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Archive for the ‘handstitching’ Category

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The Eternal Optimist?

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

I was out shopping today and saw swim noodles on sale. I bought 3 because I am an optimist and figure I will be shipping more quilts to venues!

Here is a sneak peek at the secret piece I am working on. I am doing a lot of little French knots.

I have spent the week-end getting odds and ends done in preparation for our trip to New York on Tuesday. Mr C installed the last bit of security for the exterior of the house — a motion detector light by the back door. He spent a lot of time on it and was complaining that it didn’t work. I said that maybe it only works when it is dark — what do I know? Of course, that was it. He went out tonight and the light came on!!

We got the new grill all set up on Friday.

Yesterday, I marinated a roasting chicken and last night, we put the rotisserie to the test.

And it was delicious.

I spent an hour tonight setting up my iPad with Blogsy and tried to do my blog, but I could not get the images to import. Guess I will have to keep working on it. So there may not be any blogging from our trip because I want to leave my laptop at home.

Posted in handstitching, House and home stuff, My creations, Stuff I Buy | 1 Comment »

Antsy

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Today, I had to do some more cleaning and purging because we found ants in the shelves where I keep my baking supplies. It was a good thing to do, anyway. I found several things that could be thrown out. That activity plus getting wiped by Pilates this morning, left me with little extra energy for much. I did make it to the Farmer’s Market and scored some Hood Strawberries – they are the best. I also got a couple of pounds of Queen Anne cherries and some fresh salmon for dinner.

Tonight, I challenged myself to start a small piece while I was watching So You Think You Can Dance (which is utterly amazing this season). I printed one of my tree photo sketches on organza and fused it to some commercial silk that I love.

Here is the original photo. I inadvertently fused the wrong side of the organza.

I am now doing some hand stitching. There was a lot of golden grass in the landscape so I added some stitching to simulate the grass. I am now doing some random hand-stitching in the background fabric. You can click on it to see a larger version.

Our next High Fiber Diet Show is coming up at gallery in Oregon City and we can sell small items that can be enclosed in plastic so I am trying to come up with some ideas.

 

Posted in handstitching, My creations, This and that | 5 Comments »

Keeping On

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

I thought I would share my purchases from the great quilt store in Canon Beach. It is my kind of quilt store — great surface design books and hardly any traditional quilting fabric. I love to purchase sale fabric for backs for my art quilts. These were all 50% off. I love the batik on the top.

I found some spicy prefelt that I think I can use for the next Twelve by Twelve quilt which I plan to felt.

They had lots of gorgeous Japanese fabric and accessories. I found this great sashiko thread.

Remember my discharged alternate universe piece that has hand stitching? That blue toned thread is just what I needed to get me working on it again.

The large circle on the right has rainbow perle cotton.

I have been looking for something appropriate for the alternate universe and I really love how the sashiko looks.

I have a very busy week ahead of me. This morning, I had a guild board meeting. This afternoon, I had to deliver my work for the annual Trinity Artists Among Us Festival, and then stay to help check in art and start arranging the goodies. Tomorrow morning, I am getting my summer red color done and then in the afternoon, I am going to see the eye surgeon who will do my cataract surgery.

The week continues with appointments, except for Thursday. Thursday night is the artist/volunteer party for AAU and Friday night is the opening gala. On Saturday, I am doing a demo on printing on fabric with real leaves.

There will be lots of photo ops so I hope my new camera gets here. I ordered a used Canon Rebel from a very reputable camera shop in New York that I have used before. I am really missing my good camera. It should arrive on Thursday.

In our urgent need to finally  secure our home, our latest purchase is a keyless lock for the back door which has been our problem. It will automatically lock after a few minutes and will require a code to open. I think this is a great option.

Posted in 12X12 challenge, handstitching, Stuff I Buy | 3 Comments »

My Reality

Monday, April 4th, 2011

First, I am in danger of adding too much to this piece. But, I am having so much fun. It is almost finished.

Secondly, the bridge piece is history. It is never to be seen. I painted the bridges black and took a photo and ugh! The composition is really off. I can use some of the background for small pieces like postcards so it won’t be a total waste. But, I had to admit that it was futile to spend more time on it. Whew! I love facing reality sometimes.

I had a great week-end. I made a delicious meal for the family — chicken tagine with apricots and almonds, couscous, Caesar salad and a delicious Bumble Berry Pie. I used berries from the freezer — raspberries and Marion berries. The chicken was coated with a mixture of cinnamon, ginger and turmeric and it was so beautiful and tasty.

M and M came early so that Steph and Jack could reorganize and clean his office. We watched “Tangled” – so much fun. When they arrived, Mia warned me that she might smell like rabbit.

This is Stewie, the classroom rabbit, which she took care of for the week-end. I stole the photo from Steph’s flickr, hope she doesn’t mind!

Posted in handstitching, My creations, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Channeling Klee

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

I have started stitching on the Klee castles. First, I machine stitched with black thread to hold some of the elements in place. In looking at Klee’s body of work, he used a lot of black marks, many of them very whimsical and almost childlike.

Yesterday, when I had lunch with Steph, she suggested that it might be a fun way to stitch this piece. I a enjoying the sitting and stitching.

I made french knots and fancy stitching around the circles. It adds a touch of whimsy that I am enjoying.

Tomorrow, the family is coming for dinner. We are bribing Jack with a nice meal so that we can get some advice from him about building our new deck and outdoor cooking space.

Now, I am going back to stitching and watching a movie!!

Posted in handstitching, My creations | 4 Comments »

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