"Colours of my Mind" because these are the colours I want in my head!!!

I have stitched the pieces of material around the central copy of the beach painting. I tried to use the colours that would extend the painting out to the edge of my picture. The line of hand-tacking is a good 1/2 inch or 1.5cm past the edge of where the picture ends, giving me plenty of room to run trims over the edge and giving me a decent turning over the board when it's finished.

Any "wobbly" areas or seams will be covered with trim, beading or embroidery so won't be noticeable. The main exercise for today was to get all the pieces of material attached to the backing fabric. So far I like what I've done.  I've also dyed some lace to use as grasses on the sand.

Some of the colours show up darker than they really area. For instance, the dark purple on the left is actually a shot silk in purple and pink and the ugly "grey" patch on the right is really a beautiful mushroom pink velvet.

Meditation Crazy Quilt picture

Today I started tossing around ideas for a new project.  I found this oil painting in a charity shop and it looked so peaceful and tranquil - almost like an unspoken prayer.  I loved the pale colours especially the sky where the mauve flows up into the pink.  Anyway, I took the picture out of the gold frame, scanned it into the computer and then printed it on Photo paper.  After that, I machine stitched the A4 material image onto backing fabric and I've started messing around with various colours and tones of material to try and extend the picture out on all sides.  I'll use the original to refer to when I want to add grasses and seaweed to the sides and bottom edges. 

 The original painting is on the right, while the same image transferred onto material is in the centre of all the toning scraps of fabric which I will stitch around it to create a crazy quilted border.  I have a stunning image in my head but getting it onto material to frame is a whole different matter!!!

I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew this time.  Watch this space because believe me, it will be just as much a surprise to me as to anyone else.

This is the original painting......so serene. I loved it on sight.

 

 

Colours of New Zealand picture

I finished the Colours of New Zealand cq picture and I blogging it just so I have a record of how it turned out and also to compare it to my previous two "Colours of......." pictures.  There is a lot of background texture in this picture that doesn't show in the front.  For instance, the lake beneath the mountains is a piece of silk fabric which has been smocked on the back to create the ridges. Once it was sewn in place, I stitched rows of beads between the grooves. The snow on the mountains was a piece of very sparkly stretch open-weave material which was ironed onto a stabilizing fabric before being cut out and appliqued onto the grey satin mountains with blanket stitch worked in a similar coloured sparkly thread. And the fields on the left were small pieces of various green and yellow materials machine sewn into a patchwork of squares before being sewn to the backing.  The Kiwi was a piece of patchwork material with the Kiwis already included. I used two strands of embroidery floss and stitched over the top of the existing bird then went over the top with a single strand to make it more fluffy. I used the colours that were already printed on the fabric to create the shading.

The lady who ordered this picture was from Christchurch, New Zealand. She asked for mountains and sea, River Avon, lambs, the Christchurch Cathedral (now gone since the earthquake), Hydrageas, a Kiwi, a Tiki and she sent me a photo of the first house that they lived in which I printed out on fabric and embellished. The red flowers represent the New Zealand Christmas Tree.

 

When my friend saw the Sardinia picture, she commented "I wonder what the Colours of Widnes would be - dirty old town!". That was like red rag to a bull and I had to show her what my impression of the "Colours of Widnes", which is an industrial town in Lancashire, England, would be. Unknowingly, I included the bridge that her grandfather worked on and the Widnes Railway Station which was where her father worked. I love this picture, so dull and grey and yet so interesting.

And here is the original "Colours of Sardinia" picture which I made for a friend from work and his wife as a house-warming present. It doesn't matter that they'd been in the house by the time I finished the picture, they loved it, especially Anna who said that it completely captured the beautiful colours of their homeland, Sardinia, Italy. It was from this that the Widnes picture evolved and eventually the NZ picture.

Cream blocks joined in pairs

Here are the first eight cream-on-cream blocks which I've joined down the centre in pairs so that I could embroider over the joining seam. Apart from the gold basket which has been stitched over with flowers, I have unpicked all the metal charms and replaced them with gold embroidery. Now that I have to wait two weeks for my wrist to heal, I can at least continue unpicking more gold metal charms before I am allowed to start stitching again.  Anyway, lots of people have commented that my cream blocks have been a long time coming out of hiding so here are the first four pairs.

Hexagon 26 Finished

This is hexagon number 26.  A little too bright for my normal taste but I need to have an even mix of brights and pastels in this quilt in order to have some contrast.  I went back to something that I haven't done for ages, in fact I can't remember the last time I made a button trail but this block seemed to call out for one. The crochet lace and the green embroidery under the red flower is a chunk cut from an old doily I think it fits that corner quite well. I finished this one yesterday in the hospital.  Today Eddie wants me to bring the circle of 19 hexies and the seven finished individual ones and start stitching the next row around the circles - I think he wants to be part of the process of choosing which hexie goes where so that the colours of the borders look good together. I love it when he wants to be part of the process - it's his journey more than it is mine.........

Hexie 25 finished. Eddie's favourite.

Yesterday I sat with my husband Eddie in Kalamunda Hospital and finished the edging on Hexagon number 25.  He had been transferred to Kalamunda Palliative Care Hospital and Hospice earlier in the day from Royal Perth Hospital and was much happier to be in a place of quiet calm instead of the frenetic pace of a large public government hospital in the middle of a big city. Kalamunda is on the eastern edge of Perth suburbia, it is leafy and shady and surrounded by tall gum trees and the hospital is built around a quadrangle which has ferns, trees and a pond and fountain with gold fish........a lovely place to be. We could hear the sounds of Kookaburras and Magpies and Eddie could lie back and feel peaceful knowing that he is in a much better environment. His room is light and airy with an en-suite bathroom, the nurses are much more patient-friendly and he looks out onto the open garden area. Hopefully, if the doctors can do something about controlling his pain levels, he may be able to come home for a while, if not, then he couldn't be in a nicer place.

While he lay back and relaxed either on the bed or on a large comfortable chair, I stitched and when this hexie was completed, Eddie reckoned that it is definitely his favourite by a long way. I think it is the colours which are very light and Summery - whatever the reason, this one will always be special to me now.

The Princess Dress fits the Princess!

Today my step-son sent me this photo of his daughter Alyssa in her princess dress.  Considering that I guessed her length, it fits really well.  Now, if the two fairies fit this well, I shall be happy. I don't know what she was doing with her hands - flapping or clapping them probably!