Cat Hair on My Quilts...and other stories

Retirement Quilt

2012-01-22T10:51:00.001-10:00

I'm planning myself a retirement quilt. I know, I'm starting early, but it takes me time to make a quilt. For my first spring in New Hampshire after I retire I want to snuggle under a new quilt made by me!

I love log cabin quilts. So, I decided to make myself a log cabin quilt in purple and rose and yellow polka dots. I've made two blocks so far. And you'll note that I have a black cat-shaped spot on my two blocks. And this spot is apparently washing his feet....on MY quilt blocks.

Merlie's Quilt Addiction

2012-01-16T06:59:00.001-10:00

Let's remember that Merlie never lived in a cold climate. I doubt he ever really knew what a quilt was until a few weeks ago. Ever since he became acquainted with his Aunt Denise's quilt, which she made for Bob, he's been a quilt junkie. In fact, he's become a FABRIC junkie!

I submit this picture as evidence:

Note the colorful fabric Merlie is ensconced upon. That is a quilt top that I spread over one of our pub chairs in order to decide if I wanted to make the quilt bigger or leave it as a wall quilt.

Merlie has never sat on our pub chairs. Never showed any interest in them. BUT, add a quilt top and he's right there! Also, he's been joining me in my quilting area lying in quilt scraps. HOWEVER, once I tried sprinkling fabric scraps on him. He got scared and ran. I have no idea what he thought I was really doing to him. He doesn't seem scared of lying on the scraps, but scraps raining down freaks him out. Strange cat....

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T20:19:00.000-10:00

As the East Coast of the U.S. finishes up its ringing in of 2012, we in Hawaii are still waiting for the magic hour. Some fireworks are still legal here, but not the real loud stuff. Still, some folks think the rules do not apply to them and there are occasional loud booms. This is our first New Year with Merlin and he's afraid of the loud noises. He is curled up next to me on the couch so I'll protect him from the "booms". Guess I'll be up for a while defending the homestead against loud noises and keeping Merlie safe. :)

Here they are!

2011-11-20T06:15:00.002-10:00

For once I got my act together to post my pictures early today. This picture is the serendipitous quilt that just "happened" yesterday. Found the fabric, realized how much I missed my sunflower fabric and decided to whip up something simple to add beads to. I have a perfect place to put it in the bedroom. I just love sunflowers. They are such happy flowers!

And this is the polka dot quilt. Really bright and pinky-magenta. I'm going to bead it, too, but haven't decided how yet.

Today I need to work on my Red Victorian Lady bead tapestry. Haven't worked on her in a while. She's a big project and isn't going to weave herself!

Quilt Catch Up

2011-11-19T20:32:00.000-10:00

I've gotten the quilting bug again. I have rarely quilted while living in Hawaii....too hot and we don't use quilts at all. But, I spent two weeks in New Hampshire which included a couple of days of snow. I just felt like quilting and sewing in general. Thought that feeling would go away once I returned to the tropics, but it hasn't.

I've cleaned up my sewing area which is just a part of one of the bedrooms. It's enough space with shelving and a table for cutting, etc. I don't think I'll be making any bed quilts, just lap quilts and some wall quilts.

When I lived in Germany, I made several quilts. One was for Bob because he didn't have one and we really needed them in the winter. His was coffee-themed :)
And I got into making wall quilts embellished with beads and appliques. These are a couple of the wall quilts I made:

Today, I've been working on a new quilt based on one of my favorite quilting books. I'm almost finished with the piecing, but haven't decided on embellishment yet. Oh yes, it must be embellished! I'll post a picture tomorrow of the pre-embellished stage. And I finished a top for a wall quilt which just kind of happened while I was going through my stash today. I'll post a picture of it's pre-embellished stage, too.

I'm back to quilting!

Too Much to do....

2011-10-08T07:50:00.000-10:00

I cannot wait until I retire! I have too much to do at work to spend time to do all I want at home. Maybe I'll just wait until I retire and write a book!

Merlin

2011-08-27T11:09:00.000-10:00

I'm trying to revive this blog once again. I have so many cat stories I want to share. First, let me introduce Merlin.

Merlin is a 5yr old cat we adopted from a local rescue group. He definitely part Burmese. He has Burmese fur and looks reddish brown underneath his black coat. He is a gorgeous animal. And a spoiled animal. My husband, Bob, says all my cats will be spoiled...it's just what I do.

Merlin was really sick when we first got him. He stopped eating a week after we got him. We took him to the vets. a week and a half later (and $4500), he was back with a stomach tube and we had to feed him through the tube until he could eat again by himself. His liver had shutdown and had to be "taught" to function again. It only took 2 weeks before he was eating on his own.

And since then he has been king of the house and all he surveys. He has scared Jazzmyn, who unbeknownst to us didn't want another cat in the house, so she stays upstairs. We're gradually working their relationship out, but it's going to take a while.

Check back for more Merlin/Jazzmyn stories....

Catch up Time!

2011-04-17T18:48:00.000-10:00

Trying to catch up on my blogging. I've got so much to update....new starts...a few finishes...but, alas, no pictures.....yet. Working on that.

But, without pictures, I can say that I tried working with resin. I planned to make some components for jewelry. Cabochons for earrings and pendants. But I have to say...I really don't like working with resin. It's sticky and takes at least three days to cure. Unfortunately, it's rather humid here in Hawaii, so it often takes longer. The one thing I do like resin for is to seal my paper clay components after I've painted them. I think once my supply of resin is gone, I won't be making resin anything. Resin jewelry stuff is just one thing that doesn't really appeal to me.

I've been making lots of paper clay components. They are so light weight and I can use my metal leaf pens on the components to make them look silver, gold or copper. I've made earrings and pendants that actually look like ceramic, but are so very light.

Gotta get some pictures to post this week!

Happy New Year!!!!

2011-02-18T06:04:00.000-10:00

I know I missed the common New Year, AND I missed Chinese New Year, but the sentiment is well meant :)

Ran into a few bumps in life the last few weeks. My 14 yr Oriental Shorthair Boo-boo passed away earlier this month. After weeks of medical attention and TLC at home, it was determined that there was nothing more we could do for him. Boo-boo went off to Rainbow Bridge on 2 February. We love him and miss him.

Before the end of the year....

2010-12-26T13:35:00.000-10:00

I gotta get in one more post with a few updates. I've really started making dolls in earnest. As usual, I have several started in various stages of construction. I'm trying some multimedia dolls and cloth dolls with sculptured faces.

The first one is a paper mache mannequin that I painted and have had hanging around for a while. I made my very first paper clay head and glued it on. Now I have to make some sort of arms from paper clay, too.

Did I mention there is no laughing while looking at my blog? Well, seeing this, my own original creation of a stump doll, might just make you break that rule. This was my attempt to make a doll with a bosom. I had a really hard time trying to stuff her into her dress. I did learn a lot from the process, but the poor thing looks a bit lopsided. And now I have to a head and arms for her.

This is Fanny the Fandango Doll. She has a ready-made body that I'm painting and beading. I beaded her face.

This is a purely fantasy doll. I don't even know what it will be when I'm done. I'm altering the body a bit and just going with the flow for beading.

UPDATE!!!

2010-10-23T11:26:00.000-10:00

FINALLY!!! I am making an update to most of my latest projects.

First is Griselda -

She's almost done except for her shoes! And I have one more "bendi doll" to make her a friend!

Next: Purple and Yellow bead embroidered cuff bracelet -

I made all the glass cabochons, including the face. Some folks think it's kind of creepy because of the face. It's 3" wide and I really like it!

AND....Purple Amethyst bracelet -

Amethyst is my favorite gemstone. This bracelet is three pretty amethyst donuts and some of my glass cabochons. Only problem with this bracelet is that the magenta-colored beads had a metallic finish which is coming off. Underneath, the beads are just clear glass.

And last but not least - Rose bracelet

All the cabochons in this bracelet are made from paper clay...yup, that's right paper clay. They look like ceramic, but they are not. The paper clay is originally white. I colored the cabochons with Sharpie Markers and finished them with a gloss liquid that was made for polymer clay.

I'm sure there are a few more projects I haven't mentioned. There are two cuff bracelets, a red one and blue one that I'm looking for.

I'm trying to make time for a rag rug that I've started to weave. I really need to retire!

I'm a Slacker!!!

2010-10-12T18:21:00.000-10:00

HA! I will not be blowing off the month of October on my blog. After all, it's my favorite month...my anniversary AND birthday...AND in 2015 my retirement month. Unless, of course, the Mayans are correct and the world ends in 2012. I'll be totally ticked off if that happens!

Well, POO!

