COLOR OF JOY

I promise, I haven't been snoozing. In fact, I'm almost done with my website.  I'd love for you to take a peak and let me know what you think. I'm going to offer free shipping, so if there's something you just love, send me a note in Contact and I'll help you. My friend Suzanne came and took a couple pics for my website. I smile every time I see them because of the funny things she said to make me pose. 

I've also been busy with the ole fixer upper; lately with lots of yard work and planting. Since I continue to kill flowers here in draught stricken San Diego, we are yanking out dead stuff and replacing with succulents. Ah, but this Spring the roses are just beautiful. Glorious color. I post on Facebook and Instagram but here's a vase from this morning. 

So, of course I've been painting them. 

COLOR OF JOY by Paula Prass 6x6 acrylic on stretched canvas

SPRINGTIME IN PARADISE

Sorry for the obnoxious title, but seriously; take away the earthquakes, wildfires, cost of living and some crazy people/things and there you have it…PARADISE. I didn't want to rub it in that we never had a winter, well, nor did we have rain. Oh well…..sunshine and roses EVERY DAY. Spring is my absolute favorite season. We recently attended a beautiful outdoor wedding and I made a trip with a friend to the Japanese Friendship Gardens. Looking for some inspiration to paint.

Many more beautiful shots, but I will refrain, as it's probably still snowing somewhere.

The Etsy shop has been doing surprisingly well. I just added my Love Boats. This painting of two sailboats nestled together in the Santa Barbara Harbor is available as fine art prints and available in two sizes; 5x7 and 8x10. Click the link or go to the Etsy Mini in the sidebar to check out all the art and fabrics I've added to the shop.  

RUFFLED ROSES PILLOW

Still pinching myself.  There are buds on our rose bushes.  We never had roses before so we feel all grown-up here, especially since we haven't killed any yet.  My cold climate friends, you need some roses to remind you Spring is right around the corner.  How about a rosy tutorial instead?   Remember the Seriously Fun Quilt tutorial here?  Well, here's how I made the pillow on the quilt.

RUFFLED ROSES PILLOW

The finished size of this pillow: 30”w x 13”h

SUPPLIES:

2 pieces of fabric, 31”w x 14”h each

¾ yard quilters weight cotton fabric 44”-45” wide for roses

2 pieces of cotton muslin 31” x 14” each for pillow insert

Large bag of polyester fiberfill

Sewing machine, thread

Needle and thread

Rotary cutter and cutting mat

Ruler

Scissors

Straight pins

Iron, ironing board

Marking pencil or pen

Thimble (optional)

GETTING STARTED:

A note of possible interest:  I decided on the white solid fabric for the roses partly because both sides of the fabric are the same color, whereas a printed fabric will have a noticeable right side and wrong side.  The roses will have a raw edge, which will cause some loose threads.  Don’t be concerned; once the pillow is complete and you trim all the loose threads, you’ll see that the lacy, delicate roses are quite appealing.  

1    Ready-made pillow inserts come in several sizes, but it’s easy to make your own custom-sized inserts.  First, take the two muslin panels and place them right sides together; pin together.  Stitch a ½” seam around the panels, leaving an 8” to 10” opening in the center of one side and making sure to backstitch both the beginning stitches and the end stitches.  Clip the loose threads and turn the muslin form right side out.   Firmly stuff the form with the fiberfill.   Fold under the ½” seam allowance and hand stitch closed.

2    Lay the front panel of the pillow out on your work surface.  Use a ruler to measure in 10” from either the left edge of the panel (or right edge, if you prefer).  Use your marking utensil to lightly draw a straight line from the top of the panel to the bottom in from either the left or right.  This will be your center guide when you begin attaching your roses.  Set aside.

MAKING ROSES:

         

 3    I used 44"-45" wide quilt weight fabric for the roses.  Keep the fabric folded in half along the natural fold line as you lay the fabric down on your cutting mat, which will give you two strips per cut.   Measure and cut 1” strips through both layers of fabric.  Cut 20 strips, and then cut those strips in half along the fold line.  You will end up with 40 strips.   You might need more or less depending on how tight you gather the flowers and how closely you place them, but that’s a good estimate. 

4     Using a basting stitch (a wide stitch) on the sewing machine, sew a ¼” seam down one side of each strip making sure to leave at least 3” of thread on both ends of the strips and DO NOT backstitch.    Gather the strips by pulling gently on one of the long threads on the left, then one of the long threads on the right until you have about 7” of a gathered strip.  Continue this process.  

