selected sketches from march

i thought that all of my crocus had been destroyed by the dogs this year but today i found a few just barely poking their tips up. as you can see, they haven't even outgrown the mulch yet. if they remain lucky, i might even see some flowers . . .



i've managed to meet my sketching goals this month.
the The Sketchbook Challenge for march was "flowers".

a quick sketch from memory

of my own hibiscus flowers.

<>

   ink and colored pencil sketched (from

   within the recesses of my head) as a sort of

   fantasy flower.

  i think it looks related to a flamingo . . .



also a quick sketch of  snowdrops from a

botanical book.



a daisy type flower (out of my head) using pen & watercolors.





a bird of paradise blossom. quick sketch from a botanical

book.



another fantasy flower using pencil.

recent gifts include:

• finding those tiny crocus struggling towards some spring sunshine
• the anticipation and enjoyment of a simple soup and crusty bread supper
• getting out and using the colored pencils and the watercolors

15 minute challenge ~ march 27

"Thus nature has no love for solitude, and always leans, as it were, on some support; and the sweetest support is found in the most intimate friendship." - Cicero

my weekly report card for the 15 minute challenge:

tuesday, mar. 20th: leaf onto AAQI quilt 

wednesday, mar. 21st: postcard work

thursday, mar. 22nd: flower garden top ~ TAST practice (barred chain & alternate barred chain 

friday, mar. 23rd: TAST (barred chain & alternate barred chain) onto two stockings 

saturday, mar. 24th: quilted on pink lemonade  (alternate blocks) 

sunday, mar. 25th: quilted on pink lemonade (alternate blocks)

monday, mar. 26th: quilted on pink lemonade (alternate blocks) 

i was out of town for a couple of days which totally messes with all of my schedules but i still did manage to get all 7 days in for the 15 minute challenge with the group found at  Kate at Life in Pieces.
once again i was grateful for the easily carried along pink lemonade quilt. i now have just over half of the alternate blocks quilted.

i used a tailor's buttonhole stitch to attach the leaf onto the AAQI quilt. it worked well as both a way to outline the leaf and sew it onto the piece.

this is a shot of some felting that i managed to get done on my felting machine last week. i'll be fiddling with it a bit more and then using it for postcards. i think.

love the new felting machine but i'm not very good at it yet so it's costing me a fortune in needles~!

recent gifts include:

• the joys of friendship
• a spare hour to hang out at barnes and noble, sip a smoothie and peruse the art magazines
• indulging myself with the purchase of a few of those magazines

TAST week 12 ~ barred chain and alternating barred chain

the stitch for week 12 with TAST is the barred chain and alternating barred chain.
 these are stitches that i had never tried before. i found them difficult at first but then realized that it was only a matter of  relaxing my stitches slightly on the barred parts to get them to lay the way that i wanted them to.

 the first stitch photo is the barred chain stitched in dark green silk Aurifil thread (24 wt) onto my own christmas stocking.

i then added bullion stitch rosebuds to my 'bar' in a light pink Anchor perle cotton thread (12).

 

i then added a single fly stitch under each bud in a medium green cotton Aurifil thread (12).

i morphed the barred chain into an alternating barred chain where the seam changed direction. as you can see it was a short distance.

i also added the bullion roses to the bars on this section resulting in buds both on the upper part of the chain and the lower.

i felt like i needed to do more with the alternating barred chain and added it to a lower portion of wonderful husbands stocking.
i followed the quilting lines which resulted in a woven/plaid/trellis type of effect. this was stitched in a dark green 50%wool/50%acrylic Aurifil thread (12).

i really enjoyed this stitch once i got the hang of it which didn't take long~!!~

there are several fun and well done examples of these stitches shown within the comments section of the week 12 post.   

i found the barred chain used as a border which is a great idea. 

there is a beautiful mandala using tatting combined with these stitches (also as borders) and here is a vine type application that uses beads. 

if you think that you may be interested in learning embroidery or practicing the stitches you already know it's well worth a visit to Pin Tangle to join in with this project.

remember last week i showed this same section that i had done as a weaving/mending experiment? well this week i added a few more threads to the mix. they were just small bits that were left on needles from other work. in the lower right hand corner you can see where i added some textural 'play' . . .

i don't think it's quite finished yet . . .

recent gifts include:

• flowers from friends 
• tips of tulip leaves poking up from the rocks
• new threads ~!!~

Two New Quilts In My Life

my hibiscus is throwing off the blooms left and right and i couldn't resist getting more shots of it. i've had this plant for a few years but now when i look at it i remember my trip to Honduras.  hibiscus literally grows on the sides of the roads (and everywhere else) like a weed in that country and in so many different varieties and colors. mine is such happy colors that it's hard to feel unhappy when looking at it. i hope it makes you feel happy too.


