Tuesday 26 June 2007

Bead Journal Project

I have been busy working on my Journal Quilt project. I have finished the design work and I am about ready to make a start on the quilt. This is the final Journal Quilt Project and a little different from the past few years. We have to design and make one quilt equivalent in size to 4 journal quilts. I can't show pictures of it until it has been shown in Houston.

I am also busy working on Module 2 of the Judging Course. I have selected the photographs I took at the Photography exhibition I visited in Stirling. Now I have to critique them.


I can't show you my Journal Quilt for Houston but I can show you my work in progress for the Bead Journal Project. I love a challenge and this is certainly a challenge for me. This is my first beaded quilt. I wanted a theme for the Bead Journal Quilts and have decided on Paisley designs. Originally a tear drop design from India brought to the town of Paisley many years ago. Paisley is not very far from where I live and I love visiting the museum there.

I am afraid my beading is a little wiggly despite me backstitching and only using a maximum of 4 beads at a time. This is a learning curve for me so hopefully over the next year I will see a marked improvement in my beading.

I finished my charms for the challenge/swap on LikeMindedArtists, a Yahoo group I am a member of. I don't want to spoil the surprise for participants so here they are all ready to mail, all 12 little packages. This is another first for me as I have never made these charms. They are quite different from inchies.

The clematis in the garden are wonderful at the moment. I have 12 clematis in the garden, each one different. I think they are my favourite garden flower. They all bloom at different times which means throughout the summer I have at least one in bloom.

I am using these for a project I am working on and to fully appreciate them I have taken a lot of closeups.



I have also been playing with a new filter in Paint Shop Pro. Since I can't draw I am finding this filter very useful.
Here is another of my photographs after I added the filter.

18 comments:

Jo in NZ said...

Hi Carol, followed you here from BJP blog. Just some completely useless info on paisley...it was originally a form of signature in India. If you make a fist and place it on a table, thumb on top. The part of your hand touching the table forms the paisley design. Useless, but true!! LOL
Your BJP is looking great so far

Judi D said...

That is a beautiful design for you page. Your photos are great too.

Denise said...

Love the Paisley!!!! If your beads are a little wonky, run another pass of thread through them. It helps to fill up the bead with thread and stablizes the beads. It also reinforces them so if a thread does break, there is another there!
If you make a small knot before you start running your thread through the beads, that also helps.

I just love it!!!
Cheers, Denise

ClaireC said...

Hi! Good to see another Brit in the BJP, and I'm really looking forward to seeing your paisley designs. I'm also fascinated by the images you're creating with PSP - the C&G course sounds really interesting.

Shelina said...

Carol, I've really enjoyed all your photoshop experiments. It sounds like a lot of fun. I've played around a bit on my program but didn't know what to do with the results.
Your bead project is absolutely gorgeous!
Clematis is my favorite flower too.

Terri Stegmiller said...

I love clematis also. I have 7 varieties growing, but a couple of them seem to be struggling on me, so maybe only 5 right now.

Vicki said...

Your bead design is gorgeous! And your photos too!

Lillian said...

Love your project so far and your photos! I'll have to take time to see the rest of your blog :o)Thanks for sharing,

Lillian in Washington, USA

Sandy said...

Your flowers are always so lovely, you must have a wonderful garden. I like paisleys too. Beading seems to always be a little wobbly unless you use Delicas, because beads are not uniform in size. Sandy

LJ said...

I think it's absolutely lovely. And your tension will improve as you work. I kind of like crowding and spacing on purpose sometimes - just to get different effects - and it's handy, now and then, to whip stitch around the thread to pull your beads into the place where you want them.
That said, I think the work looks perfect so far - and the design is great.

Timaree said...

Looking very pretty. Love the colors too. Can't wait to see more of it done. It's looking pretty perfect to me - beads are such separate little things, you have to step back to see the whole and look how lovely it is then!

Carol said...

Thank you so much for your feedback ladies.

Denise,

Despite reading in several places that I should use my thread double I only used it single. I didn't think I would get it through the needle twice if I used it double. That may just be my problem.

LJ,

I crowded the outline beads a little but I quite like the effect it has given, it has raised the green beads slightly, as yo say my tension can only improve as I go along.

Thank you again I appreciate your advice.

Alis Clair said...

I love your design and and the beads you have chosen.
Looking forward to seeing your work for this project.

Love your flowers. What a gorgeous colour that clematis is.

Hugs, Alis

Digitalgran said...

Wonderful work as usual Carol. You have been enjoying yourself. I love paisley, but my DH seems to have a very strong hatred of it. He doesn't know why. If his mother was still alive I could ask her. I'm sure there must be a reason. Strange?

Denise said...

Hi Carol,
what kind of thread are you using? I'm not suggesting you use your thread double, because that would be a real pain if you got a knot in it or had to take it out, it would be awkward. I'm suggesting your run your needle back through the beads and secure it that way. If you are using a beading needle and say nymo B or D, then you will have enough space in an 11, or 10 sized bead. If you are using a 15 bead, then use nymo B thread and a size 13 needle. Does that help? If you already know all this, then I apologize, if not and it helps then it's all good!
Cheers, Denise

Artifax said...

Paisley! What a wonderful idea! Sounds like a wonderful museum to visit for inspiration. Looking forward to seeing how your pages develop. And your photos ... beautiful! I LOVE the bottom two with the filter.

Carol said...

Denise sorry I couldn't contact you by email. I am using a beading thread, sorry I don't know what weight it is. I bought it at the bead shop. I used just one strand as I thought I would be cutting it anyway to fix mistakes and went back and took it through the beads a second time. I have to say I was about a 1/4 way through the work you see before I thought about doing that.

Thank you for the information on needles I really need to go and read up about needle sizes and thread for beading. It is quite different to sewing and quilting needles it would seem. Like everything else once I learn the terminology I will be in a better position to get it right. The work being done is absolutely fantastic. I have so much to learn.

Thank you again for your help and advice I appreciate it.

Nola said...

The beading project looks pretty darn fine to me!
I'm envious of your clematis because they are not happy travellers in my part of the world. If you have just the perfect spot - shaded roots, sunny top - you can grow them, but I don't. Happily, it's one of very few plants that don't like my climate! I can grow most plants from tropics to cool temperate areas here in Sydney and there is just one month of the year when I can't plant veggies! So it seems churlish to moan about the absence of clematis. But I do love them.