Something from Nothing

New Jewels

2011-05-30T09:39:00.004-05:00

Long time no post...I am enjoying a 'staycation' this weekend. So far, I've completed some new jewelry, went to a fabulous bead shop in Des Moines, met up with my bff, and cleaned my studio. I hope to finish the weekend by finishing the quilting on a rather large lap quilt and try to get the binding done. We'll see how far I get! Anyhoo...on to the new jewels...

These first two photos show a set I made for myself from leftovers from a commissioned work. I used watermelon jade, new and reclaimed wood beads along with Vintaj wire for all of the wirework and clasps. The small dark wood beads were reclaimed from a rather uninteresting necklace I found at Goodwill.

This second set ended up being a belated birthday gift for my bff Jaci. It's made with both handmade and commercial ceramic beads, Czech glass, jade, Vintaj wire, charms, chain and clasp. Seems like some people toss around the 'bff' thing quite a bit, but in our case I think it's true. We met the summer before kindergarden and have been friends for 42 years now. I hope she thinks this did our friendship justice :).

Scrumptious Scraps Week 2

2011-03-08T08:10:00.005-06:00

Week two of my Scrumptious scraps class has been really fun. Above are photos of the dyed lace base. I'm hoping I didn't go too dark, and that my embellishments will show well once they are applied. I'm thinking that I'll add quite a bit of bead work to cover the areas I'm not that fond of. My plan to finish my piece is to add a border, and I have a very cool vintage crochet yoke that will act as a focal for the upper left corner. I will have a picture of that later, when my batteries are recharged.

On a side note, I have been working hard to organize my studio. I've been feeling totally overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I've accumulated over the last 23 years of quilting. I just don't want to share pictures yet because I still have a long way to go until it's finished. I don't suppose anyone else out there is in the same boat?

Scrumptious Scraps Week One

2011-03-02T22:47:00.004-06:00

I'm taking my very first online class at Joggles, an interesting online store that caters to art quilters and dollmakers. I have been wanting to take this class ever since I saw the beautiful example of work done by my friend Freda while at a retreat last summer in St. Louis.

I wasn't sure I would like an online class, but I know that it's unlikely that I will ever have the opportunity to take a class in person from the instructor, Christen Brown, since she resides in California.

The class project is to take odd bits of laces and apply them to a base. Once that is complete, there are 4 more lessons that will guide students to dye the base, and then add various embellishemnts. In my piece, I've combined vintage lace collars, small strips of scrap laces and Venice lace flower motifs. It is so great to finally have found a project to incorporate the beautiful pieces that have been languising in my lace box for more years than I care to count.

I'm really enjoying the process! I love that I didn't have to haul all the needed supplies any further than my worktable, and I wasn't stressed about not having the right supplies because everything I needed was close at hand. Christen's directions are clear, and she's been very prompt in answering questions in the class forum as they come up. I still miss the personal interaction with classmates and being able to see the class sample in person, but the lower stress level is worth it's weight in gold.

I'm really excited to start the next phase of the class, where we will dye the lace base that was created in the first lesson. I'll be sure to have photos when that part is done.

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T06:18:00.010-06:00

Steve and I have a busy day ahead, so we chose to celebrate yesterday. Our choice of celebration??? Eagle watching! Steve had been seeing a lot of them in our area, having seen more that 20 of them while hunting early Sunday morning with a friend. We went out yesterday afternoon with camera in hand, and I managed to get some great (for me) pictures.

This one let me get about 20 feet away before he took flight. Amazing to see one so close... Below is the beginning of an eagle's nest. I asked Steve, and he says that they do not build nests if they are migrating through. They only build if they intend to stay in the area. And of course, a trip to the country is not complete with out one of these guys darting out in front of you... Even though temps were in the 50's yesterday, we chose to light a fire in the fireplace and made a romantic dinner together.
Medeterranian chicken, grilled asiago bread, salad, and my sweetie of 24 years....

And what better way to end the day than with brownies and ice cream! Here's hoping you enjoy your Valentine's day with the one you love :).

Valentines necklace

2011-02-13T00:31:00.007-06:00

Awhile back I mentioned that I had won a 25 dollar gift certificate from Fusion Beads, one of my all time favorite online bead stores, simply for "liking" them on Facebook. Above are a few of the beads and components that I decided to buy with my gift certificate, and below is the Valentine necklace I made with some of the beads pictured above.

Soooooo......... Is it okay that Isay that I absolutely love something that I made for myself and not sound 'braggy"??? I hope so, because I am loving this one, and I just don't care if anyone else does or not. It just makes me happy to wear it :)

This was my first whack at an asymmetrical design, though I think it really reads symmetrical because I used components that balanced each other on both sides of the necklace. I loved that I was able to use both new components and very vintage components/beads that have been shared with me by several friends over the last few years.

Components that are pictured above but weren't used for this necklace and earring set are pegged for other designs I have in mind. It may be a long time before I have a chance to use them as I am under the gun for for several projects that I have due for the quilt shop, but that is another story for another day.

Here's hoping that you have something spectacular and special planned with your beloved and that you enjoy a wonderful, romantic day Valentine's Day.

