Lest ye think I'd forgotten...

Before I left town and started getting very involved with Christmas makings, I did have the chance to work on this little bit of craziness:

Manitoba

And speaking of Manitoba, my friend Linda took me to Ram Wools. I wasn't really going to buy anything, but all this turquoise yarn just started leaping off the shelves at me. Haven't decided exactly what I should do with it, but I'm kinda thinking I want to crochet something.

In the grand scheme of unfinished stuff

Here's the scarf I would have finished on the plane but for loosing one of the balls of yarn. It turned up at my friend's house later but as it was Paton's it was easily replaced:

Here's a close up of my crazy colour choices:

I started this yesterday and am not sure if I want to finish it in time for Christmas or not. I can tell you that at the very least it's going to have a big fat spider web on it, perhaps copied one in the "Virginia Quilt Museum" by Carter Houck.

Just a hint

I've been working on something for another member of my family but since she may be reading this, the best I can do is hint.

All play and no work

I just got back from an extra long weekend in Manitoba. My boss (bless him) gave me the rest of the week off so I've been working on my Christmas making. So far, I've finished putting together a necklace for my sister-in-law using mostly beads which I inherited from my grandmother. Only the onyx disk medallion is new. I'm not sure that she has any other jewelry from my father's side of the family so I decided this was the best way to pass some on.

My little baby kitty

My littlest baby is getting so big!


And he's getting to be quite a lot of help around the house....

I was beginning to wonder....

.....why it was that I have attracted so many Tom Waits fans over the years. This explains it:


Tom Waits... charismatic story-teller with a
penchant for freaky people and unusual
settings. You thrive on the concept of the
underdog coming out on top.


Which fucked-up genius composer are you?
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My camera

FYI, I again apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. I'm using a rather archaic Sony Mavica, so what you see is what you get. If you want a more detailed look at anything I've published, let me know and I'll see what I can do based on the camera's temperment. I think I'm going to get a new camera with my next bonus....

Crazy for bags

It's Sunday and I've been hit hard this weekend with the sinus issues -- I should be used to it by now. Yesterday when I was still thinking I might possibly think about sewing a Halloween costume, I started sorting through one of my tubs looking for velvet and pulled out a bunch of velvets, brocades and silks. This morning when it became apparent I wasn't going to have much of anything to do with operating heavy machinery, I pulled these fabrics together for making a "crazy bag".


The brocade in the top left is something my grandmother had while the floral fabric on the right originally covered a Jacobean reproduction armchair. The other bits and pieces are fairly recent purchases of my own.








As I was checking out the usual blogs earlier today, I saw that Allison Aller has just scored big with a very nice purchase of lace. Coincidentally, she's got it displayed on a nice piece of green dupioni. As promised, here is what I was thinking of adding to this little number lace-wise:

Besides the lace, I think I'll use a bit of metallic thread and perhaps a very light touch with the beading.

SOMETHING TO SAY: Wicked Little Pumpkin

SOMETHING TO SAY: Wicked Little Pumpkin


Its this not just the best?!?

And so this morning I dragged out the iron

And did all the fiddly bits on my little garden wall hanging:

I want to embellish it with embroidery like that in one of Bella Dia's latest finds....

The Italian Job

A bit further on, I came to the Italian Garden which was in a riot of late summer/early fall colour. One of the pics I took was of some tall spiky flowers. Not sure what variety they are as they were so profuse they covered up the marker. They reminded me of one of the bits of fabric I paint-dyed the other evening. Now I'm really getting ideas....

The bit where I got a sunburn on my nose

Yesterday I went to Maymont. I don't ever remember a time when I didn't thoroughly enjoy going there and when all is said and done, it's one of my favourite places in the world. I'm very glad it's here in Richmond. Anywho, I took my trusty little digital camera and got a few shots just for ideas.

Just above the hill where the black bears live, I found a ginko which was starting to turn. I played around with the leaves like so:

What I did otherwise....

I've got a head cold so I skipped Joyce's hand dying class but since I had a nice little chunk of me time in my day, I hauled out some old fabric paint - the 99cent variety which Sonji says are the bee's knees - and did a bit of experimenting. So far, so good. They're not 100% dry yet, but I can envision creating a moon out of this one:




And perhaps a lovely little spring garden out of this one:


















As a side note, I'd like to let everyone know that Charlie the kitten is so pleased as Punch with all of this that he has fallen asleep with his little chin on my right hand. I guess I'm not going anywhere for a while....

