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Showing posts from 2016

It feels good to be on top of things

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I have already completed my January guild challenge.  I love the way my little tree turned out!  Orange and blue were the colors chosen for January.  This is not a combination I use normally but I do like it.  I really enjoyed stitching this one! I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/

Journal prompt week 52

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The quote for this week was "It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air."  I wasn't overly keen on this quote.  I decided to use the proverb that says 'a merry heart doeth good like medicine.'  There is actual science to prove this to be true.  I know a lot of people think 2016 was a terrible year.  I honestly prefer to think upon all the positives that have happened.  I have a long list of things that I am grateful happened this year.  I am looking forward to doing this journal prompt again next year.  I am hoping that I can handle on the fun projects I have signed up to participate in 2017.

Work in Progress Wednesday

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I managed to complete my three crazy quilt ornaments for my sons.  The green and white striped fabric was from a shirt from Dad.  The solid red fabric was from a blouse from my Mom.  I think using fabric from their clothes makes the ornaments special.  I think my sons appreciate that too.  I had so much fun doing a little class to teach my daughter in law, her sister and two of my nieces how to make these ornaments.  It was a lovely evening spent with some terrific young women.  My husband called it a party because he saw how much I enjoyed it. I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/ http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-90/

I heart Macro

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I find the pattern rather interesting.  The colors are a little dull for me but it still a cool photo.  I can get totally wrapped up in the texture that I find at the auto wreckers.  I find myself looking at the world in a totally different way and that is good. I am linking with http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/?utm_source=image-in-ing&utm_campaign=f63ea12dd1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_11_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adfb5a538b-f63ea12dd1-70817477 https://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/12/at-end-of-year-through-my-lens-nr-74.html

December Bead Journal

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Another year coming to a close.  Another year of doing bead journals.  I have been participating in this for a number of years now.  I still love it.  I am excited to begin a new year of bead journals in 2017.  I have signed up to participate in the Crazy Quilt Journal Project for 2017.  I took 2016 off from participating in that group.  I needed a rest from it.  I have a number of ideas  that will incorporate my bead journals.  I am excited to get started on that.  There are so many marvelous ways to keep my hands busy.  I am so very blessed. I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/ http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-89/

Journal Week #51

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This journal project is almost finished.  I have truly enjoyed it this year.  I am hoping that this project is offered again next year. The quote this week is "Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world."  Sharing my creativity is a great joy for me.  Last night I got to teach four lovely young women how to make crazy quilt Christmas ornaments.  It was a delight!

Work in Progress Wednesday

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Orange and blue are the colors for our guild challenge for January.  This is my start.  The background is paper adhered to fabric and then stitched.  The paper was colored with some shimmery paints.  The camera did not capture the shimmer  :(  My plan is to add beads and buttons to the tree. I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/

I heart Macro

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I have spent many a happy hour at a wrecking yard.  This image is rather different than most of my photos I have captured there.  Not a lot of color.  Still I find it striking.  The plant material with a back drop of a faded auto.  It is a bright and sunshiny day today, possibly that is why I am okay with lack of color. I am linking with http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/?utm_source=image-in-ing&utm_campaign=248ebe9518-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_11_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adfb5a538b-248ebe9518-70817477 https://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/12/holiday-baking-through-my-lens-nr-73.html

Guild Challenge

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I have completed my six inch square guild challenge.  I wasn't overly inspired with this challenge but it looks okay.  It is a bright and cheerful color scheme.  I am excited to see what all the other guild members created.  There is so much talent and creativity in our guild. I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/

Journal week #50

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A flower does not compete with the flower next to it, it just blooms.  A great quote.  Competition is common place in our world.  I try to not join in that struggle.  Sometimes I am successful but not always.  I am most happy when I just do my best and am not concerned with the outcome.

Work in Progress Wednesday

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I am having fun with my bead journal for December.  I am going for a floral theme.  I haven't done as much as I would like so far but I will get it done. I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/ http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-88/

Take a Stitch Tuesday

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This is the last stitch for this year.  It is good to take a break at the holiday season.  I added the Woven Zig Zag Chain stitch to this CQ block.  I like the texture it adds.  Thanks to Sharon B at  Pintangle  for hosting this learning opportunity.

