Dreaming of Stitching

We should all be independently wealthy or have 'sugar daddies' so that we can do as we please. My art is relegated to dreaming and small accomplishments this time of year as I have to work for the bread on my table. Selling people stuff in a store just is not rewarding in any other way but to provide a paycheck.

So as not to appear too negative as to consume all my thoughts, I have been at least dreaming of all the projects I can't wait to get my hands on. Above is a piece that I did as a sister to 'Iris Dragon', which is completed. I never got to bead this beauty and I'm starting to plan where and how I will embellish it so that I can get it done.
I have been taking an hour or two on days when I am only working 4-6 hours, to quickly cut and paste ideas in my sketchbook.
Some are exciting, as I can see the possibilities and have just the right fabrics for the idea.
And others are just simply ideas that will probably never make their way into a finished quilt.
I always have things that I start but loose my inner direction on. So I put them away for a rainy day when I feel the inspiration. I love the desert Southwest and this was begun as a quilt connected to my travels there. I am feeling lots of cacti and seeing pieces of adobe walls.
It's a fairly long and narrow piece with a 5 inch border. I got these fabrics from the store I used to work at and when I first saw them I knew I would be using them for something. The center fabric is just bits of a map with routes in black and red. The border has vignettes of traveling icons with small maps that are named for the western states, such as TEXAS, UTAH, & NEW MEXICO.
My own cactus plant has afforded me tons of photos like this one to draw from. And the many pictures of homes and walls in Santa Fe that I took on my last trip there, are calling to me to be drawn. If I can just get some drawings done, perhaps the piecing can be done in bits and pieces before or after work.
And lastly, I did manage to get October's block of the month done. For a person who never does traditional patterns I found this to be a bit of a monster. But it's done and looks nice next to the September block. Still hand stitching 'Chlorophyll' and I should be able to put up a picture soon which shows the progress, which is painfully slow.

For those of you who read this and have situations which allow you endless studio hours, remember how lucky you are this Thanksgiving. Kiss your significant others often, embrace and bless your art donors and joyfully meet your teaching obligations with renewed energy. I will be thankful for my loving, healthy family, my hard working husband, the job which pays for the feast and my studio, filled with promise, which awaits my eager heart.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!