2010-09-04T20:41:00.000-10:00

Totally missed the month of August! It went by so fast! By Monday, I'll post some photos of progress and finishes.

Progress....and a Finish

2010-07-18T19:14:00.001-10:00

I have some progress pictures and a finish to talk about today. First, my progress pictures:

This is Grisella my Nifty Fifty doll. I'm making her to celebrate my 5th decade. She is supposed to be done by October. I think she might be. I was a bit stymied about her hair, but finally decided what should look like.

You can see that she has two butterfly "tattoos"...ahem...well...in strategic areas. And her hair is a natural do o of bead strings and square beads.
I've started adding garters...wooohooo.....and will make a pair of peyote stockings for Grisella.

And here is my finish:

This is my third bead embroidered cuff bracelet. I used three dichroic cabochons that I bought from the internet and used all kinds and shades of brown beads. It looks really rich.

More Finishes!

2010-07-04T12:44:00.000-10:00

I'm just finishing things like crazy! Well, I have had several projects in the works for quite awhile, so it is about time.

First is this 2-drop peyote piece. I developed this pattern from a picture of a hollyhock I took in Taos, New Mexico in 2006. Creating bead patterns from my own photographs is really fun.

And I finished another bead embroidered cuff. It's 1.5" wide unlike the yellow cuff I posted about earlier. That cuff is 2" wide. I am working on one that is about 1" wide. The narrower cuffs don't allow for a lot of design possibilities, but they do finish quicker.

And that's it for now. I hope to have my newest embroidered cuff finished soon and will post pictures of it.

Bead Embroidered Cuff

2010-06-20T15:42:00.000-10:00

Another finish! I finished my first bead embroidered cuff. I used three dichroic triangle-shaped cabochons and lots of vintage beads, Swarovski crystals, and other stuff.

I really liked making this cuff and I'm definitely going to make more!

AND, I've had some paper clay hanging around for some time now. I haven't had much of an idea of what to do with it. So, I decided to make cabochons with it using some of my polymer clay molds. Here's what I came up with:

I really like working with cabochons...there's so much you can do with them. Some of these guys will end up on cuffs, some as pendants for necklaces.

Finally a FINISH!

2010-06-12T15:15:00.000-10:00

Finally, I have a finish to a project I've been working on for months. I finished my 1920's Flapper off-loom project. Here's a picture:

It is done in 3 drop peyote. I made it from a copyright free design that I tweaked and then colored. I'm going to get a shadow box for her and hang her somewhere.

This is a picture of my Edwardian girl Loom piece. It's hard to tell what it will look like from this picture, but it will be nice. I have about 98 more rows to go. I've made quite a bit of progress on her this week. She's destined for my mom's house.

Still working on Griselda and my bead embroidered cuff. Maybe pictures of them tomorrow.

Glass Disaster!

2010-06-07T05:08:00.000-10:00

Got some nifty new glass fusing molds on Thursday last week. So, I brushed on kiln wash, filled them with glass frit and got them ready for the kiln. Saturday morning I put in the first mold which was a neat moon figure. Saturday afternoon I took out the mold when it was done, only to find that the glass had cracked rather badly, but not irreparably. I put in the second mold, a sun. Sunday morning I took out the sun mold to find it had broken badly during firing. The mold had literally crumbled. That was quite disappointing.

I put the moon mold back in with the glass repaired and refired it to fix the broken areas. I took the moon out after about 8 hours to find that the mold had also broken, probably in the first firing which is why the glass cracked in the first place.

I've contacted the online store I bought the mold from and asked for replacements. Hopefully I'll hear from them soon.

So, bad weekend at the kiln. I did, however, get some work done on my bead loom project, an off loom project and some bead embroidery.

I'll get some pictures posted this afternoon.

Nifty Fifty Doll and other Updates

2010-05-22T10:48:00.000-10:00

I started out my fifth decade thinking that I would make a small artsy quilt for every month until I turned 51. Well, with settling in back here in Hawaii, I just couldn't manage that lofty goal. BUT, I felt the need to commemorate my fifth decade in some artful way.

Lately, I've been really into beaded embroidery. That hobby comes and goes. I will always like using a needle and thread and using them with beads is pretty much heaven for me. SO, I decided to make a bead embroidered doll to celebrate my entrance into the 50s. I call her Griselda the Nifty Fifty doll.

I'll be posting updates on her. I have her scheduled to have her finished by 12 October.

In other news, I just got back from two weeks in New Hampshire visiting my mom. It was really nice and restful. I gardened and shopped for vintage beads, jewelry (to take apart), vintage beaded bags for my collection and clothes. No sales tax in New Hampshire except for restaurant type purchases.

I'm girding my loins this weekend to do a mountain of laundry and continue my quest for organization of my craft supplies :) (Don't ask me how that is going :) )

Book Review Time!

2010-05-01T10:46:00.000-10:00

Ding, ding, ding....time for book review! I've gotten a couple of craft books lately and thought I'd give my observations:
Totally Twisted: Innovative Wirework & Art Glass Jewelry

First one I really, really liked is Totally Twisted.
It is a good book for learning to manipulate wire to make wire jewelry. There are several nice projects, but more than that, it gives you techniques you can use to make lots of other jewelry. Check out the link to this book on Amazon.

Simply Stylish Chain and Metal Jewelry

This second book is also very good. Lots of chain looks...mixing metals, which is hot right now, and even some metal clay techniques. Check this one out for some really good projects.

Bugle Bead Bonanza: A Sparkling Collection of Jewelry Projects (Lark Jewelry Book)
The third book is about using bugle beads (had to plug my favorite online bead store). I have lots and lots of bugle beads. I use them for fringe on some of my mixed media quilts and once in a while in a necklace. I have some lovely vintage bugle beads and I want to explore other techniques for using them. Well, I'm not going to find them in this book. It uses bulge beads for...guess what...fringe and necklaces. There are a couple of bracelets, but they weren't very imaginative. This one is going on my pile for books to be put on eBay. One of these days, I'm going to list them all and get some of my money back.

Time for cat pictures!

2010-04-25T07:28:00.001-10:00

Seeing as this blog begins with the word "cat" it's only right that we have some cat pictures...and the stories that go with them.

This is Jazzmyn. She's 12 years old. She hates having her picture taken. Most of the pictures I have of her are of her backside. But, here, she's "sharing" my glass of water. Boo boo started this practice of "sharing" and she picked it up.
Before anyone reports me to the ASPCA for not giving my cats water, they have a big bowl of fresh stuff by their crunchy dishes. They just like to share mine.

This is Boo Boo. He's giving me his patented "I-don't-see-you-even-though-you-are-in-my-face-with-that-freakin'- camera" look. Like most cats he's very good at ignoring what doesn't fit into his plan of the day. That means almost everything I want him to do and absolutely everything I DON'T want him to do. This apparently works very well for him as he has been doing it for almost 14 years now. As far as I can tell, besides a little problem with his thyroid, he's fit as a fiddle and likely to continue his ignoring for many more years.

I am currently trying to find a more natural cat food for both of the spoiled brats. And, of course, they need to like it. Natural food is relatively easy to find...but the rest...well, not so much.

Lots and Lots of Stuff

2010-04-24T07:27:00.000-10:00

Lots and lots of stuff going on this month. My glass making has really taken off. It's fun to experiment with using different kinds of glass. My favorite right now is iridescent glass. It's amazing what kinds of effects you can achieve layering patterned glass with iridescent glass. Iridescent glass doesn't look much different than normal glass. Some of it has a slight rainbow effect, but you have to look pretty closely to differentiate between normal glass and iridescent glass. I've done a couple of dishes with iridescent glass and a couple of small pendants. Lots more experiments to do :)

My bead weaving is progressing apace. I'm working on a loomed piece for my mom. It's a portrait of an Edwardian girl. For some reason my bead pattern making software picked metallic green beads for the girl's face. So I had to tweak the pattern. Still working on two off loom pieces. A three-drop peyote of a 1920's woman and a two-drop peyote of a red hollyhock taken from a photograph I took in Taos, New Mexico in 2006. Love beading my own photographs. My next big project is a pattern I made from a photograph I took of Caesar's Forum in Rome in 2006.
I also have a couple of pieces waiting on my 32" Mirrix Loom. I started too many loom projects without realizing how long it would take to finish them.

And I'm still working on some wire and metal jewelry. I'm going to give up metal clay when I finish with the batch I have. It's ok, but not something I want to do a lot with. It's great for charms, but since I learned to make rings from silver wire, I don't want to work that much with metal clay. It's expensive. It's great for charms and pendants, but that's all.

And that's my monthly craft summary.

Phewwwwwwwwwww!

