TRhis was taken by UniB…..actually the B has a line through it but my character set won;t make it…..anyway, i thought it was a ereally dramatic shot as he says in the caption. Of course if yiou clilck, you will go to the flickr page of the photographer!
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January 5, 2009
January 5, 2009
This was made by Kleibeans and if you click, you will see more of her stuff on flick….i love this quilt….love it!
January 5, 2009
Hearman takes some of the most awesome shots of birds…..click on the pic and you will end up on his flickr pages….you will see that i am not wrong! This is such a sweet shot of one of my favorite birds.
January 5, 2009
Hearman takes some of the most awesome shots of birds…..click on the pic and you will end up on his flickr pages….you will see that i am not wrong! This is such a sweet shot of one of my favorite birds.
January 5, 2009
Hearman takes some of the most awesome shots of birds…..click on the pic and you will end up on his flickr pages….you will see that i am not wrong! This is such a sweet shot of one of my favorite birds.
January 5, 2009
This photo is by Jon Thointon-click on it and it will take you to his flickr page….is this not a gorgeous bird!
July 4, 2008
Having had coffee a little bit late in the day, staying up is the result! Not too bad either as I am at least not only up, but awake….doesn;t always happen that way when you have fibro etc etc. So many times the fog rolls in when the eyes open.
PC Stitch Pro is a cross stitch program that allows you to create charts digitally and it is so much fun to play with! Of course, if you are not basically a cross stitcher it is easy to make gorgeous charts that are not EVER going to be stitched(unless you think there is a BIGGGG market for charts that make T Wentzler look simple.lol) At any rate, some time ago i also purchased three books from Ruth Kern on cross stitch that are collections of antique designs put together by a Valerie LeJeune. Wonderful books and wonderful charts! Also, in the last few days I joined the cross stitch group over at Stitchin Fingers. The group is in the beginning statges of organizing a small card swap.
AHA she says………..a small motif from one of the Valerie;s books, good practice! What a bunch of lessons.
1. if you want to blend thread, test them together before using on your piece.
2.count, and then count a couple more times before making that first row of stitches.
3. think twice before deciding something is easy enough for you to do………..
4. i love complete coverage, but 3 strands is still too much for 14 count aida.
Hopefully this motif stitching will look good enough to use as a swap.
Of course it will be scanned and blogged when a little further along.
Also joined the 100 seams in 200 days..late but it’s ok…what a hopeful person I am….roflmao…one cup of coffee and the whole world seems do-able.
Tonight was surprisingly quiet considering it is the night before July 4th. Traditionally there are backyard fireworks for hours. Not tonight though.Good thing too, cause the pups would have been barking at every single pop!
Here’s the chart that i ended up making :
July 3, 2008
This is a block that i made a very long time ago and couldn;t figure out what to do with….so i finally decided to send it around to the Sewbuds group and see what all my talented sisters could come up with! Oh my, the stitching is wonderful. I have two scans to see, one without printing, and one with printing to show who did what. There is one seam that I don;t know who did it….it’s the one on the upper left that goes diagonal down the side of the block. I love this stitching and i love the threads that were used! Of course, click on the pictures and they will open quite large. You may have to click twice.
Here’s the same block with the printing!
Happy 4th of July for those who celebrate it!
In gassho
kaethejean
June 29, 2008
I love this airplane! How cool!
June 29, 2008
Rainer Fritz is at it again with his superb flower photography!
June 25, 2008
Well, I have sort of given up and started with the detailed lists again, along with timers to remind me when it is time to stop and do something else. This is especially necessary when i am at rest, as i have a big ball of inertia that wraps around my knees and goes up to my brain……….lol….I am also seriously considering taking advantage(if i can) of a wellness program offered by a local physical therapists office. What I really need is the elliptical machine and some supervised time doing some good stretches. It is 25$ a month and hopefully i will be able to do it.
I read in the news that the price of rice world wide is due to go up, and fairly drastically at that. IT is such a basic staple that I can;t imagine how already poorer than poor people around the world, and in the US as well are going to be able to deal with it….between gas prices and every increasing food prices people will be eating nothing but bread if they can even get it. I stocked up on lentils today a little bit since they are one of the main things i eat, along with rice and wheat berries.
I havbe finally called it DONE! A rectangular piece that was started way back when. All i need to do is scan the seams and then put the backing on it so that it can be a neck pillow. I will be happy to have it done, and to see it on the bed.
Have been busy designing some cross stitch and having a ball.
Here’s a freebie chart(color blocks that should print out at 7 inches square. It is for a 4 by 4 inch coaster and is fully covered with stitches. I really like my cloth covered!
June 24, 2008
I thought this was such a clear and wonderful photo of this beautiful owl….what a subject for embroidery…the light is so good!
June 21, 2008
I am having some real trouble sticking to a schedule that i set. It seems my body has it’s own ideas of when to get up and when to stop whatever i am doing. However, I have noticed that i am not able to sit quietly and concentrate for very long. I don;t know if this is connected to the instantaneousness of surfing the web, my meds, or simply that i have not deepened my practice enough to tame the monkeys.
I have started to work on a small piece of cross stitch that i started when working…it was too hard to keep count of where i was while getting up and down all the time at work, so now, i am enjoying just doing it. I like my cross stitch completely filled, ie, no background fabric showing, unless the cross stitch is combined with Hardanger for instance. Aimee(sp)Bishop designs some lovely hardanger and used small cross stitch motifs with it.
When i get the little piece finished i will scan and blog it.
I have also started reading Nagarjuna, an early Indian Buddhist writer who is credited as being the most important thinker in Buddhism after the historical Buddha. I must say, it is not easy to make sense of when the mind is mired in western thought patterns.