TWO NEW QUILTS IN MY LIFE
:- D
 i haven't gotten a chance to share them with you yet but recently i was able to obtain two beautiful small quilts from the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI). i felt so lucky to nab them before anyone else~!  you have to be fast on that website. i've learned that if i see something i like it must be bought immediately as they are one of a kind pieces and they sometimes go quick.


they were both made by Michele Bilyeu. Michele blogs With Heart and Hands as she shares a quilting journey through her life in Salem, Oregon and Douglas, Alaska. Offering thousands of links to Free Quilt and Quilt Block Patterns and encouraging others to join in the Liberated Quilting Challenge and make or donate small art quilts to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) Help us change the world, one little quilt at a time!

Don't Worry Spiders . . .

 . . . I Keep House Casually

Michele's artist statement for this quilt:

"The creation of this quilt was inspired by the wonderful Haiku of the Japanese poet, Kobayashi Issa. I love the contrast of the perfection of a geisha, with the seemingly imperfect world of liberated piecing, housekeeping, and of course...the spider ;)

Viewers admire its unusual piecing, and free form shape.... and then suddenly..there are those odd little spiders in the central corner ;)"

Such is life, and all of the strange little balances, and imbalances that still create the perfection of the yin and the yang of the ever changing world of our lives.


 Let Me Entertain You

Michele's artist statement for this quilt:

"The word 'Geisha' is derived from two Japanese symbols. One stands for "art" and the other "artist." A Geisha was both an artisan trained in the highest art form of traditional Japanese entertainment, and an artist of song, dance and elegant tea ceremonies. Our misunderstanding of the geisha and her purpose in the world symbolizes so many other judgments and misunderstandings we often have of others."

finding these two gems reminded me that i have a quilt in progress for the AAQI. my pear quilt is coming along slowly, in part because i don't want to rush the creative process with this one but also because i have two quilts listed with them that haven't sold yet.

i originally made three that were all similar. one of them has sold but the other two, They Shine for You #1 and #3 have not yet sold. i think that if they don't soon i will buy them myself and see what i can do to make them more appealing.

but this week i got out the pear quilt and added some embroidery to the leaf. i embroidered it as a separate element so that if i didn't like the way that it turned out i could just create another leaf and try again without actually disturbing the whole quilt. i do like the way it turned out and today i will sew that leaf onto the quilt. i've included another tiny sneak peak of what it's  currently looking like.

this piece is not like the other's that i've made for AAQI as i decided to go all out 'art quilt' in style and see what might happen . . .

recently while visiting Dawn at Collector With A Needle i noticed that she mentioned the benefits of collaborating on AAQI quilts. when work is shared by many hands it's just not work anymore. these are small quilts but if one person enjoys the piecing, another the quilting and/or embellishing, and maybe even a third enjoys the binding process . . . it's only a matter of a couple of hours (at most) of work on these pieces. there really are so many ways to give of yourself when involved with this cause. think about how YOU can make a difference. and then make that difference.

my weekly report card for the 15 minute challenge:

tuesday, mar. 13th: sewing on the flower garden top  

wednesday, mar. 14th: sewing on the flower garden top ~ drafted, marked and began quilting the alternate blocks on the pink lemonade quilt 

thursday, mar. 15th: decorative mending/darning on wonderful husband's stocking

friday, mar. 16th: TAST (woven wheel) onto the wonderful husband's stocking 

saturday, mar. 17th: quilting on pink lemonade quilt

sunday, mar. 18th: working on some postcards 

monday, mar. 19th: AAQI pear quilt: embroidery (fishbone stitch) on leaf 

another good week although i am noticing that i'm feeling overwhelmed by too many projects being juggled at once. i need to clean up/finish a couple of things and relieve some pressure.
this week there isn't a linky party from Kate at Life in Pieces.  she's taking a spring vacation and gave us the week off. i chose to continue with the goal as it's just finally becoming a habit and i don't want to disrupt any positive brain patterning that may be going on.

