The Origin and Progress of a Species - My Blog and Others

Anne Stradal announced, along with her new post today, that her blog is now two years old.

(The Cape Stitcher) Amazing. I decided to go back to my own origins and see when I started mine. I had no idea what I was doing, but mercifully, I had "met" Allison Aller, who graciously pointed out the errors of my ways and helped me along.

Mine began on September 13, 2006. YIKES I had no idea how to do it. I didn't even separate it into paragraphs. I had already fallen under the spell of the art crazy quilters, and had stitched this small stocking for my older daughter, Marie. Four years later, I'm still mesmerized by this style, and continue to attempt to replicate those gorgeous things in needlepoint - the embellishment being almost instant gratification.

Originally, I didn't intend for it to be a totally needlepoint blog, and wanted to use a lot of the crafts I do, including my pottery - but gradually it became more needlepoint oriented.

Incidentally, these were taken from the first page of blog posts way back then - the one that shows Sept. 2006. You can click on that on the archives and see it from the beginning.

The next photo (taken with my first ancient second hand digital camera) is of two greeting cards I had used to make transparencies - the way we did it before the craft stores started selling something they called "transfer medium" and making it more expensive and complicated than it need be.


This was done with simple polymer medium. It was very enjoyable, and elegant decorative items were produced. I liked putting these onto candles, as when they were lighted, the light glowed through the picture.

I also put them onto glass vases (on the inside) and then backed them with gold leaf - gorgeous vases for dried plant material.

Today I was crusing around the blogs as I do each morning, and found that Kris of Kris' Color Stripes has changed her format, and is doing her colors a different way. They are perfectly beautiful the way she presents them, and easier to use, I think, to create our own color schemes for needlework.

Be sure to go see her HERE, and click on "colour files" on the left side bar to see what she will present every Monday. This is her very first one on the new blog, and I look forward to many more.

Needlepoint Now (We've come a long way!)

I'm still in the process of going through boxes in the garage, trying to find things from the big move - and dug out my Madeline's needlework bag I had given her several years ago. As she was the daughter of two lawyers, she actually had a will at the age of 13, and left me this lovely bag and its contents.

Now that it's been a little over two years since we lost her, I could go through it without shattering into pieces - and found the very first issue of Needlepoint Now that I wrote my article for. It was May/June of 2007. Funny thing - Carole Lake was my neighbor, but we never had time to meet for coffee at the neighborhood coffee place for a good giggle and gossip session.

Anyway, writing for this magazine has been a life-line that has held me together, as I told Elizabeth Bozievich not long ago - it's what has kept me going for the last few years, as it came at a time when great stress and crisis were beginning, and I was just recovering from a near fatal episode of heart disease - things like a son going to Iraq, and my children deciding I needed to move out of my house and into my daughter's guest quarters to be sure I had proper care. (I was not nice about that one!!)

To back up a bit, I think I was primed and ready for it when Joyce Lukomski asked me to do it, as I had spent recovery time playing with my new toy - the computer my son gave me. I was given two or three months time left on this planet, but put off exiting, as I found the art crazy quilters, and the wonderful world of blogs, and new inspiration for needlepoint design just everywhere I looked, as well as wonderful friends I never knew were "out there." - so had to put it off a while. (That was 4 1/2 years ago).


Then just when I was facing the big move 3 1/2 years ago, Joyce contacted me - and it has given me a continuity of purpose and the next deadline to meet, and the next project to work on - something organized and necessary on which to focus!! I'm ever so grateful this opportunity came along.

I lost my beloved granddaughter two years ago, and without the article to think about, I would probably by this time have fallen into a heap of useless rubble on the floor.

I was in my replications of crazy quilts phase in this first article, and Allison Aller, who had become my dearest internet friend (Allie's in Stitches) pieced a special square for me to use - but in the final proofing, the un-embellished one was shown. Oh well. It's a beauty even without embroidery.

