Paintstiks, Part 1

On Thursday afternoon I played with my set of Paintstiks. I did several projects. This was the first one. I cut a very pale purple hand-dyed fat quarter in half.

First I taped it down to the back of a cutting mat. I wanted a smooth surface that could be easily cleaned up if the paint seeped through - it didn't. Then I taped off a grid. I used the tape as my palette.

Just rub the paint stick along the tape and pull the paint onto the fabric with stencil brushes. Here is what it looks like finished, before pulling off the tape.

And then after pulling off the tape.

I got the idea for this from the book Paintstiks on Fabric by Shelly Stokes. It has a lot of great ideas and techniques for using Paintstiks.

I like the one in the book better than mine. I think I need to blend the colors better. But this is okay for a first try. I'm sure I'll figure out a way to use this, just not the way I originally envisioned. I definitely like the grid idea. More on my other projects tomorrow.

My Lucky Day

I awoke Monday morning, checked my email and almost spilled coffee on myself. I had an email from Pat Sloan, the Pat Sloan, telling me that I had won her "Things that Make Life Better" giveaway. This cute-as-a-button collection of Aurifil thread. Aren't the colors great?

It arrived today! She also enclosed two patterns, one each for her current fabric lines. Thanks Pat!! Now to put these to good use ...

Gifty Day

I told you that I had a gift occasion coming up but that I didn't know exactly who the gift would be for. The occasion was today and we played a little game to exchange gifts. Big surprise - I made a purse to give!

Inside the purse I place all the dry ingredients necessary to make a pot of bean soup and a pan of corn bread, along with the recipes. I think the recipient liked it.

I love the gift I received!

The teapot is one I have had. The gift is the tea, the teapot cozy and the little trays for the used tea bags. Look at how cute this tea is!

I wish I could put smells on my blog. This tea smells so divine. I had a pot of this White Ambrosia this afternoon while I played with my Paintstiks. I'll show you photos of my afternoons work soon.

The other thing I have been doing a lot of lately is baking zucchini bread. It freezes so well and my family loves it. My husband and son will eat one of these loaves, by themselves, in one sitting, for breakfast. I didn't even get any of the first two loaves I made!

I have always had trouble getting this bread out of the pan in one piece. With these loaves I tried putting parchment paper on the bottom of the pans. It came out perfect!

The magic of stitching and a book review

I bought this fat quarter a couple weeks ago with the idea that it would be a nice base for some hand stitching. So I basted it to some batting and auditioned some of my variegated Sulky threads. I started stitching with the top one, the red, but quickly realized this was not what I had envisioned. On to plan B.

This DMC green floss was laying out because I had used it on a different project. I moved it out of the way and placed it on top of this project because there was no where else to put it at that moment. When I went to put it away, I decided it might be what I need for this project so I started stitching with it. I was happy with this so I kept going with a different color. (You can click on the images to enlarge them)

I really like the blanket stitch and didn't think I would. It creates a nice raised area, almost as if there is cording underneath. I have not decided what I will do in the area between the different colors. I am using the book Stitch Magic by Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn, which I purchased recently as inspiration for this project.

From the back of the book:

"... a unique vision of how stitching can be used to interpret designs"

"Over 90 sumptuous photographs of stitching with detailed explanations of the techniques"

"Includes a comprehensive stitch glossary and stitch diagrams showing the variety of design applications for different stitches"

Warning: the stitch diagrams are photographs of hand drawn, hand written diagrams. The diagrams are clear but the hand writing is small in places and not as easy to read as it could be. Do not  purchase this book expecting it to act as a resource on how to do the hand stitches. However, there are other resources for this information and many are available free online.

"Practical advice is given on the choice and planning of stitches and the creation of unusual backgrounds"

In summary, this book is mostly about using basic stitches in non-traditional ways. It is an excellent resource for ideas and inspiration. If you enjoy hand work and free-form stitching by hand, I highly recommend it.

It is an older book, first published in 1998. Shop around if you are interested in purchasing it. I got a used copy for $19 and change from Powell's Books online, including shipping. I got a really good deal! On Amazon I have seen used copies listed for between $25 and $999.98! In my opinion the book is definitely worth $25 but no way would I pay $1000 for it!

Creede, CO

Today we spent the day in Creede, CO. First we say a play at the Creede Repertory Theater.

We say "Zeus on the Loose," a very cute play geared toward kids. Parker loved it.

We had lunch and then went to the Mining Museum.

We took the 30 minute audio tour and it was very interesting. I will be going back to Creede in September for the Silver Threads Guild Quilt Show. Their show is in the community center that is part of the mining museum. It is very interesting to see the quilts displayed in a mine! If you are ever in the area this show is worth a stop. It is held the third weekend in September of even years.

Parker bought himself some pure gold ($4) and pure silver ($3.50) in little bottles from the museum gift shop. He is now sure that he is rich! At the moment, he is showing every neighbor he can find his new trinkets.

Stitchin' and Pickin'

I have started this new little hand stitched project. I don't have a clear picture of where this is going yet. I'm just enjoying the process of hand stitching at the moment.

One of my friends has a house on a double lot with a large garden on the second lot. She offered to let several of us have a row in their garden to plant as we wanted. I let Parker choose the plants. Check out the broccoli we picked this morning!

We also came home with a bag of lettuce, a few small carrots, a cucumber, some celery, a variety of beans, an acorn squash, some yellow squash and zucchini.

River Fun

The Rio Grande is not so grand right now. Since it is so low our playgroup decided to meet at the river this morning and let the kids play in the water and mud.

So four moms, eight kids and a dog met this morning for a few hours of river fun. The kids had a blast!

In places it was about knee deep for Parker, but mostly it is very shallow.

Lots of good sticks to find and ample mud for all.