Thursday, December 3, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
CHRISTMAS CRACKERS
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
BEADED DRAGONFLY TUTORIAL
the oval-shaped beads used for the tail.
Head: 1 - round 6mm clear glass bead
Body: 1 - round 6mm Cloisonne' bead
Wings: 4 - 13mm dagger beads
Tail: 6 - 5mm oval beads
Beading thread that will blend into background
Beading needle, (or fine #11 or #12 short quilting needle)
Directions and illustration shown below.
The dragonfly is designed to be sewn directly in place onto fabric.
The dragonfly's body is attached first, using the Cloisonne bead, and positioning the bead opening to run horizontally. Attach the body firmly to the fabric using two or three passes through the hole and the fabric. Pass the needle and thread through the body and then thread the needle through the holes in the narrow tip of two of the dagger beads, and then pass the needle back through the Cloisonne bead, exiting on the other side of the body. Thread through the two remaining wings, and then back through the body. Do this a couple of times, being sure that the body and wings are strung together tightly enough to keep them in place, but not so tight that you bread the bead. Refer to the photo and the illustration. If they seem to be a little wobbly, take a couple of stitches up through the fabric where the set of wings attach to the body and down over the thread that holds the two wings together. Repeat for the second set of wings. Do this until each side feels tightly attached.
Attach the clear glass bead for the head. The holes in the bead should run horizontally, and should be sewn in place just as you did the body. Be sure to snug the head tightly against the body while you sew it in place. Pick up one of the tiny glass beads for the eyes, and then run the thread back through the head, and then repeat for the second eye. Take the thread down to the fabric by running the needle down through the space in between one of the eye beads and the head. This helps to hide the thread a little better.
The tail is attached by bringing the thread up snugly against the body, and then through one of the oval beads. Go back down through the fabric and back up at the beginning of the first bead, and then run the thread back through the first bead again. Thread on the second bead, then go back down through the fabric, back to the beginning of the second bead and back through the second bead, and then on through the third bead. Repeat until all six beads are in place.
Hope you enjoy making them!!!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
A Couple More Color Wheels
Both of these color wheels illustrate Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary colors.
Tertiary (tur-she-airy) means "third," or "third level." More about this when we start our lessons.
Please see the main post about supplies -
Thursday, November 12, 2009
OCTOBER'S FREE SILKY
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Supplies - Color Wheel
Because a color wheel will be a large part of our color lessons, I’ve been doing a lot of searching in the hopes of finding one that will fit all of our needs. Well……I’ve discovered that none are perfect, but there are some that will work pretty well.
The first is an “Interior Design Color Wheel,” which I like because of its fairly open design (not as much cardboard between you and the colors), and because the colors shown are more appealing and realistic than most. I also like the information that is included on the back side of the wheel, as it gives helpful information about making painting and fabric color choices in your home. And, crazy quilts are certainly something we like to live with!
“Interior Design Color Wheel” 8.5” x 11”
Available from The Color Wheel Company, $9 (which includes shipping in USA.) Contact them for international shipping. (See tiny below.) I think this will be the most useful for our color lesson; however, please do not feel that you HAVE to have it, we can do nicely with the small color wheel available from your local craft store. Also, the printable color wheel at the bottom of the page will work very well for our purposes. http://tinyurl.com/yfzbsoj
The following is a great color tool/toy from quilt teacher and author Joen Wolfrom!!
This is a great tool for those interested in having lots of pretty color choices, along with a little more specific info. The tool is approximately 2.5”x 8”, and includes a set of 24 color cards, a set of two value (lightness or darkness) finders (one red and one green), color schemes are shown on the back of each card, and it comes with an 8” ruler.
Available from http://www.dharmatrading.com/ for $16.45 ($3.90 shipping in USA) Contact them for international shipping. Dharma has 27 of these in stock as of 11/11/09.
No matter what color wheel you decide to get, please print this one for our lesson. You can slide it into one of the clear/transparent 3-hole plastic sheet protectors, and it can be kept in a 3-ring binder, if desired.
