Thank you and good night! (remember to tip your waitresses!)

As  you may have noticed the dates on the past few posts have been far and wide.This past summer (2012) was a season of reinvention and I have now started a new blog called lysa flower.  I'd like to thank those who followed red spotted patch over the past two in a half years (I loved each and every comment!) and I invite you to join me over on my new site. Hope to see you there!

I realize I've been M.I.A. since this summer, wow how time flies...BUT..hee, hee, it's been a time of reinvention AND I'm so excited. Soon, soon, soon, I'll be able to show you what I mean...wink, wink!

Lesley Stenning of Smidgebox's Stash

Title: In Repose

Here's a new little endeavor I'm working on. Like last year and the year before, I'm still drawing fabric but now it's not mine. I've exhausted drawing my stash and as much as it makes sense in my mind to buy fabric just to draw, it seem only natural to move on to drawing other peoples fabric stashes. Especially stashes of people who have inspired me.

This stash is from Lesley Stenning: you might know her from her blog and Etsy store, Smidgebox. I first knew about Lesley in my last year of studying animation. She started visiting the school to see her, then boyfriend, now husband Derek Stenning (another crazy talented artist). Linda, another student of the animation program, is the glue that binds us all together. She has stayed in touch with everyone. Every November Linda has a craft fair and this is where I officially met Lesley. At first she had these super cute cards using rolled paper (I know there is an official name for it but I can't even fathom what it's called enough to Google it right now). She also had kid's aprons with oven mitts. I'm not sure if she had started making her fabric boxes yet? I missed Linda's craft fair the next year because my grandfather had passed away and, boy, what a difference a year makes!

I just love looking through peoples stashes don't you?

 C'mon we all have a little bit of a voyeur in us right?

 No? Just me ;)

 
The following year Lesley had started making purses (which I have two of!). She had fabric cubes for babies with tags (babies love tags don't they?!). She still had the aprons and had started doing custom baby quilts. She also had a blog, was on Etsy AND had two little people in tow! Ah, yeah, kind of a super woman!

The wood frames I used are 2 inches thick

Lesley's blog and shop, not to mention her fabric choices, are stunning. They are always simple, clean, fresh and modern. I was so pleased when she took me up on my offer of letting me draw some of  her fabrics. I see these drawings as portraits really, of the people they belong to, their choices and their style.

Some details

This is one of four drawings I did of Lesley's fabric. I'll show the others soon but for now I'm off to Portland to take a in little quilting workshop! Hee, hee...

A never ending Tikki party!

Gadzooks! I don't think I ever posted about this quilt! I was going through some files and what the... how'd I miss this? Well here it is, my never ending quilt made out of Cynthiaf's tiki fabric (one of my absolute favourites!). Cynthia was kind enough to enlarge one of the skulls designs, then I appliqued it with a very thick underlay.

The idea behind this was from a never ending card I had made some years back and my thought was you could have nine different quilt tops. Of course it's a more of a show quilt you'd lay on the bed rather than a snuggle under quilt. Although my youngest has claimed this quilt and with the heat been having he's been finding it refreshing being able to stick a foot out in the middle of the night... I guess he finds the grass skirt kind of hot to sleep in ;)

He's a Weiner! ... I mean a Winner!

That's my boy!

Rivers won the cover of the Frogstone Grill kids menu! Woo hoo! Can you see he's already wearing his free t-shirt (he's still wearing it two days later!)

Our oldest son, Maceo had been trying for years to win the cover. We were starting to think it was a thing of legend. Needless to say the win for Rivers felt a little bittersweet for Maceo. Especially since Rivers also won first in the regionals in a Remembrance day poster contest and third provincially last November (I know blatant Mommy bragging, sorry I can't help myself-gush!). It was Rivers' first entry for the Remembrance day poster contest, something Maceo has strived to do for four years now. Maceo is at the awkward, critical stage when many creative people give up drawing due to peer opinions or worse art teacher opinions. I really hope he doesn't give up. I've taught art to kids for many, many years and I keep telling Maceo, and it's not because I'm his Mom, your stuff is really really great! But between you and me I don't think he believes me. Fair enough I would have rolled my eyes and thought the same thing. I guess that is why most adult draw at a 12 year old level. I remember entering the Edmonton Comic contest for the front cover and the burn of disappointment When I didn't get picked.

However their Dad did....bastard....I mean, isn't it great! :) It's a great reminder to myself you can't win at everything but you can't give up, that would be the greatest loss of all.

Cookies?... For me?

See the little fingers just waiting for me to take the photo!

Well, the cookies weren't for me, they were for my husband as a birthday present. They were just so fantastic I had to tell you about them! Our friend Sue made them. She spent six hours, yup you read that right, six hours making them! Then her husband got sick and she wasn't able to come to our party!

 

There were a few more on the plate, everyone kept sneaking one here, one there. I kept telling the kids don't eat them until I can take a picture. Okay I snuck a few too.

 

They were the most perfectly perfect cookies for Chris! He LOVES LEGO and gets a funny look in his eye if he hears someone refer to LEGO as Legos and will very politely explain why it's not Legos. I have to admit it brings a shiver to my spine too. As you can tell we take LEGO very seriously at our house. It could be because Chris's company made two LEGO DS games LEGO Battles and LEGO Battles: Ninjago! Hee, Hee (We're pretty proud of him and all the peeps at his company for their hard work on them!)

Chris and Ty or Captain Awesome, as we affectionately call him in front of the LEGO building in Billund

He also got to go to Billund, Denmark where they make LEGO. He actually had a warm hot off the press LEGO piece fall off the press into his hand. I love watching him tell that story, he still get's so excited about it! See what I mean perfectly perfect! Thanks Sue!

Oh did I tell you we named one of our cats Lego too! He has freckles!

Are you fearless?

Bernie at the head of the class.

I don't know about you but dropping my feed dogs kinda freaks me out. I have done it before but... I don't know, it's very unnerving. It's like, you mean I can just sew anywhere?... or everywhere? That seems a little wrong. What if I screw up and have to unpick it all? Ooof, that wouldn't be fun, would it?

Shelley and Bernie from Little Oak Patterns did a workshop for our Guild, this past Saturday, called Fearless Free-Motion.They taught us about tension on our machines, needles, threads and then guided us as we dropped our feed dogs to do some free motion quilting.

I think what it comes down to is practice, practice, practice. I once heard it takes 500 hours to really feel comfortable with free-motion. Would you agree? I figure, since I did a bit on my potholders this past x-mas I have 494 more hours to go. Which means I'm not fearless yet but the good news is I'm not fearful anymore.