Zippy Strippy Bags

2011-02-11T09:05:00.004-06:00

Back in November when I started working at the Quilting Connection full time, I hadn't sewn a thing in months. The only thing I was doing that was even remotely related to sewing was the service work on sewing machines for the shop. I was starting to think that I might never feel like sewing again until I ran across this blog, Sister's Choice Quilts. Do spend some time ejoying Nicole's quilts and other projects. Her things are so well done.

This post is one of the first I ran across on her blog and whoa, I was in love!! The Zippy Strippy pattern by Terry Atkinson was the perfect project to start easing myself back into quilting.

Above you see the three that I made for samples for the store. Aren't those fabrics fun? And below are three of my students who took the Zippy Strippy class I offered this last week at the quilt shop. Great job Trish, Erin and Chris!

Busy busy.....

2011-02-04T06:30:00.006-06:00

......but then who isn't these days???? I have no current pictures to share of what I've been up to. I have to take my camera to the quilt shop to get shots of my current projects because they have left the house so fast that I didn't have a chance to charge up the batteries for my camera before they had to go on display for upcoming classes.

Rather than have a picture-less post, I leave you with this, a purse that I made as a gift for the former owner of the Quilting Connection.

The purse is my variation of a pattern by Embellishment Village. , the small Curve Appeal Bag. It was a really fun project to make and I was able to use a lot of different fibers and beads from my stash, as well as go a little crazy with machine quilting in a variety of metallic, rayon and cotton variegated threads. The fabrics are all cotton batiks, though I think it would lend itself well to the fancy fabrics that we crazy quilters love to use. Hmmmm......I think I see a silk and velvet creation in my near future....

Meet my son Garrett

2011-01-28T23:07:00.004-06:00

I wanted to share this article about my middle son Garrett, age 21. Garrett is currently a student at Marshalltown Community College, and this article is being used in their online promotional material. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments.

Garrett has always been one of those people that others gravitate to, a natural leader and very charsimatic. To me, his accomplishments are even more special since he suffers from a severe learning disability. Written words are basically meaningless to him. Despite his disability, he recieved good grades in school, utilizing a lap top computer and scanner to scan and read his text books to him. As he was growing up, he worked with a friend of our who owns rental property. As a young teen, he learned plumbing and welding skills and became a certified welder by age 18. If you read to the end of the article, the answer Becky gave Garrett was an enthusiastic 'yes'!

"It was the best decision the Colo-Nesco High School graduate could have made because he’s learned both business and sustainable practices he is now using on G-Man’s Farms, LLC, his 80-acre farm he is renting near LeGrand. “MCC has made opportunities for me with the education I’ve received. I started my own business and plan to expand my organic farm.”
His farming operation currently includes pork and poultry, row crops, small grains, organic hay and red wiggler worms. The worms are used to make “worm tea” used as plant fertilizer. He has plans to add fish and bees in the future.
Garrett, who will graduate in May, said his favorite class at MCC has been ecological concepts. “That class gave me a different way of looking at things to set up my farm. I want my farm to be as organic and sustainable as possible. I don’t need to use much fossil fuel because I can make do with what’s available in nature.”
Garrett’s expanding sustainable practice expertise was called upon last fall when MCC hosted international farmers from Haiti, India, Mali and Vietnam during Iowa’s World Food Prize Week. Garrett wowed the audience by showing them a box of his wiggler worms and explaining how the fertilizer is produced. He also showed the visitors his chickens and explained how he raises them organically. “That was fun because it’s not often I get to have other people be impressed by my farming. They were very intriqued and it was fun to be able to show them.”
“This is what MCC is all about. You can build your own experience here. You don’t have to fit the cookie cutter form as you get your education. The good professors help you get a quality education.”
Recently, Garrett attended the Practical Farmers of Iowa conference held on the MCC campus. During the evening’s banquet, he was presented with the “Savings Incentive Award” for beginning farmers and when he went up to receive it, he took advantage of a captive audience of 300 and proposed to his fiancée, Becky Lamb, also a MCC student "

Tanner's Quilt

2011-01-24T12:11:00.005-06:00

I don't think that I mentioned that we had a new addition to our family last year. This is Tanner, my son Andy and daughter-in-law Chelsie's son, born July 12, 2010. Andy and Chelsie now live in upstate New York, so we had to wait until Christmas time to get to meet our new boy. Contrary to the rather quiet photos of him, he is very lively and goes by the nickname of "Wiggles" because he wiggles and smiles and coos so much when he sees people.

While the kids were here visiting, Chelsie and I went shopping for the fabrics for a quilt for Tanner. She chose a very cute jungle themed fabric line we carry at the quilt shop. I kept the design simple so that Tanner could have his quilt as soon as possible, and here's the design I came up with:
Can't wait to get this off in the mail !

Cool Surprises

2011-01-21T08:07:00.004-06:00

This week has brought me two very pleasant surprises. First, after coming home from seeing a movie I checked my email, and I had won a $25.00 gift certificate to one of my favorite online bead stores, Fusion Beads ! They had a drawing for those who "like" them on Facebook, and I was one of the lucky winners. I will take a picture of what I ordered when it arrives next week.

