Marzie Mermaid and Bubbles have come to play with you this summer

By on 7-14-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Original Pattern

Marzie and Bubbles were created for a swap with the Art For the Creative Mind Mixed Media Yahoo Group. She whispered in my ear that she wanted to be both a Mixed Media doll and a paper doll so here she is. This is the mixed media doll. Her little fin on the end of her tail has a brad so she can swim just about anywhere she wants to go and Bubbles, her trusted side kick goes with her.

Marzie

Marzie and Bubbles would love to play with your young daughter or granddaughter. She needs her story finished with summer fun. She would love to swim your way.

Marzie Doll

If your young girl is an artist she can create her own little Mermaid and Bubbles. Imagine the adventures they could have during those rainy days with nothing to do.

Marzie make your own

Catnip Capers …. a summer quilt of kitties playing in the sun

By on 7-14-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Original Pattern

Catnip Capers was done for a woman who truly is the mother of these cats. Her favourite flowers are sun flowers and I thought what better than to put the cats in a sunflower garden enjoying the sun on a hot hazy day. The butterflies and dragonflies along with ladybugs are all present on this summer noon along with a hazy sun directly above. The cats are playing and rolling in the grass with one (there’s always one) looking down on them with humour.

catnip capers

These cats started as embroidery outlines. I painted and coloured them in Photoshop using a Wacom Bamboo tablet. Once they were fully drawn and coloured in I used filters to give them a soft furry look. The sunflowers have stuffed middles along with some of the petals that have been sewn down onto the quilt background. Other petals are double sided giving the flowers a 3D look. The stems are twisted cord, ribbon and embroidery floss. Large leaves were cut and sewn with a raw edge and then fray stop was used to keep them from fraying. The brown-eyed susans have button middles and the flower petals are simply a piece of gathered strips that has been cut with a pinking blade and doubled. The chickweed flowers were made on a daisy loom with ribbon and seed beads sewn for the centers. The little forget-me-nots are made with dark silk from men’s ties and mauve lame. Simple small yoyos turned backward and sewn down with more seed beads. The dragonflies, butterflies and ladybugs are buttons and embellishments. This quilt was an absolute joy to make from start to finish.

Fantasy Quilt….”Camelot rising through a misty dawn”

By on 7-14-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Original Pattern

Camelot in a misty dawn

Another challenge quilt with the Valerie Hearder Landscape Quilt Yahoo Group….what fun to do. The willow in the quilt was created in honour of our fallen weeping willow. It fell so hard this winter it has ‘drilled’ itself into the winter earth. I created the willow branches using untwisted poly/cotton strands. I tripled a strand, tied a knot in one end and then sewed each strand by hand onto the tree trunk. It took over 14 hours of work. I also couched the strands down with matching thread to keep the branches from spreading outside the working area. Although it was time consuming I think it was very successful….it does look like a willow tree. I also used ribbons, chain link, lace, crocheted cord, beads as well as watercolour pencils to add to the ‘fairytale’ look of the quilt.

Weather Outside My Window Postcard Exchange

By on 7-14-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Original Pattern

Weather Outside My Window Postcard Exchange
More fabric postcards, the first for this year plus my Christmas postcard for 2010 are all here. The exchange subject was the weather outside our windows. Miriam in Ireland saw snow for the first time and made snowmen, thus the snowman on her card. Sheila in Scotland saw the sun shining through the ice and snow in the tree branches and Margaret in Australia saw too much rain and flooding. I look out my window here in Canada and see an oak tree in our backyard that still hasn’t lost all it’s leaves and when the wind blows it plucks a few more from the tree and carries them swirling to the snow. The deer in my Christmas postcard are the same ones that I used in my winter postcard exchange last year. They were created from a photo of a pretty little doe who visited my garden in the fall.

On my Christmas card there is a frozen lake created from a foil bag that held tea bags and silver ribbon adorns the blue winter sky. The trees in the back ground are zigzag and painted in with paint pens and a little silver glitter was glued around the lake. The oak tree on my weather card is cordoroy with stitching and paint. I stitched through it and into the branches to make the small branches. The leaves on the tree and the snow beneath are beads. The beads are stitched on and then glued with a waterproof glue to survive the mailing.

Redwork Snowmen…..meet Freddy, Albert and the Snow Family Village

By on 7-14-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Original Pattern

Freddy and Albert Quilt

This little redwork quilt is 22″ x 23″. Freddy, Albert and the snow family village are all original sketches. The village has “Snowmen are communities of little flakes”. These fellows were just bursting to get out so here they are. I embroidered the snowmen on diaper flannelette to give them a ‘snowy’ feeling using mostly chainstitch and French knot stitches. The quilt itself was sewn on the serger…. no little bits of thread to worry about and the seams were absolutely straight. You can download Albert here: Christmas in July and here: Christmas in March