Italian Adventures-Rome

Well we finally returned to the land of my ancestors and the land of my birth-Italy.  My sister had a milestone birthday this year and to celebrate, five of us left Canada and braved air travel to visit Italy (Rome, Sorrento and Amalfi Coast, and Venice).

Was it worth the hassle, the jet lag, the worry of missing a flight?  Yes, yes, yes!  We loved every minute of our adventure and we braced the travel with a sense of fun, wonder, and friendship.  Would I travel every year to a foreign land-no.  Would I travel to a foreign, or not so foreign land in a few years?  Yes, yes, yes!

Our adventure started in Rome, the eternal city, the showcase of Western civilization, the magnificent and the brutal all in one.  Is Rome chaotic, yes!  Is is beautiful and awesome, yes!  This was my first time on a Rick Steves' guided tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves to travel at a comfortable pace, rest in a cozy hotel, and seek companionship with fellow like-minded travellers.

Here are a few photos of one of the greatest European cities-Rome, land of the "dolce vita"  Rome is a cacophony of ancient empire, cats, traffic, and 3.4 million Romans all living and working surrounded by stupendous sights.  Highlights include the Colosseum, Roman Forum, St Peter's (seeing the pope), Borghese Gallery, Campo die Fiori, and the romantic Spanish steps.

Roman Forum where Caesar was murdered

The majesty and horror of the Colesseum, we could see it from the balcony of our hotel room as well!

Two thousand year old temple in the Roman forum

The iconic umbrella pines that say Roma

The Pantheon-beauty of symmetry

Pope Francis greeting his people

The magnificence of the Pantheon's ceiling

Campo dei Fiori (Fresh flowers in abundance Monday through Friday)

Enchanting fountain in Roman neighbourhood

Inside St. Peter's, the Pieta by Michelangelo

Bernini's sculpture inside Borghese Gallery

Details, can you believe this is marble?

At the top of Victor Emmanuel monument

The view of the eternal city from the top of the monument

 We enjoyed our week in Rome immensely.  We loved the sights, the "beautiful chaos", the people watching and did I mention the food!  Next, on to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast!

Owls

Sorry that I have not posted in a while but I was on vacation in Toronto visiting family and friends.  I had a great time but now I am back and ready to create.

I have loved owls for many years now.  There are over 200 species of owls that live in almost all regions of the Earth.  Throughout history owls have featured significantly in mythology and folklore.  Owls have been both revered and feared in many civilizations from ancient to recent times.  In ancient Greece, owls were often seen as a sign of good fortune and that is how I view them.  

About a year ago, my sister gave me an owl purse that was made in Thailand.  I wanted to make a pattern and create my own version of such a purse.  I think they turned out great.  This first one I made for my sister and brought it to Toronto to give it to her.  She loves the colour blue so that is what I used for her purse:

This is a "sac" purse with a drawstring closing and cloth handles 

Back of purse showing tail feather (with back zipper)

Of course, I could not stop at just one purse so I made a version in hunter greens and another in pastel colours.  I plan to sell them during my studio tour (Sep 27/28).

Pastel version (eyes are in felt)

Back of purse showing tail feather detail

Hunter green version

Back of purse with attached owl keychain detail.

Tales of Beatrix Potter

I have just finished the Cheswick Company Beatrix Potter ornament series.  I love the designs but they had no "Mrs. Tittlemouse", so I designed my own.

Growing up I loved to read these stories and I loved the illustrations in the wee books.

Meet my Mrs. Tittlemouse: (about 5" tall) she carries her basket and a cedar branch and has real brown glass eyes:

Next is Mr. Todd, the plant loving fox:

Let us not forget the wee tailor of Glouchester who sits on a wooden spool:

Here is Tom Kitten (6" tall) with his straw hat and wee flowers:

Of course there is Benjamin Bunny:

Here is the obscure Squirrel Nutkin with his bushy tail and acorn:

Who could forget Jeremy Fisher, so dashing with his top hat:

The last two characters to make an appearance are Jamima Puddleduck and happy, go lucky  Pigling Bland (my favourite):

It was great fun seeing these characters come to life.  I used wool felt and mohair (Kitten and Duck).  Most of the arms and legs were pipe cleaners wrapped with floral tape and painted.  I will make a few more for sure!

Crazy Quilting

I love crazy quilting!  I have not done any pieces in many, many years but recently I went back to this love thanks to a former client of mine who purchased a crazy quilted stocking from me back in the early 90's!

First of all, I should define "crazy quilting".  I do not mean that quilters are crazy (though some may be) rather it is "a method of laying down bits and pieces of fabric in a haphazard fashion and sewing or appliquéing them to a whole cloth"  (Webser's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary).  Those of you that know me at all, will realize that this type of quilting is right up my alley!  Once the whole cloth is covered then the fun begins as each seam is encrusted with decorative details and a combination of embroidery, crocheting, tatting, and beading.

Now back to my story of how I returned to crazy quilting :  well the former client tracked me down accidentally while attending a "Figurative art" show at the Coast Collective gallery back in October of 2013.  She talked to me and recognized my dolls in this show and asked if I had made crazy quilted Christmas stockings years ago.  I said that I did indeed make them years ago and you could see her face lit up!  She had purchased one of these Christmas stockings and still had it and treasured it year after year.  She told me that she had always regretting not purchasing another one and asked if I could make one for her for Christmas 2014.  I was reluctant at first as I did not even keep one as an example and had not taken any photos of the finished stocking.  She assured me that she would send me photos if only I would agree to make her another one.  I agreed and I am happy to say that it is done and I love it.  I hope she loves it as well.

I will show you the original stockings that I made back in the early 90's:  the first one is the one I made for my sister

Now the one I had sold:

 I used a lot of my tatted and crocheted pieces on this stocking (the toe)

This is the other side of the same stocking.

My former client was very good at sending me close-ups of the various sections of stocking:

I loved embroidering the trees and I loved making the pansies in crochet.

Here you can see the silk ribbon embroidering as well.

Wow, after looking at the stockings closely (in the pictures above), I realized that I had a lot of fun but it did take a lot of work!

The books I have in my library that are must haves for crazy quilting are as follows:

-The Crazy Quilt Handbook (by Judith Baker Montano)
-Elegant Stitches (by Judith Baker Montano)

A couple of new books that I purchased this year were also very useful when I was stuck on what to do for the next seam:

-Foolproof Crazy Quilting (by Jennifer Clouston)
-Crazy Quilting, the Complete Guide (by J. Marsha Michler)

Additionally, a web-site that I found that was great for tutorials on embroidery stitches is: http://www.needlenthread.com

Now on to the new creation for my client:  I decided to make the top with yellow/gold crocheted edging as her original is in burgundy:

Side one of the stocking

Side two of the stocking

Here are additional photos of the various areas up close:

I did some trees again!

This is the top ribbons (at the edge) with the loop to hang the stocking.

 Here is the other side of the stocking up close:

Well, I will put my crazy quilting aside for now and start on more ornaments for Christmas sales!