NeedleandHook

Lame circles

2012-02-27T08:53:00.003-08:00

Seven more circles are completed ... almost.... only one to go!!

The next 4 are connected pink, green, purple, gold

The pink in both groups is the same circle... the light makes it look
different.

The light blue is the almost done one...

I am also auditioning ideas for the sashing around the perimeter of the quilt .... I don't have a lot of the gold organza left so I squeezed in a small section of an idea for the sashing in with my last two circles....

Flowers/sequins would... might go in the center of each circle. butttt I am not liking it too much..

I also have mounted the 2nd of 4 sections of the background so I can pick away at that in my spare time!!

More Psychedelic Cricles

2012-02-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

Five more circles are completed. Four are a group and overlap - pink, green, purple and gold.

The dark blue is a separate circle.

The light changes the look of each circle. Above the light catches the dark blue lame under the circle. below you see the gold mottled organza.

All of these are still on the frame.

True colors

2012-02-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

I finally got some good pictures of my new quilt!! A friend took them at a lecture I did on Friday.

The colors are truer in these photos.

The purple pink and orange circles are just pinned onto the background. I was wrong I have 13 more circles to make!!

Delectable Mount Cloth

2012-01-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I went on a field trip to my favorite fabric store Delectable Mountain Cloth in Brattleboro VT.

silk chiffon velvet brocade

1/4 yard cuts of anything

new and vintage laces

They carry a wonderful array of fancy fabrics, buttons, lace etc.
It makes my heart sing and my eyes glaze over.
The window display was also was a wonderful group of faeries....

A totally delightful trip!!!

Lame Quilt Background

2012-01-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

My computer has been in the "shop" for exactly one week. It's amazing how much work one can do when the distraction of just "one" game of solitary is not an option.

I was still thinking about what background fabric to use for my new quilt. Even though I have three different fabrics, I almost bought a fourth last week. I resisted because of an idea that has been rolling around in my head for the last month or so. Nothing seemed to go with my psychedelic circles so I decided to try this idea.

I ironed "Lite Steam-A-Seam 2"on all the colors of my lame and cut them out in 1" squares and ironed them on the geometric (just like my last quilt) taffeta fabric. I shaded the colors from dark to light and then embroidered the lines with a combination of beads and sequins... also darker to light.
So 8 hours of laying out the pattern and ironing it on the background "canvas".

and about 20 hours of beading and I think I have a background I like!

I just laid the circles on to see how it looked.

1 section done and 3 sections plus 10 or 11 circles and I will be done!!!

Layered Lame Quilt

2012-01-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

The project I am working on is done differently then my previous quilt . The circles will be in a pyramid and the center will be lighter than the outside. The circles are from 6 to 8 inches in diameter and some are single and some are in groups. I just finished this group making 13 completed and 19 to go.

Blogging has given me the opportunity to talk to other people with the same interests. I recently got and e-mail from a young man, Adrian, who was in Paris taking the level I class at Ecole Lesage. One of the things we discussed was where to buy sequins. Since I took my first class at the Ecole Lesage I have been on the hunt for fine sequins. I have found some on e-bay, antique shops and online at www.bergerbeads.com . To find worms (sequins on a string) in a specific color and type is difficult. I suggested he go to Fried Freres.

This picture was taken in 2009 by my husband.

Fried has hanks of sequin "worms" in a rainbow of colors, sizes, flat, cupped, metallic, matt, translucent. Drawers and drawers of them. The only drawback is that you have to buy them in hanks of 10 worms or 10,000 sequins in each color.
Adrian purchased a variety of 4mm translucent sequins and I purchased 1/2 from him.

I am having fun with my new toys! Thank you Adrian!!!!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!!

Blue and Lavender circles

2011-12-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

are completed.

The next circle made me feel like I was baking a cake...

I told you I would show you how I made the flowers so.... I used Japanese mokuba 1/4 inch picot edge ribbon (Shown above the ruler and the gathered piece) to make the flowers. I usually cut 3 inch pieces but to make a tighter flatter flower I cut a 1 3/4 inch piece for each flower.

This is probably something you already know how to do but....

1. Cut a 1 3/4 piece of ribbon for each flower you are making.

2. Carefully singe both ends to stop from raveling. (I cut all the pieces and turn on a burner on the electric stove and very very carefully .. ever so slightly singe each end.

3. Sew the ends together, secure and run the thread through each picot to gather into the flower.

4. I cut a piece of a narrower mokuba lavender with a gold line through it about 1 inch long ... gathered it along one side and attached it in the center of the flower after it was sewn onto the fabric and put a 3mm crystal in the center.

To make them a little more sparkly!!

Before they are sewn onto the fabric

1. Add a size 15 czech bead between each picot on the ungathered side.

2. Make a small circle of sequins to sit under the flower on the fabric you are attaching them to. Experiment

P.S.

