Day 3 of Make Art Every Day-Stargate on the Nile

Day 3 of Make Art Every Day...still experimenting with the Daisy foot, the double needle and today Superior Threads Rainbows.

Stay tuned...

Day 2 of Make Art Every Day

My day 2 of Make Art Every Day Challenge...more circles and triangles on a needle felted ATC.  See Vickie blog: On The Curing Rack for even more art.

I've Accepted The Challenge

...that is the Make Art Every Day Challenge issued by Vickie at On The Curing Rack.

The beginning of the year got off to a rocky start with Ming-Ming's accident, which meant lots of trips to the vet and sleepless nights.  He, I'm happy to say is on the mend and here is my art for January 4, 2014.

It's an ATC, Artist Trading Card which measures 2.5" by 3.5".  It is needle felted.  The base was created  using silk rovings, cheesecloth and my Janome Embellisher FM725. The circles were made with the Decorative Daisy Stitch Foot, a double needle and rayon thread and the tiny golden triangles were hand embroidered.  At the moment it's untitled but my thoughts keep drifting towards circles and triangles...

Stay tuned...

Ta-Dah!

My first crazy quilt is done!

It is bound, tied and ready to be hung on the wall.  Just have to decide which wall.  I tied the quilt between the buttons on the front and small beads on the back which successfully hides the thread. The CQJP2013 was a wonderful experience.  The result is this amazing quilt which can be seen here in a video titled...A Year In Crazy Quilting!

Yes...I will be participating in the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014.  It was so nice, I'm doing it twice!

I'm looking forward to working on my first 2014 block which is diamond shaped, will be 6" finished, and would be arranged in a tumbling block pattern once all the blocks are completed.

My Sharon B's CQ stencils arrived last Monday and I cannot wait to start experimenting.

Also, I think I will use my stitching frame to stitch my blocks as it frees my left hand to use my laying tool.  I struggled last year as I held my block in my left hand while stitching with my right.  The frame will hold the block taut, which I hope, will result in a less distorted block that will lay flat.

My theme for the CQJP2014 is my mother's garden.  Sheila, who died six years ago, was an avid gardener and embroiderer.  She taught me my first embroidery stitches. I'm still working out the details of the blocks and keeping track of my thoughts in my design journal.

Stay tuned...

Almost There Continues...

It took some time to stitch all the seams open but I believe in doing things by hand. Stitching is a quiet, careful, thoughtful process. I understand that not everyone will choose to do this but in a world that is noisy, and moving so fast, it's nice to slow down a bit. I used a herringbone stitch and it works quite well. The seams are all flat. The blocks are made of different types of fabric, dupioni silk, cotton, Radiance, which is a combination of both silk and cotton, brocades and are heavily embroidered. The combination of embroidery and the different weight of the fabrics have distorted the blocks.  I think that to avoid this problem in the future, I will make the blocks larger. If I need a 6" finished block then I'm thinking starting off with an 8" block. I hope that will give me enough of an excess to trim the block to size without compromising the stitches or the embellishments.  

Next, I added the border, batting and backed it with Pellon interfacing. My thought is the interfacing will stabilize and support the weight of the quilt. The border is black drapery fabric which will also support the quilt physically and visually, as it frames the quilt and gives a place for the eye to rest.

Thank you for visiting, stay tuned...

Almost There...

Almost to the date, I made a commitment to the Crazy Quilt Journal Project to complete a 6" block each month.  I'm happy to say that I completed the exercise with the block above. Now I'm moving to the next phase, which is ensuring that the quilt top is flat, adding the border, batting, backing, false back, then finally tying the quilt together.  My intention is to follow the sharon b's method of quilt assembly.  It will be a painstaking job but I think the result will be well worth the effort.

I'm considering registering for CQJP2014 but given all that I have learnt in the past year with CQJP2013 I want to work around a theme I think.  In 2013, each block was designed around an event that happens in that particular month e.g. April Showers...

What's my April block going to be next year? I don't really want to do square blocks, so I need to think of another shape.  I like the diamond that Sharon did (see above link) but is it above my pay grade? Also, I ordered Sharon's stencils Crazy Quilt Stencils and can't wait to get them in my hot little hands!

So...while I work on finishing my 2013 crazy quilt journal project, I have some things to think about.  The deadline for registration is December 12, 2013, so stay tuned...

Thank you for visiting and enjoy!

Christmas Cameo Ornaments

Christmas is all about family and traditions. During the Victorian era it was considered a compliment to give a gift that was hand-made especially if that gift was made by the giver. The months leading up to Christmas Day were busy ones.  To the extent that the family could afford, they painted, glued and stitched their presents to each other. 

Bits of lace and trim, broken chains, charms, lockets, pressed leaves and flowers all found their way into the thoughtfully designed and lovingly stitched gifts.  The presents that have survived into the twenty-first century are now considered treasured heirlooms and rightly so.

I love all things Victorian...especially their concept of the importance of hand-made. We now live in a world that is so fast that hand-made is a rarity. 

A few years ago I received some vintage lace from an estate and have treasured the pieces.  To-day I stitched some of the lace, added cameos and trim to create these beautiful ornaments. 

 Thank you for visiting...enjoy!