some progress.
i noticed that i accidentally turned one of my fabrics to the 'wrong' side while working. also a couple of the strips are a woven check and these really don't have a right or wrong side.
which got me to thinking that i had choices as to which side to use as my 'right' side. one of them is simply more subtle than the other . . .  what are your thoughts here?

i chose to back stitch at the beginning and ending of thread lengths so there are no knots on either side.

i decided that i would work this piece to whatever size my skinny strips dictated and go from there. after cutting a thin batting to 9 X 12 inches and laying the sewn piece on top of the batting i could see that i wanted a bit more added to two of the sides. i trimmed those two sides so that all fabrics were creating a straight edge being careful not to cut into the seam areas.

i found a small piece of fabric that i could cut in half and use for both of those ends. i am going to sew them on by hand but have decided to do that with hidden seams so there will be no raw edge where they join the original piece. i think this will give it a more definite bordered look.

i've sifted through my hand dyed fabrics. the photographs of the piece that i chose are quite blurry but it doesn't matter because that's sort of how the fabric reads anyway.
can you see the pears hidden in the motley coloration?
i can.

today's gifts have included:

• homemade blueberry pancakes for breakfast
• the discovery of a dyed fabric that will work well as an appliqued pear
• the rhythm felt while enjoying 'process' 

i've been steadily working on some AAQI quilts and now have two ready to label and one more ready to quilt. next step is looking into the shipping process/instructions and getting them mailed out.

for these star quilts i went through my orphan blocks and came up with three that i thought would possibly work. after measuring them it was just a matter of applying simple outer borders to bring them up to the 9 x 12 inch size (the maximum that they will accept) that i wanted. i think they turned out okay and was happy to be working towards the goal of furthering the research into Alzheimer's Disease.


the newest project in the works is also related to the AAQI project.
i did receive a couple of comments that suggested i try using my zentangle pears as a jumping off point for one and then some serious brainstorming began. 

i decided that i would try appliqueing a pear and stitch/quilt/embroider (?) some 'zentangled' type of designs within it. but what to applique it onto . . . ? . . .

as i thought about it i remembered having seen (in various places) some cloth work that was hand stitched and free-form and sort of had that 'doodled' look . . . as if created spontaneously right off of the top of one's head. this lead me to some googling and after lots of research i've finally found a resource that i'm thrilled with. Jude Hill of Spirit Cloth has a blog that sums things up rather nicely for me. if you are interested in this type of work i highly recommend a visit.

after all of this reading/research i still didn't have any real instructions per se. maybe this work somehow defies instruction . . .  after all it's a whole lot about intuitively 'listening' to the materials at hand and the project being created as it comes along.
so i decided to just jump in and see if i could create a background from some skinny/selvedge edge strips that i had originally set aside for rug making. i deliberately chose pale and mostly neutral colors. i ironed them and trimmed them to approximate lengths of 12 - 13 inches and then began weaving them together securing them with a running stitch as i went. no seam allowances as they are stitched rough edge to rough edge with some having fringey edges (which i love). i carefully trimmed off any fringe/threads that i felt were too long as i stitched them together. this piece has no backing (yet). it was a little slow at first but as the piece grew it became more and more it's own self/cloth and not so much small strips that needed taming.

i've used quilting threads that were still on the needle to sew the strips together. it seems that there is always some left in my needles after completing a piece and i generally leave it on the needle and then tuck it into the spooled thread for future use in that color. well, i've gone through my quilting threads and am using up those various threads. quite randomly, just using what is closest at hand as i go. in future i anticipate using various threads from my embroidery tin . . . etc. there are lots of possibilities here.

so this is what it's looking like so far. i'm only putting in enough stitches to hold everything together nicely but i will be going back over this and adding more. when i feel happy with the way it looks and behaves i will begin the process of appliqueing the pear onto it.

in the above photo you can see one of the edges and how that looks as it's 'growing'.

and here a very close macro of the stitches and the 'woven' unions.

this is a wonderfully soothing way to work with fabric. it actually moves along more quickly than i anticipated it would but certainly is not as fast as sewing by machine. the cloth being created has a beautiful soft hand/feel to it due to being hand sewn and working in this way feels meditative and calming. i don't want to put it down once i've begun and i very much look forward to picking it back up again: a lot like when i hand quilt, embroider, crochet, hook a rug, etc.

so this is my newest stitching adventure. it will be fun to see where it takes me.

this is my 'poster' picture of a dog that strayed into the yard right after the fourth of July and was in need of some TLC. fresh water and food have been provided as well as some comfort in the shade should she choose to stay (and she has).  she was in pretty rough shape and seemed to need lots of rest as well as wounds that needed tending. at first she wouldn't even let me touch her and acted as though quite traumatized. she now won't let me out of her sight when i'm outside and lays by whichever outer door she thinks i'm closest to when i'm inside the house. i come home from going somewhere and she's there waiting on the steps for me. on the poster i've stated that she will be taken to the pound on the 20th if no claim has been made. we've had a couple of calls but none that panned out. the nearest pound is an hour away as we are so rural.  today i realized as i sat down to blog that it's the 20th and some decisions are going to have to be made . . .


today's gifts include:

• the house to myself ~ so nice and quiet
• time to blog
• time to think
• time to stitch
• time
• lovely. quiet. time.

