Curves Class Progress

I've written before about the Curves class that I signed up for. Well, it's over and done and I have just three things to show for it.

1. A bib

2. A half complete wall hanging

3. A pdf e-book of all the projects

There were LOTS of fabulous projects covered in the class and I've learned a lot just reading the instructions. That said, I fully intend to continue working the projects. The problem is with the amount of time I spend sewing, plus the non class projects I'm working on, I just couldn't keep up. But, I knew that going in, so I'm not disappointed. I figured I would do what I could and have the ebook for later. Zen quilting. ; )

And what I have done, I am pleased with. I spent hours deciding what fabrics/layout to use for the sky in that half done Christmas tree wall-hanging. Now that I have that figured out, I am probably 1-2 good sewing days away from done.

Spotlight on rosereddesign

http://rosereddesign.etsy.com

It's hard not to recognize talent such as that displayed at rosereddesign. The shop is full of beautifully detailed, sumptuously colored treasures. A relatively new seller on etsy, Kim is off to a striking start.

The shop features several "themes" (bears, pears, cupcakes, and mice) that would be simply brilliant framed and hung all in a row. The pears are richly painted and remind me of the "Italian" kitchen decor that continues to be very popular--they would look right at home among the grape vines and painted oil and vinegar sets that define such collections.

The cupcakes are actually cards (they would make excellent birthday cards or "sweet something" cards) that have been designed to mimic the look of screen printing. Their highly graphic nature is played up by the way they dominate the space on the cards.

Samples of the bears and mice appear below. Click on either image to be taken to the shop listing for that item.

The small prints of the bears are doubly handmade. Not only does Kim create the original paintings and the prints, but her models are bears handmade by her sister (Honeythorpe Bears, located at http://honeythorpe.etsy.com). Kim uses her remarkable skill to lend life and an "atmospheric" background to each bear's portrait. Any of these portraits would be a beautiful gift for a bear lover and I can't help but envision the possibility of gifting both the bear and it's matching portrait to a bear collector.

The bear shown below, Artan Teddy Bear, is what first drew my attention to Kim's shop. The smooth, earthy colors, and the adorable expression won me over instantly. The liquid use of watercolor, the soft details like the fuzz on his foot or the shine on his nose, make this a piece that I can sit and stare at; never tired of it's beauty.

The mice portraits are the most stylistically distinct "theme" in rosereddesign. Each mouse has a very elongated face and small triangular eyes. They also feature the most detailed backgrounds of any of the items in the shop--really showcasing Kim's understanding of color and motion.

The mouse shown below, Country Mouse, showcases a wonderful use of motion--not just in the obvious wind blowing up her skirt and stealing away her hat--but also in the curves and flow of the landscape, the smooth, contrary arches of the bridge, the flowing curves of the trees, and the round sweep made by the road.



I am excited to see what will come next from rosereddesign. I know that whatever it is, it will be beautifully executed, richly colored, and full to the brimming with life.

Quilty Plans

Lots of good things happening over here at the Dragon household. I promise fuller updates in the next few days. In the meantime though, I wanted to share a couple of quilty things I have signed up for, in case any one else would like to jump in too.

The first is a Curves Class through Stitched in Color. Rachael taught the Handstitched class I loved so much this summer, so I couldn't resist signing up for another class. She is actually running both the Curves and the Handstitched courses in January/February. Registration opened for both today and, if you are interested, I would hurry on over as she sold out of spots for the last go-round.

The second is with a new-to-me blogger that I "met" through Flickr. Alyssa of Pile O Fabric is running a monthly block of the month (BOM) skill builder.

I'm intrigued by the blocks but what really caused me to sign up was the fact that this is a quilt as you go (QAG) project. This will serve the dual purpose of (a) giving me something to practice free motion quilting on each month and (b) walking me through a QAG method, which I am curious about. This quilt along is absolutely free, which is perfect for the wallet weary.