Okay, the next you hear from me, we’ll be starting our color lessons!!!
Carolyn Phillips
CarolynLPhillips@msn.com
Thursday, November 5, 2009
November's Free Silky - Morning Glory
In June of 1965, on a gloriously warm southern California day, I stood in the back yard of our newly-purchased first home holding my two week old son in my arms while admiring the exceptionally beautiful periwinkle-blue morning glory flowers on the vines that were growing along the short wire fence that divided our property from the elderly Mrs. Thorson's. As a new homeowner, I found everything in our realm nothing short of miraculous, and the little morning glory that I had tended and coaxed along the wire fence was no exception.
Mrs. Thorson, a no-nonsense, hard working New Englander, was an exceptionally tall and lanky woman, all elbows, knees and determination as she worked at pulling weeds on her large property. With a defiant expression on her face, she easily yanked the clumps of weeds from the hard summer soil. There was no doubt that she came from hearty stock as she tirelessly worked her way along the fence. When she finally straightened from her work and wiped the sweat from her brow, her face broke into a wide smile as she saw the baby I held in my arms. As she leaned in to get a closer look, her arm came over the fence, her large hand wrapped fully around the morning glory vine, and with one swift pull, the roots easily lost their hold in the soil and the whole thing traveled through the air to join the other weeds in the steadily growing mound! "I hate those weeds, don't you?" Those were her final words as she strode away......
"Yes," I said, as I closed my gaping mouth, "I do too......"
MORNING GLORY EPILOGUE: Do you remember years ago when Reader's Digest had a long-running section entitled something like: "My Favorite (or my Most Amazing) Character?" Mrs. Thorson was my favorite character.
I still smile over that whole incident; it just tickled me so much that this practical, hard-working, no-nonsense woman thought she was helping a young mother to keep her yard "weed"-free. It would never have occurred to her that she wasn't helping. When my husband came home from work that night, I told him what she had done, and we both had a good laugh! She was eternally "helpful." I knew, even back then, that she was a good woman with a serious veneer. She didn't go around with a smile on her face, but when she did smile, it was like the sun had risen.
She helped me raise my children, and was always coming over to "give me a break." She would head for the kitchen to do my dishes, or go get the vacuum and start cleaning, or sometimes she'd just push me out the door while she stayed and watched the kids.
You can always find another morning glory, but you could never replace Mrs. Thorson.
Carolyn
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
October Silky - Lily says she IS a flower, after all...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Ellen's Finished FFT #9 Block
Thearica was the first to work on Ellen's block, and she made the wonderful, whimsical beaded bluebird in the upper left corner, as well as the bright yellow daisy and leaves, the metal branch with the tiny birds and nest, angel charm in the center, scattered daisies, and the tiny mother-of-pearl birds everywhere. I love everything you did Thearica!
Click on the picture to see a close up view.
Next, Nicki made the beautiful garden that's growing across the bottom of the block, using her gorgeous hand-dyed lace flowers and leaves. She used French knots to create stalks of snapdragons, and then embellished it all with beads, sequins and charms. Buzzing and floating amongst the beautiful flowers are bees and dragonflies. Just gorgeous, Nicki! Click on picture for close up.
Ellen, we all had a wonderful time working on your block!!!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
My Finished Work on Thearica's Block
Darlene was the second to work on the block, and her addition of the lovely white lace basket (which she made on her embroidery machine), filled with silk-ribbon flowers and leaves added to the block's elegance. She then added the adorable lace-framed kitten applique, as well as a great tag-sale find of a pin with a really cute kitten playing with a ball of yarn, adding the perfect touch of whimsy!! Darlene cleverly wrapped yarn around the existing metal ball before attaching the pin to the block. Darlene also embellished several seams on the block.
