Late blooms; autumn bouquet

Late blooms from my garden, picked this morning.  Roses, lavendar, and a sprig of rosemary for remembrance.  Their fragrance is simply heavenly.

Bead Embroidery!

I am taking a Bead Embroidery class through Craftsy (www.craftsy.com). The beads pictured here are tiny and I use a magnifying glass while working, so as not to completely blow out my eyesight. I love bead embroidery!

A note about Craftsy:  Simply the best platform out there for online craft classes and and all kinds of other hobbies.  I recommend Craftsy classes highly.

Looking back...Spring 2015

Bits and pieces from Calico Quilter's garden, Spring 2015. 

Happy New Year 2015!

Looking out the front door

This is what we woke up to on New Year's Eve day at Paz Casita in Temecula, California.  Normally the weather here is warm and windy in the afternoons, mostly always blue skies and sunshine; never, or rarely does it snow, and yet... 

Poolside; see the snowy palm trees

My little garden area

I doodle.  I like to doodle and then glue things together, like in the picture below.  I will put my doodles to canvas; one day, perhaps.  Until then, it's just hodge podge fun stuff.

I like Ollas; variations on a theme

 An olla is an unglazed clay pot.

It's me; the Temecula years

Christine; the Temecula years

This little doodle person is me.  She's been with me for years, but here she is in more recent years.

Wearable Art in the works; beginnings

The Moon, the Sun, and Earth Mama

 

Here's a doodle of mine.  Colored pencils, black Sharpie ink pen on a flour sack dishcloth.  The square in this drawing measures one inch, putting scale into perspective.  I have been wanting to create wearable art, artsy pieces, etc.  Drawings on fabric, to be cut and sewn into garments?  This has been done before.  I know I can do this, too; however, definitely must concentrate on scale, as a one-inch drawing won't do.  Enlarge, enlarge, enlarge!!!  Design and pattern selection will follow when my "to do" list is achieved.

 

To do:

1.  Think large, Christine

2.  Visit Art Supply Warehouse in Westminster, CA

3.  Experiment with various organic fabrics, fabric paints, ink, etc.

 

 

Here's another recent one of mine.  Initially, I drew the round face using Adobe Illustrator...the circle, the eyes, the lips, coloration.  Trying to adhere image to fabric, using iron-on sheet, was a huge failure, an icky, peely failure.  Did I not follow the directions?  (I did not.)  In a moment of artsy frenzy I got out my Sharpie and colored pencils and began to doodle.  I don't know why my drawings come out so other-worldly weird.  Once doodled upon, I took a picture and loaded it onto PhotoSuite; hence, I was able to add the mirage image that pools around the bottom of the drawing.  I love the effect. 

 

Pojagi - Cover Cloth

Here is a simplified version of pojagi.  Per Wikipedia, pojagi or bo for short (also bojagi or bojaki) is defined as a traditional Korean wrapping cloth. Pojagi are square and can be made from a variety of materials, though silk is common. More commonly, a pojagi patchwork pattern would be comprised of small rectangle, triangle and square pieces of fabric pieced together to form a geometric design.  Besides silk, the fabrics of choice include ramie or hemp.  In the Korean tradition, pojagi are pieced together using tiny hand stitches; they may also be machine pieced, in which case a flat felled seam is appropriate. In any case, raw edges of each seam should be encased for a double-sided finish. Pojagi have many uses, including as gift wrapping, in weddings, and in Buddhist rites. Mine is a simple four-patch square, yellow and deep magenta, surrounded by a royal blue border, finished with a lime green tie.  I tried to use colors in keeping with a Korean color palette.  Made of 100% cotton, I will use this as a food covering cloth. If interested, simply search the word "pojagi" on the Internet, where there are articles and tutorials that can guide you.

Pincushion delight...

A pincushion made from a spare quilt block that had turned out slightly bigger than the rest from my Mrs. Lincoln quilt project.  Finished pincushion measures about 5" square.  The lime green ribbon and wood bead trim is delightful.