My Perfect Little Tree

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My Christmas tree is so nicely shaped this year.  It isn't as tall as we usually have but that's okay.  My Christmas ornaments are a mish mash of homemade and store bought.  They all have special memories for me.  I especially love the miniature knitted socks, mittens and hat my Mom made so many years ago. I am linking with https://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/12/frosty-morning-in-munich.html http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/

Added Color

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My leaf rubbings have been updated with some color.  I used Inktense pencils.  Oh man, do I love them!  I am much happier now that they have some vibrant color.  I am considering sewing them into a block and donating it.  Next year Canada will be 150 years old and a large quilt is being created to commemorate that. I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/ http://francenadeau.com/blog/

Week 49 Journal challenge

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And suddenly you just know it's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.  I enjoy starting something new.  Possibilities seem endless when you are starting something new.  Sticking with something when the newness has worn off isn't quite as much fun.  Over the years I have learned to persist and stick with it.  There is a certain pleasure in seeing a job finished.  I have definitely become better at finishing and also not starting something new when it is likely I won't be able to finish it.

Work in Progress Wednesday

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This is the start of my six inch guild challenge piece.  Clearly the colors for this month are red and yellow.  I created the little heart with two pieces of plastic and some stars, glitter, crayon sandwiched between and then ironed to melt it all together.  It is fun and textural.  I added some silk sari yarn couched down around the edge.  More stitching is needed.  Not sure if I will have time or not.  It really is too plain without some added embroidery though.  I will have to find the time. I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/ http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-87/  

Take a Stitch Tuesday

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The Raised Cup stitch is just so cool.  I love the way it looks.  I have repeated it a number of times in the above two photos.  I also tried doing it with gold beads, top photo.  Will definitely be doing more of this stitch.  Thanks to  Sharon B  for the instructions.  I really appreciate being reminded of this stitch!

I heart Macro

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A few weeks ago my sweet hubby gave me a bouquet of roses.  They have since died but I never got around to composting them.  There is something to be said for being a not so great housekeeper because a spider built a web on this rose. I thought it would make a cool photograph.   I spritzed it with a bit of water and it is even more interesting. I am linking with https://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/12/sunny-winter-days-and-breaks-through-my.html http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/?utm_source=image-in-ing&utm_campaign=561fb0c8c2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_11_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adfb5a538b-561fb0c8c2-70817477

Leaves

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The leaves are pretty much all gone now.  The landscape is grey and bleak.  So is my mood today, a rarity for me.  I am mostly an upbeat person.  The frustrations of the week have gotten to me.  blah!  My leaf rubbings pictured above have helped to add a bit of color to my life.  MUCH more color is needed for the leaves to really sing.  I haven't quite decided how to do that.  It needs to be easy and fun though! I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/ http://francenadeau.com/blog/

Journal Page #48

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We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.  Great quote.  I enjoy helping when I can.  I love when I feel I have made a difference in someone's life.  My life seems so rich.  I have been volunteering at community center that caters to the homeless and needy.  Last week we did a found poetry journal page.  I had cut up old book pages into strips.  We sifted through the strips to find words that jumped out at us.  The bottom image is the journal page I created with my found poetry.  It was so fun to do this.  The participants asked me to bring it back again this week.

Work in Progress Wednesday

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My bead journal for November is finished.  I really enjoyed creating this one.  Finding the right beads to go with the shell pieces was fun.  I enjoy going through my treasure to find just the right things.  It is a part of the process of creating that I really enjoy.  Adding some silk ribbon embroidery seemed right for this piece. I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/ http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-86/

I heart Macro

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A frozen fall leaf.  Frozen in time for me to enjoy. I am linking with http://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/11/best-christmas-markets-in-europe.html http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/?utm_source=image-in-ing&utm_campaign=202d2a7da8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_11_21&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adfb5a538b-202d2a7da8-70817477

Fabric Journal

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I am loving the way this page turned out.  The journal was constructed with the pages sewn together.  That means the I that all my work is being done on the surface.  I have the enjoyed the challenge.  I applied oil pastels through a hand cut stencil.  I glued on the little paper leaves.  It was quite simple to do. I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/ http://francenadeau.com/blog/

Journal Week #47

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The quote is a bit hard to read.  It says - To get all you can from life, put all you can into it.  Live with enthusiasm.  That is good advice.  I enthusiastically created this page.  I glued some fabric scraps to the left side and had so much fun doing it.  On the right I painted with Gelatos and watercolor pencils.  Each side of the spread is quite different so maybe they don't go together so well.   I don't really care.