On a sad note Mr Lesage passed away quite recently. For more details see the write up below.

http://glimpsecreations.blogspot.com/2011/12/francois-lesage-1929-2011.html

Taking Stock

2011-12-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

I am taking stock of some of the circles I have already done that might fit into my new scheme. Unfortunately I sometimes get sidetracked with and idea or subject matter I can not resist. The following circle falls into this category. It is a 4th-6th century Near Eastern senmury (dog bird). I love him but he doesn't fit the scheme of this project. I will save him for another day.

The next circles will be the repeats / motif of the quilt.

Most of the circles will inspired by early 20th century stamping patterns.

Both of the rose colored circles are the same color. the light makes them look different.

The circle I am working on now is lavender. A flower will go in each place there is a black dot. When it is completed I will give more details on how the flowers are made.

Rethinking my next project

2011-12-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

I have purchased three different fabrics for my new quilt background. One was a piece of taffeta in a green gold color that is the same type and design fabric as my last project so its was hard to say no to it. However... I have just decided that it is too green and I don't like it... I love the type fabric but the color is just not right. So its back to the drawing board. The background fabric is on the right.

The shiny fabrics are lame. The gold mottled organza over the right side of the lame will be layered over each circle to mute the lame color but the shine will show through. Of course I found the same lace for the frame of the quilt in ivory. I also have 1000 12mm ivory AB dome sequins and a few 35mm huge marque shaped ivory AB sequins .. perhaps for the corners.

The flowers are made from the gold mottled organza. When I went to NYC in October with Susan Elliot our first stop was at M.& S. Schmalberg. I gave them about 1/2 yard of the gold mottled organza and chose a flower style. Two days later I received 200 organza flowers in the mail. They did a wonderful job.

I also have some great gold 3mm beads thanks to Maureen Greeson and of course lots of gold matt sequins.

Now I have to draft a new design as the new background fabric is a smaller piece. The clock begins... now I will remember when I started this quilt.

THE WINNER IS!!!

2011-12-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

I announced in my last post that Jane was the winner of the give away. She chose the chicken and said she might frame it. As I left very little room around it I mounted it on black fabric by putting a circle of tortise sequins around it. I will mail it out tomorrow.

Here is the Silent Auction blackboard at the fair, Christmas on the Green in Longmeadow, Mass. For me the fair is a wonderful experience. It's sponsored by the Women's Benevolent Society, the oldest organization of its kind in the country!! The fair is the primary fund rasing activity and all proceeds from the fair are donated to local charities. September until the fair date (the first Saturday in December) is a flurry of activities.. organizing, baking, making etc. etc. All items are either made or donated by church members.. no vendors....

As you can see #7 is my purse. There was not a lot of bidding in general... I think it is a sign of the times. However my entry got 5 bids ending with the winning bid of $100.00.

P.S. Last year we donated over $14,000 to local charities... Early reports are that we topped that number this year!!

Embroidered Evening Bag

2011-11-28T09:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the final product. I am really pleased at the end result.

Front

Back

The small bulls eye is the zipper pull. The interior is salmon ultra suede.

I printed out all the right answers and pulled Jane S. out of the hat.
So I will e-mail Jane and give her the choice of the two remaining designs.

P.S.
Some of you have asked questions but I have no way of answering you. I would love to look at all your blogs but I need a link. It might be right in front of me but I sometimes am a little slow so e-mail me!!

Happy Thanksgiving Give Away

2011-11-24T07:18:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I "blogged" ... the week without power burr (I never would have survived as a pioneer) ...the week cleaning up the yard ...the week plus baking eight 5lb tubs of cookie dough for my church fair etc. Somewhere in there I decided to attempt making a small evening bag to auction off at the fair silent auction. I came up with 3 different designs pictured below. Each is in a circle of about 6 inch. The 6 small circles will be cut out and stitched together. One side is a design the other side is my "chop" (signature)

The bird is back and I like him much more this time!!

A few flowers with lots of chenille leaves.

This is a flower fashioned after one of my favorite Lesage pieces level 7 Ravel.

Leave a comment guessing which of the three designs I decided to put on the front of the evening bag.

The winner will be selected at random from the correct choice of design.

The winner gets to choose between the two designs I did not use on the bag. (the design only)

I will announce the winner Monday morning along with pictures of the completed evening bag.

P.S. After all that has happened I am grateful that the storm was not much worse.

Wishing all of you a very grateful and happy Thanksgiving Day!!

Church Fair 2011

2011-10-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Every year at this time I like to make something for the church Christmas Fair. The "Fair"is a big deal in my church as the event is totally run, and all items are donated or made by members of the church. The proceeds are donated to local charities. So.....I decided to attempt a small purse with a design on the front. The design I have been working on is a small chicken standing on a branch with a big flower over his head.

