Sunday, July 5, 2009

Offspring & CQ Wire Ribbon Flower

My daughter Melissa & son Michael at our town's little Picnic in the Park on the 4th. Melissa is a Special ed/Elementary ed teacher finishing up her Master's degree in Special Ed at Buffalo State College. Michael will be a junior this year. He plays football for St. John Fisher College in Rochester. I am happy to say that they are both very responsible young adults, on track to hopeful futures. I am proud of them both!


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30 years ago I started my job. I was 2 weeks out of high school. I had planned to go to Buff State also. Things were a bit different then. I remember borrowing a dress from a friend since I would be working in a 20 story office building. The dress was flannel....it was in the 80's! I now work in our operations union having transferred from clerical 13 years ago. I wear steel toe boots, orange hardhat & reflective vest now! Things have changed, especially over the last year. Tough times. Too much work with too few people. I can retire in 6 yrs. 9 mos. I am counting.


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I have been doing alot of CQ stitching. I have 5 projects that need my attention. This flower is made from dyed wired ribbon that I form into a circular shape and then tack down repeatedly. I used some matte multi-colored blue beads I bought in N.H. Adding pistol stitches and random french knots to center gives one more dimension.



When working on my CQ's I like to have more than 1 or 2 different stitches to a seam treatment or motif. I think it makes a big difference in the finished product. Looks like you know what your doing!



I have been working on the little heart for a local charity...no picture yet!



Today I learned:




  1. I carved a bunch of soft erasers this morning. I haven't tested them yet though but it was fun! I have a piece of lino that I am waiting for inspiration to hit before I dig in to it!

  2. I tea/coffee dyed some bits of fabric. Wool felt, old linen napkin & unknown fiber. I love all of them! There is something about that vintage look that spells comfort for me. When Priscilla Kibbee was here she mentioned using loose tea leaves and layering them between fabric layers. I would assume the fabric would have to be wet to begin with. I will be using these bits on a project my friend Colleen & I are doing.

3 comments:

Priscilla Kibbee said...

When I made tea dyed fabric I folded the fabric to fit a long baking pan, I sprinkled regular tea leaves (not bags) along a few of the layers. Then I heated boiling water in a teakettle and poured over the fabric, covering it pretty much. Then I baked it in a low oven, 225 or lower for around an hour, turning the fabric a bit halfway through.

Donna said...

Sounds like your children have given you a lot to be proud of. I think mom get a lot of credit for that too.
Your CQ work and other fiber art is beautiful and very inspiring. I love seeing all your cool ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Donna

Anonymous said...

How nice of you to post a picture of the "kids". You are an inspiration to me with all the beautiful hand work. As for the job, when I started teaching girdles were a must, and one did not dare appear without it or the nurse would talk to you. Pant suits came into fashion, and now the rag look is acceptable on Fridays. What kind of role model is being presented? Keep counting the days... it gives you something for which to look forward.