Snow Day Coming!

So, the forecast calls for a 2-day, "20 year" snow event.  We are due for 13-19 inches in our area, 9 miles northeast of Flagstaff.  The Storm Warning says travel will be very difficult to impossible.  So I changed our grocery store day from Friday to today to make sure we don't run out of supplies, and now we have absolutely no need to leave the property!  I will be out shoveling periodically (have to be able to refill the bird feeders!), but otherwise, my plan is to spend time on my fabric collages... yaay!  I have 3 foundations in progress.... two ready for hand stitching, one ready for decorative
machine stitching, something I have wanted to try for a long time!
Here is a quick sampler I made up to test the stitch variations:

I have had my sewing machine for 11 years, and other than the zigzag stitch and a few brief

experiments, I have never used the decorative stitches!  Time to spread my wings, right!

Here is the collage I plan to machine stitch:

And I am trying Mistyfuse for the first time - I usually use Wonder Under to fuse fabrics.  Mistyfuse reminds me a little of spider webs... clingy and a little sticky, but I hear it is fabulous to sew with, so I will see how I like it.

I have pulled together a collection of threads to try, so I'm all set for the storm.

And here is one of the other foundations I have combined for hand stitching:

It seemed to take a very long time for me to find just the right combination of fabrics for

this, but a) I have a ton of fabric scraps to choose from, and b) I couldn't just throw together

any old fabrics... they have to play well together!  

Lastly, this is a work in progress - I have stitched down the oak leaf and done some other hand stitching since I took this picture, but it still needs more work.  

I had originally planned to attach a real oak leaf from one of our Gambel Oaks, but decided instead

to use it to create a pattern.  I used some hand dyed cotton twill to make the leaf, then used variegated quilt thread to create the details.  

I think these projects should keep me occupied over the next few days and beyond.  If I really get tired of stitching, there's always housework, but who am I kidding?!  Snow Day =  Sew Day, right?

😄