Almost there

Remember this one from way back when? One big square and a pile of bits and pieces? I'm almost finished.... really. All that remains is for me to figure out how to set my sewing machine properly to do free-motion stiching and I'll have it quilted before you can say Malibu sunset. I'd practice doing it today, but I think I've had enough of the sewing room for now.

40 shades of green....

And this is "my" colour? Ye gads....... I would have thought something more along the lines of a nice leaf green.

Your Power Color Is Lime Green

At Your Highest: You are adventurous, witty, and a visionary. At Your Lowest: You feel misunderstood, like you don't fit in. In Love: You have a tough exterior, but can be very dedicated. How You're Attractive: Your self-awareness and confidence lights up a room. Your Eternal Question: "What else do I need in my life?"

What's" Your Power Color?

A wrinkle in the cyberspace continuum

As you may have noticed, I've changed my template and I apologize if things seem a bit wrinkled. That is, some do and some don't and if I change to another template, things start floating all over tarnation... Grrrrr.... I'll deal with the "ironing" another day.

Another good reason the housework is not done...

I've been working on this little wall hanging for the past week:



















I'm sorry you can't see the colours better as that's what this whole exercise is about. I've used a design in Gai Perry's book 'Color From The Heart'. I finished sewing all the nine-patches and later today I'll start putting it together.

I also started making a pillow for my living room by couching some of my novelty yarns to a piece of striped fabric:


















ARRRRRRRGH!!!! I so need a new digital camera! One that can capture the colour of life and not leave it looking like something molding in a corner under the bookcase.

Speaking of books, I'm off to read Elizabeth Aston's 'The Exploits & Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy' and later I'm hopefully going over to UR to see "Art's Around the Lake".

Tootles!

I hung this on my living room wall last week. My mom made this back in the 70's and it hung in our den for the longest time. My favourite has always been the thistle. :)

Like brothers...

So here they are being just as sweet as can be....
















When they decide to see who's taller.....




















And wouldn't you know.... a fight breaks out!

Woof Nanny

From Woof Nanny

Check out Woof Nanny's new book! I gotta make me a pair o' them knickers!

What it is.....

Well folks, a number of you responded to the post I made last spring about my wall-hanging and here it is.... my inspiration:







In case you're unfamiliar with it (and I suspect most folks in the US aren't), this is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "gem". To me, it just looks like the most splended quilt pattern. This just goes to show how you can get inspiration from the most mundane, everyday things. I've got a larger quilt charted out which I may make someday. Unfortunately, one of the problems of being surrounded by everyday things that inspire is that I've got way too much inspiration and not enough hours in the day to quilt!

You are Lauren Bacall. You started off as very shy
but with a little help, your roots come out.
You're an honest person and your values,
beliefs and convictions are very clear. You
love a good time, and you want security at
heart but you're ready for anything that comes
your way. You may also have an air of grace
about you, and more beauty than you'll ever
realize. But others will see it.


Which vintage movie star are you most like?(For girls)
brought to you by Quizilla

Quite the handful

The main reason I haven't updated my blog much for the past couple of weeks despite finding my digital camera amongst the packing AND the floppy disks that go with it.......

American Red Cross - Preparing for and Responding to Hurricane Katrina

Need I say more?

The bit about artists I promised...

I've got a friend whose grandfather was, in his heyday, a famous muralist. As an aside, I've never met him but I did work with his wife for a semester when I was at school. My friend is a very accomplished sculptor who has also studied painting and printmaking but I think he still somewhat lives in the shadow of his grandfather. At any rate, he's never quite completed a degree although he probably has more than enough coursework under his belt. He told me he really only took the classes he wanted to take -- the classes he thought he'd get something out of. However, he did share this piece of advice with me which his grandfather told him some time ago. If you're going to make a masterpiece, plan it out. Have a good idea of what you want it to look like and then make it look like your idea -- no happy accidents along the way. Once you've made one, make another to prove that wasn't just a one off. After you've made a second, make a third to prove you can do it any time you darn well please. Then you can do pretty much whatever you darn well please.

Needless to say, he was rather amused at me one day when he was over at my house and I was rather busy making happy accidents. Can't help it.... they're so much fun!!!

Patience

Just to let you know, I've got a ton of stuff in the works but I'll be moving in the next couple of weeks so I'll be off-line for a while. On the plus side, I'll have my own sewing room when I move. YEEEEEEEHAW! On the down side, I hate moving. Oh well... I'm really looking forward to having my own space so that alone ought to see me through.

