Pops of Color

I made another tree....this time one side was blues and greens....with black and white and metallic accents.

The second side is similar to the others......bright and colorful. And this time....I used a star base.

I gifted this tree to Janice today....there are always fun things to see at Janice's. house.

I fell in love with her new wreath. As a matter of fact I had already decided to set aside the baubles on my tree when I take it down and try and make my own ....and seeing Janice's clinched it.  

I have way too many ornaments...so I'll never miss them on the tree.  This year I only put up 1/2 of my ornaments....so my plan is a win win!  We'll see how it goes.

And....nothing but possibilities from this colorful container of goodies.

Janice is working on these fabulous star ornaments......that sweet needlework tree design is amazing.  She will hand stitch around the edges and stuff them a bit. I just love them....and may borrow her pattern.

I also visited Margie....and this fabulous Winter Stamp puzzle was finished on her table and I'm looking forward to doing it too! I love a day that's filled with pops of color.

Joyful Inspiration

"She believed that all people deserve love, support, and equality. She believed that her husband was the love of her life, her children were wonderful, and her grandchildren were utterly perfect. She believed that lawns were for kickball, birds should be fed, the dusting and ironing should be put off to later, and curling up with a good book is always a good idea."  

This is an excerpt from the obituary of my neighbor and friend Sandy who recently passed away from a sudden and serious illness.  I'm so glad I knew her....she was an inspiration. 

Another frost photo from Alyson.

Sometimes things pile up all at once that just feel heavy. Several people I really care about are struggling in one way or another with illness and loss....and it breaks my heart. But these people are also some of the very people who so often lift me up in one way or another. I'm grateful to them....and I wish them peace and comfort with their struggles.

These days when my heart is heavy joy is a little harder to find. I was scrolling back through my photos and came across some joy I meant to share...so this is the perfect day to celebrate an artist I admire.

Last time I visited Anne, I saw her finished "embroidery journal." From a distance it looked like a colorful abstract work of art, but up close it was a delightfully detailed year long journal of 2021.

Her project was inspired by these artists on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thestircrazycrafter/

https://www.instagram.com/threesixfivestitches/

Anne filled each month's wedge with words and images that captured her joys and adventures.  Each month included a yoga pose and something about her three young granddaughters...the rest just unfolded.  

Anne's journal hangs in their condo in Portland under this fabulous art quilt honoring her and her husband Dana's bike trip around the world.  

Joyful inspiration at its best.

Pine Branches

I was looking for images on Pinterst of pine branches for a project and this image came up. I had to pause for a minute to figure out what was going on....and when I did I had to know more. It was done by Swiss artist and comedian Ursus Wehrli as part of his "Art of Clean Up: Meticulously Arranging Everyday Objects."  

I spent a little time reading articles and finding images that made me smile.  

https://www.manmadediy.com/1267-the-art-of-clean-up-meticulously-arranging-everyday-objects

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/garden/ursus-wehrlis-neat-and-tidy-world.html

Here you can see where he tidies up some famous works of art:  https://www.demilked.com/tidying-up-art-ursus-wehrli/

I was intrigued....and it was good entertainment. I chuckled when I read in the New York Time article that when his 2 year old son scribbled on the living room wall he just put a frame around it.  "Art or mess...is in the eye of the beholder." Yes!

The pine branch search reminded me of this card I made for Connie years ago.  After she passed away it came back to me and I actually think I'm going to use a similar idea for the project I have in mind. So stay tuned....but it's going to a little on down the road.

Orton Park

I was quite taken with a fabric/needlework piece Tracie had hanging in her living room.  I was drawn in by the circles....and totally inspired by the story that goes along with it. 

Tracie and her husband Loon are quite passionate about taking care of the trees in their neighborhood. Loon "rescues" trees, brings them back to life, and gives them away to "anyone who has the time and space to plant them." I consulted with Becky because she has two of his trees....and she told me that Loon has a Facebook Page called the "Little Free Tree Library." How cool is that!

Tracie and Loon live right across the street from Orton Park...a peaceful and picturesque spot filled with beautiful trees.   Their daughter Ansley made this whimsical art piece mapping the trees in their beloved park....I was smitten!

The details are so much fun.....such a clever idea and the perfect gift for Tracie and Loon.

When I got to Maine today and saw blue and green circles sitting on my table and I knew immediately what I was going to do for today's card.  Inspired by Ansley's map of Orton Park....here's card #38. Playing with the map theme I used a nautical map that I had watercolored over years ago for the background and added circles that were also in my stash.  Because of the whole story that goes along with this card....it may be my favorite so far!

Common Ground

I can't help but celebrate when this blog connects me with other artists....especially when we find common ground.  Christine and I have never met. We took an on-line class together a while back and she's been following my blog ever since and she recently donated to our church school bag project. 