2010-04-04T14:12:00.000-10:00

Still experiencing Blog Confusion. Got a several...but only want one...well, maybe two...heehehehehehehe... No serious, two. I'm keeping this one and All Glassed In...my glass blog. This one is for,....oh...just stuff...the cats...Mr. Bob....life stuff...toys...whatever. All Glassed In is for my glass experimentation.

Right now, I'm laying on my bed with my laptop propped on my knees and my tabby cat, Jazmyn stretched out next to me. Jazmyn likes it when I take a shower after lunch and then flop on the bed to read or maybe take a "cat" nap. That's her one-on-one time with me. Sometimes her housemate, Boo Boo, comes up, too, but he sleeps at the foot of the bed. He knows it's Jazzi's time with me, too.

Boo gets LOTS of time with me. When I'm sitting on the couch trying to focus on my hobbies, he's EVERYWHERE....on my lap...trying to drink out of my water glass...on the cushion in back of my head. He's wacko! This morning, while trying to get a drink of water out of my glass, Boo knocked over the glass and the water spilled all over the floor. And Boo had the nerve to look annoyed. Obviously, I had not taken the care he expected in preventing the glass from tipping, and thus he didn't get his drink. We won't mention here that he has a big bowl of water in the kitchen which is refreshed morning and night.

Boo thinks I'm incompetent, Jazzi just questions my ability to make sane decisions, such as letting Boo live with me for 13 years.

Mr. Boo boo

2009-10-18T05:57:00.002-10:00

Our cat Boo boo is 13 years old. He's an oriental shorthair, which is basically a Siamese without the points. Boo traveled from Virginia to Maryland when I got him in 1997. Then in 2003 he traveled out to Hawaii. In 2007 we moved to Germany, exactly half way around the world from Hawaii. In 2009, we moved back to Hawaii. And Mr. Boo boo did all that with us. He's quite the world-traveled cat.

A few days ago, Mr Boo was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Fortunately, that condition is very treatable. I have medication that I put in his ear twice a day and he's doing well. He was vomiting a lot; sometimes 3-4 times a day and losing weight because he couldn't keep anything down. He hasn't vomited in two days, since the medication started, and he seems much more comfortable.

The vet said he's in very good shape and we should have him around for many more years.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!

2009-10-12T15:13:00.002-10:00

I turned 50 today! Had a nice quiet day, like I wanted. Began work on a series of quilts to commemorate my 5th decade. I've been making progress in my craft room, so that by next weekend, I should be able to put my sewing machine in there and actually sew. Have my first quilt planned and in progress and have ideas for my second one. I hope to have 6 or 7 small art quilts done by my 51st birthday!

Update on crafts

2009-08-24T07:03:00.005-10:00

As I get more and more organized, I'm realizing that beading is the way I'm going to go for my major hobby. I want to do more jewelry, more beaded quilts and more bead weaving. Therefore, I'm getting rid of a lot of my "paper" stuff. Most of the paper ephemera and odds and ends are going to go. I'm keeping my beads and fabric and sewing supplies. I am also keeping the majority of my cross stitch supplies because I do like to relax and do cross stitch.

Some of my supplies will go to my sisters-in-law and some will go on eBay. Gotta downsize!

Here is a picture of a bead weaving I'm doing called Lady Jane Gray. She's destined to take up residence at my mom's house when she's done.

Here's a picture of what she'll look like when she is done:

1920's Diva Framed!

2009-08-18T19:19:00.003-10:00

I finally framed the 1920's Diva bead woven tapestry that I made! I'm trying to be better about finishing my pieces. I can use a bit of color around the house.

I have three new projects started and I am looking forward to working on them. Bead weaving has really caught my fancy!

Mirrix Looms and a Couple of Pictures

2009-08-15T15:51:00.004-10:00

Until about a year ago, I'd never heard of Mirrix Looms. These are upright looms that you can use for both bead weaving and tapestry weaving. I must confess I love these looms! I have three now: 12", 16" and a 32 inch. I am thinking of selling my 12" and eventually getting a 22". For the kinds of things I like to weave, the 12" is too small. I'd rather put two smaller pieces on a larger frame. Right now I have a 12" piece (240 warp threads) and a 8" piece (160 warp threads) on the 32 inch frame. The fit well with enough room in between to be able to weave comfortably. The only thing I've found about these looms that is disappointing is that you cannot weave a piece as big as they advertise. Not comfortably, anyway.

The 12" loom is supposed to have a 9" wide weaving area. I tried to warp mine for an 8" piece using the 14 dent spring. I was a few dents short and that was going end to end on the spring. Most of the pieces I weave are 8-9 inches wide. I've done two on the 12" that were only 6" and 5" wide. I have other cheapie looms that can weave pieces that size on, when I want to. I don't want to that often.

So, I'm going to list my 12" loom in my Etsy store for a bit and if doesn't sell there, I'll list it on Ebay. I think I'll ask for $180 for it with shedder and all original parts, plus a couple of extra coils.

If you happen to be out there reading this and you're interested email me at lynneambrosino@gmail.com .

Now, on to a couple of photos: First is the first, and largest, piece I finished on my 12" Mirrix loom: It is 6" by 15" and I had to get a custom frame to fit it. Still haven't gotten it into the frame, but I'm working on it.

The next piece I did for my long-suffering spousal unit, Bob. He puts up with the threads, beads and looms all over the house. He's a coffee and wine afficianado, so I made this for him:

So Many Topics...not enough time...

2009-08-03T04:19:00.002-10:00

Gosh, a whole month has flown by since we've returned home! Lots of times I thought of things to blog, but, honestly, just never had the time. And you know I'm into "no obligation" blogging.

It is so good to be home. I had forgotten how laid back and gracious the people in the islands can be. Everywhere we've gone and told people that we were away and have come back to Hawaii, we've heard "Welcome Home!" I've even gotten that at work.

We've been working hard in the house to get things pulled together. It's coming along well. The main floor is almost there. The upstairs is a totally different story, but I made progress there as well this weekend. Some of the issue with my craft stuff is inefficient storage. I have drawers in my plastic cabinets that have one or two items in them. That's just bad.

Well, it's about 0430 and I have to feed my beasties and get the day going. It's Monday and it's bound to be busy!

ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHA!

2009-07-03T12:51:00.002-10:00

We made it back to Hawaii!!! Along the way we had to spend 4 days in Chicago with two cranky cats crammed into a small, but luxurious hotel room. Our plane from Dulles to O'Hare was delayed because United Airlines didn't schedule a crew to fly our plane. Minor, but important detail. We ended up flying Continental with the cats safely in Continental's Pet Safe program flying on the plane with us.

And just a word about United Airlines. They have GOT to be THE WORST airlines flying in the skies today. We have now flown many airlines in the U.S. and Europe and United is BY FAR the lousiest! Even though it was their fault we got stranded in Chicago. Even though all our luggage, except one duffle bag, was forwarded to Honolulu while we were still in Chicago. Even though, they lost our cats for about 2 hours. They absolutely refused to do anything for us, except give us some coupons to a couple of fleabag hotels all an hour from the airport.
We finally gave up arguing with United personnel and decided to book ourselves in to the Hilton across from the airport. Not one manager from United would come talk to us. They were all hiding, I imagine. And the airport personnel kept saying how tired they were. I'm sorry, I just didn't freakin' care! Crappy scheduling, crappy customer service, just plain crappy airlines.

But, here we are. We're home. Our belongings were delivered and we're up to our eyes in boxes and bins. It'll take a while to sort this all out, but we will. And we're staying put for the next few years....

Two More Days....

2009-05-29T20:36:00.003-10:00

Or is that "daze"? We're finishing up the cleaning in this humongous house and feeling thankful that our house in Hawaii is not big. The house in Hawaii is an end unit townhouse in a four house grouping. The biggest model of the complex, it's only about 1300 square feet. The monstrosity we've lived in here in Bavaria is at least 3,ooo. It has four floors and room upon room, most of which we never entered, let alone lived in.

The Hawaii house is just two floors, no basement, Oahu is, afterall, a volcanic island. The first floor is the kitchen, living room, dining area (we don't call it a "dining room" because it is more of a nook than a room), rather large wasteful foyer an large full bathroom/laundry room combination and a large, very sunny, very private lanai. The top floor has four bedrooms, two very small and two medium-sized, and a small full bathroom. There is also a really nice storage room/walk-in closet. It's a good size for us, not much cleaning, which we both are loath to do.