Work in Progress Wednesday

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My stitching time is limited right now.  I did make some progress on my little butterfly though.  All the things that have been taking away my stitching time are about to slow down so I am hoping to be able to stitch a bit more in the coming weeks. I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/ http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-85/

Take a Stitch Tuesday

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I have added the Top Knotted Buttonhole stitch to this crazy quilt block.  I am so grateful to  Sharon B  for providing the instructions each week.  It is fun to revisit stitches and learn new ones.

I heart Macro

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I haven't posted one of my kaleidoscopes for a while.  I little blast of color is just what I need today.  It is a rather grey and dull day here. I am linking with https://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/11/benis-bath-time-through-my-lens-nr-69.html http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/

Progress on November Bead Journal

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I am enjoying this bead journal so much!  It is getting close to finished but there are still more beads to be added.  It would be great to get this finished before the end of November so that I can get a jump start on December. I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/ http://francenadeau.com/blog/

Journal Week #46

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If you can't figure out your purpose, figure out your passion.  For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.  I like this quote but honestly sometimes I struggle with knowing my purpose.  I know my passion is creating.  Creating is a huge benefit to me.  I am not so sure that is always a benefit to others though and purpose involves benefiting others in mind.  I had fun creating this page.  I used watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, H2o watercolors and Inktense pencils.  I also got out some old supplies I haven't used in a long time.  My embossing markers and embossing powder to add emphasis to the words purpose and passion.

Work in Progress Wednesday

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Over the years I have created a number of crazy quilt Christmas ornaments.  I usually did them in multiples so that I could give some to friends.  Last spring I bumped into a friend who has a few of these ornaments.  She was telling me how special they are to her and every Christmas she hangs them and they remind her of our special friendship.  Wow!  That meant a lot to me. I have been wanting to create some ornaments for my children.  I have saved a green and white striped shirt from my Dad and a red blouse from my Mom.  I picked out a piece of Christmas fabric and some trim to go with them.  I think this is a kind of cool way to honour my parents.  I hope the kids like them! I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/

Take a Stitch Tuesday

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Life has been busy and I haven't had a chance to participate in Take a Stitch Tuesday for a couple of weeks.  Truth be told, if I had really liked the last few stitches I would have made time to try them again.  Life has slowed down a little this week.  I felt the Chained Barred Stitch worked well with this piece.  I couched down some lovely ribbon.  I have a huge stash of funky yarns that could have been used but I liked the look of the ribbon.  I started stitching with some plain cotton that was already threaded into a needle.  When it ran out I was upset with myself for taking the easy road, using an already threaded needle. I didn't remember the specific thread and therefore couldn't match it.  Then I thought so what!  Use another color of thread.  Good grief, a pretty simple solution really. Thanks to Sharon B at  Pintangle  for running Take a Stitch Tuesday.

Green and Yellow

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These six inch monthly challenges for our guild are quite fun.  November our two colors are green and yellow.  I really enjoy going through my stash of experiments to find the right colors.  Using bits and pieces makes for some interesting combinations.  Working in the six inch square format is pretty fast too. My base is wool roving applied to fabric and then a paper heart has been added with hand embroidery.  I added a little yellow shell button for further interest. The challenge for December is red and yellow.  I already have my base picked out.  I want to get a head start on it since it is such a busy time of year. I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/ http://francenadeau.com/blog/

Journal week #45

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If you don't like something, change it.  If you can't change it, change your attitude.  Maya Angelou  Pretty good advice really.  There are plenty of things that we can change and plenty of things we cannot change.  I find when I can keep a good attitude life is a lot better. I had a lot of fun creating a doodle with black permanent ink and then filling in the doodle with watercolor.  It is very relaxing to just fill in with color.

