Cotton Picker

The Beginnings of a Floral Ornament

2012-01-13T23:31:00.004-05:00

I'm still thinking about the quilting for the background mentioned in my previous post. In the meantime, I started a new project. This is the center of a flower to which I need to add petals. I follow Karen Ruane's blog Contemporary Embroidery and I thought maybe using one of her techniques, rouleau loops or prairie points, would make great petals. Now more thinking involved. Sigh.

Cat In Progress

2012-01-10T22:01:00.004-05:00

The cat is actually finished. It's the background that's still in progress.

One of my artistic goals for 2012 is to produce more detailed works. The swirly fabric that serves as the cat's body is too perfect to spoil with additional embellishment so I left it as is. I stitched around the edge two times with medium and light coloured embroidery threads. The stitches are so close that they almost looks like a satin stitch.

Now I have to decide what kind of treatment the background fabric should get. Probably I am going to quilt it. I'll know in a day or two after I think about it.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T16:20:00.003-05:00

(Branching out in 2012 - studies in paper and textiles).

Peanut and Friend

2011-12-27T13:36:00.004-05:00

Meet Peanut, the Shih Tzu we are fostering over the holidays. Here he is posing with a stuffed toy bulldog that hubby bought for me 25 years ago.

Peanut will be with us until Saturday and then he goes back to the rescue shelter. There are appointments set up with potential adopters, so I have every reason to be optimistic that he will find his forever home in a few days. He has been an absolute joy. :)

A Christmas Rose

2011-12-23T19:17:00.003-05:00

Another Christmas ornament. I think it kind of resembles a rose so I call it "A Christmas Rose".

Flower - Christmas Ornament

2011-12-22T21:20:00.002-05:00

Here is another Christmas ornament I made for a friend. The face is surrounded with red sequins and seed beads and the background is a Christmas printed cotton.

I have a second flower almost completed which I will post tomorrow. After that I have to stitch one more gift and I'm done. I really wish I had more time but our British food and chocolate wholesale business keeps hubby and me extremely busy from the beginning of November right up to Christmas. On top of that, we are fostering a Shih Tzu over the holidays so I have three dogs to look after until January 3rd.

Rescue Dogs Rock

2011-12-17T12:20:00.003-05:00

This is a gift I made for the wonderful woman who runs the dog rescue shelter where I found my two sweet doggies.

I was browsing on Etsy for handmade textile ornaments, looking for some ideas and inspiration, when I came across a fabric dog with the words "rescue dogs rock" printed on it. Alas, I confess that this is not my original idea.

Most dogs have coats of many different colours so I decided to use a lovely blue/lime green batik for the body. I cut the ear separately and stitched it to the head around the border so that the ear flops a bit (just like my own beagle's).

I tried printing the text by hand on fabric, but gave up after several attempts. Not to boast, but I like my handwriting; my printing sucks. :( I wrote the text in Word and printed it on white paper. Then I toned down the white with some colour and sealed it with a layer of Modge Podge and finally glued it in place.

Double click on the image for a closer inspection, if you like.

I'm pleased with the end result and would love to make one for me to keep.

My 2011 Christmas Card

2011-12-04T10:15:00.003-05:00

I finished the painting and stitching last night with my friend who lives two doors down from me and a bunch of gals visiting the neighbourhood. They were all working on mosaic projects while I stitched. Add to the commotion of five women crafting, talking, and laughing, our three dogs running about competing for attention and treats. It was a fun and productive evening.

So here is my Christmas card for this year. Now I'm off to town to pick up the photos, some cardstock and envelopes. :)

More On The Garden Goddess

2011-10-10T20:14:00.002-04:00

Silly me for thinking I would be able to finish this up today. There's a lot more work to be done. This afternoon I added a few more leaves and the background. Note that the light blue is just a primer and I intend for the finished product to have a deep, dark background. More leaves are to be added. The leaves will be outlined in black and then hi-lited with gold. Still pondering over what to do about the "wart" on the nose and where to go from there.

Garden Goddess In Progress

2011-10-09T20:36:00.004-04:00

It's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. Where I live (in Southern Ontario) the weather has been unbelievably mild for October. Too nice to spend any time anywhere other than outdoors. And so I was out in my yard all day.

I thought it was about time to continue working on the Garden Goddess I started in the spring. All I did back then was cut the plywood outline with a scroll saw and even then, it wasn't me who did the cutting. It was hubby, although I "helped" by holding the plywood steady and making sure he followed the line.

The Garden Goddess is 4 feet tall. I had planned to nail her to a tall post in my garden. It just didn't happen this year. Now I'm determined to finish her tomorrow as the weatherman has promised to deliver another gorgeous day.

As much as I have things worked out in my head, I always run into snags. The plywood has knots in it and wouldn't you know that one landed smack dab in the middle of her nose. I guess the only solution is to try and cover it with a lot more paint. I have already added layers of paint but the knot keeps busting through. I just don't want her to have a wart on her nose.

The other problem is that I am not a skilled painter. I am working with acrylic paints. I like them because they dry quickly. I hate them because they dry quickly.
Anyway, tomorrow I will add more leaves and paint the background a dark colour. I also have to do some more work on the face besides dealing with the "wart".

All in all, it was a fun day. :)

Fostering

2011-10-07T22:33:00.002-04:00

My "cotton picker" creative life has been interrupted somewhat with my preoccupation with dogs. Six months ago, we adopted two rescues, a beagle/coonhound mix and a terrier mix. In addition to our own dogs, we started fostering as well. Since hubby and I were inexperienced dog owners, we thought by fostering, we could not only help deserving dogs find homes, but by having contact with many dogs, we would learn more about canines.

This summer we had the privilege of fostering three dogs and fortunately we were able to assist in placing them in forever homes. I was so happy to know that the Australian shepherd, Cosmo, and the beagle, Tinkerbell, ended up in good loving homes. We know because we have had follow up contact with the owners.

Below is a picture of Tinkerbell in her new "daddy's" arms. For privacy reason, I had to crop out "daddy" but trust me, he has a look of extreme pride in his face.

The most difficult part was the fostering of a black chihuahua named Frankie. I fell so in love that I desparately wanted to keep him. As much as I tried to plant the idea in hubby's head and even had some of my friends drop hints at him too, he would not go along with a third permanent dog in our house. Although a number of times he agreed that Frankie was special little guy, it was not to be. I never took a picture of Frankie because it was too painful to be reminded of the dog I couldn't have.

Come next spring and throughout the summer, I expect to have another parade of dogs in our care.

Cosmo

2011-08-17T22:40:00.004-04:00

I have gone weeks without blogging before. If I don't have anything to say, I don't post and I don't feel neglectful or guilty about it.

Today I am going to write about Cosmo, the big dog on the left. This wonderful dog was at the rescue shelter for five months with no one interested in adopting him. When we approached the director at the shelter about fostering, we were assigned Cosmo. Neither hubby or I would have chosen him, had we been given a choice in the matter.

It was explained to us that often when a dog is fostered, they get adopted shortly afterwards. Well, dear Cosmo was only with us for two weeks and then found his forever home. We met the couple who adopted him and we approve. :)

I can't believe that after only two weeks, I could fall in love with a dog so quickly. I wish we could have kept him, but we already have two dogs and three would be too much for us. We will continue to foster other dogs.

I was going to crop the picture so only Cosmo would appear, but I thought our terrier, Della, top right, looked so cute that I didn't want to cut her out completely even though she is cut out anyway.

