Lioness

I just finished a small mixed-media art quilt that I am pretty happy with.

I started by drawing a picture of a woman who looks a little lion-like, printed it onto Lutradur that was treated with Golden Digital Grounds, and then I fused it onto a piece of fabric. The background fabric is sepia-toned sheet music all overlapped. You can see that behind the face a little and that is just what I wanted.

I added a couple of borders and then went to work!

Using yellow-gold, green, and yellow-green, I painted some hair- with acrylic paint mixed with glazing liquid so it was transparent.

Then I laid strands of this gold-toned fuzzy yarn I had and I loved the look! I attached it temporarily by dabbing points here and there with gold paint.

I fused some snippets of the gold border fabric under her chin, and I like it, though now I can see that they probably stand out a little too much and I will need to decide how to tone them down, make them recede some.

Then I stamped some words throughout her "mane".

I made it into a quilt sandwich and did a large meandering stitch to tack down the yarn. I did do a tiny bit in between the larger areas too, but not much.

I stitched around the fabric snippets and then kind of filled in the rest of the bottom area with a mirroring-type of quilting stitch. I did all of this with a metallic thread and even though I went as slowly as I could (and still keep my stitches fairly even), the paint made it tough overall, and I broke FOUR machine needles on this small project!

I trimmed the quilt and simply used a machine blanket stitch to finish the edges. I didn't want a raw edge, but neither did I want the feel of a tailored edge; I thought it would seem too finished for the composition.

So with all I have done to this poor fabric, it is not laying completely flat so it is currently blocked and stretched a tiny bit- I want to hang this in the house here and need it to lay flat...

Here it is- please feel free to make suggestions, especially about how to make the fabric snippets become more of the background because I have not yet figured out what best to do. I thought it best to look and think on it for a while rather than rushing in and ruining what I like...

Now to finish my latest Suzi Blu class project- I will be posting a photo of that too as soon as it is dry!

I DID IT!

Well, shocking I know, but I actually made my bag right and it is awesome. It's better than I even dared to hope, and I LOVE it!

For those who may be interested in making this bag for themselves, the Pattern is: Professional Tote by The Creative Thimble. If you like bags, you surely won't be disappointed with this one. It's a lot of work to make, but well worth the time.

I really love everything about it, especially the drawstring end pockets that will easily carry our water bottles, and even pull tight enough to contain other stuff. It's a little larger than a purse, but certainly something I can carry every day with ease while on vacation.

I did follow all of the instructions and I have to say, many times I had to read them over and over before I fully understood what was meant. I did not make any changes to the actual construction of the bag, it is perfect just the way it is designed.

I did however make a few small adjustments to accommodate some of the things I know I will need in our travels.

One inside pocket was supposed to be pleated but I left it flat and that made the other pockets reach right to the seams. I didn't want the bulk I knew would come with being able to stuff a pleated pocket! lol

The pattern called for one small vinyl pocket for a business card; I instead added two of those and made them the size to fit a driver's license or credit card and then two more, the size to fit passports- these are all inside the middle zippered section for security.

I added an extra couple of hooks instead of just the one D ring called for; these can hang outside or go inside each respective pocket.

I added some beaded ribbon to cover the outside of the magnetic snap on the back side of the bag.

I added some grosgrain ribbon loops- one on each side and one front and back- they are big enough to loop a snap-on strap through to hold the bag firmly on my roller suitcase. Plus that gives me the option to lock the bag with either a split ring or a small lock by using the zipper and the loop together.

I am really happy with it and can't wait to try it out! What do you think?

My favourite books right now

Just thought I would share the books that I have been reading and using and loving just lately!