Last Minute Gift....

Here's a padfolio I made as a gift for one of Sabrina's teachers. I went by one of Sue B's patterns for reference. I hand painted a nice heavy white cotton duck cloth with metallic Lumiere paints. After it dried, I texturized the surface with a nickle paint and hot fixed some Swavroski crystals into the upper right corner. I satin stitched around the whole thing with metallic turqoise thread, sewed a gorgeous glass button to the front for a wrap closure, and added some beads to the bottom of a fancy yarn wrap. The inside is lined with hand dyed turquoise fabric that is a stunning shade. I also painted the top of the little pad inside so it wasn't that yucky red. I painted it with Lumiere paint -- and now it matches nicely. Click on the picture so you can see the glass button and the texture in the cover. Cotton duck cloth is really cool to paint on -- it's stiff, keeps it's shape and doesn't suck in the paint, particularly if you cover it first with a "light" coat of gesso or textile fixative. I think this really came out nicely. I'm thinking of making another one of these for a giveaway -- what do you think???

In Progress....

Still working on these placemats. Got the quilting done in the center panels and outline stitched each and every little piece around the edges. Could I have picked a more time consuming pattern??? Between the pieced edges and now the beveled and mitred binding -- I have one thing to say, @$!@#!@#$^.

I'm also working on a 10x12 Van Gogh inspired Iris threadpainting as a special request from a friend. I've gotten the base painted and have laid on most of the threadpainting. I just have to complete the black outline and bind. I think the next one I do will be Starry Night. I saw a technique demonstrated once on Simply Quilts wherein you slice up little bits of fabric into skinny little slivers and use them to paint the surface of your design, securing the slivers when you are done with tulle and quilting. I think the very nature of Van Gogh's impressionistic brush strokes on that one will lend itself perfectly to the "sliver" technique.

Has anyone ever tried this technique or something similar? I'd love to hear from you if you have. I'm tempted to try this one on a really large scale -- but am leaning toward trying a tiny one to begin with and, if successful maybe doing something like 24x36 which is "large scale" for me.

Creative Excellence Award -- MS Art

Every year the Fine Arts Department at North Raleigh Christian Academy gives out an award for Creative Excellence -- and we are very proud that this year that Sabrina was the recipient of this award for the Middle School Art Program.

The criteria for the Creative Excellence Award was based upon a stringent scoring system, as it was not only based upon the quality of the creative output and efforts of the student, but upon the character of the artist, as well. The award was designed by her wonderful art teacher and contains a quote by Charles Malik and Jeremiah 9:24 -- lovely.

Here are just a few of her pieces......

Self Portrait in things "I" Love....

Cardinal ....
Pen & Ink Fish...


Pen & Ink Guitar... (click to enlarge)


Colored Pencil Colored Pencils (24x36)...

Her favorite spot in the world is in this corner of her bedroom -- where the "magic" happens and where there is always something "in the works"...

We are extremely proud of you honey -- and are so happy that your passion and dedication to your art -- have been acknowledged in such a beautiful way.

OXOXOXOXOXOX

P.S. "Art On" Sister!!

Progress on Placemats & Dear Jane....

I'm still working on these placemats. I finally got them pieced, and now I'm adding some outline stitching to the center panel -- through the leaves, around the crows and maybe outlining the flowers. I dug out my Embroidery Stitch Bible which is the greatest little book with step by step illustrations as to how to execute each stitch. I find that I am enjoying the process of stitching these little details very much. I would like to do more of that. Once I finish stitching in some detail, I will back these, do a little outline quilting, bind them and then they'll be finished and off to their new home.

I have NOT been diligently working on Dear Jane as I find these tiny blocks a bit err, uh ..........

.

.

F R U S T R A T I N G! I do resolve to keep plugging away at them though -- because I do need to learn to ACCURATELY piece (as is evidenced by these horridly crooked blocks!!) so I am looking at this as a learning experience. I am trying to do at least 2 blocks (or more per week). Once school is out and Sabrina starts tennis over the summer, it will be great because I can bring a few with me and work on them at the court. Anyone else currently working on a Dear Jane??

On a Smaller Note....

I've gotten away from doing small stuff lately, but every once in a while it's fun to whip out a post card or two, or three, or four......

Doesn't This DOG Have Anything Better to Do????

I guess the reality of the situation is that Gizmo is probably wondering, "Doesn't this woman have anything better to do than chase me around the house and yard all day with a camera?"

