The Wake-Up Green

Everywhere I turn...
out on my morning walk...
looking out the window....
in other people's postings here on the web...

there is a blossoming... the world is warming up, turning green...
trees with new coats of green; a happy bursting forth of new green...the WAKE-UP green.

The perfect canvas for the riot of wildflowers...daffodils, cherry blossoms,
and purple flowers of so many types as the list would be way too long...
but all the inspiration bead shopping; flower beads, to help celebrate the season.

How did I do?
Couldn't leave the downtown LA area without shopping for a bit of fabric, too.
check out my shopping map for my favorite places

Canyon Quilters

It's a quiet Sunday morning and I'm enjoying the chirp of birds and view of the water from my window from where I am staying while in San Diego. Yesterday was a wild, fun day with a group of 20 members from Canyon Quilters. Nothing like the anticipation felt in the air as everyone pulls all their supplies out of their cars, wanders into the big empty room and scopes out the best seat.

That is how the morning started, and it just got better from there. They came with photos and sketches in hand of far away places and some much closer to home and by end of day these had been stitched into fabric landscapes.

Tops done, we will be couching, quilting & embellishing these today. So, in just a little while I'll be back to the rooms filled with old & new memories of Africa, Paris, Yosemite and local Palomar mountains..... wild, fun!

Hope your Sunday plans bring you peace & creative contentment.

Pulled From the Bag of Tools

Thanks for all your responses and comments about your favorite tools. Some have been surprising!




Here are few that have been mentioned:
paintbrush
rotary cutter
clear rulers
seam rippers
chopsticks.......

Don't forget to check out the Trail-Marker GiveAway and let me know what your favorite tool is!

AS FOR ME..
I've been using one of my favorite tools this week. It is the one that I carry around with me in my pocket while working on quilting and beading.... Shown is a picture of my beading kit....with my fav tool kind of hiding on the right, the chaco-liner. I use it to mark out areas to be quilted, or block out shapes for quilting, or as in the other two pictures here...I note where beads may need to go before picking up needle & thread.

Bag o"Tools

When I first started off writing Exploring Embellishments I came across this poem:





A Bag of Tools---by R.Lee Sharpe
Isn't it strange how princes and kings,
and clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
and common people, like you and me,
are builders for eternity?
Each is given a list of rules;
a shapeless mass; a bag of tools.
And each must fashion, ere life is flown,
A stumbling block, or a stepping stone.

It struck home with me, for no matter what medium or style we go to create we all use tools...we need to learn what's out there/ how to use them... and throw that knowledge in our own Bag of Tools so we can pull them out as we need them to fashion our 'stepping stones'.
There are tools out there for every step in the quiltmaking process.

• creating the quilt top
• sandwiching the layers
• quilting
• finishing
• and of course, my favorite... EMBELLISHING

What's in YOUR bag!

12-Week Trail-Marker Give-Away- #1

My new book is scheduled to 'hit the streets' in early June, so I've planned a bit of fun to wile away my every moment of anticipation... hope you JOIN IN!


Exploring Embellishments: More Fun with Fast-Piece Applique
12- Week Trail-Marker Give-Aways
March 7th thru May 30th

Every two weeks I will offer a new 'give-away'... a goody or supply that you'll want on hand to go exploring exciting & new paths in my upcoming book!

Enter once or as many times as you like; then as the last Trail-Marker is passed all the entries received during the 12-weeks will additionally be included in drawings for a copy of my new book.
Six people will win a signed copy!

Trail-Marker #1
March 7 thru 21
Packing your Bag o'Tools
Win a pair of my favoriate marking tools!
1-yellow & 1-white Clover Chaco Liner Slims

Enter by:
Follow this blog & comment about your favorite art or quilting tool, OR
Become a fan on my FaceBook Fan Page & comment about your favorite art or quilting tool
BONUS entry-- Tweet this give-away with @rosehughes in your message

New Works

For a few weeks now I have been talking here and there about stitching, stitching and even more stitching. Since heading off to Seattle my sewing machine has seen little use and all the stitching I've been chatting about has been hand work on three new quilts. These were finally completed and I'm pleased to share them here. These pieces are larger renditions of earlier Ebb'n Flow pieces, but each takes a more intense look at the contrast that occurs in their natural situation. Hope you enjoy!

Another Fun Embellishment Workshop

Here's photos from this weekend's in-studio embellishment workshop. It really is a lot of fun having student in my studio... looking forward to more classes coming up soon. ~Rose

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Returning from the Wild..

