Quilt

At the first Nancy Crow retreat I went to, the class was strip piecing. After dinner we would go back to the classroom and work. I keep slashing and resewing this piece but never made the hanging.It is now a hanging, but I'm not sure I like it and can't figure out why. Any ideas? The colors are not my usual pallette, but that usually doesn't bother me. The shape really is at an angle, but that I like. I think it is too busy for the left side of my brain.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cards

I had run out of hand made cards and decided it was past time to replace them, so this is part of the result.To cardstock, I added painted, marbled, textured paper. I used the Xyron machine to add adhesive to the back making it easy to apply them.

The small decorations are a technique I learned at Art and Soul in Portland several years ago in a class with Beryl Taylor. You use leftover bits and layer them into a small design. I had a container of them to play with.

Punches can create lots of different shapes to use, and there are inexpensive stitch on jewels and bits too.

It really went quite quickly while I listened/watched the news(if I watch TV without working, I fall asleep-doesn't matter how exciting it is).

Felt, Beading

I enjoyed the Bead Journal Project so much that I have kept doing small felted pieces--maybe for a book, although they are all a little different in size.

This one was felted with roving that was blended. Then I did Stem stitch and Chain Stitch by hand using Perle Cottons in several sizes. The center is a button form covered with felt and beaded. It has some Angelina fibers in it.

Thanks for commenting on my Journal pages of the last blog. I'm finding that just doing pages is feeing. However, as you can see, I'm not much of a word person. That will be the challenge.

Sketchbook

Happy Holidays to everyone regardless of what you celebrate.

I have a sketchbook that I put things in when I see a new technique. It is a place to save the idea for a time that I want to use it in something.

This shows using motifs off napkins. They really have beautiful parts even if it is sometimes a challenge to figure out how to isolate the bit you want to use.

In this one I tore through a page to show the photo on the page before it. It's the negative of the mushroom photo I took years ago and keep going back to use. The torn window seemed more in keeping with mushrooms than a nicely cut one would.

Here is an interesting edge created by using a rubber stamp along the edge and then cutting along the stamped lines. Not all stamps work.

I'm looking forward to taking part in http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/  When I work in a sketchbook, I enjoy it and like to look back at what I did, but I need the push.

Take a Stitch Tuesday

Here are the last two samples for Sharonb's challenge at http://www.pintangle.com/  It's hard to believe the year is up. I've enjoyed exploring stitches and thank Sharon for all her work in presenting the challenge.The top is the Crossed Feather Stitch. The next is the Plaited Feather stitch. The difference is that the Plaited one is woven under the bars of the first row every other time. The bottom is the Crossed one done freely.

The dark blue thread is a wool look synthetic. The rest are Perle Cotton in several sizes.

Quilt

Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions for the last piece. As usual the problem is that there too many possibilities. I didn't get a chance to get to the studio to work, as a wind storm knocked out our power. The fabrics are hand painted.

Hand sewing was the thing to do, so I finished the shell piece which I'd machine quilted and put the binding on last week.

Here is a closeup of the main shells which are hand stitched in needlelace with a detached buttonhole as an edging. Painted cheesecloth is behind the stitching.

Stitchery

When we lived in S. California, I had a business partner who taught silk painting. She didn't sew and gave me  her samples when she needed to get rid of some. This is one that I always liked and wanted to add stitching too. I finally did. Now I need your help. It's 16" by 11", and I don't know what to make from the piece.

 It looks good folded in half for a book cover. It's nice as is for a hanging. The problem with a hanging is finding fabrics to go with it. A purse comes to mind.

Here is the detail. Any suggestions?

Take a Stitch Tuesday, flower

Take a Stitch Tuesday is almost over. I'll miss it. This is Sharonb's selection for the week- The Woven Cross Stitch. She has a blog http://www.pintangle.com/ that has interesting posts.

