Here's what I got

Here's what I got in exchange for my crazy quilted ornament. As far as an ornament goes it's cute. The rules were to include some of the stitches we learned but this did not have any hand stitching. Everything was glued or machine stitched. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

Done!

I finally finished the last of my Christmas projects. Phew! Now I can work on what I really want to work on. The first pic is my first crazy quilt ornament I've ever made. It's not perfect and I learned a lot making it. It's for an exchange at our crazy quilt class this weekend. I'll post a pic of the one I get in exchange. The second pic is a framed piece of screen that I painted on. I painted three of these. One for each of the girls that work for me. I just need to add some raffia to it. I hope they like them.

Have a great weekend.

Two things done

I just love these teapots. I made this for a friend to put on a crazy quilt block. The pattern is from Martha Ess' Tea is for Tatting. I love this book and her patterns are awesome. This was tatted in Yarnplayer's Peace colorway. I love her thread. I hope to get the other three pieces tatted that go with this teapot before Christmas. I'm starting to feel the pressure of meeting my deadlines on all my projects.

The second picture is a painting on canvas we did. It's painted to look like an old window. We used a couple of different texture mediums for the side of the house and on the peeling paint. We've all seen old windows like this. You know the kind where care isn't taken to keep the paint off the glass. I still have a couple of shadows to make around the bottom sill but it's pretty much done. Since I used an Artist Wrapped Canvas I may not frame it. It doesn't go with my decor so it will probably end up with the rest of my paintings I have stored in my craft room.

I'm doing what I shouldn't be doing

This is what I have been working on. I've been working on needlepoint ornaments. I should be making a Crazy Quilt ornament for my crazy class for our exchange and I should be painting some things for Christmas. Oh, and I should be tatting some teapots. I always paint something for Christmas for the gals at work and I have my projects ready but I can't get my behind in gear. I went to my annual retreat for making cards and I'll show those at another time. Some of them are Christmas cards which I can't show until after Christmas. Well. here's hoping that I get back on track next weekend.

Back to Tatting

I decided to put the crazy quilt block to the side and picked up my shuttles. This is what I tatted. It's a challenge piece from the HGTV board. It's supposed to be a full size doily but we only had to do the first three rounds. I tatted it in size 60 Choco-Raspberry from Tatskool. The pattern is from Georgia Seitz's website. I love the color. I think I'm going to try a teapot in this same color. I'm also working on a needle point piece, painting on screen and I need to start my July crazy quilt block. I better get going.

My first button cluster & beaded ribbon

I attempted my first beaded ribbon. It turned out OK. I didn't have much space to work in but I wanted to give it a try anyway. I also made my first button cluster and I'm really pleased with it. I still need to add some fillers above the cluster, I just haven't figured out what yet. Click on any of the pictures for a closer look.

The last picture is a large clothes pin I painted Saturday. I know it's a little early for Halloween. I stuck a piece of paper in it so you could see that it can hold a picture, recipe, etc.... I still need to add black and purple glitter to it but I thought I would show it. I took a side view picture but my camera will not upload it to my computer. It does that to me sometimes and I can't figure out why. I just noticed the date is wrong too. I just took the pictures today.

I hope my next post is to say that this block is finally done. You probably will be too!

Special Addition

After having tatted a couple of pieces I thought I could use on my CQ block they all wound up in my pile of "what am I going to do with these" pile. Nothing I tatted seemed to work on this block for me. When TattingChic blogged about Tat Like An Egyptian I made a comment that the little pink heart she tatted would look perfect on my CQ block. She was kind enough to send me her little pink heart and I just love it! I would post a link to her blog but I don't know how but I'm sure if you google TattingChic you will be able to find her blog. She's very creative with her writing and a very talented lady. Thank you so much TattingChic for sharing with me! I think the little heart tatted in Egyptian thread looks great on my first CQ block.

Thanks for stopping by.

A Smidgen more Progress

I finally got a new camera cord since losing mine on my family trip to Kentucky. I've really been lazy since getting back but I thought I would post my little bit of progress.

