Fiber Art Brooches And More!

I have been trying to get to blogging since Friday!  I feel like I'm in slow motion and can't seem to get to anything.  It was a rather crazy week but I think things are starting to settle down.  I had to have the power supply replaced in my big computer yesterday.  That's the one I do everything on.  This laptop is my fun computer.  I really only use to look around online, read my blogs and so on.

Anyway, enough of that.  I'll share a few things that mom, Kathi & have been making lately.

First, are some more of Kathi's sweet little needle felted kitties:



I just love these little sweeties!  They are so precious and each has a personality of it's own.  Just like real kitties!

Mom has made some pretty pillows to sit or hang.  The first is with Strawberries:



This one is with violets:



I have a ton of these little pillows with the ribbons sewn into top.  I have them hanging on doorknobs and on my antique dresser.  I like to change them with the seasons & holidays but I do have some "anytime" ones.  They're a nice little homey touch!

I finished up my Marie Antoinette Brooches:



The little faces are done with Polymer Clay and a push mold.  Once baked, I painted them.  The background is a heart shaped Yo-Yo made of Brocade and behind that, some gathered tulle.  Of course I embellished as I always do!  Porcelain flowers and vintage rhinestones that I took out of some broken old jewelry are attached the feather.

I've been playing with Polymer Clay quite a bit lately.  I'm working my pieces into some interesting art jewelry.  Will have photos of those soon.  In the meantime, here are my Fiber Art Brooches:









I can't  throw even the tiniest of scraps away!  I save everything!  So that's what these are all about.  Using some of my little bits and pieces.  I love fuzzy yarn and worked some of that into these pieces and added some vintage Mother Of Pearl Buttons to each brooch.  I think they're really interesting!

Well, I picked up the new Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine and the new Sew Somerset.  Beautiful things to see in these issues.  I haven't read through them yet, just looked at the photos.  I will enjoy paging through them after dinner.  Taco Salad tonight!

Quick question:  Does anyone else read their magazines from the back to the front?  I noticed today that I do that and was wondering if I'm the only one!  I do a lot of things backwards but so I guess I never noticed before!

Busy As A Bumble Bee This Week!

I was planning on getting Part 2 of my Art Quilting 101 Tutorial up this week but it's been rather crazy here so that will be delayed until sometime next week.  I know that several of my readers are enjoying it so please don't worry, it is on it's way!

Well, I have DSL now and all I can say is WOW!  I can actually read my favorite blogs now instead of waiting for pages to load.  It's great!  My email program still isn't working but Kathi will get it figured out as soon as she can.  I can do email via the web but I am just a twinge behind.  If you're waiting to hear from me, not worry.  I'll be caught up over the weekend.

I took some photos yesterday of my garden, which is a bit of a mess because I wasn't able to do anything out there last year and this year, I'm honestly not into it much either.  But I do have some pretties to share with you:









I have no idea what those yellow flowers are.  I just can't remember.  I planted them years ago and I love them!

In other news, here are few more of mom's vintage hankie hanging pillows:





I've never used my vintage hankies in this way but it sure is a lovely way to enjoy them!  Mom added beads, charms and ribbons.  Amazing for someone with limited vision!

And then, I thought you'd enjoy seeing my sister's needle-felted kitties:





These are absolutely precious!  They're tiny!  Only about 2 inches high X 4 inches long from the front paws to the tip of the tails.  I don't know how she does anything so tiny!  Of course, I've never done needle felting and I don't intend to try one more thing! 

I do have 2 of these for myself.  She made me one and then made one for the shop but I mooched it.  And Kath, if you're reading this, I love the violet kitty!!!!

Ok, so what else am I doing?  Hmmmm....oh, I finished up my Marie Antoinette Brooches.  I'll have that photo for you tomorrow.  I made some Art Brooches and again, photos coming tomorrow.  And now I'm working on some whimsical brooches with polymer clay faces:



I made the poly clay faces a few years back.  I thought it would be fun to make brooches with fancy yarns, silk ribbon, beads and sequins.  You know, I gotta pile on the glitter!  I have another ready to stitch on.  I probably won't get that started until the morning.  I have laundry to fold and salad to put together and my Nightmare is telling me that it's time for his medication. 

I'm off to take care of those things!  Tomorrow I see my new Dr.  I'm looking forward to that.  I really think I'd feel better if I drop this medication just a twinge.  I'll keep you posted.

Marie Antoinette Brooches Almost Done!

If I'd stop running around and shopping, I would be able to get something done!  This is a sneak peek of my Marie Anoinette Brooches:



These still need finishing but I've been talking about them for so long, I thought I'd share what I have so far!  I'll describe what I used and did with these once I get them done.

I'm also working on some little Art Brooches.  Very abstract and so cool looking! 

