Enjoying Embroidery

Oh now this is FUN!
Remember the STAT quilt I am working on?? ( click here)

I took some thick embroidery threads, mostly hand dyes from ArtFabric as well as some neon rayon threads and a self threading needle and started to play. Really just let my whims take me on what to stitch 

It was so Freeing!
The silks are sumptuous and well silky. I liked the neon green on the green fabric, the thick variegated on the french knots on the turquoise. The color changed in just the right spacing to do french knots so that each bobble looks a different color!!! Surprise!

I stenciled the scissors on with Stewart Gill metallic green which looks gold...

Lois Jones, the painter we are studying and interpreting in fabric,  seemed to print symbols over her paintings, so I did that with scissors, and the little star emblems were stenciled across the top of the piece.

It looks a bit messy at the moment from handling.
The silks are more delicate than cottons would be, so I had better stop here, put it on the peltex and machine quilt it now.

This is ANOTHER design decision... how to machine quilt it, and how to finish the edge. Well, one step at a time, first the quilting. As for the binding, like Scarlett O'Hara says, I'll think about that tomorrow.

What I've learned?? I want to do this again, in a larger context so that I can really work the stitches. I might have to use heavy silks in that one, so that I can really adhere them to the stabilizer. I want to do more with this slow technique. It is soothing, and thrilling to see color and line adding up.

Crossing lines... Excellence over Perfection

on not being perfect.

Jasmine of quiltkisses. said she might like the look of less perfect machine quilting.
I couldn't agree more, so all the judges out there, look away now.

some quilting on "Reaching...."

It's like seeing brush strokes on old paintings,  like plaster walls with dappled paint,  like rough hewn antique furniture with some dents and signs of having been made by hand. For me, free motion quilting is better when you see the maker in the movement.

I am not a fan of a BSR...or perfection. It's too far removed from the maker's exuberance.
Perfection is just so sterile, cold, machine-made.

There is something about  texture.
 Something about the connection with a maker.

 I have always, from early childhood been in love with making things. My favorite tool is my hands. I love seeing the maker in a finished piece.
Think about it, when you see an actual Monet painting, he touched it. You see where he did. 

My friend Annie commented on my free flowers quilted into Reaching. She asked if I remembered ( in the 80's ) we were told free motion quilting lines were not to cross each other? It was a rule.

Well, here's a little story of connections.
I married in the early 90's, quit social work, moved to MD with my new husband and joined a quilt guild. I had been quilting for a long time in FL and didn't know guilds existed. The first show I entered was a little quilt called "my favorite things". I just had a good time quilting motifs, and swirls and whatever my eyes wanted to see, my heart wanted to feel.

They must not have seen the value in it, as they hung the small piece near the floor in the back.

A woman who would become my friend,  Mary,  came and found me at the show. She said she just loved the rule-breaking, line crossing quilting in my free form quilt. She and I went on to form a 20 plus year friendship that continues despite her move across the country.

Like most of my quilts, that quilt is personal and tells my story. It's the kind of quilt I like to make.  I just didn't care what was acceptable in the quilt world... my style and vision were more important to my work. All my quilts are well constructed, they lay flat, have fairly regular stitches, and I try to follow the guidelines of good design.

I believe one can achieve good workmanship in one's chosen medium, as well as being original and working from your heart. I also believe

Perfection is over rated.

  Excellence is more important than perfection.
 Guidelines are more important than rules.
Individuality should shine through. Originality gives the viewer a peek into your personality.
Any artist should strive for excellence in their chosen medium, but perfection??  nah. 

For more posts on this series of Creativity Roadblocks--Overcoming them CLICK HERE

Cole asks, "who you callin' old?!"

mama's  puppy!!!

"I was born a little pup on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. My mom was white as the snow, my dad was a champion dark black like me. My brothers and sisters and I grew up on a farm, going swimming every day with mom, learning from her how to hunt.

One day the humans said someone is coming out to see you... and two of the cutest sweetest humans drove up.

