Artist
Chickens have such a singular body shape. Like a Zeppelin. Streamlined, yet entirely not.
The above hen is a Sapphire Gem. I think. See her fluffy feet? I expect her to make chocolate-brown eggs, and have my fingers crossed. None yet, but she’s only four months old.
Our chickens are mostly Aracunas, and Americunas.
I was calling the above chicken, “Judy,” until I took this photo. D’oh! He’s a boy! His name is Red, now.
I’ve had a long-outstanding request to paint our kitties. So I did.
You might recognize the quilt they are sitting on. In reality the quilt is tan, but I didn’t want it blending too much with the cat. Maybe, though, it would have been better…?
The light coming through the pennants was glowing, but as is common, a camera didn’t quite capture how lovely it appeared. Still, pretty, though. 🙂
My gosh, is it Tuesday already? I hope you are getting lots of things done!
Hee hee, whenever I use the phrase, “Getting things done,” I can’t help but think of Delores Herbig. (Bad word alert if you are under 18!)
Oh, and just in case you are wondering, the cats’ names are Katniss and Prim.
Yes, I KNOW! 😉
More back-to-school sewing. A new tote bag, in pretty romantic florals. Let’s see, I used Tanya Whelan for the big roses, Lecien Flower/Sugar for the bright red roses with polka dots, and the border fabric is Walmart. The handles are also Tanya Whelan.
To create the semi-sturdy structure, I used Pelton foam interfacing. I wish I would have used two layers to make it even sturdier, but I only bought enough for one try. This is the first time I have used it.
It looks like a complicated bag, but it is really a simple construction–two sides, with boxed corners on the bottom. I pinched the foam core and sewed close to the edge from the bottom corners straight up, to create the box sides. I pinched along the bottom edge, too, to give the bag a stable base.
I meant to give it ties to close the top, but didn’t have the ironing board out and frankly, forgot. It closes with a button and hair tie, instead. 😉
So pretty!
Time for some back-to-school sewing!
I’ve been saving my selvedge cuttings for a while, and haven’t settled on a project to incorporate them all. Pouches are quick, and the assortment of colors are perfect to jazz up something otherwise ordinary.
I think the cherry-blossom pouch is the best size to hold the most pencils, and was a requested fabric. I don’t like the tiny zipper pull, but I was using zippers from my thrifted collection (boy, does a big bag of zippers for $2 have endless possibilities!). The zipper pull itself has a tiny hole in the end, so small I can’t figure out what to feed through it to make it more graspable. Any ideas? I think would accept one of those ball-link keychains, but it might be even too small for that, and I don’t have one.
I finished all the bags with decorative hand-stitching, to stop the lining from riding up and catching in the zipper. How many garments and bags have you had that happen with? I hate that, because then the lining gets ripped.
So how about you? Are you ready for school?
When I saw this little bun being shared in photo form by Les Liddle, of course my heart skipped a beat and I had to paint him. What a little sweet-pea, all innocence and joy. I added in the flowers to keep him grounded. A perfect little piece for a child’s room, don’t you think? Available in my Etsy shop, here. SOLD, thank you so much!
Two sweet little bird paintings, up in my Etsy shop. I do think these look terrific hung as a grouping, and these bright colored birds are a lovely remembrance of summer. Available here and here.
Does summer feel like it’s coming to a close? The heat is becoming bearable, the cucumbers have stopped producing–and only the weeds continue their prodigious growth. I guess we’re on the cusp of autumn. It will feel nice to have the change, but I’m definitely not ready for winter’s chill. How about you?
Back when this whole Covid mess started and everyone was being sent home, I took a couple days to cut fabric into strips. 2-inch strips. It helped bring my fabric storage down, but then I had to make those strips into something. It turns out the narrowness of the strip means you will be sewing a LOT of strips or tiny squares. More time consuming than I prefer to invest–once I start something, I like to finish it–not have it waiting for me every evening or weekend to slog away on.
The beauty of the around-the-world pattern is you work with strips, even though it appears you work with squares. So it’s not quite as time-intensive as it would appear.
I’d make a couple blocks at a time, and then switch over to making a log-cabin block just to keep me interested. I wasn’t sure what I would do with the log-cabins, but since I was using the same fabrics, I knew they would blend in with the around-the-world blocks.
I found these variegated Perle cottons on close-out at Michael’s, and thought I might try hand-quilting a bit since the colors seemed to match the project.
As expected, I did get bored of sewing all the blocks, and just added on the log-cabins to make the quilt a little bit larger. I just couldn’t face piecing any more of those around-the-world ones. So much ironing!
I kept the colors limited to neutrals, but added a pop of yellow or pink just to shake things up. I was careful not to add very much pop, and I think it worked out okay.
It’s very satisfying to sew on the label and say, “Finished!” I bought the label through an Etsy seller, there are a lot of them out there.
Maybe one day I will start logging how much time it takes to make one of these things, because I know I grossly underestimate! It would be nice to know, but then on the other hand, I think if I knew in advance, I probably would give up right there.
It makes me want to say, “And that’s how I spent my summer!” But really, I did a whole lot of other things, too. 😉
While I’m sitting painting, I like to watch old shows. Four Star Playhouse is from the mid-1950s, sharing episodic stories utilizing the same actors in different roles. Dick Powell, Ida Lupino, David Niven, Charles Boyer. Some of the stories are outstanding. I love how Ida Lupino acts in wildly different roles–sometimes I have to ask, “Is that Ida, or another lady?” and it’s usually her.
Anyway, my sentimental side loves this episode. A pickpocket with a heart of gold, and a lovely ending. Charles Boyer is always worth watching, too. Swoon. (Sorry, if there’s commercials!)