I didn't realize until tonight, looking through the magazine, that Liz Morrow (Lizart) had a nice spread in that one. At the time, I had no idea who she was - this one is called "Flowers of Color," which surprises me, as Liz is normally thought of as the best of the bargello ladies. I do enjoy communicating with her by e-mail. (Love this internet thing)

The ads are different in the 2007 issue from the way it looks in this current issue - I think ornament designs are more plentiful and more vibrant, or something. (Elizabeth is doing a great job, as is the "ad lady" Sarah!)

Also, I was amused by this Kreinik ad, as it touts the "gourmet" metallics as the newest thing. How far they've come now with the Holographic series - and gourmet, yummy as it is, is old hat.

A Beautiful Quilt - both "Crazy" and "Sane"

The very first crazy quilts that really inspired me to adapt to needlepoint (since I studied the Victorian quilts in the 70's) were made by Allison Aller of "Allie's in Stitches."

I found her, and also Sharon Boggon (Pintangle) when looking for the vintage crazies, and it only took me a short while to become really addicted to this new art form. Her "Crazy for Flowers" was in progress then (an award winning quilt that year), and I was enchanted and hooked, although departures from tradition are difficult for me sometimes.

This morning I found that she has started a new quilt, and is using this one - a vintage quilt that combines both "sane" and "crazy." It clearly demonstrates, of course, the difference in the terminology, and I intend to follow it every step of the way, as she will embellish it in her own way, and I'm sure it will be enchanting, as is everything she does.

Art Crazy Quilts are fascinating to me, although I am not fond of hand sewing - or the labor of backing, etc. - all the things that go into finishing one, so for handwork I stick to knitting and needlepoint. Of course there is always the consideration that I will find something to adapt for a new needlepoint design. (Allie says she will convert me yet.)

Anyway - if you haven't already begun to follow this blog, do go take a look, as she is at the very beginning of making this quilt, and her tutorials are great - very clear and easy to understand.

As a designer, I find that I enjoy these fiber arts blogs immensely - especially the crazy quilters. There is a lot of inspiration through beautiful images that seem to imprint on the mind, and it was with these lovely quilts that I became interested in silk ribbon embroidery about 10 years ago.

More Silk Ribbon and Color!

This heart is another piece that was totally inspired by an art crazy quilt - even the colors. At this point, I was fascinated with replicating as closely as possible in needlepoint, the fabrics used.

While the background fabrics are important, as they determine the general color scheme, they are secondary to the surface embellishment - the seam treatments and embroidery. I have seen needlepoint crazy quilt misinterpreted and used as nothing more than just patches of decorative stitches - this misses the point, and also eliminates the fun part!



















On the detail, the arrow points to a section that on the original quilt was a patch cut from a silk tie. I got "the look" by using Hungarian Criss Cross, and inserting beads in the spaces where usually just another stitch is made - very effective in these two colors!.

The close-up also shows the simple silk ribbon flowers. The white ones were made with simple "ribbon stitch" in 7mm ribbon, and the buds are just very loose French Knots worked with the same. I made the details in the flowers with two plies of Soy Luster - tiny French knots at the ends of the yellow stamens and in the centers.

The swag of roses was done with two shades of 4mm green ribbon - making the light leaves first, and then going back over them with the dark. The roses are French knots worked with Thread Gatherer 4mm overdyed ribbon. At this point, it's kind of like painting with your needle, and is really fun - instant gratification here. You can also see the other seam treatments, which are just simple embroidery stitches - like fly stitch, chevron, and buttonhole..

The next detail shows the patch with beads - worked in offset Mosaic stitch with beads placed in the blank spots left. The arrows point in the direction of the stitches - the way the thread slants, which is also the way the beads are placed. I have seen some confusion on this point - where people attempt to place the beads end to end instead of putting them on simply as another tent stitch. As even the round ones have a tendency to look like bugle beads when placed this way, they appear awkward and crowded.
The tiger skin mini-sock is a bit off the subject, but it demonstrates clearly how the beads should lie. I turned the canvas on this one so as to have the heel and toe going in different directions - it looks like sparkly diagonal stripes this way.

