Crazy Quilt Block 2

I made up a second block for my class. I wanted to be able to go back and forth and experiment with more colours and stitches as I went along. In my post to the class I mentioned that when I was learning to paint, we always called the first stages of our projects, the "uglies", until we added all the shading, highlights and details that made the finished piece what we could actually call art.

With my blocks I've decided a good name for them is the "ugly ducklings". They are at this stage just fabrics brought together to form a block and not much else. When they get to the end, they will be like "beautiful swans" with all the embellishments that they'll be wearing.

If you saw the first block, that picture was terrible, so I've redone it and it's much more appealing now if I do say so, so if you're in the mood, scroll down a little bit to see an improved picture of the first block.... Not sure if I've got the colour thing down just right, but I like it and that's all that matters.... ;o))) Here is my second block using a different colour combination....

Grocery Bag Swap

My online group of artsy friends and I, are doing a swap for the year. Some of us will do all 5 swaps, some may only do 1 or 2. The bags are the kind that you get at the grocery store and other places now as well. We are painting them and swapping. Some are painting over the names on the bags, but I'm not. I prefer for nostalgic reasons, to leave the name on one side and paint on the other. I finished this one last night and it's on it's way across the pond to Australia. Lets just hope she feels the same way about me getting back to painting when it arrives.  I think it turned out pretty slick, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder is it not....;o))) 

Crazy Quilting 1

I signed up for a class at Joggles with Sharon Boggon, to learn Crazy Quilting. I have some books I've collected from Joggles, I have the beads, the fabric, the embellishments from new to very old (thrift stores are a great place to find things to re-purpose). I have everything I need just waiting and why haven't I done this sooner. Maybe it's like a lot of things, it happens when the time is right.

I must give praise where praise is due. Teachers like Sharon Boggon (as I have realized just from the first lesson alone), Colleen Babcock and Michelle Munzone, just to name a few, are such a blessing to those of us who are thirsting to learn new things all the time and encourage us to spread our wings. Having taken lesson from Colleen and Michelle, and now Sharon, I can say that their lesson are jam packed with information and what isn't in the lessons (which seldom happens), they are quick to respond to when asked any questions. I think they are entitled to take a bow for that. (Take a bow ladies)...

I spent part of yesterday morning reading the first lesson and gathering up some fabrics. I've put together the first block in readiness for the embellishing. I don't know what it will look like at the end, but I tend to not always follow the rules of colour and how things should work together, so the next lessons should prove interesting... I was a bit shy about putting to much lace in the block, but I have some lace appliqués that will probably come into play later on. Now back to what I need to finish and get in the mail.

Two dolls done....and ? more to go

I have finished one of the rag dolls for a class I'm hoping to teach locally. I have made the original doll, a design by De Powell, and she is barely 12". Really tiny, so instead of calling her "My Annie", I'm calling her Baby Annie. I will be making 2 more dolls so Baby Annie has sisters to keep her company. Here she is and a view of her bloomers.... (oh really!!!)

The second doll I've finished this weekend, is the Geisha I posted last week. I've gotten over my mood regarding the measurements that were off and missing details in the pattern and went my own way to get her done. Now that she is done and heading off to the tea shop on Tuesday, I have to get her companion made, the Samurai. So that's three dolls and counting that need to be done... After those are done, I have ummmmm.......endless dolls to do and quite happy to do so.... ;o)))) A dollmakers heaven to see all the new faces and costumes arriving weekly on my work table. What more could a creative life ask for...

Here's the Geisha front and back.....

Spring is in the Air

For some, the idea of spring coming is not even in their radar. They're still buried under mountains of snow and ice and waiting for more. For others, they're coming to the end of their summer and for Australia, I'm guessing that's a pretty good idea given how this summer has been for our Aussie friends.... I can't even imagine it.

In this part of the world, it's like a protected zone or something. We are so blessed because we don't get those terrible extremes. Today, it's 8 c, which for my Aussie friends is way to cold, but for my friends on the east coast of Canada, it sounds like sun tanning weather...well almost.

I was able to get out to the garden a little bit this week and start clipping back the dead and wintered growth and give the new seasons growth a chance to get going. The bulbs for the daffodils tulips hyacinths and more are poking their little green leaves out to see if the coast is clear. My peonies are all showing the first part of their growth as are the poppies. The bird houses are all up now except one that needs a roof on. I didn't even paint them, they are going au naturel.... ;o))  Some things will be dug up, they are getting to big for where they are and I want to plant things that are less clean up and will only grow so big...

The neighbours cat was checking out the possibilities for this years feast. He tries to make it a feast every year, and every year he gets knocked off his seat with the hose....but he does keep trying... Ever since we had our snow and cold cold winds in December, the birds have been staking out their claim to the houses that were left up over the winter, so they are quite safe and happy as puss can't reach them, no matter how he tries...

February 14th -A day of showing you care.

In the midst of all the tragedy in Australia, the loss of human and animal life I received this email. I thought it appropriate for my blog today being a day of expressing your feelings for those you care about. I'm turning my attention to the beauty of nature and how much I love and respect what Mother Nature does for us each day and I'm always in awe of the new things I learn about her. I hope you enjoy this, it is truly magnificent.

Mass Migration of  Stingrays

Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea, thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico . The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters.