In my last post I talked about "pailettes a l'ecaille" and I did it with a needle instead of the "hook" While I have been practicing and this time I was able to use the hook to apply the sequins in this design so I do not consider this a total failure.

Unfortunately I have abandoned my chicken. I was not happy with the background, the vine was bad and the poor chick was too short!!! SO back to the drawing board.

I have not been idle however. At the last fair meeting I was given a piece of old CQ someone thought would (and of course I was elected) make a nice pillow for the fair silent auction. I spent last week repairing a few really bad spots. Then I took the easy way out by sashing it to fit a ready made frame from Michaels. It probably won't make the silent auction but it will go nicely in the picture gallery.

Vacation is over!!

2011-09-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

I really have not been vacationing but have been stitching and experimenting. I have my next circle quilt drafted. I am using a gold spotted organza layered over various colors (10 different shades) of lame. The organza mutes the loud colors of the lame and makes the organza change color and shine. I have purchased several background fabrics and am not sure yet which one I will use... Actually I am still looking

The above sequins are "pailettes a l'ecaille" . I have been discussing this stitch with another Lesage grad and blogger Jess . She gave me some tips but I have not been very successful pulling this off using the Hook so I used a needle and applied them one at a time. I am happy with the "scaly" results.

The circles measure 5 to 8 inches each and I am doing most individually. Two groups overlap so I will do those as a unit.

This is a repeat of the repeating motif I will do in light medium and dark shades.

I have a paper pattern of the layout of the quilt and this circle is laying on the pattern in its place.

Finally--
I had the raffia flowers I did for my friends birthday framed in plain black as she wanted. My chop is surrounded by forget-me-nots her favorite..

Back to my circles..........

Another Quilt in my HEAD!!

2011-08-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

I have ideas and fabric for a couple more Quilt projects and have been thinking about it for a while. I have drafted the layout and am working on the motif for my next "quilt". Last year I found some modeled gold silk organza that changes colors when layered over other fabric and looks great over shiny things like lame. These circles are layered over silvery white lame.

The sequins I bought in Paris and have lots of them so I have been saving them for a large project.

The difference in color is because I used a flash in the following one to pick up the sparkles.

The smaller flowers will be cut out and placed in the center of the larger circles.

I wasn't going to post this for a while but I saw Susan Elliott's post today and felt like I was keeping up with the fashion.

I am awaiting samples in the mail of a variety shades of Lame and background fabric.

RAFFIA

2011-07-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

Many of you wondered about raffia and using it in embroidery. This is the first time I was introduced to its use at Lesage. The purple and shiny pink are raffia.

Lesage Level l

This Lesage piece in progress also has raffia. The shinny gold is raffia.

Lesage Level III

This is one of the flowers on my new quilt. The pattern is from the Lesage book Le Langage Des Fleurs. The blue in the center is ribbon the outside is raffia.

Here are the flowers on the new piece I am working on also raffia. I must add the effect is just dumb luck. I had tried so many different ways to stitch the flowers. If the raffia didn't work the piece was headed to the dead pile.

I also was asked how I did the leaves around the bud. I outlined the shape of the leave with green sulky rayon thread using the tambour hook. Then using green ribbon floss I ran enough strips (laying each flat) to conform to and cover the lenght of the leaf shape. I then wove the ribbon floss across the width.

This is the raffia I bought on the internet. The raffia at Lesage comes in about 1/2 widths. I tried to dupliciate the materials provided for the student at Lesage ... raffia ... sequin ... beads ... chenille unsuccessfully. One day I woke up and decided I would use what I can get!! This raffia is about 1 1/2 inches wide so I spread it out, tape it to my cutting board in 18 inch lengths, and cut it in 1/2 inch widths with my rotary cutter.

Catching up

2011-07-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

I promised a very old and dear friend a piece of art work for her bedroom wall. Now that my quilt is done I have been dabbling. The design is inspired by an embroidery in an old French newspaper. The colors of the flowers are raspberry as requested. I tried many different medium to stitch the flowers in --- DMC floss Au Ver A Soie silk threads --- silk ribbon --- beads --- sequins --- and finally when nothing else worked I found a role of raffia marked raspberry!!!

Love the way the flowers look like you could fall into them.

P.S.

I have a name for my quilt and am waiting for some good pictures to be taken. Some of you suggested I enter it in a quilt show. I checked some out and thought about it but at this point I can't imagine getting accepted and having to mail it somewhere.....

A name and a few finishing touches and "She" is completed!!

2011-06-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

I put "her" on a stand in the back yard in the and a friend took the pictures. We were battling the wind and sun but I think they came out nicely. These are close ups of the some of the flowers.

In shade

In full sun

Now I need a new adventure!!!!!!!!

