Sunshine Designs

Symbol - The Cherokee Syllabary

2011-03-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

My Symbol Themed Quilt - The Cherokee Syllabary

Not long after reading that "Symbol" would be the theme for one of our challenge quilts, I knew what I wanted to do. My husband, Ralph's, family is Cherokee, and because their heritage is so much a part of who they are, I wanted to honor them by making this special quilt.

Ralph's Grandfather, Enos Quinn Martin, with the Cherokee Syllabary in the background

A LITTLE HISTORY... There's GOLD in them thar hills!!!

In February of 1860, my husband Ralph's great grandfather, Jack Martin, according to the history books and family stories, is credited with starting the gold rush in the San Bernardino mountains of southern California.

In 1850, when Jack Martin and Bill Holcomb were just teenagers, they left Iowa to find their fortune in the gold fields of Oregon. After finding very little gold, and nearly starving to death, the boys left Oregon and worked their way down through northern and central California, trying their luck at various gold mining camps, until they eventually made their way to Los Angeles. While living in Los Angeles, Jack Martin met and married his wife, who was a full-blood Cherokee, and they made their home in Los Angeles.

Even after finding only scant amounts of gold in Oregon and northern California, Jack Martin and Bill Holcomb hadn't given up their dream of finding gold, and in 1859, when they heard tales of a place called Bear Valley, located in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California, they began putting aside money and supplies, and planning their trip to Bear Valley.

The Gold Rush - Big Bear Lake and Holcomb Valley

(From a day-trip guidebook published by the San Bernardino National Park; and, from the book, Mines of the San Bernardinos, by John Robinson.)

In February of 1860, two prospectors, Bill Holcomb and Jack Martin arrived in Bear Valley during the dead of winter. They found the valley covered in snow and set up camp in an area called Starvation Flats, located where the intersection of Stanfield and Big Bear Boulevard is today.

After arriving at Starvation Flats, and with an unusually severe winter coming on, Jack Martin and Billy Holcomb had only enough time to build a tiny cabin that was less than six feet tall at the peak of the roof, and only four feet high at the walls. The cabin was later named "The Pygmy Cabin."

The Pygmy Cabin was a popular spot for tourists in Holcomb Valley, in the mountains of San Bernardino, CA. Ralph and I were able to visit the Pygmy Cabin many times from the late 1950's until the early 1980's when, sadly, it was vandalized and eventually burned to the ground.

Because of the unusually cold winter, food was in short supply for the miners at Starvation Flats, so Jack Martin volunteered to return to Los Angeles for more supplies and Bill Holcomb went hunting for food. Bill headed north across the valley and climbed up the mountain just west of Bertha Peak. From the top of the ridge he gazed upon a new lush green valley that would eventually bear his name. Bill killed two bear, packed his kill on burros and returned to Starvation Flats.

On May 5, 1860, Billy and Jack set up camp in the main gulch located between the upper and lower parts of Holcomb Valley. According to San Bernardino historian L. Burr Belden, the Bear Valley [gold] rush was triggered when prospectors Billy Holcomb and Jack Martin uncovered a gold-bearing vein on a hillside above Bear Valley, from which they averaged $5 to $10 a day apiece. Provisions ran low so Martin packed out after flour [and other supplies] and paid for his provisions with gold dust in San Bernardino.

News of Holcomb's and Martin's find spread quickly, and by July of 1860, there were more than 1,000 miners feverishly working their gold claims. Almost overnight, a town called Belleville sprang into existence with a collection of stores, saloons, dance halls, and blacksmith shops. About the same time, two other towns, Clapboard Town and Uniontown, also appeared in Holcomb Valley. Holcomb Valley even had a brewery!

Sequoyah and the Cherokee Syllabary

Sequoyah (AKA, George Gist), 1770? - 1843, the Cherokee Indian credited with the invention of the syllabary for writing Cherokee.
In approximately 1809, Sequoyah gathered with some friends in his blacksmith shop, and the conversation led to a discussion regarding the non-Indians' method of communicating through writing. He pondered devising a way for the Cherokee to be able to do the same thing, although those around him were skeptical and thought it was some sort of witchcraft. But, Sequoyah seemed to understand that the writing stood for words.

