Ugly Can be Beautiful

Or silk purse from sow's ear. Or would it be the opposite in this case? I found this very ugly purse in the thrift shop. The little hearts are perfect for my cuffs.


You can see the little hearts on the two bottom ones here. They look blue but they are silver and reflect the light. The glittery gold mesh doesn't show up very well on the first one but when you see it in the right light it looks very nice.

Are You Bored Yet?

I'm not as you can see. On the middle one I tried a different shape. The one one the right is more masculine. A ten year old boy told me they were cool so I guess boys could wear them too. Who knew? The one on the right has a pink feather on the top and is all covered with an iridescent mesh. The gold leaves were stamped on black fabric for a mandala that didn't work out. Now they have a new life on a cuff.

Creative Day

Yesterday my friend, Lori, and I spent the afternoon dyeing shirts (unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the results) and making cuffs. Here are the ones I started and finished this morning. My favorite is the purple and blue one. These four all have velcro fastenings.
I also sold 4 of them, which was totally unexpected.

Cuff of the Day

And my toes. Too bad the sun disappeared just before I took this photo. All the gold really sparkles and that doesn't show up in the picture at all. The blue things are fabric beads made by wrapping triangles of Chinese silk brocade around wooden skewers and putting a dab of glue on the tip to keep them rolled.
Because of the strange perspective it looks enormous. It's actually 2.5 inches by about 8.5 inches.

More on the Boxes

I made a few more boxes and re-arranged them. This could go on for quite some time. They look too static right now. I might try them more spaced out so they don't look so piled up.

I dyed some fabric for the background but wasn't satisfied with the color. I did two shades of blue but both turned out too muted and with not enough mottling for what I wanted. I may try later today with some muslin that has a pattern and see how that looks.

A New Technique

I wanted to try a technique from Quilting Arts magazine so I made another cuff. This technique was to quilt and then color with Shiva Paintsticks. On the right side I stippled, not very expertly. I can do it a lot better on my frame but it's difficult to attach something 3x6 inches to a frame that will hold a king sized quilt. After I stippled I went over it with a pink paintstick. On the left side I echoed the curve of the stamped shape and then used a luminous grey paintstick. I added dark beads to the light triangles in the centre piece of fabric. These little cuffs are perfect for trying out new ideas and techniques.

Boxes, Little Boxes

But they're not made out of ticky tacky. Yesterday I got the urge to make some boxes for some reason and here they are. I have to decide what background would look the best. I also may do some re-arranging and could easily add a few more boxes.

Thrifty Tuesday

Somebody must have cleaned out her sewing room. These are mostly rick rack, piping and bias tape with a bit of ribbon thrown in. All for only $5.

Blue Bag

I wasn't feeling challenged enough I guess because yesterday I decided to make the bag that has 8 pages of instructions, again. This time it's made of blue hand dyed fabric with the same color for the lining but different fabric so the colors look a bit different. I must say that it is easier the second time. Also, although there are a lot of instructions, they are clear and accurate. The pattern is called The Trifecta Bag from Studio Kat Designs. It has three inner compartments, which is why it is so complicated to make. I just have a bit of hand sewing on the inside left to do.

Two years ago were lucky enough to catch a Monarch migration. We walked up to the spot a couple of days ago but only saw a few butterflies this time. It has been raining pretty steadily ever since but maybe later today we can go and have another look. In the meantime, here is a look at the beautiful flowers we saw.

Cat Cuff

This one has a little jingly bell on it. It looks different from every side when you wear it.

Australian Cuff

I used some Australian fabric on this one. The stripe that goes around it is much more gold than it looks on my monitor. I used small wooden beads for fasteners.

More Cuffs

Yes, I'm still at it...

A New Obession?

Here are two more cuffs that I made this afternoon. Another addiction I guess. The blue one has feathers with netting over them to keep them in place.


I think I'll move the beads on the bottom one and make them hang the other way. It looks upside down to me but the beads hang free so it has to be this way unless I fasten them the other way. Does that make sense? I'm also debating whether or not to cut off the ends of the red trim...

Cuff

I got this idea from the latest issue of Quilting Arts magazine. It was fun to do and I might have to make more of them, now that I know how they are made. I put velcro on this one to fasten it but may go with loops and beads on the next one. I might also use slightly lighter weight interfacing.

A Finish

I went with the narrower leather strap with silver hooks. I'm not sure about the color of the yoyo. It's only pinned on so I can change it if I come up with something I like better.

Second Peacock Bag

When I cut the strips for the front of the first peacock bag I cut two of each as the directions indicated, forgetting that I wanted the back plain with a pocket on the outside. That meant I had cut fabric for two fronts and this second bag is the result of that. I used green fabric instead of black on the back.


Now I have to decide what handles to use. These are silver and leather from an old purse.


These are plastic and webbing also from an old bag. I think they look too heavy and too sporty for this fabric.



These are a pair of clear plastic handles, more like what is called for in the pattern except those are cloth. I could also make fabric handles...
So many decisions even with a simple item like a bag.

Bag Fever

I got hit with bag fever again this morning and this is the result. There are a couple of mistakes that I have to correct before I can finish it. Mainly, I have the handle on inside out so I have to decide whether to undo the sewing on the ends of the bag or undo the sewing on the handle. Both are rather distasteful and time consuming. The peacock fabric is a big pocket .


This is the front. I want to make a big yoyo in the peacock fabric with a smaller one in black to put in the center of it. This is my favorite bag pattern right now. I like the size and shape. The pattern calls for two handles but I prefer a shoulder strap. The pocket on the outside back is my idea too. I like that feature on a bag for sunglasses, grocery lists, etc.


This is a second attempt at a mandala using a stamp I carved from an eraser and fabric paints from a squeeze bottle. I'm still not happy with this one so I'll probably keep trying...

Mandala

I wanted a mandala for the black and silver Tibetan robe. This is my first attempt. I like it but it doesn't really work on the robe. It's a bit too big and too colorful for it. That's fine because it will work somewhere else. I'm not sure about the black and white around the edge. I also remember that I don't enjoy satin stitch and I am not very good at it. Maybe the practise is good for me. Stay tuned for more mandalas.

Just Jamming

I did a bit of work on the Gold Leaf piece but somehow I couldn't get into it today. So I thought, if musicians can jam, why can't quilters?


This is the result. I just took some fabric and added strips. Then I put the stripy green piece on top of a brown piece the same size and started whacking and exchanging strips of green with strips of brown. I'm thinking it might be fun to do some stamping on it now. And maybe add some beads....

Back in the Saddle

It seems that I haven't done anything in the studio or on my blog for a long time. Today I intend to change that...
The fabric , book and yoyo makers were purchased on our trip to Saskatchewan. I have wanted a yoyo maker for some time and when I saw a both where they were demonstrating them, I bought two different sizes.


Whenever I get a new toy I have to try it out right away. These are the two sizes I bought. I guess I should have put something there to show the size. The big one is about three inches across. I thought the two of them together would make nice decorations for bags.