thread and beads and lace

This picture is still flipped but you can generally get the idea. All but a couple of the blocks have gone through one round of embellishing with embroidery. Some have beads and/or lace.

frolic

The word for this week's Every Inchie Monday challenge is frolic. According to The Free Dictionary the definition of frolic is
n.

1. Gaiety; merriment: fun and frolic.

2. A gay, carefree time.

3. A playful antic.

intr.v. frol·icked, frol·ick·ing, frol·ics

1. To behave playfully and uninhibitedly; romp.

2. To engage in merrymaking, joking, or teasing.

adj. Archaic Merry.
My original intention was to make this inchie out of fiber but instead I ended up using a copy of Victorian scrap mounted on a paint chip and embellished with bits of lace. This copyright free image is from Penny Plain Scraps.

lucky

None of the photos I've taken do her any justice at all. Her name is Amaia and I am the lucky recipient of her from Joanne! She is exquisitely detailed and incredibly gorgeous. According to her tag,  "Amaia is a sturdy Basque mountain nymph, ready to lead you on any path you set out on. She is a bold guide and a trusted companion." I am so lucky to have her for my companion!

Joanne included this lovely card that is also a piece of artwork in itself. I'm trying to decide whether to frame it or to use it as the cover for a journal I'm creating to use for collecting and consolidating my little scraps of paper with sketches and ideas.

Thank you Joanne for your kindness and generosity!

another block

This is the fun part. I continue to skip around, trying to balance the types of embellishments among all of the blocks.

secret ingredient

 Tim Holtz or Industrial Chic? Usually I mix them together but this happens to only have the Tim Holtz "secret" key. You would think I wouldn't need to buy new keys when I already have a few vintage ones, but these were just so appealing.

cosmic

is the word for this week's Every Inchie Monday challenge.
The definition "of, relating to, or concerned with abstract spiritual or metaphysical ideas" from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cosmic is the one I chose for this interpretation, focusing on abstract. This inchie  is comprised of woven fiber strips and is beaded.

block by block

the embellishing continues on this everything but the kitchen sink crazy kind of quilt.

some prints

made during a recent Lunch and Learn 

 may become

pages in a journal

or cut into strips to make bookmarks 

since you asked

There were a couple of questions about the little log cabin quilt I recently added to my sidebar. I completed it several years ago and it was one of my first attempts at free-hand cutting and sewing, no measuring, just cutting light and dark strips and sewing them by hand (of course) around the red "chimney" that makes up the center of the block.

It's a little wonky, not perfect. It's also small, about the size of a placemat. It may be hard to tell but in the top photo it's shown placed on a small stool.

flurries

It's nice when

you meet a goal

of finishing up a small project over the weekend.

A flurry of stitching during a couple of days with bursts of snow flurries without additional accumulation.

something fishy

The word for this week's Every Inchie Monday challenge is fishy.  My inchie for this week was  inspired by Low Tide and incorporated some of the leftover materials including blueberry and coffee stained cheesecloth and cotton strips. Other fibers include two different yarns, one of which is a Japanese silk, wool and angora mix. 


The 'fish' are scrapbook components from the "Little Hopes" workshop held last year.

Art Journey Blog Giveaway

I can't believe I won this and I can't believe it's here already! This lovely little punchneedle bag arrived from Penny for her Art Journey Blog Giveaway, overflowing with chocolates, beautifully wrapped, and accompanied by a Valentine.


I briefly considered waiting until Monday to open it, but only briefly.

Many thanks, Penny!

studio views

I've been putting a few things away and took a few more photos of my studio.  It's hard to tell from the photo but these are the two heart-shaped rocks I came across on a path last year.

I still need to make a decision as to what to name her.

Wish Upon A Quilt

Last fall when I participated in Amy's Bloggers' Quilt Festival, I won a $10 gift certificate from Wish Upon A Quilt. Finally I made my selection which was a scrap bag since I love to work small and with a variety of fabrics. I'm looking forward to using this stash builder of stripes. Thanks Cathy and Amy!

inspired by jude

This little traveling piece was inspired by jude and is an experiment for me in the use and placement of solid colors and fabrics I don't normally use. Currently basted, it will also be an experiment in stitching.
Why is it called a traveling piece? Because all of the placement and basting was done while riding in a car and with the intention of having a small transportable stitching project.

in the process

of embellishing the squares that make up the project on my design wall here. I did start with the block I intended to start with but I've been skipping around to try to get a good balance of thread colors and embellishments throughout the quilt.
This was my least favorite block and now it's my favorite.

electrifying

is the word for this week's Every Inchie Monday. This one is made of fabric and beads.
Maybe the word for this week should have been maudlin because that's how I feel. Six years ago today I lost my oldest daughter.

snowed in

and remembering the warmer days of summer solstice and low tide

fiber heart collage

Here it is in its unembellished state. I always enjoy projects with hearts, particularly this time of year. Last year I made a collection of several flat or slightly stuffed hearts.


This year I started out with a rectangle of blue linen from a skirt and stitched down some hearts, lace and stamped vintage fabric pieces.


My plan is to stay with the blue and white theme using thread and buttons and whatever else might catch my eye.


I've also been enjoying hearts made others including these by:

• Jude
• Mary Helen 
• Corrine
• Vicky
• Joanne and
• Lorelei.

A bracelet from last year's heart projects:

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." ~ Carl Jung

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." ~ William Wordsworth

art therapy

At today's Lunch and Learn we made valentines.

It was fun decorating them inside and out.

This month's facilitator was an art therapist who encouraged us to channel our inner child and to just have fun.