My only problem with the Hawaii house is the size of my craft stash relative to the size of my craft room. But, since I've been here in Bavaria and had a craft area at least twice the size of the room in Hawaii, I realized I have too much stuff for anything than a full scale craft studio. As my craft supplies, the majority of which are beads and fabric, arrive in Hawaii, I'm going to take a good hard look at everything and give some away to Goodwill. I really need to downsize and down-spend. Wish me luck!

Bella Italia!

2009-05-12T21:08:00.002-10:00

Bob and I returned from our last trip to Italy during our stay in Europe. We will be back to Italy but not for a couple of years. It's expensive and time consuming to travel to Europe from Hawaii. And the jetlag.....

We chose to tour Italy by car this time. We've flown to Rome several times, flew to Venice, flew to Florence, but this time we decided to climb into our trusty yellow Mini CooperS and travel the Italian highways.

I don't know who ever started that vicious rumor that Italians are terrible drivers. They really aren't. They don't take any more risks than the rest of the European drivers I've encountered, although I think their definition of "road lanes" might lose something in the translation. They tend to drive in two lanes at once, but once you get used to that, it's easy to deal with. And they will occupy one lane, at least temporarily, if you wish to pass.

We stopped for several days in Tuscany. That region lived up to its reputation in beauty and food. However, it was rather touristy. And everything was perfectly manicured and cleaned. Anyone who has been to Italy for any amount of time will know that Italy is usually controlled chaos. I think that is part of its charm. Although I do realize that living in ultra-ordered Germany for two years, could be coloring my opinion.

After Tuscany, we traveled on to Abruzzo. We traveled south of the recent earthquake shattered L'Aquila area. We climbed into the mountains of Abruzzo which are wild and un-touristed. Finally we hit a spot with our GPS navigation system just gave up and left us on our own. There was only one way to go....up.

After four hours of driving through wild natural scenery, we arrived at our destination of Rocca Pia. This small...REALLY small hamlet was the birthplace of Bob's grandmother. I think that this small town was the real Italy.

We started at the only open restaurant we could in the town, there was another restaurant which wasn't open at least not for lunch. Needless to say the town residents were rather curious about the yellow Mini Cooper S with German plates that was driving around their town....or should I say back and forth in their town. There was only on street suitable for driving.

Once Bob explained his connection to this little village, the place came alive. The lovely owner of the restaurant in which we had lunch found us a room in her brother's B&B which was closed for the season, but was opened for us. We were assisted in every possible way to find remnants of Bob's family's past. And at 9pm as we were slumbering in our very nice B&B room, we were moments away from meeting some of Bob's family's present.

At 9:45 pm, there was knocking on our room door. Upon opening, Bob found two of his second cousins and one of their children outside our room. Apparently word had gotten around this small burg and the relatives came to call. Bob had a wonderful time catching up with all the family history. Bob and I don't speak much Italian and they didn't speak any English, but I've found that in Italy knowing some Italian nouns and Spanish verbs will get you through. So we managed our way through an hour or so of conversation.

The next day we got up early, having decided to drive straight through back to Germany. We drove along the spectacular Adriatic Coast and vowed to return to that area and spend a couple of weeks. That, however, won't happen for a couple of years. But we will be back...

To all the cat lovers out there....

2009-05-01T18:13:00.001-10:00

How many of us cat lovers can relate to this You Tube video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs2ZPU6eDp8

Wave Bye-Bye to the Car

2009-04-25T18:30:00.002-10:00

I waved bye-bye to my cute little car on Friday. Hubby and I drove to Stuttgart (3hrs from here) and turned my little Mini Cooper convertible over to the car shippers. In a little less than 3 months, it will arrive on Sand Island on Oahu all safe and sound, but probably a little dusty.

We took the train (well, TRAINS, actually) back from Stuttgart to Grosskarolinenfeld where we live. It took about 4 hours. It was interesting, but very expensive. It cost about 140 euros for the two of us. But, we couldn't rent a car to get us back for that price, so we had an experience and even got to sleep on the train from Stuttgart to Munich. We had gotten up at 4 am and left the house at 5 to get to the car shippers in time for our appointment.

Yesterday other than doing some laundry, I did virtually nothing. I have to pick up the pace in doing my last minute things, but I'm having a hard time getting motivated. At the last minute I'll just jumble everything into a box and have it all mailed to us after we get to Hawaii. I'm just exhausted right now. I am going to be able to use the three weeks off in Maryland to catch up on my sleep and gird my loins for the last push to Hawaii.

After the stress....

2009-04-09T01:49:00.002-10:00

comes the cold....as in virus. It's been lovely outside this week and I've come home every day in my little orange Mini Cooper convertible with the top down.
Everyone with convertibles seemed to be out driving around enjoying the 60-something degree weather. Well, it appears maybe I was too precipitous. This morning I woke up with a cold. I had avoided all the sickness of my coworkers all winter only to catch the springtime version. I think it is a result of delayed stress from packing up and seeing all my beads and fabric and craft supplies drive off in big crates. I tell you I'm really attached to that stuff. It's my sanity to counter balance the insanity of my job. At least I have some small beadies left to play with. I want to perfect my right angle weave technique and practice a few other kinds of beadweaving stitches. I'm also working on a beaded doll.

And when I get tired of beading, I have my cross stitch, which always calms me.

Everything is GONE!

2009-04-02T05:09:00.002-10:00

We survived the packout of all our stuff. Our cats survived, too. We're living with loaner furniture, which is adequate, but far from our own furniture. I was thinking this morning as I woke up on an Aerobed, our sleeping arrangements until we leave in June, that I felt weird...restless...out of place.

I am one of those people who, contrary to the popular trend, would not like to live "simply." I like my stuff. And I am a bit attached to my stuff, too. But this morning I realized it was not my furniture I'd miss, it's my artsy stuff....my toys as I like to call them. I miss the wallhangings I've made, the needlework I've had framed, and my quilts. Besides my husband and my cats, they are what make my house a home. I feel out of sorts without those touches of home. I have some artsy creations at my office at work. I think I'll bring them home and put them up until the last shipment of last minute stuff in May. I think that would make me feel less out of place.

Is Winter Ever Going to END?????

2009-03-20T18:28:00.002-10:00

I, personally, am weary of the cold, the snow, the ice, the feeling of being trapped inside. For a few days earlier in the week it was over 50 degrees farenheit. I guess the local Germans are also feeling "cabin fever" because I noted some convertibles being driven around tops down. I did get my Mini Cooper convertible out of the garage, where it has been since November, and enjoyed driving around with Jimmy Buffet music cheerfully spouting from the speakers, but I'm not hardy enough to put the top down in less than 70 degree weather.

Yesterday, when I went out to climb into my little car to motor off to work, I found the wipers frozen to the windshield and the boot frozen shut. I just hate it! I'm wondering if I'll see spring before I leave Germany in June.

Talk about no Obligation!

2009-03-12T08:37:00.003-10:00

Things for our move back to Hawaii are skipping right along. Pack out is 1 and 2 April, then we get to sit around with gov't loaner furniture for two months. That's ok, when we moved here, we spent 4 months with loaner furniture so it's like bringing old friends back :)
I'm recently back from spending two weeks at my mom's. I had to get away from work. I really like living in Germany, although all the rules would drive me nuts after a while, but my workplace is just ridiculous. I don't think more than 40% of the people have enough work to do. I certainly don't and haven't for the last almost 2 years. Waste of time and money, if you ask me.

Before I went to my mom's, Bob and I went to Malta. Malta is really nice. A complete surprise! There is so much to see on one island about the size of Oahu. Lots of history, way back to prehistoric times. We spent 4 days there and we could have spent about 4 more to see everything we wanted to see.

My life for the next few weeks will be organizing the flotsam and jetsam of my life (specifically my crafts) and getting ready for the packers/movers.

Blogging Without Obligation

2009-02-07T00:35:00.002-10:00

AHA! It's come full circle! Millions of people have blogs. And how many of those people are chained to their blogs for some portion of time everyday because they feel they HAVE to blog?And when they don't blog for a while, their first blog posting after a hiatus is an apology for not blogging.

I know for myself that if I feel I HAVE to do ANYTHING (except work to pay the bills and feed my craft addiction), I'm likely not to do it. And for HEAVEN'S SAKE, people, don't we all have enough we HAVE to do to not need to add blogging to the list?? I don't even have children (well, unless you count my spousal unit and two cats) and I have enough obligations to not need to add anything else.

Besides, I'm going to be 50 this year and as much as possible, I'm not going to do things I just freakin' don't wanna do!