I received some awesome "do-dad" packages from some of my favorite people. I've added some things from those gifts. I think if you click on the pic you can get a better view. You can almost see the little bird I tatted. He's kind of washed out in that area so I'm not sure he's a keeper. I keep tatting things for this block but nothing is working for me yet. I tatted a blue bird for a friend but for some reason it didn't upload. I'm "electronically challenged" so I'm not surprised. I'm going to add some more seam treatments but those are challenging for me. I admire all the beautiful embroidery and SRE work I've seen in blog land and wish I could duplicate some of them. I feel the upper left corner needs something else. Or, is it over done? Any suggestions?

Not much progress

I thought I would post what little bit of progress I've made so far on my CQ block. I don't have a lot of "doo-dads" to work with. The embellishment kit that we got at class only had pearl beads and a few strands of floss. But, luckily one of my fellow HGTV friends Joyce is sending me a package with some things to build my supply of "doo-dads". The one little flower that looks crocheted is actually something I pulled from my card making supplies. The rose colored beads I bought at the NQA show this past Saturday. Oh, the green trim came from my card making stuff also. The NQA show was awesome. I took about 40 pictures of the quilts but I don't know if I'm allowed to post the photos. I would love to show some of my favorites but I don't want to do anything wrong by posting them. If anyone knows whether I can or not, please let me know.

I also completed another oil painting but it's not framed yet. Once I get a frame I'll post a pic of it. I think they always look better once they're framed. The only thing I'm not happy with are my leaves on the trees. She taught a sponge technique which I felt didn't give me enough control. Lord knows, I like to be in control. My husband calls me the commander.

I'm also excited about getting to see my sisters and brother in the next couple of weeks. It's been a really long time since we've all been together at one time.

P.S. Don't forget this is my first CQ block so don't judge me to harshly.

What I've been doing

I had my first CQ class Saturday and I was hoping to have something to show. She had us practice embroidery stitches on scrap fabric so I don't have anything on my block as of yet. This is going to be a little more difficult than what I anticipated. All the decisions such as what stitch to use, color choices and what to do to each section is what I'm finding hard.

I did get a bird bath painted. He's painted on a clay pot and saucer. I hope he doesn't scare the birds but I thought he was cute as heck. I did get a couple of things tatted but I only have a pic of one of them. Excuse the threads, I haven't hidden them yet. I'll post the other things I tatted at a later time.

I have lost my mind...

and I'm naming names. First on the list is my sister Donna, next is my friend Marge who signed us up at the LQS for a CQ block. The block above is what came in the packet. We had five different fabrics to work with. I have one boo boo but my friend Kathy says anything you don't like put a button cluster on it so that's what I'm going to do. Oh yeah, Kathy is to blame also, and then there's sweet Lois. Lois is responsible for my love of oriental fabric because of the beautiful kimono quilt she showed me at the NH retreat. Kathy does beautiful CQ work and she shared some of her oriental bingo FQ's with me. Thank you Kathy!!! Oh well, what's a girl to do. I'll give it a try. If it turns out well I'll post a pic. If it turns out lousy I'll post a pic of my trash can!

I've been Tatting

I haven't posted for awhile, but I have been tatting.

The first pic is a cat I tatted for a special lady I met at the COF retreat in NH. Her name is Ely and she made me feel welcome even though I wasn't a quilter. She loves cats and recently lost one of hers. I hope she likes it.

The second pic is a dragon I'm going to attempt to put on a fabric post card. I don't think my sister is going to be happy until she gets me into working with fabric. I told her I would try making something small like the post cards. Now that I've tatted the dragon I'm at a loss as to what else to add to my post card. Any suggestions? I am painting on some fabric and if it turns out I will post a pic of that. I hope to finish that this weekend.

The third pic is a teapot. The color is a dark plum. I'm into tatting teapots right now since my sister got me Marth Ess new tatting book. I did tat one while at retreat but I gave it away before I got a pic. I guess I'll have to tat it again.

Lady and a Bird

I'm trying to get a couple of things tatted quickly. I'm attending a retreat with my sister next week and they expect me to have some things to show. The problem is I've given everything away. I just finished the little bird this morning. This is a design from Inga Madsen tatted in size 80. This was also the first time that there wasn't a written pattern but had to be tatted from a diagram I've ever done. I think I did ok. The crinoline lady is a Pam Palmer pattern tatted in size 20. I love these ladies. I hope I can find more patterns for these. I'm not confident enough yet to create my own.

