Work in Progress

I've been working on this new piece, a combination of applique and machine embroidery. The violets are cut from handpainted fabric, as well as some of the leaves. The underlying leaves are outlined with stitches and 'painted' with watercolor colored pencils.

I have more details to add. Hope to have it finished by Friday!

Very wet and soggy here!!

Looking forward to seeing sun again before the end of June!!

Have a great week!

Judy

A Big Meow!

Since I'm being so slow at posting a new fabric picture, Kristy wanted to put her two cents in and say hello!

There is a new picture over at my other blog, if you want to take a look!

We are promised a very rainy weekend, so I hope to get some sewing in - but, of course, we may feel compelled to go to a movie, go out for brunch on Father's Day, take some time to read...

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Something New!

Well, my blogging break has coincided with a bout of illness which I'm just now getting over. Stomach problems - 'nuff said!!!

The good news is that I've been keeping close to home and finally accomplished something I've been wanting to do for a long time - starting a new blog!!

I've decided to keep Fabric Art & Crafts true to its title, and my new blog, Paper Perks, devoted to the paper arts. So far, it is still a work in progress, but I'm pretty excited about it!

This paper cut is part of a picture I did a while back, called Nature Filled.

I'll be posting a new fabric piece soon, and I invite you to take a second to pop over to see my new site! 

A Brief Intermission

I'll be taking a few days off

from blogging

 to get some work done. 

Chilly, rainy weather here in 

New England -

perfect for cleaning.

reorganizing,

and getting lost in a project or two.

Hope everyone has

A wonderful

week!

Sunday Kitty

A pleasant Sunday.

Bill and I went to brunch, 

did some gardening,

attempted to tame our wild hedge of forsythia.

Kristy did her kitty duty,

found the brightest spot of sunshine in the house,

settled in,

and became the picture

of absolute 

relaxation.

I've Been Gossiped about!

I thought I'd tell you about a terrific blog called Craft Gossip, written by Denise Felton. I'm pretty excited to say that my work has been highlighted three times in the Needlework section of this blog - most recently here. I've come to discover that this blog covers every type of needlework imaginable, along with patterns, tutorials and some very unique ideas!

Definitely worth a look!!

Lace Bird Tutorial

Here is a tutorial ( my first) on how to make the lace bird shown in my last post. You'll need scissors, a pencil, a needle and thread, glue, and either white cardstock and a paper doily (left), or white stiffened felt and a piece of white lace (right).

On the back of the felt or cardstock, draw this pattern (leaving space around each shape), or any bird shape, and two wings, and cut out the inside of the shapes.


Now cut about 1/4 inch (or less) around each outline, being careful not to cut into the outline, to create a "frame".
Here's the cut-out frame and one wing, but don't forget to make two wings!Apply a continuous line of tacky or paper glue to all frames, and flip them over onto the lace or doily, capturing your favorite motifs. It's a good idea to put some plastic or parchment paper under the lace to catch excess glue. Let the glue dry and trim carefully around the outer edge of the frames.
Glue the wings to the front and back of the bird, arranging the wings as you'd like them, add a little diamond shape for a beak, and a bead for the eye, and "hang" it in your window with double stick tape or with some thread or fishline. This is the lace bird... ...and this is the paper doily bird, which is lighter and more delicate. ( I used a paper punched circle for the eye on this one.)

If you want to put two or three in one window, you can arrange each bird's wings differently and vary the angle at which each is flying.

If anyone makes a bird following this tutorial, I would love to see the results!

Have fun!