Dainin Katagiri has a book that was published posthumously called Being Time. It is wonderful and deals with some very core ideas. I am thrilled to be reading it. The Nagarjuna was suggested as the basis for the ideas in Katagiri, but I am finding that i understand the Katagiri more easily. i suspect it will help me understand the Nagarjuna better.
in gassho
kaethejean
June 12, 2008
Isn;t this just beautiful!
June 12, 2008
I am so glad that i had comments turned off as i have 64 comments in the spam queue from last night to today! Can you imagine…all those people wanting to make some money and not caring who or how many people they annoy , offend, or disrupt. What a shame to waste this life like that.
Sat zazen this morning at the zen center, then ate alittle breakfast, cleaned up and did some work on cleaning up some zafus. I really enjoy doing odds and ends around the center(assuming I can do them physically). They are never big things, the satisfaction meter pegs none-the-less. When you are not selling your labor power as a commodity in exchange for the money to go back to work again……lol…welll, then work becomes pleasure…doing thiongs that are productive, that help in some small way to ease the workload of someone else…well, that is when working for the sake of working is at ithighest form.
in gassho
June 10, 2008
I have been practicing a bit now(practice in the way that buddhism talks about practice) and have tried hard NOT to come to the conclusion that i am a lousy buddhist all the way around. The reason that i entered practice to begin with was not only broad and specific agreement with the precepts, but also to see if i could operate from my original nature and not from all the accumulated baggage of the years. Needless to say this is proving very difficult and even though i know in my bones it really is an all day every day lifelong effort, i wish sometimes that there was more congruity between the inside and the outside.
in gassho
kaethejean
June 6, 2008
Well, here it is, I am almost 60(next month) and this year was an intersting one, full of changes,growth and realizations.Also, my blogging attempt was miserable, but perhaps it will be more possible this year to use the blog in meaningful ways.
Ok, lost my job, went on disability….not an easy or assured process, and wouldn;t you know, they haven;t sent a check yet, but they did manage to mail out the program particulars for”Ticket to Work.” It’s some sort of partnership program that supposedly helps you find a job. And the carrot that got waved is that as long as you are working with the program they won;t review your medical records. Those reviews are probably as much of stress builder as the initial processing.
HAve been trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to get some decent sleep habits. Overcoming years of shift work(rotation on all three shifts) has been difficult. As a youngster even i was a night person…..lol…used to stay up all night reading. My body tends to want to wake up about 10:30 pm and I get sleepy about 5 am.. how’s that for skewed! Of course, if i just sweat it out as much as possible, they say it takes only 8 weeks to change and make a habit. Getting enough sleep is one of the keys to lowering pain levels and boy is that a challenge!
Well, good wishes to all.
kaethejean
May 21, 2008
May 21, 2008
Torch Ginger (Etlingera elatior) or Philippine waxflower
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May 21, 2008
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Be sure to click on this as it will take you to the flcikr page where you can read a fascinating description of the plant.
May 5, 2008
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April 23, 2008
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So far this has been a wonderful day…quiet and in some way reverential. LIving each moment fully is not as easy as it might seem to be….I have to get control of my mind and live with a certain sense of intention and spontaneity at the same time. To do the next thing and understand that everything is my life, everything is me, nothing is a burden unless I make it one-that also requires a concious letting go of the stories I habitually use to get through the day and define
myself. In fact,it seems to me that letting go of self-definition is what frees me to meet the moment as it is, to be open to whatever happens and stand on the ground
of the moment.
in gassho
kaethejean
April 17, 2008
so crisp and clean, the snow is the perfect wather and the sky is just stunning behind it!
April 15, 2008
Flower photography doews not get better than Rainier Fritz!
April 15, 2008
April 15, 2008
April 15, 2008
April 15, 2008
March 26, 2008
Due to the incredible amount of spam
that has been showing up on my all too infrequent posts, even the older ones! i have disabled(I think) the ability to comment. Of course anyone who wishes to may email me directly(and if i don;t know you and it is nonsense, of course you will end up in the spam bucket and i will never see your email anyway, so why bother, ok) and i will be glad to reply.
Thanks for understanding!
ktj
Isn’t this fabric swatch pretty! It’s a Marcus Brothers print.
March 24, 2008
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March 19, 2008
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20080304 Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina 001
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March 19, 2008
March 19, 2008
20080304 Viedma Glacier, Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina 003
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March 19, 2008
20050814 Bell Atlantic Tower, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1001
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March 19, 2008
March 19, 2008
March 13, 2008
Here is something that Maureen C. is doing, and it just really caught my eye. I don;t have details as to the size or what is planned for it, but i do know that i really really like it….very peaceful.
March 2, 2008
Sunrise Clouds over Torrelit (not an HDR)
Originally uploaded by Ricardo Carreon – 100,000 Views in my stream!
March 2, 2008
Panorama verso il Lago di Sabaudia (o di Paola)
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March 2, 2008
Il deserto dei Tartari (The desert of the Tartars)
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March 2, 2008
February 24, 2008
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In the Maldives—-this is maybe the one place i would like to be anytime! Of course Flickr has opened so much of the world that i had not seen. But every photo of the Maldives is missing ME in it!
February 23, 2008
February 23, 2008
January 11, 2008
January 11, 2008
The Icelandic horse. This is a special amazing animal if you don’t know.
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The Icelandic horse. This is a special amazing animal if you don’t know.
Originally uploaded by Mundilfari
See the link (I hope it is still working): www.hiddentrails.com/general/breeds/icela
January 11, 2008
January 6, 2008
This looks great close up…just click on the photo and it will take you to the flickr page where you can enlarge it.
January 6, 2008
Can you imagine coming up against this while swimming!
January 6, 2008
I am switching the images from my other blog to here.