Both of these will have me nosing through my stash this weekend to see what I can pull out. I suspect I can mostly do Rachael's class from my stash, but I may need to get fabric for the BOM in order to get all the value/color combinations she is calling for.

Are you tackling any new projects this year? Any skills you are especially excited to learn?

Mother's Love: Update

When I last posted about this quilt, I had the applique about half done. At the time, I was in the middle of working on baby quilt for a friend. I finished that quilt and then went back to work on my Wonky Rainbow Squares Quilt. During my trip to California this November, I was looking for a portable craft project, so I brought this along with me. Between the sewing I got done there and since...I finally put the last stitches into the applique yesterday!

*happy dance*

The Liebster Award

Aoife was sweet enough to select me for the Libester Award. A way of getting the word out about your favorite smaller bloggers, the award works as follows. Each blogger who is given the award selects their favorite bloggers with less than 200 followers and asks them 11 questions of their choice. Each blogger chosen then answers those questions on their blog and gives the award to their favorite bloggers.

Aoife's questions for me were:

1) If you could try out any craft other than stitch-y things, what would you do?

I loved painting, printmaking and playing with paper in my art classes. If I were to learn something totally new, I would like to try stained glass. (Which is an awful lot like quilting in design, so maybe that doesn't count? ; )

2013 Quilty To Dos

I already told you about some of my quilty plans for this year, but for my sanity and your enjoyment, here is a list of all the things I want to make this year. (I'm sure this list will grow, they have a way of doing that...)

Learn
Stitched in Color's Curves Class
Pile o' Fabric's BOM Skillbuilder

Give
Jewelry Roll
Spacey Baby Quilt--This is to be paper pieced for a little one due in June. Time to get moving. ^_^
Wordy Wedding Quilt

Play
Mood Quilt
QR quilt (?)

Enjoy
Jewelry Roll (Yes, a second one. I desperately need one!)
Iron Caddy
Pressing pad/cutting mat transporter
Wall hangings for bedroom
Fabric "buckets" for my sewing room
Art quilt for my office (?)
Gift bags
Holiday garland

Progress
Mother's Love
Handstitched
I Spy Polaroids
Wonky Rainbow Squares
Turtle Quilt

Spotlight on OhPotato

Etsy Buy Handmade ohpotato

I've written here before about my endless quest for small and gorgeous pendants. For those that missed it, suffice it to say all the drop dead gorgeous oh-my-god-I-love-it-so-much pendants are about 2-2.5" in at least one direction. While is wonderful if you are into large jewelry. I am not. Anything over 1" starts looking HUGE. Now, I am sure that this is some sort of bizzare mental hang up and I could wear larger pendants just fine, but...I still like the tiny ones.

So stumbling into OhPotato one day, you will understand why I was convinced that these pendants were going to be huge. They were colorful, hand painted, and carefully detailed. They were dramatic! Fun! Painterly! So naturally they would be the size of small dinner plates. Imagine my ecstasy when I read the description and realized--there was a whole product line of one inch pendants! Hooray!

Jessie's work is a distinctly organic depiction of urban. The buildings bloom in fun and funky colors and hills and water often get more space than the "skylines" in the title. The thick outlines and exaggerated curves might call to mind cartoons if it weren't for the velvety deepth of the color. Even in very small spaces the colors are rich mappings from green to yellow to orange, never falling flat. The color doesn't simply fill the piece, it brings life into it.

The first image shows one of the small pendants that I was so happy to find. This particular pendant shows a glowing city separated from the viewer by a small hill. The hills glows in a rich light that suggest late afternoon, just before dusk. The sky above the cityscape glows bright blue and fades into a vintage dictionary page. The text mimics both clouds the haze of light and pollution found over large cities. Despite being a landscape, the cant of the buildings and the vibrancy of the colors makes this pendant appear joyful and alive--like the city is about to start dancing!