And here's a tiny pyramid polka dot pincushion, which measures a little over 2" square.  See the monkey print at the bottom?  So cute!  The loop is probably too big for this little pincushion, but it's functional so I didn't make adjustments.  A great way to use up those bits and pieces from my fabric stash.
 

Why do I quilt?



The quilt I made for my sis

The quilt pictured is one that I made for this sis of mine; I call it Lemon Meringue/Key Lime Pie because the colors are that delicious.  The picture was taken before hand quilting was applied, stitch by stitch, to sandwich the quilt top to the backing fabric, the old-fashioned way.  Visiting my sis, she once commented out of the blue, "Think of the money spent on all that fabric you have stashed away."  My fabric stash?  How could someone who does not quilt or sew possibly understand?  There are lots of us out there, you know, I mean...quilters with stashes of fabric.  There's a good reason to have fabric on hand; this quilt, for example.

Mrs. Lincoln Sampler Quilt, 5" squares...oh my!

One year ago I started this sampler quilt...

Back on Christine's work board

Preparing block #5

There's been a resurgence of interest in needle-turned applique, the old-fashioned way to applique, and I'm on board.  This is something that I love to do!  In addition to working on my Hawaiian quilt projects, I've pulled out this Mrs. Lincoln sampler quilt that I started a while ago.  This quilt is made up of 5 inch squares; some blocks are pieced and some are hand appliqued.  I counted and there are a total of 48 squares; 4 almost 5 done and many more to go.  It may have to go on the back burner again, as there are other things that may take precedence from time to time, but this one will get done.  I promise myself!

Hawaiian Quilting; it's a passion of mine

Laua'e

Laua'e, back view



Ipu design

This Calico Quilter has a bunch of projects going on.  Here are three examples of what's on my current work board, of the Hawaiian quilting variety.  I have been working on this laua'e leaf pattern, done in lavender calico prints, for a few years now.  The reverse side shows off the hand quilting which I have dallied with.  It's a project I'd work on and then set aside, and then go back to it again.  Almost done and then it will be made into a pillow, approximately 20" square.  I enjoy everything about Hawaiian quilting.  My newest project is the ipu (gourd) pattern, from the Hawaiian Quilt book by Poakalani and John Serrao.  This pattern is now cut out and ready to baste onto a backing fabric.

Gourds and things

These are gourds that I have carved out and done artwork on.  Gourd dust is very fine and killer if you are not careful, even with a dust mask on.  I have an affinity for round shapes, which reflects in my body of work. 

Quilters are artists, too!

I am a self-described artist who dabbles with Adobe Illustrator, a program that Papa Paz put on my computer because he thought I'd enjoy it.  I supposed there is a certain style that defines my work.  I see my artwork as kind of wonky, plain and simple.  Whether patching together a quilt top or dabbling in creative quilting, for me, it's all about developing an eye-popping color palette.  I looked through my stuff on Illustrator to possibly bring drawings to the quilting table.  Not every drawing translates well, but then there are some that are exciting, whether printed on paper or put to fabric.  These ones keep me wanting to do more.  Above are two pieces; one of them in progress, the other waiting for the next step toward completion.  Here below are two pears.  On this one, I did a little bit of shading, using pastel chalk.  This was a free-motion quilting practice piece.  Practice, practice, practice!

Pillowcases - Sew Much Fun!

Perhaps one of the fastest, easiest projects I have ever sewn.  Each "burrito roll" pillowcase took under two hours to make.  These will travel with me to Idaho, a little something from grandma, for the little girlies.  NOTE:  There's an outstanding tutorial posted on YouTube by TheCraftyGemini (Vanessa), at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAomYjHzUQk.  Clear and easy directions made this pillowcase project a breeze; highly recommended!

L'il Keiki Dude

L'il Dude

Here's l'il keki dude to match the keiki girl pattern.  Patterns are set; time to piece together a quilt.

Sunbonnet Keiki Tutorial

 

My first tutorial!  Kathy this one's for you.  All because I want you to try out the Applique Pressing Sheet.  Isn't it fabulous?  Oops...forgot to note...allow pieces to cool before removing from the Applique Pressing Sheet; it can get very hot.