olderrose

Goldwork One

2012-01-24T22:14:00.000-08:00

Janet's goldwork blocks arrived early and although I couldn't start on it until next week, I couldn't resist picking my block...... She had 3angels on cream blocks with lace and 3 father Christmas on black... I quickly chose a black background because I think the gold will be spectacular on it...

I have commitments for the next 4 days so it will have to wait...

But then I couldn't resist sketching a few ideas... I had hoped to do a goldwork bird (or 2) and Janet is going to get one.... a Christmas cardinal ... I had to make a copy of her block and then sketch with a white pencil.... You can see the cardinal, holly lots of bells, (large on the side and small across the top) and swirly stuff... I will probably do the large bells and the cardinal off the block and the swirly stuff I will trace on the back and then baste the pattern to the front...

I sent my blocks out to Maire since she is leaving soon for Florida.... Mine are cream colored and do not have images on them and I am asking everyone to do one fanciful Jacobean flower on each block...

Rickrack Lace....

2012-01-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

My other treasure from the linen pile at the flea market in California was this table runner.. It is lovely linen and about 18" x 24." I loved the look of it before I even realized what it was... I had only seen vintage rickrack lace once before and tried to duplicate it but couldn't make it work with our modern rickrack. It was a very different pattern from this variety in the way it was connected. I'm sure this was a whole art form...
I'll google it when I get time.... not today though.

There is only one section that is in really good shape. I will try to do some repairs in some areas to figure out how to do it.... I will keep it in its entirety because it is so unique and I will take it with me to show when I can.. Has anyone else had experience repairing this kind of lace?

It hard to believe that it's rickrack until you look closely at it.. Gorgeous.

Now for those of you who like to cook and even for those who don't like to cook but like to eat... here's what's on our menu tonight.

I butterflied a leg of lamb and made a stuffing of spinach, feta cheese, pine nuts, garlic and rosemary. After rolling it up and browning it well, it went into the slow cooker and now smells heavenly... It and a green salad will be dinner for a happy husband... My mother who doesn't like my cooking and lived on fast food, often tells me that I am so lucky that I have a husband who will eat the stuff I cook....and since I love to cook, she's right...

Valentine Pincushion

2012-01-21T08:30:00.000-08:00

Oops..it's gone! I only have ONE of this special pincushion kit.. Perfect for Valentine's Day... This kit includes a cushion of pink velvet covered with pink lace and the beaded fringes and gimp are already added.... AND the beaded fringe are little frosted hearts. .

You may use the Victorian-inspired brooch included or as an alternative make your own ribbon roses toppers with vintage buttons.. ALSO included in this special kit are beads and a hummingbird charm to make your dangles... Either way once on a tall candlestick it will be a elegant treasure for a keepsake for yourself or as a gift. ..

Once assembled with any extra embellishments you may add and a candle stick, it becomes a one-of-a-kind elegant gift for a friend or loved one. Consider adding a pink scissor holder along with it. I will be adding two equally lovely blue ones tomorrow...

Unplanned good happenings.....

2012-01-17T22:43:00.000-08:00

First when sorting the coat rack by the kitchen door I found this little rainbow leash... I didn't even know I had it and how perfect for my CQJP2012..... Not sure how I will use it but I definitely will figure out something.

Second I have often lamented about finding CQers in Spokane... Well I still haven't but received a surprise email from someone in a neighboring city who is interested in crazy quilting.. She used to be a customer in the days we had the nursery and she took some of my gardening workshops. I told her if she was willing to drive over I would be glad to help her get started... Not only is she willing to drive, she has a friend who is also interested. How great is that?

CQPJ 2012 Block One

2012-01-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

I worked on this block while I was in California last week... I loved all the shopping but just as much fun was sitting around and stitching... I'm just about done with this... The paw is only attached at the top so a child can lift it to find Morris peering back.

And this is what they'll see.....

I've been playing around with his name placement and then it will be done...

News from Susie: The thread store has a website http://thethreadgarden.com/Home.html It is called A Thread Garden (although when we got there the sign on the front says "Bead Time") located in Ventura, CA. There are photos, directions, etc. on the web site.

The store is:

M & L Fabric Discount Store

3430 West Ball Road
Anaheim, CA 92804

I never did get my bearings while there... We just got in the car every day and drove one hour on freeways and always a different direction...

Gold in California

2012-01-13T22:06:00.000-08:00

Now that the eventuality of downsizing is ever looming I am constantly prioritizing what are my most prized possessions... On this trip I was gifted one that quickly rose to near the top of the list... It was Cathy K. who actually found it ... Being the kind generous soul she is, she gave it to me as she could see how much I loved it. It is small..about 7" square and is vintage goldwork on silk.. Most of the gold is worn from the cording but that just adds to its charm... I want to do something REALLY special with this and have it where I can always see it. This piece just touches my heart.

And it couldn't come at a better time as goldwork is also at the top of my list.... Susie was always on the lookout for suitable trims for the goldwork round robin and with her help I the bunch pictured to add to my stash... Tonight I divided it into packets to send to the round robin participants.

And I know your next question is "Did Morris manage to stay out of trouble?" Well, in a word, no! I had left specific instructions with DH that if he left to play bridge NOT to leave Morris loose in the house.... put him and his toys in the laundry room.... and of course DH went off to play bridge and gave Morris the run of the house... and of course when Morris is lonely and bored he gets into trouble...

He managed to work the bottom drawer of my stash cabinet open and pull out a gallon bag of rhinestones. He then proceeded to pull it across the living room to his bed but in the process left a trail of rhinestones the whole way. DH had most of it picked up when I got home...but I did get some pictures....

The trail ....sorry about the focus...

Well I'm back and did I have fun!!!!!

2012-01-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

I flew to Salt Lake City where Cathy K. hopped on the plane and we flew together to LA to visit Susie Wolfe for for 5 days... Susie had a packed itinerary for every single day starting with the LA garment district which was overwhelming to say the least...

We barely covered 2 square blocks in several hours.. I brought a big pull cart and we filled it. This was a fantastic bead store with lots of vintage beads and trims... I did find velvet ribbon in many colors.. I love velvet ribbons. I found LOTS of gold which I will show in a later post. There wasn't often a place to sit but when there was I rested... Let me tell you Cathy K. is a power shopper extraordinaire..

Day two was the Rose Bowl Flea Market which was immense... Luckily Susie goes often enough she knew where all the good booths were. This one had only vintage linens... That entire pile on the tarp and the table behind were only a small portion... plus boxes and boxes besides...incredible stuff. One treasure especially which I will show in a later post. There were other trim and fabric vendors at this flea market and we finished it off with a fantastic vendor specializing in only laces.... It just couldn't get any better than this...

But it did.... My favorite day was another flea market in San Fernando. The pile is about 24" deep and is ALL lace trim and motifs for $1 each... You'll notice Cathy's arms are piled full.

There were numerous tents of fancy fabrics which ranged $1 to $5 a yard. Again Susie goes here often and was able to zip us around to all the best vendors.. There was not a wasted minute anywhere.

Another day we went to a warehouse discount fabric store like none I'd ever seen. This is just one corner. I did find coordinating fabric for my Hoffman challenge project here... Again Cathy was the super shopper of the day with a big bargain here... She has the EYE.... And I found a spot to rest a minute.

Another day included the largest thread store I've ever seen and it was where I spent the most money but will enjoy it all.... This was just one corner of two rooms. Here I found some rainbow thread and some rainbow silk ribbon for my CQJP 2012.

And Susie found lots of pink thread for her CQJP 2012.

Every day's outing ended with a "show and tell" of our treasures and sitting around stitching together until bed time. Susie had a closet filled with thrift store fancy garments and one evening Cathy and I went through them, each cutting off a sleeve.

Susie had put so much thought into this visit and made every minute count... I've failed to even mention all the thrift store stops also.... Without her planning and organizing this all would have been impossible... Susie even got on Google to find the most convenient Starbucks for me.... how cool is that. She also managed to have perfect weather... It was about 75 degrees and sunny EVERY day. I had such a grand time and came home with so many memories of time spent with two dear friends and we did it all in just five days.

All that Glitters..............

2012-01-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

Goldwork tends to be overlooked for two reasons I think... First the materials can be expensive and second goldwork is associated mainly with religious garments and accessories. Even in the realm of needlework it is most often just coupled with stumpwork.... It is my theory that it's a perfect marriage for crazy quilting plus it doesn't even have to be real gold!!!

It is most often shown on white or red but as you can see on the left, it is equally beautiful on green, dark blue, and lavender...even the patterned background. It can be only gold but is even more spectacular mixed with other colors.

Consider the themes possible for goldwork... It lends itself to anything floral and also the world of insects especially bees, dragonflies, butterflies and beetles... and you can add lizards, toads and even dragons. How appropriate is that since this is the year of the Dragon... One of my personal favorites are goldwork roosters....

I have several books on goldwork but my favorite by far is Goldwork Embroidery by Mary Brown. On the Internet one of the best resources is Mary Corbett's site... She has a large archive of goldwork articles including videos and tutorials. On January 9 she is actually having a giveaway for two goldwork kits. I registered and have my fingers crossed....

There are enough signed up for two "Fool's Gold" round robins starting on February 1st and there will be a total of 72 blocks involved. I'm sending out parcels to all involved with samples from my stash and I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with. If there are enough we may even be able to get a third group going. If you are interested and a member of CQI, let me know.

Now I'm leaving on a very special needlework adventure until the 13th.... I'll finish my packing today and be on the plane tomorrow with my needlework and camera... Back then with pictures....

Flexible as always...

2012-01-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

In fact I'm so flexible I'm always in a state of flux... and as usual making changes to my "firm" decisions. I have been working my way through the frames on the suffrage blocks and down to the last block which I've passed over several times... I knew I wanted a poster on this block but hadn't made the final decision. So many of the posters from that era had goddess-like women in classical poses blowing horns and waving banners... Finally chose one. They all remind me of Hermione Gingold in "Music Man"..

But in trying to leave room for the poster I had one photo too small and by the time I put trim around it, it was even smaller.. so I just have to remove and replace it... I call this block "Pride" Nobody wants to mess with these women... Don't you just love them for standing so tall...

This is the paper version sized to what I think will work... Now I need to change it to sepia and print it on the poplin. Pat Winter talked today about the photo site "Picnik" and she was using it to change photos to sepia... It's similar to Picasa and very user friendly... Try it.

Since this project was in the planning stages for years I had accumulated a lot of stash for it... I'm always amazed at what I thought would be "perfect" which isn't and at happy unplanned surprises that are joyous.

I had a lot of copper/rust sequins, beads and ribbons which are NOT working at all... The brass spacers may work in the end but so far I've used them in two places and removed them...

On the right is the joyous part... Susan Elliott sent me this vintage bead trim she bought in the NY garment district. It is actually dark brown even though it looks black and the glass beads are irregular and appear faceted. ... The trim was so old the wrapper holding it just crumbled and the thread the beads were strung on disintegrated when you touched it... I thought I could maybe salvage sections but it was beyond hope... But I love the color and the tiny beads. ...and I mean tiny... smaller than 15s... So by just gently rubbing my fingers along it, the beads all separated from threads. I will be using them on every block and they are just the perfect subtle touch.... The beads are exquisite and it seems so fitting that this vintage trim should be repurposed for this particular quilt. Thank you Susan!!!!

Random smiling...

2012-01-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

One of the blogs I follow is by artist/designer Jackie Von Tobel and like many of us she is going through life changes requiring critical decisions... She recently wrote a great post in which she consciously chose to be happy over being miserable. Sounds like a no-brainer doesn't it, but it's not always that easy... In this quest she is keeping a "Happy List" of things which make her smile...

Her post gave me food for thought and prompted me to choose "smile" as my 2012 word...

I recently posted about the 5 things to do daily to live longer, be healthier, be more productive and be happier... Laughing was one but smiling also has the same benefits. So smiling is not only beneficial to me..... if my smile causes someone else to smile, I am improving their health so they live longer, be healthier, be more productive and be happier.. Such a deal. I think one of my goals in 2012 will be to do random smiling....

And don't you love that type font...? I just discovered it and it's called "Sloop" Years ago I bought a CD called "Font Studio 2002" which has 2700 fonts... I am still always discovering ones I had passed over before... This one is a gem...... look at what it does with my name...

and

Fantastic Soutache Tutorial

2011-12-31T07:32:00.000-08:00

Remember the soutache jewelry from the other day... Well I have a huge hug and thank you for Jocelyne Ausseil who found this fantastic tutorial
which is also in French but has lots and lots of great photos.

http://www.oceaniecreations.fr/blog/schema-bijoux-perles-broderie-a-la-soutache/

In fact the photos are so great that I wanted to print it all to keep for future reference... BUT I can only get it to print pages 1 and 2 and then all the comments... Problem solved!! Both Kerry and Karen sent it to me in PDF format... Thank you!

Here are a couple pieces by French artist Anneta Valious, check out her site. Here is another site with slide show of soutache jewelry by Dori Csengeri I know that somewhere before long I want to adapt this in CQ... It just says PEACOCK to me... Can't you just see a long tail of this braid and beads????

