Snow in the Pacific Northwest!

We have snow.... a very unusual situation for us here in the Pacific Northwest.
 We don't have enough to be used to it and learn to drive in the stuff.  But it's BEAUTIFUL!  I took photos of our picnic table on the 14th, the 20th and today, the 22nd.  It is really stacking up!

The sun on the snow-laden trees and blue sky are a great combination.  This is the view right out my living room window of our pond.....currently covered in snow, and I assume frozen solid beneath.  We might even be able to skate there if this keeps up.                                                         Our marsh is already frozen solid across the four acres of it, and we had a community skating party there on Saturday.  It was marvelous to see the teenagers skating outdoors!  We had kids from age 2 to 16 and a multitude of adults of all ages.  Some of us skated and others stayed near the bonfire we built in a mortar basin on the shore.
 We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and had "some-mores".   Drinking cocoa from a mug at the edge of the frozen marsh is the ultimate!

Nov & December BJP finished

After a false start on my November BJP, I removed the beads and the fusible silk leaf I had created using a real leaf as a pattern.  It was not turning out the way I thought it would, and the silk edges were getting raggedy looking with the handling.  I was pleased that I could just pull off the fused silk leaf and return to the original fabric "canvas". 

 So I began another theme for November.  When I originally began this piece, things were going along normally for us, then Craig's mom suddenly was in the hospital and died within 6 days.  It was a shock.  Craig, of course, went back to say goodbye to her and be with his sister and brother for the memorial in Maine.   One of the things she told me was that a ring with an aquamarine stone in it should be mine after she died.  We shared a birth month and birth stone.  I loved the ring, and was glad that no one else really wanted it.  I am wearing it constantly, and am working on remembering good times with her. She was a difficult person.  So, my November block took a right turn and became kind of a family memorial.

  The turquoise beads are to remember the aquamarine stone in this ring. The divisions show that there were three children (with moonfaces for each child), one had no children (leaves) one had one child (one leaf) and one had three (three leaves).

The 5 large-ish discs in the upper left represents the original family... mom, pop, and three kids.  The bead towers in the upper middle right have four beads at the tops and they look like miniature crosses in an old cemetery.  There are eight of them.... for mom, pop, gram, mom-mom, pop-pop, Aunt Edna, Aunt Ella and Uncle Bub.  The four large dark flowers are the four granddaughters... Diana, Sarah, Shelley, and Jill.  And the four green leaves in a row represent the great-grandchildren (two of which are still to be born).

I am mostly happy with it as a "journal" piece, but it isn't the best workmanship I've done with beads.  

And then I began my December block.  I had chosen a really cool piece of hand-dyed fabric, and wanted to make use of the variations on it with the beads. I was spending the weekend caring for a couple of teenagers while their folks were away.  They need rides and someone to cook, be there "just in case" and sleep over.  So, I had lots of time to bead and just be available to the kids.  

It was a challenge for me to do something in basically a monochromatic color scheme.  I used some interesting square black matte beads for the first path snaking across.  I decided to try a "nine patch" (a quilt pattern)  in beads, and liked it so much that I continued and filled that whole space with a basket weave effect.  The square bead at the bottom is a wood bead that I got in Costa Rica.

I don't really have any journaling aspects on this one... just that Christmas is a festive time with red all around to decorate the dark places with vibrancy and life.  And one of the best parts for me is that December is only half way over and my BJP is finished!  On to 2009!

Our quilting guild is having a block exchange. Each month, one person presents the parameters for their quilt blocks.  Some people give just the dimensions, some request anything made out of batiks, some give a pattern, some fabric and then ask you to add some of your own.  All 11 people in your group go and during the month make the designated block for the person.  Then the next month, the people in that group bring back their finished blocks for her, and another person presents.  It goes on and on for 12 months, so you have 11 blocks made by others and your own to make 12.  And you  have made 11 blocks for others.  It is a great project as long as you don't let it overwhelm you.  