The pattern and instructions for the CQ heart are on my web page as an e-pattern, as people have been asking for the patterns for them. It's a really fun way to experiment with embroidery techniques and silk ribbon! I have also put my bead book there, divided into two chapters. I just finished putting an ornament on the Freebies, etc. site - with a swatch of "lace" as a seam treatment. Go take a look!

Silk Ribbon Daffodils and Beaded Jewels

The March version of "Crazy for Birthdays" is finished, complete with daffodils the way I remember them blooming in the pastures in east Texas long ago.

I left the blue patch on the upper left bare of embellishment, as it is the glorious spring sky! It's a little bumpy because it might rain. This stitch is a good example to show the difference in the intensity of a color when the light hits the long stitches, (light and shiny) and then is broken up by the tiny basketweave in between to be a bit darker and duller. The thread is Caron's Soie Cristale.

The flowering peach tree branch is now against a background of dewdrops - the clear Sundance beads, #250, which were applied with DMC floss in the yellow to match the yellow petite Very Velvet.
I really enjoy using these totally clear beads, as so many different effects can be achieved. I would not have used the hexagonal #250 here, as those glitter beautifully, but I wanted dewdrops and not icicles.

I may decide yet to put a little spray of wisteria hanging from the top of the blue patch - later. It could probably be done with the needle blending technique and cotton floss that Anne Stradal uses to make skies for her lighthouses - I would make the flowers in French knots, and progress from darker purple at the top down to white at the bottom of the blossom.

I forgot to mention the bracelet of aquamarines - I used beads for these, as they needed to sparkle. I did look up the symbolism for the daffodils and aquamarines, but forgot where I put it. Oh well.

New DMC and Crazy for March!

I discovered last week that DMC has a new floss out called "Satin Floss" - This is a rayon floss, but many many times better than the old one they discontinued. I remember trying to use that about ten years ago, and giving up - great colors and wonderful shine, but difficult to work with. This new version is slippery, as rayons are, (Neon Rays and YLI Ribbon Floss) - but is a smooth, firm thread with six plies, so is much more versatile, and easy to handle - can also be used on different canvas meshes.

My new practice supply came just in time to use it on the March "Crazy for Birthdays" heart, where it gave me a bit of fine looking shine on the purple fly stitch between two silk patches. I used two plies, doubled, and a slip knot next to the eye of the needle - (4 plies) - and it worked fine.
The contrast against the dark green PVV is especially nice. I didn't want to use metallics on this piece, as I felt that wouldn't look like spring.

Here is the entire heart showing the embroidered seam treatments - instant gratification!

















As I was imagining the display of daffodils I plan to do tomorrow when I'm rested and can concentrate, I looked out my studio window, and there was a peach tree flowering already - the perfect thing for the space on the lower right!!
At first, I got out a skein of overdyed silk ribbon, but realized the flowers would look more like roses than peach blossoms in the little two wrap French knots I like. The next choice was Caron's Watercolours, which worked fine. The branch is DMC cotton floss in stem stitch - I just painted it on with my needle and thread as one would draw with a pencil on paper. Not difficult at all.



















I'm off to read and relax now, and plan to do the daffodils tomorrow after coffee. I have the December heart to look at, as the daffodils will just be the same thing, but all yellow with the trumpet a tiny bit larger.

Working on Birthday Hearts

Now there are four in progress! The background on March is finished, and August almost. Time to start the embellishment with silk ribbon, which is the fun part.

I got distracted from January and didn't get it finished when I needed it - but it's moving along nicely now. I changed the colors a bit from the original start. It's strange how I can feel and "see" the colors for each month before I start them.

To explain, I'm seeing January as cold with the colors rather low intensity - and the greens are the colors of pines and spruce trees (I loved Tyler, Texas and then Tallahassee in the winter when I lived in those places.) Also, these greens will be beautiful background for the January flower - the carnation.