Friday, September 4, 2009
September's Free Silky - Strawberry & Ladybug
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Pat Winter's Bird's Nest
I won one of Pat Winters' exquisite little bird's nests from her blog drawing!!!!!!!! It's only about 1/2" across; what a tiny treasure!
See the picture below.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Pat Winter's Bird Nests
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
August's Free Silky - Mama Hummer
Her nest is about the size of half of a walnut shell, and her two eggs are about the size of pinto beans. It's so amazing to be able to follow the progress of this tiny creature!
Monday, July 20, 2009
July "Wings" Challenge
Beaded Dragonfly made for Tami's HGTV CQ RR Victorian block
The wings are made with clear iridescent dagger beads, the body is a cloisonne bead, and the tail is made from 6 iridescent oval beads.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
HGTV CQ RR
Saturday, July 11, 2009
SILK RIBBON PANSY TUTORIAL
This is the little pansy I came up with after some of the HGTV crazy quilting girls asked for a “real looking” silk ribbon pansy. I sat down with needle, thread, 13mm (about ½” wide) silk ribbon, pencil and gridded paper (which I can't seem to live without...), and the result is this fairly simple little pansy.
THE TWO BACK (purple) PETALS:
When looking at the above patterns, note that both of the back petals are made from one piece of ribbon, and are separated by the deep upside down “V” at the center of the length of ribbon. Notice, also, that the stitching/gathering line, shown on the pattern with a broken line, is done with one continuous length of thread, so you can gather it.
Using a pencil or a disappearing ink pen, draw a small 3/8” circle where you want your pansy to be. Draw a horizontal line through the center of the circle. Mark a dot in the center of the circle.
Using a very fine needle and thread that matches the silk, make the tiniest gathering stitches you can make, and run the continuous stitch as shown on the pattern, and described above. Draw the gathers up until the gathered edge of the ribbon will fit around the small half-circle that you have drawn. The gathered edge of the ribbon will be toward the center of the half-circle. Use several small stitches to attach the end of the gathered ribbon at the point where the half-circle and the horizontal line meet. Distribute the gathers evenly, being sure that the “V” shape is at the center top of the half-circle. Carefully pull the two center petals apart a little so the “V” between the two petals are a little more obvious. When you are satisfied with the arrangement of the petals, use the threaded needle to very carefully stab stitch the gathers in place all around the line of the upper half-circle. Again, take the time to be sure the gathers are evenly distributed before you tack them in place. The angled tips of the ribbons can be shortened to reduce bulk, and can then be tucked under and tacked in place.
Illustration #4
Before beginning the yellow set of petals, notice that the three ribbon segments are not the same size. The larger segment will be the large yellow front petal. The two smaller yellow segments will be placed directly in front of, and sightly below the set of purple petals. (Please see Illus. #5 below.) The two yellow petals are the same size and shape as the set of purple petals. Begin your gathering stitches at the end of the yellow ribbon that has the two small segments, then continue your stitches until you've finished with the larger segment. This time you will pull the gathers up only on the segment that has the two small yellow petals, and working in a clockwise direction, fit the petals in place around the center dot in the circle. Using the center dot instead of the outer ring of the circle will automatically drop this second set of petals down below the original purple set. Distribute the gathers evenly; making sure that the “V” between the two yellow petals are aligned with the two purple petals. When you are satisfied with the arrangement of the petals, use a second needle and matching thread to tack the gathers in place. Take several tiny stitches to hold the two upper petals in place, but don't cut the thread. Using the original needle and gathering thread, tightly gather up the remaining large front petal, fold under the angled tip and then take the needle to the center dot and tack it in place. This will make large yellow petal lie in front of the smaller petals. Arrange the gathers as evenly as possible, and tack them in place. Turn under and tack down any of the angled tips that might be showing. If the tips are a little too bulky, you can trim them a little before tacking them in place.
You may need to tack the petals down in a couple of places, but do this sparingly, as the stitches can easily distort, and pull the petals out of shape. Often, just doing a little finger pressing will keep the petals in place.