Poppies & TIFs

We have a ton of these beautiful single poppies around our house...almost makes me feel like we're living in Flander's Fields! They self-seed every year so we don't have to do a thing. They're the first thing I see when I open the bedroom curtains in the morning.

The other picture is my 'nekkid' TIF piece for July. The colours aren't true here, but you can get the general idea. I really had a challenge to find the colours in my stash this time and I know there are a couple in here that aren't spot on, but I promised I would buy nothing for this challenge and I'm trying very hard to stick to it. If you would like to see the actual colours check out SharonB's blog entry for July 1st ( http://sharonb.wordpress.com ).

Flowers - for Canada Day

Today I've been busy working on the my area of the last piece of round one of the Exquisite Corpse challenge so I can't show you what I've been up to. Instead I thought I'd show a couple of pictures from our garden. The love-in-the-mist are one of my favourites and I look forward to them blooming every year. Aren't they pretty?

Finally!!

Finally I can show you the square I did for Doreen ( http://doreeng.blogspot.com ). This was mailed to her April 23rd and arrived (via slow boat) today!! Never again will I mail something overseas via surface mail.

Doreen and I did an exchange whereby we each pieced the background and then sent it to the other to complete. I had lots of fun working with her colours and was able to include a few Canadian icons too.

As for the yard sale...it rained. It poured actually. So...I just finished coughing up the money for yet another ad in the paper and hopefully it will actually happen THIS Saturday. In the meantime, the table wanted for my workroom happened to be on sale so I pre-spent some garage sale earnings and got it. Now I can at least get a bit of work done this week!!

Book page and Extreme Frustration

This is one of the promised pictures of the page I made to go in Irene's book. She went to Japan last year, and, because her theme is 'faces', I decided that a geisha would be perfect. I have appliqued the elements onto a backing. Her face is painted with white gesso. Her kimono is from a piece of 'play' I did using a Swiffer dustcloth (washed, of course!!) as a backing and then layered with bits of threads, silk ribbon bits, angelina fibres, and whatever else was floating around my studio. I think I threw some paint on there too, but can't remember exactly. The backside (which I forgot to photograph) has a Japanese quote and is made from strips of actual kimono fabric I had in my stash.

The frustration part of this post is because my studio is in SUCH a state of upheaval and I can't begin to work down here. We're having the garage sale tomorrow and my work table is out there holding 'junque'. The table itself is for sale too and will be replaced with a collapsible plastic one that will be so much easier to move around (the one I've been using is h-e-a-v-y). Just to complicate matters, one of my organizational containers chose to leap off the shelf and disgorge it's entire contents all over the floor (or what part of the floor that is visible at the moment!). What a mess!! Of course it's full of threads (many of them metallics and you know how they tangle up) and I've spent over an hour trying to put things back. I want this yard sale over with so I can have my studio back!!!

Corpses Arrived!!!

I'm so excited with my mail today!! I received a parcel from Emmy which included Betty's Exquisite Corpse from Round 1 and mine all completed!! I could hardly wait to uncover each section, but I also wanted to take time to savour each and every part. A massive understatement would be to say I'm thrilled!

*IF* these pictures post in the order I want them to (always a challenge with me!!), the first one should be of the whole piece. I tried to take pictures outside in the sun but all the shiny bits reflected too much so I ended up using my studio lighting which obviously isn't the best either. Please click on each picture to see more detail!

My theme was 'Escape' and my colours were primarily black and purple, with whatever the artist wanted to add beyond that. The first picture you see should be of the bottom left corner which was done by Michelle. Lots and lots of wonderful texture and words and also one of her beautiful bottle caps. I wish everybody could touch this one!

The second picture is of the bottom right and is by Ginger. Again, lots of texture and wonderful machine stitching...be sure you notice the eyes peeping out from the corner. That has to be tricky to do using a machine!!

Third is middle left and is by Reta. What a great escape this would be- a lovely bathtub with a glass of wine and lots and lots of bubbles. Ahhh....heaven on earth!

