Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[freedombecki]

Yes, they were consecutive for several years in a row, maybe 10 or so.

Join them with your favorite or a favorite color! The quilt is novel and will be a collector's jewel someday, and you will be named Protector of Womens' Homemaking Traditions at some future time. You could make it more valuable by embroidering little microscopic medical things in the sashes or something. Or garden seeds. Or blossoms. Or yellow butterflies...

OH my! Now I have to look for them. I really hope I didn't get rid of them.

I hope so, too, Sunshine. Prayers up for all issues, peace, comfort, loving friends and family, and prosperity. <hugs>

 

[freedombecki]

Today's progress was small, but at least a lot of the square is now done. The rabbit isn't embroidered yet, and I was falling asleep over doing the tan on the wood block. Even so, a lot of the flowers and greenery got done. It's the last block that the previous owner of the blocks started, and only had two flowers done in pink at the top. Nothing else was done, so there was a whole lot to do! Will try and finish it tomorrow or the next day.

Hope everyone had a great day and have a better one tomorrow.

May love and joy abide in your spirits!

Here's my small bit of progress (and it's not much, btw).

 

[koshergrl]

I haven't spread it out yet, but as far as I can tell, it's along these lines:

 

[freedombecki]

Totally fabulous, koshergrl.

 

[freedombecki]

And one more...

I just looked at some sulphurs on line and added the yellow butterfly for our dear friend @Sunshine.

I liked the way this one was sitting on a plant:

But I liked the brightness of this "Cloudless Sulphur" one:

 

[Bloodrock44]

And one more...

I just looked at some sulphurs on line and added the yellow butterfly for our dear friend @Sunshine.

I liked the way this one was sitting on a plant:

But I liked the brightness of this "Cloudless Sulphur" one:

Wow. Some cool butterflies. Do you have Butterfly Bushes where you live? I have two of them and they draw some beautiful butterflies. It's cool to go out in the morning and see 20 to 30 butterflies fluttering around each one. Nature has a way.

 

[Sunshine]

And one more...

I just looked at some sulphurs on line and added the yellow butterfly for our dear friend @Sunshine.

I liked the way this one was sitting on a plant:

But I liked the brightness of this "Cloudless Sulphur" one:

Wow. Some cool butterflies. Do you have Butterfly Bushes where you live? I have two of them and they draw some beautiful butterflies. It's cool to go out in the morning and see 20 to 30 butterflies fluttering around each one. Nature has a way.

Yes, they are around and there is a butterfly weed as well. A lot of people dig it up off the side of the road and grow it in their yards.

 

[freedombecki]

And one more...

I just looked at some sulphurs on line and added the yellow butterfly for our dear friend @Sunshine.

I liked the way this one was sitting on a plant:

But I liked the brightness of this "Cloudless Sulphur" one:

Wow. Some cool butterflies. Do you have Butterfly Bushes where you live? I have two of them and they draw some beautiful butterflies. It's cool to go out in the morning and see 20 to 30 butterflies fluttering around each one. Nature has a way.

That's wonderful, Bloodrock. There's some kind of weed that is a host plant for the most beautiful caterpillars, so I never cut it down by the back door, for it hosts some really beautiful caterpillars, though I don't know what specie--maybe swallowtails? There's another growing in an area in the back 10 acres 40 feet in from the fence, but I haven't checked it for caterpillars lately. I grew up in the city of Houston, and visited relatives in the country. Guess somehow I got the idea country living was the thing to do. Wrong!

I prolly have the worst-run farm in Walker County, because the wild birds own it, and what they say goes, which is kind of the law of the jungle--the great white egrets are undauntedly the boss when they are around. Other birds do not speak to them unless spoken to, including a pack of 5 flamingos that alighted here a couple of years back. Their 3 days here was too much for the pair of great egrets, and it was comical to see them elegantly peck their targets to the point of leaving. Five of them couldn't stand up to two great egrets, one of whom did nothing but preen the entire time the other one did the pecking. They may look like lace, but they have a way of capsulizing an inner strength if any other bird annoys them. The funny part was, the flamingos actually held council after being pecked good. It took them about 2 hours after their chastisement to decide to leave, and they never came back. They do best in flocks of no less than 200, and our 2.5 acre man-made lake would not support them since they'd clean out the fish in a couple of days, likely. They may have been a scouting team for a larger flock. I just don't have country smarts to know the ways of big birds, but the two most elegant egrets won their engagement in determining pecking order of large-bird ownership. There is a reward, though. I have the distinctive pleasure of watching the egrets preen all day for at least half the year, as the computer sits in my little upstairs window that has as good a view as any blind.

