Birds and bees and trees

The most wonderful videos have been appearing at Jude's, and I couldn't resist trying out the holiday trees as little bookmarks for menfolk...here are the beginnings:

Over the weekend, I took a needle-felting class with Kate Weese and made a 3-D bee:

and then a little flat bee, just to see if that would work for a plan that's cooking:

Bee News!

On page 29 of Quilting Arts Magazine, (August/September) in a wonderful article by Jude Hill, called "Weaving a Cloth Base", my tiny embroidered bee makes an appearance!   I feel very honored, grateful and delighted.  I'm a great admirer of Jude's work and have been studying her techniques in her online classes; she has a unique and warm vision, and was so kind and encouraging to each one of us.  Words are inadequate...

Gifts

Yesterday I finished this very small hanging for a friend.  There is a little bit of fabric weaving in the center...the border is strips from my grandmother's shawl and the hanger is made from braided bits of the same shawl.  The body of it is made from silk batting.  See the bee?

Saturday was an amazing day.  I went to the quilters' drop-in and on the way passed a little garage sale where I found this rug.  It's about 6 feet long.  Evidently a family member brought it back from Turkey, but the people decided not to keep it because of a few holes and so they were selling it for $10.  I asked them if they were totally sure of that price and they were, so I am very grateful.  Doesn't that look like a lighthouse on the top?

Then, on the way home, I bought this silk hanky in an antique store. After I finish admiring it, I may chop it up for inclusion in another cloth.

I've also started making cloth in Jude's workshop and I'll put up pictures of my experiments soon.  She is a wonderful teacher; the techniques and the results are very satisfying.

Bye Bye Black Heart

Here she is again.  I think this is all.  The colors are a little better without the flash I think.  Thank you everyone.  On this next one though, everything was the same but the pink faded out.  Tomorrow I'm going to the camera store, ask some questions.

 Someone who was mad at me once said I had a black heart.  It plagued me for a long time and then I felt grateful for the image.  This sheer cloth is covered with little sprouts or maybe it's been walked all over by bird feet. Chickens, I think.

 The latest on the home cloth.  I've been busy bee-ing.

I hope everyone everywhere is having either a little bit of spring or the loveliness of approaching fall. What a round world it is.  May there be respite from the quaking.  My heart goes out to those who have been enduring too much.