February

I started my February Bead Journal Page today - It's loosely based on Mardi Gras colorwise anyway. I changed up and did some regular thread embroidery on the fabric before I began the beading. I'm taking an on-line embroidery class and the first assignment is a white on white/neutral piece and I needed some color AND I needed to practice my stitching so this month's page covers both of those things..

Here's the beginnings of the white on white postcard sized piece.

busy as a bee

I've just started the "Sumptuous Surfaces" course taught by Sharon Boggon on Joggles.com. The first lesson involved designing your project - a novel idea for me as I tend to just jump in feet first and paddle like a puppy. This weekend I've spent the majority of my time sketching and doodling, manipulating images on the computer and trying to come up with a 4 x 6 inch design for my first project. Initially I was at a loss - plan something? how novel is that? And once I had what I thought was a plan, the notion of tranforming it into a stitch pattern simply boggled me.

I visited a nearby shop this afternoon to collect some new fibers for the project. The first project is monotones - preferably whites/ecrus and those colors just aren't in my vocabulary and I really didn't have many 'fancy' fibers to use. I went to the Shibori Dragon - oh my! it took my breath away - honestly. There were such beautiful fabrics and threads and I didn't even venture into the knitting room. I purchased some silks, rayons, overdyed cottons, wools and one skein of thread made of bamboo. They also had wonderful little bags of scraps for crazy quilting, so I had to add a couple of those to my pile. These bags were crammed full of wonderful treasures - most too small for me to use in my style of crazy quilting (read here - use BIG pieces of fabric to accodomdate big and clumbsy stitching) but this is just what I have longed to have in my fabric stash for fabric collage pieces -

When I came home I had a much better idea of what I wanted to do and came up with this:

Now to wait until the next class on Thursday to begin. I think though that it wouldn't hurt to work up a little stitch sampler before beginning the class piece.

The new puppy

is quite a joy - even though he loves to steal my bobbins of thread and vials of beads and though on two occassions i've found him with my pin cushion with the needles and pins spread out on the floor around him (it's a wonder he didn't get hurt) he still brings me a great deal of laughter. He is quite a sweet little one. Well, he's not so little anymore - he is growing and growing and we fear he'll be huge. I've been working on two quilts and a few more beaded projects but there's nothing worth posting a photo of quite yet - hopefully this weekend - but to entertain you for now - here's another picture of the little guy.

My latest diversion

I have been working on a couple of new art projects, but mostly I've been playing with this little guy - a puppy is just the best thing in the world!

January Bead Journal Project Page - Completed!

This afternoon when I came home from work the bead I'd ordered for the January page was in the mailbox so I quick like a bunny, finished the page. I guess it is rather unorthodox to embroider a full page while leaving a 'hole' for just the 'perfect' bead but that's what I did - I guess I'm pretty lucky to have found something - the 'perfect' bead would be the lampworked lentil in the center - made by an amazing artist on etsy. I'm happy to have this done - I may be travelling unexpectedly as I received a call today that my mother had fallen and broken her pelvis and was hospitalized. She lives in Phoenix so a visit would be a bit more than a 'day trip'. In any event, the page is done and I'm quite happy with it. It's much more sparkly in person.

January Bead Journal Project Page

Day one of beading
I've been sick with the flu for the past few days but spent a good deal of time working on my January page inspired by the Nutcracker Ballet - sort of a combination of dance of sugar plum fairies and dance of the flowers.


Day two of beading.

Hello 2008!

I started and finished my December Bead Journal Project page yesterday. I had a vision in my brain - my memories of Christmas with those old funky ornaments that were bonuses for filling up your tank with 28 cent a gallon gas. Rows and rows of lights that were those old giant bulbs, not fiber optics or chasers or faux icicles. My memories of going to the nutcracker ballet every year. I had a great vision in my mind, but as sometimes (or oftimes) happens my fingers wouldn't do what my brain had in mind. I didn't like the page at all in the beginning but I wanted to try Robin's suggestion of just beading on, past the dislike for the page. So I didn't rip anything out and I just kept beading. I still don't 'love' the page, but I don't hate it either.

Happy New Year.

I have been remiss

in updating this blog. I've been terribly busy at my 'real' job and though I made about 50 heart ornaments during the month of December, they were flying out the door too fast to take photos of them.
The biggest news is that our new dog arrived and he is so sweet. His name is Zakk.

I began work last night on my December bead journal page and hope to complete it this everning before the stroke of midnight. Hopefully I'll have a photo in the morning.

Happy New Year!