If you double click on the photo, you will get a better view of these two cuties. :)

Feline and Canines

2011-07-09T16:45:00.005-04:00

A favourite template created by me paired with a vintage border print from my late mother's stash inspired this kitty. What a beautiful day today to sit outside and stitch and finish up this project.

Below are some more pics of my doggies. One day I followed them around the yard for a long time, took lots of photos and ended up with a couple of excellent shots. Too bad the blue Wubba toy ended up in the second photo. If I had photoshop, I would "erase" that and the picture would be perfect. :)

Studio Clean Up

2011-05-30T10:58:00.007-04:00

Mrs Muir, an elderly neighbour of mine who was a gifted and accomplished seamtress and knitter passed away last fall. Her son and daughter-in-law, who are working on the house to get it ready for sale, had to get rid of Mrs Muir's sewing stash and were more than happy (and generous) to let have whatever I wanted. I brought home three big garbage bags full of fabrics and notions, dumped them on my studio floor and let them sit there for a couple of months. The place looked like an episode of the TV show "Hoarders". No wonder I haven't felt like going in there to do something creative.

This weekend, hubby and I were at a yard sale. I spotted a teak chest of drawers that I knew would fit right on top of a teak cabinet that already resides in my studio. That way, I would have more storage space for all those scraps of fabric I collect, without taking up any more precious floor space. Best part - it only cost me $5.00.

So now that things are all cleaned up in there, I feel a creative surge coming on.

And I couldn't post and not include a few doggie pictures. Della, taken by my sister with her new Smart Phone.

Alba, taken with Sis' Smart Phone.

Doggies soaking up the sunshine, taken by me with my crappy old camera. :)

More Doggie Pics

2011-05-06T22:52:00.005-04:00

Alba

Della

Ever since the dogs arrived, I've been so focused on them that I haven't stitched a single stitch in the last 5 to 6 weeks. Taking a break is not a bad thing. I find I need to do that every once in a while and then the creative juices start flowing again. I hope to get back on track very soon. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos of the sweeties, taken on one of our very early morning walks.

These guys are keeping me on my toes. They need to be exercised regularly and constantly supervised. They are perpetual 5 year olds. As I learned after the fact, that is likely not to change until perhaps their very senior years. So with 2 to 3 daily walks, sweeping, mopping and vacuuming the floors to keep up with the dog hair and the muck on their little feet, I haven't moved so much in years. I've lost 7 lbs. Thank you doggies. :)

We Have Two Dogs

2011-04-15T20:03:00.003-04:00

Call us crazy, but we figured Alba needed a girlfriend. Meet Della (the black and white dog). Another rescue that came home with us today. You can't tell from the photos, but she's a strange little one. If there ever was a Heinz 57.....

We chose her for her sweet temperment and in my eyes, she is beautiful. :)

Life these last few weeks has been all about dog. I do hope to return to normal routine soon and back to my art. :)

Pictures of Alba

2011-03-30T13:35:00.005-04:00

Here a some more pictures of Alba. These are not my photos, but pictures posted of him on Petfinder.com.

The second night we had him, just after midnight we heard this awful hacking, honking, choking sound. Talk about rude awakenings. We had given him a bone (big bone, not chicken bone)earlier in the evening and my first thought was that he somehow managed to bite off a piece and it got caught in his throat. He would have moments of quiet and then start again so after awhile I was pretty sure it wasn't the bone that was the problem. I suspected he might have kennel cough. Together with the lady from the dog rescue place and our horse/dog trainer friend, we determined it was kennel cough (or at least a cold).

We got him some homeopathic concoctions and after adding it to his dinner last night, we noticed improvement very soon afterwards. Last night he did have coughing episodes but the quiet times in between were longer. Hubby and I were able to get a decent night's sleep too.

Yesterday during the day it was quite awful but today he's only had the occasional cough. I am impressed with the natural meds. Since he was a rescue, he was underfed and malnourished and we're going to see that he gets to a healthy weight. As a person who eats a diet absent of animal products (meat,fish, fowl, dairy, cheese), I couldn't imagine a day when I would be feeding my dog a raw diet (meat and veggies), but it seems to agree with him.

Our horse/dog whisperer friend doesn't like crates and showed us how to get him to stay in his bed at night. It worked like a charm and now the crate will only be used for travel. I'm happy about that because I don't want to crate him either.

He's a real sweetie and we love him. :)

We Have A Dog

2011-03-27T17:42:00.007-04:00

Today we adopted a Lemon and White Beagle from a dog rescue place. He comes from a shelter in Ohio and arrived here in Canada on March 21st. I have had my eye on this little guy for 3 weeks and now, finally, he is here with us. I fell in love with him from the brief description and three photos posted on Petfinder.com.

The woman that runs the rescue farm is truly remarkable. Her whole life is devoted to dogs and you can tell she loves them. She's a no nonsense person and I LIKE no nonsense people. She is also of the same mind as the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. In fact, it was the Dog Whisperer program that inspired hubby and I to adopt a dog after owning strictly cats during our 25 year marriage.

His name was Albany. We didn't have to change it very much when we decided Alba would be his name from now on. Hubby is Scottish and "Alba" is the Gaelic word for Scotland.

What a handsome guy he is. It will take every fiber of my being to keep from spoiling him because of his "cuteness". :) He has a lot to learn. I don't know his history. He is between two and three years old and has no leash experience and doesn't seem to know simple commands like sit, stay, and down. We intend to be the best pack leaders we can be and make him a very well mannered boy. :)

Sorry that the photo isn't the best, but I didn't want to get too close to the crate and get him all excited. I promise better photos of him in the future. Oh yeah, you can count on it. :)

PS-This doesn't mean I will stop making cats. LOL.

Happy St Paddy's Day

2011-03-16T17:31:00.003-04:00

Here's a touch of green for St Paddy's Day on March 17th. I thought it might be kind of fun to attach this little flower to a stick and use it as a plant stake for a house plant.

Besides the green, I also happen to have an Irish name (Dempsey), thanks to hubby. :)

Tiger

2011-03-04T23:06:00.005-05:00

I cut up a wild patterned shirt that a friend gave me. In fact, there was more than one animal print to be found on the "crazy" shirt, but today, I used the section resembling a tiger print. I am really pleased with the way this turned out.

Post #395

2011-02-26T19:08:00.005-05:00

I am up to 395 posts on this blog. When I reach #400, I should do a giveaway, don't you think?

Copper Kitty

2011-02-25T18:08:00.003-05:00

This kitty (along with everything else I post on this blog) was made from fabric from my huge stash of cotton scraps, thanks to the generosity of my friends. Once they learn that I can put a little bit of fabric to good use, they are more than happy to feed my fabric obsession. And when I say "huge stash", I am not talking about the metres and metres of fabrics I have purchased over the years with the intention of sewing clothing for myself.

I do manage to sew a few garments every year. I do not allow myself to cut into the fabrics meant for clothes unless I am actually making a article of clothing. Those fabrics are only fair game once they become scraps leftover from garment projects.

The fabric acquisition thing is escalating now. I realized that I don't necessarily have to shop in fabric stores anymore. Scouting thrift stores for used clothing has opened up a new world for me. I admit the thought of cutting up perfectly good clothes somehow seems wasteful, but if they're petite sizes, I don't feel so bad. :)

A friend of mine who is an art professor and likes my "art" and is very encouraging to me, just gave me bagfuls of discarded clothing and jewelry and has commanded me to go forth and create. There are some really wild things there that just might steer me into a different direction.