The home stretch is the hardest!!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

I purchased 4 packages of DMC black floss. Little did I know that I would have to buy 8 more in order to finish the infinity symbols on the back (coat) of my quilt!!! It felt like and eternity to work each symbol in the Portuguese knot stitch ( one of my favorites) especially on the hot days we had last week when all I could finish was one or 1/2 of one a day. I still have to do more in the center to anchor it but that will have to wait a bit.

To relieve the boredom I started on the framing the front with lace. I am still auditioning corner ideas. It beats !!working on the back

When I went to college I never liked to read over my papers when they were completed and right now there are so many details... the back ... the lace ... mounting the flowers ... TO make matters worse I went to Delectable Mountain Cloth yesterday and OMG - purchased fabric for my next..... "project"!!!

A Girl in a Pretty Dress NEEDS a Fancy Coat!!!

2011-06-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

The back of my quilt (The Coat) is black file I purchased at Delectable Mountain Cloth a while ago.

One of the things I am doing to hold the top, batting and back together is stitching 8 of these infinity designs on the back with plain old black DMC floss through the three layers. The design is from a sane quilt stencil that I changed around to fit the area I wished to cover.

The design was traced onto the back and stitched through. This is the wrong side of the embroidery which will be covered when the flower ovals are sewn over it.

Notice all those pesky 12mm dome sequins (over 600) are in place... at least on the front!!

There will be 8 infinity designs altogether on the back, one in each of the flower ovals. I have completed 2&1/4 and have used 3 hanks of floss. I had to make a trip to Michael's this am to buy lots more floss!!

This is one of the two I completed yesterday.

Today has been a wash as errands and Doctors appts. have eaten up all my stitching time. Tonight my daughter is in a band concert so maybe I will get about an hour before bed to stitch.

P.S.In case you tried to leave a comment and could not I think I have fixed the problem. I changed the format and it seems to work now.

Putting it together continued!!

2011-06-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

The lace is just laid onto the border. I have not decided yet if I need to adorn it with something....

I am now in the process of sewing on these black 12mm dome sequins in the center of each square.

I only have a couple of hundred left to sew on.

My cat Opie will not sit on my lap nor will he allow himself to be petted unless forced!! However whenever my back is turned he insists on staking out his claim to my quilt!!

Putting it together!!!

2011-05-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

I really dread the idea of putting my "Crazy Art Quilt" together!!! The thought of it terrifies me..... so in the interest of procrastination I made some motifs that people had asked me to make. The first one is gold, the second is chocolate (tortoise shell sequins) and the third is red. The pictures of the second two just would not cooperate and rotate in an upright position.

Just to prove to you all that I have indeed been working on my project I have put a 1/4 inch pipping all around then I added a 4" green sashing piped on the outside with the same gold. The black lace I bought eons ago at Delectable Mountain Cloth is going over the green. I have one more side to go. The colors look "blah" in the pictures but I think it is going to look really pretty!!! at least I hope sooooo!

Wishing everyone a safe and meaningful Memorial Day!!!!

Crazy Art Quilt

2011-05-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

This week was spent walking around the Brimfield Flea/Antique Market and I got some treasures!! The sequins in the first circle were found on Monday at the vintage textile show in Sturbridge MA. The second table I came to had a this pile of wonderful sequins. They are about 5mm crinkly maroon (although they may look orange in the picture) and I believe they have gold leaf sprinkled on them... I couldn't resist!!!!!! They were just in time to adorn one of the last three circles. I replaced what I had originally done and added them.

Sorry for the lint ... the velvet I used in the squiggles around the circle does a lot of shedding. I also found the pink size 15 faceted steel cut metal beads I used in my chop on Monday. These are the last 3 circles!!!

Crazy Art Quit

2011-05-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

At the Adventure in Crazy Quilting in CT last month Susan Elliott took some pictures of my quilt and Iwould like to share them with you all...

Thank you Susan for the wonderful pictures...

I have just been asked and agreeded to teach a class in Tambour hook next year.... I will have a link to the class and other events as soon as everything is firmed up.

Crazy Art Quilting

2011-04-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

I just have the ribbon flowers to do and I will be done with another corner. I found a curious shell

bracelet at Joanne Fabric so I cut off the elastic, and I used them as a circle in the center filling them with tiny drop beads. Then I got crazy with the large ruffle shape sequins and walah!! In the very center I used some velvet rickrak to make a flower (learned form Sharon Boggins and Allie Aller).

Update on the yellow one. I wasn't happy with it so I made some changes. Took off the ribbon, added tiny beads around the center motif, blanket stitched the velvet. blah blah blah

The purple is still my favorite... I added a few hot fix among the sequins in the background to give it a little punch. I am starting to talk to these things!!!

Crazy Art Quilting ...