The two whites are just two different textures for snow and ice, which is wishful thinking living in Texas. I used one of my favorite techniques on the Petite Very Velvet white patch - where you see the little blue dots. I put the Sundance #250 clear beads there - not the hexagonal but the plain ones, as I didn't want glitter as used on December. The garnets were made with beads, and that would have been a distraction.
April is just far enough along to have the colors and stitches selected and placed. The colors appear much like January, but at higher intensity (brighter). This is how I see this, my favorite month of the year - bright and beautiful spring with blue skies. Also, these colors will be wonderful with the colors of the sweet peas.
When I saw the bricks in this picture, I knew the effect was too good to lose - but instead of making actual brick-like stitches, I decided to use a subtler effect - can't remember the name of this stitch, but I've used it before and like it very much. It is a slanted stitch, but has the appearance of being upright.
And last is August almost done - but I can go ahead and start the silk ribbon features. I'm really looking forward to adding the gladioli - Jean at River Silks helped me choose the ribbon, as I just sent her a picture of the flowers, and she matched the 4mm silk ribbon to the real flowers - gorgeous!! I hope I can do it justice.

"Crazy for March" the background

The background is finished for March, and I think I'm pleased with the colors - which remind me of early spring when the wild daffodils bloom in the fields. Even the intense blue of the sky seems right - (Soie Cristale by Caron). I have to make these patches a lot simpler than for the regular crazy quilt pieces, as the jewels and flowers are the most important elements for this series, along with the seam treatments. I can get a bit more imaginative with the crazy quilt ornaments not intended for a theme.

I wasn't sure what was on my mind with the light purple patch until I finished the whole thing - but now I see it is like the wisteria that blooms and cascades from every tree and telephone pole this time of year (at least in Tallahassee - not in Austin).

I'll start the embellishments tomorrow, I hope, and then get back to April and it's diamonds and sweet peas.

CQ Birthday Heart: January

Lately I've wondered if I started my Freebies blog just so I could change the header every month and use the Crazy of the Month. I just realized that for needlepoint purposes, January is almost here - and I have no CQ heart to celebrate.

During the last few days, I have started "seeing" the images in my head, so gave in to it today and made the sketches. I had already looked at images and symbolism for garnets on the internet, and have felt that only the antique jewelry would do for this. (I had a college roommate who collected antique garnet lavoliers - beautiful things!) Anyway, this one took some serious doodling on scrap canvas to get the effect I wanted. The beads were already in my stash - the Sundance size 14, color #315. For the first time in quite a while, I was unable to see a curved seam on this crazy quilt.

The next step was to go ahead and draw the heart onto canvas, and place the "necklace" - stitch by stitch. Being an impatient person, I had to stitch the gold (Kreinik metallic braid V002) and a few "jewels." The beads were such a perfect color I didn't dig any further into my stash for the garnets! So far, these are the colors that seem right for the project - but, as always, I'm sure the thing will have a mind of its own, and will dictate what goes where as the work progresses.

Carnations are the flowers, and I have chosen probably to use the traditional shades of pink and white - and will do them with silk ribbon, of course. Seam treatments will be stitched on top of the work when it's finished.

Glitter and Sparkle: (Beads for December)

I worked on this a little bit last night and today as a break from "priorities." Never mind that the Holly looks somewhat like a climbing rose - I couldn't find any overdyed 2mm ribbon, (which would have made better holly berries), so I used the Caron Watercolours overdyed cotton - and they look more like roses than berries.

The leaves are made with 7mm silk ribbon, which was another great favor from Jean Krynicki at River Silks, as I asked her to send me something that looked like holly, and it's perfect! However, my aspirations of making little spiky looking edges failed - the leaves are small, as is the area, and all I made after an hour or so fooling with one leaf, was a big mess. When doing these things, I search the internet for images of the real plants and flowers rather than going to books on the silk ribbon version. I learned the stitches from my favorites - Judith Baker Montano's SILK RIBBON EMBROIDERY and ELEGANT STITCHES. After that, I prefer looking at pictures or at the real thing and making my own interpretations with the stitches I've learned. In this case, I failed miserably at spiky leaves. Oh well. It gives the impression, hopefully, of a spray of Holly - it IS green with red berries.