His plans were interrupted when he volunteered to serve in the War of 1812. After he was discharged from service, he continued to study the idea of a way to write the Cherokee language. The first attempts were to make a symbol for each word in the language, but very quickly the number of symbols was becoming astronomical. This caused him to be more selective in the form of writing the language, and he began listening more intently to the individual sounds that made up the words. After long study, he realized there were 85 individual symbols which were used to make up the many words of the Cherokee language. He was then able to limit the symbols to a much smaller number than he had originally developed, and they could be used in combinations to form any word. His first student was his brother-in-law, Michael Waters, and the first to read and write with the invention was his daughter Ayoka.

Although the system was foolproof and easy to learn, Sequoyah and Ayoka were charged with witchcraft, and were brought before George Lowery, their town chief, for trial. Lowery brought in a group of warriors to judge what was termed a "sorcery trial." For evidence of the literacy claims, the warriors separated Sequoyah and his daughter to have them send messages between each other until they were finally convinced that the symbols on paper really represented talking. At the end of the trial, the warrriors asked Sequoyah to teach them. Within a week, all were able to read and write their own language. Within a few months, a large number of the Cherokee Nation had achieved literacy. This gift helped the Cherokee preserve their history, culture, and spiritual practices.

The Cherokee University in Talequah, Oklahoma has courses in which students are taught to speak and write Cherokee using the syllabary invented by Sequoyah.

"Your invention of the alphabet is worth more to your people than two bags full of gold in the hands of every Cherokee." - Sam Houston

I got a kick out of the following ad, dated May 15, 1828, which is written in both English and Cherokee, in The Cherokee Advocate newspaper.

Making the Symbol Quilt

Enos Quinn Martin (Jack Martin's son) and family in 1908.

The baby is Ralph's mother, Beulah Jane

I did a bit of cropping, and "Photo Shopping" to remove little Beulah Jane from the family photo and to re-create his shoulder on the right. I enlarged the photo to fit the 12"x12" quilt size, and printed it onto cotton ink-jet printer fabric. I ironed fusible web to the back of the fabric so it could then be fused to the quilt.

The Cherokee Syllabary was printed on silk ink-jet printer fabric. I laid the silk print into place onto a 13" square of muslin, stitched around the perimeter, and then used a "stitch and flip" crazy-quilting method for adding the remainder of the fabric patches to the quilt.

The Cherokee Seal was printed onto silk. A piece of cotton fabric was placed face down onto the silk fabric, and stitched all around just slightly outside the green band. The seam was trimmed closely, and the medallion was turned right-side out through a slit in the cotton backing fabric. After pressing, the medallion was stitched to the quilt, catching the leather thong that holds the beaded eagle feather.

Six generations of the Martin/Phillips family have lived in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties since Jack Martin and Billy Holcomb came here in 1850. The Martin and Holcomb families went on to contribute greatly to the early days of southern California. Jack was said to have traded a piece of undeveloped land, which is on Spring Street in modern day downtown Los Angeles, for a team of mules and a wagon, so he could start a business running supplies, including borax, up into the mountains of San Bernardino. He eventually made his home in Los Angeles where he raised his family. Some of his family still reside in Los Angeles, and many more in other areas of southern California. Billy went into politics in San Bernardino County, and held elected offices there for the better part of his life. His descendants still live in San Bernardino County, and many other areas of southern California.

Hardware Themed Quilt

2011-03-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finally finished my Hardware themed quilt. I get so obsessed with these little quilts, I know I have more than 40 hours into this one...

Finished Hardware Quilt

I thought of several ways I might depict this theme, the closest contender was to use a piece of metal hardware cloth (small wire squares) for the background, and then make people (and a dog and cat) with arms, legs, heads and bodies made from actual screws, bolts, wire, and my favorite - steel wool for hair... Okay, it was a cute idea, and I nearly did it!!! But, it was such an obvious "Carolyn" thing to do, so I didn't!!!

Somewhere, rattling around in the back of my mind, I kept thinking about how it might look if I used fabric to make the hardware. I could visualize it, but wasn't sure what technique I'd use to accomplish it. I figured using fusible pieces of fabric would work, but what kind of artsy background could I come up with. With all of this stuff still clunking and rattling around in my brain, as luck would have it, I received an Amazon package that contained two books that I'd ordered by artist Susan Carlson who does fabric collage using nearly confetti-sized (an admitted exaggeration here) pieces of fabric to construct her art quilts. Her first book, "Free-Style Quilts, A No-Rules Approach," and her second, "Serendipity Quilts," explain in words and in excellent photographs how she uses her technique. It sounds easy, it looks easy, but I found out that it ain't easy!!! However, after literally hours upon hours of playing with all manner of yellow scraps, I finally started getting a little more comfortable with the technique. Oh foolish one that I am, I stepped back and took a good look at the earnest beginnings of my new-found expression in art, and realized that it really wasn't all that easy to blend the fabrics so they looked cohesive, but were still interesting... Fortunately, because her technique uses just tiny spots of Aleene's Tacky Glue to hold the pieces in place, it's pretty easy to rip them off when you need to - unfortunately, I had to do a lot of that!!!

