In between projects miscellaneous ramblings....

Good morning.  It's Saturday of the May long weekend.  I'm finished a whole whack of projects.  I'm in that 'eye of the storm' moments when all is quiet and I contemplate what to work on next.  I'm looking over at my sewing room and thinking I might take a leaf-blower to it.  WHAT A MESS.  My gosh.  I took a photo, but I'm too embarrassed to post it.  Ah who cares... no one reads my blog anyhow.  haha

 Is that insane!??  I made a great big quilt in there.  !?  I promise I will clean it all up and take a photo when the sun is shining in that big window.  It's a great space actually.  lol 

A facebook friend named Sarah won a postcard by guessing the correct among of threadspools in my sewing box.  One hundred and twenty seven spools (and with only 5 colors in duplicate).  Fabricland was selling rayon decorative 200m spools for 50 cents each!!  And 250m metallics for 30 cents.  nice!!

Here's a few lovelies I photographed recently that I would love to stitch out. : )

Morning after a rain while walking through the park...

From my bedroom balcony, facing north.  The sun sets in the northwest & rises in the north east during the days of longer sunlight.  Here the sun is going down and a good storm is rolling in silently.

Blackstrap Lake as we were leaving.  Did you know that there are 1000 lakes in this province?  Everyone and their dog in Saskatchewan has a cabin in the family, and spends a lot of time swimming, waterskiing, fishing, and camping at the beaches. 

At my Tante Erika's farm one spring morning... she loves birds ; )  There's a birdhouse on every post.  Saskatchewan is home to many many birds because of all the wetlands, and home to many many birdlovers too. 

Fortunately the city does not spray poison in the parks like Calgary does.  These are currant blossoms in my sons' schoolyard across from our house.  In the summer we spend hours picking and filling buckets.  We cook them down and pour them on pancakes.  mmmmmmmm

Now - to make my sewing room that beautiful!  Ha ha.

Enjoy the long weekend!!  : )

~Monika K.

lately.... ups and downs

Well it's a darn HOT May, after weeks of rain.  I've been sewing and sewing, trying to finish 2 quilts in time for the next display change at McNally Robinson's booksellers here in Saskatoon.  I had offered a smaller quilt, and then accidentally wrecked it.  (dont' ask.)  So I immediately got to work inventing a new strip pieced on point design.  DUMB IDEA.  But it looks fabulous.  I just attached a hanging sleeve and it's in the stairwell, looking gorgeous.  

After all that, I plan to write out all the instructions and measurements and submit it to a magazine for the first time.  Sounds like a big headache to me, but if I can make some cash, it would be worth it.  I seriously had my heart set on getting a tin lizzie queen quilter, but now I'm druelling over that awesome new Janome Horizon 7700.  WOW.  11 inches.  Imagine the art I could create!  sheesh.

I have a bit of hand stitching left on the large quilt.  yes - LARGE.  and yes - hand quilting!  It's my second try at it and I really like it!  I'm outlining the blue stencilledflower petals that I put on with artists oilbar paintsticks.  It's robin's egg blue, white on white quilt with brown buttons.  It's SO cute.  

And then my van blew the A/C.  $500 bucks to fix.  Good bye longarm.  If I don't fix the A/C then my three little kids will cook to death in the back of the vehicle.  
 

So did you know I'm a stay at home mom?  I got offered a little job teaching at a sewing store here.  I'm so pumped!  I mentioned that I make postcards and was asked to teach.  WICKED.  

well... back to my hand quilting.

: )

~Monika

Quilt shows Quilt shows!

Good morning!  It's snowing, and I'm off to a quilt show.  There seem to be sooo many quilt shows every spring, which is quite thrilling.  My birthday is tomorrow and these quilt events are such a great way to celebrate.  I pretend all the quilters put on these events for my party.  Today's show is by the Saskatoon Creative Quilters.  ALL of their items are hand quilted.  Amazing.  (I'm with the 'other' guild that does everything by machine).

    

Then when I return - I NEEEEEd to do some serious spring cleaning in my studio.  

~Monika K.

Whew I did it!

Ugh it's been a pressing week!  I've been going back and forth with the idea of entering some of my art for consideration in a serious exhibition.  I finally decided that I have to or I will regret it.  SO I madly finished my postcards, working around the clock at a pretty good pace.  In the end, I decided one of them doesn't belong because it's NOT LIKE THE OTHERS!  (ding dong... sesame street). 

So I gave up.

And then I changed my mind again and remade the 'winter' postcard.  I found the right photograph and PERFECTO!  It's done!  I feel so good about it.  So I submitted all of the required information and photographs and clicked 'send'.  It was 21 hours before the entry deadline.  

My C.V. went something like this:

- In grade 7 I won the art award.
- 2 years ago I joined a local quilt guild.

Pretty hilarious isn't it!?  I don't expect to be chosen, but I am SO glad I did it.  It's one more fear overcome.  Like my mother always says... "Nothing to it but to do it".

The coolest thing was laying in bed lastnight.  Usually I stare at the pages of Quilting Arts or other quilting books... dreaming, wishing...  But last night, I lay in bed gazing at my own postcards, and feeling a great sense of accomplishment.  I've made it to here!  

In the entry I emailed, I was required to self-declare that I am an 'emerging artist'.  What a GREAT feeling!  What a fantastic way to end the first forty years of my life.  

all is well
~Monika Kinner-Whalen