Next is by Emmy (middle right) and has absolutely amazing texture too. I think she's done lots of burning of the different layers. Wish you could feel this one too!!

The upper left is by Betty and is the most amazingly detailed labrynth, complete with a silver wizard charm. How cool is that?! An incredible amount of hand stitching went into this.

Lastly, on the upper right is the part I did to begin it all. We were playing with an embellisher that my friend has and this was pretty much my test piece to see how the machine worked. The face was another test piece when we tried out angelina fibres with rubber stamps & an iron. She just seemed to 'fit' somehow. The actual 'Escape' bit was a lovely little piece of play I received from Irene and I just added the word.

I am so absolutely blown away by the talent in this group and by how much fun it has been to take part. It has stretched my creativity and also tried to teach me patience as I waited for the next one to arrive. I'm not sure about the patience part, but it's certainly been a blast.

Thank you so very, very much to Arlee (for arranging this whole thing and being such an excellent leader) and to Betty, Reta, Emmy, Michelle and Ginger. You are all spectacular!!

Beauty and the Beast

Isn't this an absolutely gorgeous oriental poppy? I think they are one of my favourite flowers.

As for the beast part of this post...see the two pictures of our garage? That's only a small portion of the junk we've hauled out of varying parts of our abode that we hope to get rid of in a massive yard sale on Saturday. Provided it doesn't rain, of course!! No matter what, none of it is returning into the house or the garage!!!!!!!! What doesn't sell will go to the thrift store; free to a good home on the side of the road; and/or the dump.

I've been pretty much through all the house, but will skim over it again for anything I might have overlooked. Jack is still going through the workshop, so he'll be adding a bunch more before the week is over.

At the moment I don't have a sewing table because it's out in the garage...for sale too. What I use is an old VERY heavy door that's on foldable legs, which serves the purpose but it's a beast if I want to move it. I'm hoping that there will be enough moulah in my pocket at the end of the sale so I can buy a nice heavy-duty plastic one that will be easier to move around.

Oh...and we have had an increase in our local wildlife in the neighbourhood...three baby skunks are now wandering around and making the dogs go wild. We have to be careful when we step out the back door that they aren't choosing that moment to do a parade-by. Fun!!

New project and faces

I can't show you (yet) what I spent much of today working on, but I did want to post a picture of the first two pages of Irene's fabric book round robin. Her theme is faces. The face on the left was done by her and Kym did the one on the right. I've finished mine, but it is one of the things I won't show until Irene has seen it.

The other picture is a knitting bag I am making for myself - mainly as a prototype. I'm trying to put the best of several commercial patterns together (along with a couple of additions of my own) and hope to come up with something that is functional. Again, I'm using some of my stash denim so I don't have to put out any money until I'm sure I have what I want. The whole thing just might be a total waste of time!!

More links!

Sorry folks, no picture again today. This time I didn't get into my studio because we've been away all day.

Good mail today!

Good mail...poor scan! Camera battery is dead, of course. Click on the image to get more detail.

This is the 2009 Piecemakers Times and Seasons calendar/book that came today. I am really happy I ordered it. It's not only a beautiful coloured calendar, but also includes the patterns, stitches, and lots of hints to make the quilt shown here. Lots of drool-power in this one!

This is NOT laundry!

Today I had a little bit of time to play around with a technique and thought I'd try out using bleach and various things to cause resist. The paper on the top was a piece of black cardstock which I first covered with things like window screen, some punchinella, and a plastic mesh bag (the type that onions come in). I used a little spritz bottle of bleach to mist it. The paper turned out interesting, but wasn't quite what I expected. It will make a great background tho'.

The two papers on the right were done by dipping rubber stamps into bleach and stamping them on the paper (cardstock again). I like the effect on the black the best.