October 21, 2007
10 21 07 Sunday Morning with the NYPL Digital Archives
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Anyone interested in design, or just plain interested in graphics should be making a bee-line to the New York Public Library Digital Archives.. Sharon B. mentioned this quite a while ago, and I have been digging around ever since….with amazing results. The latest find is under the Arts and Literture heading. If you scroll down the list of categories you will find one on posters of the turn of the century…..don’t pass this up…..getting to that page opens several more categories, all of them posters of one sort or another…..they are truly incredible. And, on top of that, if you are interested in history, reading the words is pretty interesting too!
As some of you may know, fibromyalgia causes amplified pain and fatique..so what i do is……..gggg …in between doing the things I have to do that sap my energy, i sit down at the archives and just go through them…saving images along the way that i might want to look at later, or send to someone.
Here’s a tidbit, just in case you need a nudge……
And another…
You wont be sorry you checked it out.
i was also thinking about Jude Hill’s exploration of dots and wondering where the term
“polka dot” came from…we all know exactly what polka dots are, no matter what the size or color….all you need are are regularly spaced dots of color on a ground….i think all the polka dots i have ever seen were in a half-drop pattern as opposed to be all lined up in row after row. Amazingly enough, wikipedia doesn;t seem to have a blurb on it, and pluggiong the tried and true entry of “define:xyz” into google doesn;t net a thing either…does anyone know ?
More on dots though, usually, the dot part is the positive space, if you make the dot the negative space, and then ..cut it out…you have a hole….so maybe transparent dots are really round windows? I think dots usually are of something………”the light dotted the carpet of leaves with gold”…”you have a dot of mustard on your chin”…”did you dot the i’s and cross the t’s”….. rather than of nothing…anyway, all this is to say that i was thinking about my next postcard and how to play around with dots, invisible or othewise.
October 3, 2007
i am so so happy to finally finish one of the 6 x 4 stitch studies i started who knows when….this one i really enjoyed finishing…and i really enjoy seeing it too…lots of times by the time i am finished with something I never want to see it again………this piece however is a little different for me…i actually like it!
September 24, 2007
I stayed in bed most of the day and had an amazing dream. I often have intense dreams that are very visual and involve being in spectacular places.
This dream started out that i was on a piece of land with a a fence that had flowers around it…there was a very small little bear that had been dropped by its mom at the edge of the fence….she didn;t come back for hours and hours and it turned into the next day. I took the baby and nurtured it and then put it back after a few months…in the meantime i had a truck with a little white square “smoke hut” type construction on it..that i had used for the baby bear…i was travelling around with the truck using it as a home and camper when i noticed a large large black bear following me….i had seen tht bear as the one who dropped off her baby…i knew that i should get rid of the hut as it had all the smells of the baby in it….i backed down a hill and slammed into some trees so it would slide off and get stuck in the trees…that way the big bear would go to it and maybe stay there and i could get away…there were many people there and they advised me it was ok, but the black bear found me and the people sheltered me…two of them were a couple that was related to a work buddy … When we felt safe we left and i went on my way, minus the truck, just wandering. Somehow the time changed and i was a pioneer on a prairie with a tent wandering with other folks that i didn;t know…one of them was a young man with long blonde hair and very delicate features…we fell alseep near each other but as the night grew colder we shared our very thin blankets for warmth. Before i fully woke up the bear could be seen not too far from us and i became paralyzed with fright….i coldn;t move but the guy wanted me to move my head somewhat so that my very long red hair would be pinned under my head and not wave. The movement of my hair was attacting the bear.
I could not move and i couldn;t tell him that he had to move my head for me…eventually he did and eventually all was ok…we decided to be friends and travel together.
The group travelled all over the united states, and it was wonderful, but then we travelled to Florida and there were dangerous animals…i was afraid again and hated it…then we ended up on the tip of south africa with more danger everywhere… we were with a very fierce tribe of people that we were all afraid of….and that we did not understand. they did not understand us either. one day i asked, are we staying here because we are afraid that if we leave we will be in even more danger? Somehow that question made me want to put my fear aside and try to make some way to communicate with this village of people….over a couple of years more all the women learned that all the village women were like them in many ways and we became part of the community…understanding each other and really forming bonds….i kept seeing the black bear and i kept being afraid of it and we decided that we needed to leave..in the meantime i had a wonderful woman friend that i did not want to leave, so she decided to come with us.
there was to be a ceremony for all who were leaving….it was called a marriage ceremony and meant that those who were leaving were still in the hearts of those who stayed, and would be remembered and revered, and welcomed back…..and those who were leaving promised to always be true and loyal to each other, and to those left behind…when it came time for my friend’s ceremonial part, we couldnt find her.She finally came up the long long road with people dragging her.It was not that she didn;t want to come with us, but that she didn;t want to leave her father . He was old, and without a wife or other children. He assured her it was fine, that he was with
his community where he truly belonged. He face kept shining as she smiled in love at him.
It was as if you could see the stars and heavens through her skin.
and that at that point i woke up remembering her name…melise….and thought that it was a wonderful name and maybe i should have a name like that….ahmelise is what i chose. I think it means mother of melise.
I don;t know what it means, but i know this dream is full of meaning for me, and in some way, i am everyone in it . I know when i went to sleep i was thinking about crocodiles, snakes and bears which are the animals in the world that i am most afraid of.terrifed would be a more appropriate word actually. I do remember wondering if there could have been an alternate evolution where the snakes and crocodiles come about.
September 17, 2007
I feel somewhat guilty since i know there are soo sooooo many people way worse off than i in so many respects, and i even personally know some of them…my heart aches for them….but right, now this moment i have to just say, i am tired of being tired. I am tired of being in pain 24/7
I am tired of things seeming to get worse, not better. This afternoon there was some serious thought about whether i was going to have
top get a walker and wheelchair to keep in the car and whether i could find anything afffordable..