Cat #2 (From Favourite Upholstery Fabric)

2011-02-22T20:00:00.002-05:00

This is the second in the series of cats made from a favourite upholstery fabric. :)

Showbiz

2011-02-20T17:08:00.002-05:00

WIP

We spent a most interesting afternoon at a local community theatre production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Hubby and I got to see the show for free because we were asked to volunteer. We handed out programs and showed folks to their seats.

Simple enough, but things never go quite like you expect them too. We were up in the balcony. First, we had to ask people if they wouldn't mind sharing programs because we didn't have enough for everybody. Second, the numbers on the seats were not well marked and so we were fumbling around with flashlights trying to get everyone seated before the curtain went up. :)

We were also told that if anyone left their seat during the performance, we had to escort them down the stairs with a flashlight. Apparently there had been previous mishaps with the stairs. Hubby got to see the whole show without interruption. I had to see three people down the stairs and so I missed a few bits.

One thing that surprised me was that nowhere in the program could I find credit given to Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice, you know, the writers of the show. Everyone else right down to the janitor got a mention. Well, no, I tell a lie. Hubby and I weren't mentioned. :)

Actually, it was pretty good. The actor who played Joseph was charismatic and energetic with a smooth voice. Actors are chameleonic as the picture in the lobby of "Joseph" wearing civilian clothes looked like an ordinary guy with a receding hairline. After the show when we were leaving the theatre, I noticed that one of the chorus girls without her Liz Taylor Cleopatra wig was in fact a middle aged gray haired woman.

That's showbiz. :)

A Favourite Upholstery Fabric

2011-02-19T15:35:00.004-05:00

Here is what I was working on today using some gorgeous upholstery fabric I found in a bargain bin. I like it so much that I'm going to do a series of cats with this fabric at the risk of getting bored. I usually like to change colours from one project to the next.

One World One Heart Winner

2011-02-18T10:58:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Jingle, who is the winner of my One World One Heart door prize.

Jingle, I have contacted you by Email and look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Thanks to all who took the time to stop by and leave a comment. :)

Anniversary

2011-02-17T00:06:00.003-05:00

My mother passed away four years ago today.

One thing I will always remember about her is that she never, ever, wore pants. She was always in a dress or a skirt. I find that inspiring and would like to shift towards wearing more dresses myself.

Ema (which means mother in her native Estonian).
1920-2007

Thinking About Dad

2011-02-15T10:29:00.002-05:00

Today my thoughts go out to my dad who would have celebrated his 96th birthday. He passed away in November 2007.

Two days from now will mark the 4th anniversary of my mother's death.

Sweet Heart (But Not For Me)

2011-02-13T16:53:00.002-05:00

Not every one has a sweetheart or a Valentine. That’s what I had in mind when I made this piece. The text:

“Sweet Heart, but it doesn’t beat for me
It beats softly in love but not for me
Sweet lips I know I’ll never kiss
You’re what I’m afraid I must miss”

is from a song found on a favourite Maria Muldaur LP recorded way back in 1974. The song always stuck with me.

I used the same template I created for my Evil Cat. The printed cottons are various shades of red and pink, the usual colours we associate with Valentine’s Day. The heart is broken because she has no sweetheart.

Early Valentine

2011-02-12T19:19:00.004-05:00

Hubby gave me a few little chocolate treats today. He couldn't wait until Valentine's Day and neither can I.

I scarfed down the chocolates and now I'm posting a preview of my Valentine's creation. The whole thing can be seen here on Monday February 14th. (Edit: February 13th - OR SOONER).
:)

Miss Kitty Dragonfly

2011-02-10T18:18:00.003-05:00

Miss Kitty Dragonfly acquired her name from the dragonfly cotton print that adorns her body.

I started working on her last November and finally finished her today.

I have lots of works in progress. I get to lose myself in thought and good music while painting and stitching. Evenings are reserved for old movies from the 40s and 50s. It sure makes the winter fly by.

First Attempt at Assembling "Junk"

2011-02-02T14:03:00.004-05:00

Remember this post? I admit I have been a bit scared to start my first junk doll. What if it really turned out to look like a piece of junk? :)

I will say that it certainly is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I only used four pieces of the stuff Carla sent me - a paint brush, two scrabble letters and a wooden bingo number.

The face is my own creation. While I was arranging and rearranging the pieces on my work table, I noticed some crumpled cardboard with printing on it. It is actually the tag from a pair of cargo pants that I recently hemmed for hubby. I cut out a shape similar to the paint brush and glued it onto the brush.

I really am a minimalist. I thought about adding more to it, but no. This is as good as it's going to get. I plan to glue the piece to a background of painted black plywood and hang it on a wall. :)

I have a lot more "junk" so check back for more dolls.

Looking Ahead To Spring

2011-02-01T08:37:00.007-05:00

Although it's only February 1st and we are warned to expect a severe snowstorm tomorrow, I am looking ahead to spring. At the same time, I am also thinking ahead to tomorrow and seeing myself moving a mountain of snow. :(

What you see below are details of a work in progress with a spring theme. I am making a spring banner. I had to think about it for a week before I began and then suddenly, in our local thrift shop, I found inspiration - a single white tie dyed pillow case with a rainbow of light and bright colours. Perfect. I spent a whopping 75¢.

More inspiration last night as I was trying to decide what text to use. Searching for spring themed poems on the internet was not producing any results that I thought were right until I remembered a song I heard years ago. I could only remember a couple of lines and managed to find it based on my memory. I even found a few performances of it on YouTube. Not all songs translate well when read as a poem, but I think this one does. Anyway, that I will share in a later post. In the meantime, there's a lot of work yet to be done on the banner.

One World One Heart (2011)

2011-01-30T13:07:00.006-05:00

EDITED: 17FEB2011 - COMMENTS WILL BE CLOSED MIDNIGHT TONIGHT EST.

It's that time of year again for a tour of the "blogosphere". If you're not familiar with the event, click here for the details. You may even want to join in the fun yourself, but you must have a blog to participate.

Below is my giveaway which is typical of the art that I produce. I like to mostly work with fabrics. I have a special affection for cats but I make dolls and other things as well. I give every one of my creations a human face.

Here then is my giveaway, a cat with a menacing face. She measures 7 inches in height and 6 inches across at the widest point. She is made from printed cottons. I "painted" the face with inks. She is backed by felt and the edge is embroidered with a blanket stitch. There is a little hook at the back so she can be hung up on a wall. I think she would be especially appropriate for display around Halloween.

If you would like a chance to win her (and you have a blog), all you need to do is leave a comment on this post and your Email address (if it isn't shown somewhere on your blog or profile). I need to be able to contact you if your name is drawn. The draw will be on February 18th.

Good luck and many thanks for stopping by.

Evil Cat (In Progress)

2011-01-25T12:12:00.002-05:00

This is my giveaway for the One World One Heart event. I will do a separate post about it when the blog hopping begins on January 30th.

I had a great idea for a bushy tail but after I studied this cat for a while, I thought that I just had to leave well enough alone. My planned tail treatment would have detracted from the subtle shading in the fabric. Why mess with perfection? :)

I can't always do cute - must toss in something "dark" once in a while too. This would make a great Halloween ornament.

Blue Muslin Doll

2011-01-23T15:29:00.004-05:00

I started this doll last year. How good it feels to have it completed today. This was supposed to be my giveaway for the One World One Heart project, but I'm seriously having second thoughts. I want to keep it for myself. It looks great against our blue bedroom wall and I'm pretty sure I can have that ominous looking face in there without fear of nightmares. :)

It's made of muslin and printed cottons and mostly machine stitched. The size is approximately 18"x6". It's flat and meant to hang on a wall. (Click on the image for a larger view).

