Gob-smacked -- and Grinning! :-)

I just had a wonderful two-day visit in Calgary.  I go down every six months or so to see my lovely dental hygienist and her boss, my handsome dentist, and I'm happy to report all's well on the dental front.  :-)

While there, I visited with several friends.  D and I went to Out of Hand, where I always have fun browsing the fabrics, magazines, paints, pens, threads... you name it!  I came away with some fabric for my Annual Christmas Project (wink, wink) and some Valdani hand-dyed perle cotton for yummy grass embroidery.  D spoiled me with the latest issue of Stitch magazine and the summer issue of Where Women Create.  Both are a real treat for this gal from the boonies!

I stayed over with Sha-and-Mary, and the former and I went out for a scrumptious dinner at Joey's (Calgary)...Shrimp with pesto on flat bread, quinoa and barley salad, sinfully rich chocolate mousse cake (aka "Happy Endings") and red wine...mmmmm...

S is taking her C&G from Linda Kemshall, so we spent a happy time looking at her samples, sketchbooks and work thus far in the program.  She's a very creative soul with a very different vision and view of the world than mine, so our artistic 'boxes' are stretched even as our friendship deepens over these times together.

This morning, arlee and I met at a gallery inside Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD, for short), to view "Indigo", a new exhibit that arose out of the latest residency of her friends in "Contextural".  It's small as exhibits go, but the pieces are an eclectic and interesting mix that, for the most part, works well.  If your in and around Calgary between now and Saturday afternoon, you might have a quick look.

After thoroughly digesting the show, arlee and I made tracks for a cafe on the SAIT campus where we lunched over more conversation about art, our respective activities and aspirations, and our beloved furry friends -- feline and canine -- and generally got to know each other even better (we've only met 3 times and only twice had time to really talk).  It's a bit of "Mutual Admiration Society" but it's wonderful to have face-to-face friends with whom to share.  :-)

After our lunch I headed up to Olds to meet with Deb, the owner/manager of Different Strokes Art Gallery.  I walked in with 3 large pieces:

Tree Line (c) 2013

Trio (c) 2012

 and

Abandoned: House I (c) 2012

Plus a mid-sized piece that I'd matted to 11" x 14"  (no photo, but it's a still life hand-stitched on hand-dyed fabric), and eight miniatures (the new ones and 2 from April of this year).

With the exception of the "Abandoned" piece -- which she really liked but would prefer mounted differently because she said her customers wouldn't like the fraying linen background -- Deb took them all.  We signed a contract for six months, and she said she'd have them up in a show of new work in late October or early November.

I'm going to explore her ideas for the "rejected" piece...and believe it will find a home someday, one way or the other.  She said if I re-framed it, she'd be interested in seeing it again.  :-)   

So...

Now it's back to work to finish my current 15 x 15 piece...and make a passel of new miniatures, as I have nary a one left in my sewdio!!

Do I mind?  Not in the least!  :-)

A First Time for Everything

I finished that 1/8" binding on "Tree Line" about an hour ago, and I have to say I rather like it.  No, it's not PERFECT in the way others' might be...but I still believe the piece is sale-worthy, and that the binding, narrow as it is, with tiny, invisible blind hem stitches on the back, gives the piece that little 'something' that (in this case) an envelope or facing would not have done.

One corner turned - seen from the back

Coming down the side, trimming as I go

One corner, seen from front foled over onto back

Finished & bound on design wall - 17" x 23"

This was my first very narrow binding, and it will not be my last, as I rather like the effect, even if it's not perfectly aligned and the mitred corners are...mitred.  All that's left to add is a hanging sleeve, and I'll call it 'finished'.

This evening?  A diversion.  I want to finish that camisole!

Wee Surprise Wednesday

Now well past the middle of "Floss Week" -- and the first part of my Blog Anniversary celebrations, I've done a random draw from all commenters for February 8 through early this morning.  As is only fitting, this wee surprise draw is for this pretty little stitchery kit, which includes the pattern, fabric, threads and beads:

Prickly Pear Seed Scissors Stand
by Jeannette Douglas

Using Random Number Generator, the name of the winner is Linda A. Miller!  Congratulations, Linda, my cyber-friend!  I'll be in touch to get your snail mail address and send this little treasure off to you.

Of  Course There are WIPs...

As I'm a couple of days overdue for "Design Wall Monday", let me show you what was on my wall yesterday morning at this time:

Two more miniatures are underway.  On the top is "On Forever", based on a prairie highway photo from a trip home from Lethbridge ('way south in Alberta) a couple of years ago.  On the bottom, its' "Autumn by the Slough", from a photo taken last year just outside of my wee hamlet.  Both are constructed from commercial cottons, and will have some thread painting and hand-stitching as well as the quilting, which began yesterday.  I should have them ready for a "Finish on Friday" post.  :-)

Meanwhile, the beading on "Tree Line" continues.  I was about to shop for beads Monday in Lacombe, when a woman in our knitting circle, who is moving, brought me a treasure -- including 3 packs of the very autumnal colours I need for "Tree Line".  Whoo hoo!  A gracious gift indeed.

