Going In Circles

This past weekend was a long weekend in Canada. We were celebrating Victoria Day. My friend Deb mentioned she was thinking about new themes for a stitchy-quilty swap and one of the ideas was circles. Well that got me excited because I love circle themed art-so much so that I blasted down to the fabric store and bought fabrics to start sewing. Deb said it and I ran with it. As you can see, I ended up with a pretty little stack of quiltlets. This is what happens when you have a few days of leisure and no real plans. (Hooray for that!) 

I decided on two designs. One was this adorable vintage dog stamp I love, which I thought given the texture of the aqua fabric I got was a very good match. The fabric is a woven one which reminds me of vintage tea towels, The florals remind me of vintage pillow cases. The dog is taken from a 1950's reader. They just seemed to marry together perfectly.

The second design had to do with words that I felt lived in a circle: sacred circle, circle of trust, circle of love, circle of light and what goes around, comes around: Karma. (There were more words I could have used, but I only needed to make 11.)

Here's a close up of the two designs. I loved sewing on the teeny tiny sequins, which really look quite lovely. So much fun! (Although threading a straw needle with numb hands is a master's test in dexterity. Good thing I know a magic trick for threading a needle!) I managed to complete these in 3 days. (I tend towards working obsessively when I'm inspired.) All that's left to do is make and attach some tags to them so the recipients know where they came from. Once I've sent them off, I'll sew a few for myself.

Today I'm spending the day writing-deadlines are looming! 

Progress

 

I managed to work on one of my paintings yesterday after all. It's by no means finished, but I am happy working on it as the spirits move me. I wish the light were better in the studio today so the photos would be truer, but it's pouring rain and dark out. 

It's interesting to see the progression. As you can see I added thins and then painted them out again. It's quite a forgiving process. I haven't moved on the first painting this week. I am not sure what I want to do with it yet. I have another blank canvass sitting here and I may just lay some paint down on that one later tonight.

I forgot to post this photo of all the 15 little quiltlets I stitched for a exchange I am in. It's for a Teesha Moore style project. It was a true labour of love making these, as it's really difficult to stitch with hands you can't feel. Imagine trying to thread a needle wearing oven mitts and you'll have some idea what it's like. 

Despite the challenge, it was fun to pick through my collections of vintage celluloid, Bakelite and mother of pearl buttons and to find that perfect scrap of lace for each one. I used mostly Aunt Gracie reproduction 1920 and 30's fabrics. I sent the whole lot off and am now awaiting the returns. I am sure they will be beautiful! 

Magic Mailbox: Belated Birthday Edition

Yesterday my husband came home from the PO with a big envie for me. It was from my friend Pip. It was a belated b-day gift, a beautiful art quilt she'd made. It's gorgeous and I've already hung it in the studio. If you lick the photo, you can see the details of the stitching.

Here's a shot of the whole quilt. I love how she created a skirt from silk ribbon. She really is a genius with textiles! Her beautiful work has been featured in Sew Somerset. One of the best things about having artists for friends is that they always send you cool handmade gifts like this. 

Pip also sent me a wonderful package of vintage wall paper pieces to use in my ROD journals. Perfect timing-I've been working on the ROD I started back in January again. I can guarantee some of those yummy bits will find their way into that journal!

If you'd like to see more of her work, Pip has an Etsy shop, which you can find here.

THANK YOU Pip for such a wonderful surprise! xox

A {sorta} Silk Purse

 Quite some time ago, on a trip to Urban Source, I picked up this scrap of t-shirt material out of one of the bulk bins. I was attracted by the texture of the fabric and the lovely print.

When I got home, I tucked it away and forgot about it. I was purging some excess fabric from my stash yesterday and came across it again. I made sure this time I put it on my desk so I would remember to do something with it. As you can see, with a few quick seams, it sewed up nicely into a drawstring bag this evening.

 The hem had these Chinese (?!?) characters and numbers on it and I thought they were too interesting to throw away. I carefully cut the hem off and top stitched it around the centre of the bag.

See what I mean? I'd love to know what it says! There was just enough fabric left over to make the drawstring. Did you know that if you cut a piece of t-shirt (jersey) material in a long strip and then gently pull along the length of it that it will curl into a string? Yes indeedy!

In November, I bought grey jersey fabric and using the same method made personalized drawstring bags to hold the mini journals I made for the 12 Days of Xmas Exchange this year.