So, bloggers, the question of to blog or not to blog, should not be a gut wrenching question. Do it if you want or don't do it if you don't. And you don't have to even be 50 to decide not to blog! I give you permission :)

Mill Hill Kits For Sale

2009-01-31T18:56:00.002-10:00

I will be listing several Mill Hill kits in my Etsy store: The Beaded Cat . I've got to destash as much stuff as I can. I'm pricing the kits to sell quickly, so keep your eyes on my store to see if there's something you'll like :)

2009-01-24T22:13:00.002-10:00

For all those interested in bead loom patterns, I have finally added some new patterns to my Etsy store: www.thebeadedcat.etsy.com . While I'm in transition these will probably be the only items available on my site. I also have a Moving Sale on some earrings and supplies.

Lots O'Art

2009-01-18T04:57:00.011-10:00

I've often said that I have time either for being on the computer or making art, and that goes double now. I have been packing up knickknacks and art supplies getting ready to haul it back to Hawaii. How I am ever going to fit all this stuff in a much smaller area in Hawaii, I do not know. But, as Scarlett O'Hara would say: I won't think about that today, I'll think about it tomorrow.

I wanted to share a couple of projects that I finished recently:

The first is a special piece that I made in memory of my darling Persian cat, Ferdi. He passed away April 30, 2007 and until recently, I couldn't manage to make any memorial to him. For every cat that I've had that has passed away since college I've made some kind of memorial to them. For the first two, Moska and Keegan, I made quilts. I still hang Keegan's quilt in my bedroom. Moska's has begun to fade, so I don't display it very often. Keegan passed away in 1997 and Moska in 1990.

I didn't think that Ferdi would want what everyone else had. He also fancied himself extra-special. And he was. I couldn't really think of what to make him until I read in an issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors about making "shrines."

Here's my shrine to Ferdi:

It's truly a shrine fit for a little Persian Emperor, don't you think?

I call this piece: Autumn

The polymer clay face is the first one I ever made. I beaded around it with citrine and gold seed beads. I wish the picture had come out better. This one doesn't do the piece justice. The background is sparkly and shimmering. I used more of my polymer clay pieces just because I could....:)

This piece is one of my favorites! I call it Beaded Spheres. I fused pieces of black and white scraps and then some red over the black and white. I fused spheres on top and then beaded my head off. I used all kinds of beads: square, seed, circles and some really neat butterfly beads I've had for a while.

That's about all I've finished to this point. I have several pieces in the last stages of creation, so check back again to see whatelse I've come up with!

ANNOUNCEMENT!

2009-01-03T20:35:00.004-10:00

I have an announcement! I might as well get it out of the way right now at the beginning of the year: I will turn the BIG 5-0 this year! Some women cringe, others cry...I just scream it out because it's better than the alternative. I don't lie about my age. I couldn't care less who knows. I'm not vain enough to wear contacts (although I do have these ultra-chic, Euro-cool, glasses frames that I got here last year) and sometimes, on weekends, I sit in my jammies until at least noon. Today I am sitting on my couch, in my blue flannel night shirt and mismatched snuggly socks. And that's all 'cuz I'm old enough to do what I want!

Since 50 represents a half century, and I have no expectations of reaching a full century, I want do something monumentally creative to commemorate not having expired yet, not being in jail and not living in a trailer park. So, I'm proposing a series of Celebrate 50 Quilts. I want to celebrate the colors, sounds, smells, sights and moments that I enjoy. I'm thinking small quilts...not more than 10x10. Today I'm going to start thinking about my first opening quilt. A splashy affair with lots of color and noise. My actual birthday will not be until October, but by then I'd like to have my quilts done and on display. Who knows maybe I'll have a party :)

Tea Dying

2009-01-03T00:49:00.003-10:00

I looked into my tea cabinet today and realized I had waaaaaaaaaaay to many boxes and bags of tea. I've been drinking coffee the majority of the time since my DH, Bob, got his new Italian coffee machine. We call his coffee efforts "Bobsbuck" and it is MUCH less expensive that that other 'bucks' should we even have access to any here in Bavaria.

So, I have lots of tea which I must either drink or do something with before we pack up in April. As I was rooting around in my fabric I found some white on white and cream on cream stuff that I always meant to dye. I used up all my dyes before coming here. I got the bright idea to use the tea to dye the fabric. It went very well all things considered. I achieved a light rose/purple from using a German tea of blueberry and vanilla. And I got a really nice mocha color from jasmine and vanilla tea. I'm going to try a few more kinds today.

One thing I did learn is that loose tea left loose is not a good thing to dye with. The color was fine, but rinsing the leaves from the fabric was a pain! I have a few ideas for vintage-look quilts which will use these fabrics.

New Look!

2008-12-31T21:58:00.003-10:00

I'm getting wound up to return to Hawaii! I have dressed my blog in hibiscus and lots of green! We've still got 4 months before we actually leave, but only 3 months before our stuff is packed up and shipped out. We're shipping early so, hopefully, everything will arrive in Hawaii at the same time or right before we do. I'm even shipping my car early. On Monday, our cats are going to the vets to get their blood test and shots so they are all ready to go. The moving is going to be hardest on them. They are old and it's a really long trip. We are stopping over on the east coast before we get to Hawaii just to give everyone a break. It's not quite halfway, but it will be a rest stop for about a week.

I've been cross stitching a lot hoping to get a few things finished before I leave. I'm already packing up my craft books and some supplies. Europe has been fun, but it will be nice to be home again. I'm not fond of living in rental quarters. I owned my own house for over 20 yrs and I prefer it to being paranoidly careful at home. Anyhow...onward and upward!

New Work

2008-12-28T06:23:00.016-10:00

I hope everyone had a good holiday! I finally got time to take pictures of some new mixed media work I've done. Some of it is quilted, some not. I had great fun making it all!

This piece has been done for a while, but I never took pictures of it. It was done using water soluble interfacing and layering fabric, then stitching through the layers. This was my first piece like this. I embellished the piece with fabric beads, fire-polished beads, Swarovski crystals, and a couple of yo-yos for good measure. The following are close-ups of the embellishments:

This is a close-up of the yo-yos and fabric beads. The yo-yos have Swarovski crystals sewing to them.

Close-up of the bottom of the piece. Fire-polished bead dangles, fabric beads and a yo-yo.

This next piece is a quilt I made and then beaded. I stitched freeform beaded flowers. The last picture shows how I "tied" the quilt with beads.

This is a piece I did to experiment with using used dryer sheets which I painted.
I used flowers that I had used watercolors on and after placing on the quilt top, I thread-painted and beaded the flowers. More of these are to come.

This piece is done on a stretched, painted canvas. I used layered painted and melted Lutrador. I added a string of beads for sparkle and texture. I call it: "The DNA of Life."

This piece is also done on canvas. I used some painted, melted Lutrador, Angelina film, polymer clay beads, glass beads and a copper metal sun charm.

I call this: "Sunrise On The Beach."

This piece is on painted canvas with painted and melted Lutrador, Angelina film, glass leave beads and polymer clay beads. I call this one: "Sunlight Through the Leaves."

That's it for now. I do have some experiments that I've been working on. I'll be posting them in the next few days.

Thanks for visiting!

HO HO HO!

2008-12-04T00:11:00.002-10:00

I've dressed my blog up for Christmas! I'm finishing up all Christmas presents this weekend and getting them in the mail by Monday! Pictures coming up!

Very Soon Now!

2008-11-11T08:30:00.002-10:00

I have been practicing my beadweaving a lot in recent weeks. I think I have perfected it to the point were, very soon, I will be comfortable listing a bracelet or two on my Etsy store:
The Beaded Cat . I have also delved into making peyote amulet bags. I want to think up an idea for these bags that don't involve necklaces. I'm thinking about making them a bit bigger and making beaded evening bags. I don't know anyone who wears the amulet bags as necklaces anyway. I think I may make smaller peyote bags for keepsakes and storing earrings or even gift pouchs.....hmmmmm...

Seed Bead Frenzy Yahoo Group!

2008-11-09T05:59:00.002-10:00

I just started a Yahoo Group called Seed Bead Frenzy! Anyone who has an addiction to seed beads or has an interest in learning what can be done with seed beads, please click on the button on this blog.

Hope to see you there!

Here we go again!

2008-11-08T09:28:00.004-10:00

Well, it's official! We are going back to Hawaii in May 2009. My job was eliminated here and although I was offered other duties, I didn't like any of them. Bob is eager to return to Hawaii as he hasn't been able to work as much as he wanted to here. So, what the heck! It's Paradise after all and we have our house to return to. I'm going to try to go to the Puget Sound Bead Fest in July, if we're settled in by then. If not, there's always the quilt show in Houston in November.

I've got a list of projects to finish before I go, so I'll be busy, busy. Also, we've got a couple of trips planned around Europe. It's been fun and we'll have lived in Europe for 2 years by the time we go. That's not too bad.

