Three days with Sharon B... woohooo!

Okay, we're heading back to Connecticut. It's time I finished telling you about my trip and class with Sharon Boggon. I cannot even remember when or how I first learned about Sharon - I guess it must have been by blog-surfing. But I have followed her blog Pin Tangle for several years now and have often visited her website and made use of her Stitch Dictionary. If you are into Crazy Quilting, you really must take a peek at these- and you will no doubt be hooked too. Hooked on Sharon. A very good thing to be hooked on... To say I am a fan of her incredible work is certainly an understatement. I have taken two online classes from her and now- a whole three days with Sharon- in person! How lucky am I!! In fact, I had to keep pinching myself during this whole trip- we were all so blessed to have such a wonderful opportunity...
Sharon is such a giving person. Her online Stitch Dictionary is a real gift to the stitching world - it is always there, ready to be accessed when one needs it- what a wonderful resource. On her website In A Minute Ago, one can view much of her wonderful work: her "I Dropped the Button Box Quilt" is my favorite, hard as it is to pick just one favorite. If you follow her Blog she is in the
process of documenting each feature on the 100 individual blocks of this quilt. One can learn so much about color and design just by studying her work, not to mention the stitching and embellishing.
Her three day class was wonderful - she taught us many floral motifs, new stitches, use of new (to me) materials such as sequin waste and gimp cord... but equally as exciting was getting to see her works "in person". Sharon's Band Sampler which measures 6" wide by over 70 feet long (yes you read that correctly- almost 75 feet!!) is an amazing chronicle of her life and "stitching history" not to mention an incredible teaching tool. I could have spent hours just pouring over it... She is documenting it as well, section by section, on her Blog here. In addition to the Band Sampler and the Button Box quilt, she also brought her recent Diamond Block CQ which features paisley fabrics in each block, and several smaller pieces.
We were all very happy when on our final day, Sharon said she would happily "critique" some of our blocks, if we wished. Of course everyone liked that idea and it was very interesting to see how she quickly zeroed in on what each block needed. Her art training was evident as she spoke about balance and design, moving the viewer's eye around the block, etc. and I think everyone in the class learned from looking carefully at each other's work.
I cannot begin to convey to you how much I enjoyed this three day class. We were all in love with Sharon, her Aussie accent and sayings, her story about Bullion races, the impish look she got in her eye as she told us about her friend Margaret and her disapproval of the use of a certain marking pen which Sharon likes to use.... Sharon, you're the best!! Thank you so much for a wonderful three days which I will treasure for a long while.
Thanks are also due to Maureen Greeson and Susan Elliott who organized this entire event. Maureen, who I met only briefly several times during my stay, was so very generous in providing us with wonderful packages of freebies - threads, silks, etc. Who doesn't like treats and hers were the best! Thanks Maureen for the goodies and for all the work you did to set up this grand adventure for us all ! Susan and I have known each other through blogging for a while, but this was our first time meeting face to face.... and what a very special person Susan is. If you are familiar with Susan's blog Plays With Needles, you have likely figured that out already. (You really must read Susan's post about Sharon here. Susan's photos are far superior to mine.) She is one in a million. I felt so privileged to be in her company, for the class and our extra little "excursions". She and her sidekick Helen let me tag along with them and made me feel so welcome. You guys rock!! I do hope we will get together again... soon...
I would have to say that the people I met at this CQ Adventure were one of the very best parts of it all. Like minded women who came together from across North America to share their love of fabrics and threads, stitching and creating works of love. Without a doubt- you girls rock! Sharon B., Susan, Helen, Allie, Maureen F., Bobbie, RuthEllen, Renee, Sherry and Sharon and all the rest - thanks for making it all so much FUN!!

Peace
Linda

Some people make the world more special just by being in it.

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Remember that line from "Leavin' on a Jet Plane"? Well, I'm not taking a plane...wish I was.. but anyway, my bags are packed. Here are the blocks I've made to work on... love those jewel tones. I'm also taking a WIP (Work in Progress) so may work on it too...
Be back in a week...talk at ya then....

Peace,
Linda

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

Countdown Continues...

