Monday, August 6, 2012

Time Travel Is Possible

You've visited my blog before?  then you know.  You've already traveled through time and space.  Strap yourselves in because here we go again.......

That's right!  Step right up ladies and gentlemen.  Don't be afraid of what you're about to see...
you've seen my previous work before.  It may be hideous, it might be gruesome.....it might even be impossible to comprehend........but for you folks brave enough to chance it........come on in.........see what I was working on a mere decade ago.........








Teaching Brazilian Style Embroidery classes.  Woohoo!.
3-D roses are my fav of the Brazilian stitches.







If you don't already know, this is ruching.  A fancy name for gathering fabric into peaks and folds and hills and valleys.  Like foldforming but instead of making metal resemble fabric, you're making fabric resemble, well, fabric, I guess....with peaks and folds and.....you get the idea.  It's cool whatever it is.  So this is grey velvet ruching attached to an antique beaded purse frame which was gifted to me nearly 20 years ago.

I gotta tell you guys, I'm attempting to write this post with my only internet connection being the hotspot on my phone which is remarkably slooooooowwww.  I would insert a pic of a sloth here to emphasize my point, but I actually can't upload any photos, not a one.  (and just so you know,  I have 419 edited photos for this blog) So I'm typing up all my text, then will attempt to insert photos into the correct spots later on, when and if I can find an actual connection to a real live 2012 style mediocre fast internet connection.  The connection seems to last for about 5 minutes then it fails and doesn't want to reconnect.  Sigh.  It's taking about 15 minutes to load 1-2 pictures  after not being able to load any for a couple of hours.  So this post might actually take me days to get posted.  Petra and Melinda, now I fully understand.  So much time travel happening here.  I feel like I'm back in the olden days before Al Gore invented the internet or something.






These are different Brazilian Style Embroidery Stitches.  You can see that they're different because they don't look the same.  I like to point out things like that to be helpful.

What?  You're not enjoying this pictureless blog?  Here let me do a better job describing things for you then.....
 it would be kind of funny if I posted this without any of the pics, eh?  Or not.
 As it stands, you'll get about half of the pictures I wanted to share with you.  Oh well.  Quicker for you to get through, right?  Always a positive side to any mess. 

Last time we took a space flight you saw some of my ribbonwork pins. Well howsabout another sample from a class? Yes, you too could have learned to make each and every one of these flowers............





Fuschias,  5 petaled flowers, boat shaped leaves with ombre ribbon.  I had a nice little kit all made up for the students and a great big board with step by step samples attached for the visual learners.

ya know, just to give you some laughs, I don't think I'm even going to edit this after I upload the pics.   hahahahaha.  Let the quips fall where they may.  As there's twice the captions as pictures.  Sheesh.

What did you say?  You don't want to time travel?  You got on the wrong ship then my friend.  Cuz there is absolutely nothing current to show you this week.  Nada.  Nyet.  Nuttin.  Not-a-thing. 

These were from my 'purse making period"  similar to the "blue" period or the "red" period of artists you may be more familiar with.  Only these aren't great works of art.  Or any kind of art for that matter.  They are nontheless, from my "purse" period. 






Front and back view of gator girl tote




Vinylized paper stitched into a tote.
and another one..... what? you didn't know you could vinylize paper then stitch it? 
Why, of course you can! 
That knowledge alone makes this trip worth the price of admission, eh?







This is called the "Mona Lona".  
 Cuz I have a friend named Lona and all things Mona have become Mona Lona. 
 Yeah, I know, it makes no sense to you guys.  But it's a "thing". 
 Just humor me and go with it, allright?
Anyway, this is BIG.
A weekender bag.
A computer printed pic of the mysterious miss.
With pockets inside for your necessities.
And a place to attach your keys and
good stuff like that. 





This is called "How to get a husband" for obvious reasons.  An Amy Butler pattern used for this one rather than me just cutting up fabric and going for it.  You can tell that by the superior shape, eh?







A flamingo purse that was too wrinkled to show you the whole thing.
Now please keep in mind that most of these things have been shoved in my sample bin for the last 10 years or so.  No, I didn't feel like ironing them all spiffy for you before taking the pics.  Maybe I will, next time I photograph things that have been shoved in a box, bin or tub for a extended periods of time.  Speaking of things shoved in a box, maybe I'll blog my un-packing.  That's a thrilling thought for you, now isn't it?




That's the back, here's the front.....




This purse features a photo of the most adorable couple ever!  They are the great-grandparents of the uber-talented Z of Iron Hut Dezignz from a few posts back.  His wonderful mother shared a copy of this photo with me.  We both have one of these purses now.  Well, she might have tossed hers 9 years, 11 months and 29 days ago, but there were 2 of them at one time.  It's titled "She Smiles"  because the woman in the photo has an engaging and completely captivating smile. 






Cell phone and key pockets in the sleeves.
Again, what was I thinking?!

Once upon a time,
I also taught classes on how to make landscape quilts.  
 Here's a few of those........





Autumn.
Clever name, eh?




Deer in Autumn.




Scattered leaves which, of course, happens in Autumn......





And this is the African Rain Forest because one exists in my imagination just like this.  It's a collage not a landscape, though.   See, cuz there's stuff floating all over the place.  If it was a landscape it would look just like a realistic photograph.  You would have a hard time telling if it was real or not.  You know, like the deer.  And the dogs that you'll be seeing here in a minute.  Really real looking, right?





You know you want 100 different views of this one........