The second surprise was also by email, and was just so sweet. A woman from South Africa had an old issure of Quiltmaker magazine that had a pattern of mine in it. She wrote in part:
"I am a quilter from Pretoria in South Africa. I have kept this pattern, Raise the Roof, that was in the quiltmaker: September/October '97 edition for all these years! At last I started making it. Half of the top is now done! I am so excited to finish it. This morning I took it to my quilting group and they were all in awe! They then asked whether I could teach them to do it as well.
Would you mind me doing this? And off course I will give full credit. I would be happy if you would consider this favourably.
Your work is beautiful and the latest quilt that you finished is really beautiful.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Kind regards
Ina"

Below is the photo that Ina attached of her quilt in progress, and yes, of course I granted permission for her to teach my pattern to her friends. I was so honored to be asked!

First Finish for 2011, the Cascades Quilt

2011-01-17T11:59:00.005-06:00

See???? I wasn't fibbing, I really do have quilty things to post this year! This is Cascades, a pattern by Black Cat designs and it is my first finish for 2011. This was a really easy pattern, though I would caution anyone who purchases it that there is a major error in the directions. The pattern says to cut 12 3/4 inch squares for the setting triangles when they actually should be 14" square. The details of the correction can be found here.

Despite the frustration of the pattern error, I have to say I enjoyed making this quilt, and it will now hang at the Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa. I am hoping to teach a class if there is enough interest. I think I'd like to make this quilt again, though this time I would use two more closely related colors so one would blend into the next, use more fabrics, have a wider outter border and make it queen sized to fit my bed.

For now though, I am off to continue work on a baby quilt for my newest grandson, Tanner, pics to follow soon, of course.

Happy Quilting,
Lisa

Dusting off the ‘ole Blog

2011-01-17T10:27:00.005-06:00

I’d be surprised if anyone stops by here anymore since it’s been almost a year since I wrote anything. 2010 was a long, and uhm…interesting year. I’ll always think of it as the year of learning.

First up, learning new jobs….

When I came back from Colorado last February I had a big surprise waiting for me at my job. That very day my supervisor took me aside and said I was now moved to a different department. This is the machine I ended up learning to run.

Never been a machine operator, never thought I’d BE a machine operator, and yes, it’s as complicated as it looks. Can anyone guess what it does? No? It’s called a Cheetah and it is used to put a latex closure on envelopes that banks give you at the drive up window when you ask for cash. Very proud and very happy to report that I was one of two people that never mangled a hand in that thing. It took several months but I became a competent operator until I decided to leave my job last November.

While I was learning to wrestle uhm…operate the Cheetah, I was also learning sewing machine service and repair on Huskvarna Viking sewing machines for the Quilting Connection .

My husband Steve had been working on machines there on a part time basis for several months when it became clear that he could not keep up with demand. We both attended training in Nashville, Tennessee in March, and hosted a serger class at the shop for the region in July. It was great getting to learn from the top two techs in the country.

I am happy to say that the part time service/repair job has led to a full time position at the quilt shop! I am very happy to have left the printing business behind, though I do miss the friends I made there. I wasn’t sure I would ever be interested in beading or quilting again, but the desire is back, and I will have lots of projects to share this year.

Test post

2010-09-13T15:23:00.001-05:00

just testing….

Off to Colorado!

2010-02-11T15:02:00.004-06:00

I am SO excited! I am off to Colorado tomorrow morning to see my eldest son Andy and his family. Andy has been serving in Afghanistan for the last year and his deployment is finally over! I had a message on my answering machine when I got home from work-he was in Maine. Very exciting news as there was a question as to whether he would be home this weekend or not.

My husband is changing jobs soon and this weekend is the ONLY one we can get away to go visit. We have an 11 to 12 hour drive ahead of us. Dread that, but can't WAIT to see my grandchildren. I miss them so much, and it will be great to see Andy all safe and sound. This was his 3rd overseas tour, I hope it's the last one.

Machine Needlefelting Class

2010-02-09T22:48:00.006-06:00

Last week I held a machine needle felting class at the Quilting Connection in Ames, and I managed to take snap a few pictures of the class.

I chose postcards as the project for the night. Here a a couple that I used for samples for the class.

I kept mine simple, with no further embellishments. I didn't want people to feel intimidated by some of the unusual materials I like to use, or feel they had to bring a lot of extra supplies to class.

Here April, Chris, and Marlene are hard at work on their projects.

Marlene's postcard, almost finished. I failed to get a good picture of the finished postcard, but it reminded me of a Van Gogh painting. Simply beautiful.

And then, this week, I got the greatest surprise, I got this in the mail from April! It was the card she was working on in class.
Below is the postcard that I will be mailing off to April. Hope she likes it!

Recent Finishes

2010-02-07T23:03:00.007-06:00

With all the snow we've had here there's not much to do besides stay in and quilt, or in my case, actually break down and finish some quilts. Here are two sane (as opposed to crazy)quilts that I've managed to bind.

First up is a Civil War reproduction quilt that I made as a sample for the Quilting Connection, quilted by my friend April West. Nice quilt, but I would never, ever make a quilt entirely of triangles ever again. Ever.

