Deconstructing one project to make another...

Years ago I started taking a class at the old Country Sew store in Elk Grove by the wonderful quilter and wearables artist Connie Horne. Basically it was to make a jacket over a sweatshirt (there are a zillion examples online if you Google it). Anyway part way through I realized I would never wear something that heavy and I quit making it. It languished in my craft/sewing room closet for many years until recently when I did another reclean up of the room. I pulled out the project bag and took another look at what I had done. BAM! The realization came that if I took the basted fabric pieces off the sweatshirt I could actually make a whole other (just cotton) shirt that I would love to wear.

So, according to my word for the year, explore, I decided to explore what I could do.

It was all done with Marcia Derse fabrics which I totally love and was happy to see I had put together more than I had remembered.

It turns out I had the front (above), the back (just that center fabric) and 2 sleeves (below) ready to go.

So now I just have to iron it all out and then figure out what pattern I will use to make a nice blousy top. Excited to finally get working on something with this fabric!

Finally... Word for 2019

Last year I thought about the word LEARNING but that didn't seem to fully encompass what I wanted for this year. So, in my usual fashion, I let it drift until something better found me.

Then I went to Japan (check my INSTAGRAM for those photos since I didn't manage to write any blogs about that trip), came back, was sick for most of February (bronchitis from Japan, then a crazy upset of GERD and asthma problems which sort of sucked the life out of me for a couple of weeks). Recovering now and have been thinking about this word thing...

And the one that I throw out and keeps coming back is... EXPLORE.

I went to Japan in January to explore doing indigo and shibori dyeing on Shikoku as well as to go to the big International Quilt Show. Upon my return I have been exploring how to do some things in/with my life, including getting back to some massive clean ups and the old WTF am I doing with myself in retirement. It will be 5 years in May now!

And then I see posts from new places to check out in my area and I just want to go there... so it just seemed a fait accompli that my word for the year would be EXPLORE.

And the flowers? One of my intentions for this year is to get back to my garden. Andy has the veggies and herbs part pretty taken care of, but I need more flowers in my life. So we went to Green Acres the other day and got some flowers... and now it has not stopped raining enough to get anything planted! Stay tuned for this one...