Background Options

I finally moved these boxes to the center of my design wall and started playing around with backgrounds. With the orange background I was sort of thinking of an explosion.


I'm afraid the boxes get lost in this dark background so those triangles will have to go into the parts drawer.
I want to try some purple but don't have any suitable fabric. Does that mean I have to go fabric shopping? It sounds like it to me.

Paint Job

Our freezer broke down and the drier was taking three hours to dry a load of towels so we bit the bullet and bought a new front loading washer, drier and chest freezer. While the old ones were out (I did keep the old washer connected until the new one arrives but in the summer I hang my laundry outside) and the new ones not delivered yet, we decided to paint the laundry room. I always hated the previous color. We had a nice antique brown for the kitchen but not enough for the laundry room. We thought we'd just add some white but it turned a really ugly pink. We used it anyway, not wanting another trip to town. I am so glad it's finally covered with a nice pale yellow. Now I hope our new appliances will be delivered soon.

Enchanted Forest Show Redone

The general consensus is that this is a better picture of how the forest show will look. I didn't like it as well because my chicken quilt doesn't show up as nicely but it is more the idea of how they will be hung. As you walk along the trails you will come upon art just hung wherever the artist decides. There will be a LOT of space so it should be interesting.

Enchanted Forest Show

Here is a little preview of what will be happening here next Sunday (if it doesn't rain). We are planning an outdoor show of paintings, quilts, pottery and any other art that people bring. We'll hanging the art in the morning, open to visitors at noon and end with a wiener roast at 6. Everyone is welcome and if any nearby bloggers are interested, you can contact me for driving directions. I can't believe how beautiful quilts look in the dappled light of the woods. I can't wait to hang them all up!

Cleaning Up

Yesterday I spent a lot of time cleaning the studio. I still haven't re-organized my fabric and notions but decided that would have to wait for another day. The cuffs above are a bit plainer. Some boys have shown some interest so I thought I'd do some that are a bit more masculine. Not sure that I succeeded though. I love embellishments too much.


These are winter/Christmas themed ones. If I have a sale in November people might be interested in these. It's hard to think of winter right now. We had a huge thunder storm last night and lots of rain.

Lazy Susan

I found this sewing lazy susan at the thrift shop. It sits on a table beside my sewing machine. I put the spools that are almost empty on it. I use them for hand sewing and don't like to mix them with full spools. The full ones on here are too tall to fit into my spool box. It also holds some extra feet that won't fit in the tool box and a couple of lint brushes. It was still in the original box that looked like something from the 70's.

Group Cuff Therapy

Yesterday Lori and Angelica and I made some more cuffs. Angelica made the two on the left. They are a different shape that I normally make. The one on the right has lines made with textured fabric paint.



The one on the left is a Christmas themed one . I thought that if I have a craft table in November it might be nice to have some like that.

Cuff Mania

Here is one of the chokers from yesterday with a matching cuff now. It sits at an angle on the neck so it won't sit properly on the shelf without being held up.


This is the newest choker with the matching cuff half done.

Sewing With Friends

Brenda and Lori came over today and we made cuffs together.


This is a choker and matching cuff that I made.


Another wider choker. It pretty much chokes me!


Brenda's Wizard of Oz cuff.


Lori's autumn cuff.
We had so much fun that we are planning another cuff making day very soon.

Morning Walk

We live on the Prairies.

Pillow Cases

Lori, your pillowcases are finished!

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....