STEP-BY-STEP

Photo Set-Up

Photo of Photo...

I laid muslin over top of the photo and traced the design.

I made multiple copies of the pattern so I could cut out the individual pieces and use them as a pattern to cut them out of fabric. I used fusible web on the backs of all of the tools and hardware, and then cut them out and either pinned them in place or used the tip of a hot iron to tack them down in a couple of places.

I added a variety of yellow background pieces around the tools and hardware using small amounts of tacky glue to hold them in place. The edges of all fabric pieces, including the tools and hardware, are left un-glued so subsequent pieces of fabric can be slipped around and underneath the edges as needed. Some shading and highlighting fabrics have been added to make the objects appear more three-dimensional. I'm beginning to add the blue border.

Blue border is almost finished. This was the most difficult part for me to get right as I didn't want to go from the softer yellow straight into the intense blues. So I used lighter shades first, then the darker blues, with the intense indigo blues all the way to the outer edges. After being semi satisfied with the merge from yellow to blue, I found myself really enjoying working with all of the blues, especially the deep indigo blues.

The finished quilt, before adding the poultry netting (twisted metal chicken wire) to the top area. Small touches of white paint have been added for highlights on tools and hardware. Note that black netting fabric was used to add more shading to the lower areas of the tools and hardware pieces.

Hose clamps were used as loops to hang the quilt.

A large bolt was slid through the hose-clamp loops.

Although there was a real learning-curve with Susan Carlson's time-consuming fabric collage technique, I have to admit that I enjoyed every minute of it, and will definitely be using it again!

A Crazy-Quilter's Journey into Art Quilting

2011-02-24T18:20:00.000-08:00

The Baker's Dozen, http://we-are-the-bakers-dozen.blogspot.com/, was formed by Thearica Burroughs in the Spring of 2010, bringing together thirteen women with a common interest in learning to create Art Quilts.

Thearica's introduction:

Our group consists of 13 quilters located in various states across the U.S.A.! We represent VA, NC, OK, PA, CA, NE, NY, MA, IL, MS, and WA! We became friends through a quilting forum and now share this common interest of creating quilted art together via our blog! Every 6 weeks we each will create a piece of quilted art according to a theme chosen by one of the group members. At the end of our journey, we will have created 169 pieces of quilted art together! So come along on our journey!.....we are sure to delight you time and time again!

Thearica - Freedom
Colleen - Baubles, Bangles, and Beads
Kathi - Hardware Store
Penny- Totem
Nicki - Ocean
Karen F. - Self Portrait In Song
Lois- Celestial Objects
Jody - Cottage
Shirley - Home
Jackie - Butterflies
Charlyn - Time
Carolyn - Tempest
Karen H -

Dressing Heidi Sage: Pretty Posies

2011-01-28T00:19:00.000-08:00

Dressing Heidi Sage: Pretty Posies

Singingwoods Giveaway

2010-09-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

Helen Simon's Lampwork Rose Bead

I've just found the most wonderful blog that's chock-full of beautiful jewelry, gorgeous lampwork beads, charms, and some of the most adorable fairies you've ever seen!!! Janet has put together a really fun blog that you don't want to miss!

Visit Janet at her Singingwoods Blog to enter to win Helen Simon's gorgeous lampwork rose bead, shown above, and an assortment of beautiful charms and beads. Hurry, time's running out to enter to win this amazingly generous giveaway!!!

http://janet-singingwoods.blogspot.com/

CQMagOnline Article: Painted Backgrounds

2010-03-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

The dragonfly below is from the Painted Backgrounds article in the October 2009 issue of CQMagOnline, featuring painted or dyed backgrounds for use in crazy quilting, or other applications. http://www.cqmagonline.com/vol08iss04/articles/962/index.shtml

The dragonfly and the background are painted on Dupioni silk.

