ART DECO ORNAMENT DOLL

I have just finished another of Arley Berryhill's dolls. This is the Art Deco Doll Ornament. She is very different from any doll I have ever made and I love that, as I am learning something new.

I took these pics before I put her necklace on, oh well never mind.

She looks a bit Arabian nights to me.

Don't forget to check the Coloratic Blog for the Christmas Wreath.

Harold the Opulent Renaissance Angel Finished

I have finally finished Harold, a Heraldic Angel, of the renaissance period; a pattern by  Arley Berryhill. I have totally enjoyed making this doll. I love all the glitz and bling and of course, the renaissance period is my favorite period.

The instructions were excellent and I was able to go step by step with each area and finish it with no problems. Once I finished dressing her, I started to bead and I find it hard to stop lol. I don't take great pics, she is much more opulent in person lol.

I used a piece of decorator trim with hanging beads for her headress and worked it into a tiarra point at the top of her head, so the beads would fall into her face, I sewed another piece behind that so those beads would fall down over her turban in the back.

The criss-cross gold braid (popular in that period), were beaded heavely with gold foiled line beads, the sleeves were also beaded on top of the trims.

The wings were the last thing I did this morning. I made them out of the same fabric as the under dress (silver and gold brocade). I did the top-stitching with metallic gold thread. The only thing I did different, was to wire the top of the wings, so I could adjust them around the body.

Front view of Harold.

left side view, her trumpet is too small. I will have to go looking for a larger one.

Right side.

Front close-up.

Close-up of middle of dress.

Harold continued

Oh yes! I was able to sew the clothing together. She had a couple fittings. The next time, I will leave the arms off for the body fitting and then put the arms on for the rest of the fitting.

I have finished the dress all on the sewing machine, with some trim.

Here you see the skirt front and back. I used Brocade with a sparkly organza over dress and a lame skirt drape. One sleeve attached to the bodice is laying on the table.

For the sleeve I used the Brocade for the top part, the middle I used a fancy gold striped ribbon (I took the wire out) and for the ruffle I used the organza. All of theses areas will have beads etc. I also sewed all those on the sewing machine.

Around the neck, I sewed two narrow wired gold ribbons together and encased the the entire neck edge and all the way down the back. I can then manipulate areas of it to fit if needed.

Here is the entire dress, waiting for more baubles and bangles and whatever.

When I put the dress on the doll, the only part I will be hand sewing on the doll is the back dress closure and the gathering of the wrist ruffle. I will also sew strips of something on the middle sleeve to put it into a puff effect. Of course all the beading will be done first by hand.

Her head dress still has to be done too but that will be another day.

That's it for today. I have a quilting class to teach tomorrow and have to get ready for it.

Harold The Angel

I thought you might enjoy the procees of these two angels since you enjoyed Holly so much. 

This is a pattern by Arley Berryhill and it's called Harold the angel. You can get the pattern  Here  click on "Patterns' on the left and enjoy looking at all his wonderful work and don't forget to check the Gallery. The pattern and instructions are great. I will be doing a few of his designs.

The body is made of peach cotton and I don't remember if it's Southern Bell or Kona or something else.

The angel is posed so I am showing you both sides as I made two. I penciled and chalked one face and painted the other. I was not pleased with the pencil and chalked one so I just painted over it as my medium is acrylics.

The delicate fingers are wired and she has a wired spine up her back extenting into her neck.

The arms and legs are supposed to be posed and sewed on but I like to string and button them, so I can have control of the pose, and just in case I sewed all that and make a mistake and don't like it lol.

I also tie the head on instead of sewing it on. I go through the neck, go up one side of the head with half of the thread and then the other side with the other half of the thread, push the head down and tie on top. This way I can also pose her head.
I will post as I dress them. Arley sews the clothing parts right on them but that is a bit too much hand sewing for me. I don't know if I can do it my way, I will see

Holly a Sweet Doll

This is  such a sweet little doll. The pattern is by Jill Maas, Here
A couple friends and I made her at one of our doll meetings, she was a fun project. Jill has some very cute patterns and we really enjoy making her dolls.

I changed Holly's underskirt. Instead of lace I put a coordinating fabric on the bottom of her slip. I thought she might look a bit more Autumn with the oranges.