recent gifts include:

• the enjoyment of two new quilts. the best quilts are made from caring hands guided by a big heart and these certainly were made from just those kinds of hands. thank you Michele~! 
• designated creative time feeling like a habit in my life
• being part of a larger 'community' that is striving to make a difference in the lives of those with Alzheimer's Disease

TAST week 11 ~ whipped wheel

Happy Saint Patricks Day.

no shamrocks from me today but i do have these happy little 'sunbursts' for you.


the stitch for week 11 with TAST is the whipped wheel.
this is considered a 'woven' stitch as the first layer is made up of stitching that passes through the fabric, but the second (sometimes more) layer is woven in and out of the first layer.

apparently the 'weaving' became part of my whole thought process as i looked for a suitable place to work this stitch. i found an area on my wonderful husband's stocking that held fabrics of a very fragile nature . . . this is part of working with antique textiles and not unexpected. i decided to cover part of this area with closely spaced long stitches creating a sort of warp and began to experiment with weaving on a very small scale. i used a blunt tapestry needle and various threads for the weft part of the weave.  before i knew it i had covered the entire area. it's very primitive but it was interesting to try and i now have a head full of ideas on how i might take this further . . .

once i had that all done i placed some half whipped wheels at regular intervals along the side of the woven area. i used the same light colored thread (used throughout most of my experimental woven 'patch') to create the base of the (half) whipped wheel. this part of the stitch cannot actually be seen as i covered it completely (with a medium weight blueish/purple thread) to continue creating the stitch.

i took things a step further by adding a single colonial knot (using a medium weight turquoise thread) in the center of each of the stitches and then i added more single colonial knots (using two strands of cotton floss in variegated oranges) at the ends of each rib of the wheel. i think they look a bit like a bunting of some sort.

interestingly i have a very good friend who weaves and she frequently shares odd bits of leftover threads with me. all of the threads within today's post (except for the orange cotton floss) are gifted from her.

there are several fun and well done examples of this stitch shown here and here.  i LOVE this wordy idea and my favorite use of this stitch: grapes anyone?

if you think that you may be interested in learning embroidery or practicing the stitches you already know it's well worth a visit to Pin Tangle to join in with this project.


recent gifts include:

• realizing that the 'full circle' can sometimes be a long time in materializing 
• a simple but satisfying dinner eaten quietly at home with my husband
• reading a novel

hhhmmmm . . . so what now?

google informs me this a.m. that i am "out of storage space".

not sure what i'll be doing now. i guess i need some time to think about it.

15 minute challenge ~ march 13

the sun has been out for a few days and the earth is beginning to warm up . . .
look what i discovered under a small pile of leaves.
daffodils just barely popping out of the ground. i was careful to put their protective cover back on as we have plenty of cold weather to anticipate yet.


my weekly report card for the 15 minute challenge:

tuesday, mar. 6th: machine felting  

wednesday, mar. 7th: hexie sewing

thursday, mar. 8th: TAST (running stitch) onto the wonderful daughter's stocking

friday, mar. 9th: hexie basting 

saturday, mar. 10th: sewing on the flower garden top 

sunday, mar. 11th: sewing on the flower garden top 

monday, mar. 12th: sewing on the flower garden top ~ brainstorming the (string tulip) jubilee project 

it was a good week for me. it must have been the giveaway i won last week from  Kate at Life in Pieces~!
nothing like a wonderful bit of bloggy generosity to stoke the creative fires. thank you Kate for the nice book and charm pack. i can hardly wait to receive my goodies~!


i've started thinking of the hexie project as my 'flower garden top'. that's a positive sign i think.  i've also spent a little more time brainstorming my string tulip blocks for the jubilee project.  i've decided that i like the single tulips on a block better than multiples. i'm leaning towards setting them on the diagonal because it doesn't seem as 'static' to me.