Here's my nametag...not as great as I'd like it to be, but it will have to do. I cannot fuss with it any longer, I have too much still to do. I may add a few more beads later... I am suffering a sore throat, hoarse voice and a bit of a sniffle today - just what I need. Not! So I'm trying to get done what must be done and I hope to get to bed early tonight. I know I've been burning the midnight oil too many nights now, and I guess I'm run down. Not a great way to start a trip.. I'm hoping the Echinacea will "come through " for me like it usually does...
It's very likely that I won't be on here again until after the 16th, so keep well my friends and I'm sure I'll have lots of photos to share upon my return. I hope to visit Old Sturbridge Village on Sunday on my way to Manchester - they have a special display of quilts on exhibit, dating 1790-1850. If I'm really lucky I may get to the American Folk Art Museum when we're in NYC on Monday for their special quilt exhibit. I sure timed this right, didn't I? Then of course there's my three day class, and oh, did I mention the Maine Shop Hop, on for the month of April, and Quiltport USA this weekend in Freeport?? You know me - I'm going to try and hit them all....
Peace,
Linda

Hello. My name is Linda. I'm a quilter, and my house is in pieces....

Victorian Noteables

I just realized I did not show you the other two notecards I finished for the class last weekend. This class is set up to be an intro to Crazy Quilting, giving students a "taste" of the piecing and embellishing. I prepared kits containing prepared cards, pattern, all fabrics, threads and needles, beads, etc. The class was a hit and enjoyed by all. Here are two more of the cards I have finished. I added a bead cluster to one and a bit of silk ribbonwork to the other... The color here seems to be a bit "off"... the top card is actually a pale peach, and the lower one is a pale green. Not sure what happened there!! lol Both cards look grey here..??? These cards measure 4.25" square with circular cutouts 3" in diameter.

This morning I started a new Miniature. I have a deadline, which is not far off, by the way, so I'm going to be putting the pedal to the metal this week. Good project for cold windy days, I figure... I have no desire to go out when it is so cold... I guess I'm hibernating! If I sew fast enough, will the generated heat keep me warm?

Piece,

Linda

Winter, etches on the windowpanes,

fingerpaints in white.

Sculptures strange soft shapes of snow

that glisten in the night.

Kid's Play...er, KIT Play

I'm one of those people whose favorite gift as a child was a new box of crayons. I didn't even always want to USE them... I just wanted to have all the colors. The bigger the box the better! And I haven't changed much - I still love to play with colors. I've just moved on from crayons to fabrics and threads....

Thats what I've been doing today. Playing. With color. I'm teaching my Victorian Noteables class next Saturday for my own Guild. This class is an Intro to Crazy Quilting - for people who'd like to try it out but don't want to invest a lot of time or money in collecting fancy fabrics, threads and embellishments. So I am making up kits for the class, including cards with matching envelopes, pattern, all fabrics, threads, beads, needles, etc.

Today I started "putting things together" - there are 4 different color choices -a soft aqua, pink, peach and soft green. Shown here is what I've assembled for the aqua card and the peach (which isn't real peachy- it's a very soft peach that borders on shrimpy pink... if you know what I mean...) What fun I'm having. I just hope I can get a few more cards completed myself this week. If so, I'll share them with you! You can see a few of the finished cards here.

Piece,

Linda

When creative juices flow, catch them with a needle.

CQ Monday, Week 3

Here are a few more photos of my CQ progress. It isn't going as quickly as I would like, but I guess this is not fast work...I have spent a fair bit of time going through embellishments, beads, buttons, etc. planning what is going to go where... I suppose that can be considered "progress"- I just can't "prove it" with photos...but all will be revealed in good time!! lol

I am really enjoying this handwork (yes I know my machine is feeling neglected...). I have had fun with the silk ribbon embroidery "nosegay" above, even though it hasn't turned out quite how I had envisioned. It is about 90% done, still a little more to be added... I really questioned my colour scheme in the beginning: peach and pink together? with some plummy mauve? But I am happy with how it is turning out. What do you think? I don't often work with "pastels" so this is a bit of a stretch for me... I found a beautiful enamelled butterfly in my stash - can't wait to put it on - it is so perfect for the color scheme.

A few more seams have been completed- you can see above I have completed the drift of french knots. I'm now wondering if I shouldn't "fill in" the "leaves" - perhaps some green silk ribbon, rather than the detached chain stitches...? What do you think? Below it is a row of Up and Down Buttonhole done in pink silk buttonhole twist thread.

Above the tatted piece to the right is a row of Closed Buttonhole, in yellow perle 8, with splayed straight stitches done in a mauve perle 12. (Again, you can click on these photos for a closer look).

In this area I have added some bugle and seed beads to a row of layered Herringbone, and threaded some narrow silk ribbon through a piece of tatted edging.