After weeks of occasional deliberation I finally picked my word for 2012... will post what and why in a couple days...

My Gold Stash

2011-12-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

I love using gold in crazy quilting... a touch of gold just adds life to anything. It is the rare piece of work in which I have not incorporated at least a little bit of gold....

I see this round robin as a challenge to use gold in creative ways..... The perfect project to dispel winter blues.

First I have this wide (24") shallow drawer filled with gold lace, fabric, toule, rickrack, gimps, braids, and gold ribbons of all sort. Wide wired gold Christmas ribbon make fabulous flower parts and insect parts. A motif worked on gold toule is breathtaking.

I have a smaller shallow drawer just filled with cording. both gold and silver.... stretchy gold gift wrap cord being one of my very favorite.

And then there is the big bag of stuff that does not fit in the drawers. And this does not even start on the various gold beads. None of this stash (and I repeat NONE) is expensive... Some are thrift store finds after Christmas and the rest is mostly Christmas trim closeouts after Christmas.

Finally for couching I use Sulky's gold thread available at any fabric shop. It is inexpensive but metallic. I did buy some YLI gold candlelight in CT last spring but haven't used it yet. These lovely gold braids and trims are ONLY available during the holidays and are marked down greatly after the season ends...that is when I stock up.

I think goldwork and crazy quilting are a match made in heaven and hope you all watch as this round robin progresses.

We're going for gold!!!!

2011-12-29T12:32:00.000-08:00

We're going for that gold....fool's gold that is... First I was absolutely delighted to get so many interested in doing a Fool's Gold DYB RR when I blogged about it in October.. The last time a goldwork RR was posted it languished for months and never filled.. Enough of you responded to my plea on my blog that there are enough for TWO RRs and I will "mama" both of them... I sent an email to the people who commented on the original post and through my emails and I sent an email to the following: Wendy, Janet, Kerry, Flora, Cathy L., Arlene, Karen, Maire, Deb, and Sue... If I missed anyone let me know..

I would like this to start February 1st (mail out) which gives a bit more than a month to get blocks together, Most importantly remember this is a faux gold RR emphasizing goldwork techniques using inexpensive "gold-like" materials..I did set up two Fool's Gold RR records in CQI gallery one http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crazyquiltinginternationalgalleryone/database?method=reportRows&tbl=34 with everyone's names. Kerry is going to work on the guidelines and rotation.

Let me know if you are still interested and if so go to the DYB database and fill in the appropriate information (email, full name etc.) If you are not interested at this time also let me know and I will search for someone to fill your spot... I am still looking for an e-address for one other respondant..

I have been wanting to do this for a couple years and am so excited. Thank you all for showing an interest. I hope you're finding lots of gold-like goodies in the after Christmas sales... Check out the wide gold Christmas ribbons and gold cords for wrapping presents....the stretchy stuff is FAB. and look for gold rickrack... It is pretty tacky plain but when you start dressing it up with gold beads it is WOW!

I can see possibilities....

2011-12-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

I suppose "soutache jewelry" has been around a long time but I just really noticed it. After seeing some earrings in a thrift store and a brooch on the internet, I'm thinking this is something that could be incorporated into crazyquilting. I can see it in paislies, birds, flowers etc. and I have a lot of those tiny cylindrical beads that I find difficult to use and they look great in here... Sometimes it incorporates lots of beads such as on the left here...but most times I've seen it with just the soutache braids with few or no beads in it.

I know it is hard to believe that's there something for which there is not a book, but I have not been able to find anything with instructions for this art form... There are quite a few sites selling the jewelry though. One source said it was an art form mostly found in France and Russia....

Isn't it just gorgeous.... I have a lot of cordings and soutache braids already. Does anyone do this??? Does anyone know of a book with instructions..? I imagine it is similar to bead embroidery techniques.

P.S. Carol is right in her comment... This site does have one good pictorial tutorial limited to one bracelet.. http://pivoineperles.canalblog.com/ Unfortunately even if you use Google translator it's all in French...I do have a friend who can translate it when she returns from vacation. Be sure to check out her gallery if you visit this site..

In response to Susie's comment...all the braid are stitched flat side to flat side..unlike goldwork which is mostly couching.. But the look has a similarity to both goldwork and bead embroidery..

Let sun shine on !!!

2011-12-25T11:44:00.000-08:00

I knew what I wanted... a calendar that showed the light gain each day for my longitude and latitude... I knew if I Googled I'd probably find it... and I did... http://www.sunrisesunset.com/ Today I gain two whole minutes.... which doesn't seem like much, but in 10 days it will add up to 20 minutes and a really noticeable length in my daylight hours.

After living 14 years in Anchorage Alaska I can personally attest to the effects of SAD (Seasonal affective disorder)... I loved Alaska... the mountains, the weather, the winter and the summer, the country, the people... but I just couldn't face another winter of depressing darkness.....

At this website you just enter your city or town and it will come up with the right statistics... I've run off all the months through June... of course in June I go into denial...I have a zillion lights in my house, get outside every day and take lots of vitamin D but by Dec 20th I struggle to get out of bed. I'll keep this new little calendar posted by my computer and rejoice every day in that extra light. Having the calendar is so joyful and it adds a happy face to every day. A true day brightener.....

p.s. Speaking of day brighteners I'm still enjoying Pandora Internet radio immensely.... My favorite station for me is "the entertainer" which is totally ragtime piano with lots of Scott Joplin, Scott Boling, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton etc.

Fun, fun, fun

2011-12-23T22:36:00.000-08:00

I just love whimsy so I'm going to have great fun with this project...(CQJ12) The plan at the moment, subject to change, is to line the blocks and attach them back to back so there is a big pocket... I will then attach the block "pockets" in a long line so they will stand zigzag rather that open by pages... hope that makes sense...

I want to put the stories on laminated cards (with tabs) that fit into the pockets... The titles will show on the tabs... "Morris and the Long Rug", Morris in the Skunk Trap", Morris and my Wonder Bra". etc.

I want to have motifs that "lift up" or "fold out" throughout the book and the picture of "wild eyed" Morris will be underneath... You can see the kindergarten teacher creeping out here.. I want a paw path going from page to page so I bought a puppy paw rubber stamp with a big enough image to embroider so I don't have to draw them over and over... On the sad faced page where he chewed up Carole's template, I will have a pocket for the template. He's just lucky Carole came to his rescue on that maneuver or he's still be in the dog house...

Also I do have a little recorder thing to sew in that I can record his bark. I may get another recorder as he makes a funny squeaky sound when he attacks DH's toes... I also have a collection of squeaky devices which he has disemboweled from various toys which I will sew in the pages.... On the page with the picture of Morris in the skunk trap I will embroider a very happy and bemused skunk...

I also have lots of pictures of him sleeping on his back (not so modestly) and I want to use those quite small in beds of flowers throughout... All the dogs we've had over the years, Morris is the only one who consistently sleeps on his back...

I should do something clever with a leash but haven't decided what yet....maybe as a closure... The nice thing about this project is the size... small enough to tote along anywhere.... and fun to think about while driving, vacuuming and walking in the forest with Morris which reminds me of the time the wild turkey chased him.... and.............

True confessions .....again

2011-12-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

If you read Cathy's comment yesterday you saw she noticed that all my blocks were comprised of the same pieces... I've confessed to this several times on the blog... Piecing is not my favorite thing and on a cold snowy day in January I will spend the day piecing LOTS of blocks... both 11" and 6" They are usually in neutral colors so no matter what RR I sign up for during the year I will have blocks I can use....

So all the blocks (with a few exceptions like the suffrage quilt) that you have seen me do over all these years have been from the exact SAME two patterns. This is the 11" pattern and I have a similar one for 6" block.. It's so simple that it is mindless...combine all the As, all the Bs and all the Cs. and assemble. I stack and whack and turn out a pile of blocks in no time at all.

Here is an example I used in a blog post a couple years ago. Sometimes, as in the blocks I just did, I have to piece fabrics together first to get the right size...

I initially got this pattern off the Internet years and years ago and the site has been long gone. I have tried others methods but for me this is the fastest and easiest way to get to the fun stuff....embellishing..

It was more evident in the Morris quilt blocks because I deliberately used the large check on the exact same piece on every block as it will be part of the continuity from block to block.

Black and White and Rainbows

2011-12-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday DH was gone all day and evening with volunteer work which was a perfect day for me to make a huge mess.... so I did and got my blocks done for the CQJP2012.

I owe huge hugs to Cathy LaBath. She has been working on a B&W quilt project which had strips... She send me a box of her scraps... They were various lengths but only 2 1/2" wide so I ended up with lots of small patches perfect for TAST seams. There were over 3 dozen different prints....even puppy paw prints. My blocks would have been very boring indeed without her generosity...

I not only have a rainbow ribbon, I have ribbons in all the rainbow colors and lots and lots of hearts left from other projects...and a good selection of black and white trims as well. I'm using all cottons which is a first for me and a theme I adore. So I am ready... My rather vague plan at the moment is to somehow to make it into a book with pockets for Morris stories to be tucked into.....somehow

Embellishing the frames.....

2011-12-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

The most important and most powerful elements on this quilt are the images.... and right after the images are the frames which enhance them... When I showed the quilt blocks to Allie she cautioned me on overembellishing the quilt which she felt would diminish the images. And she's right of course...

But all the materials I had already selected for embellishing (beads, laces, and threads) are all the same tones as the fabrics... There will be very little contrasting work. Even though tone-on-tone isn't very dramatic, it does add a lot of depth and richness... The frames on the left are almost finished except for a tiny black braid which I can't find... I might have to clean house again... I forgot to take a before picture... that odd little off-white rayon braid was in a little baggie of stuff I found in a thrift store when Cathy K and I were searching for bargains... the one day I let her out of the barn... There was about 18" of it and it is perfect for combining with old lace.

While I am waiting for the little black braid to jump up and hit me in the face, I'm starting on the next block with unembellished frames... Here's the before...

Since I am working on framing I did add a framing post to http://blocktakwithgerry.blogspot.com/ and also a link to back posts filled with ideas for framing images.

This is the first week in months that I feel I'm catching up and also have time to choose some activities that I want to do instead of what HAS to be done... So I'm not only stitching, I'm going to paint and cut out fabric for the CQjournal project.

Only 2 more days until the days start getting longer....

A bird's eye view

2011-12-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

I walked out to the edge of the bluff at the back of my forest by the tall dead tree occupied by my eagle. Our property drops about 400 feet to a valley straight north of us... With a view like this can you blame the birds for coveting a perch on that tree?
I am standing facing due north, just a few hours drive to the Canadian border.

People usually make the assumption that all of Washington is like the wet coastal areas but the Cascade mountains keep all the moisture on the west side of the state and the rest of Washington is mostly arid and desert.

Spokane is so unique because it is right on the dividing line of dramatic topographical change.... Directly to the south and west of us is dry land farming and desert. Directly to the north and east are mountains and forest... We have the choice of either within an hour's drive. Very few places have that kind of diversity within a few miles... it is a magical place.

The photo on the left is just south of town in what is called the "palouse country." Except for the forest I planted, our farm is in the dry land farming area...... wheat, wheat and more wheat...

It's so great when you have a camera at the right moment!!

2011-12-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

At the back edge of my forest is a huge old dead tree about 40' tall and it overlooks the valley behind us... It's a favorite with the ravens and hawks and at dusk I've seen the occasional great-horned owl there. On our morning walk through the forest a couple days ago there was a different hunter...much to my delight and surprise..... and I had my camera in my pocket...

We are about 75 miles from the bald eagle's wintering ground... They come for the Kokonee spawn on Lake Coeur 'd Alene in Idaho. We often drive over during the winter and watch them catch fish... And I occasionally see one flying over the farm, but this is the first time I've actually seen one in my forest... They have their favorite trees around the spawning area. If you just walk along looking at the ground you can find them... You just look for a big pile of fish scraps at the base of tree.

They are a magnificent bird.

I tried to get a bit closer to the tree but it flew off...
This tree has been standing dead at least 30 years. Since it is the tallest vantage point around, it has an endless variety of birds using it daily.. But mostly it's the ravens squabbling over a perch on it...squawking and talking all the while.

Like my oldest apple tree, I will mourn for it when it finally falls.

And why was I carrying my camera you ask....?

Well the cougar is back in my neighborhood again.. A neighbor a couple miles east of us took this shot from his deck with the zoom on his camera... So I've been carrying my camera and watching intently hoping to sight her resting in or under a tree after a night's hunt.

Isn't she beautiful...? They figure she weighs about 125-130 lbs. Of course the chances of seeing her during the daylight hours are sooooooo slim...but then again so were the chances of seeing an eagle in my tree.

Kudo's Part 3 and a Mini Tutorial

2011-12-13T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is "Kudos for Comments" part 3 and the last for a while... But I had wanted to thank not only #1000 and the longest reader but the reader who comments most often... I didn't even have to go through the lists to know this person.. Susan Elliott.. In fact if Susan doesn't comment I worry about the blog post... She was almost the longest also as she first commented on my 5th blog post...