Junk Mail

2011-01-07T16:41:00.002-05:00

This kind of junk mail I can handle. Carla Trujillo, who makes art dolls out of "junk" and whose work I very much admire, sent me some of her "junk" and challenged me to create something.

Lots of possibilities here. This is going to be very interesting.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T15:24:00.004-05:00

Another year whizzed by. Where did it go?

A Happy New Year to everyone and let us hope we maintain a positive attitude towards whatever life tosses our way.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T10:40:00.001-05:00

A Couple More

2010-12-21T14:19:00.002-05:00

I decided that the blue fabric garland I made yesterday didn't quite fit the 5 foot entrance to our living room. The length hanging down on either side needed to be longer. Since I didn't have any more of the blue fabrics, I decided to make the extensions using various red printed cottons. The blue garland already has a burgundy strip in it, so the all red extensions tie in nicely with the blue. The red is much deeper and richer looking than you see in the photo.

Fabric Garland

2010-12-20T16:53:00.002-05:00

I made a fabric garland to decorate the entrance into our living room. This is easy to do and it was all made with fabric that has been sitting in the stash for a long time. I got the idea from Robin Olsen's wonderful blog(Rough Around the Edges. Here's the tutorial. Note Robin's is all precisely cut and measured. Mine on the other hand is a total mess. Just ripping and snipping. I didn't even bother changing the thread in my sewing machine - just went ahead and stitched it together with the brown thread already there. And still it turned out great.

I will ask hubby to hammer some nails in the doorway so I can string up some lights. And then I will weave the garland around the lights.

We are not that much into Christmas but I do enjoy the lights and decorations during this dreary time of year. Very soon the days will start to get longer again. :)

Craft Day

2010-12-18T21:09:00.006-05:00

My friend invited me to join her, her sister and niece for craft day. Every now and then they get together and work on various crafts. Today's crafts involved mosaicing, making Christmas gift tags from old cards and making a cloth doll. Normally I would be stitching, but since I didn't have anything ready to work on, I remembered some beautiful washi papers that I received for Christmas last year. I decided to make some paper stars.

They are not quite finished yet. I wanted to scan them first before I apply a coat or two of glossy Modge Podge. I don't think they scan as well under high gloss. The top three are part of a trio. I will probably glue some sequins to the bottom ones.

What a fun time I had working on these. Some of the washi papers are so beautiful that I hate to cut into them, but then I think, it's not much good to have the papers stuffed away in a drawer. I hope to have some time tomorrow to make a few more.

Thanks to my friend for inviting me and thanks to hubby for tidying up the house while I was out "playing".

Snowflake

2010-12-01T16:12:00.004-05:00

Finally I got to squeeze in a little time to do something creative. It is already December and I had no Christmas card designed for this year yet. I had planned to make an angel, but the Snowflake was quicker.

Guard Dog :)

2010-11-26T08:38:00.003-05:00

"Christmas" is now winding down for us and soon I will be able to get at my stitching again. We have been working long hours and for two weeks solid I joined hubby on the road.

I wanted to share the above images and let my readers know that I am still around. These pictures were taken while we were making a delivery. This is what we found parked next to our van. See how relaxed and balanced this little guy is, patiently waiting for his owner to return. He was happy to pose for us.

In the midst of my physical and mental exhaustion, this encounter made my day. :)

Halloween

2010-10-31T13:21:00.003-04:00

Looking forward to some chocolate and a glass of wine at our community bonfire tonight, if it's not too cold outside. (We've already had some snow flurries this afternoon). Otherwise I will do the chocolate and wine thing indoors. ;)

Creepy Doll

2010-10-24T23:28:00.002-04:00

She is creepy because she has no eyebrows and her eyes are asymmetrical. She shows no emotion.

I used watercolour pencils for shading on her face and I went a little crazy with fabric scraps on her body.

I loved working on her, but here's what ticked me off. I started to stuff her with polyfil. I ran out of this great batting I had been using on other projects, so I switched over to some fill I had recently purchased from Wal-Mart. Curses on Wal-Mart again. This batting was horrible. I just couldn't get a smooth even distribution without a great deal of effort. All I can say is that I am glad I didn't buy the large bag of this useless stuff for $15.00 and that I only shelled out $5.00.

This dolly was part of a birthday present I made for my friend who shares my love of old movies. At least once a week we get together to watch an old film from the 30s, 40s or 50s. We figure how can you go wrong with Joan Crawford, Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck.

Creepy Doll WIP

2010-10-23T20:30:00.002-04:00

It's our busiest time of year as mentioned in my previous post and poor hubby came down with a nasty case of the flu. He had to stay home and rest for three days and I had to play "Florence Nightingale". My TLC seems to have payed off as he is making a quick recovery. Now I am a bit sick and hubby is looking after me.

I was starting to panic since we were days behind with our Christmas orders and I was wondering how on earth we were going to catch up. We are so blessed because my wonderful sister and brother-in-law got up very early this morning to help us with our Christmas inventory and thanks to them, we are back on schedule.

Yesterday I spent some time at my sewing machine working on a "creepy" doll (they are so much fun). Here's a sneak preview. You get to see the finished product tomorrow.

Happy Cats

2010-10-16T18:42:00.005-04:00

I haven't had much time lately to devote to my create efforts. As wholesalers of British groceries and chocolates, our busy season, Christmas, has arrived. We have to make sure we get the holiday stock out to our customers' shops as soon as possible which means we have to be at numerous different places at the same time. We're working long hours but today I did manage to do a bit of stitching.

HAPPY CAT #1 (created today)

HAPPY CAT #2 (a surprise visitor who showed up at my door and stayed a couple of days until her rightful owner came to fetch her)

How I Almost Lost My Sewing Machine

2010-10-04T19:02:00.004-04:00

When I ran into trouble with my sewing machine, I took it to the dealer for repairs. This was the same shop where I purchased the machine. They sell sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers and quilting machines as well as a wide variety of quilting fabrics and accessories. Theirs is a thriving business that offers all sorts of classes and seemed to be very popular and doing very well. Or so I thought.

Hubby went to pick up my machine within normal store hours and when he got there, the shop was closed. He called to tell me that there were no machines in the storefront and that the shop was pretty well bare except for a few bolts of fabric.

Our guess was that the business went under and that the creditors had foreclosed. We know from personal experience with a customer of ours that once a creditor seizes a business, it is next to impossible to retrieve anything in the store, even if the item was not an asset of the business. So I have to admit I got panicky when I thought there was a strong possibility that I would not get my sewing machine back.

Fortunately, the dealer sent had my machine to a local repairman who works out of his home. When the repairs were done, the gentleman had phoned and left me a message that it was ready for pickup in the shop. That’s s why I was so worried because I knew my machine was somewhere in the store.

I called the repairman directly and was greatly relieved to find out that he suspected something was going on with the business and that he had gone back to get my machine before they “pad-locked” the store. What a relief. Hubby went to repairman’s house the next day and picked up my machine. I am very fortunate. From now on I will deal directly with the repairman. I will never leave my sewing machine with a store, ever again.

Tomorrow I hope to find time to do some machine stitching on my creepy dolls. Below is the start of another “Creepy”.

A Surprise While We Were Away

2010-10-02T22:50:00.005-04:00

Hubby and I are back from our mini trip. When we finally arrived at our destination, we were ready to relax and have some fun. There was a small hiccup in our plans. On the way there, a man in a pickup truck pulled up beside us at the traffic stop to let us know that we had no brake lights. Fortunately we were in a large town so we figured they were bound to have a Canadian Tire store (Canadian chain store affectionately and often referred to as "Crappy Tire"). We found one and they were able to fix the problem and it only delayed our trip by 45 minutes. Would you believe it was a simple matter of replacing the bulbs and that both had burned out at the same time?

