Touching Base

Shirts and Such has been pin basted and the free motion quilting is nearly complete.

This photo shows the top and backing with the thread I'm using.

I've also decided to start using the two vintage Rolodexes I found in a thrift store.

The first one (black base) has cards measuring 2.25 " x 4" so I'm calling it The Tiny Things Rolodex.

This section will feature bits and pieces of packaging.

This section will feature things related to TEA.  

Clearly this one will be a longer term, background kind of project as I find bits and bobs to add.

The second rolodex (light gray/tan base) contains cards that measure 3" x 5" - I'm going to fill it with a variety of non-valuable postage stamps from a wide variety of sources, most free or at very little cost.  Its very non-original name will be the Postage Stamp Rolodex unless I come up with something more clever.

This particular section will feature stamps related to architecture and buildings.  (Do any of you know where Helvetia is?  Switzerland!)

Another section will feature sports and the Olympics.

Other sections I've already decided on are Christmas, Women, Men (including former presidents), Planes-Trains-Automobiles, Nautical, and Flowers.  There will be lots more topics added as I work through the stamps I have in hand.

(and if any of you have cancelled or unused stamps that you no longer want, I'll be happy to re-home them and add them into this motley mix)

I've also discovered this project, and given my love of Happy Mail I've taken their pledge to write one letter (or more if the muse strikes) each week.  

If you're curious, their website is here: https://www.thesundayletterproject.com/

* * *

Family Dinner Sunday, Dentist on Monday, Grandparents Day at Young Man's school on Tuesday followed by a sleepover visit,  Thanksgiving on Thursday (not a big production as there are only 3 of us plus the grand-dog), and then take-down of November's seasonal decor and put-up of December's.    

After a couple more rainy days, our temps are forecast to drop into the freezing zone once more.  Even so, as soon as S&S is finished I will bundle up and get outdoor photos to share here later in the week.

Quiltdivajulie

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"So here's the thing:  unused art materials are of ZERO value.  Enjoy them.  That is why they exist in the world - to bring joy.  Go create something!"

Daisy Yellow

Rolodex Color Wheel and Squirrels - Photo Heavy

I've finished three more color groups for my Rolodex Color Wheel - first up is yellow.

These are the front sides of the ten yellow cards plus the divider (top).

And these are the back sides.  

(if you supersize the photos, there are so many little details to explore)

Here's a close up on one.

Next up was turquoise.  These are the front sides of the ten newly finished cards, along with the divider (top).

And these are the reverse sides.

The top card in this photo tickles me because of the shape of the character's face sitting on the stick and the expression of th pilot on the stamp.  And yes, that was intentional on my part.

These two stamps are just loaded with fine details - I wonder if people really stop to look at the stamps on their mail (when the stamp is other than the basic flag).

The third group features gray.  These are the front sides.

(Wanda - I included your squirrel photo on the bottom right card)

And these are the reverse sides.

The squirrels are a big part of this color group . . . 

They make me happy.

These three groups of cards comfortably fill up my Rolodex - 266 single cards collaged on one side then combined into 11 color groups containing 133 pairs.

But I have nine more color groups (pairs of colors like black and white, blue and yellow, pink and green, etc.) prepped and ready to collage so later this year there will be a second Rolodex Color Wheel.

Now here's a short little video of Color Wheel No. 1 in motion . . . 

For a larger view, click on the play arrow then look in the lower right hand corner of the frame for the full screen option (hit "escape" on your keyboard to return to normal view).

(to see still photos of the other color card groups, click on the label below the quote to see all earlier posts for this project)

Quiltdivajulie

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"Don't be like the rest of them darling."

Coco Chanel

Rolodex Cards This Month

I chose PINK as the first group of Rolodex Color Wheel cards to finish for January. 

(remembering that all of the original single white Rolodex cards had their designated background color already in place)

These are the finished fronts (all photos should supersize).

And these are the finished backs.

Next up - WARM LOW VOLUME cards.

Finished fronts . . .

Next

. . . and finished backs.

The next color group was RED.

Here are the finished fronts.

And here are the finished backs.

January's total finished front/back cards - 38.

While DH worked on the lights in my sewing studio, I went ahead and pulled out the BLUE cards in the other room.

These are the finished fronts.

And these are the finished backs.

Since I was on a roll, I went ahead and pulled out the GREEN cards.

Here are their finished fronts.

And here are the finished backs.

The final group for this month involved PURPLE.

Finished fronts . . .

. . . and finished backs.

The grand total of paired front/back cards completed in January is (drum roll) . . . 74!

Progress feels good.

(I'm also very happy to have learned a couple of new techniques that made it possible to move these along much more quickly - thank you to the many makers who freely share what they do online.)

Quiltdivajulie

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"And the dandelion does not stop growing because it is told it is a weed.  The dandelion does not care what others see.  It says, "One day they'll be making wishes upon me."

B. Atkinson

Move it Forward!

I ran across this on the Daisy Yellow Art website and realized it would be a perfect backdrop to reinvigorate my stalled Scrappy Rainbow Rolodex project.

So I pulled it out, figured out where things stood, and picked up where I left off.

