Month: February 2007

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“I really do have love to give”

Needle-turn applique red heart on floral fabric, Elizabeth RuffingThat’s from the film Magnolia.

I love the movie and the soundtrack with Aimee Mann.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I cut out about a gazillion of these heart blocks, and hand appliquéd about, um, well, some of them. My friend, Linda, made a wall hanging of appliquéd hearts, and I got a little overly inspired. I have them in two colorways, reds and tans, and blues and greens.

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Populating my Etsy shop with art

I’ve gone Etsy-mad. I just put a bunch of my giclées in my new shop This one is “The Fairy and the Dove“.

“Fairies and Butterflies“

“Angels’ Flight“

“The Frost Angel“

And finally, “Window Box With Pansies“.

I also added some more dog and cat giclées to Mom’s Etsy shop. Now I have to update some pages on the Ruffing’s site…web work, web work, web work…

All these prints can also be found on our web site.

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Meanwhile…my next art doll project

Original art doll in progress, Elizabeth Ruffingis waiting for some new feet. I have been experimenting with Li-Qua-Ché pourable papier mâché and Creative Paperclay over fabric. I’ve got the basic modeling of this doll’s head done, and I’ve set her up in a bowl so I can get to her hands and feet without worrying about them denting on the table as I sculpt. Sitting on my desk this way, she reminds me of someone floating by on a raft in a swimming pool. She doesn’t look like she minds the wait.

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Quilt block of the month class, with Lori Mann

Sometimes I like to sit and sew by hand. It’s relaxing and meditative. I know that is why so many people like hand quilting. This is a hodgepodge of quilt blocks from Lori Mann’s quilt class. She volunteered to teach a group of us, and her patterns and instructions have been great. (Thanks, Lori!) We have been meeting at her house, or in a church basement, for her demonstrations of how to make each block.

Lori used a photo of Victoria Gladwin’s quilt, that is featured in the book Making Scrap Quilts To Use It Up, to make instructions for each quilt block for her class, because the book had none for that particular quilt. Lori simplified some of the blocks to save our collective sanity. Disregarding all potential threats to my own sanity, I got a copy of the book on eBay and I have been happily re-complicating the quilt blocks ever since.

You can find a used copy of the book on eBay or on Amazon, but remember, the instructions for the quilt are not included in the book. Lori made those up for us using a program she has on her computer. I drew the designs out on paper, to size, and then I made templates for myself, on template plastic, which you can get at JoAnn’s, or at Michael’s, or at other craft stores, or online.

I drew the blocks on tracing paper, using a ruler, and then used rubber cement to glue them onto poster board. That isn’t necessary. Tracing paper is what I had that was large enough to accommodate 12 x 12 inches. I found the poster board kept the drawing stable for me. You could draw them right onto poster board, a large piece of paper, or several pieces of paper taped together, and then make your own templates.

I’m only one class behind now. I even thought I’d try to get ahead. The next class is a paper-pieced block. Being convinced I couldn’t match any of the seams up without drawing the whole block out to size and then cutting it apart, I started drawing, and erasing, and drawing, until the block was too complicated to be paper-pieced. This is why I am always behind. I am not happy if I don’t make a thing more complicated than it has to be. My worst offense so far has been our bow tie block. Once I was done, mine had eighty individual parts that I put together to make a twelve inch square. But…it looks really nice. I’m not sorry!