My Portrait

I had my portrait painted by gifted artist Carol Nelson. She is currently working on a challenge to paint 100 portraits in 100 days and I turned out to be #31. My sister is #30.

Check out her blog to see all the marvellous and diverse faces she has painted.

Each time Carol finishes 10 portraits, she asks her readers to vote on their favourite of the group. So don't be shy about casting your vote. :)

Playing With Texture

I'm still playing with the music score fabric that was recently gifted to me. I am finding the wrong side of the fabric is as useful as the right side. The print shows through just enough to create some texture that is not overpowering. Add a few simple embroidered stars and some acrylic paint in the background and you're done.

I have to confess this started out all wrong. I was trying to do something else and it wasn't working and I was ready to toss it. But I hate to give up and thought I'd try and salvage it. I'm glad I did because I'm very pleased with the final result.

(Available for trade for another fabric ATC only).

A Cat?

When I was working out the composition of this ATC, staring at it from a distance, it suddenly dawned on me that there were a pair of ears on top the head.
Now all I can see when I look at it is a cat. :)

(Traded with Angélique in France).

A Surprise For Me

"L", who writes about knitting on her blog "Wine Wool and Whoppers", sent me a surprise package in the mail. She noticed a colour theme in the quilt blocks I posted recently and gave me some fabric scraps that she thought I could use for the quilted pillows am I working on.

The scraps I'm using are not very exciting (although all put together I think will look nice). The fabrics "L" sent me are just too pretty for my project. So I'll make something else with them.

Not only are these glorious colours, but look at what's printed on the fabrics. How could a music lover such as myself not love a cotton with a musical score on it? And I'm a sucker for anything with a leaf motif.

To start with, I made a little ornament. I painted the face on the wrong side of the music fabric and I like the result so much, that I'm going to do it all over again on a larger scale. I also have another feline planned for the leaf fabric so stay tuned for that.

One World One Heart Giveaway 2010

Edited Feb 15, 2010: And the winner is: Top Floor T.
Congratulations!!

I will be contacting you via Email.





















Above is my offering for this years’ One World One Heart event. Please click on the One World One Heart image at the top right for information if you are not already familiar with this event.

The above ornament is hand painted and stitched by me. The face is surrounded by red seed beads. It measures 3” x 3”, has a layer of light batting and is backed by felt. It would look nice as a Christmas tree ornament because of the colours but could be displayed in a small space at any time of the year. It’s not entirely completed yet. I still plan on finishing it with a hanger and surround of nicely textured yarn.

In addition to the ornament, I am also including a selection of greeting cards which contain photographic images of my feline fibre art. I've included some pictures of the cards but not all.

If you would like a chance to win these giveaways, simply leave a comment. The only requirement to enter is that you must have an active blog. Make sure there is a link back to your blog or leave your Email address so that I can contact you if you win. You have until February 15, 2009, midnight EST. I will get hubby to draw the name of the winner on February 16th and I will notify the winner via Email.

All the participants and links to their blogs are listed on the One World One Heart site. I've already checked out a number of interesting new blogs and will continue to do so as time permits. This is a wonderful way to discover new blogs that I probably would not otherwise have found on my own.

One World One Heart 2010

Tomorrow begins the One World One Heart event for 2010. I participated last year and am doing so again this year. It starts tomorrow. I will be posting my giveaway item then. Click on the picture for more information.

Second ATC

This is the second ATC for my swap and boy did I struggle with it. I don't know how many times I had to change it to get a result I could live with. Again, the emphasis is on the mouth as outlined in my previous post.

An ATC is supposed to be 2½ x 3½ inches so I am "thinking outside the box" maybe (?) with the three fabric strips. My swap partner can cut them off if she doesn't like them.

ATC

I'm participating in a body parts ATC swap which features the mouth. You'll have to trust me when I tell you that the mouth is highlighted here because you wouldn't be able to tell from this scan. In fact, the mouth is emphasized with glitter paint and it sparkles. Instead of the gloss sealer that I usually use on my faces, I tried a matte sealer to further enhance the mouth. I still have another one to make for a second swap partner.

Manx Chocolat au lait

Can you tell that I have a great affection for felines? I was supposed to be working on my pinwheel quilt blocks today but I got distracted.

Blue Cat With Heart

I finished this feline last night while watching Hollywood pat itself on the back (The Golden Globe Awards). Why do I bother? I had to turn off my TV after two hours.

Pinwheel Blocks #6, #7, #8

These blocks are all in subdued colours and tend to look a ittle dull. I have laid them out against the beige comforter, surrounded by my deep red walls, and when seen in that context, the whole thing is going to look quite striking.

Pinwheel Block #5

Pinwheel Block #4

I couldn't get the center points to meet on this block. I think this is a problem when trying to pair up a tightly woven fabric with one that has a looser weave. I used the same template with both types of cotton and yet after cutting, stitching and pressing, the fabric with the tighter weave ended up smaller. Well I wasn't going to rip it apart more than once. I'm not a perfectionist and it's not going to be noticable too much when all the blocks are sewn together.

Pinwheel Block #3

Triangles Transformed

Working on my quilting project inspired me to find other uses for all those little triangles I have been cutting. :)

Pinwheel Block #2

Pinwheel Block #1

Alright then, the first block is done. It's been awhile since I cut out squares and triangles so I had to proceed slowly and try and remember how I did it before. Not quite as simple as riding a bicycle, but it came back to me. Not that it matters, because this is going to be a scrap quilt, but I did notice afterwards that the stripes are not all travelling in the same direction.

I think a scrap quilt is the only kind I could ever make. I would be so bored if I had to make a hundred blocks all the same. I love the red and grey colour combo.

This is going to end up being a pillow sham to spice up the drab beige comforter which "adorns" the guest bed.

Cat In Polka Dots & Pearls

This is my first post for 2010. While I'm still deciding what kind of a quilt to start (and trying to locate my rotary cutter and templates), above is the cat I made today.