Time goes faster in the summer!

The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. ~C.S. Lewis

How quickly summer went by.  The 60 minute journey each day seems to go so much faster in the summer and the fall  weather has descended upon me far too quickly.  I've come to the realization that I must tackle cleaning our garage today! 

Life quote

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. ~Fr. Alfred D'Souza

This zentangle is for the Diva's challenge this week:  Using only two patterns.

Pleasing everyone

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."    - Bill Cosby

If you displease someone, stop and consider what occurred.  If you feel certain you did nothing wrong, then let it go.

This ATC (artist trading card) was a group project by 4 members of the ATCs Anon group on Yahoo.  I was the 4th and my challenge was to add an embellishment(s).  Today, I will mail back one to each of the three others of the group.

How true!

"The problem with A place for everything and everything in it's place is that there's more everything than there is place."     -Robert Brault, writer


How true, how true!  I've been attempting to organize my studio this past week.  Seems as if the more I put things away either I can't find it when I want it (right brain, left brain problem) or there's not enough space for where I want to place things.  I've been donating, throwing away, organizing, etc. and have made progress; however,  I have to come to the realization that organization is just not my best trait.   So be it, and I will make the best of it.

Autumn quote and quilted wall hanging

"Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring."   - Anonymous

I love the colors of autumn.  But the older I get, the more I dread winter.  Today's quote sums it up for me.

Yesterday, I finished this wall hanging which I started while at the quilting retreat last weekend.  One of  my goals is to create wall hangings for each season and /or holiday.  

Diva Challenge, quote

"Success isn't measured by money or power or social rank.  Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace."     -Mike Ditka

This weeks challenge by "the Diva" was to create a pinwheel for peace.

Quote, Quilting, Life and Serendipity

"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection.  Excellence, I can reach for, perfection is God's business."       -Michael J. Fox

Excellence is a colorful quilt lovingly stitched by it's maker.  Perfection is a sunset that mingles stunning colors, breathtaking shapes at sunset.  Perfection is breathtaking, but excellence is gratifying in its own right, as it is achieved through hard, steady work.

This just happens to be  the quote of the day in the book Positive Quotes for Every Day by Patricia Lorenz.  It is the perfect quote for me today.

 This past weekend I spent a very enjoyable weekend with my quilting friends at a quilt retreat.  We spent two days quilting & laughing and eating!  The retreat is located in Danville, Illinois at Threads of Time Quilt shop.  ( http://www.threadsoftimefab.com/ )  The facility is very nice and Bill and Missy (the owners)) are very accommodating. 

One of the projects I completed is a quilted Halloween wall hanging:

Quote, Questions, Life

"Judge people by their questions rather than by their answers."    -Voltaire

Several have asked if I choose my quote of the day first or my art first.  I usually try to match a quote to my art, but today I did the opposite.

   Yesterday I mentioned the book "Positive Quotes for Every Day by Patricia Lorenz.  I am really enjoying this book a lot.  The above quote came from the book and her comments about the quote are truly soul searching:  What kinds of questions do you tend to ask?  They reveal what you care about.  One example she gave was do we want to know how much money a person makes or what kind of car they drive, or do we want to know about their loved ones and their hobbies?  She had other examples as well.

Her challenge after the quote:  Today I will be mindful when posing questions.  I will be sure they reveal my true concerns.

What kind of questions do you ask?  What do your questions reveal about you?

Quotes

"There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind when they go.     - Frederick Faber


I love quotes and hope you've enjoyed the ones I have shared with you.  This quote is especially meaningful to me.  Bob and I helped celebrate his Aunt's 90th birthday this past weekend.   She is a delightful person with a beautiful attitute and a lilting laugh.  We bestowed gag gifts upon her and she shared her enjoyment of her birthday celebration with us.  I only hope I can learn to see the world through her eyes.

Recently I found the book "Positive Quotes for Every Day" by Patricia Lorenz.   I have just purchased two more copies of the book to share with my daughters.  I recommend it highly.

Today's zentangle is a result of positive thinking on my part.  My zentangle art has been created mostly in black ink (which is traditional) so far.  I've seen several posts on various blogs, websites and flicker which show zentangles in color.  Here's my zentangle done in black and sepia:

Quote of the day, zentangle, challenge

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you might be the world.    -unknown author

This is my zentangle made for Challenge #39 by "the diva".  The challenge is to create a zentangle which expresses love.

Please take time to tell those you love that you love them.  We just observed the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and so many people lost loved ones that day.  Life is short, tell someone you love them  --- NOW!

Paradox, quote of the day

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.  To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdon and the guidance of virtue.     -Budha


.


Challenge #38 this week was to create an entire tangle design using just one pattern called paradox.
I've created two:

I'm not sue if I like the one in colors or not.  What do you think?


Life can certainly be a "maze" at times.  I thought after I retired I'd have so much time to do all the things I wanted to do.  Perhaps my problem is that I keep adding projects faster than I can create them.  Seems as though my mind just keeps thinking up a maze of creative ideas but my fingers and hands can't keep up with my mind!

Kiss my Grids

"Try this for an interesting party, combine cocktails and a fresh box of crayons for everyone."  - Robert Fulgam, author.


The challenge this week by "the diva" was to fill in your string (design) with only grid designs.

1.