tea and thee…

Needle Thread Cloth‘s August challenge is Tea Time Stem Stitch…

I have been having lots of fun lately spreading plaster on linens and laces and distressing mirrors (thanks to special friends again and again)…

a bit of layering and machine stitching along with touches of hand embroidery (stem stitch and french knots) on vintage map and book papers (thank you Carmen Dyson)…

you have all month to stretch your creative muscles and join in the fun over at Needle Thread Cloth…

“I carry you with me into the world, into the smell of rain & the words that dance between people & for me, it will always be this way, walking in the light, remembering being alive together.”   ~ Brian Andreas … StoryPeople

Needle Felting Love…

normally I am fairly low tech but after my friend Susan and I got together to try our hands at some wet felting (which was great hands on fun) I also had the opportunity to use her Embellishing machine…

I tried to tell myself I could live without one as I do enjoy needle felting by hand but it kept creeping back into my mind (you can see some of my hand felted work here)…

imagine no thread…no bobbin…just twelve barbed needles that mesh fabrics and fibers together magically (oh the possibilities!) and oddly enough I feel safer with the machine than I do when I am hand felting as there are many opportunities to stick yourself if you’re not careful (focus…focus…focus)…

you can visit the talented Jane LaFazio for a wonderful needle felting tutorial here (you’ll note by the date that she’s been there and done that three years ago 😉 )…

the machine needle felting is a wonderful beginning for adding additional hand felted touches along with embroidery which brings me to share some exciting news with you about a new challenge blog sweet friends Theresa and Jan have started called needle thread cloth…

this month’s focus happens to be one of my all time favorite stitches the French knot…

be sure and stop by as all are welcome to join along…

meanwhile some new shimmery paints jumped into my shopping basket recently and I do not know what to play with first * paper * fibers * paint * scissors * glue * …

lots of works in progress here…

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”  ~Ferris Bueller

hjerter… cœurs… harten… Herzen… cuori… kiery… corazones… hjärtan

…hearts…

back in November I found a pretty Liberty wool scarf at an Aspen Thrift Shop for a song…

after sending it to the cleaners I was very disappointed to discover that it itched like crazy around my neck…

then I had a thought

why not felt the scarf!

as you can see a hot water wash matted the fibers together beautifully so I got busy cutting hearts…

embroidering different stitches and such onto them…

 using some of my hand dyed silk ribbons and some old (thank you Carmen Dyson) and new music papers that I stitched onto folded card stock along with a scribbled black pen border…

an easy and fun process with a few more in the works…

the lovely and talented Nancy of Sugar Lump Studios is having a very special event beginning 1 February that you will not want to miss …

 

waste not…want not

a favorite bag that I bought at World Market a few years ago is made of small squares of beautiful sari pieces…

over time they have started to come away from the backing…

so I decided to tease them off the rest of the way and give some a new life…

stitching them onto some of my gelatin monoprint fabric pieces

which just happen to be in complimentary colors…

adding beads and netting and more…

~* sending Brightest of Blessings to you and yours *~

making marks…

 using some of my fabric monoprints…

stitching with needle and thread without thinking too much…

filling in spaces and following lines (that is my friend Nathalie’s wonderful pin cushion creation…she may have a leg left here)…

varying the number of threads I use embroidering mostly dashes and french knots…

my own kind of stitched Morse Code…

“Weigh’st thy words before thou givest them breath” ~William Shakespeare

 

“Moonlight and Laughter” friends…fibers and more

all thanks to Susan of Rosie Inspirations for getting me back into needle felting AND to my friend, Marilla, who has an online shop where she sells the most gorgeous hand dyed fibers and yarn…

I was really intrigued by her Hand Dyed Milk Fibers (top left)…

here is what she says about them in her Moonlight and Laughter etsy shop :

“Milk fiber is made from casein, which is a milk protein. It is extremely soft and silky. It also has wicking properties similar to wool, so is great for socks and summer garments.”

SO soft and silky I just had to use some on my latest felted journal cover

and on some ATCs

with another chance to use some of the wire bird nests I made so many of a while ago…

Marilla’s Angelina Fibers help add that certain something…

some of you may know that I resisted joining Facebook for a long long time…

finally at the end of last year I caved and signed up…

one of the brilliant outcomes of that was reconnecting with my dear friend Marilla…

we met many many years ago and formed a deep bond…

my long lost special BFF was found again…

here’s to old friends and new friends…

creativity and sharing

…life is sweet…

just a peek …

here is a sneak peek at a little something I made out of wool using some of the fabrics I dyed recently…

with BIG thanks to Fran and Leiann in our local altered arts group for bringing in their die cutting machines and some of their fab die collection to share with the group…

almost makes me think I NEED one of those machines but I am trying to resist temptation…

wish now that I had cut out more pieces…

when all of the ornaments reach the Queen Bees I can show you more…

before November leaves us…I also wanted to share this month’s quote from my “Angel Spirits” The Art of Sulamith Wulfing 2011 Calendar:

“The world and its peoples are blessed with infinite diversity, infinite manifestations of wisdom and spirit.  Open to my teachings, expand your vision and your comprehension of the sacred.  When you keep an open heart and mind, there is no limit to your understanding.” ~Angel of Understanding, November 2011