The article includes techniques for dying silk ribbon, lace, embroidery threads, fabrics, etc., without getting undesirable muddy or brown areas.

This Dupioni silk "background" was dyed with OzeCraft fabric dyes.

Dupioni silk fabric, and silk ribbon, dyed with OzeCraft fabric dyes.

Mermaid for Kathy

2010-02-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

Kathy's Mermaid

My part of our "Mermaid's Tale Round Robin"

Mermaid's Treasure Chest from our "Mermaid's Tale Round Robin"

January 2010's FREE Silky

2010-02-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

Cherries

Okay, I knooow it's February already; LOL!!, but please enjoy and *feel free to use this "January Silky," printed on fabric or paper, in some of your 2010 projects.

Please let me know if you like my first hand painted silky of the new year.

*You may copy, save, and print my little hand painted silkies (painted on silk, or sometimes cotton fabric) for your own personal use, including using them for swaps and round robins. You may not use them for publication or for mass reproduction.

December's Free Silky

2009-12-03T22:50:00.001-08:00

Purple and Yellow Pansy in Watercolor
This little pansy silky was painted in a much looser, more casual watercolor-style...
Sometimes it's fun to just play around and not take things too seriously.
Let me know what you think??

CHRISTMAS CRACKERS

2009-11-27T17:35:00.000-08:00

CQI Christmas Crackers - 2009

This is the first year I've participated in the annual CQI Christmas Cracker Swap, and I had a wonderful time making the CQ pieced block covers for each cracker, and then gathering a whole bunch of beautiful fabrics and embellishments to roll up inside each one!!!

Finished Cracker #1

CQ Pieced Block Cover for
Cracker #1

Finished Cracker #2

CQ Pieced Block Cover for
Cracker #2

Finished Cracker #3

CQ Pieced Block Cover for
Cracker #3

BEADED DRAGONFLY TUTORIAL

2009-11-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

All beads are iridescent glass, except
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!!!

A Couple More Color Wheels

2009-11-14T21:40:00.000-08:00

I've found two more color wheels that I like, mostly because of their simplicity!

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.

Red, Yellow, Blue

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

Color Wheel

Red, Yellow, Blue

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

Color Wheel

Please see the main post about supplies -

Color Wheels below.

OCTOBER'S FREE SILKY

2009-11-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

October's Free Silky is the Lavender & Yellow Pansy

Every spring my sweet husband, with a twinkle in his eye and a dopey grin on his face, comes home with "something special" hidden behind his back. As if, after 47 years of marriage, I can't smell the rich soil mingled with the light scent of pansies. My favorites are the ones that refuse to blush at their outrageous deep burgundy, and regal gold finery!

But, it wouldn't be spring without the daintily dressed pink and peach, yellow and lavender, and light blue and periwinkle pansies. Their soft colors might not be as vibrant as their showy cousins, but their appeal can't be denied. Who can resist their soft velvety texture and impish faces? Children say that the places where pansies grow are the most wonderful secret hiding places for tiny fairies and other magical creatures. If your heart is pure, you may see them, too.

2009-11-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

CQ A to Z Color-Study Lesson

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 second color wheel is about 5” across, and can be purchased at your local JoAnn Fabrics, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and most other craft stores. It is a good, compact version of the most popular color wheels, and can be used for our color lessons. (You can always get the Interior Design Color Wheel later.)

This color wheel can be ordered in Spanish, French, and Portuguese from The Color Wheel Co. It is $4.50, which includes shipping in the USA. Contact them for international shipping. http://tinyurl.com/yjfgde6

The following is a great color tool/toy from quilt teacher and author Joen Wolfrom!!

3-in-1 Color Tool by C&T Publishing (optional, but handy)
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.

PRINTABLE COLOR WHEEL

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

November's Free Silky - Morning Glory

2009-11-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

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

CQI Fairy II Round Robin Naked Blocks

2009-10-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here are my Fairy II naked blocks.

All Six 6" Naked Blocks

Ash Tree Fairy

Plane Tree Fairy

Silver Birch Fairy

Acorn Fairy

Alder Fairy

Sycamore Fairy

As soon as we have folders assigned, I'll post them on the CQI site.

October Silky - Lily says she IS a flower, after all...

2009-10-15T23:57:00.000-07:00

Although the October Silky has finally been posted (above), my little Bichon, Lily, has decided to hang out and keep us company for a while longer....

