off the wall fri

Small Gifts Part II on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Curves, Still using the scraps from this one!

Well here on the banks of the Great Lakes, we are still waiting for spring to arrive. I'm not sure how much snow and cold this girl can take but I'm getting close to my limit. More daylight has helped though, and I started a new sleep routine ...working back to my goal of 8 hrs a night...every night. I'm quite sure I haven't done that since the early 2000's so this ought to be interesting.

The nights I'm getting over 7 hours, I'm ...

added by Nina Marie 4 days, 3 hours ago. under creative process , design , gifts , likedislike , off the wall fri , small quilts

It's Okay....On Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Something like this

This piece needs a Crop

Let's face it ... most pastimes come with a lot of rules. Name a hobby, I'm sure we could name the rules that go along with it. It's no different for quilting. Really that has suited me just fine for 35 years since I'm a ~~anal~~ natural rule follower. Then there's the saying we've all heard .."You gotta learn the rules, to break the rules". This week, it dawned on me that nobody said how well you needed to learn said rules. Also, I'm an adult ...

added by Nina Marie 1 week, 4 days ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

What Have You've Been Up to Creatively??

added by Nina Marie 2 weeks, 4 days ago. under off the wall fri , quotes

Small Gifts on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Sarah Lyte, machine quilted
Rough organic edge

Caro Ramsey
pulled tight on a board

I learned long ago that I don't like "making" gifts. I mean at first glance it seems like a broke girl's bestfriend, right? But in reality, it's a lot of time and effort. In today's world time is definitely equated to money. Making a gift even a small one can be hours of work.

As for effort....well think about it...how hard is it anymore to whip your phone out of your back pocket, pick a gift on Amazon and press ...

added by Nina Marie 3 weeks, 4 days ago. under gifts , inspiration , off the wall fri , small quilts

Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Week 2 of this weird stuffy cold I have. I wouldn't doubt its some Covid variant...stuffy nose...tired as all get out. But that's it. For a cold it's not too bad. But it doesn't leave me much energy to get much done besides work.

That said....I did manage to start a texture sampler. What is that? Oh, I'm so glad you asked! One thing rug hooking and quilting has in common is that with both of them, you take perfectly good fabric, cut them up to form something new. With quilting the ...

added by Nina Marie 1 month ago. under off the wall fri , rug hooking

Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

I'm struggling with a cold this week, so I'll keep this short. You all sure know how to make a girl smile. Just when I needed a little encouragement, you're there to answer the call. Nothing makes me happier than to see a post spark a conversation in the comment section like last week.

I think we can all agree to coin Julierose's phrase, "Wordy Person". I 100% represent that. If it has words involved, I'm in. I grew up playing word games, writing pretend newspapers and creating poetry. Not to mention I'm the ...

added by Nina Marie 1 month, 1 week ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes

2026 Reset Continues on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Yea know, sometimes I wonder why I keep blogging. I mean, it seems that in this ever-changing world of technology, things come and go. And blogging probably has had its time. Why read a 5-minute post, if you can have 2 minutes of content spoon fed to you on Tik Tok??

Then I remember the main reason I keep going is so that it keeps me going. Without my weekly post, I would just shut down creatively 4 months a year and peak my head out when it turned March.

Is it just me or does it seem that as ...

added by Nina Marie 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under off the wall fri , studio

Color by Emotion on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Inspiration

It's been a tough week. Nothing like a crippling icy snowstorm to cramp your creative style. The bright moment in the week was Cindi Gay's Rug Hooking class. I really look forward to her classes. They have just enough structure to make them productive but she doesn't mind going off on a tangent of everything rug hooking. Because her background is originally painting, lots of times it comes with a fine arts bent.

This week we finally summarized our Geometric Rug Journey. What started off with how to do a geometric rug back in September ended ...

added by Nina Marie 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under color , creative process , off the wall fri , rug hooking

The Storm before the Calm on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

View from my window

Yes winter is in full swing here on the Great Lakes. I know this has become an annual rant but LORD I hate the snow and the havoc it brings. Storms are so destructive to the routine of everyday life. It makes me want to hibernate rather than my goal of resetting.

