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Monday, March 21, 2016

Little Things Mean a Lot...






And sometimes little things mean a lot of work! Often it's hard to appreciate all of the work we stitchers and crafters put into our tiny bits of art. This small brooch is an example. I did the stitching and assembling, but even before that, author Cheryl Lynch did the shrink art nest and crow. She packaged it all up and I won the kit on her blog some time ago. Finally, I finished it between other projects. The brooch was one of several featured in her book "Sew Embellished" which I also won. The book is full of information and ideas for unique embellishments for small projects.




Next are some vintage lace, paper, and trims combined into small "scrap cards" as described by Ruth Rae in her Somerset Sew Winter 2011 article. They are oddly satisfying little morsels of all the trims and embellishments we stitchers accumulate over time. These will go into a vintage-style journal that, so far, exists only in my mind's eye. But I'm getting closer!




Speaking of small things, I recently presented a quilt guild program on Journal Quilts. Our local Fiber Art Bee (FAB) is full of talented members who make these small works of art and generously loaned me their work to illustrate the points about journal quilts. Jodi Colvard's is shown above and includes everything metal- from the mesh and wire flowers to the metal beading.



And Miss Smarty is keeping secrets in her cardboard box. She's the whimsical creation of FAB leader Celeste Beck. Celeste and her sister Merri McKenzie also taught the prayer flag and banner class noted in the previous post.




They had samples galore, and inspired students to make banners in a variety of shapes and styles. One student developed her series of banners around an insect theme.





Some of the sample banners were creatively crafted from paper. This one had a very appealing crepe paper flower adorning it.



We were given pattern templates in the shapes above and encouraged to try painting, stamping, stencilng, or crafting a vintage look in our banners. My biggest challenge was to focus on one style because I wanted to dive into everything! Going small can sure be a lot of fun.



3 comments:

Cheryl Lynch Quilts said...

Thanks for sharing the pin. It looks great. Your blog is chock full of wonderful "stuff".

Unknown said...

Oh my! So much to look at and all so beautiful. Love the small lace and fabric pieces -- although it would be difficult to choose my favorite. Looks like small pieces are a lot of fun. hugs, Donna

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'm a HUGE fan of Ruth Rae because her style is so much like mine. After all, I tear all my pieces of fabric, so she speaks to me anytime I see her art.

WOW, I was truly impressed with Jodi Colvard's metal art. I could barely believe what I was seeing. It is truly unbelievable.

You find the best examples of great art, big or small. I really loved those flags. They were so unique. Thanks for sharing all these beautiful pieces, including your brooch.