Since she already has one of my pincushions, I painted her a Santa button and made it into an ornament for her... Thank you Susan for your many many thoughtful comments over all this time!!!!

And here is how I did it.... First I put a 2 1/2" card stock circle on a 6" silk circle with a touch of glue to hold it in place. Then I gathered it "yoyo" style..

Then I added some small lace around the Santa and a lace medallion to the silk. I put it together adding a loop in the back and some bells to the bottom.
This would be fun with any Christmas button and easy enough for youngsters to do..

And here is a close up of the Santa... which is about 1 1/2". Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Little Singer!!!

2011-12-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

I did indeed use my "waiting" time on Sunday to do handwork and finished the trim on the singer cover and she also has her own special coordinated tall pincushion!!! Rather than a flower or brooch top, the pincushion is topped with a cluster of some of my favorite antique buttons...

Kudos for Comments - Part 2

2011-12-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

When I reached the 1000th post I celebrated with "Kudos" to commenter #1000 but there were other options also that I wanted to choose from... Today it is for the reader who commented on the very first post and, most importantly, still reads and comments.

So without further ado that person receives a tall pin cushion and it is Kerry Leslie in Canada... I've seen pictures of her beautiful home they remodeled from an old church and the wood and muted fabric of this cushion seem to fit it.... In the mail to you... I do have your address!!! LOL

I did add another couple of pincushion kits to Etsy this morning... I love trying to put together the rich fabric and trims I associate with this era...

Favorite Site

2011-12-09T08:38:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite sites is http://parisrags.blogspot.com She is having a giveaway right now. She does the most the most clever things with old clothes and old lace... If I were younger and skinnier I would love to wear some of her tops, skirts etc.... but I could manage this hat..

When Madi was here I found a lovely purple crushed velvet jacket for $4.00 at a thrift store... It is at least two sizes too big. I bought it to cut it up for the velvet but it would be perfect decked out in old lace... I rummaged through my lace stash for lace collars and found 3....all of which I had cut out great hunks for other projects... I'm sure I'll find something if I keep digging and even try the lace bins in the barn... Don't you love the side thingy!!!

Remember my "Singer Cover" project?

2011-12-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

Remember my project to make a cover for my beloved featherweight and then it morphed into a wall hanging.... Well before I changed directions I had already made the end pieces for it..

This Sunday our duplicate bridge unit is having its Christmas party and there will be a LOT of slack time...waiting for games to start, waiting for scores to be posted, waiting for dinner, waiting, waiting, waiting..

So I'm out of "traveling" projects and then I spied the long forgotten end pieces for the singer cover pinned to a board... There were two of them and I played around a bit and basted them into one piece..

I added velvet for the back and will use the plaid taffeta for a lining... The taffeta is a thrift store find and there was about 3 yards of it and I'll use it for the back of my suffrage quilt.. The colors are actually beige and black...not yellow.

This picture is out of focus and don't have time to shoot it again...but you get the idea... Now I need to add chainette fringe, beaded fringe, lace and velvet ribbon around the bottom and it can all be done BY HAND.... One little corner upper right has a little gap but a a great spot for buttons... Not only that I will get to use an awkward piece of braid that I have been searching for the right spot for yearsssssssssssss///

Of course when I went to the barn to find some black fringe I discovered I had used it all up on the BoHo kits so will have to improvise... This has been sitting around a couple years and only took 2 (well maybe closer to 3) hours to put to together... My featherweight is happy and I'm happy to have something to take Sunday to keep my hands busy while w a i t i n g!!!!

The Singing Mum

2011-12-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

Years ago and again recently I read that there were 5 things to do each day to make you happier, healthier, and live longer...
1. Pet an animal
2. Take a walk
3. Hug someone
4. Laugh out loud
5. Sing..........
Well the first four are never a problem and I do try to do them every day and know I feel better for it... But the singing part was hopeless.. I cannot carry a tune, remember lyrics nor even own more than 4 or 5 CDs... The nicest thing about teaching 5 and 6-year-olds years ago was they loved it when I sang...

But son was here over Thanksgiving and introduced me to Pandora Radio, a personalized internet radio site... (it's free).. DH is strictly Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach and maybe a little big band... but on Pandora I get to make my own stations by entering the music I like.... traditional gospel, old-time bluegrass, folk music from the 60s, ragtime piano, Irish music and a little big band... It takes what you pick and adds similar artists and I'm just loving it...

But the real joy of the thing is that on most selections they show the lyrics...... So if I am anywhere near the computer and hear a favorite..... I can sing ....albeit really badly but what I lack in virtuosity, I make up for by singing with great gusto..... a real singing mum....

What's next!!!

2011-12-03T22:56:00.000-08:00

DH is gone with a tour and I am spending the weekend trying to catch up and get organized...I still have stuff to unpack from the September retreat and I have so many piles and bags of projects that it's overwhelming... I needed to stop and decide what to do next...

Of course there is the CQ journal project and since it is about Morris, it will be pure whimsy and only one small block a month. I hadn't bought any cotton off a bolt since the early 70s when I quit sane quilting. I was in JoAnns with my DIL and looked at some black and white striped cotton prints... I thought the quality was absolutely terrible.. Where does one find quality cotton with a good thread count..? I could practically see through their stuff... yuk!

Then there is the faux goldwork RRs I want to get going in January. I was amazed and gratified at how many people showed an interest. I am using the blocks I started in Allies piecing class in Wichita and just need to add a bit more to it and cut it into squares.. I did find some tick-tacky gold trims at JoAnns to use on this project and I have a HUGE bag of gold stuff gathered. This has been a project in the works for a couple years anyways.. I'm thinking that I am going to ask for the RR stitchers to do Jacobean flowers on my blocks..

The last new project is special.... the Hoffman Challenge... Remember I said last January that this was going to be the year I entered. The fabric hasn't arrived yet but should any day.. What I'm making is not large at all so will not take a lot of time but I want it to be very special... I have been gathering a bag of yummy pastel trims, laces, etc. for some time to add to it and what is really special are a collection of silk threads I won from Daisy's Garden last spring which will be perfect for this.....
She is having a sale right now on her Dinky Dyes silk ribbons. I am sooooooooooo hungry for pastels. I bought several little charms from the Pink Bunny while in Wichita just for this project... It not only specializes in crazy quilting supplies, it sponsored the Victorian Stitchery Retreat I just attended...

So along with working with the suffrage quilt it looks to be a fun and varied stitching winter.. Also I am still looking for Ritva's block which has gotten in with something else. When I find it, it will be #1 to get done.

Addendum: Using my husband's line "It's not lost, I just don't know where it is!" Isn't it amazing what one finds when you clean and organize. Sure enough I just found Ritva's block in with the large blocks I took to CO so it on top of my list tomorrow... Whew!!!!!

CQ Journal Project....

2011-12-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

I had signed up for the CQJournal Project 2012 and wanted something that would be easy to take to the nursing home when I got to that stage... After discarding many options I decided I wanted to do Morris...so I could always remember him (as if I could ever forget).... Since he is a black and white dog with a little tan.. The blocks will be black and white with a little tan...

I also wanted some color and will use pieces of this collection of 3/8" rainbow ribbons I found on ebay.

Then I had to see if I could come up with an image of Morris for each of the 12 months.... First I found the picture of Morris sleeping with my bra..............

Then another of Morris with his treasured hammer

Many of Morris mayhem

Morris in his comfort zone. I finally decided that it wouldn't be difficult at all to find 12 suitable pictures of Morris. It begins in January so I have time to finish up some UFOs before then..

When family was here he managed to chew up the heel on Madi's shoes, my son's sunglasses and steal my DIL's sandwich. But at the end of the day when he crawls on a lap and snuggles, it is easy to overlook all his transgressions...

Give the kit itself as a gift or...................

2011-11-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

Give the kit itself as a gift or...................or finish it yourself as a gift. Never a mislaid pincushion again with a tall Victorian-inspired pincushion which is both decorative and functional. The hardest part is done... The cushion itself is interlined, stuffed firmly and has a wooden insert inside to provide stability and making it easy to attach to a heavy candlestick or other base.

Each kit is one-of-a-kind and includes a cushion of fancy fabric just waiting to be bedecked with an exquisite reproduction brooch encrusted with rhinestones, trimmed with a luxurious chainette fringe, a length of special coordinated bead fringe, and a length of gimp plus extra beads to make dangles....easily a $25-35 value if components purchased separately.. A lovely collection of fabric, beads and trims personally selected by me

.. Once assembled with any extra embellishments you may add, it becomes a one-of-a-kind elegant gift for a friend or loved one or just the kit itself makes an elegant and unusual gift. Unfortunately several in this photo have already sold and since they are one-of-a-kind will not be repeated...but I have more I will be adding occasionally....

Each kit contains:
• 1 cushion with wood insert for stability, tightly stuffed and ready to embellish.
• A generous yard of chainette fringe - enough to go around double for a luxurious look.
• 1 length of coordinating bead fringe.
• 1 length of coordinating gimp.
• 1 crocheted medallion for top of cushion
• 1 fancy vintage-inspired brooch.
• 1 bag of glass beads for dangles.. then let your imagination go wild and then add candlestick

Granddaughter Madi helped with the setup and photography... such a sweet heart...

Scissor Holders and Miss Carole's Templates

2011-11-25T19:05:00.000-08:00

The scissors holders I showed a couple days ago sold out right away and I made a few more over the holiday and added them to my esty site. They make the perfect stocking stuffer and gifts for a secret sister...
Don't miss out on this batch..

And I made progress on my project for Miss Carole's templates... I found the perfect divided pencil box at JoAnn's. It is very shallow and has a lid that snaps on... I added some rainbow colors to the section which matched the colors on the groups of templates. I also finish and laminated the cards which are also coordinated and on a ring.. Once I find an template in a glance on a card, I can find it in two seconds in the tray...

I can either use the tray on the table when I am drafting seams but since it fits perfectly in the drawer next to my sewing table... I'm thinking that's its main location... I can snap on the lid for travel but the idea of a CQ travel case is definitely in the future.... not the near future tho... I just love my new system... and it will make using the templates so much easier...

Turkeys in Hiding.....

2011-11-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

Son took myself, DIL and granddaughter out for a family pedicure and manicure this afternoon... And it only seemed appropriate we cross paths with a flock of wild turkeys on the run.. Everything that can be prepared ahead is done and all that goes into the oven tomorrow is ready to go..

Happy Thanksgiving everyone....

Scissor holders, Kerry's frog and mystery person on couch....

2011-11-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

Remember the nifty little retractable scissor holder I have on my chatelaine??? Well I have another like it I just clip to my shirt while I am at the sewing machine.. It is so handy not to have to look for scissors to clip bobbin threads. AND it would look equally nice attached to a needle book so I made some to sell at the Adventure boutique and I finally got around to making some for Etsy

Aren't they all just gorgeous on the tray..
Just $4.00 ladies... These are the very best secret sister gift....

And I finally finished the renovation of Kerry Leslie's dragonfly block and it's on Block Talk with Gerry
Stop by and see all the different options for making dragonflies plus the frog on felt...

And finally this tousled head of blond hair sleeping on my couch is my granddaughter Madi who is visiting... You can see Molly is guarding her with great zeal... Madi has been globe trotting solo with just her backpack since college graduation and is now looking to settle down and get a real job. But visiting grandma for the holidays first... She has been taking some photographs for me and I introduced her to Bananagrams which I learned to play at the CO retreat... plus a whole lot of hugging is going on.

Post #1000

2011-11-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe I've written that many posts and still have more to say... and even more amazing is that I've written that much and people still stop by and read it..

I come close to posting daily and often find I think of something that happens should be posted but I never get it done. Even my DH who never reads my blog will say "You should post that!" when Morris has done something bazaar AGAIN!!

I felt #1000 was worth celebrating but I had just had a giveaway... I decided not to do another because all these people sign up hoping to receive something and are disappointed. I decided it would be much more fun for to to give a prize to someone not expecting it... Thus "kudos for comments."

I went back through my comments list and the reader who made comment #1000 was Cathy Labath and as a BIG thank you I am sending her a pincushion... In fact I really like this idea so "kudos for comments" will appear regularly giving me a chance to thank those who take the time to comment and make my day.....

Onward to #1001

Then there's "dear" Allie

2011-11-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

This is the last post about the retreat classes I took... The Wichita Victorian Stitchery Retreat is an annual event hosted by Val Bothell of the Pink Bunny...If you ever have a chance to go, don't miss it. I always wish I had taken more pictures but for the best pictures go to Cathy Kizerian's website... She not only captured the spirit of the event, she got names!!!!

Now about "dear" Allie and I think of her that way so often that "dear" has become a part of her name... I couldn't resist this picture of her and a pumpkin she posted this fall....Allie has a great sense of whimsy I love. She is not only a great teacher but I count her as a special friend... She has mentored me with my AAQ pieces and spent time at the retreat going over the suffrage blocks.