Hi All-
I had barely finished last weekend's workshop when I packed up and headed out to lecture and teach at Gateway Quilters in Merced, CA. This was a great group of quilters... you can tell by the chattering before the meeting and the singing during. Yes, singing! Part of the fun of traveling to many places and being part of many guild meetings is seeing how much they are the same, and just how much fun the little differences are. My hostess, Daphne, was a delight and the quilts that were made during the Fast-Piece Applique workshop were wonderful. They kept me hoppin, so I'll have to see if I even got any pix's to share and add them later on.

I did not think to ask why they call themselves Gateway Quilters, but in my mind Merced is the Gateway to Yosemite National Park (80 miles east & the junction for the 140 leading into the park). Being this close was too tempting to let pass, so I took David (my husband) along and we headed into Yosemite for a short visit.

For anyone that has not had a chance to get to Yosemite... DO! There is no grander place. Words nor pictures can describe how you feel as you enter the valley and find yourself surrounded by such beautiful and diverse mountains.

The feeling never changes, and we have been there more times than we can remember, including our wedding (for we had a destination wedding before they became popular). For this quick getaway we chose to spend a night in one of the tent cabins of Curry Village, and the one thing I'll warn you about is to truly pay attention to the bear warnings. When they say leave no food or scented items in your cabins, DON'T! It was not our cabin that had the bear visitor in the middle of the night, but there was one....

the ravens were there at the crack of dawn raising the wake up call for all those in the village... this made me chuckle for they really did seem to travel one end to the other giving a loud WAKE UP chortle that echoed through our part of the valley. David slept right through this part... and he also missed the first bear sighting of the morning. A rather large black bear was making his presence known by sitting right on the path to the bathrooms. Though chased a bit back by some of us humans, he was a bit brazen and chose to leave in his own good time. The second bear, a bit smaller and lighter, David did get to see. This one backed up just far enough up the hill to a place us humans were not to go and settled in for a short nap.

Besides the campground experiences we had a lot of fun hiking a couple of familiar trails and a finding some new spots. We have never been in summer before, and though we knew there would be little water in the falls it was a bit of change for us, but we found picnicking at the foot of El Capitan a lot of fun, and then heading out towards Emerald Beach and the El Cap meadows to watch the rock climbers. Three days it takes to climb up the sheer face of El Capitan, and that includes having to sleep up there on a little ledge bed... amazing... and the climbers of Yosemite even set up telescopes for us earthbound watchers. This has never been one of my goals, but I can tell you that hiking up to the top of the Yosemite Falls trail and sitting on the edge looking out over the valley is wonderful.

All in all, we had a great 2-days in Yosemite, but before leaving we walked through the Awahnee Hotel... beautiful, one of the incredibly built treasures of the park... but even more dear to us, since this is where we had our wedding reception and got to share this special place with friends and family. If you get there, make sure you walk through the solarium and imagine a wedding party with the mountain backdrop all covered in snow....

Back home now and grateful for the fun break!
More stitching this weekend. Another in-studio embellishment class.
~Rose

Embellishment Weekend I

Hi All-
Had to share the photos from this weekends fun in-studio embellishment workshop.
It was a great group. We had lots of learning and the ideas were flying. Hope you enjoy the photos.

I'm off to finish packing... hitting the road early and heading for Merced!
~Rose

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Button, Button

My fellow travellers and I where able to hunt down some incredible finds on our embellishment safari. Joanell & Jeanette have been kind enough to share their photos with me and I will attempt to share some of these with you.

Our favorite finds had to be the buttons, and while we knew there were amazing varieties out there we were surprised at how much fun it was to hunt down and see in the wild all these little wonders.
There were two popular watering holes where the 'little (and some not so little' beasts) chose to show off. The first was a store call The Button Store, 8344 W 3rd St, LA. When Faye, the owner, tells and shares all about the buttons in her store you will be in awe. She is incredibly knowlegable and giving, and the the buttons in her store should not be missed. Her collections of modern and antique buttons is extensive and she carries quite a few exclusive lines. It was truly a treat to visit this store.

Our second, must see locations for buttons was F&S Fabrics in West LA. While the collections of fabrics and trims were incredible at this store, the buttons found here were volumous.

I'm including here five photos... sorry but there were so many to choose from, color wise, texture wise, thematically and just plain fun that I can only leave you a small taste.





