Working in the Studio - Early 2016

Lots of happy creativity happening in the studio...  concentrated work... lots of mess... 

Long "Winter" earrings.

 combining Moostone, Mother of Pearl, Czech Crystal, Carved Bone Ankh, Fresh Water Pearl, Sterling Silver... 

Love creating these long multi-stone earrings. and in the process I can give them lots of movement. 

The background is a floral watercolour I did in my sketchbook. one of those paintings that you're not sure about so you go away and leave it for a few days and when you come back with fresh eyes, you see something new and then I'm so glad I left it alone..

another view of "Winter" 

 Amethyst, Labradorite, Peridot, Citrine, African Sandcast , large Fresh Water Pearl, Moonstone and Sterling Silver ... long with lots of movement. Handmade at Desideratum. One of a Kind $50.

 "Be the Slave to Your Heart". Solid Sterling Silver Heart pendant... textured and shaped by hand at our Desideratum Art and Jewelry studio. 1 1/4" wide x 1 1/4" long, hung on braided cotton cord. $100. ...contact if interested on any work you might like to have in your little hands

3 shots of the fused Heart necklace.

Here it is displayed on a painting created by my partner John Ackerson. 

I absolutely love this work. so sensitive... 

It is for sale and I will be sad to see it go when it sells.

 Love this amazing texture.

 ... a few pairs of Curling stone earrings are now available they are limited so if anyone is interested in these I have 12 pr. left  ... **Update:Sold Out**

...making the steam that will be fused to the little coffee and tea cups as illustrated in the background.

 ...beginning the fusing phase of the Dragonfly earrings.  There is John over at the other desk cutting out pieces for the next design.  

Just a little note: John also built that arched doorway leading to the next room with the arched windowseat.  

If I could draw it he would make it.  as it went with most things he built everything here.

The Book and The Cat... pic taken on the yellowed pages of a great big 1965 Websters Dictionary found at a second hand store

Cats love a snuggly lap when the owner of the lap finally settles down with their book.

Been a busy last few weeks and we feel pretty good about the designs we have been able to get stocked up on.  Perfect time of year to have a work fest!!

Cheers and happy days to you!

Finishing the Carnival Quilt and Back to Making Jewelry

Love close ups of  fabric showing its warp and weft... and texture...and varying colors of white and off white.  Love the little dimples the stitches make.

I used Gutterman 100% cotton black Quilting thread.. 2 full spools of 220 yds. Beautiful strong thread to work with... hardly ever tangled.

I was really happy about that little narrow 1/4" strip that runs all around in the middle of the border... such a small fabric slice makes such a difference.

The tools of the trade... pretty simple.

There were 7 rows of 7 blocks.. I kept winding it forward on one side and backward on the other side as my quilting frames were just a bit too small for it to be all wound out at once.

On the home run now and later that day I had it out of the frames. Good thing cause I had a bit of catching up on a few other things.. The thing is when I get myself into a project, I really hate to leave it till I'm done. I am always anxious to see how it will turn out.  I did get used to the brightness of it from spending so much time with it and it grew on me... and I was glad I kept pushing forward with each stage.

Had to pause from the quilting to work on some jewelry.

Lots of stones, Crystals, Jasper, Fresh Water Pearls... would up and ready for dangles on some designs in our Earth Collection.

They are all strung on a wire so they stay in order and don't get all messed up in the storage drawer.

A Girl and her Flower Garden design

Back to the quilt..  All the binding strips have been cut and stitched together, then folded and pressed double.

 I did that on my last quilt and I really liked the density of it and figure it will wear a good long time. I'm sure it will outlast me.

Working on the back side and hand-hemming the double thickness binding in place.  I am happy that I used the black quilting thread and how the stitching shows up on the pale gold patterned back. 

 I wasn't sure how it would look, as I never quilted any of my quilts with black before.. but I would do it again if the colors worked for it. 

It is easier to see the design here that runs all around the border of the quilt. It represents the waves along the Fundy shore ...  a connection to our landscape. 

I want to remember that it was made here.

Well here she is. Resting on the spare bed.  The quilt is fairly large, probably would fit on a queen size bed nicely but it is here draping down the sides of a 3/4.  

I think it looks best in a very spare room where there is nothing to clash with it... cause it wants to take over any room its in.

It will be a while before I can put all my effort into the next quilt... as making new designs and "building up jewelry stock" season is here. 

Cheers for now.
ps. That is John's painting above the bed... his interpretation of the recognizable "Hands",  of Adam and God from the Sistine Chapel.

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..

Part 1: Piecing the Wild Goose Chase Quilt Top

Part 2:  Putting the Wild Goose Chase Quilt in the Frame and Quilting 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.

The Girl From The Fog

completed about a month ago... lots of planning before that though... 

preparing the structure for the painting

Measures 8' x 10 '...  

Yes she's a big girl... 

 

John on his mission

 

 ...another little, side-line paint job.. 

These are the little wooden curves we built to go over the top of each window in the front doors...

...to give a lovely arched window effect...
...we used a few pieces of beautiful reclaimed 1/2 round moldings....

Journey with the Stone Wall

                                                                                                                                                          an update...

Looking down the finished staircase at the very back of the small north sideyard 

..but before this happened......  much manual labor...

*warning*...  it is rather long.... with lots of pictures because I  love stone... and the process of creating... ...they click to enlarge..

 They previously resided in the backyard of a large, to-be demolished very old structure in the center of the village about a km. away.  Well... we simply hate to see durable, natural materials go to waste and the owner agreed to us carting them off... so the journey for these stones began a new life.

The weight of the stones dictated that John could move only a small number of them in each trailer load, so as not to break it, as we had done one other time in our excitement to bring something home that was being thrown away... 

Trip after trip, he made... up and down the street, till he had lugged enough back to do the job.

...then figuring out the staircase ...digging and manipulating...

an exercise in which rock goes where first... 

 

...shovels full of gravel behind them for extra drainage...

 

..initial shaping and placing .............   and with the rock borders

 

I like it... no...   really... I love it!!! ... it's fun.

the stone steps are about 2' wide,

but it's the staircase to nowhere just yet... 

...finished and looking out towards the road...

 and back again... we plan on shaping the soil above the wall next spring...

this side is about done...

 

Then....  across the back and around the bend...

 

curving up to the left side corner of the deck...

... a  just right size deck...  

and curving down again...

 

Time to put these tools away.

This is how it began

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