5    Take one of the long pieces of thread from the gathered ruffle, use it to thread a needle, and start rolling the gathered fabric on the same end as the threaded needle.  As you roll the fabric, stitch all the way through the layers at the basted seam line.

6    Keep rolling and stitching until you come to the other end of the ruffle.  Knot the thread at the end to secure the finished flower.  Continue this process with the remaining ruffles and make a stack of roses as you watch your favorite movie or listen to a musical.  

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

 7    Lay the front panel of the pillow down on your workspace right side up.  Place a flower 1” down from the top edge of the fabric over the center of the line you previously made.   Sew the flower in place from the back of the panel through to the bottom of the flower.  Once the first flower is sewn in place secure with a knot and sew another flower closely to the left and right of the center flower.   Move one row down and continue the process of securing each flower, using the centerline as the guide.  Make a total of 3 rows close together across and three rows down until you get to the bottom of the panel, leaving 1” of panel fabric free at the bottom.

8   Complete the three rows of flowers down the front of the pillow panel, then place the back panel of the pillow fabric over the front panel, right sides together.  Pin right sides together making sure the flowers will be out of the way of the seams.  Sew a 1/2 “ seam leaving an 8’-10” opening at the bottom length of the pillow, making sure to backstitch both at the beginning and end of your stitches.

9   Insert the pillow form. Once the pillow form is in place if the corners still need to be filled out just stuff extra fiberfill directly into the four corners of the pillow.  Turn the open seams at the bottom of the quilt under and blind stitch closed.

10   Pull and trim off loose threads from the roses.

 SPRING IS COMING.  ENJOY THE ROSES

On to other newsy things; I am having oral surgery as you are reading this.  Three implants, plus some other things I shouldn't discuss if you're eating, or even if you aren't.   Hoping I'll be up and about before you know it.    

FLOWER FIELDS FOREVER

It is no surprise that I have a love affair with flowers.  I have my usual favorites, but more recently I've fallen head over heels for ranunculus.  Just so happens The Flower Fields in Carlsbad have acres in bloom right now.  I had no idea what to expect.  It quickly became clear as we got closer that this must be the tenth wonder of the world.  Finding parking was near impossible and the sheer number of people there from around the world made me unsure of how much I really needed to follow through with this idea.  Apparently the Red Hat Society converged for a worldwide meeting, or so it seemed.  Never saw so much red and purple in my life.  But once I saw the fields all the stress and craziness became secondary to the amazing beauty.  I took enough photos to produce a lifetime of paintings.  Here are just a few images. 

I went for a wide range of photos from rows as far as the eye can see to clusters to closeup.  So many more colors, but I don't want to overwhelm you.  Those are condos; can you image that view?  It might be balanced by the hoards of people, and traffic, I'm sure

These are for my followers viewing pleasure and I want you to enjoy them.  However, please don't take them for your personal use.  Thank you. 

HAPPY EASTER TO MY PEEPS

As we are clearing out Tim's moms house, this is one of the many things we brought back with us.  It is her artwork from when she was a young girl!  She has a birthday coming up this month...she will be 85!  I must admit, I was so very tempted to put some writing on the empty basket for you.  Something simple like Happy Easter.  Then I thought that Char left it just like that and so will I.  I'll just have to tell you.  Happy Easter.

I am also giving you all a heads up.  I am about to post a rather awesome giveaway this week.  You won't want to miss this one!

We are off to hide the Easter Eggs for the grandkids and squeeze the stuffins out of them.  May you all have a wonderful day and see you back here very soon! 

IT'S A COLORFUL RAINY DAY

Sew4Home just posted this interview.  Didn't they make me look good?   Just sayin, that's not what I look like today!  It's quite gloomy and rainy outside.  I'm dressed in a gray sweatsuit and no makeup. 

 Spring agrees with me for so many reasons.  Birds, butterflies, flowers, colors; all being orchestrated into a magnificant repeat performance.  Just in the last week there are sneak peaks of anticipation popping up around the yard.  The crocus have come and gone in the blink of an eye, but I managed to capture the beauty. 

  

Sure is putting me in an artsy mood.  Hmmm...

