Oh My, What Did I Get Myself In To?

I have big problem with agreeing to do more than I have time for. I had planned to spend the month of August sewing blocks for my quilt block jewelry. I wanted to get all stocked up for the Fall and Christmas sales. Best laid plans....

In the mean time I was invited vend my hand dyed fabrics and jewelry at a quilt show in September. I couldn't resist the opportunity (partly because it is near my mom's home in Illinois). So now I'm spending all of my spare time sewing and dyeing fabrics. I even purchased some silk and velvet scarves to overdye and to add some more interest to the booth.

More complications. I am running out of many of the main fabrics I use in my best selling jewelry. I haven't added these fabric mixes to my Dye Candy shop yet so I had to break out the turquoise dye and get to work. Turquoise as a primary color makes beautiful greens and purples but it is an extremely aggressive dye. It also takes at least one additional wash cycle (sometime two) to rinse from dyed fabrics. I have 24 yards of blue-purples in the dryer this morning. I will be working on the blue-greens tonight or tomorrow.

I am also planning a fabric painting class that I will be teaching at the end of this month. We are working with Set-a-Color paints on white print cloth. This paint is very versatile. There are many different techniques to play with and the results are beautiful. I will have pictures for you in early September.

I may need to cut back on my blogging and reading for a while until I get my head above water again. I am just feeling too overwhelmed.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I'm off to volunteer at the art gallery today.....Oh My

A Treasury and Creative Places to Visit

You know I could get lost browsing through the Etsy website. There are millions of creative things to see. I'm always humbled when someone chooses one of my items for a treasury spot.

Yesterday I received word from M. of BellabeadsOriginals that she had included my log cabin pin in a beautiful treasury. Stop by and see all her brilliant picks between now and Sunday Evening.

I have been dyeing fabrics for more than a week. So many beautiful colors are on my ironing board. I will be adding more listings to my Dye Candy shop over the weekend. I will be hosting a fabric giveaway starting on Sunday evening. I'll post a note here once the giveaway opens.

I have been posting less often, and adding more blogs to my reading list. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever keep up with it all, create and get the lawn mowed (4 hours of mowing per week - yikes!). I work at the art gallery tomorrow so I'll have time to catch up on my blog reading in the afternoon when the streets of our small town roll up.

Lastly I was tagged by Jackie of Dogdaisychains to reveal 7 random facts about myself, you can see them in this post. If you haven't been to Jackie's blog, please go and see all the beautiful things she creates. Take a minute (or much more) to look at her photos on Flicker. Amazing work! Her "retro style" brooches and other cool creations were just featured in the last issue "Quilting Arts" magazine. I can't tell you how thrilled I was for her. Way to go Jackie!

I am to recognize other blogs that I enjoy reading. I thought I'd introduce you to some blogs I have not mentioned before and some of my favorite stops full of creativity.

Faith of Nutbud Quilter - so many pretty and original ideas to see,

Emmy of Cramzy - Unique Needlework & Embellishments

P8 Buttons & Fabrics - So many buttons and button creations!!

Shar at Quilters Nest - You've got to see her feathered heart in her last post!

A new find full of pretty things Ardea's Nest

Claire's of Enchanted Home reminds me of days spent in the desert as a child

And Allie's in Stitches - beautiful crazy quilt stitches and ribbon embroidery.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Lucky Me, Unlucky Husband

I had a wonderful surprise when I went in to the Red Door Gallery on Saturday. Sandy, the gallery manager, had the perfect display for my jewelry. I have spent hours on the internet trying to find something that would work well. I guess I should have been looking for an eye glass display instead of a jewelry display. This unit was donated to the gallery by a local eye doctor.

I've been sewing like crazy trying to get a new supply of earrings ready for the fall and winter. I received a custom order for a large pendant last week (thanks Alli) which inspired me to get back to work on my jewelry. I have a bit more sewing to finish before I can start to assemble and solder. Here's a sneak peak at a few items in the works.

I took the day off of work on Monday so I could drive my husband to get his wisdom teeth taken out. Look what I found our road trip to the dentist. I've been looking for a field of mature sunflowers to photograph for several years. I will try to make it back a bit later this month when the seeds start to darken. I plan to take the photos when the sun is not so high in the sky. Also I'd like to spend more time here. I felt a bit guilty leaving my husband sitting in the car icing his jaws. I thought he was awfully sweet for letting me stop.

This last photo is a shot of our journeys end. The approach to our farm from the east is through a walnut grove. I love the way the sunlight filters through these trees no matter what time of day it is.

Color and inspirations

If you've visited my Etsy Store you know I make miniature quilt block jewelry from my hand dyed fabrics. These are foundation pieced quilt blocks enclosed between two pieced of glass and then sealed with lead free solder.I was recently asked to choose my favorite colorways in my jewelry collection. Here is what I decided on. They are all reminders of childhood memories. This brooch reminds me of a Maxfield Parrish sky in one of his paintings. My mother used to read us stories from "Poems of Childhood" by Eugene Fields and Illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. The illustrations in that book were so dreamlike.

This pin reminds me of the fields of sunflowers near our favorite lake in Minnesota. This is a favorite memory for myself as well as my sister.

My mother had an aunt that lived in New Mexico. Over the years we have all treasured the craftsmanship of lovely pieces of turquoise jewelry that came from my mothers visits to the area. This is the first pattern I designed for a pair of earrings. I love the flying geese pattern. The colors in this jewelry came from my first attempt at dying a color gradation. When I saw the result I was hooked!

This last piece was inspired by the only piece of clothing I still own from my childhood. It is a printed cotton sundress from Sears with a picture of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet printed on it. I'll have to dig it out to photograph it some day. It's so adorable. I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was full of fun and family times.