I have a question for those of you who have been blogging for a while now. What is the secret behind photos that open larger in a new window v.s. those that don't respond when clicked on?
There are pictures of quilts I'd like folks to be able to see the details in but inevitably those are the ones that won't respond when you click on it. Then on my detail shots when you click on 'em you get a bigger version in a new window! Of course it doesn't always work this way but I can't figure out what the trick is. I know there are other new bloggers out there who would like the answer to this question too. (Blogger Help isn't as helpful as one would wish.)
Thanks in advance for whatever advice you can offer!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Playtime!
A post or two ago I mentioned that I was not in the mood to bind or otherwise finish off my Gemini journal quilt or my TIF postcard quilt. I wasn't even interested in starting the beading on my journal quilt for February (or finishing the beading on October's for that matter!). No, I wanted something new and different.
I got into my bright scraps again and started piecing bits together with no preconceived plan in mind. Then I thought of Bonnie's tutorial for maverick stars. Hmmm. Put on my mask and got down Gwen Marsten's book, Liberated Quiltmaking. These are the result:
Yesterday I actually sewed the parts together so I have complete stars now. And I did some additional random piecing of half-square triangles and strips. I don't have pictures of the rest of it yet, but you'll get to see it eventually.
Later that day my friend C~ stopped by to give me a gift. Woohoo! She's teaching a make-it and take-it sort of class a couple times a month. This week she taught her class members how to make a tissue box cover. Her class sample featured a Halloween print:
How cute is that! And it's MINE! It doesn't look too fiddly to make, takes less than a fat quarter's worth of fabric... I may have to make some myself and give them as gifts too!
I got into my bright scraps again and started piecing bits together with no preconceived plan in mind. Then I thought of Bonnie's tutorial for maverick stars. Hmmm. Put on my mask and got down Gwen Marsten's book, Liberated Quiltmaking. These are the result:
Yesterday I actually sewed the parts together so I have complete stars now. And I did some additional random piecing of half-square triangles and strips. I don't have pictures of the rest of it yet, but you'll get to see it eventually.
Later that day my friend C~ stopped by to give me a gift. Woohoo! She's teaching a make-it and take-it sort of class a couple times a month. This week she taught her class members how to make a tissue box cover. Her class sample featured a Halloween print:
How cute is that! And it's MINE! It doesn't look too fiddly to make, takes less than a fat quarter's worth of fabric... I may have to make some myself and give them as gifts too!Thursday, February 28, 2008
Cyber Fyber Swap and Exhibit
Recently when I was blog browsing I found out about Susan Lenz's Cyber Fyber postcard and ATC swap. (I forget how I got there.) There were only a few postcards up for grabs, but I got one!
To quote Susan: This postcard was made from a background of black linen with heavily painted Wonder Under (Bond-a-Web). It was created shortly after my first machine embroidery class (under Valerie Campbell-Harding). To it was stitched a scrap from an old cross stitch based on the 6th century mosaics in Ravenna's Sna Vitale church. The reverse is a Japanese postcard brought back by my elder son Mathias after his first trip. It is signed and dated in ink. (You can't see it very well in my photograph but she has done some decorative stitching in metallic threads in the background areas.)
In return, of course, I had to make and send her a postcard.
I dug around in my scrap bits and pieces and found something that almost measured the required 4" x 6". All I had to do was add a corner and then quilt/embellish it. Susan was asking for predominantly fiber cards. I took that to mean a minimum of 3-D embellishments, which posed something of a challenge for me since I've been so busy sewing beads on quilts lately! I did some machine stitching first, then broke out the embroidery floss to add some accent lines and dots. In the end I couldn't resist adding a few sequins and beads.
To quote Susan: This postcard was made from a background of black linen with heavily painted Wonder Under (Bond-a-Web). It was created shortly after my first machine embroidery class (under Valerie Campbell-Harding). To it was stitched a scrap from an old cross stitch based on the 6th century mosaics in Ravenna's Sna Vitale church. The reverse is a Japanese postcard brought back by my elder son Mathias after his first trip. It is signed and dated in ink. (You can't see it very well in my photograph but she has done some decorative stitching in metallic threads in the background areas.)