The first person in my group asked us to create  a block that represents your house, your dream house, your view out of your window (the real one or the imagined one!), your yacht, or your Fifth Wheeler.  I chose to do a modified version of my real house.  This is the cleaned up house I would like.  It's tidy and the flowers are all growing in the right places and not chewed to the ground by the deer.   We live in a log house in the forest with deer, raccoons, foxes and eagles as our neighbors.  We built the log house structure ourselves when we were young and foolish.   Now we're old and more desirous of some of the luxuries that other construction might allow.  Oh well!  This is my rendition of our house as viewed from the south side.  The left hand window on the second floor is a bedroom, and we have these lovely diamond paned windows in all the bedrooms.   So far the quilt block is totally done with fusibles and no stitching.... can't decide if I want to get into that..... she said it would just be a wall hanging, so it wouldn't need to be laundered.  I might do some beading and some machine stitching on it yet.... don't have to turn it back until the 5th of November, so can sit with it for a while and see how it feels!  

October Finished

I am astonished at myself. I sat down and finished this month's page today ..... it's only the 12th!!! I really enjoyed using closely hued beads to fade in and out to mimic the colors in the water-color fabric. I had drawn paisley type images in the lower right and top center of the page. The one in the lower right looked more like a leaf, so I put a leaf on it, but it wouldn't stay in place.... I could have glued it, but chose to hold it down with a bezel.  Those bead are a dark green, but they look almost black in the photo.    It got pretty heavy in terms of value, but I liked it that way at the bottom of the piece. As I was putting away my beads, I ran across some tiny metallic butterflies, so added three of them.

Changes to September

I realized as I was explaining this month's bead journal page to my daughter that the circle in the upper left hand corner was too out of place and glaring for the piece.  So, tonight I removed those light beads and replaced them with darker beads... some fabulous Charlottes that I have used in other areas of the piece.   I think I may be finished with it now!  I like the visual weight of the "grass" at the bottom to hold it down.  I think that this represents my only child.... a single large flower?  Her birthday is in September and her favorite colors are purple and green.  Oh yeh.... and did I mention that she is going to make me a grandmother in January?????

September in process

I have been waiting, not all that patiently, for my hands to get rested.  I finally decreed that they were well enough and began to search in earnest for my format for BJP 08-09.  I got out my beading stuff and found a block I started in May of last year... it was 2-1/2"x2-1/2" and I really liked what I started there.  So I decided that since only about 12 beads had been attached so far, it could easily be my September block and my format for the new BJP. (The beads I had attached were the matte flowers that flow from the lower right to the upper left with a size 11 bead on top of each... I had only put on 6 flowers with the beads on top)  I started work again on Friday, then on the ferry going both ways on Saturday when I was  on a trip with girlfriends to see the quilt show in La Conner, WA.  One of the vendors at the show had beads for sale, and I found some new-to-me leaf beads to immediately add to my block.   I will be adding more beads, but probably won't be totally covering this piece with beads.... leaving some of the fabric showing.  

Delay!

Well, it turns out that I did too much hand quilting at our county fair, so my hands are painful and I have to wait a bit for them to heal before I can do any tight work like beading.  BOO HOO!  I am in the planning stages again... have changed my mind about 6 times in the last two weeks.  Since I can't really start, I may change my mind 6 more times!  I have thought about crazy quilt pieces, puzzle pieces in about a 4x4" size, a puzzle in a 2x2" size, a color and texture study using 12 colors in sequential order, an under-water series, or a trees series.   I hope to be able to start by the end of the month..... pray that my hands will heal!  Actually, I would really like to do the "same" concept as someone else but not see theirs.... it would be fun to see how we both would interpret a subject.

About to begin anew!

Here it is almost September, and it's not only nearly time to start school again, but to begin our new Bead Journal Project for 2008/2009.  I have been toying with several ideas but haven't decided on one.  Last year's theme for me was flowers that were my own photos.  This year I'd like to do something that is more extemporaneous and less planned.  I think I will try to work a little smaller so I can be sure to finish within a month, so I will not be in a panic all year worrying that I won't finish in time.  I did finish in time last year, but much of the year, I was behind and it gnawed on my conscience.  I hate that panic feeling of being behind.   