[ame="http://youtu.be/8BhGOZcGc6Y"]Great Egret Flying - YouTube[/ame]​

Notice the dark legs of the great egret as he flies away. That's one of the best ways to distinguish the egret from his cousin, the great white heron morph of great blue herons, which has a glint of yellow in its legs, often mixed with a little gray. Both species are shy of humans, and it's not often you see them up close unless you have the animal magnetism of someone like Spoonman, who occasionally visits the Wild Pecker's ornithology thread at USMB "Hobbies" "Outdoors" thread grouping.​

Notice the yellow legs of the Great White Heron:​

Edit: I'm going over to the Outdoors boards where I am posting BTO's excellent tube video of egret identification.​

 

[freedombecki]

Today, my patchwork contribution is something furnished by Bing's! daily beautiful picture. It showed a tile walk painted by the artists who participate in the Spanish Village Art project in San Diego, CA's Balboa Park:

(And if you go to Bing , you can right click it and put it on your Desktop.) I think it's fun to change desktops about 3 times a week!

​

 

[BDBoop]

I have to look up mosaic kids. I made one when I was a kid, I enjoyed working on it.

This isn't the same concept at all, but apparently the kits they made when I was a kid lo these many decades ago no longer exist.

How to Make a Mosaic Picture With HobbyWare PixelHobby Art Kits

 

[Sunshine]

Beckums, I found the tablecloth my grandmother crocheted. It has turned a bit yellow. I don't want to bleach it. But I would like to make it a bit whiter. Do you have any suggestion on how to whiten something that old. It is older than me. Which is pretty damn old.

I'm not afraid to put it in my washer because I have a front loader. Can wash the most delicate things with no worry.


BTW, my yellow butterfly came back today, but my camera was in the car! Sheesh.

 

[Sunshine]

Here is crocheted tablecloth mentioned in previous post. I spread it out on the hardwood so there would be some contrast.

I don't know if a work like this is worth anything. As stated it is a little yellow, likely from gas heat over the years. There is one tiny stain on it that I'm sure I could get using some bleach on a Q tip. Otherwise, it is in mint condition. She used it on a 48 inch round table.

 

[Sunshine]

I also have a spin on where the quilt the other granny made that puts me in mind of the Hawaiian quilts. It is in view but not reachable right now.

I am cleaning out closets, so will be able to photograph it in a few days. I have to get some stuff out of my BR before I try to paint it. Assuming the doctor lets me do that! LOL.

I have another bag of stuff to go to the consignment store, purses, shoes, etc. etc. But my BR closet is good now. The quilt is in the spare BR closet.

 

[freedombecki]

I have to look up mosaic kids. I made one when I was a kid, I enjoyed working on it.

This isn't the same concept at all, but apparently the kits they made when I was a kid lo these many decades ago no longer exist.

How to Make a Mosaic Picture With HobbyWare PixelHobby Art Kits

That's beautiful, BDB! We have a similar software on our computer sewing machines for Pfaff back when. You just scanned your picture in, chose the # of colors of thread you wanted, pressed a button, and voila! It made a picture. Sometimes you had to increase the # of colors to make it truly right, but you could also do less if you had fewer threads. There's nothing like the human touch though, to decide what to do. The raccoon pictured at your link was fab. I had to limit media in my artwork due to my many allergies, so turpentine anything and a lot of dyes were out. Dry fabric has never caused any rashes, so I stayed with quilting, embroidery, and cotton crochet arts.

It's getting a media that's right that can light your fire in the art world.

 

[freedombecki]

Here is crocheted tablecloth mentioned in previous post. I spread it out on the hardwood so there would be some contrast.

