Winter Drapery

We are having a late start to our watery winter weather this year (at least I hope it will be wetter than the last couple years).  Last night we had our first winter storm from this arctic blast coming down from Canada.  The snow is not water laden as in past years, but there is still moisture, and I am thankful for that. We received about a 9 inch snowfall from this first storm.

At our elevation in the Sierra Nevada foothills we usually don't accumulate snow throughout the winter months.  Maybe we will get three to four snowfalls from a few inches or into the teens, then mostly rain.  The snow that falls usually sticks around for a couple weeks then it is gone.

These weather changes offer a wonderful diversion to the dry, brown drabbieness from our Mediterranean climate offerings in the summer and fall months. Each year I try to capture some of the peaceful beauty through snapshots.  The trees are especially pretty draped in winter snow.

I know there are many beautiful, more magnificent places on this earth, but this home is my little piece of heaven.

I wish our grandchildren could be up here.  I know they would be enjoying the snow. 

A Bay Oak draped in snow.  This oak does not lose its leaves in the winter.

A beautiful Sierra Redwood wearing her winter finery.  I think she would look stunning with a drapery of  twinkling lights. 

A winter yard scene.

Another winter yard scene

And, another of our yard scenes.

 Happy day to all who have ventured to this page.

Jan

Wine Glass Charms and new Earrings

WINE GLASS CHARMS

Wine glass charms are new additions to my inventory.  I started with a couple holiday themes with machine embroidered free standing lace designs. 

These little holiday stocking designs are digitized by Criswell Embroidery. 

Another beaded version of the holiday stocking charms.

These free standing lace designs are from Sonia Showalter Designs earring collection.

Another beaded version of the charms.

EARRINGS

The wine glass charm designs are also in my novelty earring products.

These designs are from Sonia Showalter Designs

These earring designs are digitized by Murphy's Designs.  They are part of her tatted design collections.

And here are the little stocking charms by Criswell Embroidery made into earrings.

I wanted to add some beads and chose these cute little stars from Criswell Embroidery as my first endeavor.

No beads on these little novelty tree charm designs from Criswell Embroidery.  But I did add some rhinestones and a little glitter for holiday embellishment.

I am still playing with the key chain charms, trying to come up with something cute.  Hope you are enjoying all your holiday preparations.

Jan 

Creative Inspirations

Well, this post is not craft related, but I was so impressed by one of those e-mail chain messages my friend sent me, I thought I would pass it along in my blog.  The pictures accompanying the e-mail were absolutely stunning.  

THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD

 

A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present “Seven Wonders of the World.” Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes:

1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State bjuilding
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So, she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, “Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many.”

The teacher said, “Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help.”

The girl hesitated, then read: “I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World' are:

1. To See
2. To Hear
3. To Touch
4. To Taste
5. To Feel
6. To Laugh
7. And to Love”

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous!   

Once in a while we need to be reminded that the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.  In our often feeble way, we try to replicate the natural beauty and wonders in our world which serve as our creative inspirations.

CREATIVE INSPIRATIONS FROM THE ARTWORK OF SUSAN WHEELER

I love the whimsical creativity of Susan Wheeler's art.  I found these images doing a Google search.  Hope you enjoy.

VETERAN'S DAY INSPIRATIONAL VINTAGE ART

I can't leave this post today without remembering our veterans on the remembrance day.  I was proud to serve in the U. S. Navy where I met my dear husband.  We have been married for 42 wonderful years.  

These images are free and available on the Vintage Holiday Crafts website.

Digitizer's Showcase - Sue Box, Kreations by Kara, Amazing Designs

MACHINE EMBROIDERY TEST STITCH-OUTS

When I first started doing machine embroidery, almost all the "how to" forums suggested that one should do test stitch-outs before trying a machine embroidery design on a project.  It was a good idea, and I was quite religious in following this suggestion.  Some designs I am glad I did the test, especially on the free designs from new digitizers.   Some were just awful and I threw the stitched design away, as well as deleting the design from my inventory.   The better stitch-outs I kept and this left me with a stash of nice embroidery pieces.  Now what to do with these?  Some designs were incorporated into crazy quilt blocks - these are now a new stash waiting to be made into a quilt (sighhhh-more UFOs), others became patches, and some have remained in the original stash pile.  Occasionally,  I do more stash cleaning and make test projects.