Detail.... Next up is a small version of an old Mount Redoubt pattern, used as a teaching tool for a class. I had left this without a binding for years, now finished, it's ready for gift giving.

Sea Urchin Necklace

2010-02-06T16:49:00.004-06:00

Quite some time ago I fell in love with a Sea Urchin bead from Heather Powers, a polymer clay artist who sells her work on both etsy and from her website . Heather posted an absolutely beautiful necklace on her blog. I loved the necklace so much that I had to make my own version. I originally intended to make mine exactly like Heather's but it just didn't work that way for me. I tend to work in a monocromatic or very low contrast pallet when making both quilts and jewelry. I guess I just find it soothing to do so.

My version of Heather's necklace uses some beautiful freshwater keshi pearls, faceted amazonite rounds, 2 lampwork beads from an ebay artist, sterling silver beads and findings, and seedbeads.

I can't wait for summer to start wearing it again.

Matchbox Inspiration Box

2010-02-06T15:15:00.006-06:00

I was surfing the blogs I follow and came upon this post on the Button Floozies blog. Oh no, I am in love with this project! I absolutely had to make my own version.

This is a matchbook box, made from the large size of matchboxes sold, well, anywhere you can still buy matches. Steve picked up a couple for me for about 33 cents each. They measure somewhere close to 3 x 5 inches.

I used scrap booking papers to cover my box, though I think fabric would work just as well. The Eiffel Tower image is printed on fabric and was applied with fusible webbing. I used a couple of trims, paper flowers with decorative brads as the centers, a button and a broken piece of vintage jewelry for decoration.

I'm planning to use mine for jewelry gift boxes and to hold some crazy quilting supplies I will be mailing to a few friends. Can't wait to make the next one!

Freeform Peyote Bracelet

2010-02-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

I made this bracelet quite some time ago, but it was too short for my wrist and I never finished it. In doing a little reading in my bead books I discovered that I could make it longer by adding a few rows of brick stitch to one end. The bracelet was stitched with various sizes and styles of seedbeads and freshwater pearls, and finished with a vitage mother of pearl button.

New Quilt, new attitude

2010-02-01T18:39:00.008-06:00

Awhile back, I told some of my quilting friends that I was on "hiatus", taking a break from quilting and all the other stuff I like to do. Reality was a bit more complicated than that.

Over the last few months, a rather nasty situation at my day job was affecting my life, and frankly I was finding it too exhausting and overwhelming to think creative thoughts when I was spending my days with my stomach tied in knots and trying to hide my shaking hands from the person intimidating me and make life as miserable as hers.

I'm tired of it, just plain tired, and so I'm moving on. I woke up one morning not long ago and realized that pfttt...she will never change, but I can!! I refuse to be intimidated, I refuse to continue to let this eat away at me so much that I give up everything I love to do. Days at work will still be unpleasant, but it is only 8 out of the 24 glorious hours we all have each and every day. I can live with that.

So, without further ado, here is my latest quilt. I designed this quilt at the request of Kelly, owner of the Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa where I've taught for the last 10+years. While this quilt certainly isn't great art, it was a magical experience, with everything falling perfectly into place. Kelly even used it in the ad in Sunday paper, I'm so proud :).

Initial drawing using Electric Quilt 5. Kelly asked for a simple heart quilt block that could be paper pieced and made into a small wall hanging.

Below is the pallet of Bali Batik fabrics I chose to use.

A block in progress...the colors are working well together. Even with a beautiful pallet like the one above, sometimes a quilt will just fall flat. I was lucky and this one came together nicely.

Blocks, a bit more progress...

Detail of the machine quilting process. I wish I was a better photographer so you could see the quilting stitches better. It's something for me to work on this year.

And wa-la, the finished quilt. It's been well received by everyone that works at the shop, and by customers that have seen it. I will be teaching a class for this quilt on February 12, and It's something I'm really looking forward to. I am back, oh yes I am :)

Two Beadwoven Bracelets

2009-12-21T23:51:00.005-06:00

First up is a freeform peyote bracelet in various shades of black and various shapes/sizes of seedbeads. The closure is an antique button from my collection. I had plans to embellish the bracelet, but I like it plain for now. I love this type of bead weaving as it reminds me of crazy quilting-pretty much anything goes and no two are ever the same. Want to make one of your own? I learned how to do this from an online tutorial at whimbeads.com. I would post a hyper link, but it appears the site is currently closed for updating.

Second is a beadwoven bracelet, pattern from a recent Bead&Button magazine. It is actually made in 2 long halves, then it is joined in the center afer the two haves are made. It was just a bit advanced for my newish beading skills, so I took my time and I think it turned out well.

New Jewels

2009-12-15T21:52:00.006-06:00

Again, long time no blog, mostly because it's been very difficult to upload pictures. Who wants a post without pictures???Hopefully this one works.

This is a set I made recently just for me. I made three necklace/earring sets for the quilt shop's annual Christmas party and I thought it was time I had something new too. I followed a beadweaving pattern using Czech firepolished round beads and seed beads from the book "Mastering Beadwork" by Carol Huber Cypher.