Her classroom walls were just covered with her beautiful work and all of it so joyous... You can see the piece on the wall behind me... You have to see her work up close to really appreciate it. Be sure to visit her website for a feast of color... and check her teaching and workshop schedules..

Allie was teaching classes on piecing which is my weakness. I keep taking piecing classes hoping to find something that makes it easier for me....The afternoon was spent applique piecing on a large foundation which Allie thought we would cut up as a border. But I found that doing a large piece to cut up for DYB squares would work great.. It makes so much more sense doing one large piece and cutting it up rather than 6 smaller blocks...

Cathy K. took this toward the end of the day and I was fading fast but I love that the shot included my chatelaine which I could never do without and wore from sun up to sun down. It is getting a little tattered though after so many years and I need to make a new one.

And this is post #999

Candace Kling, Ribbon Artist Extraordinaire

2011-11-15T09:17:00.000-08:00

Is this a great smile..or what? Candace was one of the best instructor I've ever had. She was articulate, concise and organized... There was not a wasted movement nor wasted word the entire day....I was mesmerized watching her hands work the fabric... It was a great day.

I've had Candace's book for a long time and only used parts of it so I wanted to take this class to feel more comfortable with manipulating both ribbons and fabric... The biggest thing holding me back was the price of the beautiful silk ribbons... I'll never be able to afford them so matter how I covet them. But in this class we were making flowers from silk fabric and silk blouses are something I often find at thrift stores and can dye...

The project I have in mind for after the suffrage quilt will involve a LOT of dimensional flowers of all sizes and types so this fit right in with my plans.... but I kept thinking about even doing them smaller and Candace told me she was developing a class on miniature ribbon work... She thought it would really appeal to doll makers but I can see it as wonderful for crazy quilters. And working in miniature would take less ribbon... The class will be in Seattle in May and when I called today in mid November.... I was 4th on the list and the class will be limited to 10...

You can see her exquisite work and find the locations of her classes on her website.

Post #998
(Note: Also I heard from Carole Samples and she said if you will email her direct she will send you the information on ordering the templates from her..... fancwerx@inebraska.com
They are available nowhere else and she has the machine that makes them...)

Taming the Templates.....Attention Miss Carole

2011-11-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

(Note: Okay everyone it's your lucky day..... I just heard from Carole Samples and she said if you will email her direct she will send you the information on ordering the templates from her..... fancwerx@inebraska.com
They are available nowhere else and she has the machine that makes them...)

I've always kept my Carole Samples templates on a big ring as suggested but it was difficult finding a number and awkward to put them on and off the ring in order.. When I got to her class I looked around to see what others were using but it was rings everywhere I looked ..Plus the black marker numbers were hard to read on the purple templates.. So I knew I had to have a system that was user friendly to ME!!

So I set about to work out a color-coded system with rainbow colors... I divided the templates into subgroups with 5 to a group.... 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, etc. First I tried colored pearl cotton on each template and it probably would work but I wasn't satisfied...

I decided that I wanted to use colored tape but didn't want to buy seven rolls for just a few inches of tape so I did the colored rectangles on my computer and printed them on a sheet of good quality labels.. I divided each rectangle into 5 approx. pieces 1/2" x 2" and put the numbers in order by color.. starting at one end of the rainbow ....red

The hole for a metal ring was covered by the tape but I could punch it through... But I don't see ever putting these on a ring again.. They are so easy to sort and read this way.... Eventually I will make them a travel roll but I will use them at home 99% of the time... What I need now is an color-coded organizer for the drawer and that is next on the list..

Even gathered in a bunch you can see how easy they will be to sort... Sorry it's out of focus... trying to hold camera with one hand while photographing the other is a bit shaky.... Near the middle you will notice a blue label with a tiny white strip on it also... I am starting to add that extra strip to my favorites (about 12 so far) to make them even easier to find...

Now that part of the problem was solved I needed a way to see all the configurations at once to make design decisions... So I put all the templates on the scanner with their new lovely colors...

I divided them into groups, scanned them, and reduced them so each color group would fit on a 4x6 index card... These cards will be laminated and put on a metal ring... I did reduce them further and got them ALL on one 4x6 card but they may be too reduced to be usable....but worth a try..

This is a work in progress and will need some fine tuning but I am loving it so far... I should be able to study the cards and snap out the right template in seconds.....

I'm hoping Miss Carole is reading this post and I know she'll notice that I'm missing template #23 and I want her to know that Morris is not responsible... I'm hoping it will show up when I actually get my work area sorted and cleaned...

In case you haven't kept a count this is post #997 on this blog and I will have something special on POST #1000....

Home, happy, and tired....

2011-11-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

Well here is Carole Samples in Wichita and it is me taking the picture. Besides being an unparalleled resource on crazy-quilt history and seam history, she was sharing, gracious and witty.. and I love her!! She talked almost nonstop for 6 hours both days and never digressed from what she wanted us to learn about her book and templates.

Sometimes events happen in your life and you don't realize until later how pivotal they were and the effect they had. ... Like most CQers I've always keep a record of seams that were inspiring and use them in my work. But in those 12 hours with Miss Carole I went from copying seams to a mind set of designing seams...and I knew immediately my life as a crazy quilter had made a dramatic change. In the past I would open her book and find a seam I liked and find the templates to reproduce it... Now it will be just the reverse... I will FIRST choose templates and then design the seam... I will take you on this journey with me....
Both the workshops with Candace and Allie were great also and will talk about them later....

I can hardly wait to start but need to unpack and recover from the trip.... The trip home was grueling as there were 3 legs (Wichita to Minneapolis to Salt Lake to Spokane) and it took 12 hours total. Morris was in trouble while I was gone... DH forgot to put the 1/2 gallon bottle of olive oil on a shelf out of Morris's reach... Morris has coveted that bottle of olive oil for some time and how he is able to drag it about is beyond me as it is half as big as he is... Anyway he got it and drug it from the kitchen pantry into the area of the living room in which he keeps his treasures and chewed the lid off.... DH did his best to clean it up but I believe no matter what I do now I will have to get an area rug to hide the stain. And I woke up to snow!!!!

Wichita bound....and a new feature..

2011-11-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

At this point I have no idea how I am going to get all the stitching stuff into one suitcase and clothes also...I'm taking three classes...one from Allie Allison and also one from Candace Kling. I had a class from Allie in CT and she is so much fun... She just lives across the state from me and for both her classes I'll have gone cross country... Candace Kling also teaches in Seattle which is just across the state from me... So why travel so far to take classes I could take closer to home...?

Well the answer is Carol Samples... I have her templates and my book of stitches for Carole Samples to autograph already packed. I love my templates but only use about 10 at the most out of the 36 and am anxious to soak up all she has to offer... I wish it were a longer class... She has a list of all we are to bring and it includes a "happy heart" which I will definitely be bringing along... When Morris was in the dog house for chewing up my favorite template, Carole kindly sent me a replacement to get Morris back into my good graces... For a picture of the Morris-modified template click here!

But since I've been often asked, I've added it to the right sidebar... And if you're not a follower and would like to have your picture added, I'd love to have you join in the fun.... I also found out since that it works the other way also... I can click on the pictures of followers and visit their blogs and see their interests.... fun for me also!!!! Now a good time to thank all the lovely folks who have faithfully read all my ramblings over the years.. I am now up to almost 1000 posts (994 in fact.). I have a plan to celebrate that milestone...

And the winner is

2011-11-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

And the winner is...................................Suztats of Ontario, Canada... I want to thank everyone who entered the giveaway.. I was overwhelmed and pleased... Remember there are still 3 kits available on my Etsy shop.... I did include all those who had a problem posting and sent me emails or left a message on a list that they wanted to enter... Thanks again everyone...

Home battered and badly bruised but alive and well!!

2011-10-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

DH had a very bad accident toward the end of his trip... He was crossing a foot bridge over some rapids in a nature preserve in Croatia. Unfortunately there were no handrails. He lost his footing and fell into the rapids of a river which carried him down into a lake.. He kept his arms around his head to protect it but the rest of him was badly beaten by the rocks. He had all his clothes on (including a jacket and sweatshirt) and had great difficulty swimming ashore where someone helped him out. They took him to the hospital to be checked over..... Luckily nothing was broken but he is very badly bruised from the rocks... And also unfortunately he lost both his hearing aids and his glasses..

So he is convalesing with Morris's help and in this photo trying to read the paper with Morris sitting on it. We all feel lucky.....

A Easy Journal Cover - My Pet Project

2011-10-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

"A Easy Journal Cover - My Pet Project" or "What to do while you wait 2 hours while your brakes are being fixed" I ALWAYS keep a cheap old aluminum TV tray in the trunk of my car for when I want to stitch in waiting areas and that is where this project was finished..

Susie W. had gifted me with this lovely journal with graph paper to record seams... I had wanted to make a cover for it and guess who is the "cover boy"? And I was sorting and cleaning up laces from the Suffrage quilt...

I thought it was serendipity that Susan Elliott posted about embellished book covers as I was working on this...This was an easy project and I will share my clever secrets with you for making it even easier.

First start with something retangle. It doesn't have to be a correct size....just wider so any extra hangs out top and bottom and longer so you can have flaps to fold back.. You could even combine two (or more) pieces to make the rectange... I started with a rectangle doily about the size of a placemat....

I added all my bits and pieces before I folded the flaps back.

Now the big secret....when it was all embellished ..I laced it top and bottom with gold, elastic gift wrap cording.... just a little snug... The when slipped onto the journal it fit just perfect and the elastic keeps it tight and from slipping about plus it gathers the excess lace just a bit....

When I added the elastic cording I started in the middle (both top and bottom) and went across one way going through the flap and then turned and went ALL the way across through the other flap and back to the middle... Then I could knot the ends and leave a little hanging for adjustment... Now it is gussied up and ready for Carole Samples class in Wichita...I may add a few beads and a button or two to it yet... And doesn't Morris look sooooooo handsome!!!!

Now don't forget to comment here to get into the Nov. 3 drawing for the BoHo bag kit...

Giveaway - BoHo Bag Kit.....

2011-10-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

I finished my tutorial a couple weeks ago and forgot to post about it.... To celebrate I'm doing a giveaway for one of my BoHo bag kits. Just leave a comment on this post and the drawing will be November 3rd....

This kit includes a piece of high quality, home-decor focal fabric approx. 18 x 30" plus:

•  12 coordinating pieces of fabric large enough for 2-4 patches each and a variety of textures, sheens, colors, and patterns.
•   Various lengths of coordinating gimps and cording.
•   4 lengths of various fringes suitable for use on pocket or flap might including 2 chainettes, 1 tasseled, and 1 bullion

•   1 piece of fancy beaded fringe suitable for use on pocket or flap.
•   1 long piece of coordinating fabric suitable for a handle or for extra pieces.
•   AND a surprise piece of lace or two .

Not only did I finish the tutorial for my kind of bag but Pat Winter just published her book on BoHo Fever...which is available in print or digital version at http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/288760/follow

And I have about 1/2 dozen kits available on my Esty site... http://www.etsy.com/shop/olderrose

Mystery block is solved....

2011-10-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

Had the following comment from Sharon Boggon this morning so now we know who the mystery stitcher was of a block I found on an internet bulletin board... She made it from a kit in 2007 and even sent along a link to read about it!! Thanks Sharon...made my day!

"The stitcher unknown is me ! Thanks for selecting me. I am tickled Here are some more close ups of the block too
http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2007/3/6/bliss-bag-block-complete.html "
Deb suggested I talk about some of the "best" blocks on Block Talk and tell why I picked them... I thought that was a great idea and will start soon...

CQ at its best and what now????

2011-10-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

(image to left by Jo Newsham.)
In August I spent hours and hours going through hundreds of CQ images from sources on the Internet looking for the best of the best... Not only was I interested in the very best, I was looking for diversity in style.

Once I had narrowed it down to several hundred I started sifting and sorting to end up with a little over 100 examples of stellar crazy quilting from all over the world...

When we do have occasion to see blocks it's always at a distance and the wonderful detail is lost to us. It was my vision to compile these images and show them on a large screen at the retreat... expecting oooooooohs and aaaaaaaaaaaaaahs at the beauty of seeing them larger than life.

(image at left by Laurie Burgesser.)

Well of course as so often happens to the best laid plans if anything could go wrong it did... But the worst was the fact the facility had windows 20 feet tall and absolutely no way to darken the room nor anywhere to put a screen that it would show the images..

We ended up putting it in the kitchen which had the least amount of glare but the ceiling was so low that the screen wouldn't open completely and people had to sit in the dining room looking over the bar..... And due to the location of the outlet it also necessitated me to stand with my back to the audience to operate the computer. I was devastated.

(left: Sharon Boggon) The second set of images were RR images and we did that at night.. But the best of the best were lost.. Can you just imagine how beautiful this block would have been on a seven foot screen?

(left: by Maire Courtney) So here I am trying to decide what to do with the results of my efforts.. So after the first of the year I will put the word out that I will go to any meeting in town to show these images for no charge.... Rotarian's, quilters, seniors, ditchdiggers ....anywhere.