Advertising on my Blog

2008-11-04T09:05:00.001-10:00

Someone who owns a company which sells seed beads, albeit not the kind I use, posted a comment on one of my blog entries which was thinly veiled advertising. I don't allow advertising on my blog. I promote the businesses which I patronize for my own reasons.

As for seed beads, for size 11 I use Delicas and Matsuno beads almost exclusively. I also use Matsuno size 8 and size 6. I am happy with my choices and will change only if I find a superior bead.

To any other proprietors of bead supplies, please do not post comments for the purpose of advertising your products on my blog. I will delete them and definitely will not patronize your business.

Bead Mosaic and Gustav Klimt

2008-11-01T01:11:00.002-10:00

I showed my bead mosaics to a friend of mine at work. She immediately said it reminded her of the work of Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. Never thought about it, but after studying some of Klimt's work, with which I was very little acquainted, I think I see what she means. I do like his work the most famous of which is The Kiss . I know that as long as there are seed beads, square or round, I'll be making mosaics.

Bead Mosaic

2008-10-25T19:06:00.018-10:00

So, in April I went to Florence, Italy. (I specified the country because upon googling "Florence" I found a number of cities of the same name, but on the wrong continent.) Florence is incredible! It's beautiful to look at. The bridges, the architecture, even the people are beautiful to look at. The river Arno, which runs through Florence, is not so beautiful, especially with a rat swimming in it:

However, I digress. I was transfixed by the art in Florence. Sure, they have paintings by the Masters and sculptures...some wonderful, some which make you wonder:

But nothing that struck my fancy like: mosaics. They sparked my imagination and delighted my eyes.

Since then, I've been trying to recreate mosiacs in materials other than stone or glass. Naturally, I turned to seed beads. So far, I've created the following:

This is the top of a paper mache box. I'm working on the sides now. I used some round beads square stitched together and some square beads stitched together to make "tile. That worked pretty well. Between and around the "tiles" I glued rows of black square beads as "grout." I intend to perfect the techniques for bead mosaics and create more.

Here I am beading the roof of a paper mache house box. I started out with twisted bugle beads, but realized they were not flexible enough or big enough to do the entire job.

Here I am using peacock-colored square beads to cover the roof. I did square stitch some of the beads into tiles, but it was just as fast to glue them on one at a time. This portion took me about 4 hours. Not a fast process, but it is rather relaxing.

The bottom picture is Jazzmyn checking out my latest creation.

Seed Beads

2008-10-25T18:20:00.003-10:00

I buy LOTS of seed beads! For those who have seen my bead stash, you already know that. For most of my seed beads I prefer buying Miyuki or Matsuno beads. They are the best seed beads I've found. I have a few sources for most of my beads. I like using businesses that provide good service and good prices. When I find businesses like that I stick with them.

When I want to buy in bulk, there is nothing like Fire Mountain Gems . For large quantities of seed beads, especially square beads, they are the best. But, sometimes I don't want large quantities. For smaller quantities, I like to buy my beads from an Ebay store called:
Miyuki Gal Beads . The first thing that caught my eye about MGB is that you can buy beads in groups of coordinated colors. You can also buy the beads in mixes of fringe, cubes, round and cylinder seed beads. And Sue at MGB provides great service. Whether I'm living in Hawaii or overseas, I get my MGB packages in a week or less.

And speaking of Sue at MGB, she was kind enough to feature my beading efforts on her blog: Seed Bead Sue . You should check out her blog. There are other really talented bead people featured there.

Is Finishing the Point?

2008-10-18T20:56:00.003-10:00

Is it? Is finishing a project the point of the project? Or is the creative process, the journey, if you will, the point? For me it's the creative process. Most the time I couldn't care less if I "finish" a project. I enjoy creating it. Sometimes I feel sad when I declare a project finished because that means its evolution is over. The growth process for the project and for me has ended.

I work on several projects at once because sometimes I run out of creative ideas for one, but I know it's not finished. I don't know what's next, but I know there is a "next." For some people their projects speak to them. The project tells the artist what it wants next. That doesn't happen for me. Objects tell me things. I can pick up a button, a piece of polymer clay, fragment of fabric and it occurs to me that it would be perfect for that little piece I started two months ago and put aside for lack of inspiration. My projects WILL tell me when they want to be left alone; when they want to rest and be what they are for a while. At that point, I put them aside and leave them until something tells me to pick them up again.

I guess I am envious of people who can get inspiration that goes from beginning to end uninterrupted. My inspiration doesn't work like that. That's ok with me. I think I'd be frustrated if my inspiration got interrupted because I have to go to work 5 days a week. For now it comes in spurts and that suits my time to be able to create. It does, however, mean I don't finish as much as those with continuous inspiration. I'm ok with that, too. :)

Quilting, Quilting, Quilting

2008-10-01T16:56:00.002-10:00

The weather is getting colder here in Bavaria. I think we might have much more snow this year than last. We got barely a few inches last year. But, it did snow on Christmas Day and New Year's Day and, after not seeing snow for 4 years, it was kind of nice.

With the colder weather, my thoughts turn to quilting. I've finished more quilts in the first year I've been here than I did in 4 years in Hawaii. Bob finally has his very own BIG quilt and I pin-basted a smaller quilt for him yesterday. Shouldn't be too long before that quilt is finished.

I have a HUGE quilt to pin-baste and and quilt in a month or two. It's a bed-sized monster.
Maybe I'll have a quilt basting party and get some help doing that.

I have more wall-quilts to work on, too. I'm going to bead some and applique pretty flowers on others. Hopefully, I have some pretty flower wall quilts to decorate the house for spring :)

Adelaide's Garden

2008-09-27T06:14:00.004-10:00

I'm posting a picture of my latest mixed media wall quilt entitled, "Adelaide's Garden."

I used one of my polymer clay heads and daisy doily thingies (don't even know if they have a real name). I painted the daisy dollie thingies with textile paint and used some dichroic glass cabochons as the middle. I added gold leaf trim for stems and leaves and flower and butterfly beads. I thought I was finished with the quilt when I realized that Adelaide needed some jewelry. I added a multiple strand necklace and some "buttons." As you can see Adelaide looks very proud of her flower garden which grows on a background of painted fabric.

Blogging, etc

2008-09-24T17:08:00.002-10:00

I have so much to blog about. The one thing I don't have is time to blog! I've tried to set up a schedule for blogging, but I am horrible with schedules. In fact, I'm rather horrible about structure of most kinds outside of the workplace. I believe that subconsciously I believe that schedules are for work only. My non-work time should be unstructured and creative. This usually means that, during the week, I bounce from project to project, different crafts depending on my mood. Weekends I can make several hours available for specific crafts/projects and that's when I usually finish things. I also tend to design more on weekends. I'm going to have to harness that rather weak natural schedule and use it to my advantage. The likelihood of any strict structure on the weekend is just not going to happen. And the closer I get to retirement, the less likely that becomes.

Christmas is Coming!

2008-09-18T07:25:00.002-10:00

I am working furiously on Christmas gifts. I'm making Mill Hill ornaments for my friends. I only have one done and I have at least 3 more to go. I really like MH kits because everything is right there. They work up pretty fast, too. Just stitch, slap a piece of felt on the back and a pinback if you so choose and VOILA!

Beaded Tapestry

2008-08-23T09:30:00.005-10:00

I thought I'd post a picture of my first beaded tapestry just as it came off the loom.

I'm going to put fringe on the bottom and add a bead hanger to the top. It looks much better when it is held up to a window.

And here is a picture of my latest bracelet and then my work in progress on my new Mirrix loom:

I'm working on an original design of sunflowers. I think this one will be a beaded purse !

Where Have I Been?

2008-08-17T00:00:00.002-10:00

Well, I haven't been traveling much. We had a guest cat for almost two months in June to late July. She was a challenge. I was concerned that my two cats and the guest cat would get into a very large, violent disagreement. So, I stuck close to home.

Since I was around I started to learn beadweaving on a loom. I also began to do peyote, right angle, and spiral techiques, too. I began learning beadweaving a couple of years ago, but quit because I had my jewelry store on Ruby Lane and that store was too expensive to let just sit around; I had to get string items made. Now, with my Etsy store, I can put in what I want when I want and only incur expenses when I list or sell something. It makes things much more flexible so I can learn new techniques and expand my creativity.

I am almost finished with my first loomed bead tapestry that I designed myself. I'm pretty exicted! I'm not going to divulge much about it until I can actually post pictures.

Later today, I hope to get some pictures of some bracelets I've make this summer.