Thats all for today's "Show and Tell"... Tune in next Monday for more photos...

Piece,

Linda

The greatest accomplishment is to make work seem simply like play.

CQ Monday

I finally have a few pics to share with you of my CQ stocking. I have finally gotten back to it, and it feels good!! Alas, I have not accomplished as much as I had hoped this past week, but I find just getting started is the biggest hurdle. Once you have it out and all threads and supplies organized, then the rest comes more easily. I spent some time searching through supplies to find just the right beads, buttons, etc. which I want to use. Now that I have it "all together" it's easier to decide what to do on a particular seam. I often choose a particular seam treatment based on the embellishment I plan to use - beads or whatever. So I like to have it all "visible" while I work... That's a challenge when Ollie is around, as he seems to think I have it all there for HIM to play with... Hmmm, I'm sure he must have been a quilter or stitcher in his former life, as he seems to like all this stuff as much as I do!! He loves to run away with a ball of perle cotton or a skein of silk in his mouth...

Anyway.. here is what I've done in the last few (too brief) stitching episodes... I did the seam behind this tatted piece in a Chevron stitch, using a variegated cotton by Caron (Wildflowers), and added some straight stitches in a perle 12, detached chain stitches (or "lazy daisy") in a silk buttonhole twist and some small gold beads. I finished off the featherstitch which runs through the tatting with some tiny sequins and beads and added the "dangle" in the middle with beading. (Click on photos for a closer look)

I did this seam in a double featherstitch and added pearls. This thread is a variegated from Stef Francis, one of my favourites to work with. The seam below it is not quite finished yet but there's enough here for you to get the idea. I did a chain stitched "vine", added some leaves with detached chain, and am in the process of doing the French knots in Pearl Crown Rayon - two shades of rose, and an overdyed Silk Twist 8 by Eterna Silk. I think this will be one of my favourite "areas" once it's done.

I also removed some stiching I had done before that I've been mulling over and decided it just had to go. I found a beautiful wide sheer ribbon to cover that area, still considering whether it is "just right"...? So you can just see a bit of it at bottom of photo. I'll show you a closeup once that area is done for good! A woman is allowed to change her mind, right?

That's all for today. Be sure to check out my friend Gail M to see what she is showing today for CQ Monday...

Piece,

Linda

Old stitchers never die.... they just get tied up in knots, come unravelled... and rip away!

CQ stocking..slow progress

Here finally are a few pics of the stocking I'm working on. Now please remember, this is a work in progress... I am only at the embroidery stage, although I have added beads to one row.... just couldn't wait.... I tend to sometimes add and change things as I go along.. so what you see now, might look a little different in the end. In fact I have been known to totally remove something and replace it with a different seam treatment if I'm not happy with it after I "live with it" for a while....
This first photo shows a small piece of tatting that I have cut from a doily my Mother made years ago.. I have "anchored" it in place with some featherstitch (my favorite stitch) done in a variegated thread- Wildflowers by Caron. I decided this white patch was just a little too white, so this tones it down a bit... I'll decide later whether to add some beading.

I am pleased with this row- I couldn't wait to use these sweet little flower beads. The variegated greens are a Sassa Lynn Perle 5 and a Silk Buttonhole Twist by Judith Baker Montano, dyed by Treenway Silks. I love stitching with silk buttonhole twist - it is my favorite thread, for sure. There will be a narow green trim along the base of this row, just haven't got it on there yet.... Below this row, you can see a layered row of cretan stitch, the "bottom" row done in a pale peach Perle Cotton 5, and on top a fuschia silk buttonhole twist. I'm not sure if the French knots will stay or be replaced by beads or small pearls.

This photo shows a length of tatting, again done by my mother, years ago. I think I will end up lacing some silk ribbon through those "circles" on the right, or perhaps adding beads somehow, or maybe both!. To the left is a row of "Up and Down Buttonhole", done in a variegated Stef Francis heavier cotton thread. In each stitch I have added a detached chain stitch, in a rose silk buttonhole twist. Further to the left, a layered row of Herringbone, the "bottom" row in pink Perle Cotton 5, tied with Silk buttonhole twist, the "top" row in a tan Pearl Crown Rayon thread. I will definitely be adding beads to this row later, probably either bugles or daggers...