I used a burgundy color Kreinik Vintage metallic braid to make the chain stitch seam treatment, as I needed something close to red in this area, but not exactly bright red- too distracting. You can also see the beginning of a branch of mistletoe, but it will probably get lost in the leaves and berries. At least it gives me a placement direction.

As for beads, I used the glittering Sundance #250 hexagonals applied with white cotton floss - against the white Petite Very Velvet, they make an effect like sun sparkling on new snow. Notice in the close-up that the beads are NOT placed end to end, which would be crowded and not nearly as attractive.

The blue patch, which will have an overflow (hopefully) of narcissus, is beaded also with Sundance #250 beads - but in the plain finish and not the hexagonal. They are applied in this case with blue cotton floss about the same color as the Petite Very Velvet background. This is so much more subtle than using blue beads - much prettier, I think. Also, these clear beads have an iridescent finish that takes on the background color. The patch needed some texture, but not as in textured decorative stitches. I always have to cheat in that I want to see what the beads are going to look like - and this is O.K., as long as the beads won't intrude where silk ribbon embroidery will be placed. It would waste time, effort, and beads, and make it difficult for the ribbon to lie where it should.

Cheating is good for impatient people like me.

Blooming Roses in SRE - June CQ finished!

The rose bush is finished with mainly spider web roses, but a few French knots included. I chose the background colors, I think, for compatibility with this gorgeous Tropicana Rose I love (as well as for the soft colors of early summer on the beach) - my sister used them in her wedding.

The leafy vine below the rose bush is for the memory I have of my mother's beloved "Lady Banksia" that she trained on a trellis outside my bedroom window when I was a child. These roses were yellow, of course - but I didn't want to introduce yellow into this color scheme - just used the image in my head of those cascading branches with clusters of little roses throughout the length.I think the use of the "trellis" effect on the upper right side is probably from another image of these roses in my head.

I used my favorite effect here for a bit of sparkle/shine in a subtle way - the clear Sundance beads #250 applied with DMC floss in the lighter color - great look without creating something too busy.

There was another popular climbing/cascading rose at the same time that crawled across the entire back fence - "Paul Scarlet." These were a gorgeous red with overtones of pink. The effect of the cascading branches was the same.

I totally enjoyed working on the June birthday heart - the colors were pleasant and the stitches were simple, as I didn't want the embellishments overpowered by texture.

Now - on to December. Then I will back up and do August, as it, too, has bright and wonderful colors - those of late summer!

"Jewels" in Needlepoint (and progress on Nov.)

First the November "Crazy for Birthdays" - I have the seam treatments finished (didn't take long, of course) and a spray of leaves in silk ribbon across the bottom. Now for some creative avoidance, as I am still a little bit afraid of the chrysanthemums. In working with silk ribbon to create flowers on needlepoint, I learned from Judith Montano's books about ten years ago the stitches - but to create my own flowers, I work from either nature or from flowers in photographs. Images on the internet have really been helpful!

I saw a mistake after I took the photograph on the next to the last topaz close to the bottom. Oh dear. I'll just improvise and cover the boo-boo with a French knot or something clever.

I have been receiving the catalogs from the Art Museums lately, and it occurred to me that I could make much more imaginative arrangements of these jewels-of-the-month by making replicas of bracelets - so I got on a roll and started several more. The jewels need to be stitched first, as I can then see better what colors to use and where to put them. This is December with the turquoises! I have already chosen three of the colors I want to use, and of course keep in mind the narcissus and holly that are the "flowers" for this month. The dots are for bead placement. I want to stay away from making this heart look like Christmas - but will stay with what is right for the month. It will have holly and mistletoe, as those are at their best in December - and it will sparkle with beads! I did find some wonderful enameled "holly" jewelry in the catalog from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That was my inspiration for doing the holly here. (later in silk ribbon)

I had already started "June," so continued to choose the textures and place colors - pearls and roses are easy! I have decided to only use five patches on each of these, as the main focus is on the jewel and the flowers - much too busy to do lots of little patches.

