My CQ Challenge Project-Needlebook

I issued a challenge to the lists for an item swap. The deadline was April 15th so I am a bit late. I made this at the O'Fallon, Ill retreat which was planned by Maryanne Griffin.

Blast from the Past

I don't have many photos of things I made in the past but these are four of my daughter's prom (and other) gowns that I made. I had to cut out the photos of the dudes because she is now married. LOL! The blue and silver one was her Senior Prom in 1999. You know they played the Prince song right? Their colors were Silver and Midnight Blue. I had bought about three gorgeous gowns during the summer for her dances... but noooooooo.. it was the "tradition" for Mommy to make all the dresses! The Black and White one was Junior Prom and the Gold brocade was the guy's senior prom. The blue and silver one.. It is gold lame with a lace overlay.. all discount fabric meaning the dress COULD have been under $30..HOWEVER the trim around the top and bottom was hand beaded with bugle beads... try as I might.. it was the only one that really looked great... cost of 5 yards of trim? $120.00 worth of bling. The pink one was for homecoming one year (I think) . That might have been the last pink thing she wore. She is kind of an athletic, organic gardening archeologist digging in dirt and swampy marsh type sweetie. :o) Too bad I don't have any photos of my son in the "jams" I made for him when those were in style... remember those? He is probably happy I don't have any.... but hmmmm... maybe I do....

Daughter's CrazyQuilt Adventure

Here is the nearly finished block cropped. My daughter worked on this Satureday and Sunday and raided my stash combined with some of her own that she had left from when I taught her several years ago. She doesn't have much time to do this but she wanted to make this gift for a friend.

My daughter came over this weekend to make a scrapbook cover for a friend who is having a baby (are we in the middle of another baby boom? Here are some photos of her work. She didn't quite finish but she is well on the way.

A Little Gift for Friend

Who would have thought making art bras would be such fun! Since 2004 I was involved with an artbra project with the Way to Women's Wellness, founded by Vickie Brown of Ribbonsmyth.com. The idea was hatched on a trip to France for Sophie Gelfi's CrazyQuilt Festival and soooo many trips, events and actitivities followed surrounded by those bras. It was a worthy cause to raise money for research and a guilty pleasure for having my art displayed in calendars, galleries, hospitals, and finally at the Houston Quilt Show. I made this little post card as a memory for Vickie, who had one little idea that turned in a massive amount of fun and satisfaction.

Guild Crazy Quilt finished.

I stalked this fabric at Joann's until they had it for 40% off. I have enough left to play with for something else. The picture doesn't do it justice.. it is pretty stunning. It is in the Home Dec Section. I thought it would blend with the front but be a nice contrast and the embroidery matches the green in the binding and borders. I also stalled the dupioni silk that is embroidered with butterflies and them embellished with sequins and beads. It was at the Sewing Studio and on New Years day they always have a sale that is 40% off the total purchase. So potentially both the border and the backing on this quilt could have totaled $200. So you can see why crazies can be so pricey if you use new fabrics. The blocks are constructed of some new and some old fabrics. I made kits for the class and then they bought fabric to add. The use of the kits made all the blocks coordinate but they are also different. Some class participants used the pre-printed Benartex blocks I provided and a few did it the free wheeling way. If they were having trouble I told them to just think of a wonky log cabin and that did the trick. There were a couple who actually dabble in crazy or have done them before. They just came out to hang out and stitch and kvetch.
The Block Makers

Some of the blocks closeup

Closeups-Pansy Quilt

Progress on Pansy Crazy

I posted sometime earlier the blocks from my guild crazy quilt. The blocks were done by several members. Some were embellished and some were not.. I embellished the unadorned ones and ad
ded some to a few of the others so they look more like a part of the whole.












Here it is with the borders added. The purple border is moire taffeta and the green border is an embroidered dupioni silk. The color doesn't show up very well here.

I made something-but it's not crazy!

This is a "Gratitude" Message Board for my office. I have seen this made several different ways so I sort of combined all the instructions I have run across to make my own. We just got a new Hobby Lobby which was very exciting. Before this the closest one was in Ocala. I actually used to only get to go when I would travel to Omaha for the Annual Crazy Quilt Conference/Retreat in Omaha. Then it came to Ocala so I could go when I went to visit my daughter. Now I have one 5 minutes away. Joann's and Michael's is close by also so it is creative artist Nirvana when you need a quick fix.