2011-04-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well its taken some time to get back into the swing of things. A few more circles are done. The gold was inspired by the braid and the butterflys.

I love the mother of pearl leaves. A find from Brimfield Flea Market.

I bought some of the delicious hand dyed velvet that Susan Elliott sold at the CQ Adventure in CT. It is called Dye Candy sold on line Etsy. The yellow is still under construction. The fuzz you see if from the velvet... I have to clean it up a little.

The purple circle is also done using the same velvet (I bought it in all the colors she had!!).

The inspiration for the flowers cut from the velvet was from the class I took with Allie Aller.
After I cut the flowers out I edged them with tiny # 15 beads.

The silver one is all about wanting to use the large half circle vintage nail heads.

Well I have about 4 more to go before the last two corners are done!! Then the fun of assembly begins!

Crazy Quilt Adventure

2011-04-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

And so... it ends so quickly after waiting soooooo long for it to begin!!!!!
Sharon Boggins three day class April 3,4,and 5 and the Adventure in Crazy Quilting
April 7,8,9,and 10.

Every day there was a goodies waiting in your place in the classroom.

This is an example of one of the motif swaps... Thank you Gerry!!! A beautiful hand painted vintage pearl button.

here's my name tag

Exhaustion prevails!!! It was an honor to be in the presence of and learn so much from these great teachers...To name very few of the things we did-- how to stack a seam treatment, make some great flowers, and paint on velvet!!

Yippee and hats off to, Sharon Boggons, Betty Pillsbury and Allie Aller.

And of course a big THANK YOU to the mover and shaker.. great organizer, gracious and generous hostess the one and only Maureen Greeson.

We think she is gonna organize another Adventure next year so don't make any plans for April 2012!!

P.S. I even got up in front of these gals and gave a mini talk on me me me (ha ha).. Susan Elliott took loads of pictures of my new crazy art quilt and I am waiting with baited breath to see them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crazy Art Quilting

2011-03-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

I had several questions as to the layout of my quilt so I have attached the center motif and just pinned on the flowers. The bottom two corners are in progress.

Here are a few of the circles I have completed for the two lower corners.

Actually this project will be on hold until The Adventure in Crazy Quilting and Sharon Boggins 3 day class are over - about mid April. I would be so excited if I didn't have so so much to do to get ready. I signed up for a motif swap and I finally finished 10 motifs. Here's a peak...................

Crazy Art Quilting

2011-03-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

I have started the last two corners but have come to the conclusion that I will not have this completed by the April CQ Adventure in Glastonbury CT. So I will stop stressing myself and returned to loving what I do!

I have decided on a frame for the flowers. I have completed framing 5 of the 8.

Crazy Art Quilting Center

2011-02-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

I am making good progress with the center section of my CAQ.. By the middle of next week I should be able to start the last two corners. Unless of course life or a little thing like school vacation comes along!!!

I still have the side circles to finish and the 4 small flowers that hopefully tie this thing together. Of course the big big big deal for me will be assembling ... I do it in my dreams!!

Crazy Art Quilting

2011-02-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

Another corner is done ... This makes 2 down and 2 to go. I am now working on the center motif to mix it up a little.

I think I was riding my motor cycle when I did this design.

I just wanted to use this lovely lace butterfly.

The full view of this corner.

Another snowy day in New England... Perfect stitching weather!!

Crazy Art Quilting

2011-01-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am making progress on my CAQ (crazy art quilt). I have two corner basted on. The center cross hatch beading is done and the flowers are all embroidered.

I laid it out to see how it looked. I am auditioning frames for the flowers but that's another day. The center is mounted on the frame and I will be working on that next.

Returning to my Crazy Art Quilting

2011-01-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

I am a crazy quilter at heart but I have been seduced by the tambour hook and all the shinny sequins and beads etc. I am attempting a crazy art quilt. I started it before Christmas and was interrupted by life and other projects. I am working on it again and have two corner pieces done. They each a triangle measuring 21 x 21 x 30 inches.

They are facing one another... and I have not removed them from my slate frame or cut them apart yet. As you might notice the center circle ( where I got my header on the blog) will be repeated in each corner and the flower detail will be in the two lower corners of each corner triangle.

I love feathers also... Hard to find the right kind for the idea!!

Well I have a drawing for the center will be starting that next.

Memories of Stitching classes

2011-01-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

Each Christmas I pull out these hand stitched decorations and hang them in the archways of my living room. This year as I put them away I felt a surge of happy stitching memories. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity of taking lessons from Lynn Payette on a weekly basis or 5 or 6 years.

It was an open class room. At times we were working on one of Lynn's designs or we were working on a project or our own. Each year Lynn would design a Christmas decoration or two and the entire class would participate in stitching it.

(The date denotes when the stitching was completed.)

