LONGARM LEARNING NOT JUST ON TUESDAY

Merry Mice from Helen Godden's Midnight Magic BOM.  Painted with Jacquard Lumiere paints on a muted black scroll fabric from Timeless Treasures and micro quilted with 50 wt aurafil.  I loooove the colors in this block .  The painted area is about 8.5 inches or 2.3 cm.

Speaking of centimetres, did you know that only 3 countries in the entire world are not on the metric system?  Of course, the US is not.  Also Burma and Liberia.  That's it.  Kind of embarrassing to be so backwards.  I notice on Amazon, lots of articles show measurement in metric.  My daughter in India writes about the heat saying it is 42 degrees...I mean...how bad could that be...well in Fahrenheit that is almost 108.  I am making an effort to learn the metric system ...one more way of being in touch with the rest of the world.

Usually Missouri is hot and steamy in August but the past week or so has been about 80 degrees with lower humidity.  It has been lovely weather.  It is humidity that takes such a toll and makes life so hard.  Humidity makes winter colder and summer hotter.

Next on my quilting agenda is my 12 calendar blocks.  I am always nervous I will just ruin my beautiful work with some lame quilting job but generally turns out okay.  The nervousness makes me procrastinate.

AND NOW....

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

 Cakes beyond your wildest dreams

Tortik Annushka is a Moscow-based, cake designer who also has a school for pastry chefs and on line classes for aspiring cake designers.  Google her or check one of her media sites for more of these unbelievable masterpieces.

And just in case you thought this was a big hoax and nothing so beautiful or realistic could be a cake, I give this:

Pretty amazing and pretty fun.

Post linking up with:

Patchwork and Quilt at www.quiltingpatch.blogspot.com 

Sew and Tell Monday with Bambi at http://bambisyr-evaj.blogspot.com/
Monday Making at http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/
Design Wall Monday at https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

LongArm Learning at http://cheekycognoscenti.blogspot.com/

Free Motion Mavericks at http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.blogspot.com/

Keep creating, stay well, stay cheerful

TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING

This block is the month of October.  You remember this was one of my problem children.  The difficulty was in finding a good sky for October to match the mood and the colors.  This is one of my favorites.  I love the pumpkins, the owl, the beautiful colors of the leaves.  I will show you lots of photos of the leaves so you can see the colors.

I am not to patient with the photography.  You have to weigh the time spent perfecting the photos with the desire to create.

I stuffed the pumpkins so they had some dimension.

Lots of photos as I said.  Making these leaves is very time consuming. I used to spent at least 5 hours a day on my applique and associated techniques but as I age, my energy level is down so it takes longer to accomplish what would have only taken me a couple days.  Frustrating is what that feels like.

Though as I think of age, I think of how life in America used to be when I was young. Trump is really the last bastion between some older people who want the times of their youth, and the reality of who America is today.  I feel badly for people who feel the times have betrayed them yet it is the young people who will have to live in this world and the future world, not we older people.  

Here are a few of the immense challenges with which tomorrow's people will have to deal:

Climate change

Water loss in marginal areas leading to forced immigration

Automation and loss of employment

Roles of men as automation takes away blue collar work

Changing shapes of families

Overpopulation, crowding, density

Lack of resources-who gets to eat, who gets healthy climate

Inequality by color, by sex, by education

Inequity of wealth

These challenges will no go away by looking backwards and wishing it were no so.  

I don't intend this as a political statement.  A statement of fact is what is intended.  Friends have told me I think to much.  Maybe so, as I sit and stitch silk leaves trying to create something hopeful in these hard 2020 times.

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AND NOW...

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

I love fun fashion so here are some dresses by French designer Sylvie Facon

Oh to be young again and wear one of these beautiful dresses!

Sylvie's imagination and artistry beggars the rest of us.

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I am linking up with these wonderful quilt sites

Oh Scrap at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/
Patchwork and Quilt at www.quiltingpatch.blogspot.com 

BOMs Away at https://www.katiemaequilts.com/blog/
Sew and Tell Monday with Bambi at http://bambisyr-evaj.blogspot.com/
Monday Making at http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/
Design Wall Monday at https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/
Colour and Inspiration at https://www.cleverchameleon.com.au/blog/

Keep creating, stay well, stay cheerful