Showing posts with label hand stitching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hand stitching. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Summer Quilt Catch Up


Simple Summer Quilt

Life has been anything but simple for nearly 2 years now. I know I'm in good company across the planet when I crawl out of bed after midnight because I can't sleep--again. My neck and shoulders are sore from canning apples and making applesauce all day. My head is full of swirling thoughts like, How the heck are we going to get through this mess? (Certainly not by depending on the government!) 

My last post was early August when I was still working on the quilting of this summer quilt. I needed an uncomplicated project to stitch on, and I loved having something in the frame to pick up for even a few minutes at a time. But August turned into a difficult month healthwise here, and funneled us right into September and a local outbreak of Covid. We were included as well as many friends and family, but thankfully all came through without serious complications. I was out of the studio more than a month, though, and feel like I'm still catching up on sleep.

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

7 Year Blogiversary & 700th Post


A Quiet Celebration

If this past year has taught me something, it's that we should celebrate milestones, and keep with traditions in our lives. So you and I will celebrate this together. (Cue the horns!) Seven years is nothing to sneeze at. It's ancient in the world of blogging! I know I'm here, though, because of you all, and because I'm still fully in love with life! And the things that make me most happy are quilting, surely you knew that, my garden, and sharing my enthusiasm for both. Helping people learn is important, too, but encouraging people to just try something is the big one. 

I hope we all continue to be friends. You are important to me, and the many back channeled conversations that go on among us makes my--and I hope your life rich. Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful journey!

Friday, October 19, 2018

Three Naked Ladies Blooming Finish




Three Naked Ladies Blooming In the Moonlight Finish


Isn't that a grabby title? I thought so. (wink-wink)

Still dedicated to digging out my languishing UFO/WIP/PUPs, I pulled the Three Naked Ladies Blooming In the Moonlight last week. (This project is 2 1/2 years old.) I'm hoping most of you can't read that. 

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Change or Transformation: The Endeavourers






Id. Ego. Super Ego.

This month's challenge prompt for the Endeavourer's art quilt group is 
Change or Transformation. 

How do you interpret change or transformation with cloth and thread? 

Art is meant to appeal to your past experience, emotion, and senses. An art quilt is simply art made with fiber transformed into cloth and thread, and a batting sandwiched between the layers. How does one convey the meaning of something so abstract as change or transformation through fiber?


Saturday, February 17, 2018

Roman Stripe Improv Art Quilt Finish



Roman Stripe: Variation I


I laughed a little when I typed the name above. Variation I. I wrote I because there is already a II in the works. I need this kind of work in my life to balance me. It makes me whole. This play on a traditional pattern that I would call an art quilt. Very traditional scraps spun into something that begged for stitching. Stitching that took on a life of its own. My fingers knew. My head did not. 

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Quilting the Vintage Log Cabin


Hand Quilting a Vintage Log Cabin Quilt

It's December, and everywhere I go I hear coughing. Deep, gripping coughing. There's a rotten cold going around our area, and I'm two and a half weeks into it. I did my duty of self-care, and canceled the monthly sewing group. I rested, t.v. binged, and quilted. Still, a dry cough just hangs on. This one is a doozy.

Friday, November 17, 2017

Quilt Beginnings, Endings & In Between: Without a List


One Sweet Baby Quilt Ready to Deliver

Week 2 with No List

Welcome back to another weekly narrative of living/working without a list. I've gained unexpected insight while purging the house of too much stuff, and am eager to share it with you. I keep hearing in the comments how many of you are on the same journey, and feel I'm in good company. 

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Improv Chinese Coins Finish



Ready for a Sleeve...of Some Kind

Almost every picture I use on Pink Doxies is shot with a 5 year old Canon Power Shot Elph 110 HS. It's not a high end camera, and smaller and lighter than my iPhone of the same vintage. It's easy to throw in my purse. But occasionally I like to use iPhone pictures, if only to give an idea of what things look like under less-than-ideal conditions. When we look at our work in real life--in our homes, they are not typically in optimal photo studio lighting. A quilted piece should not be hung in bright daylight especially as textiles are prone to fading. So let's get real and pretend this is going to be something hung in a hallway, which it is. The light will probably be dim most of the time, and look much like above.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Slow Stitching & Heavy Heart



Improv Chinese Coins


It has been a long week or two. Harvey first then Irma on his tail. We have a home on Florida's west coast, and the town and those nearby have evacuated. We survived a direct hit from hurricane Charley 13 years ago, but Irma seems much more wicked. Living in the northern U.S. we don't face the same issues as those who are there full time, but we are sad/afraid/worried for good friends there. I have been watching the storm updates, and stitching out my worries. There is nothing to do until the storm passes through.