Texture Tuesday

here we are at another tuesday. the challenge at Kim's this week was to use at least one layer of her (free) texture 'aurora'.
my columbine have mostly finished their bloom time and now present their funny little jester style seed pod heads.

 Sweet Surrender

i used the (challenge) texture of 'aurora' as well as 'pour vous' on these two images.  the second image is different only in that i've added a border.

do you prefer one more than the  other?

Sweet Surrender (with border)

today's gifts have so far included:

• waking up in my own bed (i've been out of town for a few days)
• cinnamon rolls for breakfast
• the ability to 'lose' myself while playing in photoshop

Texture Tuesday

it's Texture Tuesday again over at Kim's Cafe. the challenge this week was "pink".
i had fun with two different images but failed to write down which textures i used and now i've forgotten.
so . . . my challenge to all those who participate in this weekly event is to give me your guesses within your comment. i do remember that i only used one on Linen Love but there were several used on HollyHock Daze. Have Fun.

 Linen Love

HollyHock Daze

Today's gifts have included:

• deep satisfaction with the weekend garden projects
• cool morning air as i admire the blue summer sky (and the weekend's garden projects)
• ibuprofin as i recover (from the weekend's garden projects (!)

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are the sunshine, food and medicine to the soul."

Luther Burbank

 

wishing you a weekend full of sunshine and flowers.

toady's gifts included:

• a few moments to quietly stitch in the cool morning air of the front porch
• feeding a stray dog
• cool breezes

Texture Tuesday

it's actually late monday for me but tomorrow promises quite a bit of work in the garden and i didn't want to take the chance of not getting a chance to post.


Kim's challenge this week was the number 3 and the use of at least one of her textures. since my favorite number is 3 i decided to do three Texture Tuesday exercises this week.

this first one used one of my shots of last summer's moss rose. i cropped it square and  used one layer of kim klassen's (free) texture "not too shabby". i kept it pretty light handed on this one.

this second one used my own shot from spring 2009 when some of the willows in the area were doing their thing. i also cropped this one but used a 5 x 7 format and once again used the "not too shabby" texture. this one is even more subtle. i don't think one would know that there was a texture there if i didn't reveal it. it did add depth to the shot though . . .

the third one is much more involved and dramatic. the original still life was taken in 2008. i added three of kim's textures: mayzee, portrait and pourvous.

today's gifts included:

• celebrating the blessing of being an American
• the deep cool shade on a hot day
• the happiness of 'family' 

recently i visited Pom Pom and read about her love of drawing and seen some of her whimsical sweet work. it got me to thinking that i too love to draw and have, at various times of my life, done quite a bit of it but in my (ahem) 'later years' (mid-life later not later later mind you) i've sort of wandered further and further away from it.
i've done some sketching and a bit of zen doodling over the past year or so but only a very little bit. when i visit Jay (the Creative Crone from Studio Q) i frequently see some of her fabulous zendoodling and am once again reminded that i should get back to it. like really try harder. make some sort of commitment. or something. i've had the Blog Zentangle listed on my sidebar for quite some time and i pop over there once in a while for a peek at what they have going on but still nothing. it turns out one has to actually set aside time and materials to achieve a goal~!!~ so approximately a month ago i decided to try to zendoodle right before i turn out the light. that would be after actually tucking into bed, after the reading time and after the sudoku puzzle time but before the shutting of the eyelids bit . . . sheeeesh there's just not enough minutes in the day~! anyway, i put an inexpensive sketchbook on the nightstand along with a couple of pens that i like to use and i have actually followed through (on those nights when my eyelids cooperated with me that long). it's very relaxing. very pointless. very . . .  well, zen.

as you can see i like to zendoodle within an actual recognizable form. usually it's  done quite a lot more randomly but the control freak inside of me doesn't like to do it that way. i'll probably get kicked out of the zendoodling clan now that they know . . .

yep, i like pears. pears are beautiful, which is why every great artist has at least one (equally  great) pear work somewhere in their portfolio (right?).

look~! i didn't create any particular form for this session~! progress? maybe. i'm not making any promises. i did manage to sneak in some words . . . thought that was pretty cool and might do some more of it. i also tried using pencil for part of it. that's probably strike two and three with the zendoodle police . . . 
imagine those uniforms~!

this one is still in progress. i started with the leaf and then carried on outside of it a bit . . . not sure where this one is going but i guess that's the thing with zendoodling; you just begin. make some marks. don't worry. be happy. before you know it you find yourself all zenned out.

this is my helper, Gracie. She's all zenned out too.


next: The Sketchbook Challenge ~!!~
:-D



today's gifts have included:

• a yogurt/banana smoothie for breakfast: homemade yogurt, frozen banana, dash of Vietnamese cinnamon and a drizzle of honey
• some time to spend on my AAQI goals
• a piece of watermelon cold from the refrigerator and perfectly sweet