More Artistic Inspiration from Far Away

Fresco at Chora Church, Istanbul. Notice any quilt block patterns?


Tiles in the Harem at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul




Handwoven Turkish carpets at the Hereke Carpet Weaving Center, Capadocia, Turkey

Even More Artistic Inspiration from Far Away

Fantastical rock formation in Capadocia, Turkey


Sailing on the Mediterranean


View of the Aegean Sea from Starbucks, Kusadasi, Turkey


Sunset over the Aegean Sea in Kusadasi, Turkey

Blue Again for April

In the description of my March BJP, I admitted to having an embarrassingly large number of cobalt blue beads in my stash--so many that I couldn't find the space to use them all in my March project.

And then came April. No joke, I think I have a larger variety in this Robin's Egg Blue I am using. While the March cobalt blue piece had almost no variation in value, these Robin's Egg Blue do vary in value. Even the beads that show as silver or pearl have a Robin's Egg Blue cast.

When I began to see the pattern developing in this piece, Persistent Goal-Directed Behavior kicked in. At that point each column was constructed of different beads. I became determined to see if I could complete the entire lower part with each column different.

So far, so good. With the exception of the beads used as stop beads and spacers with bugle beads, each type of bead appears only once. That would be 32 different kinds of beads. I have three more spaces to fill, and I may be able to achieve my goal.

And what will the top part look like? I don't know, but it will be Robin's Egg Blue.

Note: No shopping was needed to make this piece. Well, no shopping in March or April.

It's Not Boring! March BJP

It's not boring! It may be the most monochromatic piece I've ever done, but it's not boring!

In fact, I LOVED working in this narrow range of color. Well, calling it a "range" might be an overstatement. Nearly all the beads are the same shade of cobalt blue. A few edge toward navy, but they're all cobalt. Even the large beads with the AB finish are cobalt.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with a mixture of azure blue and black Dye-na-Flow.

There are at least 28 different types of cobalt blue beads in this piece. I counted them. The largest beads with the AB finish are octahedrons. There are also some fire-polished round beads with an AB finish. The remaining large beads are hearts and leaves. The rest of the beads in this piece are the usual combination of cubes, triangles, hexes, drop beads, bugles, tubes, 6/0s, 8/0s, 11/0s, 10/0s, 15/0s, and charlottes.

The three stitches used in this piece are the backstitch, the stop stitch, and the lazy stitch.

It is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used navy Nymo thread in size B.

What I Was Thinking:

While I stitched this page, I thought about how interesting it was to work in only one color. Eliminating differences in color allowed me to concentrate on shape, line, finish, and texture. The forest became invisible so I could focus on individual trees. The individual trees have many interesting characteristics that would not be seen if one only looks at the forest. To get the best picture, one should look at both the forest and the individual trees.

Issues That Came Up:

Twenty-eight different kinds of cobalt beads? Whoa... And what about the twelve other kinds of cobalt beads in my stash that I couldn't find a place to use here? Perhaps it is not necessary for me to go shopping for any more cobalt beads.

Octahedron. I didn't know the name for this shape, so I had to go to my associate homeowner, Doctor Mathematics, for more information. An octahedron is a polyhedron with eight sides, and Wiki can tell you all about it here. Right. I knew you would want to know that.

It was very difficult to get a photo that showed the color of the blue. This cobalt is a deep royal blue. I tinkered with the photo, but I still didn't get the color right.

So far, all three of my 2011 BJP pages have been blue. I've started April, and it's blue, too.

The Blizzard of 2011 and What She Did

Remember the Midwestern Blizzard of February 1 and 2, 2011? What would you have done in that blizzard?

What would you have done if you opened your front door on February 2 to find this?



Or if you pushed the snow off your back steps and looked across your courtyard toward your garage and found this?


Or if you trudged around the block and into your garage and opened the door to look across your courtyard from the other direction and you saw this?


If there were snowdrifts taller than you, what would you do? If you were She Who Shall Not Be Named, you'd get your snow shovel and twenty (20) minutes later you'd see this:


And this:


Her name must be Superwoman!

And if you were the mother of Superwoman, what would you do? You'd print the photos on fabric and make them into a wall hanging for Superwoman's birthday present.


Happy Birthday, Superwoman!

It's All Connected--February BJP

Another blue page. This time the theme is It's All Connected. I'll let you interpret that anyway you want, but I think it's all connected.

In January I considered the possibility of using blue beads for all 12 journal pages. That's going to be an interesting challenge, but so far I'm two for two. This blue is capri blue, more or less, depending on which bead manufacturer is naming the beads. I have to admit that I prefer the blues with a purplish cast--such as copen or periwinkle, but this was a nice color to work with, too.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Azure Dye-na-Flow. Actually I painted this background for the January page, but it was not the right color to start the year off.

The beads are primarily 11/0s and 15/0s, with some 8/0s, bugles, cubes and triangles. My favorite beads are the little hearts that connect the two upper circular gears. The silvery-colored beads that go between the gears are Toho Treasures in dyed indigo AB. Who'd guess that was the color?

The backstitch and the lazy stitch were used.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used Nymo B thread is a medium blue.

What I Was Thinking:

I was thinking about connections. And about disconnections. I don't mean un-connections, I mean disconnections. And I was thinking about how blue sometimes gets a bad rap. I mean, I love blue. It's my favorite color(s). It's not sad or the blues. It's beautiful!

Issues That Came Up:

Things got sorta busy, so even though I finished the piece in February, here I am posting it in mid-March. It was my turn to host my book group, a situation that results in 10 or so days of hysterical housecleaning. Generally, I lean more toward casual housecleaning than toward perfect housekeeping. After all, my associate homeowner lives here, too. Even though members of the book group are lovely, kind-hearted women who are more community activist than socialite, I feel internal pressure to get the place up to snuff. So now the place is clean for another year. Or until the Queen comes for tea. (For anyone interested, this month's book was The Living Great Lakes by Jerry Dennis. Everyone in the group would recommended it, especially to those who live near the Great Lakes.)

And now I'm in the middle of my March BJP. Guess what color it is!

Kimono Ladies

Last week our Lakeshore Fiber Arts Guild had a program on "How to Wear Kimono." Mayumi Balfour was our instructor. I volunteered to be one of the models. I can't believe members weren't pushing and shoving to be dressed in kimomo. The front of the kimono (with me in it) is above, and the back of the kimono is below.



This is a close-up of the obi.



I was surprised to learn how many layers went around a woman's middle. The idea is to have a straight up and down figure, with the back of the neck being the most sensual part of the body. I'm sure you can tell that from the back view.

Here is Wendy wearing kimono:



And here are some other members of our group wearing yukata, with Mayumi on the right.