And we have a winner!

Last week, I participated in a Blog Hop highlighting my friend

 Lynn Krawczyk’s book

The Hand Stitched Surface.

Readers were invited to leave a comment in order to enter the drawing for a copy of Lynn's book.

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful comments! 

Congratulations, Kelly Harper!

Your name was selected by using 

Random Number Generator.

Happy stitching!

My artwork as inspired by Lynn's book.

i Dollie and me

Introducing ....i dollie.

i Dollie is 61 years old, as am I. When I was born, my grandmother,
"Little Gran",(not to be confused with "Big Gran"),
 purchased this doll from a blind Doll Maker. 

We bonded immediately. 

When I began to talk, I tried to call her "my Dollie" but the "M" remains silent.

Hence...she became "i Dollie". The name stuck.

Clearly, I have loved off her face a few times. I've been told that I was traumatized when

 i Dollie got a new face transplant, courtesy of my mom. 

But I got over it and quickly embraced her new look. That face is just about gone.

 You can see where I have clearly kissed off her mouth. 

(Mom didn't dare try another face replacement.) 

Her eyelashes are almost nonexistent (as are mine) and my lips are disappearing, too. 

She has endured 2 hair replacements.

 (I still have some of the spare 'hair yarn' in my sewing box...just in case.) 

She has endured two skin grafts with new striped fabric on her legs. 

I know she's got her original red and white leg skin still under there, somewhere.

 We both embrace our leg wrinkles, our fading facial features and our long-gone plump lips.

We've been through a lot together. And we've got a long way to go!

Happy Blog Hopping!

Happy Blog Hopping!

It's day 4 of the wonderful blog hop - playing with stitches inspired by 

 The Hand Stitched Surface

by my friend,

Lynn Krawczyk 

I pulled out my copy of Lynn's book and read through every page,

 getting inspired by all of the projects to make.

I decided to revisit the use of freezer paper stencils to create a design on which to stitch!

I tend to get into a rut and fall into the routine of using the same few techniques over and over. 

I forgot how wonderful and easy making stencils with freezer paper can be.

Here's a page in Lynn's book which demonstrates her easy technique of cutting stencils, 

ironing them to fabric, and painting them with acrylics.

I drew a simple bird on freezer paper and cut it with a fresh, new Xacto knife.

It cuts like butter.

Here is my cut stencil, against a dish towel to highlight the detail.

After ironing it onto white muslin, I dabbed on a light coat of acrylic paint.

Lynn recommends removing the paper stencil promptly before it sticks to the fabric.

Heat set it with an iron after the paint is dry.

And here's the piece of the stencil I removed. I decided to paint the negative shape also.

Adding paint...

Removing the paper stencil...

Ready to stitch.

I cannot help myself. I love thread!

I share Lynn's approach..."if I can thread it through a needle, I'll stitch with it".

I decided to use my first stenciled fabric rather than the 'negative shape' piece.

 First, I layered my stenciled fabric onto some of my hand-painted scraps.  

After I reviewed Lynn's beautifully illustrated instructions, 

I chose a few basic stitches and I dove right in. 

Sorry... 

I was so engrossed in stitching,

 I forgot to stop and take some pictures along the way. 

I highly recommend Lynn's beautifully illustrated book. 

Her instructions are clear and the projects are fun and inspiring.

Check out the Lynn Krawczyk’s wonderful book, The Hand Stitched Surface.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Lynn's book. The winner will be drawn next week.  

And be sure to visit the other artists wonderful contributions to the blog hop!

Monday July 9 – Lisa Chin

Tuesday July 10 – Ana Sumner

Thursday July 12 – Libby Williamson

Friday July 13 – Allison Aller

Saturday July 14 – Lynn Krawczyk

Best of Dinner@8

I am thrilled and honored to have my art quilt, Clan of Misfits, 

accepted into the "Best of Dinner@8" quilt exhibition debuting Houston 

this November at the International Quilt Festival.

This is the 10th and final exhibit of "Dinner@8", 

an amazing exhibit curated by Jamie Fingal and Leslie Jennison. 

My work begins with dozens of empty, and used tea bags, 

most specifically from Celestial Seasonings. I use hand-painted papers and 

fabrics to create collages on each bag. Machine sewing and hand stitching add detail. 

The bags are then arranged on a background and appliquéd with more stitching. 

This piece measures 30''X50".

Thank you Leslie and Jamie for curating this amazing exhibit and accepting my work.

Lots of Watercolored Monoprints

These are mono prints on watercolor paper made with acrylic ink, 

watercolor paint and acrylic paint.

From a few years back.

Fun stuff!

Who's Late for Bed?

The sun is rising and this grumpy owl is ready to crash.

This is my "Wisdom Owl", made as a sample for my friend and fellow artist, 

Larissa Davis of Soul Path Art.

Larissa's self-guided workshop led me through a series of steps to reflect on my intentions,

and to paint assorted fabrics to use in my art quilt. Machine stitching added the detail lines.

By following Larissa's pattern, I created this creature with a bit of artistic license. 

It was a pleasure to spend some time quietly reflecting on my goals and 

bringing this grumpy guy to life. 

He needs a name.  I'm still throwing around some ideas.

Please head over to Larissa's website to see what she's doing. 

And make an owl!

http://larissadavis.com/owl-wisdom-self-guided-workshop-pattern