ALMOST...

 Not quite... 

Very nearly...

 All but...

Well-nigh...

 Practically...

 About...

 Near...

The end of this series.

Finally coming soon!

SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT...

When my daughter was small she loved Madeline who lived "In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines,..."  She especially loved to emphatically state the line of Miss Clavel, the nun who watched over the twelve little girls, "Something is not right!"  Miss Clavel always seems to have the instinct to know when something was not right and set off to investigate exactly what it was.

I had a "Miss Clavel" moment while working on my fabric nature journal page over the weekend.  I instinctively knew that something was not right.  After spending some time with the page I came to the conclusion that the page was actually not a page after all, it was just a pocket, or a series of pockets, meant to tuck things into.  This was NOT the fabric nature journal I envisioned making so with a little more fiddling with the design it is now a fabric wall pocket...

That still left me without a beginning journal page.  I found a snippet of something in my OOPS Pile that I started a while back and decided perhaps it was a journal page.  I played with stitches, swatches, beads, and color with this idea rolling out of my head...

Perhaps it is not a page but a book cover?

After thinking it over I thought, "Something is not right!"  This was also NOT the fabric nature journal I envisioned making.  Oh dear!  They say the third time is a charm, a sun print and a bees wax bird...

That is as far as I have gotten with the third.

So...

In a small cottage all ringed with trees,

Lives an artist whose imagination runs free,

Inspired by flora and fauna and creatures of the wood,

Making art whenever she could,

Creating with whatever is handy,

The artist name is Sandy...

Perhaps someday I WILL have that perfect idea for the look of the book I want to create and perhaps the above can be my version of the Madeline opening lines.

I hope that each and every one of you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving week! 

MORE JOURNAL PAGE PROGRESS...

I had a little snippet of time to work on my fabric nature journal page and got the base of the page complete.  This will be 12 inch by 12 inch journal.  That feels like a nice size to work with to have lots of room to create and design with...

I turned the background into a series of pockets.  The artwork on the front is one large pocket...

The fabric behind it is divided into two pockets...

The lace acts as a hidden journal tag pocket...

With a gentle tug on the ribbon tab, out slides the journal tag...

I stitched torn fabric strips to the tag as journal lines, making the tag double sided for more journal space...

That is all the play time I have been able to spare.  Next I want to tweak the design and create some artwork to store in those pockets.

Some of you expressed wishing you could try your hand at making a fabric journal but don't feel secure in your sewing skills.  This is EXACTLY the kind of project you can practice on.  I think the imperfections make the design so much more interesting than perfectly lined and placed stitches.  Take a close gander at mine, nothing is straight or perfectly placed, I think that is what gives it charm and that rustic feel.  I encourage you to give it a try!

Thank you so much for all the sweet words of encouragement that helps to spur on my creativity.  I hope each of you enjoy a beauty filled weekend!

Blessings,

Sandy

FABRIC NATURE JOURNAL PAGE...

"And while she did have listens of the songs in the tree-tops, a little bird did tell her more about the woods in little soft whispers."

 In my past post I shared a sneak peek at a what I thought was going to be the beginning of a mini art quilt but in the creation process I decided I wanted to make a fabric nature journal.  I have often admired those lush fabric journals with their varied subject matter and collage layers.  I think it will be fun to explore different techniques on various pages.  This piece will be a pocket on one of the pages...

 A wonderful place to store little nature finds, photos, notes, or images...

 It feels soooooo good to get back in the studio and just make something!

 While I have enjoyed the home improvement process here at the Quill and at the farm it is not the same creative expression.  Simple elements bring me great joy and spark my imagination.  Fabric, paper, nature...

 Rusty bits, tatters, stains...

 Needle, thread, an idea in my head...

Words, like pearls, strung into nonsensical sentences...

 "And while she did have listens of the songs in the tree-tops, a little bird did tell her more about the woods in little soft whispers."

I just need to create a background for the pocket and I am ready to move on to the second page, which I have already started laying out.  My thoughts need to be turned to making some gifts for Christmas and not personal play pages, it will be hard to lay this aside since I am in the zone.  It will give me something to look forward to once the holidays are over.

Thank you for stopping in to share a creative moment and I hope that each of you have a beautifully blessed day!

Blessings,

Sandy

IT'S A BOUNCING BABY... BOOT!

Birth is the sudden opening of a window, through which you look out upon a stupendous prospect. For what has happened? A miracle. You have exchanged nothing for the possibility of everything.

-William McNeile Dixon-
I must have passed the doorway dozens of times in recent weeks always snatching a longing look into its portal. I could see my green pencil poised across the corner of a piece of paper where sketch lines indicated the birthing of an idea. Those first pangs of labor being a false start to bringing a new idea into reality. The ideas time had not yet come to full term, so with a sigh, I must wait. With yearning of both heart and hands to cradle the idea I would turn away, back to the task at hand.

My fingertips fairly crackled with electricity as I flicked the switch bathing the room in light. I stepped into the birthing room with a rush of anticipation. I quickly assembled everything a new born baby piece of art would need: fabric to swaddle it in, glue to hold it together, scissors to snip its cord, and embellishments for its first arrival outfit. After a short but intense five hour labor, a bouncing baby boot was born! He is 5 1/2 inches tall, 5 inches long, and weighs a scant few ounces.

As proud as any new mother could be I took baby boot on his first outing to snap photos. He was a bit timid at first, only touching the tip of his little toe in the sweet green grass...
He nestled there, squirming this way and that...
I carried him over to the the old horse barn where he posed on the leaf littered bench...
Not being too steady on his little booted heel yet, he toppled over in a big gust of wind...
But it was not long until he found his footing and was boot scootin' all over the place, like climbing up on the barn siding...
And hammin' it up on the old halter hanging there...
He even tried his hand at tractor drivin'...
Sidlin' up to the old barn and perchin' on a sign there...
I decided that was enough excitement for a one day old boot. Now that I have brought him home he is going to need a cradle to sleep in so today he will get his very own custom made boot box!

There is great satisfaction in giving birth to an idea. A tiny miracle of sorts, having a concept or thought and seeing it being worked out into reality. The idea truly is like a sudden opening of a window, fresh thoughts rush in. You exchange the weightless thought of what does not exist for something tangible born of the imagination that is well worth the labor.

I have dearly missed you all and I would love to hear what you have been up to! I will be slowly making my way around to visit and comment. We are hoping the next three days will get us done or at least close to it for putting my mothers house up for sale and we can resume life at our new normal. Have a wonderful weekend!