Ellen's Finished FFT #9 Block

2009-10-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

YAY!!!! Ellen's block is finished!!! She'll be the first in our FFT #9 Round Robin to have her block come home... Ellen, I hope you like the work we've done on your 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.

Next, Darlene added a beautiful fabric-transfer angel, (below), and then gave her a set of beautiful golden wings. There are pretty silk-ribbon flowers and a tiny butterfly to keep the little angel company. The frame is made from a delicate yellow braid and tiny pearl beads. In addition to embellishing several seams, Darlene also machine embroidered the little white bird sitting in the nest, just below the angel. Beautiful work Darlene!!! Click on the picture to see a close up view.

And, finally, it was my turn to play! I began by embellishing a couple of seams, and then moved on to make a beaded dragonfly in the upper right corner. Love those dragonflies!!!!! I've had some really nubby, lumpy Edmar boucle thread that I hadn't a clue what to do with, until I decided to use it for a nest and a branch to hold Darlene's adorable little bird. I was pretty happy with my first adventure in "boucle'ing!" (Happy I didn't mess it up!)

Everytime I looked at the dark blue patch that's next to Nicki's flower garden, I couldn't keep from thinking of a pond!!! So, I went for it!!! I used my Sulky variegated metallic thread and created the surface of the "water." I added underwater plants, stocked the pond with fishies (blowing bubbles), and a tiny dragonfly skimming along the surface. I then went back and created more "water" over the fish and plants etc. Then, just for fun, I added transparent sequins and beads here and there. The fish pond is my favorite thing that I did!

And, for even more fun, I sprinkled tiny, tiny little bees everywhere!!!! Love those bees!!!

Ellen, we all had a wonderful time working on your block!!!

My Finished Work on Thearica's Block

2009-09-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Thearica's beautiful block in our CQI FFT #9 round robin is rapidly making the rounds, and is nearly ready to find it's way back home. I've finished my work on the block and am ready to send it on to Ellen, who will be the the last to work on it before it heads back home to Thearica.

Nicki was the first to work on Thearica's block, and she started by adding one of her delicately beautiful hand-dyed pieces of lace in the upper right corner, which she then embellished with silk-ribbon embroidered flowers and beadwork. She then added a beautiful band of silk-ribbon roses, silk-ribbon leaves and embroidered trim - see the photo below. The little butterfly in the upper right corner is also Nicki's work.

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.

With each round of embellishing, Thearica's block is taking on it's own glitzy, glittery, girly personality!!!

Nicki added the really beautiful band of silk-ribbon roses and leaves, and then further embellished with pearls and buttonhole-stitch embroidered lavender trim. The ruched purple ribbon at the top center of the block is also Nicki's beautiful work.

The lavender-colored flower in the corner of the above picture is my work.

Using one strand of DMC thread, I made the tiny bees with four French knots (three wraps each), one black knot at each end, and two yellow knots in the middle. The wings are two metallic thread lazy daisy stitches on each side that are placed in between the two yellow knots. The dotted "speed lines" are tiny back stitches done with one strand of black DMC thread.

My favorite metallic thread is "SULKY Metallic 142 7026." It is soft, flexible, very easy to hand sew, and has a beautiful metallic sparkle. This particular spool is a variegated silver, blue, pink mix that goes with any background color. Just beautiful stuff!!!

NOTE: To give a bit of sparkle, you can substitute beads for the French knots. The remaining instructions are the same.

The web is made with metallic thread (see note above regarding SULKY metallic thread), and the spider is made with two drop beads, a small black bead for the head, and a larger iridescent blue-green bead for the body. The legs are made with glossy black beading thread.

I was the third to work on the block, and my additions were the fan in the lower right corner, the beaded dragonfly and the flowers just above the fan, the spider and spider web, the lavender colored flower in the upper left corner, the tiny bees in the lower left corner, and the cretan-stitch embellished seam across the top of the center patch. I also added beads, sequins and fluff in several places.

Hope you enjoyed seeing our work!

September's Free Silky - Strawberry & Ladybug

2009-09-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite painting subjects, strawberries and ladybugs, teamed up for September's free silky! I hope you will enjoy using it in one of your CQ blocks, paper or fiber creations.

Remember, as always, you may copy and print the image for your own use, including for swaps and round robins, but not for mass use or publication.

Enjoy!!!

Pat Winter's Bird's Nest

2009-08-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

WOW!!!
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.

