Violet Fairie

 another fairie is done and in his garden


 with critters

the dragonfly was made out of the last two fringes off a bead fringe that went on the red rose pouch from a few posts ago.
spider is made from flat Krenik, teardrop bead and a faceted glass bead.

the blue bird was made with stem stitch and split stitch on the wings

I found a little glass lamp-work snake in a drawer and thought it would look good just there under the button run

and there is another key hidden in the sequins.

every garden needs secrets. I outlined the fairies wings with krenik filament to give him a little more focus.

I don't quite know what I am going to do with these little guy's yet. maybe a wall hanging or separate boxes a purse? i don't know yet.
but they are fun to experiment with and challenge myself with.

my challenge with this one was how to balance it against that honking great bit of purple motif. How do you think I did?

a pouch and a puss

I'm putting a new pouch in the shop today.
it's a little bigger than the others about 5"x5" with a silk cord strap.





a lucky spider in the corner, lots of lacy bits...







A dragonfly and fan in the lower corner
and roses curling up the side






I had just enough of these dangles left over from something else to put on the bottom and two for accents at the side.



when I came back in my room to make my bed this morning I found this between the pillows!

I  didn't have the heart to disturb her so the bed will get made later than usual today!

templates

I have been asked this so many times that I am just going to go ahead and do it!

these are the templates I use. I designed them over the years because my cq was lumpy and uneven without a little guidance.
I am offering to make them (for $20) on commission to any one who wants them through my ETSY site.

I have had so many people ask me if I would make them a set that I finally decided to put them up in my shop.

these are not professionally made! I make them myself out of a flexible opaque plastic sheeting with scissors an exato blade and a sharpie, they are a little wobbly. 

Circles

Truth be told mine are a little cheesy but they work for me and maybe they will work for you too.

If you want something perfectly die cut from thick plastic go to Sharon Boggins site, she has beautifully made stencils that will last a lifetime.
I bought a set and am waiting with anticipation for them to arrive. they are bigger than my usual stitch and I hope this will challenge me to use bigger stitches,
Mine are better suited to those who use little stitches.

flexible!

squares

wavy

I have been using mine for about 10 years, when I need a new even seam I make a new template!

you can make them too, I am doing this because people have asked. but these are all basic shapes used in the making of any seam treatment. nothing special here, just  little time and effort on my part.
A little expertise and experimentation too.
I have discarded things that didn't work for me.

round

they are not very big and fit well in my sewing kit.

I haven't made any fancy instructions for them yet so if anyone needs guidance, let me know, I will try to come up with something. 

I'll take any suggestions you have too. Remember these are my own designs and I'm not a professional, the lines aren't always straight and the measurements are not exact. They are whoever good enough for me and I hope they will be good enough for you too.

Poetry RR in the garden

 I love my yard!

Have I mentioned that before?

looking out from my favorite places to stitch I get this lovely view of my tree

( ignore the pile of old picknick table, I must put that away.)

the front porch.

 my SO gave me this wonderful wind chime for my Birthday this year, it resonated and sings so prettily in the slightest breeze.
 it sounds like a Nerada track.

 and then there are my Veggi boxes across the yard,

full of tomatoes, squash, carrots, pickles, radishes, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale, sweet peas and corn.

I am also trying out brusselsprouts and artichokes this year.

I'm hoping to have enough of a harvest in some of this stuff to trade for fresh eggs,


as the new next door neighbors have chickens.

It's been raining so much the last few months that all 6 of my rain barrels are so full they fountain! I have to run around and make sure they all have open valves and spouts leading away so they don't flood and undermine the foundation of the barrels.


In this nirvana I have finished Janet's block for the poetry and verses RR in CQI.

She chose a children's book version of a Robert Frost Poem, the pictures of which are wonderfully charming!
As I was the last lady on this piece, I had 2 blocks to choose from.
I chose the cover page because it had the best convergence of fabrics for the idea I had.

I took elements from one of the other ladies blocks, the seam treatments in the upper left corner and top seam and then used several of the illustrations from the book for inspiration.

I hope she likes it!

I know I had fun, with the birds especially, I think I may place more critters in my blocks in future.

two new boxes in the shop

I have put two new boxes in the shop , now didn't these turn out nice?

i'm rather pleased with these two boxes,


 I layered some lace motifs at the bottom of the "birds of a feather box"


the diamond seam treatment turned out nice, the blue beads down the center show off that seem very nicely


 the embroidery on the birds is pleasing it's a pattern I've used before with various degrees of success

 I'm glad it turned out so well here




"the music lesson" turned out well too I was hoping the silkie would show better but no matter where I take a picture of it theres a glare and the picture is washed out, poo!

I wish too that the clock would have been a little more centered  but sometimes placement is tricky when your putting the final touches on.

and in order for the rest of the block to be shown well without cutting off anything vital the clock face got a little smooshed, also Poo!
I could just use the top as a template but where would the fun be in that?
besides I like the look of the embroidery wrapping around the edges and going around corners.

the land of Fairie

I must say i'm rather pleased with this block!

All the elements turned out to be just right. Not too heavy, even though I used a lot of big motifs.

Thats the challenge, though, isn't it?

As your technique evolves, to challenge yourself to use colors and elements that you normally would never put side-by-side.

to pick something so glaringly off and make it work within the confines of your block.

I try to do this with ever new project, challenge myself with color, technique or style.
I find it helps me with design choices and makes me a better artist over all.

 

"It's A Saturday Sharing Day"

  "It's A Saturday Sharing Day" at Pig Tales and Quilts"

and I get to share what I have been working on lately

I started this round of 3 fairies, done in purples and greens, master viola comes first,



 pretty heiliotrope,

 and lovely elderberry.








then there's Skellie, I've worked on her a little more she still needs one last arm, the background.
  the strings will come last

also waiting for my DD#2's plane to land she will be visiting for 2 whole months and I can't wait to see her!

Heritage CQ - Hungary

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  My grandfather was born in Austria in 1893 when it was still the Ausro-hungarian empire and raised on a farm, he ran away from home when he was 8 and eventually went to work in Vienna as an apprentice to an instrument maker.

depictions of peter and the dragon are everywhere

In 1912 he came to America and moved to Chicago. He became apprenticed to a painter, where he painted the stations of the cross in st.clements church.

I remember him as an old man, partially deaf, heavily accented, gruff, with a twinkle in his eye.
You never quite knew if he was joking or berating you. he taught me how to play chess and encouraged me to use more colors when I drew or painted.
He told me once "there are rule's, and they must be broken but you can't do it all at once, a little at a time or there is chaos."

It seemed silly at the time but I have gone back to those words time and time again.

This is the piece that was in the "crazy quilt are quilts too" contest over at Thearica Burrows blog "Pigtales and Quilts" so I had to wait until it was over to show off!

I chose this picture because she looks very much like me at an earlier age.

There are more of the flowers that the Baltic people like to depict in their artwork and embroidery here too.

skeletons are also depicted everywhere

there is one block left in the series.
Hopefully I will be done with that one soon.







It will be about Chicago the city I grew up in and some of the landmarks there that mean something to me