Bag made using Reversible Quilt technique.

Made a bag (10"x10") using the reversible quilt technique. Nice not to have to add a lining, but sewing bottom of bag closed was much too difficult for me to do this again. Another good 'craft on the go' bag.

Class in Reversible Quilts

I'm just finishing up a class on making 'Reversible Quilts' through Quilt University. Lots of inspiration there for future projects. Each block is pieced with batting and quilted and then the blocks are put together with sashing and finally bound around the edge. I did my edge a little differently because I wanted the binding to match the sashing on each side, and I added some rickrack for fun. Once the blocks are put together, your quilt is complete. It measures about 14" x 35" and will probably be used as a holder for rolled up patterns and stabilizers. For more information about this class, check out http://www.quiltuniversity.com/.

A New Bag for my Tatting Supplies

I belong to a quilt bee that meets every Thursday at the local library. When any of us decide to get rid of some fabric we know we'll never use or unfinished projects we will never get to, we bring it to bee and offer it up to anyone interested. Barb brought an unfinished project that caught my eye and I came home and made a new drawstring bag for my tatting supplies. I lined the bag with some cotton batting and a bright red print fabric. Can't wait to fill it up. Thanks, Barb.

Calligraphy Brushes from Asia

I had the opportunity to purchase some beautiful calligraphy brushes today from Tuesday Morning, Inc. I have done lots of calligraphy using pen and ink but never with a brush. Anxious to start experimenting. Thought you might be interested to read the information on the attached card: "The history of Chinese calligraphy "Shu Fa" is as long as that of China itself. It is often thought to be most revealing of one's personality and one of the highest forms of Chinese art. Hand made in Asia in the age old process of the antique brushes, each is unique. Handles are crafted from natural products including: jade, bamboo, cow bone, ceramic and coral. The bristles are also natural including sheep or goat hair. They are very absorbent and supple, and produce rounded forms and saturated fleshy brushstrokes. A beautiful collectable."

PLANTS ON A TREE STUMP

I had to have 2 of my Redbud trees chopped down a few weeks ago due to weak, falling limbs. I had the treemen leave the stumps of the trees so that I could use them as plant holders. I had 2 of those lined plant baskets that fit perfectly on the 2 large stumps and purchased a small one for the smaller stump. I attached them with those strong heavy duty staples and put in some purslane. I had to select a plant that would withstand the over 100 degree days we have had for over a month, with little or no rain. After just a few weeks of watering daily, they have filled out the baskets and look great. The second Redbud stump has a basket ready for planting green peas, however, I'll have to wait until September to do that when the weather is a bit cooler.

LITTLE BAGS AND COVERED BUTTONS

I worked on little things last week. I have lots of fabric scraps and decided to make some little bags to hold lace tools, crochet hooks, etc. I also covered some buttons with fabric and did some embroidery, beading and crochet to embellish. Had fun doing the buttons and am planning to do some more real soon. Still don't know how I'll use them but I know eventually something will come to me.

BEAUTIFUL NEW BOBBINS

Some beautiful new bobbins purchased from a bobbin maker in New Zealand. Check out his website: www.mairestudio.co.nz .

NEEDLE FELTED TAGS

Finally brought out my embellishing machine to make some needle felted tags. The base was wet felted and then, with the embellisher, I added threads, sliver of roving, lace, yarn, etc. I hand stitched some beads on the 1.5"x3.5" pieces. I fused some stiffener between the felted piece and piece of ribbon and then did a blanket stitch around the edge. Gave several as gifts and I hung one on my camera with a name & address label on the ribbon side. All just for fun.

LEAF PURSE

While walking through Morningside Park in NYC, there was a mom and daughter making leaf purses. She stitched 2 leaves together with a green vine and interlaced flowers in the stitching. I thought it was such a great idea that I tried it with Skye. We used fig leaves and Skye picked flowers from the garden. It turned out beautiful.

