A Case of the February Doldrums

I guess with all the damp, wet, cold, uckyiness (yes uckyiness is a word - ask any small child) of the winter months, I am having a case of the doldrums.

January seemed to start off so well, continuing the productivity of the Christmas rush when I went with the quilters to Hickory Knob. I was so thrilled with the projects I was able to finish up on and those that were ready for new stages too.

Since getting home I've finished another top and gotten quilts pinned, new ones started and have dabbled in new areas too like the collage project for Doug.

Maybe the issue isn't that I'm not getting anything done...it's that I'm not getting anything finished. That's not entirely true but it sure is feeling that way. I did finish beading the pin I made for Gloria while I was at Judy Twitty's workshop on Monday.

Hopefully I will be able to blog some pics of finished projects soon...in the meantime I will continue to move forward, one stitch at a time.....

More Pins

I've really enjoyed making the little pins. The clay is always fun to play with and being able to incorporate it with fabric and beads (have I said how much I love beads???) is just too cool...




I think this coffee mug one might just be my favorite....














these are the last of the pictures retrieved off of the dead camera....I used ribbon which already had the beads on it for the gold swirl....



















the coffee mugs are just too cool...
















I love the face and included a frosted clear bead in each eye for light....she might need more beads though???



















Diva will definetely need to have more beads added but I'm not sure which ones yet....




















this is the mug one I wore at Christmas...the bow is making me crazy with going flat so I think I'm going to BEAD it into submission...




















the face is a really cool clay piece and I love how fun it looks with the bright and colorful beads...I was also able to incorporate some of my flower beads into it....

Pins and the road trip for Christmas

Saturday the 24th at 1:00 AM I was finally going to bed. Estimated time for departure being 7 AM on the 24th. At 1 AM I had finally finished sewing the last of the lap quilt for my brother. I was beat...completely exhausted and totally not finished with Christmas presents....

We were only off schedule by an hour or so and fortunately traffic was not bad going up 95 to Maryland. I had plenty of time to cut the threads off of both quilts, bead and finish the pins for my daughter and mother and sister, and take a nap.

Taking a nap is the best way to make the trip go by faster. I'm not one of those people who can read and be in a moving car, I get horribly car sick if I do. I have been able to sew, cut threads and crochet for short durations at a time.

So I sing in the car and when everyone has enjoyed as much of that as they can stand, I take a nap...preferably a long one.

I must admit that the Durango has proven to be much more sleep friendly than the Saturn and Sunbird were. The seat reclines further back and there is plenty of leg room for the teenage boys in the back (middle) seat. The back of the truck was full of luggage and presents, some of which were even wrapped (bless the heart of Gloria for that!!).

It's a good thing Doug can use the mirrors or we'd be in deep pooh. Usually there is only a small hole to see out back of when we head up north for the holiday hoedown.

Last year we traveled on Christmas Day and there was hardly any traffic at all (of course there were no food places open either). Christmas Eve proved to be very light traffic wise so we were pleasantly surprised when the trip was shorter than normal AND we were able to be fed too...lol...

Here are 4 of the finished pins. Forgot to get a picture of my mom and sister's pins. I'm keeping the 3rd pin and wore it over Christmas...will probably gift the 1st one and the 2nd one went to my daughter, Brandy for Christmas and the 4th to my friend Jadene.

Pins Progress

After some serious whining and procrastination I have finally gotten off my duff and started working on the pins....Here they are in their before beads state....




I've included some closer up pictures too....still haven't done the binding....do you get the idea I don't like to do binding?!?!?

Hopefully beading will be done soon....I'll work on the book at the same time

....hhmmm may be able to get out of the binding altogether....hmmmm probably not *sigh*.....

Clay Day

Decided to take a change of pace from the quilting to playing in clay. I'm going to try to make pins for Christmas.

So far clay has been baked, rough edges filed and for the first time I am applying a glaze on the finished pieces. We'll see how that works out...if it's a bust and you hear a loud wail you will know it's me....

After they dry I will put them together with some bits and pieces of fabric and ribbon and maybe (okay definetely) some beads....

Here are the pieces I will be working with while they are drying....the larger pieces of leaves and wire were cut down to accomodate the pin jewelry without being so overly large. The butterfly may need a crane to hold it up or I'll just have to give it to a more well endowed friend...lol...Tomorrow I will be back on the quilting.....

Clay molds

These were made using molds. The Sunset Sculpey is probably my favorite color. I used a little too much flour on it though...have to remember that next time.
The pink flesh clay was rubbed in black and gold metalllic rub ons. I poked extra holes to string beads through for hair.
The antique gold used in the little masks is my favorite of the metallic colors.
The translucent head will probably look best on a very dark fabric to really bring out the image.

Polymer Clay

Brandy and I spent an evening working with Sculpey and Fimo clays. The face images were stamped using black and blue granite Sculpey clay. The pink face was dipped in Distress Ink's Fired Brick which I just love. The little image was stamped in ink onto translucent clay. I really like the way the image turned out.
The wine bottle stamp was made using the same Fired Brick Ink.
These images were made using several different stamps on the clay. Not sure if I will put a rub on the pink clay or not yet. The faces are neat looking the way they are. I'm expecially fond of the gold clay. The turquoise granite is pretty too and the little hand stamps are really fun.

Playing with Clay

1. Another new endeavor has been polymer clay. I was having trouble getting it to harden. Margaret saved the day when she said it was one of the clays I was mixing with. Thank you Margaret!!
   
   
   
2. Faces are a favorite whether people or cats. I prefer the torn edges over the cut ones though. Gold and Copper rub-ons were put on the lower 2 images. All the stamped images were put in ink before stamping into the clay and baked.

These were overcooked but I like how they turned out anyway. Rub-ons in silver, gold and copper were put on some of the stamped images. I haven't sealed them yet either.

The following turned out much better!! I love the faces and the metallic clays really make a difference. The gold on some of them makes them really cha cha too!! Margaret made a mold of a sun button to make the suns and little faces.

I had no idea that clay could be so versatile either. The stamps and molds that are available are amazing and so much fun too not to mention the pearl, metallic and granite clays that are out there to choose from. All the clays I was using were either Fimo or Sculpey. I used Margaret's stamp of the pink geisha girl which is simply gorgeous with the pearl in it. I'm not sure yet if I will add rub-ons or just how I will finish her to bring out the detail in her image. The ART was stamped in ink before stamping into the clay and baked.