Forced Weekend at home

So last Friday - I had right foot surgery and the doctor required I stay off of it for at least this weekend. Can you imagine no driving for 2 weeks? So it gave me a good reason to finish these two wall hangings for a quilt show in October. The quilting and binding are done. Both are originals. The first the "Many Moods of Chico" comes from my cute springer spaniel- Chico. After several digital photos a good pose came out. Then with the templates from the photo- It was play time. This was the fun part. There could be an addition to the border- a red stamp of paws-- sort of scattered around. A pattern has been prepared and this wall hanging could re-designed for another favorite dog.
The second one- " Rings" was an exercise in black & white. With circle templates this project just developed with the fabric telling me where they wanted to play. Although there were templates, additional ring shapes were added to increase the dynamic. I am pleased with both of these.
So this is mostly my quilting life and where I am still venturing. The weekend (although forced inactivity) proved to be successful. Sewing with my left foot is very possible. What I learned is I can exercise my creative side either as a quilter- artist-- or as a contemporary artist. They are not mutually exclusive. An artist can develop techniques from both worlds. The enjoyment is the most important part. These are my dreams to relish.

As an aside, my husband was a real sweety. He took off on Friday and made sure all weekend that I didnt stress out and stay off my feet. He even did the vacuuming. So that is why I married him 38 yrs ago. Today Monday - hobbling around the house is possible and recovery is progressing with no pain medication.

There are several other projects still to do- decorative pillows with silk appliques and embroidery, a small purse for my other sister, and two landscapes from my photography in Kuaia and Florida. My interests have gone to trying something new, take a project and push it in a new direction. From a book called- "Reflets d'or et d'argent" Art Textile by Ina Georgeta Statescu,( in French) - there are embroidered designs she created for a courtier in Paris. She was responsible for embellishing his gowns. The work is stunning and gives me food for thought. Her gorgeous designs were enlarged into wall hangings. I found this book in a quilt shop in Florida; it is published at "les editions de Saxe" in Lyon, France. So many things can be done- this is the joy of the dream.