(left: by Cathy Kizerian.) And I will start with the asking the local embroidery guild to let me show them at one of their quarterly meetings... And as many times as I have gone through these images I never tire of looking at them... They are just joyous... Have screen ....

Faux Gold or Fool's Gold

2011-10-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

I've been fascinated with goldwork for a long time... The very first time I played around with it was on a fan for Bonnie in a FanRR. years ago.. I used a lot of my cheap Christmas cordings and braids and loved doing it.

My next attempt was on a block for Leslie. I again got to use lots of my cheap cheap Christmas gold cords, braids and beads using gold work techniques...

Goldwork is usually done with actual gold threads and is very expensive. About a year or so ago I posted a Goldwork RR and it quickly filled. I was thinking I would use my cheap trims but people began talking about using real gold and I dropped out immediately as I didn't want to have others spend a lot of money on real gold when I couldn't afford it.

So after I get back from Wichita I'd like to try again and post a "Fool's Gold" RR for just using goldwork techniques with faux gold materials. I know Kerry was interested at one time and Janet said she would be interested. I'd like to know if anyone else is interested..

If I can get enough people I will send out a baggie of stuff from my really cool gold stash to each entrant to get them started and now is the time to look for it in the thrift stores with the Christmas stuff and the markdown bins at hobby shops.

People always think of goldwork in connection with religious vestments or holiday work but it lends itself to everything, especially insects and anything floral.

I really like using the colored Edmar threads to couch the gold braid and cording... But before I post a RR I want to make sure others are interested and it is understood at the beginning that it is faux gold being used... Comment or send me a note if you might be interested.

On the home front I have been eating healthy but a little weird... yogurt, granola and fruit in the morning and just a sandwich late afternoon... But today I am going to fix a "proper" meal... I am baking some brown rice in the oven and am thawing out some shrimp to saute with baby squash and fresh tomatoes... Unfortunately my euphoric "clink, clink" turned out to be a large rock so I am back to digging... DH will be home in 8 days... I will probably take his suitcase and hand him the shovel.. Welcome Home Honey!!!!!

Clink, Clink!

2011-10-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

What a lovely sound... It means that I am down far enough and have located the pipe. At least I can stop digging all around the pump and now concentrate on one area and get the hole big enough for a man to get in there and fix it. The weather forecast for the next 3 days is good with no rain and little wind so I should be able to get it done.. Every night is near freezing now.

I loved Susan's comment...."Where there's no Will, there is a way." Honestly I'd rather be stitching... When done I may have to celebrate with a day of thrift store shopping with my best friend..

Every woman.....

2011-10-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

At one point I was making suffragette dolls and began gathering bios and photos of famous suffragettes in this country and the British Isles. When I first started thinking about a quilt I was going to use those women but there were soooooo many that it was impossible to choose just 18-20 women... So I shifted my focus to the "woman on the street" so to speak.. Even still I was continually shifting and reshifting my choices and then finding another photo... But yesterday was the final day and the final choices. I printed them on fabric, backed them with fusible tricot... In the end my final choices were to include all ages and across the economic spectrum... Here are just a few of the final 20 photos...

There was NEVER a moment of doubt about this photo....having women and girls together was so special....Look at those tires...

There were so many women who had access to power and influence that were able to make things happen at that level... Some of them marched and paraded but many worked behind the scenes providing money and support... This matron with her hat, gloves, purse and tailored outfit could not be more proud wearing that banner....

This was a local woman who lived just 60 miles south of my city... She was a farmer's wife with five children and in her overalls was ever bit as proud to wear her homemade banner... You'll be seeing them all as I go along... I've grown to love everyone of them....

First and Last

2011-10-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

I worked on the photos yesterday for the suffrage quilt and will print them today... As I sat down this morning to do a little stitching, I realized that this will be my first and last large CQ piece... As committed as I am to the theme and love the fabrics, trims, etc I am tired of looking at it and yearn for color .. Sometime I think it's my age that I want to do as many different things as possible in the time I have left and sometimes I think it's a major character flaw that I cannot commit to a long term project.

But for whatever reason I started thinking about the block I made last February using Allie's "Chunk Method" which she said was inspired by Martha Green.. I was going to work on it in Sharon Boggon's class but I wasn't used to so many small patches in a block..... I wrote about it last February. Since I NEVER waste a block once made, I've decided to take it to Carole Samples class next month to use for geometric seams...

And just so you know that it is not ALL fun and games while DH is gone I do have the "HOLE"... This water pump by the pasture is leaking and cannot be repaired due to it's age.... It needs to be dug out... I had planned to hire Will to do it but he is working two jobs and the ground could be frozen before DH gets home...soooooooooooooooo... It will probably be about 4 feet down... I started one day and a friend helped me another and I will dig on it some each day that it's not raining... It's now too deep to shovel.. it is the post hole digger the rest of the way...

Two fun things in one day....

2011-10-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

When DH left I put a leaf in the table so it would be large enough to lay out my suffrage squares to see if there were any problem patches... There were just a couple.

Then I printed off all the images on paper except the posters and pinned them to the quilt.. I'm putting the trims on the last square tonight and then I can put the images on and finally start on fancy seams , beads and buttons. I intend to allow time at the end of each day to work on this... I would love to have all the squares finished to take to Wichita and get input from Allie....

It will be so nice to be able to leave it all spread out as I work for the next 2 weeks... Notice in the lower right corner some yummy vintage brown velvet ribbon I ordered from Belgium on Ebay... I've already set up two additional card tables to hold the overflow as I work... I downloaded 4 Maeve Binchy books to listen to as I stitch this week.

The main fun thing I did today is spend most of the day on my tractor. The sun was shining, it was 60 degrees, no wind and we'd had enough rain that there was no dust... I groomed the mile-long trail through my woods which takes about 2 hours with the tiller in low gear... It will be perfect for walking this winter and spring and I moved a bunch of stuff with the bucket... The dogs ran along and it goes so slow that they could run circles around it... VERY fun day...

Now I can clean it up and put in the antifreeze and park it in it's little shed for the winter.... My Deere John. I've written about my tractor before . This will be the first time in years that I haven't used it to stack bales in the barn... I always believed if they ever had a competition for old ladies stacking bales I would win a medal for sure...

Tutorial almost finished

2011-10-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

The tutorial is almost finished and you can access the page http://olderrose.blogspot.com/p/boho-bag-tutorial.html I have about 6-8 more photos to add and the text for adding flap... I hope to have it done, spell checked and edited by the weekend.

It has been a struggle as my old computer is so slow and I am constantly having to shut it down and reboot it when it freezes up, the blogger page editor is giving me fits adding photos, and my ISP is having problems. I feel like I'm in labor and giving birth to this tutorial. Susie has sent great text and photos which I included...

Finished Klee with Glee

2011-10-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Hideko's artist Paul Klee was the last in my rotation for the the artist round robin... On a whim I typed Paul Klee and bird into Google and up popped this painting of a bird of in a forest... So I was delighted to use it as my inspiration

So here is my Paul Klee bird for Hideko.... CQ style and it can go into the mail tomorrow. ..only a day late.

Of course being a crazy quilter my bird has a lot of bling. The body is satin and the breast is all sequins and beads. The wing is a piece of beaded leaf trim I bought for the suffrage quilt and the tail is a button and a bit of a treasured vintage beaded trim....very old..

This has REALLY been an interesting round robin. two favorites were Gayle's Georgia O'Keeffe and Ritva's nature artist.

But my VERY favorite was the block I did for Margreet's Mondrian... Not many positive comments on it so I guess you had to be a kindergarten teacher to appreciate the whimsy... I love young children's art ...it is simplistic and direct and done with great confidence... As I watched them draw purple dogs and huge cows and chickens with aplomb I always wondered how many of them went on to be artists when they grew up... I tried to imagine Mondrian as a child in one of my classes...

The List

2011-10-01T07:02:00.000-07:00

At the moment finishing the BoHo bag tutorial and Hideko's block are at the TOP of my indoor list... and then I can start showing some of the latest acquisitions and inspirations... including some lovely dyed thread I got from Laurie B.. and packages of goodies in the mail.... soon!

Unfortunately because it is October and the weather can change at any moment the outdoor list take precedence.. so posts will be sporadic at best. Had hoped to hire Will to help but he is working two jobs... Good for him...bad for me.

Home Sweet Home

2011-09-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's so nice to be home but I did enjoy connecting with long-time friends and meeting new CQers also. I had planned to work on my suffrage quilt there but somehow when I packed 3 of the blocks were left at home. I tried to be restrained during the fabric swaps but managed to get a piece of nice orange silk for my project for my granddaughter and this pile of brown ties... I know it will be awhile before I do somber colors again but they were such beautiful silks.

I didn't get many pictures taken but Kerry has been doing a great job on her blog with the pictures she took.... Stop by and take a look... It was a fantastic facility with lots of tables to work on... For me the only problem was the altitude again... 8000'.

Morris has stuck to me like glue since I got home and eager to show me his new toy. Other dogs have stuffed animals and squeaky toys... Morris has become emotionally attached to a big old hammer which he carries around all over and occasionally chews on the handle. When he is not carrying it around he keeps it on this pillow or hides it under my desk.

DH is leaving Monday for a job as an escort for a tour going to Croatia for 3 weeks so I will be busy helping him for the next few days... Then I can stitch, stitch, stitch...

Nice to be missed!

2011-09-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the emails inquiring whether I am still alive and well... Yes but almost ever since Susie left I have been involved with preparing the slide presentations for the retreat... I am doing two... "What makes it work" and "Salvaging a Block" First it requires actually defining my own thoughts so I can articulate but also lots of time sorting and acquiring images.. I have settled on nearly 100 for each program but to get that I probably sorted through 4 times that many..

And as always life is there to throw in a few curves... When you are in the drought cycle the last thing you want to see on a farm is water appearing on the surface of the ground.... a sure sign of a leak in a underground pipe...and even worse it was about a 1' away from the foundation of the garage..which meant lots of hand digging.. It's now fixed but in the process there is a problem in the pump house and a yard pump that will need to be dug up... Both those will have to wait until I get back but the one by the garage was not one that could wait... fixed now..at a price.

Then Inga came from Leavenworth and bought my remaining ewes last weekend... Even though I know they could not be going to a better home, it was so sad to load them on her truck and I'd be lying if I did not admit to shedding some tears. It was not only losing the sheep but giving up yet another part of my life because I am getting older..... very depressing. She also took my ewe lamb and asked if I had named it... I hadn't because I was trying not to bond with it also... But she sent me a email and said she had named it "Gerry". I believe this is a photo taken shortly after she was born...

If you have followed my blog for any time at all you know that they occupied the good part of my daily life and a large part of my heart.

How I handled my handle!!

2011-09-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to have found this lovely soft suede belt to have for a handle on my bag and I could just stitch across the bottom and there was not worry about having raw edges...

But I realized if I were making a cloth handle (as I probably will on my next bag) that again there would be extra bulk and/or raw edges... So this is how I covered the straight seam on my suede handle and I could do the same with a cloth handle...

After I stitched it with a raw edge I layered a small round doily, a crocheted medallion and used a spectacular button to attach... the lace trim on the inside of the bag covers the button stitching.

And it turned out to be the perfect finishing touch. That metal button is about 1 x 1 1/2" beauty I've had for years and years and it was always just too big for anything... It was one of three so on my next time I will use the last one on one side of the bag and a mismatch beauty on the other side...

As an alternative you could do it all with buttons... Just use a couple buttons on the lower part and THEN attach lace and large fancy button. where the arrow is and the lower buttons would be covered and a stitch or two in the lace would keep any raw edges hidden...

Is this clever or what..? Sometimes I even amaze myself....

Dealing with all the trims and bulk - Tutorial

2011-09-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

The biggest challenge, as I see it, with the BoHo bags is dealing with the bulk at seams... bulk of the crazy quilting and the bulk of the trims. And if, like me, you want to use the richness of tapestry and decor fabrics, the challenge is even greater...

So I knew immediately I didn't want to add the trims to the seams as I sewed them. And I even didn't want to add them one at a time on top of each other... If I stacked them directly on top of each of as I went it would be about 3/4" thick... I needed to "feather" them out. So here is how I solved the problem for me....

First I selected the fringes I wanted to use and laid them out in the order I wanted to stack them.. .I cut a piece of ribbon or bias strip a little longer that than I needed to trim a pocket, flap or edge. At the top of my choices of fringes is a piece of grosgrain ribbon 1 3/8" wide.

Then I sewed the first fringe (the long black chainette) along the bottom edge of the ribbon.

The I added the taupe cotton fringe to the ribbon.... slightly higher than the top of the black chainette fringe.

Next came the heavy (and the bulkiest) bullion trim...again just a tad higher than the taupe fringe.

Finally I added the tasseled fringe. You can see at the arrow that it is just a tad higher than the bullion fringe..

Now you can pick up the ribbon and attach it where you want on your bag... Your fringes are all perfectly aligned and the bulk is at a minimum. Once attached you can add a layer of decorative braid (see arrow) to cover the ribbon or bias.

