Wonder Full

I am full of wonder these days.


Wonder for the beauty of Spring...Wonder for the range of creativity that exists in this world...Wonder for the friends and connections I have made through this blog......And wonder for the opportunities that these connections have created.

I can honestly say that this blog has transformed my life.

It is such a joy to share your creative journeys and to have all of you share mine. Honestly, it's incredible...this modern age...this internet...

And it was this blog and this internet, that led me to my next project.


Which, most appropriately, is themed from Alice in Wonderland. It ought to be called Susan in Wonderland because that's how I feel today.

And it's all because a Marketing Manager from DMC (you know that gi-normous company that makes all of the beautiful threads) contacted me the other day after seeing my blog and asked if I would design a crazy quilt piece for the TNNA show in June.


Me? In fact, I almost didn't pick up the phone when the caller i.d. said "Dollfus Mieg & Cie" -- who would have thought that was what DMC stood for??

My piece is due on April 26 so I'll be immersed in Wonderland for the next three weeks or so...And I'm allowed to blog about it!


So I start, as I usually do, with a collection box ~ pulling together bits of this and bits of that to set the stage...I have re-read the book, seen the movie (and we'll re-see it again next week) and I'm settling down to a color palette...



The bottom right colors will be the fabrics for the pieced block-- lots of tints of blue and grey, shades of white...and all of the bright colors for the embellishments. Next week, I'll be taking a blogging break to spend Spring Break with Jack so I won't be back here until April 12.

I won't have much time to piece or sew next week so I'll be sketching out ideas for various blocks and finalizing the one. Right now, there are about 10 different ideas rattling around in my brain and working them out on paper will help me refine my ideas down to one.


The Mad Tea Party is at the top of the list...


But this picture is not the actual tea party from the movie, it's a publicity still showing all of the characters...they never really all have tea together...

Even though the tea party is at the top of my list, I am extremely captivated by the Mad Hatter.


And no, it's not just because he's played by Johnny Depp...It's because he actually works as a hatter -- he gets captured by the Red Queen and is forced to make hats for her unusually large head -- there are so many great scenes that revolve around the Hatter-- plus, his hat takes on a magical role in the movie that doesn't show up in the original books. It's kind of cool...And the cheshire cat spends the movie coveting the hat, repeatedly crooning, "I want that hat..."


And then there are others images like the topiaries, the flower faces, the blue caterpillar, the rabbit hole, oh...and the white rabbit!a How I love the white rabbit and his issues with time...


And the Mad Hare and his imprisonment by Time...


And the tiny doormouse who has the biggest dose of courage...


And the mushrooms...*sigh The mushrooms in this movie are great...


Well, I'll see you April 12. Maybe you'll get a chance to see the movie before I come back...


Have a wonder full week!