Enjoy... and check back for more.
Even better, tell me about your favorite button places.
~Rose

Just A Peak

Behind the signposts there were many wonderful finds, and we have the photos to prove it. So here is a peek from the doorways of several of the locations we stopped at. These came from Joanell's camera. Thank You J!

A Few Sign-posts Along The Way

The members of my expedition met as planned yesterday morning.
Starting off as any 'right' expedition would, 'with coffee'. And then we were off. These are just a few of the sign-posts along the way.
More... definitely more will follow...

Dreamin' Up Landscapes & Embellishment Safaris

The workshop space was bustling yesterday as students worked stitching up their landscapes. Here they are showing off their quilt tops all sandwiched and ready to start the couching of pretty yarns that pull everything together.

With the workspace grown quiet again my mind is spinning with plans for my first ever Embellishment Safari.

Really looking forward to the hunt for any new, exotic or over-the-top embellishments that we can hunt up on our safari through Los Angeles schedule for this week.

If you've ever been here and know of a wild store that just shouldn't be missed please let's hear from you.

Stitchin' Up Book 2
~Rose

Catching Up with May

May around my house is normally pretty busy, for there are so many birthdays... then with the permission of a very fine quilter recently met, I was told that the whole month is one that should be celebrated. Mind you it can get a bit hectic when 4 out 6 of the people closest to you have the birthday right to have their own way for a month. But it does sound like fun!

This year May is also ushering in the first due date for my next book. It is very exciting. In my new book I am able to share many of the things about embellishments that I have been finding long the way while on my own quilt journey.

My first book, Dream Landscapes: Artful Quilts with Fast-Piece Applique was incredible to put together. All the folks at Martingale Publishing could not be more wonderful to have worked with, and I am really pleased to be working with them on book two as well.

Needless to say that there have been a few days totally dedicated to stitching up and writing for the book this month, but that has not stopped the search for all those wonderful found things. Circles seem to be the focus.... Dots, balls, bubblegum... seeing spots everywhere! I would love to see some of the things that have caught your eye this month!

Back to stitchin, and having a blast!
~Rose

March Playday

Tuesday is playday... and this week we kind of went into it with no plan. What we came out of it with was a day of playing with stuff few of us had ever seen before, let along played with. This week one of our group had purchased a package of paperclay. This stuff has been around forever. I had seen is like a zillion years ago on C.D. show (back when HGTV was fun to watch). Back then I purchased some and had all good intentions of trying it out. Right now could not tell you where that package is, but after yesterday I will go looking for it... and probably have to go buy some more.

We split the package amongst us and set off working to create some beads with the stuff. It dries pretty quickly, so putting it into a plastic bag while your working with smaller portions of the stuff is a must. It works fairly easily, but like clay can have little cracks appear. Unlike clay though it seemed like water did not have great affect on smoothing these away. A little yes, great no... but, no matter, the beads we made up in the clay before lunch were very promising, and a quick time of 20 minutes in a 350 oven made fast work of the drying. After lunch we tried painting them with a variety of paints. Seemed like acryllics worked the best. Lastly, we used a gloss medium on each of them. They will definitely make their way onto something, and how wonderful that you can make something so easily to be added to almost anything, for after baking the clay was just like any other ceramic piece. You'll find pictures here of all our little treasures.

There was also a lively discussion about archetype and what is meant by this word. It always makes me think about Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, but I think there's a great definition on wicki:


Play days are really important...
and definitely, too much fun!


Hope you get to yours soon.


stitchin' away ~Rose

Barnes & Noble

Saturday was great fun! The folks at Barnes & Noble went out of their way to create a festive and creative day for lots of folks. There were folks there from a national sorority who had bookplates to color and create. Then for each bookplate you made they would donate a book to a literacy program and your name would be on the bookplate given. There was a table piled high... I mean really high... with all kinds of 'stuff'. Paper stuff that could be cut up, pasted, painted, colored .... or anything you could think of to make Artist Trading Cards. Ideas and methods were shared along with supplies and give-aways. I was there, too... sharing my quilts and of course showing folks how to bead. A really nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Sunday was spent finishing up my quilt 'Eyes Skyward'. It felt great to get the piece done... for there is another bringing up the wings... waiting for it's chance as well.

I'm planning to have this piece with me, this coming Friday evening at New Moon Textiles in Pasadena. I'll be there to speak and give a small trunk show. Books & Patterns will also be available. Bobbie from New Moon has a wonderful store and I'm exciting to be going there!