And you know I really love you because when I was not happy with my assembly pictures.... I TOOK MY BAG APART to get better pictures and then put it back together. I'll put them up next. Susie is doing her assembly this weekend and I'll add her pictures. DH and I are playing also in a bridge tournament this weekend and don't you know I'll flaunt my bag..

Hoffman Challenge 2012 -

2011-08-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

Last January I made the following statement: "I always wanted to do the Hoffman Challenge during all the years I was making dolls... When I had the time I didn't like the fabric choices and when I liked the fabric choices I didn't have the time... I think 1988 was the last time I really liked the fabric choices... but this year is the year no matter what the fabrics are and I even have a clever CQ idea of what I am going to do....which helps..."

Well the fabric choices have been announced and I do like the fabric...(well it's growing on me) It certainly is romantic and suits itself to CQ (not dolls) which is what I want to enter. So to make sure I am committed I ordered a Hoffman Challenge package from the Fat Quarter Shop. It won't be available until October but I love having something to rattle around in my brain...

Something to Crow About!

2011-08-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

I get one thing caught up and am behind on two others... Being nurse to Morris has given me an excuse to stay home and get some things done... like buttons. I was out of chickens, goldfinches, bluebirds, and robins. Therefore I did finally finish up some chickens and goldfinches and added roosters which I have never done before..and popped them onto estsy. Remember these are only an 1" in diameter.

Now it's out to the greenhouse to bathe Molly. Since Morris is confined to the house it was up to her to confront an invading skunk during the night... Stinky Molly!!!!!

Paul Klee's birds...

2011-08-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

When I signed up for the artist RR I never expected modern artists... My tastes are firmly in the art nouveau, art deco, and impressionist periods... So I found a solution to Mondrian but had been concerned about Paul Klee...

Everyone knows I end up putting a bird or two in most of my work so on a wing and a prayer I entered "Paul Klee, birds" into Google and to my surprise he did do some bird paintings.

Not many, but here are two... Now my creative little brain has been working on doing birds "Klee style" for Hideko.. Still in the thinking stage as too much life interfering with my CQ.... But the thinking part is fun too... helps pass the time in car back and forth to mom's today. But so far I have conjured up a way to include fancy seams, sequins,button, beads, lace, and BIRDS!!!

Helina's artist block and Morris

2011-08-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

I spent the entire day sitting by Morris the day he came home and finished this artist block for Helina... I was fourth and everyone had worked so nicely together I wanted mine to fit right in... It was all simple and elegant.. a couple intricate seams and a floral motif...

Simple is not easy for me and I did pretty well except I had to have a little lace and then somehow the spider web crept in also... Not too far off the mark though and they do all look nice together.

Morris's cruciate surgery on his leg went well... Now the hard part ...no running, no jumping, no being a dog (those were the vet's words) for TWELVE WEEKS....and he has to be on a leash anytime he is outside. Now for a farm dog who thought he could fly this is going to be a hard pill to swallow.. In the house there gates everywhere to keep him on the floor and confined all the time... Not happy dog and plus there is the indignity of having his butt shaved naked...

It will be a day or two before I get back to the tutorial...

We interrupt this tutorial to bring you this important message!

2011-08-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

There are kits for sale on my esty site with lots of goodies for making one of these bags. But be aware I will be adding 10 more kits this weekend so waiting a few days will give you a better selection.
But don't wait too long because I have a limited amount of fabric cut...

I really acquired all that fabric thinking one day I would use it all but now realize it isn't even possible for me to live that long...

Remember when DH was giving me a hard time about not letting Susie out of the barn....well here's what she was doing! Sorting through bags and bags of fabric and cutting up the choices pieces suitable for bags. Then going through even more fabric and cutting up squares for coordinating fabric..

And what was I doing while Susie was doing all that work. I was sorting through the piles of squares she cut and putting it all together with a focal fabric for a kit. Of course she was slaving over a rotary cutter and I was sitting on a stool with a cup of coffee. Well owning the barn does has it perks... After she went home then I started cutting gimp, braids, and fringes to finish them off. And aren't they gorgeous?

Each kit includes a piece of high quality, focal fabric approx. 18 x 30" (unless otherwise stated.)...either tapestry, home decor or brocade plus:

• 9-11 coordinating pieces of high quality fabric large enough for 2-4 patches each and a variety of textures, sheens, colors, and patterns.

• Various lengths of coordinating gimps and cording.

• 4-5 lengths of various fringes suitable for use on pocket or flap might include fringes such as chainette, tasseled, and brush.

• 1 piece of fancy beaded fringe suitable for use on pocket or flap.

• 1 long piece of coordinating fabric suitable for a handle or for extra pieces.

• AND a surprise piece of lace or two as I pack your box.

Answer to Jane's question

2011-08-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Question: When you use laces like this, do you sew the uneven edge of the lace down too? - perhaps with monopoly thread so it doesn't catch on things? Jane

Answer: Anytime I put lace on any CQ (not just this bag) I secure it on all sides and if it is wide or a doily I add even more stitching.. I just use a ecru cotton quilting thread...

Input from Susie

2011-08-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

Susie sent me these photos today of the steps she took after the patches were fused to the foundation.. Step one: sewing around each patch to secure it.. Step two: adding lace to the sides of the seams. Step three: adding gimp, braid, etc. to cover the edges of patches and lace.

When I get the tutorial all done these photos will be added... Susie also added and I quote her:

"The other thing you should add to the tutorial is "Gerry's Rule for Victorian Carpet Bag Design" -- When you think you're done .... add more. It really did work for me. Especially after I decided that fancy stitched seams were difficult and time wasters - just adding laces on BOTH sides of the seams made the fancy stitched seams unnecessary....... adding another color trim or ribbon on top of that, improved the look. I kept her 'rule' in my mind and I think it made my bag better."

"Step 2 - Avoiding Bulky Seams."

2011-08-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

These are heavy fabrics and there's no way around extra thickness if you want to use tapestries and brocades.. Trying to do traditional seams would make for bulkiness difficult to deal with. So we opted for NO seam allowances at all to deal with... Being crazy quilters we opted to try something crazy...

I had some of that thin fusible stuff "heat and bond" and Susie brought something similar called Misty Fuse which she had just bought at a quilt show so we tried both... To protect my ironing board I put down a large piece of baking parchment paper which nothing sticks to and then the 16x16" foundation fabric.. On top of the foundation fabric I put a 16x16" piece of Misty Fuse and covered it all with more parchment paper and ironed... Once the parchment paper is peeled off the Misty Fuse is bonded to the foundation fabric but still has enough fusible surface to add more to it...

Then we laid the foundation (fusible side up ) and began cutting patches to put on it. We used chalk and a straight edge to mark the shape we wanted for a patch... It was easy to feel the patch underneath so we could put the ruler on the fabric for the next patch....mark with chalk and then cut it out with scissors and lay it in place until we had the foundation covered with patches which abutted against each other.. Since all the seams will be embellished there was a goodly margin for error...

If you look closely you can see the chalk marks on the corner patches as I just about have this side covered. I'm thinking at this point I need to make the large left tapestry piece smaller by making another patch... gold I think!! The chalk worked great as we could just brush it off.

Then we carefully moved the foundation covered with patches back to the ironing board....covered it with a sheet of parchment paper and ironed it slowly on the top side until the patches fused to the foundation and for good measure ironed on the back side also... Now we had a piece covered with patches and perfectly smooth and no bulky seam allowances to deal with.

At this point both Susie and I advise you to take it to your sewing machine and sew along the edges of the patches to make them really secure....

Of course also at this point it would have been an opportune time to stop and tidy up our work area but we were so excited with the way it was shaping up that we stopped for nothing. Occasionally DH came out to the barn to see if we were still alive and took pictures of us..

Now we could begin adding ribbon, gimp and lace to all the seams... BUT the next one I make I will use my sewing machine to cover all the seams with ribbons and then I can put gimp or trim on top of the ribbon and just sew by hand to the ribbon without going through all the layers of fabric. Doing the ribbon step would really only take a little extra time and I think the time would be worth it in the long run...

Since this is the side for the pocket I'm not putting a lot of trim in the middle.. The green line marks a very long seam covered with ribbon.. At the upper end I added trim on top of the ribbon and you can see how nice that looks.

This is Susie's pocket.. She chose to use the tapestry for the bag and do a crazy quilt pocket... We both used the same technique of abutting the patches to eliminate bulk.

After all the trim, ribbon, and laces were sewn on each section of the bag...you can see the back on the left... Then I ironed on a piece of Allie's fusible tricot as the last step before assembly. It was still soft enough to feel like a bag but the tricot was just the right thing to give it enough body. I love that stuff.

Next installment... Step 3 Assembly and other miscellaneous tips...

How I Made My Victorian Sewing Bag Tutorial - Step 1

2011-08-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'm going to do this in steps and then put it up as a tutorial... If I don't explain something well enough or you feel I have left out a step... please comment as we go along and with your help it should end up being a useful tutorial... I'm going to not only tell you how I did it but why I made some of the decisions I did along the way..

First some answers before you even asked the questions... I thought it a lot before I began and here are the things I felt were important to me.

1. It had to be practical. I wanted something I could set on a park bench as well as toss into the car. The embellishments were going to have to be simple enough that they wouldn't be catching or snagging on things.

2. I wanted it to be large enough to carry my supplies and a project but not so large and heavy that I needed a wheeled cart to move it.. My favorite tote is 15"x15" so I chose those dimensions. (16"x16" to allow for seam allowances.

3. My favorite tote has a pocket on the outside which I love but no pockets on the inside which I wanted... side ones that would hold my smaller supplies and needle book and a zippered pocket which could hold a wallet when I carried just the sewing bag and not a purse.

4. Flap or no flap?? The deciding factor was travel... It is just too easy when traveling (or shopping) for a hand to slip into an open tote and extract a wallet.

5. It absolute had to be beautiful as well as functional. I want people to comment on it and ask about crazy quilting.

Since I wanted this to be as simple a construction project as possible I chose to do it in three simple pieces and really didn't need a pattern.

There were reasons for this choice. The main consideration was I wanted to do it in sections so the pieces were a size that could be easily handled for handwork... A 16" square is not all that much larger than a usual CQ block. Secondly I wanted to avoid bulky seams when possible and doing it in three pieces still allowed for minimal seams plus workable sizes... (Later as I move along in the tutorial I will talk about using a pattern.)

For just ease of construction I could have cut it in one piece with the flap attached but then I would have trying to manipulate a section 16 x 38" to do the handwork... too large to be fun but certainly an option if you are making something on the order of a small handbag.

With these decisions out of the way the next installment will be: "Step 2 -Avoiding Bulky Seams."

Quick post

2011-08-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

Gerry is recovering for a few days from a medical problem and I'm tending her lovingly. Monday I have surgery and hopefully she'll be well enough to tend me lovingly. We're behind on posts, emails and all else... Sorry

My magic crazy-quilted Victorian sewing bag is done!!!!

2011-08-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Well my sewing bag is done and when I look at it I don't think BoHo, Bohemian or Hippy.... I just think of Mary Poppins and her magic carpet bag... In fact I think when I carry it I'll have to carry a black umbrella. Can you just picture me and my new bag....... It is large... 15" x 15" but is not any heavier than other nice lined totes I have of the same size.

Here I'm lining it with a perky burgundy and beige gingham check and added a lot of pockets inside... In later posts this week I will share what I learned and what might be helpful to you if you decide to make one... I did use a LOT of Pellon's fusible tricot and it worked perfectly... (Thanks Allie)

And here it is.....both sides... The old suede belt makes a marvelous strap and is comfy on the shoulder besides being adjustable.. I must reiterate that the lovely hummingbird needlework on the outer pocket was not done by me... It was stitched by Cathy Labath in a round robin we were in together. I plan on toting this bag EVERYWHERE and hopefully get some attention as I plan to make up a 1/2 sheet about crazy quilting to carry and hand out when people comment about the bag...

Buckle Dilemna and YOU CAN VOTE!!!

2011-08-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have a large collection of buckles that I've garnered at thrift stores. There are always a lot of them so everyone must think gaudy buckles are in poor taste... but those "everyones" don't have a CQ outlook... I sent Susie home with a couple of my favorites and now I'm reviewing my decision for this bag...

This is the one I've had pinned to it... I love the old metal, art-deco look but it is a bit large.. It isn't really going to "buckle" into anything...the weight of it will keep the flap in place when closed.

#1 I initially thought the over the top glitz might work.

#2 This is a real option. I love the flower shape and I can add any stone to it from the bracelet I bought the other day..

#3 Glitz AND butterfly... This one is a beauty.

I do like the brass as it fits with some of the trim and this echos the shape of the stone lower and to the left. I could even paint in the center of this one..

Finally this one has old metal AND glitz.... Actually I love them all and I need to pick just one... If you have a favorite leave a comment PLEASE... I'd love to hear some other opinions. It was so nice to have Susie here to yak about ideas.

Tomorrow is Assembly Day!!!

