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