I was, of course, standing peacefully in my water bowl, waiting quietly...watching...knowing this was my day to leave. My two hulking white brothers were throwing themselves at the fence, barking and acting like eeejits, as usual. That's what they did. My little sis always quiet, knew she'd be staying there so she wasn't interested in the newcomers.

To make a long story short, I went over to the woman, said, "pick me up", she did and we locked eyes.

 It was all over but the exchange of money and promises to take good care of me. We were in LOVE. I rode home on a pillow in her lap, never having sat in the front seat before.

OH My the world rushed by as we rode. It was kind of overwhelming for a baby of 11 weeks".

LeeAnna here... he's right. It was love at first sight. I had visited two other breeders who had wild pups, running crazy barking, and the energy was all wrong. I told my husband, this might be another aborted attempt, as we'd also been to the SPCA repeatedly, called poodle rescue, and visited the crazy breeders all to no avail.

Cole was so soft, all silken hair and big eyes and sweet face. And those golden brown eyes! Deep and knowing. His temperament was set from the beginning although he was open to training and a fast learner.

Quiet and thoughtful like my husband. My lab was all me, party girl! Loud, boisterous. She could clear off a coffee table with her wagging tail! Cole was different, our first poodle.

People would ask, is he going to be a poodle?? What!?! Well, yeah, he's going to grow into those feet.

I wanted to name him something French, like D'Artagnan, call him Dart but he misbehaved the day I called him that. I tried out a few names which he also rejected with bad behavior. When I chose Cole, short for Nicholas, as it sounded sleek and suave, he instantly behaved nicely. 

This would be the first of moments where he lets me know without language, what he wants. 

We soon realized we didn't have a pup exactly. We had a standard poodle. 
There is more to the story, but let's stop here for now. 

 This picture of us in Stowe VT when he was still a puppy, big but not yet a year old, hangs on the fridge. 
He has always traveled with us.

Cole has a birthday near mine, he is turning 13 this year. We are both old in body, young in heart. 

Green tea, anyone??

Green tea in a Green teapot!

How cute is this (pattern Sew Precise) pot in the bright green scraps?
The RSC2015 going on over at superscrappy  is Green this month.
 If I'm doing green, you can bet there is lime green involved somehow!

How about choosing a cup for your tea??  Do you pick pretty cups to use?? I do.

Oh my goodness!!

If only I could design my own dishes, they would be these! Palm trees? Turtles? Dots?

YES PLEASE!

Working on a new challenge

Yummy Silks! I have gathered silks along with cottons for years, so when I decided to use silk in my latest STAT challenge, I went shopping in my stash! What's better than that?
These are textured, some hand dyed, shiny and glistening, the dupioni changes color depending on the angle you see.

STAT is a group studying well known painter's styles and interpreting them in fabric, with an emphasis on textures. They must be 12 inches square.
This time we are focused on Lois Mailou Jones  http://www.loismailoujones.com/

I decided to use silks and attempt an abstract. More about the decision making on the final reveal, but for now...
I plan to cut the silk into different size rectangles and squares, layer them on stabilizer and hand stitch through with thick threads...

like these. I decided on some hand dyed perle cottons though instead of these.
And stencil some repetitive designs with these plus paint

And I added a rough cut poodle romping, looking back over his shoulder as he runs...

Right now the silk is pressed onto the stabilizer ready for some kind of hand stitches.
Then stencil, then onto peltex for machine quilting and binding.

I am not so comfortable with abstract work. The process was lots of fun though and if it doesn't pan out, it's still bright and shiny and could be made into something, right?
But it will work out... this is where trust and my vision come into play. Trust...

another giveaway!

I fell in like with this magnet, got one for me, one for my friend pugmom and one for a lucky reader.

I grew up in Fl. I went to the beach a lot, broiling under the bright sun wearing a bikini and baby oil.
Baste. Turn. I put lemon juice in my brown hair to get blond highlights.