We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast and spent much of the time just wandering around. One of the places we wandered into was an antiques shop. We were browsing in separate aisles, when suddenly I said in a very loud voice something like "on my, I can't believe it, I can't believe it". Hubby and the store proprietor came rushing over to see what the noise was all about. What I couldn't believe is pictured below.

You might say it's a nice enough painting but why all the fuss? Well, this is personal to me because it was painted by Estonian artist Benita Vomm, who was a family friend of 50 years before she passed away several years ago. The whole family, Benita, her husband, son and daughter, were all artists. Only her daughter (who is also my sister's godmother) is still alive today. It would have meant a lot to me to be able to purchase this lovely painting, but the price was beyond my budget. The proprietor was kind enough to allow hubby to take a photo. Mr Proprietor was also quick to give us his card in case we should have a change of heart. I am having the photo developed to send to the daughter as I am sure she will be interested in this happy discovery of ours.

Even though I can't have this painting, the abstract floral below, also by Benita Vomm has been in my collection for over 30 years, so I am happy to at least have it.

Ups and Downs

2010-09-30T09:37:00.004-04:00

Today is September 30th and my last post for the month. In the past few weeks I've had some setbacks and inconveniences, and suddenly things are turning around and getting resolved. Same for hubby. A major inconvenience for him was the "death" of one of his work vans. It had to be towed to the shop and we were bracing ourselves for a big repair bill. In fact, all it needed was a cleanup of some connector thing or other (a lot I know about motor vehicles) and the mechanic didn't even want to charge him for the job.

Hubby wholesales British foods, chocolates and candies. He ships to long distance customers and delivers to customers who are local. I am his secretary and bookkeeper. When he is out on the road, I am at home doing the invoicing, taking orders and doing everything else that needs to be done in the office. I absolutely love working from home and consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to do so.

A few times a month I accompany him on the road to refresh my product knowledge and to meet the customers that I talk to on the phone.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, when we're on the road together, I often spot a fabric or craft supply store, and even though we're usually on a tight schedule, hubby will stop and let me poke around in the shops for a few minutes. On our most recent trip a couple of days ago, I stopped in at a fabric store to see if they carried the type of heavyweight fusible interfacing that I have been looking for since Wal-Mart shut down their fabric department and I can't buy it there anymore (yes,I am still harping about that) :( To my great surprise and delight, this store did have it and I made sure to buy enough to last me a long while.

Later on our trip, we stopped at a huge dollar store. I love scouring the buck stores because I always find some useful item for crafting. This store had a good selection of sequins in lots of different shades. I couldn't pass all this up for a total of $6.00, could I?

My other setback happened when something went wrong with the bobbin casing in my sewing machine and I had to send it in for repairs. Just when I wanted to begin a series of spooky, creepy machine stitched dolls for Halloween. Well, the nice repair man called and said he fixed it and we're picking up the machine later today.

I'll start on the creepy dolls next week. Hubby and I are going away for a few days for some alone time (away from computers, phones, faxes, etc) to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. The actual date is October 4th. Ours has been a happy marriage, and God willing, we'll try for another 25 years.

Below is the beginning of one of the creepy dolls.

See you in October. :)

Black Cat

2010-09-26T20:07:00.006-04:00

I am working on several things at the moment. The Black Cat is an experiment to try out some new materials I just started using. I am not entirely satisfied with the heavy weight fusible interfacing that I bought from Fabricland (a huge fabric chain in Canada). My favourite brand, Pellon, which I used to be able to buy at my local Wal-Mart, is no longer available since they did away with their fabric department. Now I am going to have to find another source for the Pellon. I was surprised that Fabricland didn't carry Pellon.

I was finally able to get my sewing machine in for repairs. Hopefully I can have it back this week. The repair man has retired from his regular job and is now able to devote all of his time to machine repairs. Unfortunately, he was not able to start on it last Friday as he had gone fishing. Sigh - I guess you're entitled to do that when you retire. :)

Navy Blue Cat Wearing Bright Red Flowers

2010-09-22T22:29:00.005-04:00

It's hard to tell in the picture, but this cotton print has a navy blue background with bright red flowers. I jazzed up the flowers with silver beads secured on red sequins. Hubby said he liked this cat and I think I have to agree with him. :)

Stripes and Texture

2010-09-20T16:12:00.003-04:00

In my previous post I talked about stripes. Here's what I did to jazz up the stripes. I roughly cut up a bunch of "squares" and pinned them to a background fabric in an alternating pattern. This red background fabric, by the way, is a really pretty quality cotton that I bought for a couple of dollars at the thrift store. I thought it would make a nice top. When I got it home and unbundled it, I discovered a huge tear in the middle.

I sewed the "squares" to the background by hand, using very messy stitches and to add to the mess, the fabric being a loose weave, started to unravel. The more I handled it, the worse it got so I had to use some Modge Podge around the edges to halt the damage.

Even though it's a big wonderful mess in the middle (let's call it texture :) ) the neat part of me had to make a clean finish around the outside edges. I added a few snippets of the red fabric for additional interest.

The result:

Autumn Sun

2010-09-17T09:53:00.003-04:00

I think this little sun ornament in autumn orange would make a good image for a Thanksgiving card. Our Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up in mid-October and I have a few American friends that I need to catch up with as well. I will have to take a better outdoor shot for the card but this is the best I could manage this morning.

The pretty orange striped fabric is from Judy Merrill-Smith. Stripes, as I have found out with a couple of my other projects (which I won't link to), can be boring and static if used as a single piece. I think it works OK here because the stripes are tiny and not obviously linear.

Currently I have another project in the works in which I also plan to use a striped fabric. In this case, I will be cutting the fabric into squares and sewing them back together with the stripes moving in different directions. It would be much quicker if my sewing machine was in order (still haven't had a chance to take it in for repairs). I'll have to stitch the squares together by hand.

Flower on a Mini Canvas

2010-09-15T14:54:00.002-04:00

After thinking about how to finish this piece, I decided to glue in onto a little 5"x 5" stretched canvas that I found at a buck store. (Gotta love those dollar stores for inexpensive crafting supplies). I just happened to have some matching red decorative trim in my stash and glued it around the border. I painted the sides of the canvas black. It doesn't look too bad against my red wall and a few sequins and beads give it a bit of sparkle.

I would like to do something similar on a larger scale and with a lot more detail.

Good, Bad

2010-09-13T09:57:00.003-04:00

The Good :)

I won a second prize ribbon at our local Fall Fair for my stuffed cat.

The Bad :(

I enjoyed making the Spooky Doll so much (described in my previous post) that I wanted to continue the fun by making a few more. That requires working quicky and the use of a sewing machine. I just got started and my sewing machine failed me. The bobbin case is loose and it's impossible to stitch and I haven't a clue what to do about it other than take it in for repairs. $$$$$$

Below is the start of a dolly that will have to wait until my machine is repaired.

More Bad :(

My local Wal-Mart got rid of their fabric department. I have read this over and over again on other blogs where women have complained about it. OK, so they didn't always offer top quality fabrics, but it wasn't exactly all junk either. You could always find some gems in the $1.99 bin. I used to rely on them for my fusible lightweight and heavyweight interfacing and that's gone now. I was lucky to still find some polyfil. All they are offering now in the way of fabric is a small selection of pre-cut lengths of upolstery fabric. Maybe they'll do the same with cottons.