In some of my test projects I like to incorporate a few of the built-in designs from my sewing machine.  Now, I don't have one of the super-duper, really nice, expensive machines - so I definitely have to test stitch these designs.  I usually end up incorporating the designs in a small sashing strip or edging on a ruffle for a little embellishment.  I also like to play with ideas I've seen in other DIY projects or pictures I've seen from other crafters/quilters/sewers.  Sometimes the end result is nice, sometimes not.  For all my practice projects, I use whatever is in my stash of "left overs."   This works for me, especially since I have a hard time visualizing the finished piece with all the embellishments I think would look nice.  These finished pieces now become part of my inspiration for the REAL DEAL projects.

I suppose like many other machine embroidery enthusiasts, I am a collector of free designs.  Happy to say that digitizing techniques have greatly improved and I found several digitizers whose product is exceptional in quality.  I no longer collect free designs from many digitizers, but limit my inventory selections to my chosen select group.

Here are pictures of a couple of my inspiration projects using designs from Sue Box Creations when I first started machine embroidery and quilting.  Truly, a learn-as-you-go process.

These designs are from the Timeless Teddy Bear Collection

A nice holiday pillow with one of Sue Box's free designs.

A small pillow with a design from the Timeless Teddy Collection.  The ruffle has a built in embellishment from my sewing machine and I also added lace, ribbon, beading and hand embroidery french knots.

Backside of the small pillow.  I like the green material, but will probably use different coordinating material - especially for the ruffle and use a machine embroidered edging to add more depth on a product I would offer for sale.

SEASONAL QUILT DONATIONS

I did not post pictures of any completed projects (because they were not completed, duh...) during September and October.  So, the little quilts have been completed and are no longer in my possession. 

This first quilt is my Harvest Quilt donated to the West Point Friends of the Library for their Harvest Dinner fundraiser being held on November 10th.  This is a pieced star design quilt with embroidered leaf and pumpkin motifs panel.  It features a design from the Forever Fall Design Collection from Kreations by Kara and designs from the Golden Days of Fall Collection from Amazing Designs.  The quilt has a muslin backing.  Quilting is an overall leaf pattern.  It measures 59" W x 68" L.

The second seasonal quilt is my last quilt donation for this year.  It is my embroidered Halloween Lap Quilt.  For this quilt I used a selection of Kreations by Kara Web Crawler designs.  These are the kind of spiders I like.  Kind of elegant.  The lap quilt is 56" x 56".  It was donated to the local Benefit Club as a raffle prize during their Halloween Ball held on November 2nd.

For my next post I am working on pictures of jewelry, key rings and wine glass charms I decided to make.  Something a little different.    Stay tuned.  

Jan

Searching For Autumn

September and October whizzed by and I didn't post a thing.  I was making the last of my donation items for this year.  We were also busy with the studio addition to our house, however construction has come to a crawl as we wait for the epoxy coat on the cement floors to cure and a door to arrive. 

The weather has been exceptionally mild for Autumn.  The temperature has not dipped to freezing yet and we have had little rain.  It occurred to me that I seemed to have missed Autumn.  I am originally from Wisconsin and always think of the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows.

Northern Wisconsin Autumn

Northern Wisconsin Autumn

But, here in the California Sierra foothills the midwest colors are not as prominent.  So, today instead of fretting over the loss of color, I thought I would search for Autumn in my own back yard. 

I picked up my camera and walked out the front door as I have so many times.  This time I was awed by the transformation of the oak trees in our front yard.  They shimmered yellow in the noon sun as a slight breeze stirred the air.  Vestiges of summer green still showed and the oak leaves intermingled with the pine greenery.

Towering Oak in our front yard with a clear, blue sky background.