Let's face it. Saying you're going to reset and actually doing it are two different things. This week, I set out to walk the walk to go along with all that talk last week. To that extent I had to start digging ...

added by Nina Marie 1 month, 4 weeks ago. under off the wall fri , organizing , rug hooking , studio

The Word of the Year...Reset on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

2023 Block of the Month Club
Where I left it

Here I am! WoW, its hard to get back to the normal routine after all the hoopla of the holidays. I hope everyone found peace and happiness as 2025 ended. Our family was blessed for sure. Just getting a break in the winter weather to celebrate Christmas was amazing. Spending some quiet time with my inner circle was a gift too. It seems that lately, I'm getting less and less time to do that.

Maybe with getting some well-deserved rest, has me wondering....what comes next? I won't ...

added by Nina Marie 2 months, 1 week ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , steallikeanartist , to-do list

Off The Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

added by Nina Marie 2 months, 2 weeks ago. under off the wall fri , quotes

Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Happy New Year to You and Yours

Blogging will resume next week!

added by Nina Marie 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under off the wall fri , quotes

Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

added by Nina Marie 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under off the wall fri , quotes

Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Due to a long list of "Things to Do"...I'm taking the next three weeks of blogging off. I'll happily host though - so feel free to link up. I want to wish everyone the joy of this season and if you are going through trials, I offer a hug. Thank you for keeping me company on this creative journey!

added by Nina Marie 3 months ago. under off the wall fri , quotes

The Lack of Color in 2026 on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

'tis the Season right? The season for decorating, shopping, lights, wrapping and all things color. Normally, it's the time of year that is sensory overload with all the different colors everywhere. I look forward to it because it's my first line of defense against the cold and the dark days of December. Lately though it seems to have gotten harder.

It all started when I realized my stash of wrapping paper had nearly diminished. So, I went to Walmart looking for some pretty new paper. I mean, I hoped to find some pretty new paper. But no. It ...

added by Nina Marie 3 months, 1 week ago. under christmas , color , off the wall fri , rant

Finally in the Dye Pot on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Yes, I did it. I gathered enough courage to make the dive into the wool dye pots. You wouldn't think it would be such a big deal since I've been dyeing my own cotton fabric for the last 15 years. But dyeing wool and dyeing cotton are two totally different things. One thing is the same though, there is no set way of doing it. Just like when I did the research on cotton, everyone seemed to do it a bit different. There were a lot of YOU HAVE TO'S and NEVER DO'S but what there ...

added by Nina Marie 3 months, 2 weeks ago. under hand dyeing , off the wall fri , rug hooking

Thankful on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

My Thanksgiving got snowed out (#lifeonLakeErie) so I have the mopes...but I read this and it helped...

added by Nina Marie 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under off the wall fri , quotes

Transferring Santa on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Sit & Stitch at Whiskey & Wool!

I got it done. Well actually, to be clearer, we got it done. We got Puzzle Santa transferred to the linen backing. Let me tell you, I now know why patterns are so expensive.

Let me back up. In most needlecraft arts, patterns come on paper and you are expected to use the pattern to make your project. Not in the rug hooking world. Rug hookers buy their patterns already transferred onto their backing ready to hook. Now I know the reason why. It's a LOT of work to
transfer anything but the most ...

added by Nina Marie 4 months ago. under off the wall fri , rug hooking

A Pattern is Born on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

I was hoping to have more done this week creatively, but alas it is not so. I'll blame it on the early snow (11" in Meadville, PA where I work) and the shorter days. It makes you want to get home from work, watch the sun go down at 5 pm and get into bed. I did start my light therapy and am feeling a bit better...we'll see. I should have started it in October!

At least, I helped my husband design the pattern for Puzzle Santa....speaking of which...

Here's what you missed on Glee ...

added by Nina Marie 4 months, 1 week ago. under design , off the wall fri , rug hooking , wip

Let's Talk Wool on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

One of the biggest learning curves in my rug hooking journey, has been tracking down materials to actually do rug hooking. I guess I've been spoiled with quilting all these years. There has never been a problem finding fabric and notions to quilt with. At one point there were 11 quilt shops within an hour's drive of my house. That doesn't count the JoAnne's (may it RIP) and other fabric stores.

But rug hooking and wool is much different. This is what I've learned so far. Here in the United States, there are just a ...

added by Nina Marie 4 months, 2 weeks ago. under off the wall fri , rug hooking

What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?