Spooky Doll

2010-09-10T14:17:00.002-04:00

I whipped this one up quickly for a spooky doll swap. I prefer neatness and symmetry in my work but this time I proceeded with "reckless abandon". :)

To start, I machine stitched some black netting to black broadcloth with bright red thread. The backing consists of two layers of printed cottons with wrong sides together, therefore, you see the right side of the fabric on the back and on the edges that are visible from the front. I sewed the back and front together. The seam allowance was not consistent and I really ended up with quite a mess. Then I thought, she's supposed to be a spooky doll so it's perfectly alright that she's a bit haphazard. I left all the edges raw and tossed some yarn around her neck.

I think I've really got to go a little crazy more often. I like this doll so much I don't want to part with her, but I will. I can make a few more for myself and string them up on Halloween.

The top scan shows her flat, before I added the back and polyfil. The second picture is the finished product.

Bronze Cat

2010-09-08T17:59:00.003-04:00

I was surprised to see how this scan turned out. Notice the little bit of gold at the end of her tail? That's how the whole thing is supposed to look. I still like how it looks here too. :)

A Simple, Stuffed Cat

2010-09-07T12:51:00.004-04:00

Remember this cat I started a few weeks ago? I finished her up today. I only had a very small piece of the pretty mustard yellow print, enough for the head and a few decorative circles. The tail is from another cotton print that is a few shades darker.

I considered sewing buttons on the circles but decided to keep it very simple. The doll is lightly stuffed with polyfill. It's mostly hand sewn but I stitched the front to the back by machine. I'm glad I cut a slit in the back to stuff it from the back. This way the front has a nice clean finish.

The photo was taken outside in the bright sunshine so the colours are not accurate. The body is a light beige/ivory print, not white as it appears in the photo.

I think I will enter her in our local fall fair if she meets the requirements (I'll have to review the rules).

MEOW :)

Summer Art Festival Finds

2010-09-05T18:03:00.005-04:00

I love going to outdoor art shows in the summer. I was fortunate enough to attend a few this year and make some purchases along the way. I thought I would post a couple of fun things I found this summer, plus an interesting sight I spotted very close to home.

First up is a big, fat green frog made by local artisans, a husband and wife team. He searches for logs and bits of wood and comes up with great ideas for turning them into quirky animals. The wife half of the team does the painting. We have bought quite a few pieces from them and Mr Frog is just the latest. Isn't he a giggle?

Last year we had a number of trees removed from our property and kept all the logs to use for camp fires. This morning among the logs, hubby spotted a very large base of a tree about three inches thick and thought it would make a perfect lily pad for our frog and so there he sits.

Next, is a piece of pottery I bought today, both the front and a side view. Now I wonder what could have attracted me to it?

The artist is Alexander Kastulin.

And finally, I found what looks to me like a stylized goldfish on a piece of slate by my neighbour's goldfish pond. Now I know no one put the fish there knowingly, so it is obviously a happy accident. I have no idea what caused this rust stain but I really love it. I would love to take this chunk of rock home but I don't think my neighbour would go for it. ;)

Bird Woman

2010-09-01T15:55:00.002-04:00

The Bird Woman is finished. I made a pair of very long legs and for a couple of weeks kept shifting the body up and down to find the right placement. Long legs or short legs? I opted for the shorter legs because the long legs made her look like a very big and tall drag queen and that was not the look I was trying to capture.

JK Jazz - Music and Art Festival

2010-08-31T08:15:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, I attented our local 4th annual music and arts festival known as JK Jazz. I had a wonderful time listening to top-notch jazz artists, exchanging hellos with many friends and acquaintances, helping out in the art gallery and sipping on the occasional glass of wine (or two). :)

I was pleased to be a part of the art show again this year and had a whole pile of my cards and six original pieces for sale. I sold a lot of cards and two originals and needless to say, I am happy about that.

We are experiencing another bout of heat here and according to the weather forecast, it isn't going to ease up until Friday. Until that happens, I can't get into any serious stitching as the heat makes me lazy and grumpy. :(

I have three unfinished pieces at the moment, including the one below. I am undecided about what she will ultimately be - a mini wall hanging? a fridge magnet? a pendant? an ornament?

Appliqued Butterflies

2010-08-14T21:23:00.002-04:00

I went to St Jacobs today which I would recommend as a destination for any visitor to Ontario, Canada. Hubby and I went to see a musical theatre performance there and arrived three hours early so we had some time to kill. What luck that there happened to be a huge antiques mall just across the street. Guess how I spent the extra time.

I thoroughly enjoyed browsing at all the furniture and collectibles. Presently I am searching for a soup tureen and found one, but it was gaudy. Really horrible. I always keep my eye out for textiles too and had better luck in that department.

I picked up a couple of hand appliqued butterfly quilt blocks for only $2.00 each. They are simple and unpretentious and the whoever stitched them was skilled with a needle and thread. The main reason I wanted them was because of the vintage fabric. As I look at these blocks, I wonder who stitched them, how long ago, and what other things did this woman make. I also picture myself wearing long cotton dresses with these prints. Are these not the kind of prints found in the house dresses of women not all that long ago?

Cat Portrait

2010-08-12T14:44:00.002-04:00

The bird legs that I mentioned in previous posts have been cut out but they still need to be embellished and attached to the body. I will complete the bird as I find time to stitch a bit here and there. This August has to be one of the most jammed packed with committments that hubby and I have ever had. The stifling heat and humidity do not help with getting things done.

In addition to the bird, I have also started a new cat. My plan is to make a stuffed animal out of this. I often scan my work as I go along just to see what it looks like from another perspective and to help me move along in the right direction. I liked this scan so much that I decided to use the image on a greeting card too.

Many thanks to some of the "new" ladies who have left a comment on my blog for the first time. It's nice to know who visits and where you are from. And it goes without saying, that I welcome all comments from new and older readers alike.

If it's hot where you are dear readers, keep cool. :)

Headdress

2010-08-07T14:57:00.003-04:00

Thanks Judy and Cheryl for the bird leg suggestions.

I'm still working on the body. Just for fun, I turned it upside down and positioned it as a headdress. I think it looks pretty good that way too, but she will end up being a bird.

Emergence of the Bird Woman

2010-08-06T10:03:00.004-04:00

This is the beginning of a new project. I have the body cut out as well and when I put the two together, I thought "this looks like a bird to me". Now I have to figure out a clever way to make bird legs. :)

Framing, Fencing, Guarding

2010-08-03T09:55:00.006-04:00

FRAMING
Below is a doll I made a few months ago. My sister loved it so much that I gave it to her. She just got around to framing it. My most excellent brother-in-law made the floating frame. The background is an orange linen type of fabric wrapped around and stapled to 3/8" plywood. My BIL went to the fabric store by himself, without my sister's knowledge, and picked out the fabric.

It looks a bit bright because I took the photo outside yesterday. Indoors it's a bit more subdued.

My BIL is going to make a number of frames for me. My sister, who collects paintings, found it quite expensive to have them framed, so BIL makes all the frames now. He has invested in all the necessary precision tools and produces top quality frames. What you see here is only one type of frame that he makes.

FENCING
Our long time beloved neighbour who has been widowed for four years has decided that the country life without her husband and at her age is too much for her now and has put her house up for sale. We were such good friends with this couple that years ago we removed part of the fence that separates our two properties, allowing us to easily go back and forth between our houses. Now that the "For Sale" sign is out, we thought we had better block off the open section as you never know what the new neighbours will be like. I think there is much truth to the saying "Good fences make good neighbours". After all, the old fence didn't come down until after we had established a solid friendship.