The beadwoven area of the necklace was supposed to be the bracelet, but it just looked too chunky for my wrist. I decided to make the section into a necklace instead. I made the bracelet witht the same colors of beads, same pattern, but used smaller 4mm firepolished and 11/0 seed beads. It is lacy and delicate looking, just like I wanted.

The chain area of the necklace and the earrings were made with antique-finish brass eye pins, strung with the Czech firepolished beads and seedbeads, connected with brass jumprings. I love it all and it looks great with my brown silk tshirt.

Summer Memories

2009-10-03T11:52:00.005-05:00

It is a cold, rainy Autumn day here in Iowa. Summer is DEFINITELY over! I have a few odd pictures from summer to share today, memories of warmer, sunny days.

My repeat blooming daylilies did beautifully this year...
Dexter was a big help when we re-did a small garden just outside our back door...

We divided several hostas from another area and made a pretty new garden. the ugly post will be cut short next spring, and I will make a gazing ball to set on top of it. We would have removed the post, but it is set in cement and there are a lot of underground wires near by.

Can you tell that Dexter has a Lily bud in his mouth? So naughty, but so cute!

This is my mom with her totally hot new ride! She had always wanted a red convertible and my dad surprised her with it this spring. We had a lot of fun driving around the local lake and going to the mall with the top down.
Ah....I feel warmer already :)

Been out of town...and a few lace pictures

2009-09-30T19:59:00.010-05:00

First I want to say a big, big THANK YOU! to everyone that has visited my blog and left such lovely comments. It's so nice that so many of you took the time to take a look :-)

I've hardly been home the last three days, having a big family get together for my husband Steve's side of the family in Humboldt, Iowa (1 1/2 hour drive) on Sunday, worked all day Monday and taught a class that evening. Tuesday we were back to Humboldt for a dinner in honor of Steve's aunt and uncle who celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary. Whew...I am ready for a few evenings at home.

I've got a few odd pictures of some freestanding lace ornaments and motifs that I've made recently. They were made on my Huskavarna/Viking Designer SE/embroidery machine. I got my machine last summer and have enjoyed making Venice-type lace motifs with designs from Criswell Embroidery http://www.criswell-emb.com/

The pictures are bad, taken quickly before I had to take the snowflake ornaments to Humboldt to share. I'll be keeping the smaller moifs for embellishing cq blocks. As time allows, I hope to experiment with rayon dyes to see how my homemade motifs take the dye.

The image below shows a FSL doily in progress. It still needs to be sewn together and to have the wash away stablizer removed.

Bead Show Report

2009-09-27T10:13:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures I snapped of my finds at the bead show yesterday. I had planned on looking at seed beads, but I got side tracked by other pretties and items I wanted for my jewelry making.
My first stop was at Artistic Bead from Des Moines, Iowa. I wish I had taken my camera along as the owner, Cheryl Erickson, was working on a large crazy quilt! It's been fun to follow the progress on her quilt the last few years. Cheryl has several areas with large elaborate seed bead flowers. I'll have to take my camera to the next show which is in mid October.

I was able to find some nickel free antique colored brass and copper findings and wire from her shop. I have a nickel allergy and I'm always happy to come across these findings. Also pictured is a small purchase from another favorite vendor, Bokamo from Kansas City. the small silver findins will be used for finishing off cords on necklaces. My next stop was at Papio Creek Gems and Gifts of La Vista Nebraska. In talking to the family, I discovered that it would not be too far a drive to their shop when I'm in town for the CQS Retreat. I spent the most time at their booth, picking up several strands of dyed mother of pearl shapes. I was soooo drawn to the flowers! those will be used in both crazy quilting and jewelry.

I also purchased two strands of stone beads to go with the polymer clay art bead shown in the center. I believe the stones are jasper, but I forgot to ask! The art bead came from etsy from Gabriel Studios on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=12669
I really enjoyed my all too short time at the bead show. It takes me so long to shop that these were the only vendors I visited. Many will be at another show in Des Moines Iowa next month As I shopped, I did hear many of the vendors talk about how slow sales had been-a sign that the economic recovery is slow in coming to the bead industry.

Crazy Quilted Christmas Ornaments

2009-09-26T10:57:00.004-05:00

These are some Christmas ornaments I finished recently. The pattern I used came from CQ Mag Online, and you can find it in Vol.7, Issue 04. Sorry, I am having trouble posting working links today. Google "cq mag online" and you will find it.

Rather than making my ornaments two sided, I chose to cover the back with upcycled dupioni silk from a thrift shop dress. It was rather plain looking to me and then the idea hit to add some of my small needle tatted motifs. This was done after I had completed the ornaments, so they are just glued in place. Next time I make ornaments, I'll take the time to sew them in place. Thinking I'd like to make a set for the Iowa State Fair next year.
Adding the tassles was also and afterthought and was kinda tricky, but I managed. I took pre-made tassles and threaded them through the burgandy wood bead and a brass beadcap. I tied off the tassle loop and cut the ends. Using beading thread, I sewed up through the tassle and through the trim to hold the tassle in place. Next time, I'll sandwich the tassle between the front and back of the ornament.

I am off to the Central Iowa Beadbash in Marshalltown, Iowa today. I'm hoping to find some new seed bead colors and some bead shapes to make some beaded flowers that I've been wanting to try out.