The second image shows what Jessie can do on a larger canvas. In the listing, she writes of the many lampposts that influenced this piece and I can think of several more literary lamp posts that immediately spring to mind. And that is the beauty of the piece. The sketchy quality of the lines and the lack of color on the buildings serves to emphasize only their lack of importance. It doesn't really matter which building is there, only that a building is there. It is the brilliance of the lamppost and the sky that captivated your attention. The drifting clouds, the soft glow of light. And it is because of that that this lamppost can be any lamppost. Any time, any place at all.



Aside from the teeny tiny pendants, which make me so very happy, OhPotato also carries a line of larger, 1.5 pendants made in a similar way. So for all you people out there who like those larger pendants, you can still own your very skyline pendant! The shop also carries several other prints and a line of absolutely wonderful magnets (check out Vernon). This is an excellent place to start shopping if you are looking for one of a kind artworks that your recipient can enjoy all day long.

Spotlight on marymeestudio

http://marymeestudio.etsy.com

The first thing that drew me into marymeestudio's shop was quite possibly the cutest piggy bank I have ever seen. (Now as someone who somehow ended up with a lot of pigs as a child, you are just going to have to trust me that that is high praise indeed.) What made me stay were the gorgeous colors.

I've mentioned here before my love for rich, deep, vibrant colors. Muddy colors leave me cold and as a result so does an awful lot of pottery. There seems to be this whole genre of "earthy" work whose whole color range runs from muddy blue to muddy brown with a bit of gray from time to time. And while I know many people who love and appreciate this work, it just isn't my style.

As result, I tend to often overlook pottery on etsy in favor of paintings, jewelry, pillows and other areas where bright colors tend to reside. Marymeestudio's fantastic colors renewed my interest in pottery and reminded me of the vibrancy that is possible in the medium.

Once the shop had my attention, I was delighted by the soft curves and thoughtful details that adorn each piece. Texture plays a large role in most pieces, and in some cases, a piece that appears very simple holds a surprising wealth of textured detail when you click to see the larger picture.

Below are two of my favorite pieces from her shop. The first piece is similar to the first piggy bank I fell in love with (long since shipped off to a good home). The graceful curve up to the snout and the large "button" eyes make this little piggy both elegant and adorable. The piece appears very well-made, including a smoothly finished lip around the snout that is visible when the cork is removed. Using the cork as the pig's nose also ensures easy access to the funds stored in his stomach--sparing him from being cracked open with a hammer.

Because he is ceramic, I wouldn't gift this to a very young child. But for older children or as a "change jar" I think he would be ideal. At a generous size of 4 1/4" across the belly, he would also make a great way to save up for something special.



The second item shown is a medium-sized blue vase. This caught my eye because of the wonderful shade of blue with it's lighter and darker patches. It reminded me of a mostly clear sky on a spring day. Color completely aside however, the lines of texture serve both as a tactile accent and a reminder of the loving handcrafting that went into it. It is a wonderful reminder of the process and the human touch that created the item. I imagine this being completely stunning with a few daisies or orchids placed in it.



I see an incredible wealth of potential in marymeestudio's shop. The shop seems to bubble over with creative new ideas and designs. I love the sheer variety offered up and can't wait to see what comes next. And next after that. And next after that...

Space Baby Quilt--Quilted!

Despite being a "Quilter", I find the part of the process that intimidates me the most is the...quilting. Especially on things that I just adore the piecing on. As my piecing gets better, the intimidation ratchets up. So, I had gotten stuck with this quilt. Loving it too much to "ruin" it. Unsure if my planned quilting would work. Fretting.

And I had excuses. I was sick. And then we were busy. And the baby was already born, so since I'd missed that deadline, what could a little longer hurt?

Thankfully, my friend who helped us paint, also provided a healthy does of inspiration and staying on task. We had planned a craft day and by the end of it? I had quilted the quilt! And it had turned out better than I had hoped and WAY better than I had feared. And the back looked great! And I had had no reason to fret at all. True friendship in action folks, believing in you even when you doubt.