So that's what we did on Saturday. Again, my most excellent brother-in-law did all the measuring and cutting, and hubby and I helped put it up. I give most of the credit to my BIL, as without his help and guidance, we would still be working on it, LOL.

GUARDING
My sister wanted to take a picture of me in her garden yesterday while I was pulling some weeds. She liked the way my green dress blended in with her greenery. So this is what she emailed me this morning, calling the picture "Inga, Guardian of the Rock Garden". This was an obvious dig at me and my recently completed doll. We do have fun, Sis and I. :)

A Good Day

2010-08-02T05:17:00.002-04:00

I was up in the middle of the night finishing this kitty. Now I'm still up blogging about it. Maybe it's because I had too much fun yesterday, outdoors all day with my friends, me stitching and they working on mosaics. Later we watched on old English comedy film called "Father Came Too".

An all around great day doing fun stuff and avoiding the paperwork that so desparately needs doing. Oh well, I can tackle the papers today. :)

Back to the kitty below. The image will be on some of my greeting cards and the original will be mounted and framed and available for purchase at our local jazz festival coming up at the end of the month. My most excellent brother-in-law has offered to make some frames for me. He just finished framing a doll that I had given to my sister. I will be visiting my sister later today (after I do the paperwork, LOL) and will snap a photo of the framed doll to post here.

Sylvana, Guardian of the Dream Forest

2010-07-27T15:22:00.003-04:00

Finally, she is finished. I photographed her outdoors using a birch tree as the back drop. I will have to figure out a good way to display her indoors.

Hubby helped me with the name. He has a great interest and knowledge about the origin and meaning of names and suggested Sylvana which means "woods" or "forest".

Leaf Doll - Almost Finished

2010-07-20T14:39:00.002-04:00

I would hate to have to count all the stitches that have gone into this doll so far. And there are more to come.

I couldn't come up with a story/myth to go with her because I either don't have that kind of imagination or I can't be bothered to put forth the effort to think of one. Probably the latter. I do have a title for her after asking hubby for some suggestions.

Double click on the picture for a close up view.

More On The Leaf Doll

2010-07-16T14:39:00.004-04:00

This doll is taking a bit of time to complete due to the amount of detail. The first picture is a sketch of my idea. The second is the leaf which is the body of the doll. I have made some sequined, beaded buttons which I have placed on the body for display purposes. This is not what the final layout will look like. I still have a way to go yet and wish I had more time to work on it.

I have no interest or belief in mythologies, but I thought it would be fun to create one of my own through this doll. I can do the visual but I'm not sure I am creative enough to write a good story. I'll have to give this some thought.

In Progress

2010-07-14T15:14:00.005-04:00

I am working on several things at once right now. This is the top of a doll that is going to be very green all over. The body is all cut out and will be adorned with shades of green, including the sequined button on the bottom.

Me Spain, Hubby Netherlands

2010-07-12T10:35:00.004-04:00

"MY" team won the World Cup yesterday. Hubby was pulling for the Netherlands. I was trying to be a gracious winner but I had to tease him, just a little bit and all in good fun. So I strung up a Spanish beer (Estrella) can in a prominent place as a reminder that "his" team lost.

This morning we had another chuckle about it. Then he smashed up a Dutch beer (Heineken) can and snapped a picture. This is how we amuse ourselves.

Below is the beginning of a new project to be posted soon.

Oak Leaf Doll

2010-07-08T12:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I posted the top half of this doll. Today she's all done. Her skirt is based on a loosely traced oak leaf.

New Doll

2010-07-06T14:17:00.004-04:00

I have noticed that a lot of art dolls tend to be dark and sometimes downright ugly. Even when I try to do "dark" as shown above, it still ends up being pretty. I guess I just like pretty dolls.

This is the top half of the doll I started today. I think I will have to put her aside and continue tomorrow as the FIFA World Cup soccer game between Paraguay and the Netherlands is about to begin in a few minutes. I can't say I'm much of a soccer fan (I only follow the World Cup every four years), but I'm pulling for Paraguay. Why? Because methinks the guys on the Paraguayan team are better looking. :

EDIT-I'm a worse soccer fan than I thought. It's Uruguay, not Paraguay. LOL.

Angel Assembled

2010-07-05T14:46:00.003-04:00

Recently I discovered artist Carla Trujillo who creates the most wonderful art doll assemblages. What a talent to be able to put together old bits and pieces and create something as wonderful as she does. I really admire that.

Then I thought about all the "junk" such an artist would have to collect and store until each object found it's proper place on a new doll. I thought about how much fun it would be to make this kind of a doll myself, but I don't have the right kind of junk. What I do have is lots of buttons, zippers and fabrics, so why not make up some body parts out of cotton and then sew them together.

Here is my first effort. I'm so pleased at how the Angel turned out.

Forest Green Ornament

2010-07-03T11:18:00.003-04:00

This is an ornament I just completed. I'm thinking I may use the image for a greeting card as well, or maybe, I will make something similar for the card.

Between now and August 28th, I am aiming to produce a lot of work, since I am participating in our local jazz festival art sale again this year.

Purple Cat

2010-06-26T15:57:00.003-04:00

Here is my latest - a purple cat.

I changed the template on my blog and now the positioning of the text is all messed up. I like to see the text all neat in and place and feel like I should edit all the posts to fix the problem, however, with over 300 posts on this blog, I think I will have to live with it. :(

ATC Blue Leaf

2010-06-24T13:23:00.004-04:00

I was working on the above ATC yesterday when the earthquake near Ottawa occurred. Although I am a five hour drive away from Ottawa, I still felt the aftershock, or rather I should say, I heard it. Both of the drop leaves on the large table where my TV sits, started flapping and making a clattery noise. This lasted about thirty seconds.

I thought it was the vibration from the large truck that had just delivered a dumpster next door. (My neighbour is having her house re-roofed and needs the dumpster to dispose of the old shingles, in case you wondered). It wasn't until a bit later when I tuned in to catch one of the FIFA World Cup games that I saw the earthquake news bulletin flash across the bottom of the TV screen.

As if that wasn't enough from Mother Nature, later in the evening we also received tornado and storm warnings. Fortunately, we only ended up with periods of heavy rains. Today is bright and sunny.

Back to the ATC. I wanted to do a little experiment with acrylic paint on fabric before tackling it on a larger scale. I like the result so I will be playing around with this paint and fabric theme for a while - in between making cats, of course.

Blogging For Fun

2010-06-22T14:52:00.003-04:00

Ever since the end of our vacation in May, I have devoted much time to our business, with little to spare for crafting. In our business, the Christmas ordering has to be done at this time of year. I have actually been doing quite a bit of blogging, but on our business related blog for the benefit of our customers. Today, I finally get to add to the "fun" blog, which is of course, Cotton Picker.

I finished this kitty today. I used the same cotton a couple of years ago when I made the Goddess Doll below.

The cat image will be one of the cards I plan on selling at this years' local jazz festival.

The Vacation Is Over

2010-05-27T18:07:00.006-04:00

Hubby and I had a wonderful vacation with many memories to sustain us until we visit Estonia again, likely in three years. On the way home, we spent a little time in Stockholm. What a great city. Next time, we promised ourselves we would spend more time in Sweden.

I bought a "masqot" in Sweden. The information brochure that came with the piece states the following: "Inspired by ancient sagas and mythology, Mats Jonasson has created his own series of miniature masqot "spirits" in crystal." Mine is called Mazzai - Protector of equality and cultural diversity. I don't have any particular interest in the mythologies. I just liked what I saw and wanted to add to my "face" collection.

