Sunday, October 24, 2010
Embellished PEACE symbol
When thinking about the word "symbol" I immediately thought that the word meant a picture of something that was universally understood and that is why I chose the PEACE sign. Of course it had nothing to do with the fact that I grew up in the 60'& 70's and as you all know, those hippie days were all about Peace & Love.
To create my Peace sign I started out by drawing one on a piece of green wool felt. I used green to blend in with the floral theme should any show through my embellishing. I gave myself a 1" border all the way around to work within.
By layering silk ribbon embroidery, french knots using pearl cotton, lots of beads and plenty of my mini dyed lace motifs, I think I did justice to this symbol. I had thought of moutning it to a light background to be used as a pillow but hubby has suggested it might look better on the back of my blue jean jacket. We'll see.... any suggestions?
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I Love Mermaids!
The minute I saw the landscape of her block I knew what I wanted to do. I cut out a beautiful little mermaid out of some cotton fabric my friend Elaine gave me and then dyed up an awesome dolphin lace motif (one of my favorites) and off I went into CQ never never land.
When Rob and I got married (Maui 2004) we spent a day swimming with the dolphins. We had originally gone out on a kayak trip but half way out the couple that was with us decided they didn't want to go - the old hippie that was giving us the tour decided to take them back to shore and let Rob and I continue on our way as we had told him we've been kayaking for quite a few years. (There was NO way I was going back LOL!) About an hour out we came up on a pod of dolphins (about 20+) just playing around We jumped in and they gave us a show that we will never forget. The mamma dolphins were playing with their babies and swimming right next to us all the while jumping and spinning in the air. OMG! The beautiful music that they were singing under the water was something we will never forget. This went on for about an hour until a tour boat came by and idled and watched us play.... slowly the dolphins swam away. So.... this block that I made for Carolyn is in remembrance of that beautiful day and wonderful experience.
Friday, October 15, 2010
The making of a Lace Butterfly
Since I love butterflies and they are one of my favorite CQ embellishments to create, I thought I'd show you how I make mine out of lace. here is a little tutorial for you.
Pick a piece of lace that reminds you of wings and cut out a pair... by using your imagination you'd be surprised at all the different wings you can find in laces.
you believe I bought a 99 cent bracelet at AC Moore and took it apart for the beads.
#5 Ta da! A pretty little butterfly all in place.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Goodbye my sweet little Brat
Brat Seavey - came into our lives on February 4, 1996 at the approximate age of 2 and left us today, October 8, 2010.
As I sit here crying with a broken heart, I know Rob and I did the bests thing for our darling Brat the Cat. Today, at 4:00, we drove her to the Cat Clinic and said our goodbyes. For all our friends who met Brat or took care of her from time to time, I know you will miss her too. She was a beautiful cat and had so many funny ways about her...... how am I ever going to look at a can of whip cream the same.
Cold, covered in ice and snow, Brat was found by my borther-in-law outside of his house during a winter storm. I originally took her in to care for her thinking since she was obviously a house cat (no claws) and that someone would soon claim her. Little did I know she would become a permanent family member for the next 14+ years. Lots of "Family Loves" and laughing took place during these past years but the last few months have been really tough. Today I found out that in human years, she was 84. Her kidneys were going, she couldn't hear and she was loosing balance and eye sight. Rob and I both knew she was in pain with all the crying and knew it was only a matter of time before she would leave us.
I kept asking Rob "Are we sure" and his response was just what I knew in my heart "it's time" Why does it hurt so much? I held her in my arms cuddling her like I always did whispering " mommy loves you" and then felt her body go limp..... I miss you already Brat... I miss you. Thank you for all the love and wonderful memories, for all the affection and tenderness, for all the laughs and especially for all the "family loves" you brought into our lives. You were and always will be the Queen of our home.Friday, October 1, 2010
Crazy Quilt RR - Art Nouveau
Mid-summer I signed up for an Art Nouveau RR which involved swapping 6x6 naked CQ blocks . Each of the 5 ladies in the group sent along 5 naked blocks to be embellished. One by one we got to choose one block to complete and then pass the rest on to the next participant until all of the blocks were ready to be sent home to their owner. The fun part was deciding which beautiful block to work on for each lady. The following are the 5 blocks that I created. My signature I hoped to leave behind on each piece was some of my dyed laces .... I almost feel naked not adding a piece to a block.
Created for Carolyn:
Creat for Colleen:
Created for Alice:
Created for Darlene:
Work by Colleen:
Thank you ladies for making this a beautiful swap - loved every minute of it and can't wait to do another RR with you again.