Geeze - Get a Life!

Finally, time to PLAY! and a Mother's Day Surprise....

After a bit of a hiatus -- we are returning to the workroom as it's girl's weekend - once again - we have the house to ourselves for THREE WHOLE DAYS. The sewing machine is fired up, the paints, pencils and pens came out of hiding and we're gettin' busy. Sabrina is in school today so I'm working on a project that I've had lying around for a while - some placemats and a table runner (a gift for someone?!?!?!?) I'm not a fan of "pieced" placemats so I found this nice little example and have
modified it to suit my needs. Instead of fall colors and a pumpkin, I'm using a folk art crow/flower print for the center, complementing colors for the edges and am going to use a floral print for the backing so they are reversible. "Piecing" is not my forte' however I am enjoying the designing process along with combining colors and patterns. I'm using commercial prints, hand dies, tea dyed (that I dyed myself) and some really cool homespuns I bought when we went to Schoolhouse Fabrics after visiting the Mountain Comforts Quilt show a while back in Virginia. I should have these done by the end of the weekend and will post more pictures.

A Wonderful Mother's Day Surprise....
Finally, I just had to share with you what I received from my precious girl for Mother's Day. It seems my daughter has been following my blog and decided that the perfect gift for me would be (and how right she was!) this amazing Van Gogh -- A Self Portrait in Arts and Letters, coffee table book - wrapped in custom made wrapping paper and delivered with a lovingly made card.

This fantastic gift contains about 400+ pages of photographs and translations of the actual private hand written letters from Vincent to his brother, along with page after page of his private sketches, doodles and paintings. I know I've said this before -- knowing the background of an artist or writer or history behind a work of art or piece of literature makes the experience so much sweeter, the connection so much deeper.

Thank you little girl for your oh so sweet and thoughtful gift from the heart - you know me soooo well!! XOXO

Happy Mother's Day Mom

I (we) Miss You So.

So Many Plants, So Little Time.....

In case you've been wondering where I've been and what I've been doing for the last week - I've been planting, moving, rearranging, mulching, fertilizing, pulling, weeding, trimming, watering and replanting. Whew!

We have about 4 acres with hundreds of trees and two buildings on our lot -- which cast tons of shadows at different times of day. Every 50 feet represents a different "microclimate" in our shadowy, hilly yard -- so knowing which plant to put where has been a major problem. They might do well for a few weeks, and then the sun moves over slightly and -- a whole new microclimate has developed which may NOT be suitable -- causing yellow leaves, sparse blooms, root rot, mold and - um- an untimely death. :(

It's taken me two years of documenting shadow zones and times, damp areas, dry crests, etc. to figure out which plants do well where. I've moved things about 3 or 4 times in the last 2 years -- totally revamping the beds - pulling everything out -- putting everything back in - but finally, I think I've gotten it right. My family just doesn't understand that a "true gardener" is constantly moving things around in an effort to locate the ultimate "sweet spot" for each plant.

Here are the results of my obsessive/compulsive moving, pruning, watering, mulching, weeding and seeding...... (and it's only Spring!!!)

Front Yard:

Back Yard:

This is a four-tiered water fountain that was constantly getting full of leaves, birdseed, and other delightful birdie tidbits that, if not cleaned out every few days -- just didn't look right. So, I filled it with dirt and planted in it. I miss the sound of the water -- but it makes an awesome planter. I'll probably clean it out at the end of the year and try the "water thing" again next year. But for now .....

Notice my purple picnic table in the background? Sabrina and I love to sit out there in the early evenings and in the mornings and have tea.

Perennial Lavendar - grows fantastic in North Carolina. Green all year and doesn't bloom only in January and February. And smells soooooooooo good....

Gizmo follows me around the yard - everywhere I go.....

and is NOT camera shy in the slightest!!

And finally, the vegetable garden. Hey Tammy - the sunflowers are about 6 inches tall already -- and there are peppers on my pepper plants, and flowers on the tomato plants!!!

Now I can't take all the credit for our landscape as my husband keeps the trees and bushes pruned, the lawn green and the brush cleared -- a HUGE job -- and he keeps things looking great :)

As an aside - I've also been doing some sewing -- but nothing blogworthy. In fact, I am not happy with what I've been working on so I'm not even going to talk about it right now. I'm still ripping out seams!

Enjoy your week.