And that my friends, is how you make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!

First Projects of 2011

My friend Penn gave me a 1/2 yd. of this scissor fabric, from Spool of Thread. I love their modern/retro sensibilities. (See what I mean here.) When I was out buying thread the other day, I came across the grey fabric and knew it was the perfect foil for the scissors fabric. I sewed this ROD journal cover as soon as I got home.

I spent the weekend sewing pages for this ROD. It's been a long time coming-my friend Tracy Riffle and I swapped a signature's worth of pages about this time last year. I've held onto them and just now got around to sewing more pages so I can make a complete journal. These are 8 1/2 x 11 sewn sheets folded in half.

The pages I'm sharing are just at the very beginning stage of the process-I have lots more work to do before they will be ready to be bound into the cover.

While I was working on these pages, I learned something: I don't enjoy working big. It's not my thing. I like to work 6 x 6 or smaller. It has to do with the fact that when I work small, the pieces go faster-there's almost no thinking about it-it just happens. When I work on large pieces, it feels like I am always looking for elements to fill up the space. The flow of the working process feels herky-jerky and unnatural to me. It's too much like work-I tend to be more intuitive about creating.

I will finish this journal, it's just going to take me awhile and it's probably going to be one of those things I pick up and put down a few times before it's completed. All of the other journals I've made are sized to fit in the palm of your hand. They're a nice little mitt full and they were fun to make. I think after this, I will stick with what feels right.

The other projects I am working on right now are a small Valentine's exchange with two friends and a handmade book exchange. I've already begun working on them, as Valentine's is just over 4 weeks away and they have to go in the mail to arrive by the 14th.

So, that's where I stand as of 1-11-11.

Before I get back to work, I'd like to share a link with you to My Owl Barn who have generously offered up some beautiful owl images for you to create your very own custom calendar for 2011 for FREE. You get to choose which ones you want, decide the order you prefer and then print them off. They print as 4 months to a page and I suggest printing them on cardstock, so they will hang nicely. I love this calendar and have already printed one for me and one for a friend.

Thanks My Barn Owl!

Vices

Here are a few of mine:

Geometric fabric in fall colours, dark chocolate (this bar, in particular)...

Circle fabric, threads in my fav colours, Post-it notes...

And more fabrics! The colours are washed out in the pic-not sure why, but the one on the left is a mustard gold colour and the one on the right is a geometric print in lime.

Textiles & Miracles

I've been haunting the local bookstore for the last week looking for the latest edition of Sew Somerset. Why? Well aside from it being one of my favourite magazines at the moment, my sweet friend Pilar emailed me to tell me that she had an article coming out in it, in which I was mentioned. WOW! That was a lovely surprise! (*Love* the colours on the cover, by the way. This issue is fairly brimming with great content!)




Awhile back Pilar sent me a parcel. I can't tell you how deeply touched I was when I opened the package and found a milagro created just for me. Pilar works magic with needle and thread and her textile work is always so enchanting. I guess Stampington thought so too because they asked her to write an article about her latest inspiration.



The milagro she sent me looks much like the ones pictured in the article but each one is unique and mine says "Healing" and has silk flowers on it. It's been carefully tea dyed and infused with love and her good wishes and prayers for my health to improve. It hangs on my inspiration board right above my desk, so I see it each and every day. I smile every time I look at it.



If you're interested in having one of Pilar's gorgeous milagros for yourself, you can find them here in her Etsy store and there are also some here in her Art Fire store. She even has some with hand etched brass icons in the center. They are amazing.



THANK YOU Pilar for the blessing of your friendship and congratulations on your article. You are a gem! xox



*FYI: Pilar is currently offering free shipping within the US and to Canada! Hurry to take advantage of this savings!

Textile Love

I had to zip over to IKEA this afternoon because I needed a special bulb for my desk lamp. While I was there, I had a walk through and poked around in the fabric department. I came across this fabulous fabric and had to have some!

I love how only parts of it are highlighted with olive green.

I love all the seed pods...

the birds...

the pomegranates.

It was a mere $2.99/yd so I got two yards worth. Now the question is what I'm going to make with it? A pillow case? A journal bag? A cover for a new ROD journal? Or all of the above? The possibilities are endless!

