Tuesday, January 28, 2014

what if? - abandoned projects

What if I like in-between projects? What if I have the bodies of many of those projects, tucked in various drawers and boxes? What if I join Arlee's hand embroidery Facebook Group (already happened)? What if I dig out one of these projects and start working on it again (again, already happened)? What if I show you some progress photos? What if I say that I originally abandoned this piece because I didn't like the fact that the braids were going 'wonky'? What if I say that I preferred them straight?
What if I was persuaded to embrace the 'wonkiness'? What if they were right? What if I included a "wonky" section, then some embroidery, then 'straight', then more embroidery, then more "wonkiness"? What if I added some beaded backstitch?
What if I say that I'm enjoying the process? What if I say that I'm using my own, machine wrapped braid? What if I say that it doesn't really matter, because the handwork is the entire point of the piece? What if I say that the piece is 5 1/2" wide X 70" long? What if I say that I'm just past the halfway mark? What if I say that I may need to repeat some fabrics? What if I say that I don't think anyone would notice? What if I say that I've already raided a friend's stash? What if I say thank you? What if I say that I'm happy with my overall progress? What if I say that I'm totally in love with the process? What if I say that I won't give up all of my other techniques? What if I say that this one is particularly restful and relaxing? What if I say that I love blues and greens?
What if I say that I'll have a lot of TV to watch, before finishing this piece? What if I say, what do you think?

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

bjp 0114 - in the pink

Well, January is a funny month! You'd think that I would find it depressing, but no I'm feeling "in the pink" and am looking forward to all the exciting challenges 2014 has to offer. Change is not always good, but I've decided to embrace mine and enjoy the new experiences. I'll stick with my leaf series, but probably end the year in September. That makes me happy, because it means that I've already completed my first three pieces (due to a late start in 2013). Yeah!!! I'm well on the way to accomplishing my goal. All that being said, let me introduce my January leaf!
I'm teaching my first Paper Bead workshop at BeadFX on January 26th, so I thought that it would be a good idea to include one of the first ones I made. It makes me happy, it's pink and white, and fits my theme (recycled paper from an old needlework pattern book). The shells are from an ugly old necklace of my Mother's, the buckle from a discarded watch strap and the sparkly earring, little butterfly and various metal bits, from my swap stash. I love these little goodies! I don't always remember who gave them to me, but they are still very special and precious. Most have flown to Canada, in various swaps and trades from all different parts of the world. It proves that people are very generous, and our world is united in a love of sparkly stash!!!!
In this section, you can see the bottom of my focal, more of the earring, and a few old necklace components. And now the full piece! Tada!!!
The focal is a fabulous vintage button, and one of those gifted to me by my sister at Christmas. She knows how much I love vintage and she happened to find the button in a very cool knit/coffee shop in Sault Ste Marie, ON. I should remember the name, but I don't, but do remember that it has "Motley" in the title. I really should remember because a) I visited the shop before it opened, and b) I may be able to teach some workshops &/or sell some stuff there in the future, and c) it's owned by my brother-in-law's, nephew's, wife. Sheesh! I promise, it's only a momentary loss of memory. The name will probably pop into my head soon after I publish the post. Stitches used include back, stacked, boucle/bocche and peyote. The leaf shape was traced from one I collected in the fall. I have no idea what tree it's from. Oh, one more thing.....pink is not one of my favourite colours, although I do like the duller tones! I chose it because of the focal. More later.......

Monday, January 6, 2014

what if? - paper circles

What if I buy more glue sticks, instead of constantly searching for the two UHU ones that I already own? What if I use pages from the old 'Dominion Educator' I purchased in Aberfoyle at the end of the summer (or was it fall)? What if I buy a 3/4" circle, paper punch (already happened, but I really wanted a 1" one)? What if I totally wreck my hands by punching out tons of little tiny circles in a very short period of time(again, already done)? What if there's an easier way? What if I actually use some of those circles? What if I don't follow Kaite's idea for making a slinky, though beautiful and probably terribly impractical, necklace out of them (like she spotted on a friend)? What if I pile them up,and UHU some of them together? What if I then punch a hole in them? What if I have no idea how I want to coat or protect them? What if I just make a bunch and then figure out what I'm going to do later? What if I add them to a stitched piece, bead journal or make a completely different type of necklace/bracelet/earrings out of them? What if I tell you that I have some ideas, but don't want to share until I experiment (selfish, I know)? What if I figure out what to do with the leftover bits from punching out the circles? What if I actually have more circles, but that they're in neat stacks, just waiting for a good TV show and UHU? What if I confess that I now own a 1" and 1 1/2" circle punch? What if the circle has no end?
What if I take a nap?

Friday, January 3, 2014

what if?

I started a new series in 2014? What if I focused on recycled materials? What if it's all about making do? What if I used some of the swapped paper and old calendars that I've been hoarding? What if I used fabric, thread, yarn and lace? What if I used beads and embellishments? What if I include natural elements? What about paint? What if I didn't impose any limits? What if it's all about trying different techniques? What if it's all about the photos? What if it's about making components? What if I'm just scratching the surface? What if I have no idea how often I'll post? What if I dreamed this up when I woke up this morning? What if it's just plain fun?
What if it's woven calendar pages from a prior year(thanks to an annual calendar exchange with Kaite in Australia). What if I have no idea what to do with these pages? What I frame them, stitch them, paint them, cut them up for backgrounds, line a tray, or make cards or coasters out of them? What if I put them in the component box? What if I make a what if box? What if I encourage all of you to play along with me? What if you link back to me so that I can see what you're up to? What if I'm finished with my what if's for today?