2011-08-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough today to have some unexpected free time today and finished all the handwork on my Victorian carpetbag to the point I can make a lining and assemble it. On the left is the back without the pocket. All seams are finished and secured... Next to it you can see what it will look like with pocket added... Doesn't Cathy L's hummingbird block look precious...

On the left is the front without flap... You can see how nicely the rose spray looks and I added a small spiderweb on the lower left. All the trim is attached to the flap now except the buckle and its strap. I'm still vacillating between buckles and will make that decision tomorrow when I can lay them all out.

And then there's the strap which I have changed my mind almost hourly today.. Because of joint problems I rarely wear something hanging on my shoulder but it would be nice to have it adjustable if I needed it. This is a lovely medium-weight suede belt from the thrift store. It is aged nicely and I love the feel of it... It will be my first option . I will cut the buckle off and attach it separately to one side and attach the belt separately to the other side... Who knows this may all change quickly if I run into problems. I don't like to admit to being indecisive...rather very flexible.. Even still I have probably added more beading than I should have.

Keep in mind that from the beginning I never intended this to be a "Sunday best" bag. It is for my needlework and it will be in and out of the car, to meetings and on planes. So I have constantly constrained myself on adding anything that might be a problem for snagging or repair. And it must have a flat bottom and sit "proper." I will get up early and go right out to the barn to work on it and will not answer the phone all day.. Which is a LOL as I hardly ever answer the phone anyway...

A Little Trickery of the Eye.....

2011-08-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have these two stones in bezels placed on the bag... Their placement is dictated by their function.... hiding seam junctions.. a 4 seam junction on the left and a 3 seam junction on the right. They look like 2 fried eggs staring at me... One needs to be bigger or one needs to be smaller and I like them both... I cannot change the size of the one on the left as it just barely covered all the adjoining seams... So something should happen to the one on the right. I could enlarge it with ruching or ruffles or.................... but a little trickery.is called for....

When you want one thing to seem smaller and can't change it, make another thing seem bigger. Since I don't want to actually add to the crocheted medallion I will treat that whole area as a unit and fill in accordingly.. The medallion on the right becomes part of the crocheted pieces which frame the rose spray which is becoming the focal point. I will add some small blue flowers and some buttons to it... (See inspiration which is the focal tapestry for the bag... lower left corner) Even now (to me at least) the medallion on the left is less significant.

Another idea for thrift store finds....

2011-08-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

Since I am on a roll with ideas.... here's a couple more.. This photo is some jewelry I bought when Susie and I were on a thrift store run.... First check the stretchy bracelets that are all the rage recently... Because the elastic runs through the underside of the beads, the holes are perfect for attaching to anything.. The best find was the one in the center ($3) and every stone is different and antique looking and set in a bezel finding... The small round one with the crackled finished is the perfect size to fit into the round crocheted medallion I am using on my BoHo bag. I know I will use every one of them..

The little blue one with flowers is really sweet ($2)... nothing in mind for it at the moment but a great addition to my stash... The square one look like little butterflies and would make a great body for a dragonfly and round ones would make great bodies for glitzy spiders or dragonflies...

Finally the brass bracelet and necklace were $1 each and granted they are VERY brassy... But you can buy oxidizing agents at hobby shops to give brass an antique look... A friend's husband gave me a small bottle of acid that gives brass a blue/green verde patina. There's a website that tells how to antique brass and even how to make your own solution.... I recommend you print it off because "how-to" articles disappear from the net quite often and this is a good one. It would be great to use on charms and brass jewelry finding...

A book and an idea to share!

2011-08-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

When Susie was visiting I was showing her my favorite books... and this is one... Victorian Roses by Jenny Haskins. It isn't a crazy quilting book but everything in it could be applied to crazy quilting and the color scheme is so inspirational... She does some incredible things with lace... There are lots of directions for projects from treasure bags to tea cozies. I recommend this book highly for anyone who loves the Victorian romance look...

One of the bags is called a Victorian Opera Bag and notice how it is ruched around the outer edge... We started talking about how it was done and how we might apply it to our bags and how to use it in general with CQ.

I remembered seeing fancy pillow shams with ruched inserts and sure enough on our trip to a thrift store I found one and brought it home and took it apart. The ruching is the weight of a medium-weight silk and is on a foundation which would make it usable for all kinds of applications... I'm thinking I am going to use this one for a binding on a CQ block and there will be enough left to use in a block to add texture..

It's Official....I'm a Floozie!!!

2011-08-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to be a "button floozie" The list of contributors was limited and full. I added my name about a year ago to the waiting list and received word today that I'm an official floozie and can contribute to the blog... The blog is changing hands and there will be changes but as of now I am IN!!!!

(And don't I love photo editing when I can remove a chin or two....)

Susie's Progress

2011-08-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

I wanted you to see Susie's blocks at the point she left here. She was itching to get home and dive into her stash to finish embellishing them and will send me pictures to post... As I mentioned before I cut up my focal tapestry but Susie left hers intact and is crazy quilting her outside pockets... Her bag will definitely be a large slouchy tote with a very long handle which she can wear across her body..

Here is her progress on her pockets. She was anxious to get home and dive into her stash to finishing the embellishing. She will send me pictures to post.

She brought a squeaky stuffed toy for each dog which they have adored... Morris has the octopus and keeps it near at all times... Molly has a whale.. If Morris can manage it, he is on top of Molly's whale while he is playing with his octopus. He went flying in to wake up Susie this morning and not only was Susie gone, so was the bed. So he is a little blue today...

Morris not so stinky today but we can still smell skunks in the garden and have found where they are trying to dig under the house... this problem reoccurs every few years. They travel in groups...so you never have just one.

Last Day

2011-08-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

I can hardy believe it is day five and Susie is going home today. We have had so much fun... Yesterday I did take her on a long drive through the wheat country and then into the Idaho mountains and forest... We had a yummy lunch in Coeur d Alene and then stopped at 3 thrift stores on the way home and found some GREAT CQ bargains...especially jewelry for embellishing. Then we stitched until late into the night...

Since we stitched all evening the bags are gradually coming together. The gimp and laces are mostly still pinned but you can get a feel of where it is headed.

Mine is more tote than handbag as I will use it to take stitching items with me. It will be 16" square..
The gorgeous metal thing on the flap is a belt buckle... I have a fairly large collection of them and Susie picked two for the bags she is making.

The back has the gimp sewn and now I'm doing the laces. First thing today there will be some gold cording couched on the pocket... I'm working on all sections simultaneously to keep things evened out...
Susie has been working out of my stash and is anxious to get into her own stash at home..

Tomorrow I will show pictures of Susie's bag.

(p.s. Morris is still stinky from the skunk and also hid a pair of Susie's underwear which showed up 3 days later....)

Bag Progress

2011-08-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Since the home deco and tapestry fabrics are heavier we want to abut the patches rather than have bulky seams... We used a foundation piece the size we needed and used the cutting board and ruler and chalk to mark the pieces.. It worked so well we were amazed.

Then we attached Misty Fuse to the foundation and then put the pieces on and sealed it all.. It is flat and stitches beautifully. You can see Morris is guarding against a skunk invasion.. We had a problem the night before and Morris today is AKA "Stinky"

Now we're adding gimp and lace to all the seams and then we'll do decorative stitching and beads.. We are each doing a different approach... I am piecing the body of my bag and have a flap on the front and a smaller outside pocket with Cathy's L. block as the centerpiece...

Susie's bag is entirely the focal tapestry (no flap) and she is piecing two large outside pockets... We spent pretty much the whole day working on the bags so we would have a good idea of how much accent fabric to include with each focal tapestry piece and also how much gimp and fringe to include when we made the packs.. That is today's agenda..

The bags are absolutely gorgeous... and we are having so much fun... Although DH says I should really let Susie out of the barn... I will be be making shrimp risotto today and he BBQed steaks last night so she is eating well.

Day One

2011-08-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

We started sorting and cutting tapestries for our bags and for some tapestry fabric packs for etsy..
We figured out a cool way to piece the patches abutted to each other... will post pictures tomorrow..

I'm ready and so is the barn.... tomorrow!!!

2011-07-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you were a follower last winter you remember the sewing room (12x30') in the barn looked like this... I posted about the history of the barn. Cathy and I mostly emptied bin after bin of "fancies" from under the counters so the material on the racks is all still there...only folded . It is all tapestries and home deco

This is what the table looked like after my neighbor "Super Woman" Liz came and helped me .

Today I nailed up heavy duty shade cloth over the long wall of window and hooked up 2 large box fans because it is supposed to be hovering around 90 degrees all week.. In February Cathy and I worked out there with big propane heaters and wore our coats and even gloves one day. There's a long bank of double 8' fluorescent fixtures and I replaced all the bulbs and hooked up the power cutter.. With two chairs, three sewing machines and a serger...we are good to go when Susie arrives.

I'm thinking first we'll dive into tapestries and make our choices for our BoHo bags and in the process put together some tapestry packs to sell. Then we can start sorting trims, ribbons, heavy laces etc. and make some final decisions on all the fancy trims for the pincushions... During the hottest part of the day we'll have to retreat to the house and do hand stitching... I'm so excited... I'll take pictures of it all....

As a special treat and eye candy extraordinaire I hung Lisa DuCoing's Arachnophobia quilt in Susie's room... It is one of my prize processions... Sorry the picture is not the best... it is so lovely.. I'd like to bring it to Colorado retreat with me...

It was a test and Morris failed!!!

2011-07-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Because he used to chew up everything, Morris had to be left in the laundry room when we left home... Well he rarely chews anything anymore and we were going to be gone about five hours so I felt sorry for him all alone in the laundry room and thought we would try once leaving him loose in the house with Molly....

This what we found when we returned... He had not only removed all the cushions and pillows from the couch, he had STACKED them... and to the pile he had added two throws, all the blankets from the dog beds, various shoes, toys, and a water bottle he found upstairs... BUT to his credit he had not chewed up anything!

Remember when he was so little and innocent?

But his true colors soon emerged!

But how can you not adore a dog whose favorite thing is to nap with is your bra!!!

And of course he's always is the picture of innocence... WHO ME????

Ritva's Artist RR block done...

2011-07-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I finish a block and say YES!!!!! this time it all came together... I'm going to keep it until Monday before I send it off to Hideko so I can share it with Susie who is coming Sunday evening...

And this is was my inspiration... Lace, flowers, and birds...what more can a girl ask for....

Next in line for the Artist RR - Helina's blocks

2011-07-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

Gayle posted her work on Helina's blocks in the CQI artist RR... Here are the three that are completed... It makes my heart sing to see this kind of teamwork... The artist Helina chose was Helene Schjerfbeck, a Finnish artist.

All three stitchers chose a very light, airy , minimal approach... They all did a couple seams and something floral... So since I want whatever I do to fit in with their work I will have to follow suit... What??? No lace, no birds??? I'm thinking I'm going to look through a couple of my Helen Steven's books for inspiration... She is by far my favorite needle person... The blocks won't arrive until next week but I did look in the files to choose which block I will do.

Working on returned blocks....Part 2 -My Guidelines

2011-07-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

Judging from the emails I received this is a topic of interest so I will proceed. (This is a repeated post from Block Talk) On the left is another block in the same Seams Only RR I showed yesterday and it is still just as it returned home...

Sometimes it is what I (or you) have written in the booklet that is part of the problem... In this case I specifically asked that seam thread colors match the colors in the block.... and they did just that but they just don't show up... my error. So I have lots of room to improve on this block.

And sometimes I've requested something that may be out of participant's comfort zone... I really try to avoid that now. So do really give some thought to what you ask for....

But in any case I have developed certain guidelines for blocks that come home....

1. First I always wait a bit.. I pin the block up and look at it for some time ... And occasionally it grows on me or I change an opinion...

2. My first option is what can I add...?. I think about this before I think about removing anything and sometimes I can solve problems that way... embellishing and modifying.

3. Then if I do remove something I try to see if I can use it somewhere else on the same block... If I can't, I save it (or parts) for use on another block in the future... So a motif removed from one block may appear on another down the road... I have a bag of such pieces I keep handy... Reusing them does make me feel better...

Now having said all that there are two exceptions.... I do not like plastic charms or "doodads". I remove them and they are gone...

The other thing that I especially dislike are the little machine-made roses sold in craft stores... Beautiful handmade roses (either with thread or ribbon) are the hallmark of CQ. Nestle's chocolate (I think) used to have a jingle...."Care enough to send the very best"... Well when I see those machine-made roses I think "Someone cared so little they send the very worst." So they are snipped off and discarded with NO regrets!!!

Adding to a block returned home.....

2011-07-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

This little 6" block was stitched for me by Cathy LaBath in a "Seams Only" RR last winter.. Cathy's seams sorta morphed into motifs..and I love them. By the very nature of the RR there were some open areas in the bottom patches.... I have something special planned for this piece and wanted those areas filled in with some surface texture... more encrusted...

I chose to use what Cathy had done and just add more of it to fill in... I matched the thread the best I could and am happy with the result.