~* Happy Weekend All *~

what do you see…hoop la la

Carole sent lovely fabric bits and a wooden hoop for her Queen Bee “what do you see” challenge…

eventho I am very fond of playing with fabric…

these ingredients had me wondering where to begin…

bravely cutting into that lovely small crocheted round that Carole sent…I decided to stamp on the twill tape and added an embroidered hankie that I tea dyed along with some green buttons from my stash…

the green doily is from my Mom’s house…I stretched it in the hoop cutting around the edges…sealing the ravely bits with a clear fabric glue…

a golden key…Eiffel Tower charm and wooden Fleur-de-Lis from my stash were the finishing touches to Carole’s almost 7.5 inch (19.05 cm) finished hoop…really fun…

now I’ve shown you all of the swap pieces I’ve created for Nathalie…Linda and Margaret…

the last two of my kipper tins are on their way home…I will share a look at them soon…

it’s Friday and Ana has another exciting Friday Archive Dive...stop by…you won’t be sorry…you are welcome to join in the fun too!

junkles reveal

...where did December and January go…

thought you might like to see the rest of the junkle ornaments that came in from the Queen Bees swap around the holidays…

I had shown you Linda’s lovely altered tart tin ornament earlier…the shredded text is a perfect touch don’t you think…I really have a thing for bees and bee skeps too…

Nathalie transformed a vintage lightbulb into a twinkling beaded dangle…

great touches of tinsel and “snow” really make it sparkle…

Margaret used bits from an old/vintage bracelet…the silver burst is a bit from an ornament bauble…

other delicate treasures complete this lovely piece…

Carole layered fabric and paper to make a pretty “snippet roll” as she’s named it…held onto a wooden spool with a carpet tack…it unfurls to reveal lots of loveliness…

highlighted with her special stitching…you too can make a snippet roll…she shares how to here...

and here is my thimble bell birdie ornament again…made out of old garland…beads…bird and thimble with a little jingle bell hanging inside…

it is always fun to see where creative people go with a theme…this swap was a real delight and began with inspiration from here!

*Happy Chinese New Year…The Year of the Rabbit*

*Wishing you Sparkling Happiness and Good Fortune this New Year*

Queen Bee Stitchery Round Robin Reveal

it is finally time for more than a sneak peek at the stitcheries that have been popping up the last several months…

back in May some of my talented friends … the Queen Bees (QB5) … started a stitchery round robin … each of us did a bit on our own piece … me … not so much …

my TAP transfer lady … a favorite postcard image of mine … had humble beginnings on a scalloped and stained linen dinner napkin…with a an old doily behind her … a bit of hat netting along with a vintage flower  …

seems I stitched her on a bit cockeyed … more about that later …

time to send her off to her first destination … a visit with Nathalie in Missouri…

just look at the delightful corner Nathalie filled with stitched goodness in gorgeous threads  … a sweet birdie singing “Tra la la” … “I SO needed to stitch today”… along with pretty tatted pieces too…

next stop with Linda in Texas … she stitched the lovely “breathe” … a swan … YES a swan … the pretty tea cup… “Tuesday Tea”and the plumed birdie on its lace perch … just found out Linda added the pearls around the center piece doily too… just perfect…

on to visit with Margaret in Switzerland…a precious pink seed bead and button heart stitched with “my heart’s desire” along with beautiful bits of lace and buttons and more lovely beads and special bits on the right side too…

last stop with Carole in New Zealand…who is celebrating her birthday this weekend … as she said … she crowned it with “lots of yoyo Love”… wee little yoyo’s made out of pretty flowered fabric … along with other special bits and layered goodness…

I am totally charmed and in awe of what was returned to me … beyond my wildest dreams…so worth waiting for these five months…

I got so excited when my stitchery arrived … I was inspired to stitch … to do something…

I decided to remove my lady transfer and add a piece of old pink hat netting behind her … giving me a chance to straighten her out a bit … funny enough … she is still not completely straight … she obviously has a mind of her own … which seems just perfect to me … I added a few other bits here and there including one of my wire birds nests …

found a bee bead while cleaning out a drawer … I had picked it up two years ago at a bead shoppe in Sebastopol and tucked it away … the perfect final touch…

after months of making her way around the globe … my lonely lady returned to me surrounded by Love … beauty …  kindness and thoughtful creativity … an absolute treasure!

Nathalie’s Stitchery

the last round is already here in our Queen Bees stitchery round robin (RR) … Nathalie’s playful stitchery arrived from Carole in New Zealand and looked pretty much complete … leaving me wondering what in the world I might add …

after a little while … I did find a few places for a bit of this and that … here is a peek until our reveal sometime in the next month or so when all of the stitcheries are back where they began their journey’s around the world

* * *

I also wanted to mention another really interesting interview by Lesley Riley on Art and Soul Radio with Stephanie Lee … it is inspiring and reveals a lot of what women artists experience trying to balance family and creating art … well worth the listen!

Bee Happy

we are back to a one week schedule over at Wednesday Stamper/Mittwochstempler … “Stitching” is the theme this week … I enjoy combining paper and fabric and used my dress form stamp on TAP … ironing it onto a piece of old cloth napkin

I machine stitched and hand stitched bits including some yellow french knots for the center of the daisy …

the words Bee Happy are computer generated

Playing with TAP

our sweet niece is getting married in October … her sweetheart’s family is making a wedding quilt with squares created by various family members …the future bride and groom picked these cotton fabrics to work with

I was so excited about being a part of this … but must admit sewing a straight line is not my strong suit (no laughing!) … lucky for me a talented and super nice friend came to the rescue and sewed the fabric pieces around my photo transfer and got me ready for the stitching … if you haven’t tried Lesley Riley’s Transfer Artist Paper (TAP) I highly recommend giving it a whirl … it transfers so quickly and effortlessly you can hardly believe your eyes!

it is washable and can be ironed too … so versatile

the photo was taken on the beach (it may have been their engagement photo) … it was altered in photoshop by the photographer … I knew it would make a perfect focal point for our quilt square

all I had to do was a little blanket stitching and embroider our names in the lower right hand corner … as requested … it has already arrived in California … can’t wait to see the finished quilt!

*footnote: to see the finished quilt visit this post*