Last Post of 2025

The white amaryllis bulbs have started blooming and they're DOUBLE blooms (a happy surprise).

I also finished up my Christmas accordion journal named Tis the Season.

Many of the included bits came from an online swap I participated in.  

The rest have been accumulated over the past year or so, waiting for the right time to gather them into a journal.

The large Santa head was fussy cut from wrapping paper.  Wrapping paper pieces were also used as the foundation layers on the 34 pages.

Random, disparate elements eventually combined to make an interesting-to-look-at journal.  

Now it can be packed away with the rest of our holiday decor (that goal has shifted into the first couple days of January as our new phones are scheduled for delivery late today and their set up plus activation with our new carrier will consume most of our brain cells for the next day or two).

All of the amaryllis stems have at least four and some as many as six buds AND there are two more bud stems growing which means there will be another wave of flowers in January.

* * *

Wishing each and every one of you a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve/Day along with thoughts of wellness and creativity for the coming new year.

Quiltdivajulie

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p.s.  I've spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the labels in my sidebar - there were just too many.  A few linked to only one post (!) 

I've also shifted the labeling for my paper-related projects to 'journal + year' instead of by project name, which none of us can remember anyway.  

If for some reason a label doesn't take you to the post(s) you're thinking of, you can always type your search into the Blogger search box in the upper left hand corner.

No Sew November Journal - Finished

My No Sew November accordion journal is done.  The month of prompts was hosted by Meg of Meg Journals (posts on Substack and videos/playlist on You Tube).

This year she didn't go with the one-prompt-per-day-means-one-page-per-day-approach.

Instead the early prompts focused on creating base layers throughout the entire journal and then progressed from there.

I found this to be a much less stressful approach and one that didn't fill me with the urge to shop for "just the right item" for any given prompt.

Instead I found myself happily searching through my stash and actually USING items I've been saving (who knows why I had skipped over them before).

I added three flip pages (this one created with a heavy weight post card to which I added vintage photos, quotes, and some marks).

Finally I found the perfect use for my stash of textured papers - you can see them in the background of every page.

Security envelope scraps, a bit of velvet ribbon, scraps of painted paper, and a map scrap turned into this handsome page.

The adjacent page shifted in color palette but mirrors the overall feel of the journal.

Another combination that pleases me.

T is for tea (and textures).

A selvage edge scrap, a word cut from the cover of a magazine, a washi ticket stub, a map scrap, and more texture paper plus a tag and a sticker - soothing but with so much to visually explore.

There are many other pages I could have included in this post, but these are enough to give you a real sense of this journal's vibe and contents. 

I'm beyond delighted with the end result.

* * *

There's a"not quite finished" journal post for An Unfolding Story pending as well as what will be a finish-reveal post for Trouvaille (next week).  Progress is happening simultaneously on many fronts.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art must be an expression of love or it is nothing."

Marc Chagall

One Day at a Time

As I prepared to leave our upstairs home office,  the morning sun shone on my quilt rack and I was struck (once again) at the power of quilts to make us smile.

Top to bottom these quilts are:  Vivacious (2016), Words to Live By (2017), Amish Strings (2012),  Scrapbook Quilt (2018), and Epicenter (2018).

Both of my Christmas cacti now have buds!  This one will likely be the first to bloom.

This is the third year for these plants - the longest I've ever managed to keep a Christmas cactus alive.

And because this phrase uttered by Meg Ryan/Kathleen Kelly from You've Got Mail is my mantra once Daylight Savings Time ends each fall . . . 

. . . our fall decor includes this 4-foot tree in the foyer decorated with autumn berries and a few pale sunflowers with loads of pumpkins in DH's wood bowl on the lower shelf.

And this year we put up the big tree a month early and decorated it with creamy color pumpkins, more pale sunflowers, and picks with cream and gold beads.

More twinkle lights definitely make the evenings better.

* * *

On the finger front, I'm now wearing a single bandaid and allowing the finger to get wet (thus needing to change the bandaid) instead of strictly keeping it 100% dry.  It will be a few more days before I dare to go without a bandaid (I don't want to snag it open again) but life is getting easier now that I can use all 10 fingers.

In the interim, I've done a full inventory of my Glide thread and rearranged the contents of the Ikea drawers in my sewing room so that the threads can each be seen at a glance (no longer massed together with half of the cones upside down).  It's been one of those things I've put off when it wasn't that hard and didn't take that long but definitely makes life easier.  (why is it that we do that over and over?)

I've also done some collage in my No Sew November journal and a bit of writing in my creative common placing journal named An Unfolding Story.  I'm also cleaning out files, boxes, and drawers as I work and will be making another batch of paper snippet strips to use the overflow of scraps.

Sewing and quilting are on the horizon now . . . just a few more days until the bruise/ache in the finger tip eases up.

Quiltdivajulie

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"If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don't hesitate.  Give in to it."

Mary Oliver

Monday, Monday

We spent Friday evening handing out candy at Young Man's house while he and his parents went trick or treating.  The giant purple bucket has been used at their house every year and we have a photo of Baby YM laying atop that year's candy (he was NOT happy about it either).

We refilled the bucket twice more before calling it quits when the official hours for trick or treat hours ended - so many children!

There's been no sewing or quilting as I cut the tip of my index finger (left hand) while slicing a turkey breast - the bulky bandage is definitely awkward.  Another few days and I'm hoping the bulk will be reduced.  Thankfully I had gotten the October things put away and November's out before the knife slipped.