Finally, the paper on the left was a few different things I tried. The bugs on the left were another rubber stamp, as were the words. There is another piece of punchinella in the middle. The circles were just some varying sizes of container lids I dipped in the bleach and used as a stamp. On the right of the page I tore the edge of a piece of paper and used it as a mask. I then attempted to write using a bleach pen (the word 'play') and it blobbed, so I'm not sure I really like that method.

If you try this, make sure the area you are working on is well covered with plastic and it is preferable to work in a well-ventilated area.

June TIF Finished!!

For some reason these pictures have turned out dark and I couldn't seem to improve them. Oh well...click on them to enlarge to see the details.
Today I had a stitching marathon and finished my June Take It Further challenge piece. Yesterday Donna requested seeing all I have done to date, so here they are. Enjoy!

Got some sewing done!

Finally had a chance to sit down for a couple of hours this afternoon and stitch, so I actually have a picture to show today. It's not done, of course, but it's getting there.

Doreen made a comment the other day wondering why I had a safety pin in one of the areas, so thought I'd fess up as to why it's there (in case you are overwhelmed with curiosity!). These blocks are not only using the colours suggested by SharonB in her Take It Further challenge, but I'm also trying to blend them together somewhat by having some common 'ingredients' to each block - one seam that is a trim (either commercially made, tatted, or crocheted); a cigarette silk; and a grouping of buttons from my stash. I decide where I want to put my button cluster when I first begin the handwork and, because the buttons tend to grab onto threads and cause me much angst, I simply mark the area with a safety pin. Simple, but effective. I won't mention that it's also there to remind me to leave a spot for the buttons since my memory just ain't what it used to be!!

Housecleaning

Sorry, no picture today. I did manage to do a little on my TIF piece, but not enough to bother taking a picture of for you to see.

Instead...I finally got around to going through seven cd's holding the 'CQ Newsletter' that Darsie Bruno put out around 2004 (when crazy quilting was pretty much starting its revival). I have printed off all the information I was interested in keeping...so.....anybody want the cds for your collection??? If so, leave a comment and let me know! If no-one is interested, they'll be going in our yard sale.

A little progress

Today I managed to make a little progress on my June TIF challenge piece. I also mailed out my new Exquisite Corpse piece, but you'll have to wait awhile to see that because we're sworn to secrecy until the challenge is complete. I'm excited about what I did for this one and really wish I could show you!!

Because I got nuttin'

Because I have nothing to show for the past few days, I thought I'd show you a picture of the porcelain doll my friend re-dressed and which will be used for an Alzheimer's fundraiser. The original doll was a bride that had seen better days. Elise stripped her and designed all new clothing and re-did her hair. Elise (in her mid 80's) loves to crochet and has great fun designing outfits for the second hand dolls I pick up for her at yard sales and such. This little lady has pantaloons, a bra and a beautiful slip underneath her dress. Heaven forbid a doll go out of her house 'nekked'!!

Elise is also the lady that keeps me well-stocked up with craft supplies. She can't pass by the dollar store without getting me something. Today she added to my beads, my stickers, and managed to get me some great tools too. One of the treasures is a little cutting mat that is great for paper projects and will be just perfect to carry with me. She is such a sweetheart and does so much for others.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Last night we had a huge thunderstorm and rain and now it's turned hot, which in turn makes it feel like a steam bath outside. I refuse to complain though, because so many other areas of our world are going through such weather disasters.

Frustration and sites

The title for this post disguises the fact that really - all I'm doing today is mumbling (and bitching).

The lack of picture today is due to the fact that I have spent the entire afternoon trying (in vain, I might add) to locate an address or phone number for the makers of our furnace. Such a place doesn't exist in Canada as far as I can see. I have unravelled the mysteries of using the 411 information number locator on the internet (so I guess it hasn't been a complete waste). Our furnace has being doing something 'odd' for months and we've had the service people here numerous times with nothing being resolved. We have finally reached the point where they quite obviously have no clue and really don't want to hear from us anymore. So...I'm trying to get help by going over their heads. I finally located 'a person' who has told me to phone 'another person' who in turn told me to call 'person #3'. The maddening part of all this (other than I wasted my afternoon) is that the furnace isn't even two years old yet. Arghhhhhhhh!!!!


