Tangled garden

Hubby took the day off today to join his father in a seniors golf tournament. He packed his rain gear in expectation of rain but so far there's been nothing but the odd sprinkle.

I did a quick but much needed cleaning this morning and then took a quick run to a local couturier who does alterations and carries a little bit of everything. I picked up a few more flannels for the burp pads.

 

 

This afternoon, I'm free to play to my hearts content as I don't need to cook, yippee!

I've been cutting up fabric like a preschooler with scissors and coloured paper. It's totally absorbing and maybe a bit crazy!

It's not meant to be at all serious or even realistic, fun only.

It's very therapeutic for me right now. Cutting and pasting

As is my actual garden and my humble deck. Right now, it's muggy, although quite breezy and comfortable. I've brought my snack outside. Summer fruit, cottage cheese with a sprinkle of homemade granola, and homemade ice tea with a touch of unsweetened cranberry. The best thirst quencher.

I took a stroll around the yard for a few more pictures. A reader asked for a more close up picture of the blue bird bath.

The one above I did last year and there's a solar light in it.

I've got the other pieces laid out still. I'm waiting to pick up another little solar light before putting them together. Especially the 'mushroom' it will be cute lit up.

My husband groans when I bring home yard sale junk because he doesn't see the potential.

I spray painted this bent and rusty side of an old metal crib and leaned it against the deck as well as putting in a few vines at its base.

I should have the good camera out here. I'm being entertained by the birds in the bath. A hummingbird just visited the deck. So far, a grackle, two chickadees and a gold finch have been in the bath. Who needs tv!

A gold finch just came for a drink from the fountain. The chickadees will often bathe there.

I've taken a single serving of chilli for supper so I can relax until I'm hungry.

I'm hoping your day is going well.

 

Posted with Blogsy

A little gardening, a little sewing

As per usual this time of year, I divide my day up into a few different activities with some rest in between. This morning , I watered the veggies and put in a few perennials in my back border.

I'm especially cognizant of my time right now since my appointment with the surgeon yesterday. As for the tear in my shoulder, we'll wait and see if it improves. If not, surgery is an option. However, I've been scheduled for a hip replacement in August!

I will need to set some priorities for things to get finished. I need to be recouped aged before the birth of our first grandchild in November.

I put my most recent bird bath that I made from second hand store glass pieces out in the corner of the yard. It's the one on the left with the blue.

Things are growing but I'm anxious for it all to fill out a bit more.

Those tiny bits to the left of the apple tree are cosmos, one of my favourite flowers.

In the sewing room this afternoon, I stitched up one baby burp pad just to see what it would look like, following a pattern sent to me by a blogger friend, Linda Hubbard.

linda-hubbard.blogspot.ca

 

Then, I switched to a little playtime on the latest fiber art piece I'm doing.

The background is all stitched down under a layer of netting. Today, I started cutting some foliage and the lace flowers for the final layer. They look weird now -- the stitching will make them more realistic. Those green clumps are meant to be hostas.

I think a few bigger flowers and leaves and a few insects should do it.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Recycled glass garden art

Over the last couple of years, I've been collecting cheap glass pieces from yard sales and the second hand store.

I did one small birdbath which has been in my garden for a couple years. There is a solar light inside it which still lights up and the birds do drink from it.

You can just see it in the back left corner where I was doing a bit of gardening before lunch.

I brought my collection up to the deck and tried a few combinations. They're not glued together yet. I use exterior caulking.

The upside down pink one was a ceiling light shade. It's deeper so I think it'll be a mushroom. I'm pretty happy with the large one on the left with the nice glass bowl, blue vase and the larger vase on bottom. Nice finds.

Hubby hung the yard sale tiki face in my apple tree.

Another recycled piece is the sunburst clock. I removed the clock and sprayed it and now I'll get a mirror cut for it. I can't wait to hang it in my newly painted bedroom.

It's getting warmer so for now, I'm retreating inside to the AC for a while.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Sketching, Stitching, and Printing Feathers

From one day to the next I never know how I will feel or what I will work on. Since yesterday was sunny and breezy, I did some gardening. I'm slowly weeding, moving and adding plants to my back beds a few feet at a time. Hubby helps with the big stuff. I'm careful but still often need to switch activities the next day.

During my feet up time after lunch today, I sketched a few of my feathers and a small nest. I know, I know, I've already got a few pieces on the go. This one is swirling around in my head though and needs out.

I enjoy painting and printing my own fabrics, so a book caught my eye this summer. In this one I saw the idea of stitching on craft foam to make a stamp or texture plate and I've been itching to try it wondering how it would work.

I bought the book on kindle and liked it so much that I ordered the paper copy. It is so colorful and packed with ideas and exercises.

I lightly penciled on an outline first and then free motion stitched. I must say the foam sews like butter.

There's an area that bugs me though. I got confused with the lines as it was under the machine and turned upside down. Easy to do more and to layer them.