The Christmas Cactus is doing its thing. It blooms about 3 times a year, and I don't do all the things you are supposed to do to get it to bloom! It sits near the bathtub in a NE room location. I think it likes all the light in there and the cooler room. I want to manipulate this photo once I get the programs all loaded on the new computer-am learning it. It just takes time.

Embroidery

The first year that Sharonb at http://www.pintangle.com/ did the Stitch a Week I didn't join but did work some of the stitches. I've finally made the samples into an accordian fold book. Each page is a different stitch. The background is wool which I love to work on. It is easy to stitch through while being heavy enough to support the stitches. I'm also freer than when working on counted thread fabric.

This side is Cretan Stitch, Pekeinese Stitch, Feather Stitch, and Algerian Eye Stitch.

Here is Fly Stitch, Chevron Stitch, Herringbone, and Buttonhole. The pages are connected using Knotted Cretan as an insertion Stitch. The ends of the thread have paper beads on them that someone sent me. When I saw them in my stash, I knew they were perfect-just wish I could remember who sent them.

class

I have a new computer! The other was 7 years old and getting tired. It took all day yesterday to buy and set it up. Now I will be spending quite a bit of time learning it and the new printer that probably does too much-seduced by all the buttons and functions it had.

This is the journal I did in a class called Ink Painting with Journal from http://www.joggles.com/ The teacher was so giving; we learned a lot. Obviously, I haven't learned to edit on the new computer-will take a while, and this is my first try at anything. DH sets things up among much editorial comment! We used a number of methods to get the ink on fabric and then pieced the journal cover. The velvet leaves were leftover as was the white flower. I had made beaded samples from Diane Fitzgerald's book on flowers and had the center already done. It worked well here.

Take a Stitch Tuesday, Tote

Checkered Chain is this week's stitch for Sharonb at http://www.pintangle.com/  I decided to see, if it would work with 3 colors. It does but is hard to pull through the fabric.

I'm using up leftover again, and Blogger decided the photo should be sideways. I had the stitched pieces and sewed them on denim from old jeans. I also had strips sewn together that became the sides. The other side is the same. At least that's one more thing out of the studio, although I do have so many totes!

Postcards

http://www.threecreativestudios.com/ has a Technique of the month challenge. This time it was to use up scraps sitting around the studio. Our quilt group gives little gifts at our December meeting. The two made me think of doing postcards.

All are mounted on Tintex to give them body. I had some samples of ribbon or lace flowers sitting in a box, so they ended up on three.

I have lots of bits and pieces of ribbon-can't throw away pretty stuff.

All are edged with yarn mostly zigzagged to the edge unless it was a flat ribbon as it was on the two red cards.

Machine Embroidered leaves worked too. Now I'm ready for the meeting.

Bead Journal Project, Quilt

The last of the year for http://www.beadjournalproject.com/ I can hardly believe that another one is gone. This reminds me of December with gray days and less daylight. I don't mind, as it means more studio time. The background is felted with a thick and thin yarn-it is fun what happens when you use that type yarn. It is then machine quilted with metallic thread. The donut is held down with straight stitches by hand. Then came the beading.

Our gallery show for the month of October is over and was popular according to the gallery owner-more people came through to see it than any other show. Three pieces sold-one of them was Uncommon Sunflower shown above that I've shown before.

Experiments

After watching Jane Dunnewold on a Quilting Arts episode, I decided to try flour paste as a resist. It's easy and it works.

Half flour, half water mixed to a smooth paste is spread on the fabric and allowed to dry. I crinkled it up to get lots of cracks then painted it with black acrylic paint. It needs to be a paint that doesn't have to be heat set. Then it was soaked in a pail of water until the flour was off-lots of rubbing. The water was thrown in the flower bed, so there would be no drainage problems in the bathroom. I'm pleased with the results and happy to work with a non toxic process.

When I was cutting the celery for the turkey stuffing, I saw that the cut off end was interesting, so I saved it. Once the turkey was in the oven, I used the celery to stamp a painted fabric that I didn't like. Much better now.