The bow I made by hemming two sides of a strip and then gathering the middle real tight. I put the two long sides together and tacked it in the middIe to form a tube but with the ends free. I then sewed three Asahi beads in the middle and pulled the ends up.

Instead of making shoes, I just used bought doll shoes and socks, it worked just fine. I don't do this all the time, but in this case, she wanted them lol.
Holly really has her arms in the back holding a present but I haven't decided yet if it's going to be front or back. She stands all by herself real nice.

Jill has a style all her own and we enjoy doing something different and unique. If you are a doll maker/lover, go check out her website and see some of her cute patterns. I love Masie and Morris. I had to make Morris first and will do Masie next. You can ask Jill for Morris, she will give him to you free.

I made Holly's entire outfit on my Singer Featherweight. I used the ruffler and the narrow hemmer. That little machine is such a pleasure to work on. I must use it more often...it has all the parts to make all sorts of things.

Here she is with her present.

Butter Beans or Lima Beans

When was the last time you cooked or ate the above?

I soaked the beans for about 4 hours while I made bread and cherry jam today.

I started to cook the beans until medium soft then added a grated potatoe, large onion, green sweet pepper and some ham. These are all grated (in my little chopper)

I added some italian seasoning, yeast flakes, garlic powder, blk pepper, ground red pepper, pinch of cummin and rosemary. I don't add the salt until last when the beans are soft....after it's done I add 1 tabl of venigar...the venigar just gives it a kick, you don't taste it, it just does something. The beans are  thick and delicious.

I can't wait to try this Cherry Jam as I can't eat the cherries fresh. I am alergic to them, but cooked I can eat to my hearts content.

The bread will be done in 15 minutes. Here it is rising, 30 minutes to go but that was a good while ago, it's almost done.

For the bread I put raisens, blueberries, cherries, cranberries in a pot to just reach boiling point and turn off.

After the yeast rises, I add water to the reconstituded fruit and add all of that to the yeast along with the molasses. I grind some flax and add oatmeal, rye flour, whole wheat flour and regular four and mix it all up and let it rise 2 hours and punch down and put in loaf pans and let rise another 1 1/2 hours and then bake at 350 for 45 minutes or so.

I made a huge spring salad earlier.

Yesterday, I made a mess of hamburgers and cookies...I am done now for a while lol......I'm going to go work on my projects now.... will post as I go along.....keep tuned.

Scraps and Crumbs 3

Here is the top all done. I will debate if I want steps all around or not. The name of the quilt is, "Qua Es Vos". It deserves a name since it took some brain work on my part and translating my brain image onto fabric into quilt.

I enjoyed this journey and only God knows how this quilt came about lol. I have another quilt in mind  already. I guess one must strike while the ideas are hot.

My studio is littered with scraps. I need to regroup. I will take a break before I decide which way to go....

Crumbs and Scraps 2 update

It's been taking some time now since it is no longer mindless lol, but enjoyable all the same, as I am enjoying the journey.


The middle section is fininshed except for the final border. The right section has it's last block to work around and so does the the left section....

The middle section took some rummaging around in my stash as I couldn't find what I wanted in the scraps. I will have to take a close-up of that section so you can see it properly.

The middle is halfway between the two poles lol, I will let you interpret it youselves.

Here you can see the way the set up is going to go.

I had three intricate blocks to do, that I wanted to be the center of the next two sections. I looked through my Barbara Brackman encyclopedia book for blocks I could use for my idea, found them in Block Base and pulled them into EQ and made paper piecing patterns. I couldn't do all PP, some parts had to be pieced and some had templates. I am so glad I have these programs. I was able to do just what I wanted. YOu can read about and get them here. The blocks took all day to make. I have the cross and the church to go on the right side section.

and the dove for the left section.

I thought you might like to see how the dove went together.

I print out two patterns and cut one up. One is used as a map, so it's less confusing where the pieces go.

Crumbs and Scraps Continued

I finally got a little bit of heaven done.

Here you see the triangle and the eye Of god, so to speak. I did a crown somewhat. Now I have figure out how to square it all up but not to worry.

I finshed a center for another area and for now it will stay in Linpo until I am ready to work around it.

