all over the place...

i'm trying to spread myself all over the place and do a bit of everything. i stopped at the thrift store this week looking for something specific and found two things i couldn't pass up. they both will be used almost immediately for projects planned.
click on the images for close-ups.

both are runners...crochet lace and a thick cotton embroidered white on white

more journal work with free motion embroidery on paper and scrim.

free motion embroidery on paper and then hand embroidered. insert of grandma's picture.

a test sample piece of watercolor painted paper with scrim...free motion embroidery...and hand embroidery

i got close to the end of the wool unraveling that i've been posting about and it all started tangling. i have enough to start spinning and the rest will be untangled little by little.

and finally, i'm back to my bobbin lace that's been on the pillow for over a year. it's close to being finished and will become a pouch. it's stitched onto purple velvet and will have a green lining. it's a beautiful green, linen thread. could not capture the beautiful color with the camera.

bobbin lace stitched onto purple velvet. adding some beading to the fringe.

 February went by so quickly. i'm looking forward to March. the bulbs are starting to bloom and Spring is on its way. we've had a real mild winter here in Austin. some of the plants didn't freeze back at all this year. wishing you all a good week.

mostly journaling...

i did get a bit further in unraveling this raw wool mess. another week or two and it will be ready for spinning.
click on the images for a closer view.

more than double the size since last week.

while searching through old pics and documents for my family memories journal, i came across this abstract drawing of a piano i did about 5 or 6 years ago. i modified it some and transferred it to cotton cloth. after it's all stitched, it will become a journal page.

i'm having to do the satin stitching of the keys wearing a magnifier. the black keys are wrapped bars so they are raised up off of the cloth a bit. all the keys measure 4" x ½".

both sides of this journal page have been finished. the mandolin was my grandads. my dad played it quite a bit when i was growing up. he couldn't read music. he played the mandolin and the harmonica by ear.

the negatives are from pictures my dad took in the 1940s

the bars of the mandolin are wrapped threads on wire for a 3D effect.

i'm working on lots more journal pages...so more next time.

have a great week.

if only i knew...

i ordered this wool from ebay several years ago. had no idea what i was going to do with it but it was such a good buy for wool. well, when i received it, i realized that it had to be spun and plied before it could be used. i knew nothing about spinning back then. now that i am learning to spin with a drop spindle, i pulled it out of the closet. i quickly realized that this was going to be a difficult task, as you can see. i will wind a little bit each day and hopefully it will get done sometime soon so it can be used. it took me a while to figure out a way to manage winding 6 balls at once.
click on the images for close-ups.

why would they have wound it this way????

 i spend most of my time working on my Alchemy journal in Karen Ruane's class. here are a couple of pictures of what i worked on this week.

my dad played the mandolin. printed a picture of a mandolin and did some coloring with my inktense pencils. the strings are wire wrapped with floche thread. each string is 7" long. it took hours to do but i like the 3D effect.

i finished embellishing this lace frame with embroidery and it is stitched on to a journal page.

hope all of you who have been inundated with snow are staying safe and warm.

a new pin cushion

i saw a wonderful vintage pin cushion on facebook that inspired the start of a new pin cushion for me. it involves some wooden parts that i haven't managed to put together yet but this is the start...i made that little bear head many years ago and stitched it onto some of my grandmother's crochet. the ball measures about 3" in diameter. click on images for close-ups.

3" diameter ball made with kimono silk cloth. hand made bear head on grandma's crochet

in the last post, i showed you some fabric wrapped cording. the basket is now complete and this one will be mine. all the others were given as gifts.

fabric coiled basket made with cloth scraps

and still working on samples for my Alchemy class journal with Karen Ruane.

an old family photo...a map-like collage in cloth...some musical notes with names of operas. my mom loved to sing opera.

have another great week. i'll be back soon.