lots of decisions to make...

but not much progress has been made. I did manage to make the last 6" corner block for my Fun Times cloth.

a combination of cutwork and a yo-yo embellished with hand stitching

I'm starting to make decisions about assembling the daily stitch project. I don't want to leave it all for the end. I think it's best to start putting it together as I go...or I'm afraid it will never happen.

it's growing in size quickly

I did a bit of lace work with the bits left from the cutwork done on the vintage cloth...

free motion embroidery on vintage silk net with bits of vintage embroidery

after doing some hand stitching....I once again cut it up to use it in some more cutwork.

fme lace in the background

and then there is the knitting. That was my focus this week. Lots of experimenting and making some more decisions. If you read my last post, you will recognize this yarn that turned out to be very chaotic for what i had planned...so I tried a granny square with a dark green border and some plain stockinette stitching ...but I'm not happy with it yet. Thanks to those of you who made some suggestions. I think I will try some weaving, this week, with sections of this yarn. It's that bright pink that really bothers me.

still too bright and chaotic for my taste

but, I did get the Noro yarn for that scarf with the leaf edging and I love the way the sample turned out, so now I can start on the scarf pattern.

you can now see the leaf created on the edge

and I am still knitting the Downton Abbey coat. The back is finished and one third of the left front. It's hard to be knitting so many different things at once....always having to choose one over the other. Eventually, it will all get finished.

It was Springlike here this week, leaning toward Summer with some days in the 80s (F), but another cold front is expected by the end of next week and that will probably be it for Winter, here in Austin.

Have a great week.

Here's a Ted video you might find interesting... using your limitations to create. Embrace the Shake

a bit of Spring in the air...

We are experiencing some unusually warm, beautiful days this week. It hit 86 degrees yesterday, after being in the 30s the morning before. It feels wonderful to be able to be outside without a coat and to take in the sunshine. I'm sure there are more cold days coming before winter ends.... This is the last of the Amaryllis blooms (indoors).

click on the images for close-ups.

the last 4 blooms

That beautiful yarn I showed you is just not working out for the scarf I want to make. The color changes are much too close together and too bright. It just looks chaotic when knitted. I will have to find another way to use this yarn. I'll be experimenting with different knitting and crochet patterns to see what works. Suggestions are welcome.

looks beautiful on the swift but when made into a 'cake', it looks so different.

i worked a small swatch of the pattern and you can see that it's just 'chaos'...but notice my new Caspian green needles. i love them. they are from Knit Picks.

I've continued to work on my daily stitching project...

trying to use different combinations of stitches

I showed you the bird applique block awhile back that will be the center of the duvet/blanket I hope to put together with all the daily stitching pieces. I have started adding to that and did some embellishing....trying to use all of the vintage pieces of cloth I have in my stash.

the pink up top is the edge of an old pillowcase. the x-stitch piece is old and was never completed so there is an incomplete section that i will leave that way.

I have been working on some other things but I can't show them yet...so that's all for now. Wishing you a week filled with creativity and most of all, good weather. I know some of you have really been hit with some really bad weather.

a wonderful week...

My Amaryllis bulbs are on their second round of blooms. A new stalk popped up and produced four beautiful blooms.

click on the images for close-ups

4 beautiful blooms

I'm working on a project and needed to create some free motion embroidery lace. I learned this technique from Karen Ruane and just love what can be created.

free motion embroidery with bits of cloth on silk net...damp stretching takes out all the wrinkles

embellished with hand stitching

Karen taught how to make ball buttons this week in Simply Stitch 3.

a bead, perle cotton #5

Simply Stitch 3 ends on the 14th, and Simply Stitch 4 will begin on February 24th. If you think you might like to join in, read about it here.

The 2014 daily stitch project continues but really haven't been getting to it every day....but that's ok.

adding some of my stitch to vintage cloth

Last week, I showed you a picture of some yarn I ordered. I haven't received it yet but here's a picture of the scarf I intend to make and the book where it was found.

it will be a challenge

lots of pretty patterns within. you can see some of them on Amazon

Hope you've created a wonderful world for yourself.
CBS has created a marquee as it looked 50 years ago when the Beatles first performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. You can see it here. and I'll end with some Beatle music from the 60s...

Enjoy...

a fun week...

I was looking through some lace books earlier this week and was inspired by some lace collar patterns. I decided to play some more with the Colorpoint paints.

click on the images for close-ups...

the background is a manipulated amaryllis image...lace pattern done with Colorpoint paints

 A few days later I was inspired by something Karen Ruane posted and did some free motion embroidery on the image and divided it into sections.

free motion embroidery, torn edges and bits of lace

This will eventually find its way into my ledger.

The daily stitching project continues. I find myself not doing it every day but doing 2 or 3 at a time, every couple of days. The blocks are adding up.

daily stitching project

During the second week of my class Studying Under the Masters, we studied Antoni Gaudi. I am so taken with his architecture and mosaic work. I'm preparing to do a mosaic of one of the stained glass windows in the Segrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. There was a wonderful segment on the Segrada Familia on 60 minutes back in early 2013. You can watch it here. It's really fascinating.

Gaudi architecture

preparing to do a mosaic

The idea behind copying the Masters is not to plagiarize and make it your own but to practice and to try and learn the thinking that was going on in the mind of the artist as he created. It is said through continued practice, you will find your own voice. The American Film Director, Francis Ford Coppola said, "We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us, because you can't steal. You will take what we give you and you will put it in your own voice. And that's how you begin. And then, one day, someone will steal from you."  There are many more quotes like this one from artists, musicians, writers, and other creators, in the book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. He uses the word Steal in his title but he is just reiterating what artists have said through the ages. I'm enjoying this book that is a fast read but has a very interesting point of view.

I started a new journal for this class that I'm taking and have been experimenting with some pattern sketches.

decorated the cover of a new journal and played with some new patterns

So it's been a productive and interesting week. We had a day of frozen precipitation that created havoc on the roads but yesterday the temperature hit 80F and will be close to that again today before another freeze hits us tonight.

oh...and I ordered this beautiful yarn that I am so anxious to receive. There is a scarf I want to knit that is a bit complicated. I signed up for a knitting class that will meet right after the lace class I attend on Tuesdays and I'll be able to get help with it there.

ordered from Blue Moon Fiber Arts

Have a great weekend.