Pat Winter's Bird Nests

2009-08-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

If you love crazy quilting, fiber arts, collage, or simply love tiny treasures of all sorts, you'll love seeing the enchanting robin's nest that Pat Winter has created. If you'd like a chance to win this little charmer, visit Pat's blog. http://gatherings100.blogspot.com/

Pat Winter's Robin's Nest

Finished My Work on Darlene's CQ Block

2009-08-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

Darlene, your block is ready to go on to Ellen...

I finished my work on Darlene's CQ Block

Layered Seam Close Up

Close Up of Forget-Me-Not Flowers

Center Area of Block

August's Free Silky - Mama Hummer

2009-08-01T16:39:00.001-07:00

This beautiful little hummingbird decided to build her tiny nest just above our fish pond which, of course, gives her access to all sorts of flitting and flying critters as well as nectar from nearby flowers to keep herself and her babies well fed. She also has a well-stocked feeder whenever she wants a quick snack.

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!

AUGUST SILKY - Mama Hummer

July "Wings" Challenge

2009-07-20T00:22:00.000-07:00

Following are three dragonflies I've posted in July's CQI "Wings" Challenge album.

Dragonfly Silky Painted for Kathi's HGTV CQ RR Valance

Painted with Jo Sonja's Acrylic Gouache

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.

Dragonfly made for Darlene's FFT #9 CQ block.

This dragonly is made from the same materials as the one above, except the wings are iridescent turquoise dagger beads. The head is a clear iridescent glass bead and the eyes are tiny iridescent Delica beads.

CQI FFT #9

2009-07-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Darlene's first peek of my work on her block.

Close up of the dragonfly on Darlene's FFT #9 block.

HGTV CQ RR

2009-07-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

MY MERMAID CQ

I've been wanting to make an "under the sea" themed crazy quilt for a long time, and this CQ RR gave me the opportunity. It has been wonderful to have my friends in the HGTV "Luv2Mbelish" group work on my Mermaid CQ. They have done a fantastic job of dressing up and beautifying my CQ !!! One of the most unbelievable things is that for some of the girls, this is their first CQ! I am so proud of all of them!!!

My Naked Block, (with naked mermaids!)

My Finished Block

Upper Left Block

Upper Right Block

Lower Left Block

Lower Right Block

Didn't the girls do a great job in making my block so beautiful?

SILK RIBBON PANSY TUTORIAL

2009-07-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

SILK RIBBON PANSY

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 three front petals will require about 7” of ribbon (mine is yellow), and the two back petals (purple) will need about 5”.

Illustration #1

Illustration #2

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 #3

Illustration #4

THE THREE FRONT (yellow) PETALS:
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.

Illustration #5

Illustration #6

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.

Illustration #7

To finish the pansy you can sew a yellow or gold bead, or a pearl in the center, as shown above. Or, you can make a French knot using four strands of gold embroidery floss for the center, and a fly stitch (or two bullion stitches) for the pansy's little mustache.

The leaves shown above are acrylic “beads” found at local craft stores.

SILK RIBBON LEAVES:

Illustration #8

Cut a 2” length of 7mm green silk ribbon, and fold in half. Start at the folded end of the ribbon, and run a gathering stitch along the narrow selvage edge.

Illustration #9

Pull the thread and gather the ribbon slightly, and then fasten off with a couple of small stitches.

Illustration #10

Turn right side out and finger press the leaf flat. Gather the stem end of the leaf, fastening the thread securely, and then sew in place. Tack the leaf down using as few stitches as needed to do the job.

I hope you will be making lots of these sweet little pansies to make all of your CQ creations even more beautiful!

Carolyn

Naked Block

2009-07-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of my first CQ International Round Robin... I'm look forward to having a lot of fun!!! There are five girls in our group, Darlene, Ellen, Carolyn, Nicki, and Thearica.
Our CQ Angel is JoNZ.

Ellen's finished work on my cottage block...

Ellen was the first to work on my little cottage scene.

She embroidered tiny flowers on the rose vines and larkspurs.

I especially like the ones at the base of the mailbox!

You did a wonderful job Ellen!!!

I love the way Ellen sprinkled flower sequins and beads in the sky, and the clusters of yellow silk-ribbon flowers and leaves are beautiful!

Aren't Ellen's little bees cute?!!!!!

****************************************************************

The beginnings of my little cottage CQ block...