Gliding silently beneath the waves, they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula . Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled  across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks.

She said: 'It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.

'It's hard to say exactly how many there were, but in the range of a few thousand'

'We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too. I feel very fortunate I was there in the right place at the right time to experience nature at its best'

Measuring up to 7ft (2.1 meters) from wing-tip to wing-tip, Golden rays are also more prosaically known as cow nose rays.

They have long, pointed pectoral fins that separate into two lobes in front of their high-domed heads and give them a cow-like appearance. Despite having poisonous stingers, they are known to be shy and non-threatening when in large schools.

The population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates, in schools of as many as 10,000, clockwise from western Florida to the Yucatan .

A couple of things

Am still working on the Geisha's finishing touches. I'm not at all pleased with the instructions for making the Obi. I've been fighting with it for days. I keep picking it up and putting it down and going to work on something else. I am now just going to do what  I know should be done and toss the instructions aside as there are missing details and measurements that aren't correct. It's so frustrating. The finished doll will be more of what I did to make her look beautiful, not what the pattern says....Arggggh, hate that.

On the lighter side, I did a couple of quickie things in between my moments of frustration. I cross stitched a little bookmark for a friend that I help out every couple of weeks. She doesn't want a lot of stuff around but is an avid reader, so this seemed ideal for a birthday gift. She has her cat that she adores, so of course, a cat theme gift.

and then there's the back. I used this funny piece of cat material I found. Then I matched the threads at the top to the front and back. Here is where I found the pattern.Patterns Online

The other things I got done, were a pair of potholders. Fabric Traders is having a Valentine Tea on Saturday to kick off the pot holder drive for the Sidney Food Bank, so she's asked that we bring in red/pink pot holders. These are what I did. I get so tangled up with paper piecing and manage to make it harder than what it is, so AFTER they were done, is when I asked for help....;o( I used a free block pattern from this site. Free Paper Piecing Blocks and it's called Candy Box Heart. I did manage to make them acceptable and if you're a quilter and can overlook my boo boo's, you'll like them. ;o) I did a bit of top stitching beside the heart and it made it puff up, so that made me feel better....

Big Oops!!

Thank you to Lee who contacted me to say that my links list wasn't anywhere to be found.... Darn, what did I do with that....  Somewhere along the way, I have successfully managed to lose my list of blogging friends and more, or did Google do that to me.

So I am sorry if you've been wondering where those got to and if you weren't on my original list and want to be, just leave me a comment and I'd be happy to add a link to your blog or website. I can't promise not to lose it again, but I will be more careful from now on.

So in the meantime until tomorrow when I will have more time to get that done.... I sorry for losing tracking of you.....

Geisha

I've been working on a new doll for our local tea shop. She wanted a couple of Asian theme dolls for one section of her display where she has all the trimmings for the special tea ceremonies that are enjoyed by people in Japan. The basic doll pattern is from Dollmakers Journey and is called A Doll For All Seasons. You can find the basic pattern by scrolling down here.   The outfit and hair are from Edwina Sutherlands Geisha pattern.  I will post again once I've done the Obi for her middle and the adornments for her hair. Haven't quite decided what she will hold in her hands, but maybe once she's finished that decision will come easier....

Her kimono is made from Satin Brocade. If you plan to make her at any time and use the same type of fabric, be sure to finish off the edges with either a zigzag stitch or with your serger as this type of fabric will fray. Her extra collars are made with two complimentary colours of silk. Her hair is made with black velvet. I made the body with a white cotton, but for the life of me can't remember where I bought it. It was a bit tricky to work with, not very forgiving when turning, but very strong as far as seams go.

Tonight I hope to make another step to finishing her off. Stay tuned for more over the weekend...

Toys for toys

Yesterday I got my newsletter from one of the fabric stores in Victoria. In it was a product review and this months was for these awesome sewing machine lights. They are designed to shine a perfect sized light right onto the sewing area of your machine. It's a bit hard to show you  exactly how it shines, but hopefully the pictures will help. This picture shows how the light is set up. You simply press the adhesive backed holder to the side of your sewing machine. The cord is flexible so you can bend it to the exact spot you need it to shine.

Have you noticed that when you sew there can often be a shadow that interferes with your sewing. You move the light around until that nuisance goes away. The same thing can happen when you paint, especially when you're in the middle of adding some shading or highlights and there's that dumb shadow again. Here is another picture to hopefully give a better idea of the light shining on the area.

I contacted the store and she had a few left, so of course I grabbed one. I also got "a kit", which is basically the adhesive backed holder and a  strip of adhesive squares and hooks for attaching the light to a second machine. Here is a picture of how the cord can be hooked up out the way. The extra strip of hooks can be applied to your second machine, like a serger or embellisher.

This light works with a power cord but the light is an LED which can work for up to 100,000 hours. What I like is that it is a small attachment for the machine, it can simply be removed from the holder and moved over to the serger if you are working back and forth on a project. You can also take it with you to a class and very good if the lighting isn't as bright as you might need it to be. This light is also perfect for someone with a small working space but needs better light to work with.

If you are interested in the light or just want to read more about it, click on over to this site. Bendable Bright Light. I hope this helps someone out there. I have tried it a little today and am totally loving it...