Tonight I've been talked into going to see the movie 'Sex in The City'. Not sure about this, but at least it's good for a night out!

June TIF and orchid cactus flowers

I know that I've shown the orchid cactus flowers before but thought I'd show the two different ones I have. The pink one has outdone itself this year and had at least fifty blossoms, so far. It's the second time it has bloomed too, which is surprising. The red one is a little less prolific but no less pretty.

The other picture is of the beginning I made for the June Take It Further challenge. 

Great things came in the mail!!

Look at what was in my mailbox today when I came home from grocery shopping!! My friend Donna from http://quiltpixie.blogspot.com sent me these and I'm so excited. She's been making these wonderful little villages which have fascinated me on her blog and I'm lucky enough to have one of my very own, along with the book on how to make them! She used a number of the 'bits of fabric' I had sent her awhile ago so it's extra-special.

I have the nicest internet friends...thank you Donna.

Fun putzing

I'm more or less between projects at the moment, so today has been a day for play and putzing about. Awhile ago Nellie Durand posted a tutorial to make these cute little birds and I've been saving the instructions for a rainy day (which it happens to be doing right now!). It's another case of using what I have in my stash so the legs & feet aren't quite what Nellie used, but they don't look too bad. I ended up having to weave fine wire in and around the joins in the feet and have also added a spot o' glue to hold them in position. All the same, my birdie takes a beak-dive every little while (guess he's been imbibing altogether too many rotten berries).

The tutorial can be found on Nellie's site here: http://nelliedurand.blogspot.com Look in her sidebar under 'Labels' for the 'Birds' listing and you'll find it. And..while you're there, check out Nellie's Lake series!!! Thanks Nellie for the great tute.

Blind-numbing & book page

These two pictures are of the page I made for the next round of the book challenge our CQTeers groups is doing. This page is for Kym. The front is from an old pattern for a pillowcase...the skirt is crocheted with tatting thread. I used good ol' crayons to colour the bodice and hat and then did some embroidery to highlight. The hair was pretty easy - I just wrapped pearl cotton around a metal knitting needle, dampened it, sprayed it with hair spray and then heat set it with my heat gun.

The back of the page is a scan of one of the birth cards I found the other day while I was cleaning out 'stuff'. I think these might just show up in a lot of my work for awhile!!

As for the blind-numbing part of this post, I finished the binding on the quilt but have to admit that blind stitch done on that much area quite simply numbs the mind!! It's one project I'm very happy to put behind me.

I'm SO lucky to have friends!

Today was our CQTeer meeting and I now consider myself one of the luckiest persons in the world!! I have coveted this book for several years and have tried very hard to get it through various means with no luck. My friend Irene found a copy on her shelf and gave it to me!! I can't believe my good fortune and how very blessed I am to have friends like her. I shall treasure this and can't wait to actually read it.

Thank you SO much Irene!!!

Maybe....maybe?....maybe????....WHEW!

I've been commissioned to put the binding on this lovely quilt and today I undertook to start stitching it on. The quilt owner had cut the binding pieces and as I sewed, I sweated, because I knew there wasn't any more fabric! I had precisely 8 1/2 inches left as the photo can attest. Talk about cutting it (pun intended) close!!

Now I have the mind-numbing chore of handstitching the rest of it down.

Awwww....

Isn't this just too cute for words? I stumbled across a box of cards I got when I was born and this is one of many cute ones. It's a Hallmark card and cost all of 10 cents. My how things have changed!! I really need to think of something artistic I can do with them because I really don't want to throw them out.

Yard sale find

We happened upon a yard sale today and found this. She is an Avon Mrs Albee figurine dating from 1983/84 and this one happens to come from South America. How it got to Canada is anybody's guess but nevertheless she's here and now lives at my house.