I can still hear the waves crashing, smell the copertone suntan lotion, feel the warm sand sifting through my fingers as I mindlessly sat in my chair.
Watching. Staring. Being.

I kept a tan all year long. I was adopted and discovered the reason I didn't look like any family members later in life, also discovering I was half Italian. No wonder I was more olive skinned.

So to the drawing... tell me about a daring moment in your life. A time when you took a little risk and it worked out fine.

This is one of my stories:
As a young adult I followed my sense of adventure (and a Canadian boyfriend) to Edmonton Alberta Canada to live there for a year. I went from being a social worker to being a nanny so that I could work.
By the way, living in Canada was a great experience and my love for that country is great. 

A social worker girlfriend of mine drove up with me. across the USA. From Florida turn left at St. Louis then right at Denver. We had mini-adventures along the way but one in particular stands out.

We stopped in Yellowstone Park  for two nights.
 It was a "dark and stormy night" as we rolled in.
The power went out through the park, and people gathered at the only business open, a grocery store with a generator, to scavenge for dinner in the snack aisles. We chatted with some guys touring the park on motorcycles that looked like little houses on wheels. One said, do you want a ride?

I'm a mix of adventurous and timid, both extremes pop up in the weirdest times. I looked at my friend who shrugged, and I took a breath and said, okay.

 I was afraid of cycles, but for some reason not afraid of the young man. I had been doing social work for years by this time and knew how to intuitively size up a person. I mean, you never know...I wouldn't let my niece do this!!.... but I got on. It was dark, the radio enveloped us with a song, the wind rushed through my hair, as we sped along. It was over in an instant and left a permanent memory.

Risky. Crazy. So unlike me. 

 I allowed myself to risk and it worked out.

There would be many risks to follow in life, I lived through the 70's, I went into dicey neighborhoods to carry out court ordered counseling, I partied in Ybor City when it was very Bohemian, I traveled through Europe by myself on a Eurail pass, I made lots of decisions some of which panned out some of which turned into learning moments if not regrets. But as I approach another birthday, somehow getting older each year, I can still see the risk taking girl inside, the one balancing adventure with safety.

Tell me about  a time you've taken a risk,  for a chance to win the magnet! Best story wins.
UPDATE!
Two winners were chosen this time, Carol and Glen. I love love loved all the stories, y'all. Thank you so much. 

Yes sir, Three bags full!

We went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival on Sunday...

Seacolors by http://getwool.com/

Look at the yarnbombing that greeted us to this enormous festival of fiber! There were knitted items around every tree and fence, it was awesome!

For a person who enjoys color, this was tremendously stimulating. Lots of sheep, wool, alpaca, rabbits, silk, fleeces, roving, everything you'd need to do spinning, felting, beading, knitting crochet along with everything to raise sheep, their dogs, well, you get the idea. The list is long and the vendors are many.


I'm reminded of a friend's son who asked us, " why don't the wolves eat the sheep? " Thinking we were going to the Sheep and Wolves festival!
We saw Sheep...

This sheep and woman were so in tune. I pet Cole the same way...hey... he does kind of look like a sheep!
I admit to being a county fair lover. I am happy going up and down every aisle of critter! Why, there was even one wearing a hexie blanket today!

We saw Wool...

Boy did we see wool!

And the colors! Everything from gray to this vibrant display,  Showcasing two colors opposite to each other on the color wheel... which is why I love them together

And this one...

Lots and lots of booths with every kind of fiber for sale.

Then there were buttons...

The vendor had decorated each card with glitter and painted them! Little works of art all by themselves!

find them at Dimensions Raku on Etsy, click here




And jewelry...

The Rams Horn Studio Link

cute displays

And Rainbows in a bag! 

I didn't even mention items made by locals, food, sheepdog trials, music, llamas, plants, and all the other exciting  eye candy.

Guess you should come next year yourself.

If you can stand the excitement!

Isn't color grand???