Fantastic Soutache Tutorial

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

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!!!!

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....

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 !!!

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.