Oh well, it’ll pass and i’ll get back to the business at hand, whatever that is.
July 5, 2007
I had the absolute nicest thing happen a day or two ago…..or maybe it was Sunday… gggg
but i went to Sam’s club to get some things. I was really not feeling too well as my back really
really hurt but i was determined to get at least some of the things i needed.I was
parked in a handicapped spot near the store which my placard allows me to do. As i was
finishing putting things in the jeep a woman and her grandchild were walking by
on their way to their own vehicle. The woman told her granddaughter to wait for me to
finish putting things in mine and then take my cart over to where the carts are stored.
It was such a generous and nice gesture, it took me completely by surprise. I was so
elated it must have seemed strange to others to be so happy with such a small thing….but you
know, it really isn;t a small thing. Solidarity, empathy, just plain niceness to others is not the
norm anymore really….at least not where i live…people are friendly, as long as it doesn;t involve
effort, or anything real. This is a very ingrown and family centered area and if you are
not born here, you remain a stranger forever. It can be quite lonely.
Earlier i watched a movie with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan….”You Have Mail”. It was delightful
little movie and Tom Hanks is never better than when he is playing a man in love. I thoroughly
enjoyed the happy ending.
Having to be at work in the morning by 6 am means that this is a very late night for me, so I will finish this post and hope you all had a wonderful day. The photo is a collage of some work a friend of mine did…Nikki is an excellent stitcher…in fact she is an excellent craftsperson with all that she does. Knitting, sewing, embroidery….you name it…somewhere way down in the list of posts is a piece of weaving that she did in the Swedish Tapestry manner. It was her first piece!
July 2, 2007
Originally uploaded by katiejayinpa
This is a 6 by 4 piece that i started and just about finished the day i got my Viking embellisher…..it was a lot of fun playing around with needlefelting all the yarns in place…i needlefelted the top purple piece(it’s the background here) onto a piece of stabilizer first then started playing. After i did some embroidery and beading, i let it sit for a while. Tonight I looked at it again and for some reason just had this urge to add buttons as the container. At first i thought it was a magic forrest and the buttons were the crumbs that showed you the way home….that’s what makes magic forrests safe , you know how to get home! Then it reminded me of belly dancing music….but in the end when it came time to name the file, In the Mirror is what it became. It just popped into the brain and seemed right.
June 18, 2007
this is part of a small patch on a purse block of Janie J.’s. We are in cq rr together and her rectangular block is all black. You should see the other work on it! At some point i will scan all the different patches. this part is in the upper left corner and everything to the right of the scrolly line is part of the next patch over..ie, not my work! Wish it were cause it is gorgeous. I really practiced more on the fargo roses and found some of the things i was not doing right..ie, the stitches i took back down the ribbon were teeny bites instead of big bites and i wasn;t pulling the ribbon around the needle before finishing the stitch. There area couple of roses here that i like very much, but i stil need much more practice. there will be more done on this patch, but not more roses.
June 17, 2007
Margaret hb and i are in a cq round robin. She sent a lovely lovely block all in blue and cream from silks and other fabrics. It’s small and delicate. I wanted to try my hand at Fargo roses. As you can see i didn;t quite get them down pat……. i added some buttonholing on the bottom petals to add a little color. also a french knot from rayon thread into the center of each rose for more color. above the roses is an arch of pearls and silk ribbon leaves. i wish i was as good at this stuff as Margaret’s block calls for.
June 7, 2007
This is a section of the earlier detail of the 15 by 15 piece. This section is about 4 by 3 i think….
June 7, 2007
This is a 6 by 4 piece that started out as buttonhole and satin stitch as you can tell from the parts that have not been reworked. I began to do french knots on the background and tree and realized that it would all have to be french knots to have any sort of balance . I felt strongly that the background in french knots would be wierd if the foreground were flat. At least in this piece i didn;t think it would work at all. So, here i am doing my beloved french knots and having a ball. I really do love french knots. Every single one is a challenge to make it like the last one….and of course it never happnes…or not very often.
This was done in between runs at work under sodium lights and i thought all the oranges adn yellows were actually darker…when i got under flourescent light and saw those neon oranges it was quite a shock. I like orange, but neon orange isone of my least favorite of colors…along with that really gross neon pink you can sometimes see.
June 7, 2007
This is part of a 15 by 15 square that is being couched onto. Eventually it will be completely covered. I had a great time going through my thread cuttings and twisting threads together to get some of the colors i liked, and also choosing from my stash. This is a piece i love so far and hope that i still love it when it is all done!
June 7, 2007
this is the start of a small goddess doll for PA that i see instead of my PCP(Primary Care Physician) …she is an awesome person and i owe her a lot! One thing i was thinking of trying to do was changing the face part by adding a sculpted face. It would be soft sculpted from a piece of hosiery and then appliqued on. The reason i may do that is one, i would love to do it well, and two i am thinking that everything else on this doll is going be highly textural and it might look odd having a flatly embroidered face. We’ll have to see. I love making the bullion stitches out of perle thread. They work up so nicely. The back is probably going to be velvet or velveteen. What do you all think?
June 7, 2007
As you can see, this is ALMOST done..gggg….there is some toning down that i want to do of the very bright orange color, and the bright yellow too, and of course, the very lightly worked spaces along the top and bottom will be covered with more layers. I would guess that this piece has about 7 layers of stitching on it in various places. I actually like it a lot for a change! I am thinking of giving it a name…..how about:
Toward a Unified Theory of Space.