Fun Project

This project was probably the most fun sewing I've had in a long time. You know when you just look at something and giggle with happiness? The wonky beady dangles on these pieces did that for me -

A bit more work done on the Fabric Frame class pieces

This was a lot of fun though I still have a bit more to do. I really enjoyed taking this class on-line so that I could work on my own schedule and the process gave me a ton of ideas for other things.

I've been busy

I've been making some beaded heart ornaments


taking 2 on-line fabric art classes



making more beaded dolls


and getting ready for this little guy to come and live with us.



thanks for visiting.

some free holiday fun!

Lisa Vollrath has once again created her wonderful Christmas Countdown with free pinrtable images - it's like a little present visiting her site every day to see what is new - check it out here.

Bad Blogger

I've been a very bad blogger but I haven't been slacking off - just busy busy busy with fabric and beads. I've made a bunch of beaded dolls that will be listed on etsy just as soon as I can figure out how to make my photos look decent on that site - here's just a sampling of them -

I've also been working on the two classes that I'm taking a joggles.com. It is really a fun process for me because I can work according to my own schedule, though it does take a bit of self-discipline to do the lessons. I'm taking the Encrusted Crazy Quilt class from Sharon Boggon who is incredible even though you can't really tell from my feeble attempts. I am learning far more I think than I would have at a regular 6 hour class. Sharon really gives us a lot of information and it is great to have something to refer back to. I'm printing out the classes as they are posted and keeping them in a notebook. So far there are over 100 pages! That's how in depth she is at teaching the process of crazy quilting.

These two blocks are after lesson two - Because of the Thanksgiving holiday I haven't gotten to lesson 3 yet which is block embellishment. I am really looking forward to trying my hand at ribbon embroidery.

The other class I'm taking is Alma Stoller's Art Fabric Picture Frame class. This class is lots of fun as well though much freer than the crazy quilt class. Our first assignment was to 'make' some fabric - using either muslin we had altered ourselves or commercial fabric we were to cut it up and sew it back into a flat sheet that we'll use to make our frame. Being an over achiever, I had to do it both ways.

I'm behing in this class too and need to do surface embellishment with free motion embroidery which should be a lot of fun.

It's almost time to work on my December Bead Journal Project page. I have so many ideas spinning in my head for a December page - perhaps I'll do a page showing how fractured my mind seems to be in December.

If you want to see more of the beaded dolls, you can always check my flickr page to see what I'm up to. Thanks for visiting. It always makes me smile to check my site meter and see that people from all over the world have visited.

November Page

I completed my November Bead Journal Page in 2 sittings so there aren't progress photos of this one. I started Thursday after work and finished it at 2 this morning. The past few weeks have had challenges and one of my not so great characteristics is that during times of challege, I tend to get rather stubborn (to put it mildly). And so the November page is titled "not everything is black and white" (or don't be a pighead). It didn't change my perspective on the world much but it did make a me laugh a lot and that in itself is a very good thing.

The altered shoe

is done - I've looked at it for too long and am not sure that I even like it anymore. I guess it's like cooking Thanksgiving dinner and then not being hungry. But the deadline fast approaches, so off in the mail it goes tomorrow.
Lots more photos here

"Come to the edge, he said.
They said, we are afraid.
Come to the edge, he said.
They said, we are afraid.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came.
He pushed them.
And they flew."
- Guillaume Apollinaire

The Beaded Shoe

Before I start my November BJP page, I wanted to finish this beaded shoe. I studied dance for many years as a young girl, but unfortunately due to orthopaedic problems I was not able to continue. A shattered right metatarsal requiring surgery was the first of a long string of orthopaedic procedures that has left me with feet that look quite a bit like those of mummies dug up in ancient Egypt. When I learned of an art call for an altered shoe, a little light went off in my head about the beauty and pain of ballet and I began work on this shoe. Well, first I had to find a shoe. Pointe shoes are not inexpensive but I found a source for used ones (for decorative purposes) on eBay. The shoes I am using were practice shoes from a ballerina in the Phoenix ballet. It amazed me how different shoes are now. When I was dancing, the toe box was a chunk of wood - we danced with our toes directly onto the chunk of wood - with a bit of lambs wool for cushion - the new shoes seem not so torturous, though the shoe was still a trick to bead with its' leather supports and solid wood (?) toebox. I broke many a needle pushing and pulling it through the leather with pliers - not quite the image one thinks of when imagining someone sitting and beading a lovely satin slipper and my fingertips are like pin cushions as I have yet, after 53 years on this round earth, learned how to use a thimble. The shoes are almost done. I have to let them sit on the work table for a bit before I'm ready to finish them - but since the deadline for submission is looming, I can't let them sit too long.

But here is the almost finished shoe - I tried to portray the rigidity and formality of ballet juxtaposed with the randomness of injury - I don't know if I 'got it', but I certainly enjoyed trying. The completed shoe will be up in a day or so but for now here is the work in progress.