And there is a bit of knitting.  Over the weekend I finished yet another Chunky Cable Hat for our charity tree.  This one took just under one 50-gram ball of Paton's Diana (acrylic and nylon) -- or 25% of the amount donated to our knitting group.  I'm now wondering whether to make 3 more of the same or to do something a bit different with the rest.  Although this yarn is "fluffy", it still shows off cables nicely, don't you think?

The photo shows the hat modelled on my "hat form" -- a 1 kg. jar that once held peanut butter!  :-)

And now I must get back to those miniatures...so will link this up with WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network.  My lunch plans include checking out the other participants as I munch.  "See" you there!

Slow Stitching...

both Saturday and Sunday -- or at least, most of the time.  Yesterday I did manage to assemble the remaining 3 rows of my Easy Street top.  Here they are spread on my cutting table...waiting to be sewn to the other 4:

Yes...that's just the lower left (Southeast) corner and the two rows moving from that into the centre.  The top is constructed on point.  The block that's front and centre in the photo is part of the row that will join the remaining section -- what I call the Northwest corner!

But that's the only machine work I've done this weekend.  I began beading the 'leaves' on "Tree Line", accompanied by more wonderful pod-casts from On Being, as well as short clips from "82nd and Fifth", a new video series from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, about which I was notified by e-mail recently (I'm on their e-mail list).  No textiles in the ones I viewed yesterday afternoon, but inspirational nevertheless.

Though I'm still working on the beading, here's what it looked like when I ran out of steam yesterday:

Pookie came in for a closer look while it was still on the table where I was working:

Even at nine months, she's very discriminating!

Yes, I can hear some of you muttering about cat hair on my work -- never fear!  She wasn't there very long, and all work is thoroughly cleaned of hair and threads before making any sort of public appearance!

Once I set the beading aside, I turned to some hand embroidery, putting in another row on the Atlantic Seaboard Sampler I'm making for my friends' 40th wedding anniversary in May:

Looking through my magnifier, you can see I was working on Row 19 of 33; I finished it during the evening.  The next row will be more formidable; it's the Nova Scotia tartan...worked in single strands of cotton floss in tent stitch...over one thread at a time.  Please pray that when I've finished the row, I won't have gone blind!!

And today...the beading continued as I watched Bonnie's Quilt Cam, but the sunshine is calling so I'm off shortly for a walk while the weather holds.  Tonight...more pod-cast treats and more beading.  Happy Sunday!

P.S. Remember, any comments left on any of my posts this week will result in an entry into the first of my three 10th Blogging Anniversary give-away draws, Friday, February 15.  :-)

1001: A Stitch Odyssey*

* With apologies to Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke!  I think I'm a bit giddy with all this anniversary stuff!

This post isn't extra-terrestrial in the least; it's simply about what's moved off the (design) wall and onto my desk.

 

"Tree Line"'s been quilted and is now in the beading stage -- with those beads auditioned (above) to give the impression of leaves. What you see in the photo are loose beads, some clustering more than they will in the final piece, and some less.  It's slow going, but I think I'm managing the look I want.  The piece was very flat until I introduced the beads, and I'm still concerned that the brown grassy area is a bit on the flat side, so some hand-stitching may follow...

Meanwhile, I get to enjoy this slow, meditative process while listening to music (my fave -- classical -- on CBC Radio 2) and/or pod-casts (after the classical programs give way to 'pop' later this afternoon)...and then tonight, Bonnie Hunter has promised Quilt Cam!

And I'm doing a bit of blog reading as I link up to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

What?  You don't stitch and read at the same time?  ;-)

Don't forget, comments on any and all posts this week render you eligible for the first anniversary Goodie Pack drawing on Friday, Feb. 15...Click HERE for details.

Counting Down...

Or...Blog Post 998 - WIP Wednesday Edition

Remember this work in the C&G?

Well, here's what landed on my design wall yesterday:

It's "Tree Line" and when finished will measure in the 18" by 24" range.

Materials:

• Sky: hand-dyed semi-sheer fabric of unknown origin;
• Ground:
• Brown: commercial cotton;
• Green: hand-dyed muslin;
• Tree trunks: commercial cotton.

Right now the trees need to be fused down, and then the stitching and quilting begins!

For the curious: the photos to the left of the piece are up there for inspiration for up-coming pieces. Both were taken near my home.  The hot pink "M" I found a few years ago at a thrift shop and claimed it in a "Mary Tyler Moore" moment!

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network, so when you have a moment, grab a cuppa and take a look!