I learned so much and have such great respect for Lynn. She is truly a great teachers. If you get the opportunity to take a class with her don't pass it up.

Haute Couture Embroidery

2010-12-27T08:56:00.000-08:00

I have several books put out by Lesage but none in English. As I do not read French I just look at the pictures and make attempts at translating the words. Under the Christmas Tree this year I found a wonderful book Haute Couture Embroidery.... The Art of Lesage the English version published in 1988 by Verdome Press. Needless to say I have been pouring over it every chance I get. The wonderful thing about it is that it has many of the same pictures as the other books I have.

Here real beetle elytra is used.

This also appears in Point De Croix et secrets de broderie

This is a design card in Point De Croix et autres secrets de broiderie as well as shown in this book.

This is not a "how to" book but a history of the Lesage family.The book measures 10X13 and is 167 pages long with loads of colored pictures. I have just began reading it but I already highly recommend its addition to your library.

Lesage Level III

2010-12-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

When I went to Lesage in April of 2010 I arranged to do the level II piece in the previous post. Unfortunately for Iceland but fortunately for me there was a volcanic eruption and I was stranded in Paris. My planned return flight was rescheduled and I was left with a week with nothing to do. It was a stressful situation especially with CNN continually spewing doom and gloom. Frantic e-mails to my husband got a response I didn't expect "take another class". As there were openings in the class room I was able to sign up for Level III.

The piece is called Les Coeurs and measures 13" by 16" framed. The heart shape is 5"high and 6" wide. The design is worked on silk organza.

All the beads and sequins are applied with a tambour hook.
The dark brown soutache around the outline, the raffia and the padded areas covered with pearl cotton is sewn on with a needle.

When all the work is done wonder under (or the French equivalent) is ironed onto the back of the organza and each shape is cut out leaving about 1/4 inch of organza/wonder under. The curves are snipped and the edge is turned under using a hot iron.

The very thought of this really scared me, but surprisingly it was very easy.

Once cut out the pieces were meant to be sewn onto a pocket, lapel or perhaps a purse. I chose to sew them onto a piece of silk net and have it framed.

The week before I left for Paris in April I learned about tambour classes being given in Lexington Kentucky. Susan Elliott http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com has a post about it.

To see a demo of the tambour technique by Robert Havens go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctalL88NMqM

Or you can go to Robert Havens website

http://web.me.com/rwhaven/Professional_/Welcome.html

Lesage Level II

2010-12-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

The Lesage classes I took teach techniques use in the fashion industry. This is the second level of eight. This piece measuring 12" by 24" is called Vionnet. It is meant to be sewn into a make up bag. After the second day in class I realized it is a lot of straight lines. The majority of the piece is done with the Luniville (tambour) hook. the small black and aqua flowers in the bottom border are chenille and they have charcoal leave made with DMC floss.
http://www.lesage-paris.com/

The following three pictures were taken by Susan Elliott.

The rest of the pictures are mine. This is the DMC leave and the chenille flower.

My lines are not too straight!

This is done on aqua silk organza. I had it framed over a silk fabric with a ripple design in it.

Back to the Luniville hook

2010-12-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

Well I have no scheduled classes and the projects are done. My Church Christmas Fair was Saturday and if I just ignore Christmas is just 20 days away I can now get back to the quilt I am working on. I am doing it on my slate frame in sections using the hook and the needle. I thought I would show you the reason for my love affair with the hook.

This is the first piece, except for a small pin I did as an introductory at Ecole Lesage. Susan Elliott took some pictures for me and you all know how great her pictures are.

Susan took both of these pictures

The next are my lame attempt at photography

This is my chop
One of the things I love about the French embroidery is their use of materials that I have not seen used much in modern American embroidery.

The lightest pink and the purple in the flowers is raffia, and the leaves are chenille. The piece is done on silk organza.

Flowers from the Past

2010-11-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

Long before I took the class with Candace Kling I was making and arranging flowers. I think some of these are from her book.

This has been in the reject draw since 2009. Maureen Greeson** spotted it in the picture Susan Elliott took of me and posted on her blog. She said I was holding out on her so here it is.

**This is Maureen's web site http://www.maureensvintageacquisitions.blogspot.com/

I wish I remember where I got the gold wire ribbon with the metal edge!!!

Welcome to all of you who saw the wonderful pictures of my quilt on Susan Elliott's' blog. http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com/ Susan is a wonderful photographer and made the quilt I have looked at for the past 3 years look new to me again.

Thanks for looking......

Candace Kling

2010-11-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

Here is the tail end of report on the Candace Kling workshop. It was a truly wonderful experience. Candice is a true artist ... I knew all of the ladies taking the class with the exception of Susan Elliot .... http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com/ ... she is as delightful in person as her blog . All in all it was great fun facilitated by a gracious host Maureen Greeson.