Judy asked me awhile back if I might be able to get a photo of all my 3 kitties laying on the bed together.  No luck there but I was able get this photo Sunday morning:



It's not too unusual for them to eat off the same plate from time to time.  Lucy is on the right, Nightmare in the middle and Simba on the left.

These are my mom's latest finishes:





Both are made using a vintage handkerchief.  For those of you how are vintage hankie obsessive collectors (like me), this is a great way to use them and enjoy them!

Well, I need to get myself together.  I need supplies (LOL) so I'm heading off to Hobby Lobby today.  Yes, I know, this why I don't get anything done! 

Have a great day everyone!

Blast From The Past!

We went to another Flea Market this morning and look what I found:



One of these little antique creamers is from Germany and the other is from Bavaria!  I only paid $5 for the 2 of them!  I'm going to let mom pick one for herself and I'll keep the other.

I also found a little wicker shelf for only $3 but forgot to take a photo of it.  I'll hang it in my guest room when I get the room re-painted.  It needs a fresh coat of white paint first.

I've doing some odds & ends today.  I'm working on some little art brooches and I'm just about done with my Marie Antoinette brooches.  Photos coming soon!

IN other news, can I be a cat?  This is lazy girl Lucy:



She loves to sleep in our garden window!

Well, are you ready for my Blast From The Past?  This is my High School Senior year photo:



Hmmm.....no wrinkles.  I always say, it's not the years, it's the mileage!  Mom gave me this last week.  I cringed but thought I'd share a rare photo of me, even if it is from 30 years ago.

In other news, I'm please to announce that I am now on DSL!  Wow!  I was actually able to read my favorite blogs this morning instead of waiting for them to load and getting bored enough to give up!  I've actually been doing the majority of my blog reading on my dad's computer but now I can do it here!  Yeah!!!

Well,  I guess that's the news for today.  I'll leave you with my sister's newest earrings.  These are so pretty!

Art Quilting 101 Tutorial - Layering The Background

Hello everyone!  This is part 1 of my Art Quilting 101 Tutorial.  In this post, I will show you how to layer the background.  Please keep in mind that this is only one way of making an art quilt.  The possibilities are endless but for anyone who would like to try Art Quilting and has no clue where to begin, this tutorial should help you.

For beginners, it's best to start with a theme and color scheme.  Choose a vintage photo either on paper or on fabric.  I printed my little girl on fabric and then chose elements that coordinated with the photo colors:



Cut a piece of muslin about 4 inches larger than you want to your Art Quilt to be.
Choose some old music paper, or papers with writing on it.  You don't have to use vintage papers.  Lot's of vintage looking papers can be found in craft and hobby stores.

At this point, you'll want to pick a couple of small pieces of fabric and lace.

The next step is to start arranging the basic pieces that you started with:



Play and have fun!  You'll be re-arranging them several times before you're ready to sew.



You're going to want to cover the muslin with fabrics and papers and lace.  Torn edges on paper and fabric look great!  Very vintage!!!  And don't be afraid to bunch up some light weight fabric like gauze or cheesecloth!

Keep arranging your elements until you're pleased with it and then decide where you want your vintage image.  But you're not going to sew that on at this point.  Put the image to side for now:



You can add some fuzzy yarns or threads now.  I just kind of swirl the threads around.  It adds movement to the project.

Once you're happy with the arrangement of fabrics, papers and fibers, you'll need to cut a piece of tulle or netting slightly larger than your muslin.  Don't worry if it's not perfect!!!  Just cut your tulle and gently lay it on top of your project.  This creates a "sandwich".

Pin the tulle down around the edges of edges to hold the "sandwich" together.  Now you can take it over to your sewing machine:



You can use any thread that you like.  For light colored projects, I use white or a soft color that blends in with the background or try some metallic gold if you're comfortable with that.

You're going to be top stitching all the layers together.  Start at an edge and sew in circles all over the quilt.  Make swirly patterns.  Just free sew in circles and have fun!  It's a blast!!!!  You want to make sure that everything is sewn down well but you don't have to get too insane with it.  When you think you've covered it all, check the back.  It's easier to see where your sewing is from the back.  If you feel you need to sew on it more, go ahead.

It's best to set you're stitch size to longest setting.  You don't need tiny little stitches.  I feel that longer stitches look better.



When you're done with the sewing (be sure to remove your pins), you can the image.  You'll just want to top stitch this down close to the edges:



Now you're ready for embellishing!!!  I had a small ladies glove in my stash so I'll be using it on this quilt.



So that's Part 1!  If you have questions, please email me or leave a comment for me here.  Just play with your stash for now and have a good time doing it.  There are no rules or limits.  It's up to you what you want to do with it.

Part 2 will be on how and what to embellish with.  I'll let you know a few days in advance of posting.  It'll be sometime next week.