Journal Quilts

Happy New Year!  I wish all of you a very happy, healthy 2010 filled with lots of creative time. It's New Years Day, the decorations are dusty, I've eaten way too many goodies and I'm itchin to spend time in my studio again. The other day I was talking about my journal quilt and thought I'ld share a few more ideas and blocks with you - it's a great project to start the New Year with.
All of the blocks 6" W x 4" H finished size have a strip across the top.  I dye and marble fabric and this was a good way to use that fabric and also make it personal. Every family member gets a candle on the block for their birthday week. The block below is for the week of April 4 which is my son's birthday. My daughter, who was away at college at the time, got a "smiley face" on a block when she came home to visit. The sock is the the dyed socks I make.
I often stitched a word in the strip of fabric across the top. I remember the week below so well. I was teaching in Santa Fe, NM with 3 other teachers - a small faculty which made for lots of fun. Mary Mashuta convinced us to buy "ear cuffs". Mind you, I had never heard of them but we all treked downtown to buy one and then renamed ourselves the "Ya-Yas' The word "girlfriends" is stitched on the fabric strip.

This next block is of my teaching gig in Monteray, CA at Asilomar, AKA "Empty Spools" and one of the prettiest places on the planet. There were deer outside our window in the morning and the sound of the ocean across the road. It was all very peaceful and conducive to creating. Sometimes I'll get a "pin" from where I'm teaching and a journal quilt is a nice place to display it.

This next block was done quickly, I remember how tired I was. I had just done spring market to promote my new marbling (marbled strip of fabric), my daughter got her semester grades - so A's for her and ZZZZZs for my sleeping. Not every block has to be time consuming; it can be something very simple like this one.

This next block - we ate at Fridays, so the famous "red and white" stripe motif, we saw the movie Bugs and I worked on a wall hanging with leaves. The machine stitched word "Scrumptious" refers to Fridays, not the bug!

My son graduated - HOORAY!

And last, a quilt show I was involved in.

I'm working on goals for next year. I belong to some fiber groups and our first meeting of the year is devoted to what we want to accomplish. It helps to SPEAK IT OUT LOUD! Sometimes they're artistic goals, sometimes personal ones - either way it's a good thing.

Happy Journaling and keep working on your dreams and goals.