One little picture

The dinner is over and the place tidied up again and now I can get my projects back onto the table!!  I have taken a line drawing I did some time ago and enlarged it.  I've then tried to replicate it using graphite.

The image I worked from was taken from the second image above, and I cropped it somewhat for the graphite image.  It is sort of my playing-around version of one of the activities for the Kemshall class, which I guess I'd better get to.  This was fun to do.  I am enjoying having just one class on the go at the moment.  I don't feel quite so fragmented!!  We'll see how long I last!
Back soon.....

Another project done!!!! Yay!!

I have finished the growth chart!!! Oh my!  I'm glad it's done.  There were some interesting moments.....first of all, the fabric that I chose to use has a very high thread count and is really not very pleasant to hand stitch into.  Also, when I tried to free motion stitch around the lettering, the thread broke constantly (it's a 12 weight thread) and I was mighty frustrated.  I ended up putting a hoop around the work and was able to free motion stitch at that point, but clearly that meant that I couldn't free motion onto the rest of the quilted top so I had to settle for straight lines, for which I used my walking foot.  This fabric takes the dyes beautifully but won't be much use to me if I can't free motion stitch onto it nor enjoy hand stitching on it.  And I was planning on using it for my quilted pieces for the Kemshall class.  We'll see if I can wrestle it into submission, but I have my doubts.  I did use my dyed fabric for the measuring 'line' and for the binding but that was all straight machining.  Very interesting.  And I have another 20 yards of it!!!  Anyway, here is the finished chart.

I also finished one of the needlepunched pillows that I showed you earlier.  I used my dyed blue and green fabric for the  background (it was supposed to be brown and green, according to the dye labels!!) and even though the front is brown and green, it doesn't look bad since the values aren't too outrageously different.  I used an envelope finish, which is something I hadn't tried before.  Unfortunately, it finished up slightly too large for the smaller sized pillow form and slightly too small for the larger one.  I opted to put in the larger once since it'll get compacted over time and so will finally fit!!  It's all good!

I quilted up the back (with batting etc.) with some free-motion shapes to make it a bit more interesting.  It's another Christmas gift, so hopefully it will be well received.

So now, there is no longer any way I can ignore those pesky dust bunnies.  I have picked up the 18-pound bird and all the extras for tomorrow evening's dinner and I shall make the place somewhat presentable for a fun evening with my kids and their families (fortunately they already know about me and the dust bunnies!!).  Off I go to begin.  I wish the very best of the season to you all........

Another project because, surely there's time!!!???

I am starting a new project (what??? I have lots of time, don't I???) because of course everything is finished and ready for the holidays.  NOT!!!!  But, call me crazy, I can't seem to get excited about vacuuming and dusting (although truth to tell, I'd better get excited pretty soon or the Health and Safety Board will be visiting!!!).  Anyway, I want to make growth charts for the wee ones, at least before they enter their teens.  So I'm using some of my hand dyed fabrics and I am going to have a go.  I have no idea where I'm going with it or how it will turn out but I have a few ideas.  I'll let you know if it all works out.

And perhaps it will be a New Year's gift!!  Just not sure yet!!

I'll be back.....

Kemshall on-line classes

I am currently making my way through the Quilting and Patchwork class that the Kemshall's offer as an on-line course and I am loving it.  The classes are so well done and really lots of fun.  I also subscribe to their DesignMatters TV and consider it very worthwhile as well.  And in fact, the videos often dovetail quite nicely with the work that I am doing for the online class, how handy is that???!! They offer a couple of free 'tasters' that are worth checking out here:
www.lindakemshall.com

So, here are a couple of pieces that I have been working on in the last while.  I'm not really a hand-stitcher so I am enjoying the learning thereof!  Yes, yes, I hear there is some kind of a holiday looming but I've been rather obsessed with getting this module finished.  And I have!!! Yay!!

I am also having fun using my hand-dyed fabrics and threads.  And the next module starts off with some more drawing so I am working away on that as well.  But that holiday, I have obligations around that too, so I have quite a bit to get done.  I'd best get to it....
I'll be back...

Busy working

So, my guy has left again for his winter in warmer climes (this time off to India, much warmer than here!) and I am busy working on my projects.  He'll spend his time meditating and traveling and I will spend my time working away on my projects...our winters seem to suit us both.  I am slowly losing all available table top spaces and there are even projects pinned on to the backs of several chairs, sort of inspiration panels that also allow for sitting....sometimes.

These are a couple of needlefelted pillow tops that I am working on.  Just playing about with colour and shape and line.  (The top piece is inspired by a piece that Laura Kemshall prepared several months ago in one of their DesignMattersTV videos.)  The fabrics are some lovely pure wool pieces that I got on a recent trip to Port Townsend.  Yummy.  I dyed fabric yesterday to use as backing for the bottom piece but what I had expected to be brown (well, the label said so!) in fact came out blue.  Well, at least the parts that I dyed green were accurate anyway...but what to do with all that blue and green fabric!!!???  (discharge experiments perhaps??)

And I also finished this piece for an upcoming show.

This piece is soy wax resisted, silk screened (using another soy wax imprint on the screen) and then hand and machine stitched.  The pears are hand-painted onto a separate piece of fabric and then stitched onto the pillow top.  I'm pleased to be finished it at last since it's been kicking around for about a year!!  I had done a similar piece as a Christmas gift for one of my sons last year.

And I've been dyeing more fabrics and thread.

And more fabric and thread (you'll have to trust me that there are tons of skeins to go with these gradations as well!)  All of these fabrics and threads are prepared so that I can keep pushing through on the Kemshall class.  I had hoped to get the present module finished by the end of December...I'm still hoping but there's quite a long way to go yet!!

So I'm off.  I'll be back....