stone soup

Last weekend we went to the farmer's market. I stocked up on the last of the NJ strawberries (which, I admit, looked better than they tasted).

Vegetables, too, from the abundance there. Here they are, destined to become soup: combined with past their eat-by scraps from the fridge and the pantry;leftover steak from a restaurant dinner, dried beans, herbs, tomato paste and a hunk of romano cheese. No recipe. Stone Soup. Remember that story? Something out of nothing.

My mother always said I could make something out of nothing. She was talking about meals, but she might just as well have been talking about quilts. We all work miracles with nothing.

We're experts at taking bits, pieces, scraps, and leftovers to make something visually delicious (well, at least most of the time). All it takes is the ability to be creative, combine things we may not have combined before, substitute one fabric or color for another, take a chance with the untried, and do it all with love!

For me, cooking is as creative as making something with fabric -- and I find both things calming, exhilirating, and sometimes frustrating. To me they are the same, and they both make me happy. Funny, when I cook or bake I clean up as I go along. Can't say the same for my studio, but that's another story, which you have seen before.

As usual, it's late. I've been drinking coffee at night and staying up till all hours working on a quilt, but I'm too tired to deal with it tonight.

And I've been experimenting with some random ideas. To tell you the truth, I can't remember how I did this, but these were off-cuts from something else. Couldn't bear to throw them away.

Late. Tired. Not staying up all night. More tomorrow (or whenever I get to it).

I love you all. Thanks for being there -- and I hope you'll leave me a comment or two.