Lily-of-the-Valley Time

When my lily-of-the-valley flowers bloom, I am in my happy place. I love their delicate features, and their contrast against the brilliant leaves. Luckily I have a whole garden bed where they grow freely.

So needless to say, I picked a few for pressing, but before I pressed them I took some photos. I played around with adding textures and filter effects.

The first one uses a “distressed jewel” texture (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/jewellofdistressed/sets/72157625635752168/) and a PSE overlay effect which I think would look really neat printed on organza and layered on something else.

The second one is a great stamp/stencil effect done solely with a PSE filter. I especially like the design of the second-from-the right stem.

And finally, this third effect is using a Kim Klassen texture( http://www.kimklassencafe.com/):

How can anyone not love these flowers??

Stones, Stencils and Stewie

I came across Jude Hill’s post and decided to make a couple of small stones for her Magic Feather project:

http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/spirit_cloth/gathering-stones-please-read-this.html

They are 2 needle-turned hand-appliqued stones: one of cotton batik that looks stone-like to me and another of linen with a few musical notes on it. I hope they fit into her project, and she is free to not use them if she wishes. I don’t like doing hand applique usually, but these were small enough to be enjoyable. I think if I had done smaller, closer-together stitching, the edges would have been smoother, but then stones are usually rough around the edges(my logic!)….. I  also frayed the edges of the background fabric like she does and I think it adds to the hand-made look.

I also managed to make my mom a case for her new i-phone, using the same pattern that I made some kindle cases with, except I added a wristlet strap that she requested. This pattern is turning out to be very versatile.  She is heading off on a cruise from Amsterdam next week and wanted to take her phone with her, so she needed a pretty case for it:

That is the extent of my quilting etc for the week/month. However I did enroll in Melanie Testa’s online Stencil Magic class on Thursday (http://thecleverguild.com/category/workshops/). It is a class to work at one’s-own pace so hopefully I will be able to get in a few hours here and there over the next months.

And of course, another Stewie picture or 2:

The first one is of Stewie trying to retrieve his squeaky toy from underneath the fireplace hearth, and the second one is of him squished behind a chair with his head poking out from under a basket handle. I can’t believe how fast he is growing(we have had him for 4 weeks and he must have almost doubled in size!!). He really is a sweet dog who learns fast and thank goodness finally realized that playing with his toys is fun. So now I have something to do to keep him amused and away from other chewables in the house- he has tried to chew the stucco, the carpet, curtains, his mat, numerous pairs of shoes, the TV remote, the metal fireplace grating, cast iron fireplace tools, wood logs and anything else within reach etc etc etc.

All the neighbours think he is beautiful and are glad that George and I have a new dog. Luckily he is very different from Casper, but at the same time similar enough so that thoughts of Casper remain fresh.

Chicago tour pics

I managed to find some time to play around with some of my Chicago photos. I only had jpeg files but with the Photomatix program I created HDR-like effects. They are posted on my Flickr photostream if you want to take a peek(see sidebar and click on a photo to go to the web page and then click on coolquiltings photostream). Below is one photo I took of the “bean” in Millenium Park- the colours are slightly enhanced by the photo program.

It was a great tour: especially loved the boat tour, the Art Institute and Millenium Park.

No quilting, no art just DOG

This blog will probably go “ghost protocol” for awhile. The reason is simple: Stuart:

Yes- our new mischievious puppy at 17 weeks. He is an Australian Shepherd like Casper was,  with the same coloring scheme as Casper, but he will look quite different(ie BIGGER). He was born Christmas Day 2011 and we first met him on Easter Sunday 2012.

Here is another photo, taken when he was just a few weeks old, before we met him:

He is quite a handful but loves George to pieces already(me, he can take or leave, he doesn’t care, but that is okay). It is George and Stuart(little Stewie) all the way!

finished(again) grackle case

Not happy with the grackle case I posted yesterday- the topstitching looked sloppy. So after an hour of “reverse stitching” (thanks Elizabeth!) with my seam ripper I got all the topstitching out.

I realized I don’t really need any topstitching- the fabric won’t be going anywhere! So all I did was sew the 2 short side seams to make the pocket and voila…done!

One thing I did forget to mention is that I tried a new-to-me thread for FMQ. It is called InvisaFil made by WonderFil Speciality Threads and I loved it… it is a “cottonized” polyester that is silky smooth and it burrows right down into the fabric. The thread is hard to see so the major effect is the texture created by  the micro-stippling and this was on a fusible fleece which usually doesn’t show texture much. Even I was impressed.

Grackle Camera Case

Again, a major struggle with sewing to make my grackle case. I had to use my old Bernina but realized I had never done free motion quilting with it before, and I don’t really have the right pressure foot.  I managed that….but I had an issue with the FMQ since I couldn’t see what I was doing on the dark purple fabric so I tried FMQ from the wrong side- not a good idea since the quilt batting bearded through to the front(sigh). I also had a few issues with the stitching so the seam lines aren’t perfect and of course I ran out of bobbin thread with just inches to go at the last step so the topstitching looks messy(sigh, again). I don’t know why I thought that blue thread would blend in with the silk…..I might pull it all out and do it again. But at least the camera fits the case so that is good!

The bright fabric inside was some silk I had bought, hoping to use it to dye some easter eggs, but that didn’t work either. I think the silk was printed not dyed, so the transfer to eggs couldn’t work properly(so I still need to get some old silk ties to try this).

Well, one step at a time….Just need to trim some little overhanging threads from the printed grackle that hang over the flap, and then it is good-to-go(unless I redo the topstitching that is). Phew! Tell me again why I like sewing!!!!!