Here is another section.

Another section. I have made a few houses for the sinners lol...I will make some tall turetts. I think those are important to the design.

Crumbs and Scraps 2

The double block all done after much fiddling around.

I am taking some time out to do some more mindless quilting. I shouldn't call it mindless really, it is afterall, the mind that conjurs these creations up. This is a total scrap quilt, from scraps, donated to me my dear friends, Elaine and Sandy. They know how much I love scraps, it just does things to me and gets the creative juices flowing or could it be because it's free? hahahahahah

I didn't have anything in mind, I clean everything out of my work space first. Then I just sorted the fabric in piles of strips, already cut, small pieces, large pieces etc. I lay them over any surface that is available. I have to see everything I am working with....

Myfirst start: I made the block and after some time decided to make a stairway to heaven, don't ask.

I started to build the left side and at the time I thought, ok, I need stairs, streets and walkways, because I was already building some steep falls hahahahahah, can you see the steeples on the left?

I finished building the right side with a street and that street leads up to a narrow street.

I thought I would then add the pavement which is the black and then finished the left side and the bottom with another street.

Guess what this is hahahahahahah. I think I was inspired by "Dante's Inferno" when this came to mind. The thought of stairway to heaven?

The three wedges of fire and then the three wedges of space. In the spaces are levels for one to escape to, and then out to the street or stairs. The underbelly also has a street but it is a hot street. You get a little repreve on the black coals as they are not lit yet. There is a crossroad at the top right and a small cooler street on the left once you reach there, you can jump over to the white cool pavement. Who know what awaits you after the cool street hahahahahhahah.

I have another section in mind and may work a bit on it tonight, who knows?

Snake River Log Cabin, continued

I have taken a couple extra pics. I love this quilt. I must have taken a dozen pics of it lol.

If would like more info on this quilt, I have some more posted on the quilt board that I frequent, here

I have finally finished the Snake River Quilt by Judy Martin. I just finished binding it in a medium dark red. I love this quilt. I have done many quilts that were sewing intensive, including this one. I just love this one more than any other because, I suppose, I just love log cabins and this is one of the most beautiful ones I have ever done.


Many thanks to Judy Martin for designing this great quilt. I feel it's a great quilt, maybe it because it's named after this great river. I am sure Judy's inspiration came from it.

http://www.cocooceanresort.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/snake-river-2.jpg

I can see lots of texture and that was my goal, there is a lot of movement in the quilt, like ripples in water, that this pic did not capture. I hope I can get it tomorrow in daylight outside. The whole quilt has a pink hue that is very obvious. Maybe it is the red next to the pink throughout the entire quilt that caused this effect.

I wanted to finished up the fabric I had pulled out so I made a large log block for the backing.

Snake River Log Cabin

Ok I have been talking about this quilt long enough, it's time to start. The book I am using is, "Judy Martin's Log Cabin Quilt Book".

You can see it here: http://www.judymartin.com/products.cfm?page=2&action=detail&prod=37&CatID=1

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see a twin size of the quilt. I will be making a twin size for now.

NOTE: I have been working on this quilt for two weeks now off and on but I am just posting the make up of it.

Did I mention that Log Cabin Quilts are my favorite? I love scraps so it stands to reason that I would love this quilt. Every quilt in this book is to die for. Judy did a good job on this book of logs.

This would be a great quilt to make for the Christmas season. If you use a red theme like Judy's. I see a lot of red, it makes the quilt warm. It would also look great in blues or greens for a cool look. There is a handsome Green River quilt in the book also. You can colorize this quilt or just make it with light and dark values, which is what I am going to do for now, things may change.

I always do a couple blocks of a quilt to familiarize myself with the blocks. I cut a few strips and made this block last night.

I can see already, that I need to pull some strips out of the light side. I will make another block and see how that looks to me. The block ended up more that 9.5, so I will have to check to see what I need to adjust...

I will be posting as I go along making the blocks and putting it together. If anyone would like to make this quilt along with me, now is the time. You can ask question etc. I will be working on this quilt until it is finished, so stay tuned.

Once I do a block I will go ahead and do the number of those same blocks that I need, so It might be a while before I post another different block but in the meantime you can ask question or make a block and see how you do. This is an awesome quilt and so worth the effort.