2nd October page done before midnight

those things that go bump in the night

Home from ArtFiberFest

None of my projects are completed and my bags aren't unpacked. I did want to write this down though before I forgot it -

And the day came when the risk to remain in a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin


EDIT: ArtFiberFest was wonderful - it was quite small and intimate, like ArtFest used to be in the way back olden days (I crack myself up). Anyway, it was great. On the opening night, Teesha provided us with little packets and taught us how to make a funky quilt square - I became addicted to them and ended up making a whole book!

This is the back of it.
I made signatures of 140 lb watercolor paper that are sewn in - It is a big, fat, floppy book and I love it - +











My first class was happy hooking with Mary Stanley who is just a delightful person. I don't know that I'll ever do this again, but I've always wanted to learn and this environment was perfect for that. I made a little house











Friday, my class was with Kristin Steiner - I love Kristin - She creates the most warm and nurturing classroom environment in the world. This is the accordian book I made in her class.





The last day was a class with Pam Garrison - I was very tired by the last day. But I made this crazy quilt/wacky journal all the same. It's quite wonky and the fabrics really don't show true in this picture, but you get the idea.

My birthday was the Saturday of ArtFiberFest and my friend Suz brought me this yummy cake!

I had a great time, enjoyed doing nothing but playing with fabric and my friends for three days in a beautiful location but was very very very glad to be home!

Things that go bump in the night

I've been working on a 2nd page for October for the Bead Journal Project with a Halloween theme. It's fun to use goofy things and wacky color combinations (actually plum and poison apple green has been my favorite color combo since I was 16 and painted my bedroom those colors much to the horror of my parents),

I'll be at ArtFiberFest through the weekend and won't take this project with me so there'll be no more progress until I return. Usually when I return from art camp I am so full of new ideas that I've learned that I put whatever I've previously been working on on the back burner - I hope I can refocus on this page upon my return as I'd really like to finish it.

more hearts to take to artfiberfest as gifts

heart of the day

i'm making wee dangly beaded hearts as special gifts for people at AFF next week - here's the one from last night

You'd think I had enough with hearts but

I wanted to whip up a little something for a person that I did a 1-1 exchange with and I came up with this - how sweet - I think that I need to think about making some for valentine's day gifts.

The first October page is completed!

I've decided to prepare two October pages and then use whichever one is my favorite for the bound book - Here is the first one - I'm quite happy with it.

Un-stuck - Bead Journal Page - October day5

October page - day 4

i'm starting to get stuck - i'll need to ponder this page for awhile.

October Bead Journal Page - day 3

I'm not certain that I care for those large red navette sorta shaped beads but they are there now and I'm pushing through with the 'no ripping out' goal. Like many things, they'll probably be okay once I get other beads around them.

Walking a crooked path to love (and loving myself)

So the October "when I'm an old woman" page progresses. Robin talked about bead embroidery being therapy and initially I scoffed. Being a crusty, hardened by years of seeing the horrors humans perpetrate on one another ex-therapist, I saw little, if any, validity in her statements - until this piece. I suppose the first few pages I was busy trying to figure out what I was doing and with this piece I was able to just bead without thinking about the process and put more thought into the actual content of what I was beading. I worked until late into the night, until I couldn't see to thread the needle, I didn't want to stop - and when I went to bed all I could think about was the page and what it meant.

So here is the October page on day 2...

Beginning October

I have so many page ideas in my head, I really hope to get two done for October - maybe my journal pages will be double sided for each month? That would be pretty cool. October is my birth month so I have begun my "when I get old I shall wear purple" page. I've always loved purple and red together - long before there were ladies who wore those colors. When I wore a suit to work, I had a purple linen one that I would wear with a red silk blouse and red 3-inch heels (that would also be when I wore heels so you know it was a very very very long time ago. A particularly snotty woman at the office would always comment on my 'interesting' color choices to which I just would smile sweetly and say 'well bless your heart'. Now Southern women KNOW what 'well bless your heart' means but this woman was a Yankee so she thought that I was being nice.

I got up early this morning to start October before I came into the office. I saw some work done somewhere on the internet that had an interesting sequin application that I tried to mimic, but I didn't quite get it - Now I need to try and remember where I saw that piece so I can go back and look at it again as trying to do something from memory obviously isn't working. I still do like the glimmer of the bit of sequins and I am following the 'don't rip out' method so we'll see how it goes.

The other thing I worked on this weekend were these 'inchies' for a swap. I'm just not getting the 'inchie' thing - but they are done and in the mail and I've made a mental note not to do inchie swaps anymore. They sort of remind me of sea creatures.