Below is what I brought home.

IMAGE FOUND ON THE INTERNET

MY PHOTO

Check this link for background and more examples of this artist's work.

Almost Time To Return Home

2010-05-22T10:33:00.004-04:00

Hubby and I have had a wonderful but hectic couple of weeks in Estonia. It's nearly time to come home. We cruise to Stockholm tomorrow and meet up with a friend and then fly home the next day.

The things I have seen have given me a lot of creative ideas. I have missed not being able to pick up paint and needle and thread. I found some paper and coloured pencils to do a little sketching to keep in practice. Here is one of the sketches.

On Hiatus

2010-05-04T19:29:00.007-04:00

I am traveling to Estonia (birthplace of my parents) and will be away for a while.
The image below is part of a future project. I "coloured" it blue and black, which are two of the colours of the Estonian flag (shown above).

And here are some wildflowers I discovered on our property. I don't know why I never noticed these before, but they sure jumped out at me this year. Aren't they lovely?

Happy Birthday To My Sister

2010-04-23T19:23:00.002-04:00

My sister’s birthday is actually on Monday, but since we’re celebrating tomorrow, I am sending my good wishes to you, Sis, a little early. (She reads my blog).

She is two years younger than me. Every once in a while, I amuse her with some tale about “When I was your age……”

Anyway, this Floral Swirl is for you, Sis.

Happy, happy. :)

Things To Ponder

2010-04-20T19:01:00.005-04:00

I have been asked to participate in an artisan show this summer with the proviso that I stay at my booth and demonstrate what I do. I enjoy painting and stitching as a solitary activity - just me (with very good lighting) and my music playing while I work. This is going to be an outdoor event which means you can always count on a breeze and I can see my threads flying all over the place. I guess I'll give it some more thought but I am inclined to turn it down.

A more immediate concern is my scheduled flight to Europe in three weeks. I sure hope the air clears and it will be safe to fly by then.

A Favourite Fabric

2010-04-14T20:34:00.003-04:00

Here I go with THAT FABRIC again. ;)

A New Table For The Office

2010-04-10T17:03:00.002-04:00

Pictured above is our brand spankin' new nine and a half foot table that we had built for our office. I thought I would take a photo while it was still clear. Once we get our computers set up on it along with some files and other office necessities, the table will fade into the background. Now I am going to sit back and admire it for awhile and then it's down to business. :)

Stitching To Calm The Nerves

2010-04-06T19:31:00.003-04:00

I needed something quick and simple to stitch to calm the nerves.

We are having a major problem with a neighbour and his aggressive German Shepherd that got loose yet again and started running around our property. When I tried to open my front door, the dog started barking, hackles up and lunged at me. I had to call our local animal control. Fortunately, the officer arrived while the dog was still tearing around. She told hubby and me that she has dealt with all sorts of dogs before and this was the first time she had to carry her can of mace for protection before stepping out of her vehicle.

We filled out a complaint and the owner is going to be charged and slapped with a fine.

You want to live in harmony with your neighbours and avoid trouble but where do you draw the line? I shudder to think I was out raking leaves in my own yard earlier today and what if the dog had got loose while I was out there.

Happy Easter

2010-04-01T23:17:00.004-04:00

In my previous post I mentioned that I received a very exciting and unexpected gift for my birthday. I am now the owner of a huge supply of washi. I had never heard of washi before, have you? It's special paper from Japan that can be used for many creative purposes. I have a great variety of colours, prints and textures. What I particularly like is that I can stitch on this paper too.

This joyful little bunny and background is made from washi.

Have a Happy Easter and go easy on the chocolates. :)

Sculpture by Cheryl Dolby

2010-03-30T18:39:00.003-04:00

My birthday plans went awry. Hubby came down with food poisoning and was in pretty bad shape for a while. A day later, I got sick and couldn't do much of anything but sleep. I'm not sure if I had the same thing as hubby as our symptoms were different. We both recovered as quickly as we got sick and are fine now.

I have two much more pleasant things to share. One is an unexpected birthday gift I received, from which, I created an Easter card. That I will post on Friday.

The second is this impressive sculpted clay planter that I purchased from artist Cheryl Dolby of Roanoke, Virginia. I loved it instantly when I first saw it on Cheryl's blog but it's even more striking in person. Is it beautiful?

March 21st (My Birthday)

2010-03-21T03:49:00.003-04:00

Cotton Picker is a year older today.

I received a beautiful birthday gift of calla lilies.

A view from my bathroom window.

Blue Cat

2010-03-19T22:54:00.006-04:00

I painted this face a couple of years ago and have been waiting to connect it to the right body. The colours, I think, are a good match.

I seem to be stuck in cat mode lately. What can I say? I love cats. :)

Using Up Thread Remnants

2010-03-17T13:07:00.003-04:00

I have a lot of left over bits of embroidery threads which I hesitate to throw out. Here is one way up using them up. Click on the image for a closer look at the stitching as the ivory threads can't be seen very well on the smaller view.

Happy St Patrick's Day.

Cat Looking Back

2010-03-15T18:34:00.003-04:00

I created this kitty today while our friend and long-time contractor installed a new floor in our office. Our house, which we have been steadily working on for 21 years, finally has new flooring in every room. The office was the last holdout. We are now waiting for new baseboards and a custom desk/worktable to house two computers.

Below is a view of the new floor against our pine wall unit. It's so cosy and inviting in here now.

Finspiration

2010-03-11T15:23:00.003-05:00

Alright, you can groan at the title of this post. :)

Hubby asked "why did you stick a face on a fish?" Why not?

This is a gift for a friend. It was inspired by a piece of costume jewelry on which the belly of the fish was made of white Lucite. My version has a face. :)

Mosaic

2010-03-09T09:17:00.002-05:00

Just having a bit of fun here. I altered the colour of this image in six different ways and then found a free on-line program to create a mosaic. The image is a small element of a larger piece I have been working on.

A New Cat

2010-03-04T18:22:00.002-05:00

I made this cat from a 1970s curtain fabric. She is going to reside in our office because she looks great against our mustard coloured wall.

I would write more, but have to run. I get together with a friend every Thursday night for movie night. We both love old films. Tonight we watch Bonjour Tristesse, 1958, with David Niven, Jean Seberg and Deborah Kerr.

Sun Face Brooch

2010-03-02T16:55:00.002-05:00

I find it difficult to toss reasonably sized cotton and felt scraps into the garbage bin without making an effort to put them to good use. Here is a brooch made from some of those scraps. I hope this isn't a precursor of hoarding tendencies. Twice in recent memory I let go of things that would have been so useful in my craft.

I back most of my ornaments with felt. A friend was decluttering and gave me piles and piles of very fine quality wool felt. At the time, I couldn't imagine that the felt would be of any use to me and I gave it all away. Weeks later, I realized my mistake and I have not gotten over it to this day. :(

Recently, I discovered a talented artist through FLICKR who uses metal zippers in her art. It's something I want to try too. Yes, I had a boxful of metal zippers given to me and yes, I got rid of them. (Click on this link for an example of the lovely art of Woolly Fabulous).

I think a lesson here is to consider carefully how to use materials, should I be fortunate enough to receive these kinds of gifts in the future.

Below is a vintage Simplicty pattern from 1977 that I ordered from Lanetz Living. It arrived today. The two piece dress is what caught my eye. It's so pretty and feminine and I can see myself wearing it in a soft floral cotton print.

Cat Reclining

2010-03-01T19:04:00.003-05:00

Check the edit at the bottom of the previous post to find out what yesterday's critter is.

Today I present a very relaxed kitty.