Since I last wrote, we've found out that we're going to be first-time grandparents in January 2009.  Since our daughter, Sarahjoy, lives in Costa Rica, it will involve a trip to the tropics in the middle of the winter.... pretty hard to take!  LOL!  Unfortunately, their house is small, their business is growing (www.boyerotours.com) and they have a baby coming, which means they no longer have a guest room for us to use.  So, we are busy looking for something nearby that is more of an apartment than a hotel.  I have been looking on line for some places, and found a few... need to get our daughter's input.  

I have spent most of the last month working toward our county fair.

 I am the co-superintendent of the Textile Department at the San Juan County Fair in Friday Harbor, WA. That's me on the left in white and Christy H, also a BJP-er on the right in rose.   This year, the state judge awarded our department with the black and white ribbon for our fair.  Every year he/she gives this award to one department..... and I am proud to say that our department won it this year!  You can see how proud we are of this award-- two cheshire cats there!!  

Here is a photo of the whole barn from the end, so you can get the "flavor" of our little fair.  We are truly a small town fair!                            

Every year I look forward to the fair, and spend a lot of time there in that building.   Actually, except for bathroom  and lunch & dinner breaks, I spend most of five days sitting among the most beautiful creations made by our local artists. This year, I also demonstrated hand quilting on a beautiful antique Dresden Plate quilt top.  You can see the quilt frame there set up on the left.  

  Of course, just before the fair, I realized that the baby quilt that I was working on for our new grandchild would not see the fair if I didn't finish and enter it in this year's fair.  So, I pulled a couple of late night sewing and quilting sessions and finished it in time to enter it!  I named it "Star Baby".    It was all paper foundation pieced to get those peaky points.  Sarahjoy chose the fabrics and the block patterns, but she had no idea how I would place the fabrics.  I am pleased with the way it looks!  We will deliver it to her in January when we go down to Costa Rica to wait for/greet the baby.

I spent the week prior to the fair, sewing with my favorite 6-1/2 year old twin boys! They are infatuated with birds, and know names and habitats of all the different types of birds, so we sewed our own little birds. We stuffed them really hard, sewed on beads for eyes and added florists' wire for legs. They were so on task and devoted to the project! I was really surprised that they could concentrate for three hours a day to sew! We used my sewing machine, and they got to take out the pins! It's different to sew with young kids! They don't have the coordination to push the pedal, guide the fabric AND take out the pins all at once, so as long as they were focused on the fabric, helped guide it under the needle, and took out the pins, they got credit! It's amazing how much attention the pins need when you are 6-1/2! Getting the pins into the pin cushion is really important. Since the fair we have been working on quilt blocks. They are each making four 12"x12" blocks, and will be latticing them together and adding borders, then quilting them before Wednesday afternoon! We are ready to add the strips between rows, so I'm sure we will make it! We have three 3-hour work times left together. At the end of our last session, we laid out all the parts on the bed to see how they will look when we finish them. It has been fun to work with them!

Twelve Months and a Puzzle!

Here is my Bead Journal Project from 2007-2008.  I am really pleased with the way it looks all together.  I am  happy with the leaves that I made for each month.  Each month is labeled with the name of the month on a photo of a real leaf printed on fabric the same way I printed the flowers.  All the photos were my own images and printed on fabric treated to accept the ink from my inkjet printer.  The images are really finely focused, and give good definition.  The fabric comes pre-adhered to paper to help it run through the printer smoothly and easily. I left the paper on the fabric so that it would be stabilized as we usually do for bead embroidery.  

I had decided to use 12 puzzle pieces for next year's BJP. I kept thinking about it and wondering about how that would work.... how much did I need to cut away to have the picot edge fit? So, I decided to try out the project by doing a little puzzle with only four pieces. Here is the fabric just adhered to the Timtex and ready to trim and bead. It has been enlightening and fun!  The picot edge worked out ok, but I found that I had overestimated and cut away too

much. I also was using  Timtex for the first time for my backing. It is interesting, but I'm not sure it's a "fit" for me. So, I have almost finished my 4 piece puzzle. I think I am "done" with puzzle pieces. Now I have to think of something else for next year.... hoping that "something" will come to me by September.

