Showing posts with label one of a kind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label one of a kind. Show all posts

Thursday, March 09, 2017

At Work at our New Very Old Place

 We are spending every day at our in-progress Desideratum Art Studio... building up our stock for the coming season... bringing back many of our favourite designs as well as a few new ones.
 Above are Three new designs we will be adding to our collection this year. 

the Peridot and Silver, a bit closer, $25 pair

 Throughout the fall and winter we have been making our old house more livable. Here John is trimming and squaring up the very old doors .

 We were recently informed by an auctionereer that these two old panel doors appear to be of the Victorian period mid 19th century circa 1850... 
...so love to find out information about architecture and historical artifacts!!



These are a few of the old square nails we removed from the antique doors. I find them beautiful!

 Copper  Goldstone and Sterling Silver Bracelet

 Sterling Silver and Jasper Bracelet

 Black pottery glass, jasper, amethyst and Sterling Silver Bracelet

Zebra Jasper, amethyst, and Sterling Silver Bracelet

Abstractly fused copper and silver rectangles combined with handmade African Bauxite beads... with copper... light and earthy... lots of movement... unusual how the silver formed a "T" in the fusing process completely by happy accident. 2 1/2" total length... one of a kind and only pair like this available... $25.00 pr.

.... background ink drawing of crows from my sketchbook, 

Been a long winter in the middle of New Brunswick... We are ready for Spring. Won't be long now!! 
Cheers everyone!!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Finishing the Wild Goose Chase Quilt - The Binding



Part 3:  Done!!  I am happy to report that I finished the Wild Goose Chase Quilt on Oct.8, 2014 but I have just finally had a chance to post about it now... 
I was busy working on a number of Christmas orders for our Art Jewelry from lovely shops and customers.  Thank you All...  very much appreciated!

  I really enjoyed making this Quilt. By the time I was done, it was like an old friend. After all, we spent a lot of time together.
 ***
For anyone who would like to see the beginning phases of making this, here are the links to the first two posts on it..
***
... and Here are a few pics of the steps in finishing it.
  This was the day I put the last quilting stitches in.

 The clamps and end frames are off.

 Time to unroll it and take the basting stitches out of the cloth along the long side frames.

 Ready to unroll and reveal everything that was all wound around them for the last few months.
The backing just happened to be larger than the front so now that needs to be trimmed to size... and saved of course. 
I'm sure it will find its way into another quilt one day.

 I'm using red for the binding, so I laid it out and measured 2'' strips and cut them out.

  The strips were all sewn together into one very long strip with a bias seam... then trimmed to about 1/4".
.. this keeps the bulk to a minimum and the binding smooth.
...the seams were pressed open... then the entire length of about 30 feet was folded in half width-wise and pressed.

 I used the 1977 Kenmore Convertible Freearm sewing machine (the one I used to make the shirts for Max) to do the stitching around the border of the quilt. 
It was quite a bit to manuever the whole quilt but I was only going around the edge so it wasn't too bad.

 I lined the binding up with the edges of the quilt fabric layers and used about a 3/8" seam and stitched through everything.

 ...extra binding was left at the corners to allow for mitering the corner.

... had no problems with the stitching... all went smoothly.


I worked late in the studio to finish this step before I went to bed. I wanted to be ready for a fresh start in the morning.

And what a morning it was when I awoke to this dramatic sunrise out over the Bay... 
What Beauty!  I love these sunrises!!!
*that lump on the horizon is the Isle of Haute about 24 miles away*

...then a while later the sky turned to this delicate combination.  Still so beautiful... but so different... in such a short period of time.
It is the "getting up early" reward.

After that exquisite distraction, back to business... It will be finished today.
... here I am trimming the edges again, to get ready to fold over the doubled layer of binding. The doubled layer makes a much longer lasting binding and easier and faster to hem too, as there is no raw edge to turn in.

 I folded the binding over to the back and used a blind hemstitch to work the edge.

 All Done.

Here it is displayed on an antique double bed given to Max by our friends, Mary and George, when they moved.  I like the way they look together. 
Hope Max enjoys it for a long time.


***
Recently I was tagged by my friend Janice at Dancing with Sunflowers  to do a post on What I am working on and How do I create ... generally What is your creative process. Well since I am a very casual person, not formal at all,  I just go with the flow. I like to envision one art form translated into other mediums and try to understand and figure out how to accomplish it. I like the challenge of creating something from scratch.. and I do love functionality.  But being so informal I will use this post as my answer. Please visit my friend Janice, a very accomplished artist and needleworker and much more.

All for now from the Desideratum Art Studio up on the bluff in St. Martins, NB.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Early Fall Morning on the Bluff in St. Martins, NB






Natures layers of texture and soft color

We let the surrounding field grow this year for a change and now it has turned golden... it makes a beautiful contrast against the treeline.






 

The Mountain Ash along the driveway and the surrounding hedgerow borders,
 are laden with berries...We have always tried to encourage native plants and shrubs that feed the birds and wildlife...  and I love how the color brightens everything up.... soon the birds will find them. The Robins and Cedar Waxwings love them.

As I was wandering around in the warmth and calmness of the morning, taking pictures, Church bells began ringing. 
 It was Sunday... It was pretty special. 
I can see 3 Church steeples from up here, this is the closest one down on Main St.






 ...there are even a few bright red berries on the Holly bush this year.

Love these 3 Sisters...  They are Spruce Trees.
....might be almost time to carefully prune a couple of the trees in front of them so the view is better exposed.
 Blueberries and cranberries, in season, grow just below them to the right on the sandstone bluff... intermixed with low growing juniper.


If it seems I am obsessed with the view of Quaco Head jutting out into the bay... I am. 
In all weather conditions it is the highlight of my view... It never disappoints... 
 it shows what is happening with the mighty tides.... coming in, heading out, high tide, low tide..
 and the way the light changes on its surface as it moves from east to west.

I love the way the morning sun highlights the eastern exposure of the houses in the distance.

It feels cozy here in the hidden firepit when a fire is snap, crackle and popping.




White Flocks at the corner of the greenhouse.
The children's camp tucked into the trees.






 The Virginia Creeper changed from green to crimson without me even noticing.. 
How time sneaks up on a person.






The natural world  is taking a well deserved rest... a new season has settled in

 ... a lovely place to have our coffee and tea this morning. Fresh air, beautiful view and birds flitting back and forth, church bells ringing...
 we sat in wondrous contemplation...

The Rosa Rugosa is still treating us with blooms scattered here and there. such a hardy shrub... rarely needs tending.



 Fall has arrived and its only just begun.



Photographs taken by me, Gwen Buchanan, early Sunday morning, Sept. 28
from up on the Big Red Rock, St. Martins, New Brunswick.
Desideratum Art Studio.