Process Reveal Day

Well it's finally done!  If you've been following this blog you know that I've been working on several things, but most recently a piece for Tangled Textiles.

Here it is.  Dad's Spirit Pillow.

Briefly, there is Celtic knotwork representing birch, cedar and willow; hand embroidery of wheat, and thread stitched cedar bows.  The maple leaf was from a friend who tried several different renditions for a project she was working on.  she chose not to use this one and gave it to me.

You can read more about the full process of this piece at the Tangled Textiles site.

A forest of pins

I've been busy trying to complete my challenge piece for Tangled Textiles.   I had written about the process here and here and here.  I've added some embroidery and done some cedar boughs with free motion stitching.  I just need to wash away the stabilizer on the cedar boughs.

I had already done some of these, but forgot to pin the boughs down.  I ended up with a jumble of thread.  Each needle on the bough had to be pinned down.  Looks like a forest of pins, doesn't it?

Reveal day is November 24th so I still have a day or two left.  The quilting and binding still need to be done.  I'd best get going.  Stop by to see the end result.

It's early but

there's no time like the present to make a few small ornaments that can be given to brighten a hospital room or senior's care home.  Amazing what one can come up with using a few equilateral triangles, some folds, and some beads.

 Sew the folded, beaded triangles together and you end up with a little Christmas tree, like this.

Still need to add the trunk and pot.  Additional beads will be strung where the asterisks are in the picture to represent ornaments.

Lest We Forget

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks still bravely singing fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved: and now we lie

In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw

The torch: be yours to hold it high

If ye break faith with us who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

---Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

A visit with Australian fabric

I belong to a group called "Quilters Without Borders".  When we meet we study the quilting aesthetic of other countries.  Our initial two meetings dealt with Japan.  Our last meeting (and I suspect this next one coming) dealt with Australia.

We are invited to create something that relates to what we have studied and invited to bring it to the following meeting to share.  Well of course this meant that I just had to go and add to my stash with some wonderful Australian fabric.

After doing some studying with mirrors,

I cut up the fabric into 60 degree diamonds and came up with this.

This was based on an aboriginal story about seven sisters, hence the pattern.  The Australian fabric I used have depictions of  waterholes and footprints which I thought fit with the legend.  There were enough diamonds left over that I created this little table topper too.

Now I'm off to work on my Tangled Textiles piece.

Till the next time...

"Do or do not; there is no try"-- Yoda