Easter Bunnies

The first pic is a pattern by Mark Myers and I tatted it in the color Peace since that's what I had on my shuttle at the time. I think he will be cute attached to one of my handmade cards.

The next pic is something we painted on rusty tin in acrylics. The second pic is the backside.

I just got three new books and four new threads so I'm anxious to try something new. There are so many things I want to make but there's so little time. I'll have plenty to do once I'm able to retire.

Playing with Thread

I've been experimenting with different weight thread. I was only using 80 weight but recently I've been working with 20, 40, and 50 weight. At first it felt like I was tatting with cord but after I got used to it I'm beginning to like the thicker weight. I especially like the size of the motifs once they're complete. I'm leaning towards the 20 weight right now. Here's a pic of some of the things I'm been experimenting with. All the threads are from Yarnplayer except the blue variegated which is DMC 80 weight. The edging is in 40 weight Snowflake color and the pattern if from Lyn Morton's book. The blue motif is also a pattern from Lyn Morton. The two pink variegated are Yarnplayer's Peace colorway and the patterns are off the internet. You can click on the image for a closer view.

I'm lucky I have a sister and friend I can send all these things to. They are both sewers and use them in there Crazy Quilting. What do you do with all the things you've tatted?

Tatting & Turtles

The turtles are painted in oils from a photo taken while on vacation in Cozumel, Mexico. I also have a painting of dolphins that go with this but I will post that another time.

I've been working on little bits of tatting. Here are a couple I can show. The rest are going to someone so I can't show those. I'm trying to come out of my shell and try other size tatting thread other than size 80 so I tried size 40 and it felt like I was tatting with cord. I see a lot of other tatters using size 20 so I bought some of that but haven't tried it yet. What about silk thread? Can someone tell me what that's like to tat with? I've been reading other tatting blogs and trying to get current with what's going on. I welcome any advice or hints.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tatting Baskets

Aren't these fantastic!! My sister made these for me. I think if you double click the photo you can get a closer look at them. She is an awesome quilter. You can check out her blog at http://fabricfun-everythingquilts.blogspot.com/. Now I can throw away my plastic grocery bags I've been using.

The other photo is some paper projects we made on Thurs. night. The one on the right has a peppermint patty in the middle. I wonder how long that is going to last! The one on the left is just a basic greeting card.

I hope to post a couple of acrylic painting projects I've been working on in the next couple of days. I have some assembly to do on them first.

Thanks for stopping by.

Quick! Someone get some water

I've been trying to post for the last several days but my computer is not playing nice. Thanks to my sister I can show a pic of two candle holders I painted. If you look closely you can see he has caught his nose on fire. These were painted with acrylics. The third picture is a snowflake I tatted with Yarnplayer's HDT Rose color. I love her hand dyed threads. The pattern is Jon's Quantiesque Snowflake. I would link to it but I haven't learned how to do that yet. My sister has her hands full with trying to teach me how to do this blogging thing. Thanks for stopping by.

Oil Painting

Here is an oil painting that is one of my sister's favorites. She's been wanting me to post it. So here it is. This was painted at a Robert Warren seminar. Most of my oils are done at his studio. He's an excellent teacher and has his own method he teaches that makes shading and highlighting much easier to achieve. This is his design also. I wish this was my house but we painted this from a photo.

I also want to thank everyone for stopping by and leaving me such nice comments. I'm still trying to learn how to do certain things and eventually hope to make my blog page look as nice as some of the others I've seen.

I'm also working on tatting Jon's Quantiesque Snowflake and I will post a pic once it's completed.

Testing 1, 2, 3

This is my first attempt at posting on a blog. I'm going to attempt to share some of the crafts I dabble in. First off I painted my header. This was done with acrylics and painted on the back sides of dominoes. It was then glued to a frame I also painted. The whole thing probably cost less than $5 to do. So if you have dominoes laying around give it a try. This was a lot of fun to do. Next is a tatted crinoline lady I made for my sister. She does a lot of sewing and crazy quilting. I can't wait to see what she does with it. I got this pattern off the internet somewhere. I've looked at so many different tatting blogs and sights I can't remember where I found it.

Thanks for stopping by.