June 7, 2007
Margaret HB from Australia and i are in the same CQ rr and when she sent me her block to work on, this lovely piece, titled Autumn in Australia was with it…..
This is the second postcard i have from her. I will post the other one and you will be able to see how she is talented in diverse techniques! I am so thrilled to have these small works from her.
May 21, 2007
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I just found this on Maureen C’s flickr pages…..i would like to dedicate this to Maureen B. who does not see the talent she has!
May 19, 2007
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Just a small little thing that was so much fun….it took all of an hour….i still have to do the back….the front here is crayoned and embellished with just the simplest of embroidery…..it;s how i want to see relations between people, how I wish we all felt as we enter the day…..
May 19, 2007
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This is the front of a Christmas postcard. It definitely is going to get more stuff on the background….i wasn;t going to do it…but i just can;t stand all the white space!
May 19, 2007
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This was originally meant to be a breather between working on as yet unfinished postcards. The others are very complex and i wanted something simple. I was going to use it as the front of a birthday card. Everytime i see it -it looks so empty….lol….it may get more stitching.
May 19, 2007
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Just something i played around with in dribs and drabs as i could find the time in between running the line at work…..
May 19, 2007
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Ribbonwiz is otherwise known as Julia….and this is probably my most favortie one of her pieces…..to me it looks like an old painting that has accrued patina and meaning…..i can’t wait to see it finished…it is being beaded(as you can see)…it’s a largish piece . Truly I am in love with this!
May 9, 2007
April 5, 2007
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April 5, 2007
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March 18, 2007
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March 3, 2007
March 2, 2007
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March 2, 2007
03 01 07 On Being a High Priestess of the Tarot
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Well, I took the tarot quiz to see which card i was..these things are always so much fun….we get to see if some pop-psych quiz comes close to our inner fantasy of ourselves….gggggg………i KNOW my furkids think of me as the high priestess because…..i control the food dish…and since there is not a doggie door in my kitchen back door….and they are in crates while i am at work………guess that means i also contol when they get to go to the bathroom…ahhhhhhhh, what POWER!lol….so now we know….i am the high priestess of (what did you say????, I heard that!)STUFF that goes in and comes out of my furkids! Anyway, if you would like to take this fun little test the link is on the sidebar for now.
February 27, 2007
02 26 07-line drawing scarab beetle in a frame
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February 27, 2007
On the crazyquilting yahoo group this past christmas we had a postcard swap. I got my addresses mixed up and sent Margaret a postcard, even though she was not in my list of swappees……….she very graciously sent me a card in return wven though she was not expected to make more than she had agreed to make. We just said do it whenever…well, whenever came today and my day was brightened by such a gorgeous card. The weather here is cold and rainy, with a little snow….this card with all it;s bright flowers is surely the boost i need! What a thrilling surprise to come home to!
February 27, 2007
Susan N. sent me the top postcard about a month ago….the center patch is a piece of embroidered silk that she recieved along the way and the other wonderful stitching and beading is what she did ! I think it is so beautiful. Susan;s stitching is so good! I can;t believe she would use a treasured piece of embroidery in a postcard for me.The back is printed just like a real postcard with a place for a stamp and everything. As if! (I would actually mail this to someone…i am too too greedy for that…….
The bottom postcard is one i made her….it;s not mailed yet…..i was waiting to be inspired on how to finish the back but in the end i just embroidered it with my name and hers and the year….i had to do this after the post card was all put together and it was pretty tough to do…..
February 25, 2007
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February 5, 2007
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Contorted..taken by resinacasica, from her flickr stream. Click on her name under the poicture to go there. It is worh the visit.
For my friends that like trees as much as I do!
January 27, 2007
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Gooseflesh is doing a series on Year of the Pig, and her embroideries are really wonderful. Have you EVER seen a better way to use a simple pink button! does this capture the essense of PIG or what. Do check out her photostream, and in the meantime, i will be doing some embroidery and getting back to the blog later this evening!
If you click on the links under the picture it will take you to her photostream in flickr.
ktj
January 22, 2007
Here’s a couple of snags from usenet(not the web)for valentines…enjoy
January 21, 2007
Here are three unembellished blocks from the CQ round robin I am in ….blocks need to be to the next person by the 1stof February and some folks have already recieved theirs, others are in the process of mailing. Here are the three that i have gotten scans of….i think they are just gorgeous!
Sue T.’s block
Susan N.’s block
Jane C.’s block
January 14, 2007
On the cotton block 001 I used herringbone stitch on one corner and it made a pattern that i wanted to play with. i duplicated here and then tried to see how else it would look if it was repeated in more rows. Next i want to try it on plain weave again and perfect some of the spacing . My favorite result is the variegated sample of several rows.
January 14, 2007
here is the chain stitch practice piece finally finished….i started it so long ago that i didn;t know whether to label it under UFO’s or not…. but at any rate..here it is.
I call these things stitch practices because i am not really exploring all the variations of a sttich, I am just practicing making the stitch with ONE thread and ONE parameter. In this case it was using DMC 6 stand-one strand and figuring out what that would look like covering a solid area, or making lines….how tight of a curve or a point could i make with this stitch and what adjustments in the sttich would i need to make in order to do what i wanted….now i know! First i drew out the words…Chains of thread and chain stitched the letters..then i kept chain stitching lines with curves and made some shapes. Then I made some more lines within the shapes to make some patterns and started filling in the areas with chain stitch. 99% of the surface on this piece is chain stitch and there is some long and short and satin stitch filling in. I did that not becuase i couldn;t have used the chain stitch but because by this time i was a little tired of doing it…….lol…..you can see how that might happen I am sure.
Next up for my exploration of the chain stitch is to use a larger diameter fiber.I know this will result in open spaces in the stitch unless i pull it tight or make short sttiches so one of the challenges will be to decide to fill in the open space or leave it as is.