Work in Progress Wednesday

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I am still working on my little silk book.  I wasn't thrilled with the dragonfly I stitched on the last page so the book sat not being stitched for a while.  I am not one to give up permanently on a project though.  I am back at it with my hand dyed silk thread and butterfly motif this time.  Silk thread on silk fabric feels so luscious! I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/ http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-83/

I heart macro

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I came across some lovely frosted leaves this morning.  I wish I would have more time to enjoy them.  I am linking with https://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/11/autumn-railroad-through-my-lens-nr-67.html http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/

November Bead Journal started

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I have a dear friend who travels the world.  She kindly brings me back a little something and it is always my intention to honour her kindness by using it.  She gave me these interesting shell pieces.  The camera did not capture their lovely iridescence, unfortunately. I have adhered them and stitched down some frothy fabric.  The background is some dyed paper towel.  Let the beading begin! I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/ http://francenadeau.com/blog/fabric-thread-and-yarn-link-party-45/

Journal week #44

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Laughter is an instant vacation.  Great quote.  We can always use some laughter in our lives.  I have read that it is like inner aerobics.  I had fun creating the mandala on this page.  Mind you it was a bit difficult to get nice lines as the page is very textured.  I glued a layer of dyed paper towel to it first. On another art journal note, tomorrow I am going to be teaching art journals at a local community center for six weeks.  This should be really interesting.  I really hope that the participants find it helpful!

Work in Progress Wednesday

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I have installed some of my art at Kwartzlab.  As the artist in residence there that is one of my responsibilities.  I think my art makes a pretty decent display.  Being the artist in residence allows me to use the really cool tools there.  I am excited for the laser cutter to be fixed so that I can start using it!  I think there is a lot of potential for laser cutting with fibre art. I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/

I heart Macro

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Still loving the fall, especially the leaves!  There are still a lot of leaves on the trees in this area.  I am very grateful for the color lasting so long this year. I am linking with http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/ https://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/10/halloween-fun-facts.html

October Bead Journal

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I finally got this bead journal finished.  I am okay with the way it turned out but for some reason I did not love making this one.  I think it was because I was filling in spaces.  There was a lack of freedom for me. I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/

Journal challenge week #43

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The quote for this week is rather long.  "Don't just chase your dreams. Stalk them. Hide in the bushes. Follow them around town. If your dreams aren't seriously considering a restraining order against you, get busy." I shortened it to 'dream big juicey dreams, chase them down.'    I had fun adding nice bright colors to the page. My journal pages are quite simple.  I often like the looks of journals pages that are created with a lot of layers but I find my time is limited for journal pages.

Work in Progress Wednesday

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Yesterday my fibre guild met for our monthly meeting.  It was so good to get together with like minded artists.  The lower photo is  my six inch experimental piece I brought for our year long challenge.  You can see what the other guild members brought on our facebook page here  https://www.facebook.com/grandguildoffibreartists/    Orange purple were our challenge colors for October. For November our colors are green and yellow.  The top photo shows what I have so far.  I have been going through my stash of experiments to pull together my pieces.  It feels good to use up bits and pieces. I am linking  with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/

I heart Macro

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I also heart color and the abstract quality of this photo.  My macro lens is so fabulous. I am linking with https://mersad-photography.blogspot.ca/2016/10/behind-corner-through-my-lens-nr-65.html http://image-in-ing.blogspot.ca/

Playing with my Sewing Machine

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I have had my beautiful sewing machine for about 1 1/2 years.  I was thinking the other day that I really haven't used it as much as I thought I would.  Today I found the time to do some playing.  I enjoyed trying out the fancy stitches that it has.  I have a hard time throwing away beautiful ribbons that come on packages so I used those to stitch down onto this piece.  I also got out some of my hand dyed lace and trims.  It was quite lovely to just play for an hour or so. I am linking with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca/

Work in Progress Wednesday

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I have not had a lot of time for stitching lately.  I managed to find a few minutes to work on my silk on silk dragonfly.  It actually looks a little sloppy to me.  I am not super happy with the way this looks.  Possibly I will add some more stitching to it, when I can find a few more minutes! I am linking with http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/ http://www.supermomnocape.com/2016/10/17/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-80/

Take a stitch Tuesday

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This is my first try at the Inverted Feather Stitch.  It is a cool stitch!  I like it even though I didn't do a terrific job with it.  It isn't fair to myself to expect perfection on the first try.  So I accept and move along.  Thanks to  Sharon B  for the instructions.