Florida Cabin Fever Crazy Quilt

These blocks were contributed by members of my traditional quilt guild after taking a class I did for one of our "Fun Nights. Some of the blocks weren't embellished so I added the crazy touch which was part of the deal. I am just happy so many guild members wanted to participate. The blocks are a combination of hand and machine stitching. it all goes together surprisingly well. The color is a little off but it is really pretty. I did give them kits and tell them to add their own fabrics. This quilt will be the "consolation" or second prize after the Donation Quilt is won.

What I did over my Thanksgiving Holiday!

I used my limited jewelry making skills to teach my daughter to make jewelry. She is a fast study, huh? She made all except for the black necklace with the wire wrapped beads and the cinnabar earrings. I made those to show her how. She made all the rest.

Pfaff without a head :o(

I was given this treadle base before I started collecting treadles. My packrattedness would not let me get rid of it. I am looking for a machine that fits. :o) I will get one of my "Onion" friends to help. Onions are natives of the revered and ancient kingdom of Treadleonia dontcha know?

The Old Razzle Dazzle

This is my latest bra which is traveling to Vicki Brown for the Houston Quilt Show. I saw this fabric and it reminded me of the song "All that Jazz" of Bob Fosse fame. I love the style of dance in his shows and the words in the song "Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle" which is sort of my anthem for life. :o) It is very much more blingy than the photo can show. It was a lot of fun to put together. I actually "built" it while shopping and it came together exactly as I visualised. It is a bit simpler than the others I have created because it doesn't need much help! Thanks to Vickie Brown and Ribbonsmyth.com for all the years of this fun project with a cause. You made This crazy idea seven years ago has made Art Bras a sensation across the country and has spurred many fundraising and education efforts around breast cancer prevention and research.

Penncraft Swing and Sew-Toga Acquisition

This machine was made by JC Penneys and is a clone of a machine called the Elna Lotus. The Penney's version is a Japanese Clone. The machine sews very well. I got it at the 2010 Florida Treadleon Gathering and Academy, otherwise known as a TOGA. I belong to a group that collects and uses people powered sewing machines ( Treadles and Handcranks). However, the occasional vintage electric machine does catch one's fancy. Isn't this machine just plain fun???

Labor Day "Labor"

I spent last weekend at my friend Mary Lou's house. She is a beader so I took my beads and she taught me how to finish off a necklace. We had a blast.

The dragonfly bracelet is made from Beads my daughter Nicole( otherwise known as Noodle) got me for Christmas. The purple crystal one is for her just for the fun of it and the glass turtle is for her also. She is in Anthropology/Archeology and she often has to identify small bones such as fish and turtle. She also loves turtles and has a tortoise named Turtle Sam.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers... A New Bra

Whole bra














When contemplating a new bra for the next Way to Womens' Wellness exhibit, I thought of the Emily Dickinson poem, "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" and started to work on it. But then I was shopping for something else in the crafty section of Joann's and ran across these colorful feathers (which I already had at home by the way). I had already had begun another idea based on this theme but when I saw these feathers, I had another thought. The first concept involved very light, fairy-like colors with translucent, ethereal fabrics. But when I thought about it, if you are in a fight for your life or if you are a researcher working on a cure for cancer, hope is charged with fire, energy and color and takes on a different persona of determination and drive. This bra symbolized the fiery, energize side of hope.

My Latest Bra-Black Beauty

This bra depicts the journey of black women through times history in America where they were considered to be either not attractive, or to be "second-class" beauties that did not meet the white "ideal". Black women bought bleaching creams, tried to hide their full lips and africanized features. As time moved on, with the advent of the civil rights movement and campaigns such as "Black is Beautiful" and song like "I'm Black and I'm Proud", black women began to celebrate their unique aesthetic and soon the media began to (somewhat) embrace their beauty. This bra is a tribute to black beauty across the ages and encourages all women to realize their beauty and not try to fit into someone else's ideal. It was fun (and cathartic) to work on it. The bra is black velvet embosses with gold and embellished with photos printed on fabric, charms, trims, silk flowers, fringe. The charms are implements of grooming, such as combs and mirrors.