Evening Bag

Several years ago, I designed and created a series of Evening Purses. One of the features of these purses is the Wearable Art Pin that is pinned onto each purse. It can be worn on a jacket or coat or an another one used in its place.

I kept this black and red one. A few evenings ago, I had another occasion to use it. 

Pincushions

Do you have a favorite pincushion? I have several that I use all the time in my studio. I prefer large ones when working on a large work surface. That's why my starfish works perfectly.





















The pincushion by my one of my machines is rectangular shaped to fit in front within easy reach. I have velcro on its bottom and on the table. The one below is very old. I made it from melton cloth which was leftover from a coat I made.

My work horse sits on a thick rubber mat. The mat is also my pincushion and scissors holder. As you can see, it works perfectly!

Today, I finished several new pincushions for the Anna Templeton Tea & Sale on December 11 - 13. These are suitable to sit in front of a machine or to carry in a sewing pouch. Stick-on velcro can be placed on the bottom easily or hand stitched in place. You will need a sticky part for the table.  Metallic thread was used for the needles and thimble. 

All designs used in the embroidery machines are all our own.

Guild Presentation - Voyage of Discovery

The Cabot Quilt Guild has a committee of talented ladies who look after the guild program for the year. They may introduce a new technique, have a slide show, a book talk, a guest presenter . . . the list goes on. This month, I was the 'program'! The committee felt it was time for me to do my 'stuff'. Since we have had quite a few new members over the last several years, it was decided that I should give a general talk about my art work.

I had no difficulty with a title as my first piece of original art was called "Voyage of Discovery" - very fitting, as it was completed the year I retired from teaching. Since then, I have been on my own voyage of discovery into all things related to textile art and embroidery. I love to experiment / play with new materials. However these days, I find it difficult to get much time to do that and I miss it. Note to self: make time!

I am not a quilter of quilts like most of the guild members. However, here's a couple I have done: Sheep at Stonehenge, and Quiltennium Dreams. Photos of some more of my work can be viewed HERE.

I decided to do a power point presentation of my art as well as have some actual pieces on hand. One thing I did discover while searching through my photographs to prepare for this presentation, was the importance of taking good photos! In the beginning, I was learning (still am really) and the images were not always taken in good light or were a bit fuzzy. I was told over and over to use the RAW mode on my camera as the images can sometimes be 'fixed'. You can't do much fixing if they are jpgs. I am now using the raw mode on my camera - live and learn. There are a few pieces of art that are sold and I wish I had better photos of them! Oh, well . . .

I do have to 'tag' all of my photos as it makes it easier to find certain ones. Some of them are done but not all.

The presentation went well and I was asked to do a workshop on some of the techniques I use. I am teaching Fantastic Fabrics (surface embellishment on fabric) next month. I have taught that one before and it tends to be lots of fun for participants as it is completely stress free! I also have to prepare a project for another workshop in the works, on making fabric clapboard. That was the topic for a presentation I did a few months ago for the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild ! Now, to get back to work!



Cod Fish - the fish are in 3-D. This is in a private collection.

Finished Work

The production work I was doing a few days ago is finished. I have been making these 'Holders', which can be used to carry credit cards / business cards / gift cards / jewellery, for a number of years. They are perfect for taking on cruises as you can put them in a pocket. No one wants to take a purse everywhere they go when on a ship (or so I've been told) so these are perfect. I had a special request last year to put a cord on one so that it could be worn around the neck.

These holders are made from lots of glittery fabrics, yarns and threads. I make a base fabric a little bigger than what's needed. This base is stitched with Sulky Sliver threads. I cut my pattern from this stitched piece. Velcro is used to fasten the flap. A label with my name on it is sewn to the inside. I will write about labels on another day. Each 'holder' is numbered and one-of-a-kind. So if you have one of these pieces, you actually have a little piece of original art. No two are ever the same.