Painted Silky In Progress

Naked Block Close-Up

My naked block ready to make the rounds and get all dressed up.

JULY SILKY

2009-07-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

JULY SILKY - Blue Dragonfly

JUNE SILKY

2009-07-05T17:39:00.001-07:00

JUNE BLOCK

CQMagOnline: Vintage Linens Gift Card Purse

2009-06-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

This little gift card purse was a tutorial that was published in the October, 2008 issue of CQMagOnline: http://www.cqmagonline.com/vol07iss04/articles/862/index.shtml
In this same issue of CQOMagOnline is an interview with Pat Winter: http://www.cqmagonline.com/vol07iss04/articles/854/index.shtml

DESIGN WALL TUTORIAL

2009-06-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

My husband and son put up a large, 96" wide x 84" tall, Design Wall for me last year, and I love it!!!
FABRIC:
I went to JoAnn Fabrics and I brought several small pieces of cotton fabric with me so I could see how well they would stick to the surface of different types of fabrics. I had heard that flannel worked well, and also that the backside of vinyl tablecloths. But, after trying different qualities and grades of flannel, I was really disappointed that none of them really held the cotton in place!!! BUT, what I did find that was absolutely perfect was FLEECE. There are a lot of different qualities of fleece, and the one I decided on was a fairly low-napped but thick fleece. In other words, it wasn't too fuzzy, but the weight and thickness of the fabric was impressive to me. I chose a cream color. Because the width of the fleece is 60" and each of my design wall panels is 48", I was able to have two completely seam-free panels. Plus, I was able to use my JoAnn 40% off coupon on the whole length of fabric!!!The fleece doesn't stretch much lengthwise, but is a little more stretchy width wise. Also, the fleece that I bought has a right side and a wrong side. When you're looking at the right side of the fabric, all you see is fuzz, but when you look at the wrong side, you can see the knitted fabric surface beneath the fuzz.You will have a lot of the fleece fabric left over, and I've found that it makes a wonderful, soft batting for baby quilts. It is also perfect for the needle pages in our sewing kits!!!

DESIGN WALL:
The guys purchased two sheets of 4'x 8'x 1/2" insulation board that's generally used for sound deadening. The insulation board also comes in 1.5" to 2" thickness.They can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes. The insulation board being really lightweight is a real plus!

Since I could use the 96" combined width of the two panels, we didn't need to cut anything off. We did need to cut the length of each panel so it would fit the height of the wall.

The panels were attached to the wall by using three 1"x 2"x 40" wood strips that were attached horizontally (3" in from each side) across the top, the middle and the bottom of the back side of each panel. The bottom edge of each of the wood strips was cut to a 45 degree angle (creating a cleat) before attaching to the backside of each panels. (Please see illustration #1.)

Correspondingly spaced wood strips were attached to the wall. The top edge of each of the wood strips that will be attached to the wall with screws are cut to a 45 degree angle (creating a second set of cleats) that the panel cleats will fit into before being attached to the wall. (Please see Illustration #1)

Okay, it's time to upholster the panels with the fleece fabric. I used an electric staple gun (less than $20 at Lowes) and 1/4" staples. Lay the fleece on the floor with the wrong side facing up, and smooth out any wrinkles. Lay one of the panels on top of the fleece fabric with the wood strips facing up. The fleece can be generously trimmed before you begin stapling it in place. It's always better to have too much fabric than too little! Begin stapling at the top center of the panel, staple an 8" or 10" area, then go to the bottom center of the panel and staple the same amount there, being sure not to pull and stretch the fabric too much. Repeat until you're about 5" from the corner. Then adjust and smooth the fabric and begin stapling the sides of the panel alternating from one side to the other just as you did for the top and bottom. Finally, fold and staple the corners.

INSTALLATION:
To install your Design Wall, line up the wood strips of the panel with the wood strips attached to the wall, and then simply lift the panel up slightly and push gently toward the wall allowing the 45 degree angled cut to slide down and "nest" into the corresponding 45 degree angle cut of the wood strip attached to the wall. They fit together like puzzle pieces. (Please see Illustration #2)

This makes a really nice clean installation with no nails or screw heads showing.

WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG!!!

2009-06-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

My goal for this blog is to share both my love of painting and my love of Crazy Quilting, plus a sprinkling of traditional "sane" quilting.

I still have a lot to learn, but I hope you will find enough of interest here to keep you coming back from time to time...

Thanks for visiting!

Carolyn