I had planned to add motifs to the other blocks in that RR and use them on a jacket but it's not going to happen so I think I will add some of the "Girls with Dolls" images and some lace and combine them with the ones that will be coming home soon...

Button Button....Check out the buttons!

2011-07-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

I've been busy painting this spring and trying to add new designs to my button offerings on Esty! They are all hand painted by me and about the size of a quarter - 1".. .All buttons are signed and dated on the back The buttons themselves are vintage mother-of-pearl 70-80 years old. There is a metal shank on the back of the button.

I’d love to see one of my buttons find their way to your project They are lovely on needlework and made into jewelry......

Progress Ritva's block

2011-07-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

The block itself is finished and just waiting for me to do the birds... I did add more bullion roses to the left side and embellished with a lot of beading which doesn't show up too well in the photo. I did manage to get in one nice seam across the bottom which defines the lower patch... I'm so glad I put the green lace on at the very beginning as I think works better than adding even more stitched foliage.

Since it was so heavily stitched it was a bit puckery and REALLY needed to be blocked... So I have it stretched and pinned and will leave it a couple days...

Finally using this piece.

2011-07-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Susie Wolfe is coming for a visit in less than two weeks. Mostly she will be helping me in the barn by picking up where Cathy K. and I left off... But as a fun diversion we will be make some elaborate, fabulous, outrageous tapestry totes...

I have two rattling around in my brain and one will be using this dresser scarf I have been hoarding forever.. It is too large to use on CQ but would make a perfect pocket on the back of a tote... I really want to start poking around in the bags of tapestries but need to stay focus to keep my other chores on track..

It is hard though once a idea starts fermenting... I had to venture into the barn this morning for another ribbon and was tempted to pull tapestries out... Whenever there is something too large for me to prune or pull out, I tie a big ribbon on it... Eventually the garden becomes so festooned with ribbons that even DH can fail to notice... and it's getting to that point now... Beats nagging and is effective....

So much for self discipline also

2011-07-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

My car went on auto control and whipped into one of my favorite thrift stores as we passed coming home yesterday.... This wedding dress was the "tag" color of the day for 99 cents. It does have a red wine stain but it is covered with venise lace motifs, covered buttons and other laces.. When my back starts aching today I will sit and cut it up... Wasn't I just posting the other day that I had too much lace? I think I am going to use most of it for my 1000 post giveaway....along with a list of other fabs.

Morris is immediately claiming it for HIS stash as you can see...

And he was right in the middle of his arduous chore of moving the long runner rug from the kitchen to the living room... So Molly is stranded on the rug by the door as she won't walk in the lino.

My plans for a lovely day sitting in the park stitching yesterday did not materialize. When I had called my mother to tell her I was going to take her to the public gardens, there was a loooooooong pause.... So I suspected that she was making her own plans. When I picked her up she indeed had her own agenda and I spent the day pushing the wheelchair around Walmart, Target and KMart.

So much for going slowly......

2011-07-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

I vaguely remember saying that this was going to be my "take along piece" this month.. Well it has been so much fun I haven't been able to put it down... I need to finish all the knots for the baby's breath and will do that today when I take mom in her wheel chair to the public gardens... Hopefully we'll find a nice spot in the shade. Then I'll add the beads to the floral area to give it some bling.... There will also be a nice long seam treatment on the one seam left showing..

Remember I am working from this painting that Ritva in Finland sent. This round robin was "our favorite artist." I'm far enough along that I'm thinking placement of the birds so started doing some cutouts different sizes and testing for placement...

Now that I am looking at it on the computer I decided that maybe I need more bullion roses on the left... so I popped it into photoediting to see and "sure nuf" so will take that thread along also..

Before and After Blocking

2011-07-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

I did the post on blocking for Beryl and she sent me the before and after picture.. The color is a little off as it was two different cameras but you can see what a difference the blocking did. It is all smoothed out and ready for finishing or framing.

Progress on Ritva's Artist RR.

2011-07-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

I have been working on some off beat blocks and then all the somber colors of the suffrage quilt so doing these flowers is a real treat... I think I'm off to a good start and will continue to build layers and layers of smaller flowers and foliage filling in... then some beads for overkill!!!

I really like the green lace as a background and decided to add a little brown lace to balance it out... I bought some hand dyed Valdani pearle cotton from Maureen Greeson and it was all variegated shades of earthy greens. She was closing it out last spring and I'm so happy I got some as I love the soft feel and texture of it... It was only sold by a "collection" so there was 12 balls of it... I can't imagine I'll ever run out.

I'm vacillating on whether to do the birds on felt or directly on the block... They are quite small and would probably be fine doing direct.....but I love the dimensional effect of doing them on felt and they would complement Gayle's birds. I have time to think about it. I survived the bullion roses and it became easier.. Worked out bracing the needle against my stub was the best... BUT if you ever get anything from me with bullion roses on it, you KNOW I really love you!!!!

Just a side note: Every time I get close to a relevant # of posts I think I will celebrate and then promptly forget until it's history... But I figured out that probably in early September I will be doing post number 1000 and WILL do something special to celebrate... People who talk to much are referred to as talkative... I think that makes me blogative!!!

How I "block" a block..

2011-07-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

This post is in answer to a question from Beryl.... How do I block a block to make it look its very best when finished? I not only do this process at the end of working on a piece, I do it several times during work on one of my own projects. I always "block" any RR piece I've worked on before I send it out... I have several small, old bulletin boards from thrift stores (but a piece of styrofoam works just as well..). They are not on the wall so I can use both sides...

I start by pinning the four corners as square as I can and then start pinning from side to side and top to bottom....gradually stretching and pulling until it all is flat... Sometimes it may take 6-7 pins on each side.. I leave it pinned like this at least overnight or even a day or two..

Then I take it down and put it face down on a thick towel and press lightly on the back to set the shape..... That used to be my last step but since Allie has changed my life I now add a lightweight fusible KNIT to the back as the last step... It stabilizes the shape and secures all threads.. You won't believe the difference it makes. Allie puts a layer of the knit on before she starts embellishing and after as well. I'm doing that on my suffrage quilt.

In answer to Laurie's question... I buy it at JoAnn's fabric store.. Be sure it is the fusible knit not the fusible web... It is very light and gauze-like and a dream to stitch through,

My digital Woe or "A Real Gardener is Willing to Sacrifice a Body Part!"

2011-07-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Someone asked how I managed to cut off my finger and I had actually posted about it several years ago.... My digital Woe or "A Real Gardener is Willing to Sacrifice a Body Part!"

I am very accident prone and yesterday I had to fill out some forms because I am going to a spine clinic tomorrow... They wanted all previous surgeries listed and there were only four spaces... I could easily count nine and all have been accidents except one.. Does that make me an overachiever?

Ritva's block - Artist RR

2011-07-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get this started as it is a small and easy project to carry along.... I have the flower pots done and even on a hoop the satin material puckered a little so foliage will be necessary to camouflage it... I couldn't resist adding this delicate lace I dyed. It will be in an area where there's a lot of foliage so I couldn't help myself... No one else had added lace but sometimes it just happens....

I have some lovely new cotton perle thread that I bought online from Maureen Greeson before CT and am anxious to work with it...

I'm hoping to do a lot of bullion roses on the left and maybe other bullions elsewhere. I have to admit to being incredibly slow and clumsy doing bullions... I was standing stunned watching Sharon whip those threads around the needle. I've decided I have difficulty because I am trying to do it with my middle finger. Does anyone else use their middle finger to wind the thread? Of course how many other people cut off their index finger? Anyway I am going to really concentrate on speeding up the process or give it up...

Tonight I let the time slip by and it was really really dark when I went to check on all the sheep and shut gates etc. The trees and foliage are dense between the house and where the remaining sheep are locked up... I heard a noise in the brush and my heart had stopped until Morris came bounding out... He had probably gone in after a rabbit... I can tell the cougar has been back every night cleaning up his last kill... so it will be looking for fresh food soon... I'll not be going out when it's so dark ANY MORE!!!!

In answer to Amy's question

2011-07-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

I use a firm high quality felt in a neutral color or a color that blends...I use felt that is readily available at fabric or craft stores.. I find bags of it at thrift stores after the holidays... Most any felt will work but you don't want something cheap that will pill or too stiff as some squares are.... All the directions are on my tutorial. http://olderrose.blogspot.com/p/bird-on-felt-tutorial.html

Another happy dance!

2011-07-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

I posted about Gayle's block on Block Talk yesterday and so delighted with her birds and the fact that she used my "birds on felt" tutorial...

And today I see Flora used it also for this gorgeous bird. Made my day!!! Flora is working on a hanky block for Barbara in a CQI round robin and you can see it on Flora's blog.. Flora actually lives in the same state (albeit the opposite side, but the same state anyway)....only about a 4 hour drive.

Blocks #4 and #5 with Images....

2011-07-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well I finished my goal for this week.... sorta... This is block #4...middle left side. the outer edges of the outside blocks are all black... It look odd looking at them individually but it will all look OK when pieced together....I am happy with all the choices I made on this block and it is ready for embellishing.

This is block #5 and will be the center of the quilt and is overall lighter in color. I am not happy at all with the piece of lace down the right side of the main image... It is too large and overwhelming and merges with the lace at either end of it. But I went through bags and bags and drawers and bins of lace and didn't find the "perfect" one for now... So will move on and am sure I will find something I like better to replace it. When frustrated, just quit for now is my motto... So then I started looking for black glass vintage buttons on ebay...equally frustrating because all the ones I liked were too expensive. I have a LOT of fabulous vintage metal ones but wanted a few black glass to mix in...

Block 9 and a new trick for this old dog!!!

2011-07-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've finished stitching the images on block nine... Don't you just LOVE those posters... considering the importance of the bicycle to the suffrage movement, it was so appropriate to have a brand marketed to women entitled "Triumph" Tonight I will finish the images on block four and should have block 5 done by the weekend... Then they will be ready for final touches on seams,beads, buttons and other embellishments... I have been saving stuff for this specific quilt for ages and can hardly wait to start using it all

Then as often happens to me I discovered something I had been doing for years and years could be done in a better way... so I am sharing.... I have always basted down my desired images and then proceeded to embellish around them...sometimes with three layers of trim and then beading... After about the third time sewing around the same images it is often not flat as I would like or with a slight. bulge or bump...

So this time I did NOT baste it down. Instead I stitched the three layers of trims to the image off the block and it is still flat and perfect .... now I will stitch the whole assemblage to the block.... much better.

I should also mention that thanks to Allie I used lightweight fusible KNIT interfacing on the back of all images and what a difference it makes..

Addendum: In case you miss the post on the bicycle and the suffrage movement:

For fascinating reading on this subject go to Women on Wheels: The Bicycle and the Women’s Movement of the 1890s. And a book that I found invaluable is Wheels of Change: How women rode the bicycle to freedom by Sue Macy. This is a National Geographic book that I love and would be a perfect gift for a teen or preteen girl. If you have a daughter, granddaughter or niece of this age I highly recommend it and they will look at their bikes differently for the rest of their life.

Morris and his Stash!!

2011-07-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

If Morris were human he'd be a crazy quilter... He's 18 months old now and, except for the occasional paper plate, has outgrown the chewing stage... But he's a corgi and a herding dog by breed and takes this breeding seriously...

Every day he starts "herding" his stash into the living room... Today (so far) it includes 3 blankets from the various dog beds, 1 leash, 1 DH's slipper, 3 toys, 1 Molly's bowl, 2 socks and a plastic clip... Some things like the blankets are from other rooms and awkward to pull around corners and through doors... By the end of the day he'll add his bowl, the other slipper and probably one or two of my shoes at least..

He'll guard it for a while then gets up and wanders around the house until he finds something else unattached... At bedtime I put it all away and the next day he starts all over again. He doesn't chew or destroy anything... just collects his stash... Sound like anyone we know!!!!

I readily admit I'm an out-of-control, compulsive collector and I truly believe it's an addiction... I have more lace (fabric, trim, wood, kitchen gadgets, dishes, etc.) than I can ever use in two lifetimes but will buy another piece in a minute if the price is right... Rationally I know I should stop... If I don't have it already, I don't need it .....but....... So somehow it's only fitting that I have a dog who compulsively collect things also....

No company at this table tonight.....

2011-06-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

Since I have this humongous mess of laces scattered all over trying to pick ones to use with the images on blocks 4,5 & 9, I decided to go ahead and pick out the base layers of trims for blocks 1,3 & 7 ...next in the series... Now that the images are on I am picking up steam and may get at least most of the 6 blocks done this summer...

I had to stick in this picture of a blue perennial geranium... (all one plant) We have hot dry summers and frigid winters and these plants survive with no care and not supplemental water and spread in all the area I want them too...and bloom like crazy and have lovely foliage AND the deer don't eat them....

Lower left is my gazing ball made from mirror bits and a bowling ball.. They are glued on it with a tile mastic and have stood up to many many winters.

Finally thanks to everyone who let me know I did that hummingbird block for Ritva.... I sent her an email this morning asking if she could send it back so I could fix it.... see blocktalk post