Sewing, Painting, Cleaning

I'm not right on top of this blogging thing. Perhaps some day I'll get the hang of it. I have done a lot of sewing and painting in the last several months though.

My friend and I went out east to Connecticut to a 5-day painting seminar with Ros Stallcup in early October. We spent 8 hours a day painting projects on wood, canvas, or tin and finished the project each day. I learned different techniques and had to try very hard to get my brain to let loose so I wasn't painting so rigidly.

From Connecticut we drove Massachusetts to another 5-day Decorative Painting convention, New England Traditions. I took about 6 different classes there from various teachers and again learned different techniques. I also entered a piece I painted into a competition against other hobbyists. My piece was about 3-feet tall, an old spindle onto which I had put wood putty to look like Santa's face and arm. I added a wooden base onto which I painted a scene of a living room with windows and reindeer looking in at the Christmas tree and presents. Onto the top of the spindle I added a table top and painted Santa and his bag of toys with holly leaves and a faux finished circle around Santa. I'll have to find a picture to upload so you can see it.

To my surprise and delight, I took first place in the Holiday Division and then I was really delighted when I won Viewers Favorite in Hobbyist Division! There were many wonderful pieces in this division so I was really thrilled to receive such an award.
I've also been in a few swaps in the last few months on Art4Mail and I would love to share pics of these. Back in July we had an Animal Pincushion Swap. My swap partner loves hippos so I had to make her a hippo pincushion! Couldn't find a pattern for a hippo so I had to create my own. It took a few attempts but I came up with one. What do you think? She love it

We also had a needlecase swap. I decided to make a pattern I've had for years from Crabapple Hill, called Wild Rose Sewing Wallet. It turned out well, although somehow I got the front of it backward. I haven't been a great paper piecing fan, but I decided to try to again. Since it was only a small bit of paper piecing, it was doable and turned out pretty well.

Then we had a Fall pincushion swap. I received a wonderful Acorn pincushion from my swap partner and I sent a round felted wool pincushion with a 3-dimensional mum on top in fall colors.

For October we had a Halloween pincushion swap. My swap partner sent me a great coffin pincushion! It's covered with fabrick and decorated with creepy things. She found the coffins at Michael's.

I made a "Great Pumpkin" pincushion for her. On our trip out east we found a wonderful Gourd Place, that had laser cut gourds that were painted or dyed. I found a sweet little jack-o-lantern with a handle and put it on top of the felted wool pumpkin pincushion I made.

The rest of the time I've been organizing and re-organizing rooms and getting rid of 20 years of saving things I thought I might have a need for someday.  I've run out of room in the house! I need to get control of my house again!

Finished Pincushions

I've worked on many different pincushions in the last few weeks. I finished a few bunnies, worked on a turtle, found a great thread prince, finished a trio of painted and felted pincushions, and made some teacup dolls. Want to see them all?
First, here's the pincushion bunny I made. It's a Tilda Finnager pattern I downsized a LOT to get it to be this small (pincushion size). I made it for a pincushion swap on Art4Mail and liked it so much, I had to make one for myself. And someone else wanted to swap, so I made another one yet. So after making three of them, I think I'm done making these bunnies for awhile....

I swapped with a friend in England and she sent me this lovely bunny pincushion in exchange. She designed Ms. Bunny herself and appliqued the sweet little flowers and pink ears. Looks like Ms. Bunny is searching for carrots and is very hungry!

One of the online groups I belong to had a challenge for a turtle pincushion, so I quickly made one up and posted it for the challenge. Mr. Turtle turned out ok, but not as well as I would have liked. I'll have to work on him later. My friend brought me a kit of three pincushions that needed to be painted and made into the pincushions from Rhode Island painting convention last year. I couldn't attend the convention with her but she knows how I love pincushions and she couldn't resist. It took me a while to get these painted, but I did! They turned out cute I think and now that they are done I'm planning on perhaps making some more to give to other friends who have admired them (not as a set of three, mind you. . . just ones they've really liked!)
I found this wonderful Thread Prince at a Quilt Shop I visited. I don't know who made him but he is made out of repurposed pieces, such as an old salt shaker, some tatting thread and old laces, along with an old spool of thread, buttons and beads. His head is formed out of clay or wood putty and painted. He is really a lot of fun to look at and can really be used as a pincushion!We cannot forget the little teacup girls I've worked on. These are such fun to do. The patterns are from Happy Heart Patterns and can be bought and downloaded from her site. I have plans to make several more of these. The body is basically the same pattern, you just change what she is wearing and then embellish her differently each time. I've made the garden fairy and then used ideas from the various patterns I bought to create the gardening fairy, based on the teacup I used. What do you think? My sweet granddaughter has turned 6 months old. Time flies so quickly when we get older! She can sit by herself now and she babbles all the time. She is the perfect baby. She only cries if she's hungry or wet or absolutely wants attention! Other than that, she's smiling and laughing. Who could ask for a better child? We definitely have been blessed with her.