The peridots I am pleased with (for August) - as is my daughter. I have enjoyed the attempt to make "bracelets" on the curved seam. It's quite a challenge, as Needlepoint canvas is square.

The diamonds for April are made with beads - the Sundance #250Hex, as they glitter beautifully. I couldn't find a thread that would produce the effect I needed - so this worked out well. I will probably leave this project along for a while, as far as new designs - but will continue to work on the ones I have - I think that makes seven of them!!

September TIF Colors and November Birthday CQ

The September colors appeared, and solved a dilemma I've had with the colors for my November "Crazy for Birthdays" ornament - The Topaz is right there, as are the colors so compatible with it and suitable for a fall theme. I like the brighter intensities of the artwork, though, so brightened my thread selections accordingly. The blue Mandarin floss in the picture with the heart looks almost turquoise on my screen, but in real life it is a lovely, soft greyed blue.

I have had to approach this series a bit differently from my other crazy quilt pieces, as the jewels and flowers are the main features, and must be considered when choosing the other colors. I had already decided to use gold beads to make the "topaz" bracelet, as there were no threads that really looked right - so here they are! I used YLI Honey gold ribbon floss for the warp stitches, and Sundance #4 gold beads for the weft - and they give the effect I wanted.

I had already gone through my stash and pulled out lots of fibers in the colors above, and will make the final choices as I go. The gold settings for the jewels were stitched with Kreinik 002V braid, as the soft gleam is so pretty with the sparkle of the beads - sparkling gold braid would have been too much. These designs are only divided into five or six sections, as the flowers and jewels are the focus, so I wanted to not have them quite as busy as some of the others I've done.

The next step was to pull out my silk ribbon - this from River Silks, but I had to send Jean an emergency S.O.S., as the colors are a bit too bright, in my opinion, for the chrysanthemums I will make - after a lot of practice, of course, and a lot of searching for flower images on the internet. I had no idea so many sizes and shapes existed! I'm thinking about lists now, as that is the "thought" part of the challenge for this month - and already am examining my own habits. I have enjoyed so much these Challenges, as a lot of introspection has resulted, and I have examined different aspects of my life, habits, and way of thinking and working (and taking a few breaks!)

Now I have to get back to "October," which is almost ready for flowers and seam treatments. This could get confusing.

October and Opals (and evolution in design)

Crazy for Birthdays for October is coming along nicely, although it has had a mind of its own, and I don't think this was what I had envisioned in the beginning. I didn't want it to look "Halloween" - so just started with one color, and added more when the look was right. It will brighten up considerably when I add the flowers, which are yellow and orange Calendulas

Several people have asked me if the things I show here are my my designs - yes, most of them are, as this has been my work for over 40 years. These crazy quilt designs have been a process of evolution, as I started playing around with it again about ten years ago, after I discovered silk ribbon embroidery. Before I found the wonderful world of blogs, I was using Judith Montano's books - and then I found Sharon B. and her In A Minute Ago blog - and that led to Allie's in Stitches, when she was in the middle of her gorgeous "Crazy for Flowers," and I was hooked. This departure from the Victorian traditional has been enchanting, as I learned to use curved seams, and that it is O.K. to put an exuberant spray of flowers traveling across several patches instead of confining them to one at a time. (Allison has given me total permission to study and "plagiarize" her blocks, and lots of encouragement as well.)

I have also been asked recently several times if my designs may be purchased - they are available on my web page, Elegant Whimsies (the link is at the top right of this blog.) After so many years of doing painted canvas, I am now wanting to just share techniques, etc. and encourage people to design their own - and to use their own imaginations and creativity - so there are e-patterns for download for doing it yourself, and thereby avoiding the expense of most painted canvases. (including mine).