More info to follow.
Looking forward to MORE stitchin' ~Rose

March Madness

JOIN ME Saturday: 1-3pm
Barnes & Noble - Marina Pacifica Shopping Center
6326 East Pacific Coast Hwy
Long Beach, CA 90803

March has definitely come roaring in like a lion... bringing lots of busy times and weather that makes you think the lion is up and roaring and then taking nicely timed cat naps. We are going though days of cool weather and downpours to days of unseasonable warm.... The only thing constant is that you don't want to pack away those heavy blankets.


March is also a busy month for me with book signings, workshops and an exhibit of my work that is now up at the Soft Expressions Gallery.
1230 N. Jefferson Street, Suite M -Anaheim, CA 92807 http://www.softexpressions.com/

This coming weekend (3/7) I will be the Special Guest at Barnes & Noble, Long Beach's Artist Trading Card Workshop. This is a great day where a whole area of the store is turned into a DIY Make-it and Take-it ATC event. Besides all the goodies and freebies related to Artist Trading Card making, sharing and of course trading, I will be there to sign books and demonstrate beading from my recent book Dream Landscapes: Artful Quilts With Fast-Piece Applique.

I have been looking forward to this, and will have some quilts from the book and some goodies of my own to give as well.

In the meantime, though. I have had a great time this week beading new work of my own. An earlier posting spoke about a quilt I am working on called Eye's Skyward... well, the photos here show just how much fun I had pulling out a ton of beads to audition for the quilt. And, I can happily report that the piece has progressed from the auditioning stage for lots of beads to casting and rehersals and well into production.

Definitely more later! There will be more postings about upcoming workshops, openings and other booksignings in March.

Very happily stitching... ~Rose

Monday - It's East Bay

It's early Monday morning and I am up and looking foward to another day of teaching for the East Bay Heritage Quilters. Yesterday was a day off, and I had my heart set on some hiking... but it wasn't to be. The rains had come in and rain it did... the entire day. I did not let it stop all activity though, and I jumped in the car and headed up into one of the wonderful regional parks that surround all the bay area cities. The trip up into the hills was definitely wet, but with the overcast, misty skies there was a calm over everything. In many places I stop got out for a bit and even took some photos. A bit of sketching was done from the dry hidey hole of the car. It was like I was being pulled into various scenes and I enjoyed taking in the depth of some of the craggy areas and the small pathways that led through the trees. The heart was willing to brave the wet, but the head took over at a certain point, for it was way too slippery and wet to go wandering about without proper clothing. My little venture had to be enough.

The wonderful place I am staying made the rest of day a delightful get away spot. Warm and welcoming with the fireplace and room to get my hands busy trying out new things. A walk in the rain during the afternoon found me in a lovely yarn store, called the Stash, http://www.stashyarn.com/gallery.php on Solano Aveue. It was so much fun to be among all the color on such a grey day, and I had a great time chatting with several other shoppers. Naturally, I took advantage of all their wool selection, and will be taking home with me a couple of really great reds and a sky blue (all varigated) that will definitely work well in some upcoming quilts.

More of the afternoon and evening was spent sitting in front of the fire and creating yarn sticks. These are something new for me and I had a great time putting them together. You'll definitely be seeing them on some quilts very soon, and today I will enjoy sharing these new little pieces with my workshop attendees and see if anyone elses imagination is sparked by them as well.

Sunday turned out to be a very lovely day... and I am certainly looking foward to getting together with everyone today. A day with embellishment making is always a fun day!

Happily Stitchin' ~Rose

December Fun!

December is certainly upon us and with it lots of holiday invitations and 'open studios'. I love to go check out other artists studios to see how they work, and chat about what they are doing. It's also fun to find wonderful little treasures that I can give for holiday presents. This weekend I'm heading off to the studio of Joanell Connolly. Her studio will be open on Sat & Sun and you can check out her work at http://www.joanell.com/ .

December has started off to be pretty exciting so far, for last night I had a wonderful time being interviewed by Kim Wulfert on http://www.womenonquilts.blogspot.com/ .

We had a great time conversing on my own art work and my journey so far. Kim did a great job of asking really interesting questions about my art, and the business of my art, and the interview will be available to hear or download from her blog very soon.

My recent trip to Olvera Street provided me with some little embellishments and some fun ideas on how to use them are whirling around in head.

Bells, calla lillies and other fun little trinkets....

Happy creating! ~Rose