Beaded Autumn Leaves

Here is another recently completed project:

Beaded Autumn Leaves

It is a small project, about 8" x 10". It started out as an experiment with oil paint sticks and a few leaf templates. I placed the leaf templates on an orange, mottled fabric and traced or filled in around the shapes with oil paint stick. Then I sandwiched it and stitched through the three layers.















The leaf shapes were in my "projects to be completed in the future" bag for a long time. Last year I decided they needed some beading to jazz them up a bit. I beaded along the leaf veins.

 Then I stitched yarn around the edge and framed the piece.



It is now completed and ready to be displayed next fall!

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Yellow and Green Beaded Bird

  I thought I'd show a couple of progress photos for the making of this beaded bird. The bird is about 6 inches long and 3 inches wide. I made a pattern for the bird through the time honored process of trial and error. I wanted a bird that had a wide body so it had some presence and stability. I also didn't want it to be too big overall because that would mean more beading. I didn't want to get bored with it before I finished it. I can always enlarge the pattern if I want to go larger. I made a few different bird patterns trying to make them resemble different kinds of birds. I don't know how effective I was. They tend to look pretty similar after they are done.





  I used wool fabric for the body. It is easy to hand stitch in to, and it doesn't show any indentations from the stitches taken in it. It is also strong enough to support the beads. I cut the bird body parts out and hand sew them with a whip stitch. The seam is on the outside. I leave the back seam open for filling.



  Here you can see the opening on the back. I put a sack filled with walnut shells in the bottom of the bird to give it some weight and stability. Then I stuff it with fiber fill or left over batting pieces. I stuff it tightly, using the wooden end of a paint brush to push the filling into the beak and tail. After I have it filled completely I hand stitch the opening closed.  Next comes the beading.



  This is my beading box. I put it on my lap or a table and even if I am clumsy the beads stay in the box. It is the top of an Apple computer box. It has a black fabric in the inside of the lid which provides a nice non-rolling surface for beading.

       I keep beads, scissors, needles, thread, a thimble, and bead scooper in the box, along with my bead hoop. The bead hoop has a spongy fabric in it that holds the beads and makes them easy to pick up.

I don't know what the design will be when I start the beading on a bird. I just figure it out as I go along.  Here are some detail pictures:




I put a flower on the cheek. The dark around the eye is a small piece of ultra-suede fabric.




I always like to put a heart button on the chest of my birds. I think that's all I have to say today about this bird. Thanks for visiting my blog!

An Abstract Wall Hanging - "Watershed Moment"

I nearly always do representational work, but on a rare occasion I complete something abstract. This piece is an abstract interpretation of an aerial view of  a water drainage system.  I hand painted the fabric a few years ago and liked the design. I didn't want to cut it up, but I also didn't know what to do with it.  Finally I stared at it enough that I realized it reminded me of the aerial photographs of water drainage through mountains that I used to look at when I worked as an environmental professional.

I enhanced the design with oil paint sticks, and added beads to represent boulders.

I think this is my favorite detail:

It's good to break away from your comfort zone and try something new. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Splash!

Here are photos of a little fiber art project I recently completed. I had some machine quilted sections that were cut off of another project that I liked. I decided to cut circles out of this section and stitch beads on them to look like splashing water. The circles were mounted on small canvas squares. I painted the canvas squares black, and then connected them to each other on the backside. This allows me to stand them up together at different angles. I put some buttons on the backside to add some additional interest when you look at this piece from various angles.

Here are some more photos:

 

backside

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A couple more thoughts on beading....

I thought I would show my beading box. You see it below. It is a MacBook Air box.



The top of the box is lined with a black foam material, which makes a nice backdrop for beading, and it prevents things from sliding all over. It also contains the beads that inevitably escape the hoop (more about this below). I use the entire box to store a beading project, but when I am sewing beads on, I transfer what I need to the lid and away I go.

The embroidery hoop has a batting like fabric stretched on it and it sits in the lid as you see here. The beads I am working with are put in the hoop. The triangular metal plate is used to scoop and move the beads around.

I use beading thread that blends with either the bead or the background fabric. I choose the color that I think is least likely to be seen. The plastic baggies hold the large volume of beads that I am using. I scoop a few out at a time and put them in the hoop.

I also have scissors to cut the thread, a needle threader, a thimble to push the needle through the fabric, and tweezers. I use the tweezers to remove threads if I change my mind about how I have sewn on beads. The needle I use can't be seen here, but I like a long, straw needle for beading. Longer needles are easier to hold on to. I have chronic tendonitis in my wrist and it is easier on the wrist to hold on to a longer needle.

I can sit with this on my lap, watch TV with the hubby, and stitch beads on to my hearts delight. I transfer all these contents to the box bottom when I'm done, and put the lid on. It's a nice system for me.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

My Cup Ranneth All Over The Patio - finishing touches

The finishing touches for this piece include beading and binding. I wanted to use beads to depict the bird seed that is overflowing the cup, running all over the patio, and feeding the doves.

Here you see the top with beads laid out in their intended locations. It took a little bit of moving them around, but that is what I wanted. I put some marks on the top to remind my self of what I had in mind, because as soon as you pick the piece up to sew a bead down, they all roll off.

So the next step is the stitching and that's what I did.Here are some close ups showing the beads stitched down.

To finish the edge I used a satin stitch with thread the color of the dark areas on the doves. Here it is with the satin stitching on the edge.

And that's it for the posts for this piece! Thanks for visiting my blog!

Beading workshop photos

Cynthia Catlin giving some instruction

Here are some photographs from the beading workshop that Cynthia Catlin and I did at the Cerritos library. We both enjoyed the workshop and thought it was a success. We had good attendance and the opportunity to teach some techniques and give some examples of how to use beads on your fiber art pieces. Hopefully we will be able to do this again sometime!

Eileen Wintemute doing a demonstration



Beading Workshop

I am excited to tell you that I will be teaching a beading workshop with Cynthia Catlin tomorrow at the Cerritos Library. It will be from 1 - 4 pm.

I will show how to do various beading application and give tips to make your beading experience better. I know its late notice, but if you are in the area, stop by. The library is located at 18025 Bloomfield Ave, in Cerritos.

While you are there you can also see the Quilts on the Wall "Gates" Special Exhibit.

Beading Tip

There are several beads in this photo just below the pink flower petal. Can you see them? They are white and clear, so it's a little tough to make them out in the photo, but they are there, and they add just a touch of interesting detail when you look at the quilt up close.

One thing I like to do to secure beading on an art quilt is to put some thread knot glue at the base of the beading. It makes it less prone to movement, and I think secures the beads a little better. This is particularly important for pieces that will travel.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever you are! Here are a couple of shots of a Thanksgiving pillow I made a couple of years ago. I used a lot of beading on this one!

Cool Blue Vase No. 2

Here is the second "Cool Blue Vase" with the quilting done and beads added to the stems. The beads really help a lot when you see it in person.

I quilted a picture on the wall in the background, along with a swirling pattern on the wall.