NEW YORK CITY TRIP 2009

Just got back from a one week visit to NYC. Spent a day in the garment district shopping, went to MOMA, Guggenheim, Cooper-Hewitt Museum (great felting exhibit), American Folk Art Museum (Paula Nadelstern exhibit), Roosevelt Tram, 42nd St. Library, Soho, Washington Square Park, Morningside Park, Top of Rockefeller Center, Conservatory Gardens in Central Park, Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, and the Empire Quilt Guild Meeting. Sooooo tired, but had a great time. If you'd like to see some NYC pictures, click on the slideshow.




Overview of NYC trip June 2009

Decorated Backpack

I had a backpack with a logo on it that I wanted to cover. I used an old doily that my

grandmother had made in the 1940s. I backed the doily with fabric, crocheted an edge on it (used thread from my grandmother's stash), added beads and attached it to the backpack.

Plan on using it on my next trip.

New Bobbin Lace Pillow and Bag

Inside of Bobbin Case

Bobbin case

New Bobbin Lace Pillow with some samples made.

I made another Bobbin Lace pillow so that I could work on more than one project at a time. Also made a bag to hold all of my bobbins out of a piece of seminole patchwork done quite a long time ago.

Skye Learns to Sew

I've been teaching 4 year old Skye, my next door neighbor, how to sew. We started with burlap, pearl cotton, and a plastic needle. Skye chose the colors and also added some beads. She said she wanted a purse so I added some strips of fabric and covered it with vinyl to protect the stitching. I know she will love it.

Learning Bobbin Lace

My latest interest is bobbin lace. Karen Hickman is a wonderfully patient teacher. It's taking me a while to learn this craft. I made my own pillow and added charms to the bobbins which are said to give weight to the bobbins so they hang properly. My goal is to be able to work with the new, thicker, yarns that are popular now and to design my own patterns so that I can incorporate the lace in my quilts.

TEXTURED SURFACES

I took a class awhile ago to learn how to produce textured surfaces using paint, fabric, canvas, tyvek, etc.

Here are just 2 of the many pieces I did. The class was given by Linda Monk and Carol McFee at www.fibreinform.com. A great learning experience.

NDEBELE BRACELET

I took a class at 'Sea of Beads' in Austin, TX to learn how to create this Ndebele bracelet. I just completed it last night and this one goes to my friend Judi in NYC. I will now make one for myself and maybe a couple more for gifts. It's very relaxing doing the beading at night while watching TV.

EMBROIDERY FROM THE 1930's

There was a question on the quiltart list about embroidery with a very old sewing machine. These pieces (borders are my addition) were embroidered in the 1930's by my grandmother (my dad's mom) on her sewing machine. I have had them for years and haven't yet decided how to preserve them. Any ideas are welcome. I thought about a needle book but I would rather use them in a display. I have one more piece (someplace) that I haven't yet worked with. I wasn't going to post these until completion but since the question came up I thought maybe someone would offer some suggestions.

FLEECE REMNANTS

While making a fleece baby blanket, I had lots of remnant strips and hated to just throw them away. I joined the strips together and used size 17
knitting needles to knit a background piece. I cut out a cow remnant and some purple circles and hand embellished them to the background. I think it makes a cute little wall hanging for a babies room.


knitted background



joining strips

SWEATSHIRT JACKET

Another project finished. I started out with a white sweatshirt, some vintage embroidered runners and 2 of my mom's hankies. The hankies made a great collar. The only thing I would do differently next time is to buy a sweatshirt that is 2 sizes larger than my size. After taking it apart and re-stitching it together causes it to lose some width. It does fit, but I would have liked it to be a little looser, since it is a jacket.

ON THE FARM

I did these three small quilts in Pamela Allen's on-line class "How to Think Like an Artist". This was the most challenging class I've taken so far and learned so much. Pamela is a fantastic teacher and goes to such lengths to critique and give great feedback. Hope to take more classes with Pamela in the future.

Now I have to learn how to take better photos.