CQJP Block 3

Block 3 complete. I know I'm cruzing along here but I can't help myself.

Oh..And did I tell you I do beaded amulet purses and Christmas ornaments also...Here's a few. Some of the purses are Susan Clark Originals kits.

First crazy quilt

Today I am going to post one of the first crazy quilts I ever made. I made it to enter an embellishment contest through Bead and Button magazine (I think). The requirements were that it had to have at least 100 beads and/or buttons on the surface to the quilt. So I created this quilt. It did not place but was asked to be part of the exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX in 1997.

Here are a few more pictures of my beaded rock from different angles. Somebody even wanted to see the back so I did post the back also. Not real exciting but that's ok. I'm still happy to post it. The center of the dandelion are E beads surrounded by bugle beads going out from the center. The grass has 3 different colors of green seed beads and the sky has 3 different blues with one being a short large bugle type bead. This piece took about 4 days to complete.

I am also moving right along with my CQJP. Block 3 is almost done. Check back in a day or two.

I also entered an online crazy quilt competition. Stay tuned for that information.

Ok I'm cutting it kind of close with my Bead Journal Project but I finally figured out what it will be. I am going to bead some rocks. Make some fancy paperweight out of them. Heres the first one. I was thinking about spring because it -20 below outside.

Silk ribbon

My silk ribbon arrived today....yeah...can't wait to start using it. Very happy with the colors I selected. It's sometimes difficult to see the real colors on the internet. They should go very nicely with my CQJP quilt. These are from Piecemakers Country Store. I order it Jan 18th and it arrived within 2 days. Great service!

CQJP block 2

Hey everybody. Just completed block 2 for the CQJP Here it is.... I am only going to add one more thing to this block. I am going to add a twisted ribbon rose in the upper right hand corner when my new silk ribbon arrives in the mail. I had to order some silk ribbon for this project because I just didn't have any teals and not many browns. So stay tuned for that picture. Otherwise...Have a wonderfully creative day!

Beaded Rock

My friend Connie posed a good question regarding how I put the beads on my rock project. For those of you who are interested this is how I made this rock in detail.

First be sure the rock is clean. Wash and let dry. I then paint the whole rock gold (mainly so if some beads didn't cover the rock completely it would show thru gold and not rock). Let dry again. I then glued a round crystal off center on the top surface of the rock. I then glued the beads around this center crystal. To glue the beads I simply placed about 3 beads at a time on the needle and dip the bottom part of the beads in a small pool of glue which I keep on some wax paper. I keep the glue pool small because it has a tendency to dry out quickly and its easier to dip the beads in a smaller pool. When I run out or it dries up I simply just squeeze out another little pile of glue. Also try to be careful that your beads don't slide off the needle as you are dipping them in the glue. It does take some getting use to but it can be done. I do not have the beads strung. I just keep the number of beads on my needle small so I can handle them easier. I place the beads by hand exactly where I want them to be by using my finger to slide the beads off the needle. Yes, sometimes there are troubles but I just fuss with the beads with the tip of the needle until I get the bead where they need to go. You only want to dip the bottom part of the beads in the glue. Try not to cover them completely with the glue. Once in awhile won't really hurt but you don't want to do it all the time. The glue can slightly diminish the shine of the beads however its not real bad if you don't bury the beads in the glue. I found that Aleene's Original Tacky Glue really holds the beads securely in place.

It can get a little tricky when you are placing the beads on a corner or an edge but just go with the flow and do your best. The edges , nooks and crannies give the rock its character. Also sometimes it is best to let the glue dry completely because you will need to place your hands where beads already are to hold the rock when adding more beads. If the beads are still wet they will begin to come off from handling. Just put the project down for a few hours and let it dry completely.

This rock took about 5 days to complete from start to finish.

Christmas Presents

Today I'm going to share some of the presents I received for Christmas and some I gave this year. First I will show you the wonderful gift my daughter gave me. She was so excited about it she let me open it early because she knew I was going to just love it. It is a wonderful collection of vintage buttons. I live in a very small town and don't have access to a lot of thrift store and such where you can collect such wonderful things. I told here to keep an eye out for some buttons for me this year because I needed some more and she did a great job. I joking call this stuff 'treasure' but we know that it really is 'treasure'.

Next some of the gifts I made. For my mother and daughter I beaded their first initial. I purchased some wooden letters at the craft store, painted them gold and glued the beads on the top. I used a needle to place the beads and simply used Alene's Tacky Glue to glue the beads in place. It actually works very well and holds up pretty good through the years. My daughter still has a little wooden box that I beaded the same way from several years back and its holding strong.

Finally, I beaded a rock (yes, a rock) as a paperweight or what ever you want to use it for. It turned out really nice. Here are a couple of views. I used pretty much the same method as the letters. Simply glued the beads in place.

Since I am still very new to this blogging thing please bear with me as I learn. I will be posting more of my crazy quilted items soon. So stay posted. I will try to post a few times a week as time allows. I have a fairly demanding full time job that consumes a lot of my time.

I have completed my first block for the CQJP. Here it is. The center roses are 13 mm silk ribbon (SR) folded ribbon roses with leaves done in japanese ribbon stitches (JRS) in light brown 4 mm SR. The spray of vines on the lower left are 4 mm SR JRS with oval shaped pearls for flowers. Buttons were a gift this christmas from my daughter. The lace on top right was hand dyed teal/brown. and beading to highlight patterns on the lace itself.

Welcome

Hello.....This is my first blog ever. Welcome to my page. I will do my best to inspire you with pictures and post of my work and other things that inspire me. I have found the internet to be an amazing source for inspiration for myself and hopefully this little corner in it will inspire you as well.

Just a little about myself.....I am single, living in northern Wisconsin, and have 2 dogs (a Golden Retreiver and a Black Lab) who are my constant companions. I have been quilting for about 12+ years and sometimes feel like I was born with a needle in my hands. I have taught quilting for about 10 of those years but I mostly focus on making my own quilts now. I would like to write a book on crazy quilting in the near future and hopefully blogging will give the some of the skills I will need to publish.

I also enjoy beading but have not been doing that for as long....maybe about 7 or 8 years I think. And I am not as comfortable with creating bead project as I am with crazy quilts. But I love BEADS!!!

I have signed up for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQBJ) and the Bead Journal Project (BJP) this year so I will be very busy like the rest of you. Let's have a wonderfully creative new year.

Hope you will enjoy my page.... :)