Finishes

2008-06-21T04:50:00.003-10:00

I have two very special needlework finishes to share today:

Silk Parasol, a piece I have been working on since 2004 and finally finished on Christmas Day 2007. I stitched for my mom and just had it framed. Here it is:

And Village Sampler by Prairie Schooler:

I started this in 2005 and finished it two weeks ago. It's my favorite PS piece and I am so happy to have it not only finished, but framed and hanging in my living room as well.

Cats and Quilts...

2008-06-02T07:28:00.004-10:00

Anyone who has read any of my myriad pf blogs in all their various forms, knows that I have two cats, used to have three. I have recently been preoccupied with the connection between cats and quilts. Here's why:

I decided that there are some traditional patterns that I probably will never make. I'm out of the " cut little pieces and precise sew them together" realm of quilting. I like to use simple shapes and let the color and texture of the fabric speak for itself. Having taken that decision, I've been checking around for some of my favorite quilt patterns already made up into quilts. I thought I'd collect them and maybe use some of them to augment my own quilts.

So, I turned to the place where all things can be found....Ebay. I found several sellers who had good feedback and seemed reputable. I started collecting. I've collected 7 so far. Including a gorgeous 1930's wedding ring and a couple really nice lone star quilts.

I also collected one that is called Stars at the Crossroads. I love star blocks! This quilt is in colors of rose, blue and green. The pattern and age of this quilt is not so much as to make me unwilling to put it on my bed for the summer.

I washed the quilt, repaired a few loose seams and prepared it to grace my nicely made bed. I no sooner got the quilt smoothed over my chenille bedspread when my almost 12yr old Oriental Shorthair cat, Boo Boo, hopped on the bed and rolled on the new quilt like he'd never in his life laid on anything so comfortable! It was if he knew the quilt was new to the house and he had to make sure it had an appropriate amount of his cat hair on the new addition.

Why is it that cats are so drawn to quilts? Mine aren't drawn to tablecloths or placemats or even towels. Is it because they grew up in a household where quilts are lovingly made? Are they attracted by the good energy to comfort and warm that quilts possess? I don't know.
What do you think? Post a comment and let me know.

Painting on gauze

2008-05-03T05:40:00.003-10:00

In my endless quest to find something else to paint and put in a mixed media quilt, I bought some 100% cotton gauze. It thought it would add interesting texture to something I haven't even thought of yet. When it got here, I rushed it upstairs and cut off pieces. Then I started to paint. The paint sort of stuck in globs. I used my brayer to spread the paint around, but still it was still pretty gloppy.

At first I didn't like it at all and had half decided to dunk the gauze in my paint-dye (which is just paint diluted with water) instead of painting it. I put it aside to dry and didn't think about it too much. I took it out today and decided I really do like the way it looks. I used a bit of it in my newest project covered with layer of organza. I'm sure I'll find more uses for painted gauze.

Pictures!

2008-04-15T05:26:00.014-10:00

Pictures based on my last post:

This is a painted dryer sheet with flowers painted with watercolor paint.

Thread painted flowers. Specialty machine stitching with varigated thread.

Framed with bugle and seed beads, with gold, square beads on the corners.

Mid-April Already!

2008-04-13T08:33:00.002-10:00

Goodness gracious! It's mid-April already and I was SURE I had blogged at least once or twice in April. I couldn't believe it when I looked at my blog tonight and saw that I hadn't blogged since 30 March!

We were in Florence, Italy from Sunday to Thursday last week. Florence is a beautiful city and we had a lot of fun. The food, the wine and the people were exceptional!

I have been working on a few projects. I decided to paint some used dryer sheets just for the heck of it. I used Lumiere paint and I LOVED the result that I got. I took some black and white flowers that I had cut from other fabric and painted them with watercolors. They came out good, too. I decided to combine the dryer sheets and flowers into small quilts; they are about 12x10 or so.

I used metallic paint on the dry sheets, so they contrast nicely with the softer colors of the flowers. I have four quilts planned. I am fairly far along with one of the four. I did some thread painting on one of the flowers, did some fancy machine stitching and then did a bit of machine quilting. I decided the piece needed beads, so I beaded the inside of one flower and beaded a border around the whole piece with bugle and seed beads. The piece is crying out for more beads, but I haven't decided if I should do leaves or just abstract designs.

Once again I need to take pictures, which I will try to take and post tomorrow night. Given the choice between working on a project and taking pictures, I'm almost always tempted to work on the project.

The Scent of Old Roses

2008-03-29T18:44:00.000-10:00

I finished this piece yesterday. It actually went together quite quickly when I just let my mind wander and allowed myself to be creative. Sometimes my brain tries to make rules for my creativity and then I get stuck.

The background fabric is something I painted and posted in an early entry. I added a photo that was a piece of clipart which I tinted sepia in my photo manipulation software and printed out on fabric. I fused it and the piece of fabric beneath it to the painted fabric. I added lace and sewed beads to the piece. It does have a piece of fusible batting between the piece and the backing.

I'm beginning to think about embellishing more small quilts for wall hangings. This piece is going to my mom.

BUSTED!!!

2008-03-28T09:11:00.001-10:00

When I met my DH in 2002, I had three cats. He assured me that while he was a "dog person," he could live with the Unholy Trinity, as the three spoiled brats were known. At least one of the cats, who has since passed away, wasn't very kind to Bob and gave him no reason to change his mind about preferring dogs to cats. And so it has been for the past 6 years.

Three weeks ago, we took in a friend's cat. The friend was going out of country for a month or so and needed a place to stash her 5 yr old red tabby female cat named "Kitty." Kitty has stayed with us before, but it still required an adjustment period to get the Gruesome Twosome (my remaining cats) used to having a guest.

Kitty stays in the spare room with Bob at night. She is used to sleeping with people, and the Twosome always sleeps in the bedroom with me. Kitty has her own food and own "facilities" in her room. During the day, she has the run of the house. The house is so large that the three feline inhabitants could easily avoide each other all day long. But, you know they don't.

Kitty has developed an attachment to Bob. She sits next to him on the couch and walks past me to hop on his lap when she wakes up from a nap and just wants to see what "her Bob" is up to. This 8lb. cat has stolen Bob's heart. Bob has teased me about rearranging my stitching or laptop to accomodate one of the cats that wants to be petted or to take a nap on my lap.

Well, tonight, Bob is BUSTED. Little Miss Kitty Princess-Thang, as she has been nicknamed, hopped on the couch next to Bob. He immediately shifted so she could sit next to him. When it appeared that she wanted to sit on his lap, he moved his laptop. Of course, she just walked over his lap. She was just passing through, but hadn't checked him out in 30 minutes or so. Not only has Miss Kitty developed an attachment to Bob, he's developed an attachment to her!

In case anyone doesn't believe me...here are the pictures to prove it!

Hit the Jackpot!

2008-03-25T06:55:00.000-10:00

Well, the jackpot for crafting anyway. We've been having problems with the APO mail system for some reason. So, today when the mail came in, I got a WHOLE bunch of fabric, beads and cross stitch stuff! I also got my Amazon orders for a couple of books and Seasons 9&10 of Stargate SG-1. I miss that show. Stargate Atlantis is a decent Sci-Fi show, but SG-1 was my favorite. Seasons 9&10 were pretty weak, but I have the rest of the series, so I thought I might as well get the last two seasons, too.

Back to arts and crafts! I painted fabric yesterday....again. This is what I came up with:

I painted my already painted fabric with Lumiere metallic paints in gold, copper and silver. Then I used Shiva Paintsticks to do a rubbing of a rubber stamp of roses and one that turned out to look like a cool circle. This piece feels kind of stiff, more like paper than fabric. I still have to iron the piece.

Another experiment: I painted...er...already painted fabric and then used an oil paintstick to rub a checked rubber stamp. Then I painted two other textured stamps with Lumiere paint and stamped as much a I could. This piece came out softer than the one above. Not sure why. Both are nice and very useable. Both need to be ironed

Pictures!

2008-03-23T20:00:00.000-10:00

I took 'em and now I'm gonna share 'em!

First up: My first bead embellished wall quilt

I used design ideas from the book Successful Scrap Quilts from Simple Rectangles . I have been in a black and white phase for a while. And I think I'm not quite done yet.

Close up pictures of beaded flowers:

These are really free-form flowers. I loved creating them with beads!

And I "tied" the quilt with clear, silver-lined triangular shaped seed beads.

And now, some experiments I've been cooking up:

First, some abstract pieces from tiny scraps and threads

The red piece will have things added to it. I may add it to a piece of fabric and embellish it. The black and white pieces will probably stand on their own with embellishments.