In return, of course, I had to make and send her a postcard.
I dug around in my scrap bits and pieces and found something that almost measured the required 4" x 6". All I had to do was add a corner and then quilt/embellish it. Susan was asking for predominantly fiber cards. I took that to mean a minimum of 3-D embellishments, which posed something of a challenge for me since I've been so busy sewing beads on quilts lately! I did some machine stitching first, then broke out the embroidery floss to add some accent lines and dots. In the end I couldn't resist adding a few sequins and beads.
I did all my stitching through the top and a layer of Warm & Natural batting. To finish the raw edges I applied narrow strips of black fabric to the front, wrapped them to the backside, then stitched in the ditch to hold them in place. I was nervous about stitching through a postcard so I used a piece of watercolor paper instead. It's stouter than regular paper and acid free but not quite as heavy as the postcard Susan's artwork is mounted on. I used a zig-zag stitch to secure the watercolor paper to the quilted piece, keeping my stitches within the black border created by my 'binding.' All in all I was satisfied with the way it turned out.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
7 Random Things
I'm feeling a little blue this morning. Well, more than a little really. The sky has turned gray again, it rained overnight, and I think I must have been exposed to something yesterday that has not yet worn off. Either my resistance is up (hurray!) or it was a very mild exposure because I wasn't even aware that it had happened until I realized last night that I was cold and cranky. This mild depression signals the tail end of the recovery process. Let's just say I'll be glad when it's over and leave it at that.
Freebird tagged me to reveal seven random things about myself and then tag 5 other bloggers to do the same. Here are my seven random facts:
1. I am the oldest of four siblings. I haven't seen my brothers in person in the last few years but I think it's safe to say that of the four I have the least amount of gray hair! (Without benefit of dye I might add.)
2. I attended three colleges for one year each but do not have a degree from any of them. I earned a certificate in animal health management from the last college. I think if I had known about ART and could have studied in that field I might actually have made it to a Bachelor's degree!
3. I wear an Elmo wristwatch.
4. I would rather sweep than vacuum. Vacuum cleaners are too loud and cumbersome. Give me a hard surface floor over a carpeted one any day!
5. I think my favorite cartoons from my youth were the "Fractured Fairy Tales" on the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.
6. I have lived in six states: Michigan, Ohio, North and South Carolina, Texas, and Washington.
7. I buy cut flowers for myself. I started doing this a couple of years ago, probably shortly after my diagnosis of chemical intolerance. My DH has been seriously allergic to air borne pollen since childhood so he sees flowers as sneezeweeds and nothing more. It doesn't occur to him to bring me flowers except on rare occasions, and even then he'd rather gift me with something else. Fortunately, not all flowers set him off. Since flowers lift my spirits I decided that I'd rather have them around to enjoy while I'm alive than at my funeral so I started buying them for myself!
These are some I have on the kitchen counter right now. (You can see how gray it is outside from the picture!) The pussywillows add a touch of spring to the mums. I've been tempted by the more colorful primroses at the market but I'm afraid I won't get them in the ground before they expire!
Now, the five bloggers I'd like to invite to play this game are:
1. Embellisher
2. A Bead Lady
3. Connie at Life Scraps and Patches
4. Helene
5. Beadin' Gram
I'm off to go tell them they've been tagged :- )
Freebird tagged me to reveal seven random things about myself and then tag 5 other bloggers to do the same. Here are my seven random facts:
1. I am the oldest of four siblings. I haven't seen my brothers in person in the last few years but I think it's safe to say that of the four I have the least amount of gray hair! (Without benefit of dye I might add.)
2. I attended three colleges for one year each but do not have a degree from any of them. I earned a certificate in animal health management from the last college. I think if I had known about ART and could have studied in that field I might actually have made it to a Bachelor's degree!