Crazy Quilt Retreat part 4, friends, shopping and such

2009-09-20T09:14:00.014-05:00

Shopping.....
Okay, I'll admit it, I am a cq shop-a-holic. Every year I PROMISE myself that I will not bring home more cq goodies, that I have enough for 3 or 4 lifetimes already. But then you see the stores, the cute displays the vendors have set up in their rooms. Oooooo...look at that, I don't have one of those....oh, I could use that in my next project! As the saying goes, "Resistance is futile!" Here's a sampling of the goodies I couldn't live without.

The beads came from International Bead Market, a great Omaha bead shop that is not too far from the hotel in the Rockbrook Village shopping area. http://www.rockbrookvillage.com/shops/merchant/45.html

On the left, beautiful hand dyed goodies that were available in Mary Anne's class. On the right, beads from Sherrill Lewis's Bead Ranch store, and on the bottom threads from yet another vendor. I just love using Caron threads for needle tatting. A huge bag of threads and fibers I purchased at the auction. This will keep me busy for a very long time!
Fairy packs purchased from Kathy K and Donna J's store. Simply stunning dyed laces from Kathy K, painted buttons and vintage lace from Donna J. Both Kathy and Donna blog about their crazy quilting:
http://cathyscrazybydesign.blogspot.com/

http://donnascrazyart.blogspot.com/
Hand dyed trims, vintage images and beads from De Crow, owner of Diva's D'este. The cd and lace were gifts from De. Let me just say that if you love vintage images, De's online shop is THE place for you! http://www.divasdeste.com/shop.html De has both cd's and high quality printed image sheets (paper and fabric) in her shop. http://www.divasdeste.com/index.html

One of the wonderful things about crazy quilters is their unending generosity. I was so fortunate to receive gifts from friends I've made at the retreat over the years. Here are just a few that I took pictures of. Hand dyed lace from Donna J, a Victorian lady from my roommate Martha Green, and pretty fabrics from Freda.
More gifts from Donna. Painted buttons, embossed velvet and velvet ribbon.

All in all, it was a great weekend. Seeing old friends...

And making new ones...

I'm already looking forward to next year's retreat!

Crazy Quilt Retreat part 3

2009-09-13T12:05:00.010-05:00

Sunday was my day to relax and enjoy taking a class from my good friend Mary Anne Griffin. The class was Needle Felting for Crazy Quilters and it was a lot of fun! Mary Anne is a wonderful instructor that provided us with both beautiful kits and instructions on cd to take home if we did not finish our project in class.

Here is Mary Anne showing us samples of some of her beautiful work.

This was the project Mary Anne designed for our class. Beautiful!!

A variation of the project...

Mary Anne arranged for each student to have Babylock embellisher machine to use in class.

Mary Anne, hard at work...

Next post, random photos, friends and the shopping...oh, the shopping!

Crazy Quilt Retreat part 2 Saturday

2009-09-13T10:50:00.016-05:00

Saturday was the day that I taught my Fantasea Reef wallhanging class. Everyone seemed to enjoy the project, and I sure enjoyed teaching the class.

Saturday evening was the time for the autions which bennefit the American Cancer Society, and breast cancer reseach. The auctions also provide funds for scholarships to the next Crazy Quilt Retreat. This year there were also several special quilts made in honor of our friend Dee, who passed away from cancer after attending last year's retreat. Dee's quilts were put together by Kate Hollifield.

Another quilt for Dee (above)and the lable added by Kate.

A few of the beautiful auction items....

In addition to the traditional style live auction, there is a silent auction. Bids are written on slips of paper and put into paper bags. High bidder wins the item.

Crazy Quilt Retreat part one, Friday

2009-09-11T09:33:00.015-05:00

I feel bad about how long this is in coming, but here it is, pictures and commentary from the Omaha Crazy Quilt Retreat.

After some not so fun car troubles (having to switch cars along the side of the Interstate is NEVER fun) I arrived late on Thursday evening. I roomed with my good friend Martha Green of Oklahoma City, which is always a good time! We stayed up each night well into the wee hours of the morning talking, eating, and catching up from the last year.

Friday was my day to teach my Springtime in Paris box. I had 20 or so enthusiastic students who seemed to really enjoy the project!

Two great events were held on Friday evening, the fiber swap and the ever popular prom dress swap. For those not familiar, the fiber swap is where each participant brings 25 one yard pieces of fancy fiber to swap with the other participants. Fibers are put in small baggies and then put into a large bag. The participants stand in a circle and pass each large bag to the next person, taking one baggie of fiber out to keep. The large bags are passed around until there are no fibers left. It's always a lot of fun and a great way to add fun fibers to your stash.

After the fiber swap is finished, we moved on to the Prom dress swap. Those wanting to participate brought an item of clothing, often a prom style dress, wedding dress, or other garment made of fancy fabric to share. Before the swap began, we were treated to a comical fashion show by several members of the group.

On the far left is our Kate, who wasn't supposed to be able to attend this year. It was such a nice surprise to see her!

And on to the main event...