And, finally, my painting experiments:

I used a white on white fabric and painted with acrylic paint and water. After the fabric was dry, I used oil paintsticks for rubbings. I'll probably cut this apart and use pieces of it. I think I'll use smaller pieces of fabric and use my Lumiere paints.

This piece was painted with acrylic paint and water. I dried it hanging over the heating element in the bathroom, which left darker ridges in the fabrics. Rather intriguing....

Artistic Heaven!

2008-03-23T09:13:00.000-10:00

I've been really lucky the past three days. I have spent the majority of my time on my artistic pursuits. Here in Bavaria, everything closes down for four days for Easter. All businesses, offices, etc were closed on Good Friday. Stores were open short days on Saturday and, of course, on Easter Sunday everything is shut up tight. No restaurants, no stores, nothing...except churches, of course. Yesterday was Saturday, so we went out shopping for milk, bread, etc anything we'd need until Tuesday. We're not even sure if stores will be open on Monday. Most businesses and government offices are closed, but we're not sure about stores. We do know that our favorite restaurant is open, so we're going there for dinner tomorrow night.

Anyway, on to my artistic pursuits: I finally finished and bound my first embellished quilt. It's black and white with beaded flowers on it. I am horrible about taking pictures of things, but tomorrow is going to be picture day, I promise! I also worked on another black and white quilt that I'm going to give to Bob. It's only going to be about 54x60 or so. Just enough to cover him up.

I also painted some fabric, which was very messy. Probably didn't have to be so messy, but I'm messy when I'm happily creating stuff. I painted some white on white and then used oil paintsticks to do rubbings with some of my patterned rubber stamps. I did a bunch of different rubbings just to test out the technique. I like it and think I will incorporate it into some wall quilts. I'll post pictures of that, too.

Finally, I just got done playing with another technique that I am really liking a lot. I got the idea from the book Stitch, Dissolve, Distort With Machine Embroidery . I've been keeping a lot of my tiny scraps, thread ends, strings, things too small to be used to construct a quilt. I sandwiched all these goodies between water soluble stablizer sheets and free motion machine stitched all around. Then I soaked the pieces in water and came out with very interesting freeform pieces that I can embellish further and use to decorate wall quilts or use for wall quilts themselves. It's definitely something I want to experiment with more. Right now, I'm using Aquafilm as the stablizer, but I'm going to experiment with some Solvy stablizers next time. I like Aquafilm, but it is a little goopy when I'm trying to wash it out of my pieces.

That's it for tonight. Gotta get my beauty sleep. Tomorrow I need to do my mountain of laundry, but otherwise the house is clean. That means more time for play time!

Pictures tomorrow!

Been Busy!

2008-03-16T08:33:00.000-10:00

I have been a busy bee for the past week. I finished two black and white wall quilts. Well, one came out a bit larger than I usually make wall quilts, but I still think I'll put it on the wall. The second wall quilt is definitely perfect size for a wall hanging. I decided to embellish the second with beads. I made freeform flowers in the right hand lower corner and then "tied" the rest of the quilt with clear triangle -shaped beads. I don't think I'm done with it quite yet. The flowers in the right hand corder are colorful and make the rest of the quilt look empty. Soooooo, I think I'm going to rummage through my button collection and find a couple of red buttons to decorate the corners of the quilt where there are no flowers. And then again I might use size 11 seed beads to make some daisy like flowers (only red) in the upper left hand corner. I have the quilt spread out upstairs in my "studio" so I can look at it as I work on other things. What needs to be done with that quilt will come to me....eventually.

Today I spend a fair amount of time making jewelry. First, of course, I cleaned the bathroom and swept the stairs. After I finished those chores and a few others, I felt grand sitting upstairs stringing and making earrings. I was on a natural material kick and worked with turquiose, lapis lazuli, serpentine and various quartz. I have to admit I was never fond of bracelets made with elastic cording. However, after making a few for me to wear, I can see that they have a place in my jewelry wardrobe. Sometimes after I have worked with fabric for weeks and weeks, I need some time with my beads :) I really liked combining my beads with fabric. That's the best of both worlds :)

Civil War Whirligig

2008-03-04T06:38:00.000-10:00

Finally got a picture of my quilt made from Civil War reproduction fabric. It started out as a rail fence, but now I think that it looks like a whirligig pattern instead. I like the warm colors and the randomness of the fabrics.

And Now for Something Completely Different....

2008-03-02T08:46:00.000-10:00

I've decided to keep one blog...put all my stuff here. I'm just not multi-taskable enough to deal with more than one blog. So, in this post I will tell about our recent trip to....ROME! It was wonderful, but too short. Never having been there before, and having been places where I've stayed beyond the time it took to enjoy whatever was there, I decided to only give us about 2 days in Rome. Coulda spent a week...a month....a year.

It was cold, but at least on our first full day, it wasn't cold enough to keep us from stomping around the Colloseum and Palatine Hill. We were some of the first people to get out to Palatine Hill, where the ruins of the Roman Forum are as well as several temples dedicated to Roman gods. It was great to walk around such ancient fragments without hordes of people to trip over. We had the place to ourselves for an hour before the tour groups and school groups descended. From the Forum ruins you can walk upstairs to see Caesar's Forum. That was really interesting. Lots of columns remained and there was some active archeological activity going on. As you walk around Caesar's Forum, traffic whizzes by as present-day Romans go work or about their errands. And in the middle of it all are columns, statues and other remnants of "other" Romans who probably went about their business the same, only in different conveyances.

Another top finished!

2008-03-01T02:27:00.000-10:00

In spite of a rather nasty cold, I managed to sew the last four rows on to what I thought would be a Civil War Rail Fence quilt. I used reproduction Civil War fabrics which I love for their muted colors. Looking at the top pieced, it looks more like a whirly gig pattern more than a fence! But, if I do say so myself, it's a nice quilt. I am looking forward to quilting it, although it is VERY BIG and will be a challenge to quilt on my regular sewing machine. But, I am up for the challenge and hope to have it finished by the end of the spring. For now, I am working on a black and white quilt based on the book Successful Scrap Quilts from Simple Rectangles. I like manipulating simple shapes to make interesting quilts. I don't know how big this black and white quilt will be. I think I have enough rectangles to make a large quilt or maybe several quilts. Maybe a wall quilt with red appliqued shapes, flowers or circles or stars.

Got a log cabin in mind for Bob's next quilt. It will use some more of the coffee related fabric I bought for his first quilt, but didn't use. I think I'll call it Bob's Coffee Log Cabin.

As soon as I figure out a way to take a picture, I'll post one here.

New Blog

2008-02-22T07:00:00.000-10:00

I finally found a name for my blog that I really like! I've tried so many names over the last couple of years, but THIS, Cat Hair on My Quilts, really does sum up my life! I'm going to post the pictures of my quilt that were in my old blog.

This is Bob's Coffee Quilt finished on 4 February

Cat Hair on My Quilts...and other stories

Retirement Quilt

Merlie's Quilt Addiction

Happy New Year!

Here they are!

Quilt Catch Up

Too Much to do....

Merlin

Catch up Time!

Happy New Year!!!!

Before the end of the year....

UPDATE!!!

I'm a Slacker!!!

Well, POO!

Progress....and a Finish

More Finishes!

Bead Embroidered Cuff

Finally a FINISH!

Glass Disaster!

Nifty Fifty Doll and other Updates

Book Review Time!

Time for cat pictures!

Lots and Lots of Stuff

Phewwwwwwwwwww!

More cat stories....

Mr. Boo boo

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!

Update on crafts

1920's Diva Framed!

Mirrix Looms and a Couple of Pictures

So Many Topics...not enough time...

ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHA!

Two More Days....

Bella Italia!

To all the cat lovers out there....

Wave Bye-Bye to the Car

After the stress....

Everything is GONE!

Is Winter Ever Going to END?????

Talk about no Obligation!

Blogging Without Obligation

Mill Hill Kits For Sale

Lots O'Art

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Tea Dying

New Look!

New Work

HO HO HO!

Very Soon Now!

Seed Bead Frenzy Yahoo Group!

Here we go again!

Advertising on my Blog

Bead Mosaic and Gustav Klimt

Bead Mosaic

Seed Beads

Is Finishing the Point?

Quilting, Quilting, Quilting

Adelaide's Garden

Blogging, etc

Christmas is Coming!

Beaded Tapestry

Where Have I Been?

Finishes

Cats and Quilts...

Painting on gauze

Pictures!

Mid-April Already!

The Scent of Old Roses

BUSTED!!!

Hit the Jackpot!

Pictures!

Artistic Heaven!

Been Busy!

Civil War Whirligig

And Now for Something Completely Different....

Another top finished!

New Blog