I have a tv on my cutting cabinet. I have Netflix streaming movies into it lol and I have a bunch of Perry Mason in my instant list. I put one on and started to cut the dark strips some days ago.

I cut strips from 13 different fabrics so far. I don't have a color theme just light and dark and color doesn't matter. I will pay attention however, as to where the strips will be placed to each other and that is fun for me.

I have a few more dark fabric to cut as I like lots of different fabric in a scrap quilt. I have a head start on the lights but need to cut lots more.

I have a nice little square container that sheets came in and my darks fit nicely in it. I have labled the strips with the letters, as per the book.

Another thing I have done to make my life easy lol, is to copy and enlarge Judy's diagrams. She has two diagrams for each block, one is lettered and one is numbered for the position and size. I use the lettered diagram and put the numbers from the corresponding diagram on the strips. Now I just have one diagram to look at and it's larger and easy for me to see

I also copy the instruction sheets as sometimes I write notes, so I keep my book like new and the sheets are easier to handle.
I take my time when cutting the strips as they must be accurate to make this quilt successfull and I will check the strips here and there as I sew to make sure they are coming out right. It is better to catch any mistakes in the beginning.

I will make one block at a time for at least four blocks and check them for accuracy, by that time I will be very familiar with the blocks and then I will do some speed piecing.

I am never in a hurry when quilting so the cutting will take about three days as I will only cut for a couple hours at a time but remember, I will cutting lots and lots of strips. Once I am done, it will be easy street as the sewing is easy for me.

Here is a pic little rose fairy watching lol.

I pulled out some more lights. I can't believe my stash ahahahahah. I am only cutting for block W, at the moment so I get a break from all the cutting at once.

The rose bud in the front is the one that I will use next to the red cornerstones on every block, so that in itself will create an effect. I needed two yards for those and I had enough of that fabric....just what I wanted.

Ok, here is the second block and the one I am going to go by. The first one is now in the scrap basket lol.

Some of the strips require that you join several pieces before you add that strip to the rest of the block.

The way I am doing it, so as not to get confused....I have numbered and lettered the graph and then made a row of numbers on the same sheet from 1-16 , that is the number of rows required for one block. I check off the row numbers as I do them.

I would finger press the strip and then when I joined the entire row strip, I would press with the dry iron.

I lay the entire block out before sewing it together. The advantage of laying out the block is that you can choose to remove a strip before sewing it. It does look different when seen side by side with all the other strips and to me, it's easy to just pick up the next set and go.

I still have the graph to look at and the chart with the size etc.

I pinned the finished block to my blocking pad and pinned it in place and spray starched and pressed with a up and down motion. The block came out a perfect 9.5 and that means that my sewing and cutting are ok.

It is going well. As you can see, I don't hurry as I enjoy the whole sewing process and I dont' care if it takes a long time. The end result will be the time you spend on it.

BTW, notice that I use the same rosebud fabric right after the red log. I think it will look real pretty in the finished quilt. I also wanted a distinct light seperation....

Also, I was careful that the lights and darks had a good contrast when I picked the fabrics. Like I said, I wasn't concerned with color, just contrast and lots of texture. I love texture.

I have been sewing for a few days but I am just posting my progress to the blog. I finished 7 blocks so far on that particular day and I love the way the pink bud is looking in the blocks. It takes six blocks for one row.

I finished two rows and starting on a third, it's going quite well now,  as I am speed piecing now lol.

Row number 3 and I am loving it more and more. I know it's a lot of sewing but if approached it with the attitude that one is making an heirloom, one doesn't mind at all.

I am enjoying every minute of this quilt as I love the way it is showing. It has a certain overall glaze of sheer color that really doesn't show in this pic...it's amazing what happens with color....This is not a good pic. I will take a pic outside when it's all quilted and done and then we will see the overall effect in the daylight.

When I look at it here in person, I see a pink glow and it's so pretty.

I thought I might just write this info as I go along.