I was an Avon rep for a little over eight years and managed to earn one of these figurines for each year. They are made to honour the very first Avon rep (Mrs Albee) and are given out to those reps who 'make' President's Club (meaning you reach a certain target of sales). They are very much like the Royal Doultons, but the glaze on these is more matte. I think they are more valuable because we needed to work so hard in order to earn one.

I really wish I knew how this one came to be here from South America.

Oh Oh..wet noodle time!

"My name is Mary Anne and I'm a bookaholic"

and I really need a 12-Step program for bookaholics.

I did it again. I'm putting the entire blame on my friend Florence who found a new-to-me J. Marsha Michler crazy quiltng book (called Crazy Quilt Decor) and I absolutely have to have a copy in my collection. So...I HAD to go to the bookstore, right? While I was there I checked out the used book section (you never know, the book I wanted might have been there, right???). It wasn't, but Altered Curiosities was. It followed me to the checkout and insisted on coming home with me.

As if that weren't bad enough, I ended up ordering the brand-new J.M.Michler book that's just out. They couldn't find the Decor one I was originally after so...I checked out the used books on Amazon when I got home.

There's no hope...I'm a lost cause.

Book Specs: 'Altered Curiosities' by Jane Ann Wynn c2007 published by North Light Books ISBN 13:978-1-58180-972-5

Mumbling (again)

Today was one of those days where I accomplished very little that I can talk about. Not that I can't talk about it - it's just that it would bore you to tears.

So....

Guess What?.....

I Shall Mumble!!!

1. There's no picture today because the only thing I managed to actually do today was put a few rows of knitting on my Einstein sweater. Right now it just looks like a reddish-coloured blob of knitting.

2. The other thing I did was to clean out my china cabinet and the buffet in the dining room. I managed to put a few things aside for the yard sale though, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

3. It's cold. We still have the furnace on and it's simply just too cool to contemplate putting any plants in the garden. The 'orchard' (all of 4 little trees) is in blossom but we're so afraid the frost will kill them off. I suppose that once we do get some warmth it will hit with a vengeance.

May TIF done and Orchid Cactus

I finished the TIF May challenge piece! I have to admit that pale pink is not one of my favourite colours so this one was a bit harder to work on than the others have been. I must make mention that in the bottom left corner I've used a treatment from 'Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches' by Carole Samples (in the ivory area right on the corner). Another of her patterns is to the right of the deep pink at the bottom (looks somewhat like stars). The seam treatment between the ivory and deep pink on the lower right is from the 'Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments' e-book by Pam Kellogg. The little motif directly above the seam treatment (between it and the ciggie silk) is also from Pam. http://kittyandmedesigns.blogspot.com/ for more information on the ebook. Picture is clickable to enlarge.

The second picture is of one of my orchid cactus flowers (thanks Arlee for the plant ID). This plant and the pink one both have been absolutely drenched in blossoms this year. I, of course, being a twit, forgot to take pictures when they were at their best. Drat! Hope you like it.

Mumble and TIF

Sorry about the no-post yesterday...my internet connection wasn't working properly. Here's the progress I've made on the TIF challenge piece for May. Click to enlarge so you can see it better. The seam treatment to the upper right of the centre ivory section is taken from Annie's Crazy World blog (whose addy I thought I had and can't find - googling it will find it for you I'm sure); the seam treatment between the light pink and hot pink on the right of the block is from Carole Sample's book (Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches) and I'm currently working on the lower left seam using a pattern from Pam Kellogg's 'Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments' e-book. This block isn't my choice of colours but what I like about this challenge is that Sharon is guiding me into combinations I would never try on my own.

Incoming!!

I know, I know. I said I was downsizing. However this book leaped off the shelf in the bookstore and glued itself to my hand. It's one of those bookstores that has the buzzer system. You know the ones? They have that LOUD sound that goes off when somebody tries to steal something (or even sometimes when you're totally innocent and then scares the pants off you?). Well, I knew I wouldn't make it out the door with a book glued to my hand, so I figured I'd best pay for it.

