Soups On!!!

Funny how something as simple as a soup recipe can open a floodgate of memories.

A recipe came my way yesterday morning as I was going through my email -- it was enclosed within a fitness pal - 15 hearty soups note. One of them Crockpot Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup!

There was Valentine's Day trip that David and I took many years ago. We were headed for a weekend VD getaway to Cambria, CA and we took a little side trip to a small town just north of Solvang -- Los Olivos. It was a small town but had several galleries and as we made our way through the main street we ended up at the Fess Parker Hotel...

there we had a wonderful lunch -- mine was Garlic Tomato Soup....
amazing, and ever since that day I have searched for a similar recipe.

So, as I sit here there is a batch of this soup in the crockpot and it smells incredible -- and the memories of that side trip return.

The walk after that great lunch...
a couple of purchases made at the galleries that day...
and introduction to the artist Eyvind Earle whose work I still happily turn to today for delight and inspiration..... a true artist of CA's central coast.

All from a soup recipe...
You never know...

Hope your Valentine's Day is made special in some way today!
Meanwhile,
soup's on at the Hughes.....

Beyond the 5-Minute Drawing

Welcome to Monday! A new week...
I'm ready for a clean start this week, for last week was filled with techno ups & downs.

My phone, seemingly on it's last breath was resurrected...
Then Friday my desktop computer refused to start - turned out to be DEAD,
This changed a play-filled weekend of fabric transformation, with tech shopping.
While I love 'the stuff' shopping for new 'stuff' just has never been fun. Luckily things came together and somewhere in the house (as I type) a new desktop is finding its home.

The fabric plans for the weekend --
they'll be slowly worked in to bits of time over the next few days.

I did manage to get to creating the drawing that I envisioned from one of my 5-minute drawings.
Boardwalk - from a couple of weeks ago - got me wandering along in the Caribbean
I had purchases some fun fabrics while cruising in March --
and found perfect (really perfect) fabric to go with it from Cherrywood in April......

well, you tell me --
do you think I might be on the right track
Here's my more extensive drawing --
and the fabrics!

Next step -- enlarge and prepare the pattern.
(I think I can sneak in time for that)

Wishing you a creatively, productive week!

~Rose

Todays Source: Clouding Around

Yesterday morning the ac installers finally finished setting the new system in place. We were so pleased to have that behind us that Dave & I set off for a bit of fun. We headed up the road -- to Target...(ok, now that we have to go over 60 miles to get to a Target it is a bit of a destination). -- being there also left us in a fun area, so leaving Target behind we headed off into the woods.

Riding off, with the trees and sky -- it was a grand day!
I fell (wonderfully cool) asleep thinking of the day, and I awoke with CLOUDS.
Seemed the universe was sending a message -

So, today's source --
NO CLOUDING AROUND

Take some time, kick back and let the clouds pull you in...

While teaching in Asilomar my class gave me the name Queen of Clouds --
something about loving the clouds in my quilts...
they requested a design file of 'my clouds' that resulted with:

Get Hammered & Gain a Source

It has been a couple of very warm days at the Hughes --
New AC unit has been being installed (who would expect it to take soooo long).

To escape the heat yesterday I headed off to run some chores, and to hang out in places that were air-conditioned. One of these was Lowes -- and since wandering thru the hardware section is always fun, I spent about an hour walking up and down....

there were giant screws
chains of all shapes & sizes
hammers, nails, screwdrivers,
there was also some fun-
shiny new skeleton keys that caught my eye

All these shiny - textured - fun items were also the inspiration for today's posting.

Next time you're heading to the hardware store -- give yourself some extra time...
wander the aisles....

and, GET HAMMERED!

Sources: Venturing - Look Down

Sometimes we just need a bit of a nudge in a different direction to begin seeing new sources - new possibilities - ME included! So, that is a bit about what this week is all about.

