Lobster Designs

The Crazy Women project is finally over, all except the card and accompanying note which will go with it to the charity it's going to. I picked Forward UK because I wanted to focus on something connected to female sexuality, a theme we all explored in this project. They do fantastic work in an area many people do not want to think about. It was challenging and inspiring to work on this project, and I am honoured to have worked with the women of the LJ Birthday Block swap group who contributed, as well as my blog readers and friends who helped with advice and even an impromptu photo shoot in a nearby park.

( Photos! )

I'm now working on the Crazy Women wall hanging, and have done a certain amount of embroidery and beading. Any suggestions as to where I take it from here? And does the beaded gold spiral look well-balanced?

( Pictures, including a photo of the Crazy Women quilt outdoors in the sunlight )

I have eventually realised that due to forces beyond my control (OK, buggering up my arms with RSI for months on end was sort of my fault, but you get my drift), I really am not going to finish the 2011 Bead Journal Project. I had fun, I learned some more about beading, and I completed seven nice little pieces. The time has now come to finish them off, and I've decided to make them into little individual wall hangings and give them to assorted friends. They're all 5" on the dotted basting line at the moment, apart from the bottom one where I miscalculated and made it 1/2" bigger. Does anyone have any particular suggestions as to how I should frame them? I think the January grey tree needs an unbeaded border, probably in a darker grey batik with a gentle pattern, while the turquoise round spiral could work with something more elaborate, perhaps even several borders.



In other news, my hands are finally improving, possibly because I've been in an ME crash lately which has made me rest properly, and I'm starting to sew again a bit at a time. Right now I'm finishing off the quilting on the Crazy Women quilt.

I am planning three posts for today or soon, so watch this space.

You know how I'm participating in the 2011 Bead Journal Project? The rules are that you make one piece per month, sticking to the same shape and size (5" square for me this year), and in theory you are in some way journalling your feelings about the month, though I think many of us just go for whatever colours and patterns we're drawn to at the time. I'm currently waiting for supplies to turn up to make my March piece. Anyway, I woke up with the idea of making the 2012 BJP an interpretation of Bartok's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle. Go and read about it here, and if you're so inclined, prowl about on Amazon.com and listen to extracts, say this recording. I absolutely adored this opera throughout my adolescence, it's the most amazingly evocative work, dark and beautiful and bright and cruel.

There are seven rooms, each with a different meaning and assigned a different colour of light. ( Read more... )

Well, mostly. I still have to sign it and make a little hanging sleeve, which I think I'll do tomorrow as I'm feeling lazy. I present to you the final version of Dr F's quilt. It's 8 1/2" x 16", pieced, beaded, and with organza ribbon/satin cord/cotton thong.



ETA: You do know that you can still comment even though I've moved the journal, folks? Go to the little link at the bottom of each post where it directs you to the DreamWidth original post, and then you can sign in using OpenID (takes about three seconds) if you don't have a DW account.

ETA2: I've just realised that the automatic settings for this DW blog weren't allowing non-DW commenters. That has now been fixed, and it should be very easy to comment without having to register with anything.

I proudly present to you January, my first Bead Journal Project piece.




It's 5" square, as all my pieces will be, and of course hasn't photographed terribly well, between my crappy photography skills (honestly, I can't even hold the camera still half the time) and the difficulty of photographing beads, especially the little mirrors at the centre of each circle. It may be helpful to say that I made a great deal of use of this grey bead mix. I started by drawing three circles onto paper, doing it again with the next size down circle templates (really useful, though beware that the edges aren't well cut and the lines are often askew), and then drawing branching curves in the gaps. I don't think I really thought properly about trees until I had the circles beaded and was filling in the lines, and then I realised what I'd made.

( Accidental Schubert )

I've been considering making a wallhanging for my GP for a while now. She is an absolute treasure, and when you have ME you really appreciate that. I noticed that she was wearing turquoise for one visit, which suits me as I adore turquoise. She was here today for blood tests, and she admired the turquoise/pale green baby quilt which I've just started the quilting on. So I think turquoise is definitely the way to go, especially since it works well for a nice cheery wallhanging. It's occurred to me that I might be able to rustle something up for Christmas if I get to work on it now, and I think it would be good for me to do a quick art quilt project. ( A bit of brainstorming )

Quick version which I may expand on later: I think I've done enough quilting, though there are a couple of areas I'm unsure about which haven't been quilted much (the feathered sections of the wings, the plinth, and the headband), but right now I want to decide on the beading. There will be a necklace, anklet, arm rings and bracelets, and I've already planned the necklace and have a good idea of how to do the other jewellery. The colours will be red, turquoise, lapis blue, and galvanised gold.

( Further ideas and of course, photos )

The tendinitis is still present but easing up, so I'm managing some embroidery again, huzzah! The body is now outlined, the face is done (not mad about the lips but after trying six versions on scraps, I think they're as good as they're going to get), the hair-ribbon is outlined, and I'm nearly half-way through outlining the wings. I also completed one of my trial versions of the papyrus clumps.

Photos below: do remember that this is draped across my sofa, so it's not lying flat by any means. The face looks a bit better than that, and the papyrus clumps on the right wouldn't look quite so odd.

( Read more... )