Bloggere still has not fixed the comments thing so if you are so inclined…here is my email: katiejayinpaATgmailDOTcom
January 9, 2007
Here it is ! The embroidery is done on this block. i am determined tht i am adding nothing else to it..although i wassssss thinking about beads….lol…..
now all i have to do is make the fabric book and applique this onto the cover. I am vry pleased to have the embroidery done. I had no idea that i would be adding that much to it. I rmemeber the original intention of the cotton blocks was to make them simple and direct. So much for that.
this is a detail of the leaves that i ended up putting in one corner. I worked from a little booklet that showed the closed cretan stitch and used that stitch for them. The lighter green that you see are straight stitches inbetween the legs of the cretan stitch. While doing it all i could think of was that really the closed cretan could just as easily be called an alternating buttonhole stitch.
This is a detail of the heart motif. I added a straight stitch to the lazy daisy vine around the heart and i think it really added a little oomph. I like it quite a bit and am pleased with it!
Happy stitching y’all.
January 5, 2007
This is not my recipe but i have made it and it is pretty good!The only thing i changed was the pecans…..i didn;t use them, and i put the filling OVEr the first noodle in the bottom of the pan instead of under it…
Spinach Lasagne with Feta Cheese
Serves 4
Spinach ( Frozen will do)
1/2 teaspoon of grated Nutmeg
Garlic ( 1 large clove, crushed)
1 oz. Pecan Nuts ( grated)
1 1/2 oz. Plain Flour
1 1/2 oz. Butter
1 pint of Milk
Lasagne
Paprika
Pepper
8 oz. of Feta ( crumbled)
Breadcrumbs
1 large Tomato
6 Olives
Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of Mustard
Wash the spinach, don’t drain it, and put it in a saucepan together with the
nutmeg, nuts and the crushed garlic. To a second saucepan, add the butter, flour
and the milk and slowly bring to the boil stirring all the time over a low heat.
‘Cook the flour out’ for at least three minutes then add 6 oz. of the crumbled
feta, the mustard and the pepper. In an ovenproof dish, spread the spinach over
the base and top with the remaining feta. Cover the feta with the lasagne
sheets. Finish off by spreading the Bechamel sauce over the top then sprinkle
with breadcrumbs and the paprika. Arrange the tomato slices, sprinkled with
dried basil and olive oil, over the sauce and add the olives. Bake on the top
shelf of a moderately hot oven ( Gas Mark 6 / 400F / 200 C) for at least 25
minutes. As feta is a salty cheese, there is no need to add more to this recipe.
January 2, 2007
Sharon’ s Take A Stitch Tuesday has started off with the herringbone stitch and she provided a number of really attractive ways of using this stitch to make combination stitch bands as seam treatments for cq. It is a fortuitoous coiincidence that the first FIT that i have chosen to work on this year as part of Sandie W.’s challenge is a block with a wide band seam treatment made up of stacked herringbone stitch and “embellishers” in the spaces.
The detail is above and the full block it was taken from was posted on Dec 15th.
January 2, 2007
I really really liked that snowflake (see previous posts from this evening) and decided I just had to try developing a blackwork band from it. What i came up with is really a border design and i like it very much.I actually charted this one out before trying to stitch it. It takes a lot of concentration!
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January 2, 2007
Neck Pillow block 3
a number of years ago i put together 3 5 inch blocks in a horizontal row and machine buttonhooled the patches in black thread. My idea was to concentrate on filling each patch with something and not worry about the seam treatments. It got put away and i took it out not more than a couple of weeks ago while rummaging in the FITS drawer….took it to work and have been working on it on the breaks. The other two blocks are fully embroidered but this one is what needed done.
This is a detail iimage of one of the patches…it was so much fun and i consider it the best patch on the block…I took crochet thread and stacked three running stitches and interlaced them..(ala the center of the guilloche stitch-)after that i did buttonholing on the interlaced threads and this is what i came up with.
January 2, 2007
This is the band i did for my own sampler….the Stitching Post is doing a band sampler(counted work on even weave) round robin…we each do the first band on our own sampler then pass it on to the next person…..it didn;t take all that long to do but i sure made some mistakes and must have unstitched a section about three times before i finally got the count right.
December 11, 2006
To CrazyquiltingFriends,Learn to Embroider and Stitching Post members
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I was working the day Thanksgiving was celebrated in the United States, but that happens to be one holiday that i can celebrate anywhere, no matter what. It’s my favorite because it really is about connection…..connection with friends, with family….and with yourself as well……understanding that we are connected by being alive….and if we allow it….we have have much to offer and much to receive….to be simply and deeply grateful is not necessarily a religious idea…all one needs is to recognize that no accomplishment is made individually alone……food is available because others grow it, yet others pick it, and someone else probably packaged it and drove the truck the brought it…..the clothes we wear, the furniture we use is the embodiment of the labor of countless others….and no matter what we subscribe to as the reason for life…..we are in fact connected;it is simply a matter of opening the heart and recognizing that no one succeeds alone..we share the planet and each moment connected to each other.
I would like to take this particular moment to thank the members of the Crazyquiltingfriends list, and the Learn to Embroider list…and the Stitching Post list for being open to the connections that we have made…for whatever reason and on whatever basis. My life is enriched and my heart is glad. So many of us are going through some pretty tough times right now….if not we ourselves, then someone we love dearly.
The CQF is different than the LTE and the Sp lists….having as it’s basis the friendship that has formed between a number of people who have known each other quite a while. It is also similar to the LTE and SP in that it opens itself with arms wide to newcomers. On all three of these lists I have met people that care about me and check on me if i am not around…..they try to cheer me up when i am blue and feel bad if i feel bad…..and the same is true in reverse…..there are many many cyber hugs passing back and forth between here (????-where IS here when you are on the internet???) and Australia…and England, and California….and North Carolina….and much appreciation for the willingness to share what we know and love with each other..
