It's been an interesting Sunday around here. We have been running ragged every day and so decided that this weekend was MAJOR slow down weekend. The kids are watching movies and a heap of "Bananas In Pajamas" videos (those of you in Australia will probably know these) and hanging out. Rex has been playing on his computers and doing little "honey-do" jobs around the house and playing in his dark room (which I have yet to get him to blog about).

I have been trying to work in my latest batch of fabric from the overgenerous crazy quilt group ladies. Every time I get a huge influx of more stash, it requires me to find more room and to find some logical way to put it all away so I can find it again. However, it's been a fun way to spend a Sunday....I keep seeing things and thinking of new exciting projects....like I need them! LOL!

So, I'm working on some "old projects" and getting along farther on one that was pretty much just an "idea" - the geisha has had the colors altered in photoshop and then I ran her off on silk. I'm surrounding her with velvet which I'm going to emboss with some stamps. I have some other embellishments I might (or might not) add, and I'm thinking this one is truly an experiment...I'm not happy with it at all, but I'm trying all sorts of new techniques:

Then I've hit a wall with my "bags of fun". now I know why everyone left theirs unfinished before they added stuff. I think I want to do some needlework, but not sure what to add....so I'm going to hang it up on my wall in this state for a bit and maybe inspiration will hit. I think part of my problems was working so literally with the jeans...I think I now need to break free and put some huge animal (isnt' that totally cool?) or something on it!
Well I'm going back to playing with stablizer, silk and silky velvets....I think it's my curse in life that all my favorite fabrics are horrible to sew with!

OH! And my other little "job" today was trying to fix some of the fussier Barbie outfits that my daughter loves! CURSES! They are all made with the shabbiest materials in the fussiest of styles...her Barbies are going to be my curse! Any hints on keeping Barbie clothes repaired, I'd be totally grateful!

Stumble It!

I've had a webshots account for a long time, and I'm finally getting around to making the move to Flickr. I feel so "behind"! LOL!

However, as I'm moving in I find two new groups I have to be part of....the vintage Apron group and Ward-o-matic's The Retro Kid group - with oodles of cool 50's kid art. I still need to take pictures of my aprons, but I got a bunch of photos up in the
Stumble It!

Like I needed a new project ...but I can never turn down something fun. The jean challenge looked so cool I had to try it.
This is my first photo:

I ran across these embellishments...the ribbon had the turqoise and little beads on it...and I thought it complimented the 80's stone washed look! (can you tell how old I am! LOL! I'm still having a bit of a challenge with the suede. I need to go get a bigger needle for my sewing machine, but it's all tacked down and I'll go back over it when I get a heftier setup with a needle. Now for more embellishment!

I just started looking over the flickr group today and WOW! Cool stuff folks! Stumble It!

I have been absolutely slack about blogging, but what a week! I'm finishing up 2 websites, and Missy C started her "big school"! It's ECE (Early Childhood Education...aka Pre-K) but we're not "allowed" to call it preschool - this is her "BIG school". So obviously Missy C is really excited! She's on day 3 and still eager to go, she's been coming home and working diligently on writing her name, so she seems motivated...both Rex and I are amazed at where she gets this attitude...we were both official "underachievers". So, lets hope this is her way of rebelling! :-)

Lots of stitching news...mostly an update on my jean bag, but I'll do another post about that....the big news is that Rex has started his own photography blog: Shoot First. Give it a quick look. Hopefully he'll keep it updated with interesting photography stuff. Be sure to stop by and say hi to him...if you're into photography let him know where the good groups are so that he can get into the photoblogging world. I know it's a big one out there! Stumble It!

I've been waiting for all the correct permissions (the future owner and the creator of the "fairy pattern - HI Linda and Tina!) So, here's my idea for the "bride's quilt"...the gal in the neighborhood who wants to do something with the "dress she never wore" (it was ruined by the seamstress). So, here are the fabrics and my sketches so far.
This is the ruined dress....cool beadwork, eh?

These are the fabrics she picked out (I'm going to supplement some of my own):
Graciously Linda Poole, Mom of the FairyGoddess Mothers is letting me use her fairy pattern (you'll recognize it from my CQ fairy quilt...I can't believe it's been that long since I worked on it...eek!)- the "bride" (we'll call her!) really loved the pattern and frankly I can't find anything like it on the net. So, with Linda's and Tina's blessing, here's my first sketch. I don't normally do sketches, so I assume this will be my last one and I'll start piecing....now...to find the time (I'm still going back and forth on the hair, I agree with Linda that the original fairy hair is pretty cool)!
If any of you are interested, the Fairy Goddess Mothers is a really cool group. You get the pattern for a VERY minimal fee and then you take it and use it in a quilt, you can then tour your quilt with the fairy's (or just keep it and love it!). You also have to write a story about your fairy (I have a VERY rough draft with mine).