Here is my nearly finished puzzle. It's been fun to try out different stitches.... mostly using Robin's new book for inspiration and guidance.  I had so much fun planning each flower on the batik.  The one that most people find irresistible to touch is the periwinkle blue half shell petals.  It was fun to do, but the gold one was great to do with the herringbone "weave".  

Finishing up the "Quilt" for BJP

I have stitched together my "quilt" of blocks in four rows of three, using strips of fabric. I chose a very dark green pant-weight fabric. I made the fabric into tubes, and turned them so there are no raw edges on the lattice fabric and it is double for strength. I will add a wider piece on the outside edges using the same formula. This I will put over a painter's canvas already stretched onto a wooden frame. I am thinking at this point that I will pad it with a layer of batting to soften the look, then stitch through at strategic places stretching it as I go, and finally stapling the borders to the wood on the back. That is my short term solution, but I think that I will finally use an actual frame on it. That remains to be seen, both in terms of finances and artistry. I may like it just fine with a wider border of the green, and not need it framed.... I am, after all, firstly a quilter! LOL!

May is Done!

Well, I just couldn't help myself! I had to work on my May page so that I could put all my pages together. I finished it in one week.... I can hardly believe it myself! Went on a road trip with my husband and spent time beading in the car while he was fishing. It really gave me some time with the design. I went through a lot of stuff with this one. It was really fun to do the petals as they were shaded in the photo. Tricky because my inclination is to do each one identically, but the shadows were different! It was an amazing discipline to work through that!

I started out doing just the pale green accents that created a star. I used size 15 beads for this so it would be a little more delicate than the normal 11's I use. The five "legs" reminded me of a starfish. I chose to do the sides of the star arms in bugles set at an angle. This created an even more starfish look! It took on such texture and then I decided to use the beads in swoops and swirls and rainbows in random order to fill in. I liked the tiny moon faces and decided to use one in each of the five sections.

It was interesting to use the mauve beads along with the really white opaque ones. Then adding the size 15 pink ones that seemed to be partly faded, but that gave even more depth without having to work at it! The addition of curves and swirls was fun to fill in the spaces.

After finishing the petals, I debated about what to do in the center..... I wanted the look of a deep center of the trumpet of a petunia, but didn't know quite how to do that. After going through my stash of beads and looking for ANY bead that is the limey-yellowy-greeny color. I was surprised to find a cupped flower bead that I could use for the very center. Then I had to fill in more around that. I found a size 8 VERY limey bead that I used as the base of my stack, and added three size 15 beads that match the original five lines to loop on top of it.  I am really pleased with the way this looks -- the bright lime color is kinda filtered by the other beads, but add a little brightness!

Another Week

I have been working on my leaves and the lattice framework for my blocks. I am really pleased with the way they are coming out. The dark green strips have to be sewn on by hand with a slip stitch from the front because there is so much beadwork right to the edges of each piece. I have made tubes out of a heavier weight fabric & have turned them so the seam allowances are inside, and am stitching them together. I have 6 together as a unit now, and have done another row of 3 which need to be added to the original six. Then I'll need to finish the May block before I can do that last row. I don't know if I can wait til May to do it, though! I am pretty jazzed about the finishing of this piece. It's kind of taken over my life! LOL! There will be wider borders of the same green fabric all around and then I plan to mount it onto a board. I was thinking foam core board because it's light and the piece is already heavy enough, but it may not be rigid enough. Masonite would make it too heavy. Hmmmm..... still thinking!

I have made three dimensional leaves to attach at each block with the name of the month on it. They are made from photos of
two different leaves, and I have used Steam a Seam 2 to fuse them to green fabric for the back. Then I have done picot stitch
all around the edge to finish that off. The abbreviated name of each month is stitched on to the face of the leaf using size 15 beads. I have used light beads on the lighter leaves and dark beads on the darker leaves. I want that "information" there, but not to come out and hit you in the face.

April and finishing ideas!

Another month has passed and I have finished April already! I am really pleased with the lightness and playfulness of the rhododendron flower for this month. It was fun to outline each petal with stacks of different combinations of beads. The whole time I was doing that, I kept plotting as to how to make those stamens stand up. I knew I wanted them three dimensional, but was aware that the nymo thread wasn't stiff enough to make them do what I wanted. I considered using clear finger nail polish to give them some rigidity, but was a little fearful of spilling on the fabric. I ended up using necklace wire so that the stamens would stand up. I threaded them onto the wire, through the pearl, then back down the holes of the first beads. After threading them through the fabric, I have pulled them tight so they have to stand up!