Christine knits and crochets....but is also a crafter and loves experimenting with fabric, yarn, and beads...so we have that in common.  She confessed that she's not much a finisher...so we have that in common too.  It would be kind of fun to line up our collective "works in progress"....it may be a bit alarming.  But...we both agree that if we're having fun it doesn't matter what get's finished....because we do finish the important ones.

I have Christine's permission to share this delightful little quilt she finished using a pattern from a book called Dream Landscapes by Rose Hughes.

Raw edges are overlapped and covered with couched yarns and trims.  I think the colors and embroidery embellishments are just delightful. 

I'm inspired!

I hope to see her next finished project...and she'll see mine here in blog land at some point.  It is time to at least start something....or finish something already started.

French Knots

What a difference a few french knots make.

Passenger Project

I did a little handwork on my June project during the ride back to Lexington today. We've been taking two cars the last few trips to Maine so we could move up things we had stored.  I'm much happier when I'm a passenger....working on a project.

Inspiration Piece

This is the inspiration piece that got me interested in needle punch.  I found it several years ago in a little handicraft shop in the middle of Maine near Moosehead Lake.  It was framed kind of oddly in a shadow box with a wallpaper background but it very reasonably priced for something so special. It's about 10" by 10". I snatched it up and took it out of the frame as soon as I got home. I've had it hanging on the bulletin board in my craft room....but I think it's going to have a spot in my new studio eventually. It's quite a splash of color and makes me smile every time I see it.

Projects in Waiting

Here are a few needle punch projects patiently waiting for my return....they've been waiting a long time.  I want to write a little about needle punch...but not tonight.  It was another big outdoor work day and I'm tired.  My DVR is calling me!

Hand Stitching

After a few hours of yard work I settled in this afternoon and worked on hand stitching through an entire Red Sox game with Paul. I'm getting close on my January aqua and red Folt Bolt project and I made a few colorful needle punch tufts. I have an idea for the May collage...but I'm not sure it's going to work yet. It was one of those middle of the night ideas. More on my experiment and needle punch in general coming soon...another media I enjoy that's been tucked away for a while.

Maybe a few stray beads here and there and the January piece might be done. I need to let it sit a day or so. Then it's all about rainbows.

Playing With Rocks

These are actually rocks that I felted with wool using a wet felting technique.  I wrapped the rocks with layers of wool roving and with soapy hands just rolled them in my hands over and over until they were smooth. Then I rinsed them and let them dry.

I have also been quite intrigued with crocheted rocks like these beautiful ones that I found here.

I didn't know how to crochet...but I have friends who do...and they helped me out. These are my first...and maybe my last crocheted rocks.  But not bad for a first time.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I am writing this on April 12th and it's mom's birthday....she would have been 89 today. One of my favorite things I have from my mom is this needlework bell pull she made.  It hangs in my living room and I see it almost every day.

 

My mother was a a busy woman having raised nine children on a farm. But I have a very clear image of her relaxing in a rocking chair in the corner of the dining room at the end of a long day...reading, looking through magazines, and once in a while doing a little needlework.  She loved that spot...away from the TV and the kids.

One of my fondest memories was coming home very late at night from my waitressing job and seeing the dining room light on...knowing she waited up sitting in her corner.  She did this every now and then and loved helping me count my tips.  I miss her!

The picture below is me at 2 months old with my mom in 1959....I was the 7th child.  She always said she loved the babies...all 9 of them.



In this beautiful picture I think she was just 18.
Elaine Marie Funk Miller.  1926-1988.

Blackwork...

...or in my case "bluework."  It might be hard to tell but this is actually navy blue.

I had seen some interesting repetitive needlework patterns on Pinterest and I was intrigued.  I had never heard of blackwork...but once I started checking it out I was hooked.

I bought a sampler pattern and have pinned several patterns on my  needlework pinterest board.
Using a combination of the patterns...I put together my own little sampler....and have yet to frame it.

I have always been a cross stitch fan...and always will be...but you are constantly committed to the pattern.  What I like about blackwork is once you have the flow of a particular motif...you can just keep on repeating without having to look at the pattern. This makes it a good project when visiting with friends or watching TV. There will be more blackwork in my life...or versions of it.  

Can you spy the missing stitches below?  Since I haven't framed it yet....I can fix it.  Procrastination pays off now and then.

I did a small sampler in the Pinterst inspired journal....when I had Ellen's book.  

Splashes of Stitches

Here is another spread from my Pinterest inspired journal.

This page was inspired by this pin of a quilt found here on flickr.  I used felt, floss for the french knots, beads and sequins. I made this page while I was away with my friends for a stitching weekend...so I only could use what I had with me.  If I did it again I would use my sewing machine and do some free motion quilting.

This page was inspired by this pin on my doodle Pinterest board.  The painting can be found here on photobucket.

I watercolored a few circles and used floss, beads and sequins for the embellishments.

Pinterest Evergreen

  

I saw this on Pinterest and it inspired 

me to make this card for a friend. I used 

floss to hand stitch the pine branch.