Stumble It!

I know a week is crazy when it takes me 2 days to finish a post like this.

Well such is the life of a Mother with 2 little kids, but this week kept me busy - with the kids and most of it was them getting into trouble. No idea if it was a phase of the moon or going back to school, but every time I turned around there was a pool of water on the floor or something. The latest was Missy C came running upstairs with a bloody finger - which I attended to immediately. It was only when I started asking how she got cut (after bandaids were applied) that the story came out. First, she told me how she used "Mommy's scissors" (my sharpest embroidery scissors - she had to climb on a chair and then a table to get them). Then when she led me down to the scene of the crime, there was a pile of hair on the floor (eek! - I hadn't even looked at her hair while tending to her bandage, and when she was all bandaged up (it was just one band aid) she began with the story of what happened. Yep, there was a PILE of hair on the floor of my new studio and she'd cut 4 inches off one side. Amazing she didn't crop an ear! However, here is her "corrected haircut". I think the hairstylist actually got a huge kick out of fixing it.

Missy C has an apron she wants me to make and so I thought this was a fantastic opportunity to do the mini-me tie one on! However, now I've been sucked into Sharon's bags of fun challenge...I've been surfing google "images" for Jean bags...GREAT ideas out there!
Well, I'll get going...Rex has a meeting tonight and I'm planning on cutting up a pair of his jeans (BWA-HAA-HAA-HAA!!!)
So, we'll see if I have time for the aprons...maybe next month! (but who knows, maybe I'll get REALLY ambitious!) Stumble It!

My father in-law pointed out that it's been 4 days since I blogged!! I'm afraid today maybe a long multiple-entry day (Peter check my other blog too!). I was planning this entry last weekend, when I was actively working on Missy C's kitty cat quilt. I finally got my camera to produce pictures again (no idea what was up there) and I took some photos as I was working - I'm by NO means an expert at needleturn applique, but I LOVE doing it. There is an instant gratification about applique that I really enjoy and you can still take it with you and work in front of the tv. I thought this might be encouragement to some who might not try it otherwise! This is the block in progress. I just have the dragonfly and turtle pinned into place, and at this point I was finishing up the big pink cat:
This is a corner as I'm trimming it. I took a needleturn applique class and one of the best pieces of advice was to trim as you go. Leave more than you'll turn under and then trim RIGHT before you're going to stitch...that way if the fabric is going to unravel it does it with stuff you're cutting off anyway (especially good if you leave projects undone for a while)
This photo is the "stitch" - I'm still a beginner so this might be a tad big (keep in mind this is an extreme close up!). But kind of like hand quilting, I've noticed stitches do get smaller as you get better.
This was a helpful tip...I use my hand as a "pin" as I'm working on a big line of stitches. I still have it pinned in areas, so I don't let the whole thing slide. All of this (by the way) gets a heap more complicated when you use things other than cotton. Someone recently suggested that you use a spray that holds fabrics in place temporarily....a GREAT idea for slippery fabrics like silk and velvet...I haven't tried it yet.
Then this is just a "quick peek" at how I'm finishing all the blocks...just a blanket stitch (with a little knot at the end of each stitch for more security) all around the edges - again, not horribly even, but I like it more handmade looking and less "perfect" (LOL or is it an excuse for the mistakes....not sure!). It's taking a while (mostly because the blanket stitch is boring), but piecing the whole quilt together will seem like a BREEZE after all of this. I also altered the pattern...the suggested way to do it in the book is to do a cat per block and I'm doing larger blocks with 2 cats each and a critter here and there. I might even put a cat across a border...not sure yet.
Stumble It!

I was sorting through old paperwork in my office this morning and ran across a card for Elizabeth Johnson Artglass - I met her at the last Bead show here in town and aside from being local (she's from Boulder Colorado), you have GOT to see her gooseberries! Her items are kind of pricey (at least I was sort of surprised by the price) but the results are absolutely spectacular - and thus I'm sure worth every penny! You can specify whether you want them just to lie around (as sculpture) or if you want a hole so they can be beads.
Can't you think of all sorts of wonderful uses for them? Or if you can't, don't you just HAVE to have some? Stumble It!