3. I wear an Elmo wristwatch.
4. I would rather sweep than vacuum. Vacuum cleaners are too loud and cumbersome. Give me a hard surface floor over a carpeted one any day!
5. I think my favorite cartoons from my youth were the "Fractured Fairy Tales" on the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.
6. I have lived in six states: Michigan, Ohio, North and South Carolina, Texas, and Washington.
7. I buy cut flowers for myself. I started doing this a couple of years ago, probably shortly after my diagnosis of chemical intolerance. My DH has been seriously allergic to air borne pollen since childhood so he sees flowers as sneezeweeds and nothing more. It doesn't occur to him to bring me flowers except on rare occasions, and even then he'd rather gift me with something else. Fortunately, not all flowers set him off. Since flowers lift my spirits I decided that I'd rather have them around to enjoy while I'm alive than at my funeral so I started buying them for myself!
These are some I have on the kitchen counter right now. (You can see how gray it is outside from the picture!) The pussywillows add a touch of spring to the mums. I've been tempted by the more colorful primroses at the market but I'm afraid I won't get them in the ground before they expire!Now, the five bloggers I'd like to invite to play this game are:
1. Embellisher
2. A Bead Lady
3. Connie at Life Scraps and Patches
4. Helene
5. Beadin' Gram
I'm off to go tell them they've been tagged :- )
Monday, February 25, 2008
Lady Bird's Vision
Sorry it's been so long since I last checked in. I meant to post yesterday but I got so distracted by reading everyone else's blogs that I ran out of time!
I have finished the beading on my postcard quilt for the Take It Further challenge. You may recall that the concept for this month was "What are you old enough to remember?" What stood out in my mind from my childhood was the news about Lady Bird Johnson's vision for the national highways to be planted with native flowers. In doing my research for this project I learned that her vision extended beyond that to "clean water, clean air, clean roadsides, safe waste disposal and preservation of valued old landmarks as well as great parks and wilderness areas." Well, since I'm only making postcard size quilts for this series I had to keep my focus pretty narrow!
I lived in Texas for about 14 years and had opportunities to see the wildflowers in bloom along the roadsides there. My postcard may be a little more densely beaded than I originally intended but honestly, when the wildflowers are in bloom it's solid flowers on both sides of the road!
Here's a side view of the quilt just to give you some idea of the dimensionality of the beads. It's a full quarter inch from the table to the top of the orange bead stacks.
I still have to back the quilt and finish the edges. I've never been thrilled with the look of zig-zagged raw edges, at least when I do it. I don't enjoy the process either. I don't have the patience required to get a nice smooth finish! So I'm playing around with ideas for alternative edge finishes. I also still have to back and bind my Gemini journal quilt but right now I'm not in the mood to do either. I think it might be time to start a new project...
I have finished the beading on my postcard quilt for the Take It Further challenge. You may recall that the concept for this month was "What are you old enough to remember?" What stood out in my mind from my childhood was the news about Lady Bird Johnson's vision for the national highways to be planted with native flowers. In doing my research for this project I learned that her vision extended beyond that to "clean water, clean air, clean roadsides, safe waste disposal and preservation of valued old landmarks as well as great parks and wilderness areas." Well, since I'm only making postcard size quilts for this series I had to keep my focus pretty narrow!
I lived in Texas for about 14 years and had opportunities to see the wildflowers in bloom along the roadsides there. My postcard may be a little more densely beaded than I originally intended but honestly, when the wildflowers are in bloom it's solid flowers on both sides of the road!
Here's a side view of the quilt just to give you some idea of the dimensionality of the beads. It's a full quarter inch from the table to the top of the orange bead stacks.I still have to back the quilt and finish the edges. I've never been thrilled with the look of zig-zagged raw edges, at least when I do it. I don't enjoy the process either. I don't have the patience required to get a nice smooth finish! So I'm playing around with ideas for alternative edge finishes. I also still have to back and bind my Gemini journal quilt but right now I'm not in the mood to do either. I think it might be time to start a new project...
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