After the class was over, and I finished all of my ribbons I had an inkling of something I had long ago read that was not in the ribbon section (HA HA) of my library. I love to collect old stuff about embroidery etc. and lo and behold I had found a treasure that I never fully appreciated until now.

Now I have to read it alllllll.................

Corncockle and Dragonfly

2010-10-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Life sometimes gets in my way.... I finished corncockles and dragonfly several days ago but didn't find the time to blog it. I decided not to add the botanically correct name to the bottom as it looks really hard to do and I somehow managed to loose the thread I was supposed to use. SOOOO I can not do it and not feel guilty about it

Another thing I have been doing is collecting "stuff" for my next class I have signed up for with Candace Kling at Maureen Greesons.. I am soooo excited. I went to one of my favorite places last week in Brattleboro VT to collect fabric. If you ever get to this neat town go to Delectable Mountain Fabrics. Yummy yummy yummy . Its a small shop but packed with silks, velvets, vintage laces, buttons, etc... A little slice of Crazy Quilters heaven.

I am ready to go and looking forward to the class . I think there are still spaces available!!

Flying away

2010-10-09T11:15:00.001-07:00

These are the wings for my dragonfly. I have no excuse now but to add her to the corncockles.

These are good wings for a beetle. I saw a beetle in flight and its wings come out from under the hard outer wing cases (elytra). I have some beetle elytra somewhere and I may try an experiment......

These are for some fantasy bug yet to be born!!!

Now if life will get back to normal whatever that is I can get back to stitching.

Sequined and Beaded Pins

2010-10-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am still busy with "wings", however, I came across some sequined and beaded pins I made in another lifetime.

The first one I made as practice for my first Ecole Lesage classes. The pattern comes from Ecole Lesage Chez Vous page 116. As the book is in French and I do not speak or read French this is my copy with the sequins and rhinestones I had on hand.

My interpretation

Original pattern Ecole Lesage Chez Vous page 116

I also dabbled in beading and particularly like Laura Macabe. She had a shop in Mystic Ct at one time and gave classes there. I was fortunate to take a class from Laura at Maureen Greesons and also at Ann Benson's shop in Manchester Ct. This was my interpretation of some of the "eye" jewelry she loves to make. The eyelids were my idea.

They tend to freak people out so I don't wear them much. In case you want to check out Laura's web site here are a couple I found ...

http://justletmebead.com & http://lauramccabejewelry.com

Corncockle and Dragonfly... continuing saga

2010-10-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

Well I have just about completed the corncockles... A few finishing touches the center of the open flower, one of the ribs on the bud... (a bullion stitch ... 1 strand of silk on a #12 sharp needle with 24 wraps), and some bends with the tweezers to turn and twist the sepals into more pleasing places??

The top two dragonfly wings are almost done but I am afraid I will not be able to stop with this set of 4 wings. I can't possibly put scissors to these two sandwiched pieces of Divine metallic organza and waste the rest. I am on a mission to find some wings for another deserving butterfly or dragonfly or whatever to make at least one ... or more... sets of wings. I will be doing a lot of cutting when the time comes!!! soon I hope

Corncockle and Dragonfly

2010-09-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

I just love this project but when I take pictures of my work I can see all the crocked stems and things I don't like. I really appreciate Jane Nicholas precise needlework.

Tuesday

Thursday

I have lots of new ideas for my circles but I want to finish this first while I still can remember what I am supposed to do.

EGA class with Jane Nicholas

2010-09-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

Corncockle and Dragonfly

What a great class with a great teacher . Jane Nicholas has a way of getting you to work hard and enjoy it! This project could be a 5 day class but Jane managed to fit all the information into two days.

The products of my labor. The outline of a leave and stem, a tiny blue beetle, one corncockle,5 sepals, 8 corncockle petals and one dragonfly wing.

Photography can not do justice to such dimensional pieces. Jane had many samples of her works from her books Medieval Flora and Stumpwork and Gold Embroidery inspired by Turkish, Syrian and Persian Tiles on display. You do not realize how tiny and really magnificent the pieces are until you see them in person. I came home bursting with ideas for my current project. Before I return to them though....... I will have to finish this.

Jane NicholasShirlee Fassell

I was fortunate to sit next to Jane at lunch and dinner. A truly delightful two days!!!

EGA class with Jane Nicholas

2010-09-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

The June Newsletter from my local EGA chapter offered a class for members in September with Jane Nicholas. I did not think twice but sent them a check and registration form. The class was first come first serve and registration ended August 1. I found out mid August that I had gotten into the class.

I took a dragonfly class with Jane in 2003. These are two of the dragonflies I made in class and I incorporated them in a quilt.

Jane's book on beetles came out shortly after I did the dragonflies and I made the following beetles and also incorporated them in a quilt.