Based on previous calculations, I have enough single cards left to collage to create that I need to complete at least 36 individual cards (or 18 two-sided pairs) each month if I want the Rolodex completed by the end of December.

I started with the reds.  

Fourteen individual cards were collaged and combined to add seven new two-sided pairs to the previously finished three pairs.

One color group checked off the master list!

Next I pulled out the pink group.

Twenty individual cards were collaged and combined to add ten new two-sided pairs to the three previously completed pairs.

Another color group checked off the master list!

To push past my target totals for January, I chose the warm low volume group next.

This photo shows sixteen individual cards/eight two-sided pairs waiting to be collaged,

And this photo shows another fourteen individual cards/seven two-sided pairs waiting to be completed.

The two baskets hold color group envelopes filled over time with scrappy bits for collaging the cards.

The red and pink envelopes' leftover bits have been added to the collection baskets for my planned ROYGBIV glue books. 

And since my goal now is to move this project forward each month in a more organized manner, I have pulled out my styrofoam plate sorting system.

Last night I went through the low volume envelope and chose the pieces that will go on each of the thirty cards.

Each card and its mate are on one plate; and the plates are stacked, waiting for me to glue things in place (perhaps even this weekend).

Later in the month, I'll share "for the record" photos of January's completed cards

It feels good to know this project is no longer languishing in the closet!

p.s.  I also sewed together another set of strips for the next Dumpster Diving 12 block - moving that pending quilt top forward felt good, too.

Quiltdivajulie

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"The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things."

Henry Ward Beecher

Something Small but Something Made

After the last few days, I really wanted to MAKE something.

So I grabbed the Turquoise-Yellow group of prepared cards for my Rolodex Color Wheel and spent some time adding collaged bits.

These twelve cards will become six double-sided cards after I attach the pairs together later today.

(photos will enlarge for more detail) 

These singles will become five more double-sided cards and then the Turquoise-Yellow section will be complete.

There are postage stamps, wrapping paper scraps, space stickers from Little Man's stash, bits cut from packaging (cookies, a pair of LM's pants, sunscreen, crackers, and even a sticker from an Amazon box), snippets from magazines/junk mail, and even a few sewn skinny strips of fabric in this mix.

And I now know that my plan to have backgrounds on the blank cards with an envelope full of bits for each color group ready to go really does work.  

It was a definite "happy" to be able to pull these out and just start assembling/playing.

* * *

My studio goal for the weekend is to make at least two or three more blocks for DD12.

And to fold/put away several stacks of fabric that have been sitting around for far too long.

I'd also love to get Inglenook pin basted but I'm not sure whether or not real life will cooperate.  Time will tell.

Quiltdivajulie

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"There is nothing more urgent today than taking care of your mind, body, and soul."

Lauren Fortenberry

The Rolodex Project - an Update

These blues were the penultimate group of backgrounds to be added.

And these greens were the final group.

That means that all of the backgrounds are now glued in place, with the corners of the cards rounded, and the Rolodex runner holes punched.  

(I started the process last March)

There are twenty sections in my Rolodex Color Wheel:

Red, Pink/Fuschia, Orange/Cheddar, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Turquoise/Aqua/Teal, and Brown are the single colors.

The color combinations include Blue/Yellow, Turquoise/Yellow, Blue/Green, Green/Yellow, Aqua/Pink, Pink/Green, Red Violet/Yellow "Acid" Green, Black/Blue, Cool Neutrals, Warm Neutrals, and Black/White.

The two baskets behind the Rolodex contain bits and pieces in each of those color groups - ready for the collage-ing process.  

The base unit came with 500 blank rolodex cards.

I now have less than 25 blank ones in reserve and I destroyed at least a dozen in the process of getting to this point; which means there are roughly 465 cards with backgrounds on the unit right now.

Each of those individual cards will get the collage treatment before they are glued back-to-back into pairs (465/2 = 232-233 pairs).  

I'm guessing there will be approximately 15-20 cards in each of the twenty sections (some will have more, some will have less).

From here on I don't want to think about any of those numbers - I just want to play with the collage part a few cards at a time until they are all done.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Rather than trying to straighten out my quirks, I realise that my weird bits are are perhaps the most interesting bits about me."

Helen Wells

Rolodex Update

I've been plugging away with the backgrounds on the white Rolodex cards.  This is the red violet/lime green group.

This is the blue plus green group.  The greens look a tad yellow and the blues look rather gray in the photo - they're much more lively in person.

This is the turquoise plus yellow group.

The orange group.

The yellow group (oops, need to round the corners on these).

The pink plus green group.

The aqua/turquoise/teal group.

The pink plus aqua group.

The pink group.

And the cool neutrals group.

There are three more single color groups left to do - blue, green, and purple.

And honestly, I am SO ready to be done with phase of the project.  Like cutting a bazillion triangles for HSTs or cutting/piecing 1,000s of 1.5" squares together, it gets tedious after a while.

It will be a lot more fun when I can spend time adding collage to the cards before gluing them into pairs and putting those finished cards into the Rolodex (but that phase is going to wait until I FMQ a couple of the waiting tops and get those aboriginal HSTs up on the design wall).

Quiltdivajulie

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"Repetition is the mother of learning and the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment."

Zig Ziglar