after looking at these photos i think i've decided to set them on the cheddar fabric and use the red for sashing. i'm not sure what i'm doing with the cornerstones yet.

what if the flowers are not set exactly the same way in every block. the stems could lean or curve a bit differently in each block, the tulips themselves could 'nod' as they please . . .

i've done some more sketching and realize that i will probably have large triangular areas along the edges . . . if i use the red fabric (or the same fabric i use for the sashes) in those spaces they will form a sort of border . . . my sketch doesn't currently have any color and it might help if i added some to help with those decisions. these sorts of large spaces can be great for interesting quilting designs . . . 


i've also fully realized that this project isn't even going to dent my string tulip stack~!

 

recent gifts include:

*a movie and pizza night with the family
*discovering new green growth underneath the leafy mulch
*the good of giving

GiveAway Winner Announced

this is what Gwen from My Own Little Corner had to say in her kind comment: "What beautiful photography!! And I love your covered buttons-- I never would have thought to embellish a button-- such a great idea! I think that your theme for February may have been Macro Floral...? And, for a suggestion for a future theme.... how about water droplet photography-- for April Showers... :-) Thank you for sharing your talent with us! I am impressed---- and inspired! :-)"

it just so happens that 'florals' was my theme for february although being right wasn't the important part. i'm just happy that  she played along. and what about that suggestion for a theme~!? i think it's a very good one~!  i've added it to my growing list of ideas.
so Gwen, if you shoot me an e-mail i will be happy to send you your goodies.
if there is no reply within a few days, i will re-draw another name from the cup.
AND i definitely will be doing this again so you should be paying attention to those photographic moments at the top of each of my posts . . .

TAST week 10 ~ running stitch

there have been some great responses to my photo challenge celebration giveaway. a big THANK YOU if you have joined in.

if you haven't yet and you would like to try to win a few of my photo art note cards click here.

time is running short and i will draw a winner on march 12.

effervesce:   . . . to bubble . . .  to show liveliness or exhilaration



this is week number 10 with the TAST challenge and it's all about the running stitch.
the running stitch is about as simple  as it gets but can also be very versatile depending on how and where you use it. when used as a technique it is often called by a different name:

The darning stitch is about making rows of straight running stitches near each other. The technique of darning is used to mend torn clothes, especially socks and looks like a woven patch.

Kantha comprises of the simplest stitch in the language of embroidery - the running stitch. It is the way in which this stitch is used, in different arrangements, that forms the complex vocabulary of kantha.

Originally it was used to join layers of old saris, to make quilts. It was also used as a means of self expression by both urban and rural women in Bengal.

sashiko: a simple running stitch born from the necessity of conserving and repairing garments at a time when cloth was not so widely available to farmers and fishermen.

Quilting is a stitching technique which is traditionally done by hand utilizing a needle and thread to stick together two or more layers of material in order to make a quilt.
Classic quilting is completed with three layers - quilt top, insulating material and backing material. In the process of quilting, the quilter passes the needle and thread through all layers and then brings the needle back up. A running stitch is normally made use of in this process, and these stitches are useful, decorative and can be elaborate.

i decided to use it as a quilting stitch. something i'm very familiar with and i thought it would bring a nice texture as well as a subtle bling (metallic thread) to part of my wonderful daughter's stocking.
i used a single strand of metallic thread (both copper and gold) and stitched using an 'echo' technique for patterning.

i almost didn't do this as it didn't seem very adventurous but after thinking about it i decided that it could produce the effect that i wanted and it's not always about doing something new. for me this challenge is about completing a project in a creative manner using the stitches as they are given.

i think it was very effective used in this way and i'm glad that i went ahead with it.

there are many examples of the running stitch used decoratively and beautifully here at Borduur as well as at Fat-Quarter. i like the way that Elizabeth has used it to create the effect of shadow. and how about this creative mosaic making use of the running stitch~!?!

if you think that you may be interested in learning embroidery or practicing the stitches you already know it's well worth a visit to Pin Tangle to join in with this project.


recent gifts include:

• the sun's invitation to sit outside and feel the warmth of the  day
• feeling the light melt pleasantly right through my skin
•  the wonderful rhythm of stitch i feel while practicing the running stitch aka quilting