I SEE A PEDICURE IN MY NEAR FUTURE

Guess who did a little shopping? My birthday is this week, so I treated myself. Remember those 2 vintage necklaces I picked up awhile back? I think I spent $7 for both. Didn't really have anything that matched...until now! Orange you loving those shoes? Green with envy? Hope to wear them at Quilt Market, but I can tell you now, I'll be in pain. I have never been able to wear heels, and love them. At Fall Quilt Market I had these awesome heels that I was determined to wear (I'm 5'1" and feel more like 4'8" next to Amy Butler and Heather Bailey). Instead of looking hot, I staggered around in pain, leaning on anyone that stood close enough. Towards the end of the 2.0 party I yanked them off and wandered around bare footed. I'm just warning you. I will wear them and I will whine. Let me know if you don't like people leaning on you.

Nothing is going as planned today. Camera battery was dead. Trying to send an email to a fellow designer and no matter what I try she isn't getting them. My stat counter has not been working for days and took me hours to figure out the problem, so had to re-install that. All these mechanical things annoy me. It's a love-hate relationship. I hate the problems, but I do love to play on the computer and see what everyone is up to when I have time....and even when I don't really have the time.

So what did I do? I joined Twitter!!! Yes, way! I had never even been on Twitter, but last week was catching up on my blog favs and Heather was telling us she joined Twitter. I know Patty is a huge fan, so I got curious. Went poking around. Next thing I know, I am a legalized Twit. Basically got nothing much done all weekend. If you're interested come join me on Twitter. Check out my sidebar. But beware, it's definately addicting, and a time waster. On the good side, as a self employed person, I don't have regular contact with the outside world. Don't have that problem now! It's a great way to find out what other's are up to, what they're working on in a quick way. Are any of you Twittering? Let me hear from you.

Hey, look what I found on my Flights of Fancy Flickr group? Another handbag made by Simone of Gardenhouse using a bit of my Garden Trellis fabric. She always uses the most awesome brooches and vintage ribbon.

And look at this Orange dress! A combination of Sandi's Farmer's Market and another of my Garden Trellis colorways...orange, of course. Wonderful Spring color.

My second line of fabrics should be here this week. I can't wait!!! It will become busier than busy once they arrive, but I promise some sneak peeks.

IT'S A SNAP HAPPY DAY

I got snap happy on my way to pick up my dear friend Nancy the other day. We were headed to the TEA I told you about in my last blog.

Spring has officially Sprung in Indiana! We all begin to come out of the woodwork here in the Midwest right about now. You might find us peeking out to ponder if it's still too soon to plant the pansies, or if our daffodils and tulips will survive an inevitable frost. We peek out; dash back in; like coo coo clocks, until a day such as this one. In just a few short days the trees have gone from stick figures to full green. The grass turned from strawlike to lush green. Everything has come alive! Colors, smells, light....

Spring; Flowers; Friends. It was a snap happy day!

THE DAFFODILS ARE COMING!

Here's Mia checking out the daffodils peaking up from the leaves a couple days ago. Now today there are even more blooming. So I thought I'd treat Woodrow, my office buddy, to a fresh bouquet. He gets Spring Deficit Disorder too. He's so happy he's dancing on the table (you should see him at the office party; gets a little crazy).

IT'S SPRING SOMEWHERE, RIGHT?

SPRING. Clean; crisp; fresh; hopeful. What seemed lifeless comes alive again (usually)....you get the picture. But my longing isn't making it happen. I see other bloggers photos, so I know it's happening elsewhere. I think I have that Spring Deficit Disorder thingie. So, as to not fall into the gloomy, I'll post some images of my own that will maybe make my Spring Envy subside momentarily.

I join my husband occasionally on business trips. Here is a trip to the La Paloma Resort in Tucson the end of February. We left behind lots of snow for 5 days of sun and warmth. The photo of the moon was right off our room at night and the same view of a dove every day. I always take a sketch pad, journal and camera to record ideas, thoughts and inspiration. It's a beautifully relaxing place in February, and it sure beats shoveling snow.

SPRING, WHERE FOR ART THOU, DAMMIT?

This has been a common view from our Family Room window for the last 5 months. That's not what it looks like today, which was much prettier than the melted snow. We have been plaqued with back to back colds, flus, ice storms, floods...sprinkled with a few 70 degree days in between. But the crocus are here and the daffodils are on the verge of blooming. Oh, when that glorious day arrives, I'll, I'll...spring forth from the wads of kleenex and leap for joy. I LOVE Spring!