The image up top shows the quilted and trimmed top. I know it's hard to see the quilting on, so here is a shot of my layout (marked with yarn borrowed from aforementioned friend).

Spotlight on witkopwoodworking

http://witkopwoodworking.etsy.com

As a very hands-on, touchy-feely type of person the texture of the items I own is just as important (and sometimes more so) than the aesthetics of them. Items that simply feel good in my hands are nearly impossible to resist. Generally I am safe from that particular shopping urge when browsing online. However, somethings simply LOOK so soft or smooth that simply a picture is enough to trigger that compulsion.

Witkopwoodworking is full of such wonderfully tactile pieces. A masterful craftsman, Richard's curvaceous vases and generous bowls are obvious labors of love. Each piece would be perfectly at home on either end of the decorative-functional spectrum. Which is what makes these items such outstanding gifts.

One of my favorites (and, indeed, what lured me into witkopwoodworking) is the clock shown below.



The smooth, curving exterior makes my fingers itch to caress the casing and the striking inlays of black walnut appeal to my aesthetic sensibilities. This versatile piece would be at home in the office or the craft room or even up on a mantle. With it's classic style and relatively unobtrusive size this is a gift that could be appreciated and used by recipients with a wide range of tastes, styles, and decors.

Another very adaptable piece is the black walnut bowl below.



Again, the clean look and graceful curves make this a classic and multi-functional piece. This is a little like the classic "little black dress" fashion magazines are always talking about. It's a classy, functional item that will blend with almost any decor. Which means you buy now and use it forever. Maybe it begins life holding change or receipts, then gets conscripted into a jewelery box, then becomes a space for special momentos, and finally gains a special space on the mantle. Or perhaps it does a stint in the office holding candy on your desk. Or maybe it holds bibs and bobs of thread by the sewing machine. The possibilities are endless, but one thing is certain--wherever this little bowl sits it graces with a bit more style and a bit more class.

Personally, witkopwoodworking will be at the top of my list this year for holiday gifts. The understated, classy nature of his pieces makes them a perfect fit for everyone from my natural loving in-laws to my minimalistic brother.

Celebrating 60

On Wednesday, my mom turned 60. This is one of those BIG numbers. The kind where you really should rent a hall, invite everyone you know, and throw a knock out surprise party. Except the 2300 miles between us makes that difficult. And expensive. And while I know there is nothing my mom would love more than a surprise visit from the hubby and I, I also know that we had already made plans to have a family vacation in August. So the visit was out.

But I still wanted my mom to know how loved she is. So I thought. And I thought. And I thought. And I realized. The perfect way for her to know how loved she is, is for people to tell her. So I convinced my father to rifle through her address book and I conscripted the hubby for a late night Kinkos run. Where we found the perfect paper and made copy after copy of The Plan for Project Awesome. Each copy was a letter requesting that the receiver write my mom a letter telling her why she was special to them.

On each I wrote a little note and in every envelope I tucked a pre-addressed stamped envelope for them to return their contribution. In every one, I asked them to tag any others who might be interested. And then I waited.

I sent out 35 requests and received about 25 responses, though there were more letters than that as one enterprising friend managed to sneakily get letters from a whole group and ship them back to me.



These people rock. Every single one of them. For taking time out to sit and write a letter. To take the opportunity to tell my mom what she means to them NOW, while she is still kicking and awesome and not waiting for her (hopefully very far in the future) eulogy.

Quilter that I am, I couldn't stand to stuff all these precious letters in just any old envelope. They, and my mom, deserved better than that. So I made a...er, well, I'm not sure what exactly. A letter holding thingy to hold the letters.

To Boldly Go...Progress on the Space Baby Quilt

Last we spoke, I had my layout for the back figured out. Since then, I finished the back and started the front.

The photo up top is cropped to give an idea of what the finished back will look like. Right now, it still has all the extra fabric attached from having set everything on point.