To all the members of these three lists…..i wish to thank you for accepting me…for being willing to read posts, put up with my ups and downs and lack of organziation…..i want to thank you for confiding in me when you have…trusting me to care, and caring back.I thank you all for the opportunity to be connected.
October 27, 2006
Have the second postcard started..I have begun to use a timer in the sewing room….and i found that it took 1/2 our start to finish to get a postcard pieced and with the basting stitch all around the outside. This will help me figure out a time frame to get the others done.
ktj
October 22, 2006
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On the LTE we have been doing small bags and Eve is on a roll! This is her second one and i can see her doing these forever! They are very easy to make and the creative possibilites are endless, as Eve so well shows us!
ktj
October 22, 2006
This is some cross stitch and beading as a seam treatment that Nikki did on a round robin many years ago….isn;t it great!All of her stitching is such a treat to see.
ktj
October 6, 2006
well, I am tagged! Not once, but twice,
first
of paisley and sequin flowers fame, but also Sandie W. from
.
Hearing from
and she had also been tagged so those three are definitely out! So, what i decided to do was tag some folks that don’t really know me from Adam but whose work i really like and whose blogs i enjoy seeing. I hope you agree with me that they are worth the visit!
First up is
who has such playful and delightful work…today she is featuring a tutorial on polymer clay. If you are at all interested, this is a must-see.
Next is
who is doing a tut of sorts on chickens…you’ll just have to go visit and see it for yourself…and whiile you are there…check everyhting else out too!
I don’t know how many folks know
but she does some fantastic redwork and quilting…she is also crazyquilting and has some lovely seam treatments going!
is a wonderful mix of things, but what i love the most is that everyone is smiling! She is SO upbeat it’s a pleasure to read and she does awesome fiber ATC’s. She even has a cool tut about them as well.
which is visually beautiful and chock full of interesting things if you take the time to read the sidebars and the entries….if you scroll down a bit you can see the links to last several years of Hoffman Challenge winners…that;’s some serious eye candy!
Now, 5 weird things about me….well, ummm….lets see…..how to pick….
well, my coworkers think everything is weird about me, from my name to my furkids names…. is that 1???
I have lived at my present home for about 10 years and have no rugs….most people would think that;’s weird, but it makes cleaning up so so much easier…..lol..and easy is what i am after!
Ok, here’s number three….I am the only buddhist in my county….i think that is amazing, but maybe it also qualifies as weird….
I have one small mirror in the bathroom, a little hand held one to make sure my hair is not sticking out all over the place .
And….#5..I guess, speaking about hair, it’s very very short…very very short….did I mention that it was short….and i cut it myself.Except for the ones that are bald, everyone I know has longer hair than me.
I would have loved to tag everyone I know…..
and
who has some really interesting things on her blog all the time.
and Julia C’s blog
that showcases some exquisite embroidery and hand dyed laces.
If I keep going…the list will be too too long….enjoy!
October 5, 2006
What a total mess….am moving things around in theroom i use for an office and i can;t believe what an ordeal it is….running extension cords, putting in lightbulbs, which means finding the step stool, figuring out how to untangle the cables into the PC tower….moving the peripherals…..arghhhh….now all i have to do is the major clean up! I know you all wanted to know this….lol…
happy stitching.
ktj
October 3, 2006
Every time I see this image, I imagine it interpreted in french knots and silk ribbon…this is Bonnard’s “Garden in the Midi”, painted about 1943.
October 1, 2006
Nothing new, just uploaded a nice nostalgia image to print, or use as inspiration.Even if i have no embroidery to upload here, i will almost always make sure that i change the Motif A Day image. And of course i try very hard to add more links every day from the interesting places i come across.
Janie—–i have just gotten up(late late late) and will have to get in gear to take that little walk.
OK JANIE! i did, it;s pouring rain here now so i am glad that i got it in before it really started, although it did start pouring while i was out…that;s ok, at least i got some in> Thanks for doing this with me.
By the way, for anyone interested in fibromyalgia, the best website on the net for information is The Orgeon Fibromyalgia Foundation. The link is on the sidebar.
ktj
September 30, 2006
What a nice day for me…i actually got things done. I finally decided that I actually must do some excercizing and walking if I am going to get the fibromyalgia under control…and that’s what i have ben doing for the past couple of days. Nothing major mind you, and i don;t walk very far and certainly not very fast but it is being done.Janie J. and I have decided to check in with each other every day and make sure we are doing what we need to do to keep our health from spiralling down.So, Janie…..yes! I did it ……gggggg.
Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to walk, exercize AND go up and down the stairs a few times before getting worn out.
Anyway, nothing on the embroidery front today, have spent the dayso far doing chores and having a lunch with an elderly friend at the local family restaraunt chain.
ok, back to work!
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September 28, 2006
Took this one last night and dl’d it to the computer a little bit ago…i was struck by the easy elegance of this pose…..she is SUCH a lady.
September 24, 2006
It seems like just yesterday that I was wondering if i would get anything done this week…and now i know….and the answer isssssssssssssssss..not much..unfortunately!
Of course playing around on the computer doesn;t interfere at all!
Having so much fun doodling in Paint.
The M.A.Day is a line drawing of a grey scale image that has been posted previously. It is two birds on a very leafy ranch. It is copyright free.
Happy stitching.
September 22, 2006
The Motif A Day can be found under “Collection” on the side bar, and today is a greyscale of two birds on a leafy branch. It was greyscaled from photo and i thought this would be an easier way to see the basic shapoes and outlines.