Here's a seam that will hopefully look very different the next time you see it.. it's far from finished. I'm not too happy with it right now, but I'm hoping I can improve it considerably. I wanted some curved lines on this seam, and instead of sketching it out, I just jumped in and started... NOT a good idea. The "flowers" are ruched silk ribbon - color is "Faded Rose" by Judith B Montano. The flowers look darker here than they really are. Not sure where I'm going with this - it's not finished as you can see at the top - I'll add more green leaves and see how it looks then... or who knows, it may all come out... Suggestions?

Piece,

Linda

"Music washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life" - Berthold Auerbach

I think Spring might be just around the corner...

Well, somehow we've managed to escape this year, without our usual St. Patrick's Day storm. It seems we almost always get one last storm, around the 17th, but not so this year! Hurrah! Today was above zero, sunny and you can smell spring in the air. After all, it is "officially spring" now, so I guess it's time. The snow is slowly going down, water is a-trickling down the sides of the streets...

Imagine my surprise this morning, when I received this lovely dish garden from my brother and sister-in-law who are currently vacationing in Florida. Tomorrow is my birthday, so this was an early gift! It is lovely and now sits on the kitchen table - I pitched out the scraggly poinsettia- it was time for it to go!

I should be showing you pics of my stocking in progress but you're going to have to wait another day or two. I have accomplished very little this week- it seems sometimes life just gets in the way! This has been a very busy and stressful week for Laura and of course, that always seems to involve me, somehow. She had 100 things to do for the first Grad event this week- Casino Night, so we've both been all over town, picking up prizes, etc. Yesterday I counted and rolled probably $500,000.00 - in Monopoly money, that is! Each Grad was given a roll of $5,000.00 when they arrived, and could purchase more if they wished. They played Casino games for 2 hours, then took their winnings to the Auction to bid on all the prizes - and there were some fine prizes too! The big one was the Prom package- including a free Tux rental, Spa and tanning services, corsage and bouttoniere, restaurant gift certificate, etc. etc. It was great fun, but we're both glad it's over. She had projects due this week, a costume fitting at 8a.m. today at Kings Landing, not to mention MAJOR deadlines looming for Yearbook. On top of all this, she found out on Wednesday that she was chosen to be the one applicant for her High School, for a major scholarship...which was wonderful but meant she had an essay to write on Wednesday night... so it's been quite a week. She works all day tomorrow and Sunday at Kings Landing at their annual "Sugarbush Weekend". She loves it, but I think she's ready to collapse into bed exhausted. I think it will be early to bed tonight. Why do things seem to all pile up at once???

Anywhoooo...I haven't gotten much stitching done. Because I work all over the stocking, not just in one area, I don't have much for pics yet. So thought I would share several of my stitch "samplers"' with you. I take one stitch and experiment with it - what happens if you stretch it out? stack it? layer it? reverse it ? etc. I'll share more of these with you, as I go on. Here today are the Buttonhole and the Chain stitches - these are mainly just the basic stitch and then variations of the stitch. It's a good exercise, and then when I'm working on a CQ piece, I can refer to them for ideas... I WILL be showing you my progress on the stocking SOON. I'm teaching a 2 day CQ class next weekend, so am determined to make swift progress in the next few days...

Piece,

Linda

"You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you." — Maya Angelou

I love getting mail!

Don't you just love to get a package in the mail? When I opened the mailbox this afternoon, there was a package from Vickie Adams Brown of Ribbonsmyth. Yeah!! I had ordered a book and some ribbons. The book is another in the A-Z series - The A-Z of Bead Embroidery. I love this series - it is so well done. I love the way they photograph every single step - be it an embroidery stitch, beading or whatever. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the publisher is Country Bumpkin Publishing of South Australia. Vickie's hand-dyed silk ribbon is lovely, and I also got two colors of her Rococo ribbon which is truly beautiful!! Can't wait to find a special project to use it on...

Yesterday I promised to tell you a bit about laces today. To be quite honest, I'm not a lacey kind of gal, but I do like a little lace on a CQ project. I try to support local businesses whenever possible. It's amazing what you will find if you look hard enough. Even WalMart sometimes will have some pretty decent laces, braids and trims if you keep an eye out. However, sometimes the gorgeous lace you will find online is just too tempting to pass up, and thats the case today- above are some of the laces I have ordered from Evening Star Designs (See my sidebar). Some of these are a little wider than I would normally be drawn to, but they are just so lovely- I'm sure I'll find a use for them. No doubt some will get a dunking in some tea to soften that bright white. I have even been known to use coffee or a mix of tea and coffee - it's always interesting to see what color you will get. Herbal teas give some interesting tints too... In the second photo to the right, you will see some laces that I have given a "bath" in some tea. I much prefer the softer look of these.... at the bottom of this second photo, you can see a collar that I cut off an old blouse. It had such a lovely beaded design, done in small pearls - I just could not bear to throw it out. So the point of that collar will find it's way into a seam on a CQ project at some point; I have already used the other half of the collar...