Remains of the Day in Progress

As I've mentioned, I am taking on online journal making class with Mary Ann Moss. Yesterday, I decided to take all the pages I made, nest them into 3 signatures and tuck them into the cover I created to see how they fit.

It made a very satisfying little handful. I am quite pleased with the size of this journal which is 4 1/2 wide x 6 inches tall. I like mine generally to be smallish and easy to tuck into a bag or purse. After all, what good is a journal if you can't take it everywhere you go?

It's just YUMMY! As per Mary Ann, I've left all the threads from sewing things together, unclipped. Messy and delightful!

Here is a small sampling of the pages I've worked on so far. This is just the very beginning stages of the sewing. Like I said, I wanted to see how they fit, but they need alot more work!

And old foreign letter, written in sepia ink and a car, clipped from a calendar.

A jam label sent to me by my pal Liz in England and the receipt from our New Year's Eve take-out. I thought it was so cool to have my name printed on it, along with the Chinese words. Getting personalized stuff with a name like mine is impossible, so I save anything!

Accounting paper and someone's business card. I should have looked to see whose it was, but I forgot and when I did remember, it was already sewn down. Oh well! I liked it because it's quirky and reminds me of Vancouver-we get a fair amount of rain here.

A piece of a map of France and an vintage electric company receipt.

A half page from an old interest calculations book and a photo of an art club from a gazette type paper.

Half a small paper gift bag from Ikea, a fragment of handwritten text in sepia in a foreign language and a transparency I never knew what to do with.

The front of a security envelope someone sent me some art in (they stamped the window), and a strip cut from a calendar.

As you can see, this process uses all kinds of ephemera and most of it is stuff I've been hoarding for ages. Finally, a place to use it all! It's funny-everyone in the class has been saying that. We've all been saving this kind of stuff for the perfect project and it has arrived!

I did some ephemera trading with some of the ladies in the group and so I think I am going to set my pages aside for a bit till their packets catch up with me. It will be fun to have some new fodder and I want to use some of it to enhance my pages even further. (More is more!)

While I wait for Canada Post to do its thing, I am going to work on some prayer flags for an exchange. It's the last project I am doing before the Olympics start. I'm going to begin that one today. I stayed up late last night coming up with a plan so I know what I am doing and it should go relatively quickly.

It's certainly been a productive start to the new year!

Once a Quilter..

Yesterday, I went out to Maple Ridge to visit with old friends who meet at Quiltopia. It was really great seeing them-it's been about 2 or so years since I saw them last. (Life gets busy and next thing you know, 2 years has passed.) I was sitting quietly sewing trim onto a half apron I made when some of them came in and so it took a couple of them several minutes to notice me. It was pretty funny! The best part was all the hugs and catching up.

I bought this pattern for the button bag. I'd seen it all done up the last time I was in, but they were out of patterns so when I saw they had them, I snatched one up. Suddenly I am struck with the urge to sew bags for myself. Lori, who is a beautiful quilter (she makes beautiful quilts and is beautiful herself) had the most delightful little zippered bag with handles which gave me a serious case of bag envy. I MUST make myself some!

The pattern called for a packet of charm squares, so I picked this set. The colours are off in this pic though-that's not terra cotta you are seeing-it's actually a deep persimmon. The blues are that grey blue with a hint of aqua in them and the greens are sage or basil shades. Not my usual, but I thought I would give it a go. (My favourite colour pallet is actually folk-art Americana. I am not a floral, frou-frou kind of girl, but I'll try anything once.) I am hoping to lean this more towards the vintage look, than the frilly, if I can.

So today, after I tidy up the studio, I will be hauling out my sewing machine and putting the pedal to the metal and whipping these babies up! I also want to look online for the pattern for the bag Lori had-I need to have it!

Okay, off to tidy so I can get crackin'!

Works in Progress

Yesterday morning I managed to whip up two doll quilt tops from the Moda fabrics I bought. I decided to just do simple charm quilts. I have the borders on and I will be adding some applique to them-I just have to decide what I want to add. Eventually something will come to me.

I got playing around with some of the scraps and made this book jacket for a journal.

It came out just darling and I want to embellish it too. Too bad the light wasn't better when I snapped the pic, but it's overcast today, which doesn't make for the best photos.