After Nancy announces the start of the swap, the scissors come out. Did your mom ever tell you not to run with scissors? Yes? Well, you might not want to share the next pictures with her ;)

As you can see, many treasures can be found at the swap! That's it for now. Next time, Saturday's class and the Auctions.

Long Time No See....

2009-09-10T23:50:00.009-05:00

It's been waaayyyyyy longer to post than I intended. Another blogger recently said that the longer you stay away, the easier it is to just let things go. But I've been thinking about this for so long that it was time to just sit down and do it.

I had so many pictures on my camera to edit that it took 2 solid evenings to get through them all, and I STILL have to take my camera in to get pictures made from the card. I'm always so nervous that I'll loose all my pictures when I insert it into the computer. Silly, yes, but I still worry and it holds me back from doing what I need to do.

I have so many things to post about that I'll be posting at least once if not 2 times a day now. I think the easiest thing for me will be to start with the newest thing first, especially since I'm so excited to have a finished quilt to show off!

This is my newest sane quilt, Bohemian Bulls Eye, which I finished over the long Labor Day weekend. It's a sample for a class I'll be teaching at the Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa in October and it is one of my all time favorite patterns.

Here are a couple of detail shots so you can see the machine quilting on the quilt.

Upper right corner detail.

Border quilting detail.

This is the 2nd version of Bull's Eye that I've made. I gave the first one to my eldest son Andy a few years ago and unfortunately I don't have pictures of it. Hope to get some next month when he is home on leave from Afghanistan.

Fantasea Reef

2009-07-04T09:27:00.005-05:00

This will most likely be my last post until next week. I sound like a broken record, but there is still so much work left to do before I leave for Omaha. I leave you with images of the project we will be doing for my class on Saturday at the retreat.

Below is a detail shot of the 'sea' floor. Hope everyone will have fun creating their own reef!

Green and Purple Quilt

2009-07-03T09:06:00.004-05:00

I am so pressed for time that I'm just going to post a picture of the last sane quilt I made. Sorry, I don't have time to look up the book and name of the pattern. I can tell you it was fun to make, but there were a few changes I would have made had I been the pattern writer.

This was a sample for the quilt shop where I've taught classes for the last 10 years, The Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa. It was made from cotton batik fabrics and it measures about 45 inches square.

Meet the Family Part One-Dexter

2009-06-30T15:48:00.008-05:00

Occasionally I thought I would post pictures and a bit of information about members of my family. I'm going to start with the newest (and most fun) one first.

This, is Dexter, aka "Dex", aka"Pretty Boy", aka"Taz(mainian Devil"), and last but not least, "Bubby Puppy". His formal name is "Hammer Down Blue" Dexter. Not sure I fully understand how this is, but he is descended from the "Hammer" line of Blue Tic Coon Hounds.

Dexter came into our lives over Memorial Day weekend when he was 9 weeks old. My husband Steve and his brother Foster raised and hunted this breed of dog for many years, winning many trophies for their hunting skills.

Dexter likes playing fetch in the house, running like crazy down the hallway, stopping short and pouncing on his red squeaky toy. He's learning to "shake" and he'll be so good at it if he just quits falling over! He's a great help in the garden too. He loves to help me weed. I pull the weeds and he insists upon me placing them in his mouth so he can chew them to bits. Nope, those bad old weeds won't be getting by him anytime soon. He's so funny!

This is the first time in my life I've had a puppy. I never knew you could grow to love an animal as much as I love him.

Springtime in Paris Box

2009-06-28T10:06:00.005-05:00

This is one of the projects I will be doing for my Omaha Crazy Quilt Retreat classes. This shows the original box I made last year. I've made a new sample for class as I'm not able to exactly duplicate all the embellishments for the kits. If I get a chance I will post the new block. I wasted so much time yesterday trying to get my scanner to work. According to my computer, I don't have a scanner! Funny, since I have an all-in-one printer scanner copier, and the printer works just fine.

I'm off again. Kits for 25 take a really long time to make.

Needle Tatting

2009-06-27T09:59:00.007-05:00

A quick post today of some needle tatting I've done. I taught myself to needle tat after a disastrous class where I just couldn't get the hang of shuttle tatting. Nope, not even one successful stitch was made by these hands. Never say never though. I may get the hang of it someday!

To learn needle tatting I used a book and needle set from this site: http://www.hhtatting.com/index.html "Learn Needle Tatting Step-By-Step" by Barbara Foster. By following the step by step directions in the book, I had my first tatted motif in about 20 minutes.

Since that time, I've experimented with creating my own patterns. Both of the scans shown are my own designs, needle tatted with Carron Wildflowers threads.

More information can be found about needle tatting at this group: http://needletatting.proboards.com/index.cgi

Needle Felting Part Two detail shots

2009-06-25T21:26:00.009-05:00

A day late, but as promised here are some close ups of my needle felted piece.

Lower left: This area shows one of the flowers fashioned from a silk carrier rod. Wool roving was added for the flower center. Above and to the side of the flower, you can see a bit of the ribbon collage area. The ombre ribbon was scrunched and felted to the background, but it just would not stay felted until I added some yarns to it. The ribbon and yarn are embellished with various Czech flower, leaf and seed beads.