I am now preparing to assemble my pages. I am planning to do a "quilt" that will be stretched around a foam core base to hang on the wall. I am now preparing three dimensional leaves to identify the month that each block represents. I'm thinking at this point that I will be using a layer of batting to soften it as it wraps around the board..... now will foam core be strong enough to stretch around and hold it? I am hoping so, because another part of my plan is to make little dangles to hang on some of the intersections of the lattice. These will be sewn through the foam core board and will be anchored on the back with a button or a stick to keep them from pulling too hard. To enhance my "floral arrangement" I am going to use a dark fabric for the lattice so that the blocks themselves are separated and framed. I will keep you posted about the progress on this part of the project. I am really excited to see all of my blocks come together to make one piece.

February AND March done!

I am so jazzed!  I have finished BOTH my February and March pages tonight.  I am really pleased with them, and feel that they represent the tenor of my life at this time.  

The February page is a composite of three different photos of Asian Dogwood flowers.  I used Photoshop and moved them around, cloned the ferns for background and went for it.  The Dogwood tree is a memorial tree for my father in law. While growing up we had daily china with dogwood flowers on it. And in our yard there was a lovely pink flowering dogwood tree that was a special favorite of mine. The meandering green is the tangle of life.... and I ended up including my initials (ks) in the vine.  The little 

hearts are for Valentine's day, and the dragonflies are to encourage me that it soon will be spring!

My March page grew out of my birthday month concept.   The little purple daisies were just what I needed to give me a lift!  Since it's my birthday month, I included my big year number in beads!  And I enjoyed using lots of different kinds of purples for the petals. The addition of the goddess figure was an afterthought, but I like what it represents in my natal month!

Finished two!

Well, given a few days off from school for winter break, and now that I'm over the flu, I have had some time to bead! I managed to finish my October page and am very pleased with it although it's changed since I first conceived of it! The bee became a mere shadow of itself.... see the bee wings in pale pink beads and the silver bee charm where the bee's body should be. I loved doing all the ruffles, and filling in with texture.

I also finished my December page and it seems to be the most "journally" of my pages.  It really represents my journey in December.  It starts in the lower left with the darkness of the Pacific Northwest in December with vines and trees here.  We then flew south to Costa Rica and into the light and warmth.  We were there for Christmas , hence the Christmas tree in the center.  There were fireworks nearly every night in a nearby community and were able to appreciate and enjoy

 them all.  
  

January Finished!

Here is the flower photo I used as the base for my January page.


Here it is! I finished my January page just last night. I am a little surprised at the look! It's very coarse and impressionistic for my normal style. I am really pretty happy with it over all. The disks along the edges of each petal are coconut shell with beds on top. The mask is a miniature of the masks they carve in Boruca, Costa Rica.



We spent seven days in this indigenous village over the new year's holiday. They have a five day festival to celebrate the fact that their tribe was never conquered by the Spanish. The men dress up in coffee sacks and wear masks and walk all over town fighting the bull which represents Spain. It's an amazing festival and we enjoyed staying with a family and being able to see the goings-on over many days. You can see some photos of the festival at www.boyerotours.com

Too long!

Well, it's been way too long since I have written in this blog. I have been doing some beading, but mostly my "other" life has kept me occupied. I am getting back into the journal pieces now, though. I spent 6 weeks visiting my daughter in Costa Rica, so that slowed things down a bit! But I am back now, and feel like beading! It was great to get some sun and hugs!
I did finish my November journal piece.
I am pleased with the variation in it. It was fun to do, but not very creative. I would like to change my mode for the second half. For the first half I have used photos of flowers I've taken and printed on fabric as my base. That has been fun, but I'm feeling constrained by the literal-ness of these pieces. I would like to take a more improvisational look at beading. It will be more creative for me. I will still use the same size that I started with, but these next 6 will be more spontaneous and interesting for me to create.