Whether you venture near or far there is always something new for the finding.
To get us going, I chose any easy one.
LOOK DOWN

What may you find? Well, just on my walk I found feathers ( tons & tons) and even a poor abandoned goose egg...  just remember to LOOK DOWN!

interesting cracks? staircases?
or how many different colors of toe nail polish may you find today?

I'm off to wander!
~ Rose

Summer Words for Sources

Summer has officially arrived -
Summer Solstice the longest day of the year --
long, lingering days filled with light & possibilities.

We have 93 days to the Autumn Equinox...
How would you like to fill a sketchbook with ideas in that time?
Well, since we're talking about WORDs as source inspiration this week I came up with a

Summer Word Challenge
below is a list - a long list - a list of words that remind me of summer

It's easy to join in - grab a pencil & paper--
PICK A WORD
and let your mind explore that word for you
record your exploration!

I've talked about this idea many, many times...
why?  because it works - a bit of personal brainstorming
where you find yourself continuously surprised.

While using this technique along with the members of my design group I was always amazed with what I came up with, and how each of us came up with stuff that was very different from each other. In just 5 minutes!!

Click to see some our examples:

BLOOMING

SCREW
THRU THE DOOR
SUNDAY

The most important thing is to have fun!

Hmm, which word will I pick for today?

~Rose

Sources: Words - More than tell the tale

One of the most powerful resources for discovery & inspiration for me are WORDS.

Words have history -
They can provide power ourselves - through introspection
and, power over others - (there is nothing stronger than a carefully turned phrase)

We all have experienced the words of a novel strung together in just the right way
to create a whole other world in our imagination.

& words are all around us - free for contemplating & kick starting that next project.

Below are just a couple of my own quilts that were culled into being because of words.

Don't Think Yourself in a Jail
inspired long ago by the words to an Indigo Girls song
this bird's jail is one of his own making -- overthinking can certainly create bars
and only we control their existence

Whether you think You're Right
or Whether you think You're Wrong... You're Right
words quoted from Henry Ford spoke perfectly to me
as I created a piece based on the theme detours

Do you have a favorite song, poem, quote or story that has already inspired you creatively?

Hope this week's postings will help open up new possibilities!

I'm working on a fun challenge that I'll be posting on the 21st -- don't miss it!

Photos as Sources: Sunday 'Fillr Up

Hope that this days finds you all well and with a few moments for yourselves.
I have been working on several projects that are all coming due over the next week --
luckily for me they all involve creating & stitching - some of most favorite things.

Also, lucky for me that when someone asks for 5-subject related projects that I know I can turn to various sources to help me get cracking with ideas.

#1 thing on my list is image searches
these may be my own images (since I have a 20 odd year archive of photos)
but, I may use photos from other sources, too.

One of the old trusty ways to use this images it by creating a small frame-
or set of L-sections and moving them over the photos --
by hovering over various areas you may find all sorts of inspiration, compositions, textures

I pulled out two photos I recently took while off on the 400 Mile Yardsale...
(think of all the possibilities!!!)

make yourself a small black or white frame

select a photo - here is one of fishing tackle

here is one possible composition

here is another

and here I used a white frame and found an interesting texture --
I am thinking quilting lines - hmm

You may want to dig out some of those old travel pictures and start thinking about them all over again via the view through a frame.

Happy Sunday!

I'm back to stitching.
~Rose

Sources -- Inspiration Where do we go?

SOURCE -
by definition is:
where something comes from
the places where things originate

and as creatives we are always on the look out for the initial spark that starts off on some road

There are always sources in us & around us, and sometime we need to be reminded
and sometimes we just need to go adventuring.

Adventuring this week took me off on the 400Mile Yardsale.
400 miles of yardsale after yardsale through the scenic backroads of Kentucky.
Each stop along the way had it's own flavor, but boy people were out there hunting down goodies.

I went looking for materials for upcoming projects, and I came away a happy 'source' finder.

Here's some pictures taken along the way...

see any picture here that might be a source for you?
Where are you off to this weekend?  Be on the lookout!

~Rose