Yellows, browns and shades of green.

I continued my walk out of the yard and down the driveway.  I was greeted by two deer, roused from their noon rest. The deer are accustomed to our presence and don't run away as quickly as they used to until we get too close for comfort.  Just as well they should jolt away...they are wild and I am apprehensive about a sudden charge toward me. 

Two of the regulars.  They have been around all summer and into Autumn now.

Many times I have driven down the driveway, but never really noticed the leaves change from summer green to Autumn yellows, golds and browns.

Driveway Entrance

There was quietude in the air.  The birds and small critters seemed to be on siesta.  Flies buzzed around my head and I swatted the air to shoo them away.  I turned left from the driveway making my way down the pine tree path to the meadow.  I was caught in a shadow ballet as branches swayed to the soft swoosh symphony breezes and my feet glided on the soft needle cushioned path.  

Pine Tree Path.

My dance reverie was interrupted as the shadowy lane opened to the Oak Meadow Path. 

Oak Meadow Path.

The rustle and crunch of dried leaves beneath my feet seemed to echo.  More flies buzzed and again I aimlessly swatted the air.  Here I left the path and strolled down the dry, sticker weed infested meadow, glad that I had the sense to wear jeans and shoes for this journey. 

The meadow is an open area with many dead fall oak limbs and fallen trees from years past.  Poison Oak that was not eradicated this summer sprouts sporadically around the tree bases and aimlessly climbs up the tree trunks.  As I make my way through the meadow, the almost bare trees create an open window to a view of the distant Blue Mountain Range.

Blue Mountain background.

The oaks in the meadow offer a showy blend of yellows, greens, and orange tinted browns.  It is here where I find some of the elusive shades of Autumn red.

Orange tinged Oak.

Oak leaf reds.

Oak leaf reds.

I linger a while, savoring the sumptuous hues, happy with my discoveries.  I make my way back to the driveway and decide to stroll down Campo Flores Lane.  At the entrance of the lane off Bald Mountain Road is a lovely fern garden.  The ferns are no less lovely as the fronds turn from green to brown and the plants prepare for their winter dormancy.  I find some ferns tucked along pine rounds from a cut tree.

Sun glinting off the fern fronds.

 I make my way back home from the side of our property down the Leafy Path.  

Leafy Path

 This section of the property is a dense cluster of pines, oaks, cedar and manzanita.  Exploration pits from the mining days dot the area and are filled with fallen limbs and many years accumulation of leaves and pine needles.  It is often difficult to see the pits, so I follow the deer trails when I leave the path. 


I cross under the PG&E lines that run through our property.  The clear cut area offers another view of the foothill mountain range. 

Distant foothills.

I take my picture and as I turn I see a jackrabbit startled from its hiding place, hopping off into the brushes.  I make my way around some dead fall trees and manzanita with their pine needle drapery to the tallest, stateliest tree on the property.  I am amazed at the height of this lone Sugar Pine towering high above the power lines.

Sugar Pine

 I wonder how old this gentle giant is.  I look straight up into the needle canopy and spy two pine cones dangling from the branch ends.  The pine cones are large and heavy with sap and as I try to get a good picture, zooming in as close as the camera will allow, I hope they do not fall. 

One Sugar Pine Cone on a branch end.

The ground below the tree is a graveyard of pine cones.

Large Sugar Pine Cone.

These pine cones litter the area under the mother tree.

I make my way back to the path toward the house.  Several deer have congregated in the back yard for their afternoon rest.  They rise from their rest and look at me, probably wondering if they should move, but decide I am no threat and opt to remain.

Deer in the back yard.  View of Blue Mountain range in the background.

I am standing under the Live Oak that was heavy with acorns this year.  The ground is littered with shell remnants and recent falls the deer have not found.  I see some acorns still in the tree. 

Acorns in the Live Oak.

Acorn litter on the ground.

The Live Oak remain green all year and as my successful search for Autumn has ended my mind jumps ahead to the beauty of the Live Oak sagging under a winter coat of snow.

Snow covered Live Oak in winter.