Monday, September 4, 2017

Improv Chinese Coins from Scraps



Pocket Change Improv

This project was born from scraps. The fabric is a combination of Kaffe Fassett, Moda Grunge, and batiks. Check them out as 9 patches in this post for A Lesson In Value & Fabric Choice and a Hop. I had separated the scraps in a box instead of mixing them into my scrap stash, and they were easily turned into this wall hanging based on the Chinese coins pattern.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Pick Your One Favorite Quilt, Art Quilt, Piece of Art...


"If asked to pick your one 
favorite piece from everything you've 
ever done, what would it be, and why?"

I asked myself this question. I've been asking lots of tough questions in my quest for balance, but this one was easy. Hands down, the piece above was my all time favorite. 

This all came about as I debated about entering a show in which I would have to offer the piece for sale. A few days of careful thinking, and I decided it was one piece I would not part with. And that led me to consider some new ideas.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Train Ride from Tokyo Finish





A Hand Quilted Finish


At this very moment I am covered by this same quilt, feet up, and lap top engaged. My cup of coffee is within reach. I've worked a year to make it, and yet it gets used so casually. I wonder if I'd feel this way if I wasn't the maker. But I want to know how a quilt feels and wears with use. I like to record which batting I used, and there is a significant difference in the drape and warmth. There truly are battings better suited for different seasons, and may be too warm for summer so I'm enjoying now.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Slow Sewing for the Soul


A Slow Stitch Saturday Morning

This past Saturday was filled with light. I have a north window in my studio, and the light was perfect to sit and hand stitch these last few pieces. The turkey and deer kept stopping at my window as if to say, "Just passing through to see what you're doing this fine morning." It was soothing to the soul. The few seams I had to complete were with Aurifil's Invisible Monofilament Thread, and unless the light is perfect it is darned difficult to see! I really love this thread.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Be Mine, Quilted Valentine!




Be Mine!


To be quite honest, I'm not a big fan of sappy Valentine's Day things. We don't exchange anything extravagant--or anything at all most years. A simple, "I love you," suffices. A special dinner at home may be the extent of it for the Mister.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Tiki Beads Update




Tiki Beads Hand Stitching Progress

The holidays are officially upon us because I am scattered to all four corners. Sadly, I disappear here when push comes to shove, but I am slowly digging my way out. I'm not telling you anything new. You know exactly what I mean because you're probably going through the same thing! It's less than a week before Thanksgiving, and 5 weeks before Christmas. 

Monday, November 14, 2016

Tiki Beads Quilt


TIKI BEADS

Even though my last post promised more details on the Super Scrap Project, I needed to clear my design wall before proceeding. This is a simple little project, and perfect to pack  for a weekend trip.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Pieced Pumpkin Patch: Eerie Nights Blog Hop Giveaway




Welcome to Pink Doxies--
and one stop on your Eerie Nights
Blog Hop today!

 


When Marian at Seams to Be Sew asked me if I wanted to join in a Halloween hop, I was all in. The hop is sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop, Aurifil, Timeless Treasures, and Quilter's Dream. Enter the Rafflecopter drawing at the end of this post, and each of the other 4 blogs listed for your chance to win your own fabulous treats! Because of scheduling conflicts, Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy is hosting in lieu of Marian. Thank you both. 

Friday, September 16, 2016

2 A.M. Stitching Tips & Secret Sewing


Tickling the Ivories 
or 
Quilting the Piano Key Border

Have you ever taken in so much in just one day you felt like a different person when you fell into bed? I had one Aha Moment after the next yesterday, and was so geared up I could barely eat supper. Seriously, me not eat? You can read about my first experience batiking with a tjap over on "One More Thing Before I Dye." Not eating meant I woke up starving at 2 A.M., and I quilted the next 2 hours until the family started getting up for work.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Fall Quilts, Wool, and Wool Dyeing In the Microwave



Transitions


Summer has unofficially become fall here, though the calendar says it's still over a week away. It's 54 F this morning, and I'll have a cool studio today. I confess that sweltering heat does not bring out my creativity, and also that I've taken a little hiatus while coming to terms with my art and craft. Both points have made it more difficult to return to the studio daily, though I'm in and out. It's not an excuse, and there's no reason for me to apologize. It just is. You know, I'm finding that makes more sense to me recently. 

Monday, August 8, 2016

New Ideas to Finish Whole Cloth Prints


Whole Cloth Prints


The stack of prints I made from deconstructed silk screening was perfect for some experimental stitching, quilting, and beading. Most things I'd seen had little or no stitching, and so I had few examples to compare what might be ideal. Once again, I found myself exploring new territory. (I like that!) I made myself a rule:

When the print itself carries so much interest, the addition of any ornamentation needs to add to it without competing.