I won't grow up....

In the interest of some of the comments I've posted on a few other blogs, I thought I'd put up a couple of pics of some of the doll clothes I've sewn in the past few years. These were originally on my website (horribly out of date). I haven't finished anything recently although I did start a dress for my Sydney Chase doll. Anywho and without further ado.... I present to you....

Kitty -


Littlest Angel -



Tyler -


And Skipper -


I thought I had one of Crissy's friend Kerry, but obviously not on line. I'll have to dig for that one.




Another fun quiz....

I think this one nailed me a bit better than the last one....

You Belong in London A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well. What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-) Find the Love of Your Life (and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

Progress

And when not wasting my time surfing... I've actually been working on quite a bit. I recently finished making this moon wallhanging for my SO (aka SOBF). Not sure yet how we're going to hang it, but we've been seriously considering a frame of tree branches. Extra cool points if you can guess where the design idea came from, eh?




Here is a close-up of one of the corners. I sewed antique pearl buttons over a number of the mistletoe berries.



On the face of the moon, I've sewn a little dragonfly charm.



After couching tons of funky fibers and yarns down, I've become quite intrigued with that technique and as soon as I get the EasyShare software re-loaded on my computer, I'll have a few more pics to share. In the meantime, here's a little something I crocheted out of funky yarn which I plan to use on the front of a little bag.

A bit flighty....

Just ran across this quiz on High Fiber Content ....



Faerie:
Faeries are sweet loving beings who love to help
people. They are not held back by reality and
love to dream and fly around. You probably are
very creative and although not the most popular
person in the world you are probably loved by
many for your sweet caring personality.


What Mythological Creature Are You (Many Results and Beautiful Pics)
brought to you by Quizilla

What I did on my spring break.....

Well, in case you've been wondering why I haven't posted anything in ages, I've been quite busy. Last week our friend Linda came to visit. Of course I didn't have The Zen Project finished, but she likes what I've got done so far. I will get to work on it tonight and perhaps this weekend as well.

In the meantime, did I mention I'd gotten a new sewing table? It's perfect for my needs and can serve many purposes which is a Darn Good Thang as it sits in the dining room. This past weekend Paul bought me a drafting table. It's a bit on the antique side, but is probably sturdier than most modern ones. It's also fairly portable so that I may use it as an easel outside if I wish. He worked very hard to clean it up as it was covered with antique double-stick tape (thank you so very very much!). While he was working on the drafting table, I almost finished his moon wall-hanging. All that's left to do is sew tabs on the outside edges and then a bit of yarn around the entire thing.

While Linda, the most brilliant knitter in the entire world, was here, I renewed my interest. I doubt I'd ever be able to make anything as nice as what she makes, but it's a fun skill to have. So far, I managed to impress myself (if naught else) greatly by making a doll-sized scarf. Of course, if Linda hadn't shown me how to cast off, I might still be knitting... knitting.... knitting...Anywho, we had load of fun yarn store crawling. I discovered a great store not far from where we live ( http://www.gotyarn.com ) and absotootally fell in love with a gorgeous greenish heathery coloured throw. The kit price was a bit out of my reach, but the design idea is one I can play with.

Also while Linda was here, we did a lot of sightseeing and I took a ton of pictures. I'm hoping to use at least a couple of them as springboards for watercolours. Who knows, perhaps I'll get a wallhanging or two out of them as well. First I have to load them on my computer. Latah...

Project strikes again!

We've been having a spot of bother with our Internet connection...grrrrrrrrr..... Here are the other blocks I have been working on for "The Project". The butterfly came out a bit wonky, so I'm going to have a stab at embellishing it to see if that makes it more balanced. If not, I'll just make another. This past weekend I got a new sewing table which hopefully I will have in place soon. We're having lots of company this coming weekend, so I probably won't get to use it until next week. Until then.....



and



and my favourite so far

"The Project"

These are squares from a project I'm working on for my friend Linda. Last fall she knit me a gorgeous royal blue cable sweater so I'm making her a "zen" book featuring things we've written to each other about as being things we love or things that are calming. That's something important in both of our lives as we tend to get a bit jeezled from time to time.

To start out with, there's a "zen fish"....



a "zen iris".....



and a pair of "zen coffee mugs"....



I'll have a few more to post in a day or so. I'm eventually going to put all these together into a cloth accordian-fold book so that she may display it on a coffee table just as easily as a wall.