99 pics of this quilt on my blog....




98 pics of this quilt on my blog........
Take one down, pass it around.....





97 pics of this quilt on my blog........

if I could have set it to music, I would have for your viewing pleasure.  But you'll have to carry your own tune for now.   96 pics of this quilt on my blog..........oh wait, this is a different one.  They do not all look the same! 






This is the "Happy Dogs" landscape quilt. 
 No,  I never name anything by what it literally is. 
 Where's the fun in that?






What an idyllic wash day for someone, eh? 
Sun is shining.  Gentle breeze is blowing. 
Two happy dogs are chewing on your souvenir clothing from Hawaii.





Now don't they look just like ACTUAL dogs?  Huh?




 
These landscape quilts are a blast to make. 






 Here's a cottage on a hill. 
Because you couldn't tell by looking at it.
Remember, I'm giving you descriptions in case the pics won't load.
 I made this one into a pattern and still have some of the unsold ones around here somewhere. 
 Oooohhhh my next giveaway! hahahahahahahaha.   






Now shall we move onto some more fabric collage?.........Mixing it up so you don't get bored on this long journey through time and space.  Yawn...zzzzzzzzz





Under the sea



 
And now, a (W.I.P.) work-in-progress more accurately known
as a (W.I.P.I.) work-in-permanent-ignore.........










See how it goes from the depths of the sea up through the shore to the far reaches of the sky?    











and now back down to earth.......
here's some thread painting by machine, ribbonwork and stenciling on cloth........








and shedding a little light on the subject........






burnout velvet with vintage beadwork






There you have it.  What was happening fabric wise in my neck of the woods a few years back.  I'm hoping to have a nice spot to set up my sewing machines at the next place.  Can you believe it's bigger and messier than making jewelry?  For me, anyway.   I guess because I use 816 fabrics for each project.   Ok that might be a slight exaggeration. 798 fabrics, threads, ribbons, etc. etc. etc.



HOT DIGGETY DOG!

Patience finally paid off!  Well, that and keeping the blind slats nearly closed.  But I got it....the shot I was waiting for and hoping to show you.......







The morning dove.  All his siblings weren't lining the bandstands for this bath but you can see how much fun this little guy was having.............





and another mutant plant behavior........
I am going to continue thinking it's a mutant until 13 (Marcia) clues me in as to what is
 actually going on here, cuz she seems to know alot about unusual plant goings on.








one orange blossom in a sea of pinkish mums.
 And speaking of orange blossoms......
We've been orange-tree-sitting for about a year now. 
Hey guys, your tree is loaded with blossoms. 
I'm documenting the first oranges your tree produces
so you can 
enjoy them from afar. 





Next time, would you all like to see where the diorama thing came from? 
 You know you do.
Cuz there still won't be any current jewelry to share with you
unless pigs fly.
That could happen.

and so could this....
in fact, looks like it did......








Because I've been doing entirely too much of this........






 
Adios

Take care and enjoy














 


































10 comments:

  1. Your landscape quilts are gorgeous...

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  2. Sign me up for the landscape quilt pattern giveaway, your quilts are amazing! Have you ever seen the book the Quiltmaker's gift? It is a favorite of mine and E's. It never ceases to amaze me HOW many things you know how to do and excel at. You are ridiculously talented... that ribbonwork is so pretty. Ok snake man is frightening but I love bambi. I'm glad you are back <3

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  3. oh wow amazing post Janet!!! I love the brazilian embroidered roses and your quilts are so crazy! I agree sewing is more messy than jewelry making, it takes a lot more material and bits of threads are always hiding somewhere.

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  4. I love Happy Dogs! I had a scary moment yesterday when I realized I was kind of duster/caretaker to my stash of raw materials. Seriously, I love that Dog quilt!

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  5. What would inspire a man to shove snakes up his nose? Creepy big time. You make me want to dig out the scraps and have a go at a landscape. A very small landscape. They look fun. Especially like the lush Mona Lona and the thread painting with ribbons and stenciling and the happy dogs and... your sweet morning dove.

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  6. aww- you went thru a crazy bag lady phase! lol. i do love embroidery and ribbon work, must say. if there were a way to update it for my style... but that dog quilt is too redonk. looks like an idillic cottage scene and then there's the two goofy dogs with waaay vibrant human/caricature expressions to sort of silly-up the whole thing! i like to see all this-the roots of ppl's creativity. i started w/collage. and i love your birdies.
    but pipn- who *wouldnt* wanna stick a snake thru their face? and freak out some tourists? oh wait- i just realize they're going thru his throat. gak.

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  7. there must be like 15 or 16 Janets....cause no one person could do all this stuff...redonk u los.

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  8. Sometimes I forget how much your work has evolved, I am a much bigger fan of the jewelry, even if it is just because you let me come and raid your stash ;) But I have to agree with the comment above, there are so many things you are good at! XOXO

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  9. More quilts, less dolphins! That sounds like a terrible t shirt. But the embroidery? 2 thumbs-in thimbles- way up!

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  10. You managed all this with a phone and crappy connection??? I am now well and truly put to shame! Again.
    I'm right there with Flotsam - is there anything you don't know how to do??? Extraordinary woman!
    Your quilts are jaw-dropping - I've never seen anything like them. They look like you could spend years looking at them, and keep finding new bits that you'd missed. Those dogs are fabulous!!!
    I'm in awe - as always!
    Good luck getting home, sweetie pop.
    xoxoxoxo :O)

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