Windsong Journal

Monday, June 20, 2011

Another current passion of mine - Bottlecap Pincushions

(Accidentally republished this.)
At any given time I am in the midst of a passionate affair with a particular craft. One that caught me last summer was Bottlecap Pincushions. These are little felt covered, and stuffed plastic bottle caps that become little cute pincushions.

This is one of the first ones I ever made. It's small - about 1.5" in diameter and a little over 1" high.. It was fun, quick and really allows me to use all those embroidery threads I was going to do something with on of these days. This was just the start of many that have come to be since last August. With them my love of color has come alive again. Have also found that embroidery and I do get along very well. These have been goo practice for crazy quilting - it's practice that creates cute little "jewels". It's lot of fun. Here are some more of my little felted, embroidered "gems".

These are only a few. Many of these have gone to ladies that really enjoyed their designs and colors. I am in the process of doing more. Will post them at a later time. For those who would like to try their own here's a great tutorial on how to do the basics - just remember that you are only limited by your imagination on these:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/verybigjen/sets/72057594099768007/.

Here's a few more:

Friday, June 10, 2011

Crazy Quilt name tag

A while back I joined a quilting group - "Going to Pieces" - that meets at one of my favorite fabric stores. One thing I noticed is that many of them had quilted little name tags. Some are really cool. They even have a rule that one contributes a quarter every time one attends a meeting without one.

Well, it's been several months now I've gone without a name tag. Also found out that I'm the only crazy quilter in the group.

So, last month decided it was about time to make a name tag. Am not sure why but it seemed like the thing to do. What was amazing is that the idea seemed to gel and take off. The next thing I knew, some small scraps and a bit of heavy felt and the tag really started to come together. It pieced together in no time.

Had to sit and look at it for a bit to figure out how to start embellishing it. Finally put needle and thread to the cloth. Again things have started to take off.

In the online Crazy Quilting International group they have a basic stitch of the week to use to make a seam. A recent one is the encrusted beading stitch. Got to use this stitch on the center of the flower. I also used some bugle beads to make my name on the tag.

Here's some pictures of the the name tag under embellishment.

This the tag in the orientation I'll wear it.

Close up of the encrusted beaded stitch in center of flower.


Closer look.

This is a fun little project.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Skagit Valley Tulips of 2011

One of the things I love about living in western Washington are the annual blooming of the tulip fields in the Skagit Valley. These fields are about 60 miles or so north of Seattle and just west of Mt.Vernon.

The color from the tulips are wondrous. They are one of my all time favorite photo subjects.

Here's pictures of this years blooms. Enjoy!

Lovely fields of red and yellow

Workers in the field plucking off blossoms so the bulbs grow big and strong

Strong blooms of red

Workers also in the red field also picking blooms - a couple of hours later and there would be no color left.

Last glimpse of the field before all the blooms are removed.

Worker warning sightseers that the field is off limits.

Truck full of blossoms.

Red glory!

Bands of red and purple!

Purple blooms - note the snow on the hills - it's been a COLD spring!

Sightseers clicking pictures.

My Mom - Betty Pincha - in her usual stance - taking pictures. I learned about cameras from her. She's enjoyed being a nature photographer in her retirement. She's doing great for an 82 year old!

Ha! Finally got her to look up from her camera!

We weren't the only photographers. Here's one mother and daughter out taking pictures. I took pictures of the both of them with her camera. The little girl was adorable.

Such a lovely purple.

One color next to the other.

Red, red blooms.

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The following photos are from the display garden at the Roozengaarde Farm. (www.tulips.com)
they have the best display garden in the Skagit Valley. They plant thousands of bulbs in an amazing variety of tulips. This garden is the highlight of the trip to see the tulips.