And what's this? Well I have had my eye on these Ikea tea thermoses for quite some time now. They are $40 CDN (isn't that insane?!) and every year they go on sale. I know that eventually they end up as low as $14, but each and every time, I've missed that brief window of opportunity and they've sold out before I could get my hands on one. This time I was in the right place at the right time and this one is MINE!!

Why did I want it? Well it's the perfect size to fit in the side pocket on my backpack on wheels which I use to transport my class supplies at Artfest and sometimes also when I am teaching. I love tea and this way I can have a couple cups while I am working. Tea for me is as necessary as breathing! There is always a cup sitting on my desk that I am working on and usually it's either orange pekoe or chai. So.. this orange thermos makes me happy!

My best friend Lisa is back from her vacation in Oregon and brought me a bunch of pressies. This "Boobie Girl" is one of them. It's the work of Lynne Novak and is made entirely of glass and wire. I love it and plan to hang it in the window above my workspace. THANKS Lisa!! xox

There are only two more weeks left of August and already it seems that summer days are fleeting-I can already feel fall in the air. (I LOVE the fall!) I had so many plans for the summer for personal projects I wanted to work on but so far have only managed a fraction of what I thought possible. Where does the time go?!

New Project

Yesterday I got the wild hair to go fabric shopping. Lauri had emailed asking me if I would like to do a personal doll quilt swap with her and the idea appealed to me. I decided to go out and see if I could find fabrics I wanted to work with and sure enough I did! These are from Moda's Celebrate Spring collection. I don't usually go for pinks or pastel tones, but for some strange reason, these appealed to me. At any rate, they seemed to be perfect for a doll quilt.



The white with the flowers on it will be the backing and the raspberry is the binding. I am still trying to decide what blocks I will make-I'm not sure yet. I think I am about to go on a textile kick.



In order to be able to quilt, I had to run out and buy a new iron yesterday as well. On Friday morning, I got up early and decided to make myself a half apron,which isn't quite finished yet-I have some embellishing to do still. While I was working on it, I heard this ugly electrical zzzzt! sound and then saw a flash and heard a loud pop! after which smoke started pouring out of my iron as I ran to yank the cord out of the wall. Thank god I was in the same room when it happened or there might have been a fire. Needless to say, once it cooled off, it went directly into the garbage-there's no way I would even consider trying to fix it-it's had the biscuit! I found a new one and hopefully it will be as good as my old one-I loved my old iron.

I also wanted to show you this little gadget I bought on Friday. It's a slurpee/snow cone machine. You put ice cubes in the top, the liquid you want to use in the bottom (in this case diet caffeine free Pepsi) and just plug it in.

In about two minutes, you have a slurpee! I LOVE slurpees but haven't had one in ages because none of the ones you can get in the stores are made with diet pop. When I was at the grocery store on Friday, I saw they were clearing these machines out for $19.99 and had to have one. It works wonderfully and I can't tell you how great it is to be able to make my own slush drinks. You can use anything-fruit juice, ice tea...whatever you like! Iced Mocha anyone?! MMM!

Okay, I am off to get started on the doll quilt! Ill be back soon with photos!

As Ye Sew, So Shall Ye Rip

Wonder what I have been up to? Well I have been a slave to my sewing machine lately. I am still working on the "secret project" but I made huge headway after I threw away the stupid pattern I was trying to follow.

I bought a pattern by a "big name designer" and all I can tell you is that despite 15 years of quilting under my belt, I could not make head nor tail of it when I got right smack in the middle. I think I should have known it was doomed to be a disaster when I saw there were 40 pieces to it. Let's just say that thanks to the rotten pattern, I am now quite familiar with how to use my seam ripper. In the end, I managed to parlay what I had into what I hoped to make. Thank goodness I can design things in my head! I am now more than 1/2 way to the finish line!

It was a busy weekend. We went to a football game, to the pool, did the usual weekend chores and then yesterday I had "girl's day" with my best friend Lisa. We went off to the spa for pedicures, then out to lunch followed by sandal shopping. It was really relaxing and now I have pretty toes! They had this wonderful smelling pink grapefruit lotion (love that smell!) made from essential oils that I treated myself to, along with a bottle of their fancy-schmancy polish so I can keep my tootsies sandal worthy all summer long.

I really should have been lying low over the last few days. My back is still causing me grief. I don't know how I managed to tweak it but it's definitely not feeling good. No time to lie in bed and whine though-I have too much to do!