The piece I am doing this weekend is from her Medieval Flora book and is titled Corncockle and Dragonfly.

I will be spending the next few days getting together all the needles (28 in all) and 6 hoops etc for the class. I am looking forward to taking the class and showing you all the results.

Quilt challenge cont

2010-09-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

I definitely have been watching "Say Yes to the Dress" way too much. This is the only explanation I have for conjuring up two circles in whites . I did not get documente the first circle.

I layered heavy netting on top of a spokes of sequins The center is 3mm sequins then padded pearl cotton surrounded by 8mm fluted sequins.

Circle II -- I drew my design then pinned the lace over the it. Using the tambour hook I stitched around the area I wanted to remain and cut the rest away. I then stitched around the area again to secure it and clean up the loose ends. I sewed tiny crystal beads over the spots on the lace.

The design in the center was toooo complicated so I simplified it and stitched it in a variety of threads and ribbon. Here is the finished circle.

Quilt challenge cont.

2010-09-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

I previously completed the center part of my quilt and here is one of the circles. The leaves in the center are beaded using the Russian stitch. The circular part around them is done in metal lame. Metal lame is used extensively in French embroidery and I have been searching for it high and low. In July I found some at one of my favorite dealers at the Brimfield Flea Market. That's why I love Brimfield I almost always find something I think is amazing.

Quilt Challenge cont...

2010-09-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay... My computer is being fixed and I have been shopping the Brimfield flea Market all week. I am in the library trying to finish this post...

Another circle choosing the materials

Materials chosen I hook sequins and beads around the outer and inner circle. I then pad a circle with felt and cover it with silk ribbon.....the very center of the circle still is in progress.

Quilt Challenge 2012

2010-09-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

I am working on a crazy quilt?? using the mostly the Luneville hook. Instead of using paper piece method in geometric shapes on muslin, I am working in circle shapes on silk organza. The quilt is divided into a center diamond shape and 4 corner sections. I am working on the corner sections right now.
As I begin each circle in the section I decide what design I want to use and audition different materials, sequins beads, threads etc.

I have chosen the materials and hooked beads around the outside of the circle, sequins and beads outline the center or the circle. Then I hooked a design in the center.

Two down and a million to go!! If you are interested in finding out about the 2012 quilt challenge go to http://cqby2012.blogspot.comcqby2012.blogsp0t.com/

What to Blog About??

2010-09-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

I am trying to work on this blog thing and deciding that I will put my past work under different categories - when I figure out how - and meanwhile post daily stuff on what I am currently or not so currently doing.

Actually this is seriously cutting into my stitching time!!!

anyway

When I finished my first class at Ecole Lesage I attempted to purchase materials from them for my own projects. The threads and sequins they use are difficult if not impossible to duplicated. The French are like no other they will not sell you any supplies. Thus began my quest to find said materials. I tried out loads of metallic threads, embroidery and machine and found Floriani premium metallic work well. The practice piece below was done using the the Floriani brand.

Since then I returned for additional classes and was there at monthly tour of the workroom. We were not allowed to take pictures of the channel fashions in progress but were allowed to take pictures of anything else... here they are.

Only a few of the stock rooms!!

I also found a bin of threads ... so I had my answer they use Madeira... I ordered a spool of the gold 33 pictured here. The only size available was 5000meters. Needless to say I have enough for a lot of projects.

Here is where you can buy great sequins.... That's my husbands reflection in the glass of the door.

Think its time to go to the gym so I can get back to stitching!!!

My first attempt at Crazy Quilting

2010-09-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

I took a class with Lynn Payette at Maureen Greeson's old shop starting in 2000 or so. We met once every two months and started a twelve inch square designed by Lynn. We each used our own color scheme, threads, motifs etc so although the design was the same our individual choices of color and materials made them all look different. We had a ball and I made some great friends and sort of a quilt.

At the end of two years I had 16 twelve inch squares and not an inkling what or how to connect them together. As you can see I never sewed the squares together but had them framed and hung together to mimic a quilt.

In August 2003 I had a party to celebrate finishing Snow-White (measuring 32" by 18"), my non quilt and a milestone birthday!!

I had developed a love? passion? obsession? for Crazy Quilting!!!!!

My "stitching starting in 1998

2010-09-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

This is the project I started when I retired in 1998. Hand painted needlepoint 26 gauge canvas of Snow White running from the wicked queen...

"Now the poor child was all, all alone in the great forest, and so terrified that she stared at all the leaves on the trees and didn't know what to do. She began to run, and ran over the sharp stones and through the thorns, and the wild beasts sprang past her, but they did her no harm."*

I called this my shroud because I was convinced I would work on it until I died. It took me 3 years to complete along with other projects.

*Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs by Randall Jarrell