visit with me in mid February. And then the pandemic hit. My brother is the middle of five kids. I am the youngest. You’re not supposed to have a favorite sibling… but he is mine. And I just love my SIL. One of the best things about moving to Oregon 10 years ago is that I’m so much closer to these two.

We walked four miles up the trail, and then four miles back. The trail is 14 miles long, one way. The weather was absolutely perfect and we started out early enough that we had the trail almost all to ourselves except for the last couple of miles when we started to see occasional bike riders.

Of course I took the dogs and they had a fantastic time. We all stayed well socially distanced and carried masks with us in case we needed them. It was so odd to see B&A them and not hug them. They are big time serious and enthusiastic huggers.

After our hike we drove down the canyon to a little park and sat down and had lunch. While there a girl walked by with an Airedale. My only dog as a child was an Airedale and I’ve been attracted to them ever since. It felt so familiar to put my hands on that dog. Haven’t felt that curly hair for a long time.

I filled out my ballot this evening. Oregon is only vote by mail, so I was able to sit down at my computer and do some research about the several initiatives as I filled out my ballot. It really is a fantastic way to be able to vote. I hope that after the election more states implement voting by mail. It’s such a great way to make it easier for all citizens to vote.

I have plenty of time to mail my ballot this year, but I’m going to drop it in a ballot box instead just to be extra sure that it is submitted in time. I haven’t missed voting in an election since I was 18! I take my right to vote very seriously.

Last night I shuffled all the blocks for my jewel frames quilt so the fabrics were evenly distributed in a stack. Tonight I tossed them all up on the design wall and it went really quickly. I consider it designed and ready to sew.

And just so you know, my design wall is still not big enough!!! But this worked fine for this quilt. But this quilt is big. It measures around 100 inches square before sewing. It will be very generous on a queen size bed.

I have stacked up and numbered all the rows and they are ready to start assembling.

I’ll have to make some sashing pieces with cornerstones before I start sewing. I need one for the right end of each row, and then I need them for the bottom of each block on the bottom row of blocks. This blog post for my first Aboriginal quilt shows how these rows of blocks with sashing go together.

I have almost enough blocks left over to use as a strip on the back of the quilt. I’ll have to make a couple more to have enough, but I have some fabric left over.

I’ll probably start sewing on this Friday night. Maybe I can squeeze in a row or two tomorrow.

The next quilt up for me will be my Jewel Frames quilt. I’ve had the blocks with sashing and corner stones attached all done for probably a year.

I just love this quilt. A friend of mine gave me this kit for my birthday quite a few years ago. It took a few years before I dug into the quilt and started cutting fabric. And now it’s been sitting unfinished for another ridiculously long period of time.

I have 87 blocks. I thought I had 80 and needed one more. What an odd number 87 blocks is.

Here’s what’s been holding me back from finishing this. I’m making this for my bedroom and want it to be a generous queen size quilt. And one roller of my design wall only accommodates a throw size quilt.

See a video of my design wall here. I love it because my sewing room is small and I don’t have a bare wall to dedicate to a design wall. This one hangs over my closet door and can roll up completely when I’m not using it or when I need to access the closet. It has two rollers,which allows me to have two projects going at one time. I can just roll one up, blocks and all, and then roll it back down when I need to.

So on Sunday I took on a project I’ve been wanting to do to make an extension for my design wall so I can more easily make larger quilts.

A week or so ago I contacted my neighbor’s dog walker, who happens to own a pick up truck. I asked him if he’d be willing to let me pay him to pick up a 4×8 foot sheet of styrofoam insulation from the hardware store and deliver it to my house. He was on board, so we made it happen.

I set up this project in my garage with the door open because I used a spray adhesive and didn’t want to get asphyxiated. I used a dog exercise pen to raise it up to a level that was easier to work on.

First, I had to cut off about 13 inches off the length of the styrofoam so it will fit next to my current design wall. A friend of mine loaned me an electric carving knife that went through the material like it was butter.

To make the surface fuzzy so the blocks will stick, I used an old plastic table cloth that I once used on my patio table. It hardly had any wear and was clean.

It was almost the perfect size! I only had to trim off about an inch on the length and a few inches off the width.

I got the table cloth all aligned on the styrofoam, then folded it back and started applying the spray adhesive so the styrofoam, section by section.

I did a test of the adhesive on a small piece of the plastic side of the table cloth before I started with the large piece. I wanted to make sure the adhesive didn’t eat through the plastic. The test told me we were ready to move forward.

I applied the adhesive in three different sections, carefully pressing the table cloth into good contact with the styrofoam surface with each section.

When the table cloth was all applied to the front of the styrofoam, I trimmed off the side pieces, flipped over the styrofoam, pulled the excess table cloth to the back of the piece and applied the last few drops of the adhesive to hold it in place.

I let it dry flat in the garage for a couple hours before i tried it out in my sewing room.

Here’s the final product. The styrofoam is really light so I can move it around easily. Which is good, because it’s blocking the door to my sewing room!

This adds about 3.5 feet of width to my design wall, which will allow me to design the blocks for a queen size quilt.

When I’m not using it I can either slip it in behind the roll up design wall, or I can simply carry the whole thing into the garage… or even store it under the bed in my guest room.

So my excuse for not finishing this quilt no longer exists. I’d better get moving!