Got the scanner back running and even have figured out some things on the new digital camera..i am pretty excited about the new ways of capturing and keeping images!
Have also been playing around in MS Paint and my PSP program just to remind myself of the tools available. Here’s a color swatch i came up with in PSP. It was made by using the airbrush tool at its largest(and therefore most diffuse spray of color) setting. I thought it would make a really pretty piece of fabric so i saved the basic swatch.
September 22, 2006
009 21 06 Paisley Challenge and a pic of Sin Huevos
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Sin Huevos! Here’s a pic of the male puppy and one of the two lights of my life!
Paisley Challenge in progress report………lol
Stitched more on the Stitching Post Paisley Challenge piece and made many design decision and laid out more of the main areas.
Overview
Detail
September 22, 2006
The Motif a Day can be found on the side bar under “collections’
Todays graphic is one i did and it is of course marked with a copyright and is for personl use only. It is a 4by6 landscape. It’s just basic outlines and i thoutt it would be cool to use as the starting point for a fabric postcard. Or even for paper arts….the line drawing could easily be fused to some non woven interfacing and cut a part for templates.
I f any decided to try using this drawing in any way, i would love to see the results. Just give me an email to the link and i will be happy to include it here! :>)
Otherwise, not much, still waiting to see if the scanner is amont the living, or do i need to get a new one.I have the camera that i am slowly figureing out to use but i am not sure it will ever be as convenient as a scanner. Guess we’ll see. Have been busily sleeping trying to get rid of some aches and pains……..lol…and embroidering on on the Stitching post Paisley challenge.
I have also started and am just about done with a 4×6 size piece that i thought for sure would be going thorugh the mails…but as usual, i got very carried away with texture and i have a feeling this one is staying home with me….
ktj
September 20, 2006
Today there are two small spot motifs in color. Check in the sidebar under “collections”.
have fun.
ktj
September 19, 2006
The Motif A Day series for today is a copyright free goldfish from a stencil.You can access it by clicking on the “collections” link in the sidebar.
enjoy.
September 18, 2006
The Motif A Day Series can be accessed by using the side bar and clicking on it under the word “Collections”.When I add a new pic, the old one will be deleted. It seems that blogger occasionally changes the extension from .gif to.png.
I will try to catch these before publishing, but if you find a png, it will still save and you can then do a conversion to jpg or whatever you like in your editing program.
Irfan view is free and easy and does it.
And thanks to Lou Anne S. for bringing it to my attention that some of the graphics were .pngs and that the email address i put in the welcome section didn;t have the .com on it.
I add links every single day to the sidebar to the various categories. They are not labelled “new” or anything, but if you know of a place that you think would fit in one of the categories very well, please don;t hesitate to let me know. I’ll check it out. My email is in the side bar.
September 15, 2006
Ati asked a question of the LTE list about what threads to use for satin stitching. In the discussion i mentioned that i would put up this photo of using sewing thread for satin stitches. Here it is. The threads used for the flowers are for the most part rayon40/3 and some 30/3 along with some flower thread and cotton sewing thread. The piece measure 3 inches top to botton and just under 3.5 inches across.
September 11, 2006
For the discriminating gift giver and person with a sense of humor: go check this out and see if you don;t have the wild urge to buy this book!It’s called
Killer Slippers and How to Make Them
the link is the side bar as it is too long to show up here…..
ktj
September 9, 2006
Thank you very much to all of you that commented on the Pathfinder block.Your comments mean a lot to me, and I appreciate them very much! Here are a few letters from a very nice alphabet. I hope thatyou can use them in your stitching in some way!
ktj
September 9, 2006
06 11 06 Stitch Practice in Progress(old blog post)
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Boy! It really takes a lot of stitching to cover even a small space like 6 by 4 when you are using only a single strand of floss. I have been quite challenged to find ways to use the blanket/buttonhole in enough different ways to make an interesting piece that doesn’t rely solely on color changes to give it visual direction. I find that I have to leave more of the design area blank that i am used to, or comfortable with. Below is the practice cloth as it was last night. Tonight it is much more developed and with the addition of more areas comes more decisions. It is quite interesting to see what is resulting, even if i can;t say the piece is particularly
“artistic”………ggggg
I have been reading “Victorian Needlework, Techniques and Designs” edited by Flora Klickman.
Here’s the blurb from the inside front cover…
“This Dover edition, first published in 2002, is an unabridged republication of the work originally published in”The Home Art Series by the office of “the Girl’s Own Paper & Women’s Magazine, London,n.d. under the title “The Cult of the Needle”. edited by Flora Klickmann.
I love some of the pictures and for someone who knows nothing about making lace, i was able to visualize myself using some of the techniques shown. There are also included some descriptions of lace-types I have not seen mentioned elsewhere.
The best picture for me was the one that showed actual laying on of the braid for Brussels lace. However, the most delightful part of the the book is in Ms? Klickmann’s editorial comments.On page 58, her article”the Value of the Doll” is priceless for it’s glimpse into the mind-set of how to train young girls into the tedium(my word, not hers)of being fully responsible for and only interested in the running of a household. I can’t resist, here’s a small piece of it…….
“…………In this way you will not only be instilling in your child a love of housewifely things, and fostering the instinct for home-making that is born in most baby girls, but you will be teaching her the right way to do things, and what is required in a properly conducted household”
This is by no means the most startling(to modern ears) of the editorial comments of the author, but it was the shortest.
Sooooooooooo, while we are all adoring things Victorian, let’s remember, that some of the things that Victorian’s themselves loved required an emotional and mental servitude of women we ourselves could not begin to put up with. If I hadn;t understood as I was reading these passages what very real and continuing damage these ideas do to us, i would have been laughing.
