Thread Painting Or Needle Painting.......

Doesn't matter what you call the technique--it's still a 'freeing' opportunity to be yourself on fabric with needle, thread and motion.  

Laughing Cat Designs has a tutorial for her machine thread painting--

The basic thread painting stitch is only a free motion zigzag on the machine.  

The goal is to add color where it's needed--a zigzag stitch can achieve a

painting effect with different threads--it will also highlight and shade

different parts of the piece.

Check out the rest of her tutorial on how she uses thread painting--

Give a look at Nancy Prince's website--

This is machine thread painting!!  Just WOW!

We have seen many different types of thread painting at

Quilt Festivals--the quilts look likephotographs--just

unbelievable.   Nancy has a photo gallery to admire

plus a tutorial--you too could do this type of thread 

painting by machine.

For me, I prefer Needle painting by hand--

Mary Corbet has a excellent experiment that you can try.

Here is one of my Needle Painting embroideries--

the cartoon is from a agate geo stone--I loved the

look of the circles in various shapes 

I used silk threads to feature the highlights of 

the smooth surface of the stone

This was so much fun to stitch--I don't know why I

haven't done more of these--maybe, it's time to pick up

that needle and thread again to do some needle painting.

Another Warp for Towels

Okay--I'm ready to weave again--but, first you must wind a warp--big decision to be made--
What colors?  What size fiber?  What sett on the loom?  The last question will be answered first--
whatever the pattern is on the loom now--that's what it's going to be--yep, I'm just tying on and pulling through----AGAIN!  Think I've done this four times already--it's a regular twill pattern warped now and there is so many ways you can change the treadling to make different patterns.

What colors for the warp?--Easy--I go to my fiber closet and pull out all the colored yarns--and size, I don't worry about--anything goes in this warp.

I'm using bright colors--nothing white or natural, my lightest this time

is yellow--but the rest of going to brighten up the towel

How is this warp looking?  I'm not sure I want to leave the yellow now that

I've seen it in photos--might change that out.

and, I'm not worrying about the way the colors lay--just random--

try it sometime--it's a freeing--no planning!

The size of yarn runs from 10/2 to 8/2 cotton.

Okay, warp is ready--

just need to finish that last yard of weaving to begin warping again........

Small Things--Good Things

Thinking tiny --working Kathleen Tracy's 2019 Mystery Quilt--

This is April's block--cut and ready to sew--I'm keeping up so

far.

If you look at my blocks--there is no room for 1/4" seam!

Guess these blocks will be sewn again--it takes perfect

measurement to get these tiny blocks just right!

Remembering Adelia: Quilts Inspired by Her Diary quilt book (Kathleen Tracy) is being used to make Peony Stars:   

Want to give it a go?  Check out Kathleen's Facebook group--

so many wonderful free patterns in the files

and you too can think tiny.

ONE of These Days.........................................

One of these days, I'm going to learn to Brioche Knit!  That's a fact Jack!  I have several brioche patterns that I would love to knit--I have two videos in my library--there are multitude more in Youtube library...........................
For some reason, my mind will not wrap around this knitting technique--I get carried away by distractions too easily..........................................Now, here is another opportunity to learn

and it comes from one of the master knitters--Franklin Habit of

Brooklyn Tweed

 Just look at this---BASIC Brioche- 101

What better place to begin.......

oh gosh, he even has Brioche 102--knitting with two colors in the round!

And if, IF, I can get through 101 and 102, I can graduate up

to Brioche 201--Oh Joy!

There are pictures--lots of pictures--

I Think I Can--I Think I CAN!

Summer Time! And The Living is Easy..................

Oh Yeah!  Summertime!  What a song!  Easy breezy!  Great listen!

Come along to this summer time quilt along from Moda Bake Shop--
Ocean breezes, waves crashing and sand between your toes--The theme for the summer is Seashore with Ocean themed QAL.  This journey begins on June 3 with fabric requirements and ends on August 26 with the reveal and one last 'bonus' block that can be used for the label.
Hard to believe we are talking about Summer time and June--time stops for no one!

Mark your calendars for this one--should be cool breeze as we sail through

summer time!

Unst Lace Shawls

Where is Unst, you ask? I wasn't too sure myself until I did some research.  Unst is one of the Shetland isles located north of Scotland--
  I love lace knitting and when I found these lovely Unst Shetland Lace shawls, I was in heaven!

Here is a lace knitting pattern you can buy from Sharon Taylor--such a lovely

garment!  These shawls are fine, you can pull them through a wedding ring!

Watch this video to see how these beautiful shawl are knitted but

first, you must do the spinning--my question--how can they knit so fast!!?

Enjoy the magic of creativity!

 

BBC Archive has a video from 1960's with more information--fascinating to watch!

Relax! Read!!

Haven't I told you how much I like to read?

I sure hope you like to read as well--

this is a whole new world out there when you

open a book.  You can travel to all parts of the

world as you lose yourself in the pages.

I'm always reading at least two books at the same

time--One book is on the bed stand--another

is on the coffee table in the family room.

Here is my latest reads....

We (hubby is a reader too) have discovered John D MacDonald with his

Travis McGee character--we've finished the first in the series--

"The Long Goodbye"--why it took us so long to indulge in this read,

I don't know!  So glad we began this series.

Elizabeth A Garcia--"One Bloody Shirt at a Time"--oh my, how

I love this read.  I've also finished the second ("The Beautiful Bones") in the series!

These reads take me back to Big Bend Texas and Terlingua--

I walk in Deputy Rios shoes....

"Luckenbach Texas--The Center of the Universe" by Becky Crouch

Pattison--daughter of Hondo Crouch, founder of Luckenbach--

We visit Luckenbach often--we attend the Cowboy Church on Sundays--

attend the afternoon or evening music concerts.

This book brings you the history behind the town, population 3--

a delicious read and music that comes out of the history

"The Lost Girls of Paris" by Pam Jenoff--

I learned about the lost girls of Paris through an episode of

"Foley's War"--an almost true look at WWII in Europe--

And now we step into secret agents lives

Mike Blakely's book "A Sinister Splendor"--a semi fictional

look at 1845 Mexican-American War--We know Mike and his

wife Annie through their music--they play many of the events

and functions around Hill Country Texas.  Imagine my surprise

when we were eating dinner with Mike/Annie and learned

he is an author--many times over!

Hope you will find a way to escape the mundane routine of

daily living.