Playing Around

Well it was last year last time I posted and it's now this year!
I am still keeping busy, even though the weather has heated up quite a bit.  It is now true january weather!
First, Stitching
I have been working on a Sue Spargo sampler for the craftsy class I bought ages ago!

Here is my base for the sampler.  The one on the left is just pinned and the one on the right has been stitched down.  My hubby couldn't tell the difference and remarked on how little I has got done.  Men!
Of course, as I always do, I got distracted by something.

This is the beginning of a pincushion by Sue spargo I saw on Quilting arts TV  episode 1501 (don't go looking for the pattern as it is not there yet - I made it up myself)

And here is where I am with it.  At least this is a related project!

This is an old piece of work, that I am currently beading the edge of.  See on the right.  Madness, I know, but it is easy, mind numbing work.
I have done a bit of journaling, as well

This was my first page for the year.  Just playing with  inkblots.

This is my second page for the year, based on Jane davenport's Art Lesson 1 from last year on inktense blocks and pencils.  I finished the dragonfly with a silver gel pen

And here is today's page, which is based on Yesterday's lesson from creative jumpstart by Jimmy Leslie.

And it all came from a bit of napkin I had collaged down!

I have a word for this year, although I will leave it to you as the year goes by to decide what it means!

EMERGE

Happy creating!

Back to work!

I have just posted my Tangles textiles challenge piece here.   Only half the group have posted so far, but some great work there.  Make sure you have a look in the next day or two here.
In the next few days, I intend to blog my whole process for this piece in one post.
I have been doing a fair bit of stitching and have three new stitch squares for Art Every Day Month.

And here are squares 1 to 25 up on my design wall!

Now, originally, I began this as a challenge for November at Creative every day.

But yesterday, there was a guest post by Anne Lange on Julie Balzer's blog, about stitching 4 inch squares and using stencils as a basis for stitching.  This post really inspired me and I am dying to read the second half of the post.  I want now to continue my challenge for December and incorporate the stencils!  Have a look at Anne's site.  It is wonderful!

Today is Tuesday.  Normally on Tuesday,I spend most of my time at quilt group and don't get much done, but today we are having a day off as most of us have appointments and errands.

So, I am at home, very unusual.  I can now easily join the  T for tuesday gang!

I thought today, we might have our cup of tea as part of breakfast in bed (in the doll's house, that is!)

Also, I have done a bit more work on the owl painting I started a couple of weeks ago, here.

 I am doing this as a project for a craftsy class, painting wildlife in mixed media with tutor  Sharlena Wood.  I am really enjoying this process.  You can find the source image, which is cc licensed by photographer Matt Knoth, here.  Obviously, this is just for my own purposes and will not be for sale.

This class has given me a renewed interest in pastels, which I used to paint with quite often.

Quite a long post, but Happy Creating!

Still digitizing

I have been absent for a few days,  but as well as having a bit of a cold,  the hubby had surgery on his wrist on Tuesday and is totally helpless (aren't they all?), so all i really have had time to do was play with my new embroidery machine in my free time.
I enrolled in a craftsy class on digitising and have been going through the lessons bit by bit.  I found it a really useful class and it made me much more confident and less frustrated.
Here are some of my samples from the course.

This is one of the early samples and even though it is a simple design, I learnt a lot, which will come in handy with quilting designs.

This butterfly applique lesson gave me tons of ideas for applique!

And this final sample was really interesting.  All of the lessons taught you how to do the design from scratch and I feel now that I could do just about anything!

And this last one is one I did on my own., Of course the lesson designs all  belong to the tutor, but since I am not teaching you and am basically advertising her class, I don't think she should mind ;-o!

Happy Creating!

Languishing

So I am back.  I have had a bit of a break from my textile work, doing things that I never have time for, which is lucky, because it is very hot here and when it is hot I am not at my best.
I made some little bags for the ladies in my family for christmas

I made six of these in different colours, from recycled fabric and braids, The inspiration was a felt bag in quilting arts episode 1010, by Rebecca Kemp Brent, which used the sole plate of an iron for a pattern!  However, I made lined bags and did not embellish the panels.

I spent a lot of time with my puppy, Ruby, who is growing up fast, but has not stopped chewing everything as you can see from the arm of the chair she is sitting on, lol

I made a few pieces of jewellery.

I made some free motion butterfly wings on organza

and some more

and some dragonfly wings.

I have been working on a quilt as part of a Craftsy Course - Beyond Basic Machine Quilting.
I have altered my piece slightly, I did reverse applique with painted organza for the feather flowers and I used satin as my foundation. It made it slightly more difficult but I like it.  As you can see at the moment, I am slowly filling in the background.
I have also been doing stupendous stitching and stitch and slash with Carol Ann Waugh at craftsy, but nothing to show there yet.

I have been working on my Blue Piece for Tangled Textiles, which is due in a week.  Above are some of my blue bits and pieces - just a peek.  I am not happy with how it is going, and wish I had stuck to my first idea, but of course there is no time to change now.

I have also been reading a lot - something I hardly ever do (stories, that is, I read text books a lot).  I started reading Robert Jordan's "wheel of time" series twenty years ago and the final book was released earlier this year and I got it on my birthday, but I decided that I needed to reread all of the books from the beginning so that it is all fresh in my mind when I start the last one.  There are 14 books altogether and none of them is short, hardly any less than 500 pages and most are more, so that is going to take me a while - lol.

I have been finding it hard to get back to work, but hopefully getting back to blogging will help put a bit of discipline into my days!

Be creative every day