Upper left. This area is embellished with dyed curly wool locks. Intermixed with the locks are bits of Angelina fibers (love that sparkle!) The flowers are wool roving embellished with seed beads.

Upper right: A beaded dragonfly from seed and bugle beads with Czech dagger beads used for the wings. Below the dragonfly is some hand dyed rayon tape embellished with French knots and beads. Another embellished ribbon sits to the right of the dragonfly. This one is Hanna hand dyed bias silk with the addition of a decorative fuzzy yarn and various floral leaf and seed beads.

The entire piece was free motion machine quilted after the embellishment was almost complete. It's tricky trying to get around beads and the ribbons, but still doable.

I had originally intended to make this piece into a purse, but I'm not so sure the embellishments would stand up to the wear it would get. I'm so hard on things! I've also thought of turning it into a journal cover, but now I'm considering another idea. I am thinking of placing the piece as it is with raw edges on top of a quilted background and framing it. Whatever I end up doing, it will have to wait until after the Omaha retreat. Time is short!

Needle Felting Part One

2009-06-23T20:32:00.010-05:00

Today I thought I'd share a full view of the piece I used in the header of my blog. This is a machine needle felted piece I made about a year ago in my favorite colors of green and pink. Inspiration for this piece came from the book "Needle-Felting Magic" by Margo Duke

I had such a good time making this piece! I used so many fun things that separate, looked like 'nothing', but when artfully combined, definitely turned into 'something'. It's what the title of my blog is all about.

The piece measures about 9 inches by 14 inches, and it was constructed much like a crazy quilt. I laid fabric pieces on a base of dense cotton batting, overlapping them a bit and then felted them in place. Fabrics I used consist of hand dyed silk, silk velvet, and cotton batiks. Silk throwster's waste was was felted over the bottom left and upper right corners. Silk carrier rods were fashioned into the dimensional flowers in the lower left and mid upper right areas.

Tomorrow I'll post some some more information about the embellishments and show detail shots of various areas. Just too tired tonight to continue.

Lampwork bracelet

2009-06-22T15:35:00.004-05:00

I started making my own jewelry about 10 years ago. I have a nickle allergy and I was tired of not being able to find pretty jewelry designs that were nickle free. Itchy, weepy hives are just not fun! I found I could wear sterling silver, and started making my own things. I make almost all of the jewelry I wear. Below is a bracelet I made a couple of years ago, inspired by bracelet designs I saw at a bead show in Des Moines, Iowa.

The pink and black lamp work beads are by an (unremembered-sorry!) eBay artist, and it is paired with sterling silver jump rings in two sizes. The clasp came from one of my favorite bead show sellers, Bokamo of Kansas City http://www.bokamodesigns.com/ Love their findings as well as their lamp work beads. Lol...I think they are always happy to see me come to their booth.

Ornaments

2009-06-21T09:13:00.008-05:00

In just a few short weeks I'll be in Omaha to teach at the Crazy Quilt Retreat http://www.crazyquilt.com/retreat.html I have two classes, the Springtime in Paris box, and the Fantasea Reef wall hanging. It means my time to blog is very limited so I'll be posting pictures of work from the past that I already have saved in my computer.

Today I'm showing off a couple of really fun crazy quilted ornaments I made last year. They are from a pattern I created a few years ago for the Eastern Polk County Quilt Guild. The originals were done in very traditional colors of green, gold and reds. I like these *much* better! They are definitely more me.

Fabrics I used include silks, new and recycled cottons, and sythetics. The upper left portion of the heart has a couple of my needle tatting expiraments that didn't work out as full motifs. I never toss out those failed motifs because so often they fit so well into small areas of my crazy quilt blocks.

On the stocking, there are some small pink star beads near the top. I picked these up from a vendor at the Omaha Retreat a few years ago. I'm not sure what they are made of-some type of clay perhaps? In any case, they are very delicate and break easily. An ornament was the perfect place to use them since it's not likely they will be bumped or touched. Other embellishements include seed and bugle beads, silk threads, vintage lace and various new trims.

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband Steve, pictured below with our grandchildren Emily and Andrew. Words can't express what great job I think you do with our boys. Happy day my love...

Time to get going!

2009-06-19T08:08:00.003-05:00

I created this blog in order to share pictures of my work with family, friends and whoever happens to drop by. Probably about time I get going on that! I don't know why I've been dragging my feet so. Guess I have a bit of fear of writing since I don't do it much anymore. Bear with me as I get going...

Today I want to share a scan of a crazy quilt block I made for a memorial quilt for Dee, an online crazy quilting friend from the Netherlands. I had the pleasure of meeting Dee in person twice at the Crazy Quilting Retreat in Omaha, NE. Dee was a lovely lady and did beautiful work. Dee lost her battle with cancer after returning home from the Retreat last year.

Kate C., one of the members of the Quiltropolis list, put out a call to make blocks for a memorial. Kate sent us several pieces of fabric to set the color pallet. Enough blocks were made that there will actually be 2 quilts. We will get to see the finished quilts at this year's retreat which is July 9 through 12. We will miss you Dee....

First Post

2009-03-10T20:19:00.004-05:00

My first post is a greeting to a very special boy on his very special day. Happy Birthday Andrew, Grandma misses you