I don't know if a work like this is worth anything. As stated it is a little yellow, likely from gas heat over the years. There is one tiny stain on it that I'm sure I could get using some bleach on a Q tip. Otherwise, it is in mint condition. She used it on a 48 inch round table.

Wow, Sunshine. I see two years of a woman's spare time in that tablecloth. It's alive!

 

[Sunshine]

Here is crocheted tablecloth mentioned in previous post. I spread it out on the hardwood so there would be some contrast.

I don't know if a work like this is worth anything. As stated it is a little yellow, likely from gas heat over the years. There is one tiny stain on it that I'm sure I could get using some bleach on a Q tip. Otherwise, it is in mint condition. She used it on a 48 inch round table.

Wow, Sunshine. I see two years of a woman's spare time in that tablecloth. It's alive!

In the days of no TV, I'm guessing it took a lot less time than that. She could whip something up faster than anyone I ever saw.

 

[koshergrl]

Beckums, I found the tablecloth my grandmother crocheted. It has turned a bit yellow. I don't want to bleach it. But I would like to make it a bit whiter. Do you have any suggestion on how to whiten something that old. It is older than me. Which is pretty damn old.

I'm not afraid to put it in my washer because I have a front loader. Can wash the most delicate things with no worry.


BTW, my yellow butterfly came back today, but my camera was in the car! Sheesh.

Lay it out in the sun, that's the way people used to bleach things in the old days.

Probably will have to wait until summer to do it.

 

[koshergrl]

And one more...

I just looked at some sulphurs on line and added the yellow butterfly for our dear friend @Sunshine.

I liked the way this one was sitting on a plant:

But I liked the brightness of this "Cloudless Sulphur" one:

Your little butterfly is on clover.

Precious.

 

[freedombecki]

Beckums, I found the tablecloth my grandmother crocheted. It has turned a bit yellow. I don't want to bleach it. But I would like to make it a bit whiter. Do you have any suggestion on how to whiten something that old. It is older than me. Which is pretty damn old.

I'm not afraid to put it in my washer because I have a front loader. Can wash the most delicate things with no worry.


BTW, my yellow butterfly came back today, but my camera was in the car! Sheesh.

Butterflies are like that. They are momentary visitors, and that's all you get.

We used to sell a kit that had 4 of the major different types of stains, but I think they quit making it after a while. There may be an advanced type of stain remover, Tide makes a stick rub-on and has a general stain remover that I don't like in one of its products showing a dark orange and dark blue liquid sealed away from concentrated detergent. My husband's white towels come out dingy when I use the product, and I don't know if it's them or the well. Sometimes the water looks a little cloudy lately. We've had an awful lot of rain.

I've been happy with soaking things in Oxy Clean, but after a while in our washroom, it caked, then turned so hard it's like a brick, so I have to chip it away with an ice pick and pour really hot water over it to get it to a smooth consistency. When I get it there, it whitens very well. Just sayin'. I don't know how I missed that earlier. I'm worried I will lose my doctor, and she's the best there is. Oh, well, nothing you can do about stuff that hasn't happened. Silly me.

 

[freedombecki]

And one more...

I just looked at some sulphurs on line and added the yellow butterfly for our dear friend @Sunshine.

I liked the way this one was sitting on a plant:

But I liked the brightness of this "Cloudless Sulphur" one:

Your little butterfly is on clover.

Precious.

So that's what that was. Thanks, koshergrl. My mother braided my hair with clover when I was 8 years old. mmm Smelled good.

About 2 years ago, I was out in the northwest pasture, was admiring little spring flowers (and little they are), when I noticed they had teeny weeny little yellow butterflies like sulphurs, looked them up, and yes, Texas does have something very small and precious on the prairie floor--miniature sulphurs. They're about as big as my thumbnail from tip to tip of their wings or the width of a man's fingernail on his forefinger.

Even tiny flowers need tiny pollinators, and do we ever have the tiny flowers often hidden in the grass, ignored on account of their size, but often very fragrant as they blanket a few square yards in the grass, quite unnoticed otherwise.