15 minute challenge ~ march 6

there have been some great responses to my photo challenge celebration giveaway. a big THANK YOU if you have joined in.

if you haven't yet and you would like to try to win a few of my photo art note cards click here.

i will draw a winner on march 12.

my white cyclamen is blooming. it's much more fragrant than my pink one. i notice that the fragrance gets stronger the longer the bloom has been open. 

my weekly report card for the 15 minute challenge:

tuesday, feb. 28th: hexie sewing

wednesday, feb. 29th: hexie sewing

thursday, mar. 1st: TAST (couching) leaf onto the wonderful husbands stocking

friday, mar. 2nd: TAST (couching) leaf onto the wonderful husbands stocking 

saturday, mar. 3rd: applique on secret birthday blocks

sunday, mar. 4th: applique on secret birthday blocks 

monday, mar. 5th: sewing of secret birthday blocks ~ brainstorming the (string tulip) jubilee project 

this week i did manage to get time in on all seven days but on some days it really was only 15 minutes. between things being a bit busier than usual and me feeling somewhat less motivated i didn't get as much accomplished BUT it wasn't a total loss and i have  Kate at Life in Pieces to thank for that.  you might consider joining up and seeing if it helps you out as well.

in looking back at the 15 minute challenge posts i realized that i have quite a few projects that i am juggling around. i like the variety this offers me in what to work on.
 
one of the projects that is new to the list is my (string  tulips) jubilee piece.

the jubilee project is all about making oneself a quilt in celebration of a major life milestone such as one of those upper decade birthdays that we all hope to get to at the same time that we dread having done so. many of those involved are recognizing a 50th birthday and all the memories and accomplishments that come along with that year.  i won't be 50 for a couple of years but i know myself well enough to get a head start. i really cannot justify starting another new project when i have so many that are quietly waiting for me to become re-inspired to work on them.
so after much thought about how i could have my cake and eat it too i realized that i have some  string tulip blocks that have been calling my name for quite some time now. i thought if i used them i might be able to participate in this group celebration as well as finish a project.  good on me right~!?!

so i'm going to start sharing some photos of the brainstorming that i've done for the past couple of weeks . . .

i thought that i had approximately 50 of the tulips but when i counted them i actually had 70~!


and then as i got to digging around i ended up finding  27 more~!!!
i really liked making these string quilted tulips. i may have to make a whole jubilee series of quilts~!

the centers of all of the tulips are cut from hand dyed oranges that i dyed myself. they range a bit in color and a few have the usual  'surprises' that can be found in hand dyed goods but for the most part they all look very similar. i think this commonality in the tulips will help hold the whole project together nicely as well as possibly reducing the 'busy' factor a bit.

i'm also thinking that i would like to use red and/or cheddar fabrics somehow in the setting but have made no firm decisions as to just how or where. 

so what i do have is a few sketches of some of the possibilities:

this sketch shows one of the ways that a single tulips could be appliqued onto each block as well as a possible setting that could be used for those blocks and a possible border idea.

this sketch shows four tulips arranged within one block as well as the blocks within a possible setting.

and here is yet another possibility.

i also have thought about:

•  a strippy set
• incorporating the tulips into a vine somehow
• a row by row setting with the tulips 'growing' neatly together, somewhat like in the bottom portion of the last sketch

as well as many combinations of all of the above. the possibilities are probably endless.
i'm not sure of any sizes or measurements yet and will have to get down to seriously mapping some of that out. 
so this is just a barely scratching the surface sort of start but it is a start and i'm beginning to get more than a little excited about this project so you're bound to see a lot more of it either here or within the jubilee blog or maybe both.


recent gifts include:

• a sun filled day that is melting the last of our recent snowstorm away
• a very tasty pasta salad with a balsamic dressing
• a wonderful husband who is willing to vacuum on occasion 

TAST week 9 ~ couching

are you beginning to notice the longer days?
the begonia is.
i love how the flowers bud out in the form of an umbrella, heads/buds down, until they get a bit more open . . .