When I am going to do a lot of sewing, I like to use my Brother Quilt Club 1300 or my old Singer. They both have speed. The plus on the brother is that it has a sissor, a 1/4 foot and a 1/4 inch marking. It also is only for straight sewing with a one hole needle plate, which is what you want to use for straight sewing, as the stitches are more perfect and no grabbing of the fabric into the feed-dog like a zig -zag plate might do. I can start at the very beginning and not worry about the fabric being eaten.

I am writing this as I am sewing in case it might be useful for a beginner.
When I am sewing the strips, I back tack at the beginning and at the end, it's quick on this machine and more secure for my patches. I back tack everything. When I come to the end of the stip, I back tack but don't come forward yet to finish it, instead I put the other strip next to it and as I finish sewing the forward of the previous backtack strip, the new strip is getting pulled in and sewed.

When I cut the strips, I cut the longest one first, then the rest and so one. This way I have sizes of each strip to pick and choose from and there is very little waste. I cut from a set of four strips at one time.

Row six and just two more to go and then it's on to the inner borders. There was never any boredom or tired of working on it feelings. Everyday, I wanted to work on it and I think the key is knowing when to quit.

I would do six block and then the first six strips of the next set of six blocks,  and then quit, so the next day I only have 10 strips to go and they go fast as I have all my strips organized. I am watching Sherlock Holmes now and I don't even know where the time goes.

I take breaks to do small things here and there, go outside with the dogs and sit a spell and watch all the lovely greenery and the sky and then I am refreshed again for the next stint of sewing.

I am still sewing it's 12.22 pm and I'm not tired. I thought I would share some my take-outs of quilting. In a quilt like this one, I don't cut all the strips or all the patches. I would find it overwhelming and loose interest if I were to look at a huge stack of patches that I had to sew up.


I realized my limits a long time ago. I had a few UFO's and I don't like that lol. I realized that it was so much better to cut a little and sew a little. In this quilt for instance, to give you an idea. I cut enough for four rows of 24 blocks more or less. I don't know at the time, that that is the amount that I cut.I just stop at a certain point when I feel the limit lol.

I always make between one to four blocks to see if I like the look or to get the feel for the quilt and I am so glad I do that. It is better to catch whatever you don't like right at the beginning.

After I am familiar with the block construction, I start to speed piece. I only speed piece 6 blocks at a time, my limit. I can't bear to do more than six at a time. I find it very satisfying to finish six blocks, press and block them and put them on the board. When I see progress, I get more excited to go finish some more blocks. Six blocks finish a row in the middle of this quilt.

Now when I start doing the border blocks, I am sure I will either divide them up into six and two or do the whole row. It depends how I feel about it at the time.

Sometime it pays to know your limit, so you don't feel overwhelmed.

Here are all the blocks sewed together.I sewed the blocks and rows together last night, I just couldn't wait. I love the way this quilt turned out. I can actually see ripples of water, it's playing tricks with my eyes lol. I imagine the dark is the snake and the light is the river, imagination is funny lol.

I have errands to do today so I won't get back to sewing on the border until later this afternoon. So far I have sewed together 2,304 pieces. It seems like a lot but it doesn't feel that way. 48 blocks and 48 piece in each block.

Remember I said I have a limit of how much I cut at one time? It turned out that I had actually cut enough of the darks and still have some left over, who knew? I just had to cut very little more of the lights. The reds and the rose bud, I had to keep cutting as I ran out, there are a lot of those lol.

The border is going to be a piece of cake. I will do the inner border today for sure. It's just squares of light.

It was easy to put the blocks and rows together. Thank goodness for the board. I took down two blocks sewed them together and opened them up. I did two more and kept adding to the row. Then I put the row back on the board and did the other row. I then sewed those two rows together and put them back on the board, so that made two rows sewed together.

I continued this way and then sewed the sets of two rows together and so on. I made sure to look at my chart to make sure I had them turned the right way. I did that every time I handled a row and there were no mistakes, thank goodness.....ok off to do errands

Now I will work on the inner border. The inner border consist of squares of all the light fabrics, sewed together for each side.

Inner border is now attached. I am taking a break today and will work on the outer border tomorrow.

NOTE: What I have learned from this quilt. If you look at the quilt you can see where the rows join. I missed this little ditty. I should have choosen the same dark at the end of each block so they would meld into each other and no visible line would be seen, but never mind is all good until next time. You learn something new with everything.