I think it's quite pretty stamped onto paper. It looks quite delicate, an effect better achieved with stitching than by engraving marks into the foam with a pen as I've often done.

I'm looking forward to doing more feathers, a nest and some birds to layer onto fabric.

While I had the paints out, I wanted to add some flowers to this canvas piece that I cut to make myself a pen and pencil case. There are some bare spots.

Here it is with some brush work flowers added.

I'll set it nearby for a day when I'm looking for some no brainer free motion stitching.

I hope you're having a good week and firing some time to be creative in some way.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Sunny and hot means time in the studio

Last week, it rained most of the week and we wished for sun. This  week, we have the sun and hot weather, too hot for me. We're never happy are we? Truthfully, it works out quite well for me. I venture outside for a bit in the morning--today, I watered and added the last of my seeds-- just enough for me to handle in a day.
This afternoon, thanks to air conditioning, I happily went to my sewing studio where I have a window onto my little world.

In another few weeks it should be filled out. We moved the birdbath to the left where we can see it better and I planted all my cosmos seedlings near the apple tree.Watching the birds in the bath keeps me entertained. It is so popular that I swear the birds line up and wait their turn some days.

Hubby also put up a swallow house. It's a little late for this year though.We'll see.
One thing I love to have in my fridge in summer is homemade ice tea. Even though it's officially the first day of summer, this is my third batch.

I usually brew a pot of mixed loose herbal teas. This one is a mixture of a roibos green and a decaf green tea. I let it steep for a while adding lemon juice (fresh when I have it) and about a teaspoon (or to taste) of honey while it's warm. After it has cooled, I pour it into my glass jug and put it into the fridge. Delicious!

If you've been reading for a while, you may know that I've always got a few (too many) projects on the go. I often never know until I wander into the studio and pick up something what I might do.

The other day, I ironed  some angelina fibers and layered them along with soluble stabilizer into a hoop to stitch dragonfly wings. I've just realized that I should have had some netting there too for a little stiffness. I'll add it and try a second set to see the difference.

The plan is to add a dragonfly or two and some other bugs to this piece that I've been free motion stitching.

I added more stems, foliage and flowers with a layer of netting on top t hold it all down.

About half is done to the right. The left is unstitched. I think you can see the difference.

Last up is the baby quilt that I work on a square at a time here and there. I won't have enough of the collection-- Moda Mixologie-- so I'm adding in a couple from my stash. They are the two, bottom right, which I cut a little too large. I wanted to see how they would fit with the collection though and I think pretty well. Also, I've just noticed one square turned the wrong way, top right. The navy is strong. there is more of it though and so it will dispersed here and there.

Untitled

While it remains somewhat gray, it has warmed up and the sun has poked through a few times today. It seems like it's been cold and cloudy forever. I did a load of wash this morning hoping it would clear up enough to get them out. They're stretched out on the line in front of me, a happy sight. Finally, I'm able to sit out on the deck again.

I finished up my cushion and put it on my bed.

Before lunch, I went out looking for a better mattress cover for my bed. Recently, I bought a new mattress and also purchased the obligatory mattress protector. It is one of those with elastic around the bottom edges. I hate it because it always bunches up when you're in bed. My zippered cover from the last mattress won't fit the pillow top. I found one that will although it may be a it too big which I think could be fixed.

After lunch, I thought about venturing outside but somehow ended up in my sewing studio. I played with some free motion, stitching all the grass and plants down. A bit of work but it didn't take that long and it was relaxing. I tried overlaying netting to hold it all down but didn't really like it. Probably, it's best viewed a bit from a distance.

Then I got out the paints and coloured the white lace.

I also starting laying more stems over top. Am I crazy, lol? It's completely fanciful. I'm having some creative fun, not really sure how it will end up or if it will. For now it is keeping me busy and happy.

 

Posted with Blogsy

My projects today

We are still having the most miserable cold rainy weather. Good for staying inside but not at all inspiring.

I really want to get some assessories done for my newly painted bedroom so at least that drew me into the sewing studio. I got the backing and the binding onto the cushion cover and I'm now sitting with it ready to stitch it down.

When my fingers get tired of stitching, I can pick up my knitting.

Since my latest art piece was laying under the needle of the other machine, I rolled over on my chair and did some lines of free motion stitching up and down the flowers and grasses to tack them down.

Being quite different from my other work, I changed how I would actually proceed although it looks much the same. I didn't like the sheen that the fusible gave off - I had ironed it to the right side of the base fabric-- so I cut quite a bit away and covered most of it on the bottom by ironing the strips on top.

I also backed it already with fusible batting and I'm stitching down the foliage, more to be added on top later. The lace will be painted and I will add fusible flowers. There will definitely be some buzzing, flying, and crawling creatures hidden amongst the flowers and foliage.

I hope you're having better weather than we are and you're enjoying your day.

 

Posted with Blogsy