I love it! Michael de Meng is a fabulous author and artist and he has produced a book that is very readable, along with eye candy to inspire anyone. He has a great sense of humour which comes out in his writing too.

Specs: 'Secrets of Rusty Things...Transforming Found Objects Into Art' by Michael de Meng c2007, ISBN-13:978-1-58180-928-2

Lookit this!!

I can't believe this is what it looks like now! For those of you who have forgotten the 'before' picture, please scroll down. Ten whole drawers of fabric are gone AND two dressers are in the garage awaiting the yard sale. In this picture you can see the extent of my denim collection, which will also be down-sizing over the next few months (I hope).

Even the cat is happy because now his 'pooter bowl' is tucked in the corner so he can have some privacy!!

Waaaahhhhhh

I want a housekeeper!!! However, on the good side, I have reduced my stash to fit into just 6 drawers as opposed to all these shown in the picture. On the bad side, see that pile on the floor and the worktable? What you can't see is that there are three garbage bags full of 'stuff' in behind the pile you CAN see!! It's just plain disgusting.

Stay tuned for 'after' pictures!

I'm SUCH an enabler!!

My friend Marie and her sister Cathy dropped in this afternoon and ended up having a total blast going through my cast-offs and took a whole smash home with them (don't worry, there's plenty left!!). It was almost as good as Christmas here for awhile and was SUCH fun. I can't wait to see what they do with what they carted home. Mind you, I wouldn't want to be in their shoes having to sneak their booty past their husbands!

Marie has been busy creating the most wonderful seam treatments using beads and word has it that she will be selling her designs over the internet. I'll keep you posted on that one too.

Heaps and Piles!!

See this pile of fabric bits? Well, that's the castoffs from only the purple and the white drawers!! And that's not all either, because there's another pile of pieces that are just too big and are destined for the yard sale. 4 drawers are done and there's 11 more to go...sigh.

HOW can one woman manage to accumulate so much??!!

Hi-Ho...a shovelling we will go!

'Tis yard sale season. We haven't had a sale for nine years so it's high time and I'm working on shovelling out the house. That 'pile' beneath the table is on its way out and the pile on top is being gone through with a critical eye to getting rid of a bunch more. I won't overwhelm you by showing you a picture of the large pile already earmarked for the sale that's being stored in another room!! Believe me, you don't want to see it.

There's an ulterior motive here too...we're hoping that my dad will be convinced that there's really a lot of junk in the garage that isn't needed. He is no longer able to fix things and all the junk (oh, mustn't call it that...it's all 'good' for something...boat anchors maybe???) isn't serving any purpose. We have a very large garage ( could hold 4 cars) and it's jammed full of his old rusty parts for things. Jack is just champing at the bit to get rid of a lot of it. Did I mention that there's an attic in the garage and it's full too?? AND there's a garden shed too??

Yeah, I think you see the dilemma we're in!!

Vignette?

Isn't that a nice big word for a title? Isn't it better than just saying 'mumblings', because that's all I have for today! This display is above a cupboard in our cellarway and is a mixture of old and new. The clock, irons, and the accordion are all old. I know the clock probably works, but the key has been lost over the years. The picture is actually of us...taken when the kids were small...and Jack made the frame out of old barnboard. Most people think it's actually an antique picture. The two wooden goblets and the bear are all newish. The bear has actually been coated with scented wax which acts as a room freshener.

I impressed myself today!

I have the TIF challenge already pieced for May and today is just the 1st!! Of course that's not to say that I will have it embellished anytime soon. Unfortunately the colours seem to be showing up dark in this picture. Some of these colours were difficult to find in my stash, particularly the light blue-ish colour, however I think I have come relatively close. Luckily I have a pretty cigarette silk that 'goes' perfectly.