Time Flies, eh?

So much for keeping up with my blog.

I've been making lots of pincushions since January. One I made was a crazy quilted cat I designed. It was for a swap. My swap partner lives in England. It was made entirely out of velvets. I actually hand sewed all the crazy quilting on it instead of using some of the crazy quilting stitches on my machine. I enjoyed making Mr. Cat. I learned quite a bit designing him. Next time I will make him wider and his face will be a bit diferent. I liked how I made his front. His back was crazy quilted instead of formed to look like a cat sitting as his front was. I've been meaning to make another one just like him for me, but haven't found the time. Perhaps his picture will just have to do.

I also made a dragon from a pattern I bought several months ago. I though I could make"Daisy" dragon and use her as a pincushion, but after she was completed, I knew she would never be a pincushion. She's just too adorable to have pins put in her. Her arms and legs are movable and bendable. Her wings are bendable as is her tail. But the most adorable part of her is her eyes. They are glass eyes, covered with eyelids, which have eyelashes attached. Her tummy has flowers sewn on and her tail has yarn and fibers coming out of it, as does her head. She definitely was a challenge to make, but she was well worth it!

Of course, in between making pincushions and dolls, I've been taking care of my sweet little granddaughters. Amanda is now 4 months old and she is a dear! She had put on lots of weight and has grown quite a few inches. She's always smiling and laughing tries to talk with little coo's. Her big sister, Mia, is still learning to share but she does love her little sister.

I'm working on painting some boxes that I want to make into pincushions. I hope to finish them soon and as soon as they're completed I will post pictures.

Happy New Year!

I didn't do very well at keeping up my blog more often, did I? So much to do and so little time to get it all done.

Since the last time I posted I have a new granddaughter, Amanda Rose, born on December 1, 2010. She is so beautiful and so tiny! I forgot how tiny newborns are. She was three weeks early so she really was a tiny little thing...5lbs, 13 ozs. I saw her being born and it was the most beautiful site! I didn't think I could handle it, but it happened so quickly I didn't have time to get queezy or anything! My son cut the cord and DIL held her. She has beautiful blue eyes, long eyelashes and auburn hair. Her big sister, who just turned 3, is thrilled too!

In November we had a baby shower for her. Amanda's due date was December 25th so I painted pink Christmas ornaments with a lace design and put her initials on the bottom for everyone to take home. I think they were a big hit.

My online group, Art4Mail, had a pincushion swap for December with a holiday theme and I received some really wonderful pincushions from my swap partners. Aren't these adorable?

I made each of them a cardinal out of wool felt, sitting in a nest, holding a pom-pom snowball. It was rather large for a pincushion but I had seen a decoration similar to it somewhere and re-interpreted it into a pincushion. I made several muslin patterns for the body before I got it right. Then, of course, legs were out of the question because it wouldn't make for a very steady pincushion. So I had to come up with something to set the cardinal on that would steady him (it had to be a him...they are the colorful ones!). The hat was made from an old felted sweater. The snowflakes were punched out of felt. The beak was a challenge. I took some tim-tex and used a black permanent marker to color it black and cut out the beak shape, upper and lower and glued the pieces together and onto the face. The one in the photo is one I made for myself to keep. I made a total of four of these little guys and it will be a while before I make anymore. They weren't hard, but they were quite a challenge to figure out.

I'm still trying to move my scrapbooking/painting room from the first floor down to the basement and turn that room back into a bedroom for guests and for my granddaughters to stay in overnight. I've been working on it for months, it seems, but it's difficult to take everything I had in the little room and build the shelves I need in the basement, while trying to work around the stuff that's still in the basement. There is just too much "stuff" in this little house and I know I need to purge some of it, but that's a very difficult thing to do. Now mind you, I have carried out at least 4 huge garbage bags full of stuff from the little bedroom, but that's still not enough purging. I come from a family who has a history of saving "things". My father had a three-car garage and could only fit one car in it. When my dad passed on, my brother spent a year cleaning out that garage and a lot of that "stuff" found it's way to brother's garage. You can't even fit a car in his garage.

I'm working on a dragon right now. I found a pattern for a wonderful little dragon (doll) when I was up north this fall with my friends. I don't usually make dolls, and this is a jointed pattern made with chenille for the fingers and wire in the body parts so they can be shaped. It's been quite a challenge. As soon as I'm finished, I'll post a picture. I'm learning quite a bit making him. I might even be inspired enough to take out some of the other doll patterns I've collected over the years and try to make those.

Till later.....