Another option is to dye the lace - if you follow Sharon Boggon's blog, you will see that she dyes a lot of her lace with Procion dyes - I think I'm going to have to investigate that ... Sounds like fun and I love the rich colors she gets. At the bottom of this photo, you will see two short pieces that I have"hand-painted" with Rainbow Dyes from Ribbonsmyth. When you dampen the lace first, the dye colors will "bleed" slightly into each other , which gives a nice soft effect.... At the top of this photo, you can see a lovely piece of tatting, done by my Mother. Keep your eye out for tatting and fine crochet at antique shops, yard sales and the like. Below is an old hankie with a lovely fine crocheted edging, done in a variegated crochet thread. I'm not sure if my Mom did this one, but the hankie was in her collection, so that makes it special enough for me! Using tatting and fine edgings such as this make a CQ piece that much more interesting, in my mind. When you look at the fineness of the thread and think about the hours someone spent doing this work...well, it's just very special..... You'll have to watch and see which of these laces I add to my CQ stocking...Piece,

Linda

May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door!

Crazy Quilt Stocking

I'm late getting to this post - it was such a gorgeous day - a few degrees above zero with lots of sunshine- you can really feel the sun strengthening - it feels soooo good!! Anyway, I just had to spend some time outside, taking it all in. The snow is slowly melting- sounds so great to hear that water running down the side of the street!! Tonight I had Choir practice, so just now getting to the computer....

So- I promised to show you my next Crazy Quilting project. I have another stocking pieced - well actually it's been done for quite some time, but I'm just getting back to it now. Since my other stocking is done in darker colors, I thought I should do a light one, so chose creams, ivories, pinks, roses and a bit of plummy mauve.... the colors were "inspired" by the length of ribbon you see on the lower right side, plus a print that is used in the stocking. I find that works very well- to choose a print you like, then draw your colors from that print. So that's what I've done. You'll notice that I have used very few prints. I find some poeple use too many prints when CQ'ing. The fabric base is really just that- a base, on which you will add a lot of embellishments. Why spend a lot of time doing embroidery, if it will not show up - and that is what happens with too many prints - all the handwork you do does not show to advantage. So I use mainly solids and textures, and only a few prints.

I try to stick with lightweight fabrics as well. Using thicker fabrics like drapery weights, heavy velvets, etc. just is not worth the trouble you will have when you try to do handwork through it. It can become very difficult to push a needle through, and some of your threads and ribbons, especially silks, will wear quickly, with all the pulling through heavy fabrics. Remember you are going through your muslin base, your fabric, and in many cases several layers of your fabric because of seam allowances.
I leave several inches of muslin around the edge of my CQ piece, so I can hoop it if I choose.

Tomorrow I will talk a bit about laces and trims which is what I add first. You can see I have already added a piece of tatting near the toe, one piece of lace near top and one piece of ribbon on the lower right.

I think my favourite part of working on a CQ piece is the embroidery. I just love threads - here are some of the threads I will probably use on this stocking. This is by no means all, nor will I necessarily use every one of these. But I always start out by gathering "all the possibilities". Then they're all together for me to pick from. As you can see, my favourites are cottons and silks. I'll talk about these a bit more in a few days...... stay tuned....

Piece,
Linda

Itchin ' to be stitchin'....

Back to Crazy Quilting...

No more pics of my darlin' daughter today. No access to the scanner... perhaps I'm going to have to think about getting my own scanner. So, it's on to some Crazy Quilting.... I finished up another little card; going to send this one off to a dear friend who is fighting a real battle with cancer. I find these cards are an easy pleasant evening stitching project. They don't take too long, and you have something finished. I didn't put much beading on this one, as it will be going through the mail. I'm always leery of how the beads will stand up to the machines the mail goes through. Working on this has got me interested in getting back to a larger CQ project. I have another stocking pieced and ready for some serious stitching. Since I have another CQ class coming up at the end of March, I really should get going on this. Tomorrow I'll show you the stocking base, and some of the embellishments I plan to use.

Piece,

Linda

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." Gibran