I have committed to participating in Meg's reformatted No Sew Journal November.  Instead of creating a concertina journal from scratch, I'm going to use one of the purchased accordion journals I have on hand.  She's shared the first prompt's video and I like her new approach (not a page a day but more of a whole journal process).  We'll see where this goes as the month progresses.  

I've also signed up to participate in iHanna's Fall Postcard Swap.  These are my envelopes and labels for the addresses.

And these are part of the series of ten postcards I'm making.  

Mailing doesn't happen until later in the year, but I want to get these done so they're ready to go when the address list arrives.

Younger son and I spent a few hours volunteering at the annual local quilt show Saturday morning. We were unofficial docents in the historic house - so many interesting people with even more interesting stories about their ancestors and, in some cases, how they intersected with the family who previously owned the manor house.

And then we spent the rest of Saturday afternoon watching the tree crew and their crane take down a fully mature red oak tree from our neighbor's back yard.  The section on the street above was the uppermost section of the treetop.  Just over three hours later the tree was gone, the street was clean, and the crew had gone home.

Here's to the week ahead . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Perhaps some detours aren't detours at all.  Perhaps they are actually the path."

Katherine Wolf

Two Projects Completed - Photo Heavy

A while back I posted about painting an old book cover and binding vintage papers inside . . . 

At some point, I started gluing things into that journal but then set it aside.

Last week I rediscovered it and started gluing more things into it.

I found this fun graphic in a retrospective article on Jell-O and couldn't resist including it.

A page from an old Sears catalog and a bit from a cut apart doily.

Paper lace and map scrap on one side, old nine-cent stamps and a ledger paper scrap tucked in a glassine slip-sleeve on the other.

There's a long-ish quote written inside the note card that's tucked into the envelope. A reproduction vintage postcard graces the other side.

There are a lot more pages in the journal but these illustrate the vibe and look. 

Seeing the Journal of YES finished makes me happy.

And at some point I had started another accordion journal which is also now finished.  I didn't start out to create two different journals with essentially the same color palette, but that is how things ended up.  Some things can't be pre-planned.

The entire blank journal was first collaged with a wide mix of security envelope papers.

(note - the three landscape photos will need to be double-clicked to see more detail)

Here's a peek at another section of the journal . . . 

And here's a third section.

Desktop calendar pages, stickers, magazine cut outs, paint chips, ticket stubs, altered slides, washi tape, punch out shapes, and so much more were included the Secret Garden journal.

I think this spread might be one of my favorites  in the whole journal since I used to collect teddy bears and had an old one like this that my maternal grandmother won as a child at a street fair.

Here you can see more of the scrappy envelope background, along with one of Cicely Mary Barker's flower fairies, and a glassine sleeve with goodies tucked inside and out.

I like this spread a lot, especially the scrap from an Aflac envelope.

(can you guess which one it is? look for the duck's footprints. . . )

* * *

With both of these finished, I hope to move back into the sewing studio.

(although there's a stalled Nancy Drew altered book project that I've finally figured out how I want to continue on with that might become my evening playtime. . . )

Busy rest of the week/weekend so I probably won't post again until next Monday.

Quiltdivajulie

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"In the end, she became more than what she expected.  She became the journey, and like all journeys, she did not end; she just simply changed directions and kept going."

R.M. Drake

Where Things Stand

When I stepped outside to put something in the trash can, I noticed this butterfly drinking water drops from the grass.  

It took about a dozen photos to finally get this one that showed the beautiful blue in his wings.

When the weather starts to cool down, I tend to get a "cold."  Happens almost every year (sigh).

With the uptick in Covid here, there, and elsewhere; I used one of our Covid tests as a precaution.

So far, so good.  

(I'll test again tomorrow just to be on the safe side)

I tried sewing a couple more rows onto Grandiose, but quickly realized my brain cells were not working very well (stupid cold).

So I switched gears and got the cardboard journal bound.  I wasn't crazy about the instructor's method so I went with my tried-and-true binder rings.

In the end, I had fun making this but I seriously doubt I'll make another cardboard journal.

And to clean up my work area, I used a lot of small scraps and made three no-sew paper snippet strips.  

I did use up a pile of scraps but the process generated even more mess (which was put into the trash can).

* * *

Fingers crossed I start feeling sharper and more energetic . . . I'll post again when I have something to share.

Quiltdivajulie

Permission to Play with Carolyn Dube

I've been on a bit of a play break so I could take part in a free online workshop with Carolyn Dube.

We started with a cardboard box, white gesso, and colorful paints of our choosing.

Here's the link to her classes in case you're curious.  

Carolyn uses a LOT of stenciling but I don't - so I went my own way with extra collage.

No rules -- just play time and a chance to use some bits and pieces in the stash.

In my case, tissue paper circles, stamps, and bits of book text/maps/sheet music/etc.

I've started using only book text in foreign languages (aside from dictionary pages).  

Why?  So I don't agonize that the words and story line convey something I don't intend (it's a personal quirk).

And then there's also the happy fact that foreign language books at the library's thrift area are priced at $1/book since not too many folks are looking for German or Italian or Greek (etc.) for their leisure reading.

I was tickled when the postmark on the stamp matched the size of the circle I'd marked around the flower's center.

I went with a consistent group of paint colors throughout my double-sided pages.

Why?  Trying to make even more decisions interrupted my sense of playtime.

This side will function as the back cover.  

I need to bind the nine pieces of cardboard (18 sides) into a journal but that will happen tomorrow since tonight we're doing a mid-week family dinner to celebrate elder son's birthday.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Almost all creativity involves purposeful play."

Abraham Maslow