Lately, I have thoroughly enjoyed making a point of using ONLY threads and materials from my stash, which is rather out of control. It is exciting to be able to just dump it out, and choose colors as a design evolves - and not have to go to my LNS to buy anything. Exciting to be using threads I've had for years, and that were being wasted in the depths of dark boxes. In progress now is this ornament re-do. The original was made about five years ago - so last night I drew another one, and will be interested to see what happens. As I said - they have a mind of their own, and I just choose threads out of my stash as the right colors present themselves. This is a great way to make ornaments in traditional shapes - practice new stitches and learn techniques!!

TIFChallenge - Juggling vs. Balance?

But first the colors! I have pulled out, over the past week, everything I came across in my stash, as I raked through drawers and boxes looking for other things, (juggling projects in work) that are compatible with the beautiful colors this month. Actually, I have two more bags full of threads and beads and silk ribbons in these colors, as they are perennial favorites of mine. No room on my work table for them all right now - so here are a few for starters.


In my mind, I am beginning to see maybe a needlepoint crazy quilt purse front with these - adding a bit of Vintage metallic gold, of course. The usual M.O. for me is to sketch a design format first, and then pull out a few of the most compatible colors - (have to eliminate a bunch.) As I have said before, pre-planning doesn't always work.

As for "balance" - When I finished my education and set out to join the big circus called life, I found there are two separate acts - one is called "juggling" and one is called "balancing." The juggling, I believe, is getting everything done in a day that is required for maintaining home, children, husband, work, - all that goes along with necessary daily activities. It's quite a feat keeping all the balls in the air and turning smoothly and evenly. I see the "balancing" as walking along the high wire with a long pole held in both hands to keep us from tilting to one side and crashing down into oblivion. On one side, there is the juggling of necessity of the things of life. On the other side, there are the activities that give us respite and rest from these, which we do need on occassion. We need these in equal parts for good balance in our lives. This has been difficult for me, as I am a working artist - and a bit driven, so resting and taking a break usually involves some other artistic pursuit.


I joined this Take It Further Challenge "just because" to give myself that wonderful break that is creative, but yet has nothing to do with income producing activity or things expected of me by family and work. A walk on the beach is also a form of relief and release for me, as the wind blows away the cobwebs in my head - and I really need to do these things to achieve balance in my life between work and family on one side and rest and play on the other, ideally in equal parts. Sometimes it's hard to know the difference! I just found this in my pictures file - I also knit, which gives me a splendid break from needlepoint design - kind of shifts my gears and gives me a rest. This is from my "knitting with fabric strips" phase about two years ago - Yin and Yang!! Great illustration for "balance"

SRE and Beads on Crazy Quilt (in NP)

This reminds me of someone who is complimented on beautiful hands, but then points out that she needs a manicure - causing the total focus from then on to go to her ragged cuticles. I won't point out the things I'm not happy with here, as the end result isn't really too bad. Having stitched the silk ribbon leaves on the curved seam, the next thing to do was to make the stems - By doing this first, before making the flowers, it's easier to position the whole image. Then the flowers are made - and leaves (chain stitch) placed where they need to be. Again, this is like drawing and painting with the needle and thread - or, in this case, the silk ribbon - 4mm.

I labored for hours, it seemed, making zillions of French knots in the vine - and it seemed a bit heavy until the finishing touches were added to balance the weight - the beads and the little yellow flowers. As usual, nothing looks quite like I envisioned it - it just creates itself and surprises me. The old saying about a bit of yellow in Grandmother's flower garden also holds true in this color scheme - it needed a bit of "warming up."

I stopped with only three yellow flowers, as they would have been "too much" with any more. I had wanted to make a visual "circle" here - with the flowers swirling around - but any more would have been too heavy at the bottom, and too bright. I would rather have had beads without quite so much sparkle, but these were the ones in my stash that were the right color - so there they are! Not too bad. It was just too hot to make a trip to the LNS - and besides, I have resolved to use only the stash items whenever possible. I was looking at the lower right patch last night, with the greenish teal next to it, and struck me that this would be a very pretty color for a warmer, late late summer effect with maybe some orange California poppies on it! Then moving on to fall, I had already put another color scheme into a zip-loc bag that came about by accident - just lying on my table when I was digging around for something else - pretty!! Maybe I'll take a few more days off.