The grackle strikes again!

As expected I found another medium to use my grackle. This time it is printing, part of another Joggles class I am taking, this time with Sandra Duran Wilson( just a short class).

I made a printing plate out of styrofoam and printed the grackle onto fabric and paper using acrylic paints and a few additives. The printing plate is shown in the upper left hand corner of the photo below, the test images on paper are on the right, and a cropped print on fabric is shown on the bottom left. I am going to use the fabric to make a case for my little Sony Cyber-shot camera- I will add some kind of quilting and then make the case, probably with a magnetic snap closure. The grackle print will be on the flap of the little case.

Such fun!

I like the way the prints on paper look like woodblock prints. The print on fabric is a bit messy, but that is okay to me.

2 sewing machines, 1 seam ripper and countless little fixes for Kindle cover #3 plus a new class

Finally, the Kindle 2 cover that I am making for a friend is done. It should have been easy, but no…….too much padding such that my sewing machines couldn’t sew through it(therefore rip it apart, remove padding, resew), one dead(?)Pfaff machine as a result, one struggling rock-solid Bernina, no-name hook and loop tape that was fragile(I am sticking to real Velcro now) and many more uses for the seam ripper. But no big deal- the Pfaff was due for servicing anyways and nothing destroys a Bernina!

But I think it looks okay finally. I used the same pattern as for my 2 previous kindle covers…… I have permanently added some notes re padding so I won’t forget. The cover is organza painted with homemade freezer paper stencils and commercial stencils-  but with a less distinct view through to the batils underneath than my previous Kindle cover.  I did some quilting to highlight the flower stencils so it looks nicely multi-layered.

The second kindle cover I had made(see earlier post: http://wp.me/pXgo5-aj) was supposed to have been for a Kindle 2 but I got wrong size measurements from a website and therefore it didn’t fit. This time I got official measurements and made a mock-up of the Kindle 2….very high tech(a couple of pieces of cardboard taped together).  So I have attached photos of the cover with detail of the quilting and stenciling, as well as a photo of the mock-up kindle in its new home.

No more sewing for awhile…..I have signed up for a short on-line course with Sandra Duran Wilson about image transfers and printing. I had taken a class with her in Phoenix last August and she was fabulous. Good timing- I just discovered the course today over at www.joggles.com and it starts tomorrow- and I have all the supplies I think except for deli wrap and not sure where in Winnipeg I can get some!

I will get back to sewing soon since I have lots of little projects that need to be made, such as wallets, tote-bags and an Ipad cover. I hope that the people waiting for these are patient…….BUT we may also be getting a new dog so how long things might take is a big question.

My Multipurpose Grackle

I know that many people consider grackles to be messy noisy and annoying birds, but I love grackles, or at least 1 grackle in particular. I have blogged briefly about this grackle before- I spotted her in Phoenix when she was strutting around the pool and outdoor dining area at my hotel. I call it ” Grackle with Attitude” because she really had quite the personality…

I found the grackles to be really interesting.  But I also felt sorry for them since it was about 115 degrees in Phoenix  when I was there and the grackles were having a hard time staying cool and it looked like they were suffering from the heat quite badly. Unlike us, they couldn’t escape into the air conditioning, but I think they did take advantage of the cooling showers around the outdoor pub area.

This is the original photo(cropped):

As you can see it is not a good photo- it is very blurred.  By playing in Photoshop Elements and adding a beautiful texture from Skeletal Mess called PaintedSonata, I managed to create what I think is an interesting pic. This is the base from which I made several versions with varying saturation intensities and colour variations:

I have used it as my avatar, printed it on fabric( made a kindle case out of it) and now I have made a stamp out of it to use on fabric or paper. Since my previous posting showed an out-of-focus image of the fabric grackle I have included an updated image here. The image used for fabric was a highly saturated colour variation version:

The stamp I made from an E-Z cut printing block:  I simply drew in pencil on the rubber material(image reversed) and then printed it onto paper. This was the first test print of the stamp and I was quite happy with it. I printed it onto a saran wrap textured watercolour wash that had been treated with absorbent ground which I made for Jane LaFazio’s third lesson in her Joggles’s class.The stamp will need a bit of work to get rid of extraneous lines, but I do want to keep some of them since they add interest and make it look like a handmade original stamp. This stamp and journal page was for Jane’s 4th lesson.

I have learnt so much from the online classes I have been taking!

Now- what else can I do with my grackle? Hmmm- maybe I can print it on a photocopier to give a solid black image and make a PhotoEZ silkscreen!

watercolour journal page

Well, luckily for me there was a Jet’s game on TV last night so my hubby was kept sort-of occupied. So I got to play!

I had bought some tulips last weekend and used one of the blooms as a model for a watercolour/sketch for a journal page. This was for the fourth class in Jane’s class that I talked about in my previous post. I chose a journal page that had been collaged and treated with absorbent grounds and drew a single tulip bloom and added a bit of text and some little red dots just for fun. I might add a few other elements, but I don’t want to chance completely ruining the page. This was my first ever watercolour of a flower and my first journal page….at least it looks like a tulip(with some dork factor still)! I need to be a bit more bold with the text so that it shows up against the collage.

This is what it looks like now:

I also took lots of photos to work from later. I had previously bought an “HDR” program(Photomatrix Essentials 3) so I converted some of my RAW format photos to HDR images- this one show lots of texture and highlights in the blooms so it should be fun to try to draw from the photo:Tonight my goal is to do a journal page with my grackle from Phoenix, doing a sketch and watercolour and also a rubber stamp! Should be fun……this of course to be done after watching Big Bang Theory!