the TAST stitch this week is couching.
couching is not exactly a stitch but more of a technique. it's used to hold down threads or sometimes even objects that can't be pulled through the base fabric. it can in fact be done ornamentally using other embroidery stitches or it can be done so that you cannot even see it by using fine threads and fastening them in such a way that they 'disapear' into whatever is being couched down.
technically the snowflake that i put on one of the stockings with a fly stitch was couched, this was both ornamental and virtually invisible. 
another example within my blog of couching, this time invisable, is this pear. i've outlined the pear with what i believe is a recycled sari ribbon yarn. (i recieved it as a gift but am not positive just what it's called.) this is an absolutely beautiful fiber but it is impossible to stitch it directly into any base. i love finding projects to use it in~!

in fact i've used the same fiber in today's TAST example. i've created a leaf around the 'joy' that i chain stitched onto my wonderful husbands stocking. what do you think? it is possible (probable even) that i will do further stitching on this leaf at some point . . .

two really outstanding examples of this stitch:

• don't miss this amazing tree created from couching fibers.
• there is also a really beautifully done demonstration of a form of couching traditionally used in tapestry work that shouldn't be missed.

if you think that you may be interested in learning embroidery or practicing the stitches you already know it's well worth a visit to Pin Tangle to join in with this project.


recent gifts include:

• finding a reason to use my gorgeous recycled sari silk ribbon yarn
• the pleasure of a really good laugh
• new issues of Cloth, Paper, Scissors AND Somerset Studios magazines

if you  haven't entered my giveaway yet and you would like to try to win a few of my photo art notecards click here.
i will draw a winner on march 12.

A Celebration GiveAway~!

who's ready for a teeny tiny bit of springlike goodness in their life?

in my neighborhood there has been precious little snowfall this winter. i live at a fairly high altitude and this is not, and should not be, the norm. we actually had our first really "big" storm yesterday. all afternoon it fell in great big beautiful flakes (think Christmas card here). by the end of the day we had approximately four to six inches. this morning i woke up to a bit more. so here we are on the first day of march and our world is whiter than it's been all winter long.
so what's a sunloving girl who wants to put winter behind her to do?
she cozies up to her houseplants (indoor jungle) and shoots photos of the new growth.
and she feels a little bit better.
how about you, are you ready for spring and the warmer blessings it brings?

~!!~NOW COME AND CELEBRATE WITH ME~!!~

it's a small celebration but i'm happy with a recent accomplishment so i'm hosting this spontaneous giveaway.
this is due to my setting a small photography goal for myself and then making it happen. in early february you may have noticed that i began starting each post with a 'photographic moment'. i chose a theme and began to explore that theme with my camera for the month. 
i had so much fun doing this and many of you commented on how much you liked seeing my photography work.  thank you~! 
so today i decided that anyone commenting on this post could have a chance to win three note cards (of my choice) featuring my photos. not a big deal just a little something from me to you in an effort to show my gratitude for your encouragement and support of this part of my creative self.

i recently had cards made up using my own images. this shot only shows some of them. i will have more cards made up as i continue to take worthy shots so if you think a particular image would make a good card always feel free to say so. these were made by a company called snapfish. i felt they did a great job but i am not being paid to advertise for them. i may have cards made up by a different company next time (suggestions welcome) or i may use my prints to make cards myself . . .
i love having choices.

so here's what i would like you to do if  you are interested in winning. leave a comment on this post telling me what you think my theme was for february. easy peasy. you don't have to get it right you just have to guess. within the same comment i would also like you to suggest a theme that you think i should consider for another month's worth of posts. (i'm starting a list so go ahead, challenge me~!) still easy peasy. on march 12th i will draw one of your names and announce a winner. i will contact you and get your mailing info and send them off for you to enjoy in whatever way you might like.

i may also include another goodie or two . . .

:-D

so enter if you're a regular reader and tell your blog friends if you think they may like to participate. i love and will include new readers too.

my hope is to continue challenging myself  and very possibly making this a regular giveaway opportunity. my energy levels and time dictate a lot as well as the response (or lack of one) that i get from readers for this giveaway.

recent gifts include:

• a goal met with satisfactory results
• blog friends to share my happiness with
• a deep love for photography and the way it allows me to  immerse myself deeply in the moment whenever i am behind a cameras lens