Uniquely Yours Creations

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-22T11:39:00.002-05:00

Free hand Feathers

2012-02-16T17:29:00.019-05:00

This month for the Free Motion Challenge
we have Diane Gaudynski!

The Free Motion Challenge is hosted by SewCalGal. This is
not a competition or an on-line class; it's simply for us
participants to sharpen our skills or learn new techniques or just
practice on our own. So, if you are so inclined come on
down and join us!

I have free motioned feathers before but always
by marking them on fabric first. I wanted to try
the free hand feathers as Diane demonstrates.

I don't have to tell you that it's not as easy
as Diane makes it look! Or maybe you already
know that.

I only marked the spine and put the sandwich
under the needle - OMG It's hard!
Even after practicing sketching first - over and
over again.

Anyway here's my first try and I can't believe
that I'm posting it!

(o: It doesn't look too bad this little does it?

Oh okay, here's my first try:

OMG it's horrid!

I'm not one to be discouraged too easily so
I try and try.

Some improvement with practice!

and

practice

I tried using some variegated thread on my
hand dyed fabric.

Close-up I can really see an improvement.
The hardest part for me is echoing back down
the spine. It makes me feel that I'm going the
wrong way on a one way street.

I'm using hand dyed fabric that didn't turn
out the way that I wanted it. I can see
that my backtracking is still bad!

More practice (it's going to take a lot I can tell)

And finally this is my last piece. I can
definitely see an improvement!

I need much more practice but I love
the look of feathers so I'll go on. Free
hand feathers is very difficult at first
but I'm getting the hang of it.

Thank you Diane! And SewCalGal!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-08T00:29:00.002-05:00

Speedwell Forge Lake

2012-02-02T09:14:00.025-05:00

Sunday was such an unusual warm day
for January that I decided to take a drive.
I really didn't have a destination in mind;
I just kept driving north.

I wanted to go somewhere that I've never
been to since I moved here. I thought that
maybe I would visit Lititz Park and maybe
get some good photo shots.... but I passed
the entrance! Kept driving north and thought
of something someone told me once about
there being a place with a very large creek (-:

The road climbs up and what I love about
this area is that is very hilly and has some
spectacular views. Being a native Long Islander
where the land is pretty much just flat - the
only fabulous views are the ocean. (which I
love and miss) So I very much appreciate
looking down and being able to be able to
see for miles and miles.

I finally reach my destination and find
a parking space. I see a couple of other
cars but there's no one around. Once
out of the car; I start walking around
and thinking this is not just a creek as
I was told! It's a lake and there's hardly
any water in it and then it dawned on me
where I was! It's been a very controversial
subject in the news for the past couple of
months and here I was.
I walked towards a small pier and saw the
sign.

I've never been here before so I don't know
what the lake looked like in all it's glory.
I look for some photos on the internet:

This is what the pier looked like - I've taken this
photo from Here which tells you all about
the lake.

This is what it looks like now:

The Lake is being drained to access damage and
make repairs. The damage being done by recent
storms to the dam which is further down the lake
and I didn't walk down that far.

I start walking around taking more photos:

The area is kept clean of liter but found
this interesting - old shoes? Were they
left there for a reason?

I think these are traps of some sort for fish?

I realized that this lake extends to the
other side of the road.

(I later learned that - Fish, such as bass, carp,
and catfish were salvaged and placed in other
areas such as the Susquehanna River)

If you are a nature lover, as I am, you'll find
walking around the lake very disheartening
and depressing.

I got back into my car and drove to the
other side.

When I got there, there was a man standing
there by his car - just staring. When he saw
me he got back into his car and drove away.

I guessed that he was just there reminiscing.
It must have been a beautiful area at one time..
and a popular recreational place for residents
in the area.

This was the boat launch area.

To the left is a small pavilion (no photo)

As I was walking around; I found myself
imagining kids running around playing,
people fishing in their boats, laughter...
but
something seemed also amiss; I stopped and
was trying to think about just what is was..?
Then I realized that I didn't see or hear one
single bird! That struck me as very odd
and I wondered where are they birds?

The future of this lake is still unknown
There will be a meeting in February to find
a way to secure funding for all of the repairs -
$6.3 million is needed.

They say it could take years for the problem to be resolved.

Meanwhile the boats are stored.

To find out more about this lake please visit

Save Speedwell.org

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-01T01:10:00.001-05:00

Design Board

2012-01-30T01:06:00.004-05:00

I went to Michael's today and found a

foam board for $15.99 made by Elmers.

I had a 40% off coupon and decided

to buy the board and try to make myself

a design board. Which I did! I covered it

with batting and hot glue and it's very light weight

so it only took 2 nails to hang it.

It works great! Here are the blocks from my
heart swap on Facebook on my new board.
Aren't they pretty?
The board is about 4' x 4' and I'm very happy
with it!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T12:02:00.002-05:00

Monoprinting

2012-01-20T20:06:00.015-05:00

I love playing with paints -

and was so inspired by Judi's

(Approachable Art)

monoprints - that I had to try it for myself!

I found a step by step video at youtube.com

by Linda Germain. Excellent!

After watching Linda's video I thought I

did it all correctly - my mold fell apart!

I realized, after going through the trash and

counting the gelatin packets - that I didn't

add enough gelatin. So, I had to make another

trip to the store. This time I made sure I counted

the packets correctly - and it came out great!

This is my first time and I was experimenting

with paints and inks and techniques ----

Setacolor paint - leaves for prints
I also used a paintbrush to lay down the paint

Setacolor paint applied with a brush
I used plastic shelf liner underneath and also
embossed paper towels! Didn't think it would work
but it did!

Setacolor paint applied with a roller.
I cut out paper leaves with freezer paper
and ironed on the fabric as a mask.
I tried making more prints with the paint
that was on the freezer paper after peeling it
off.

Setacolor paints applied with a brush.
I used leaves and some drypoint with
a chop stick - also my hand cut stencil.
(drypoint - making marks in the paint that
you brushed on)

Setacolor paints applied with roller -
plastic shelf lining under and my freezer
paper leaves on top.
I used WAY too much paint but I think I
can save this piece with some black on top.
Maybe??

Too much paint that puddled - but I'm learning!
I really love the paper towel underneath! (to the right)

Next I had this brainstorm-
I had bought those aluminum disposable
cookie sheets that have a design on them and so

I used Tsukineko inks and painted the
cookie sheet with a brush - then with a
dry roller went over the top of the fabric.
I think it came out pretty cool!

I had lots of fun with this project and hopefully
will get better as I learn more about it!

Thanks Judi!!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T23:34:00.002-05:00

Free Motion Challenge

2012-01-11T21:54:00.014-05:00

by SewCalGal

I'm not new to Free Motion Quilting but I can certainly use

the practice and to challenge myself to improve and learn

new techniques. That's what this Challenge is all about - it's

not a contest or a class.

There is also a Facebook page where we can chat,

show photos and ask lots of questions.

Every month there will be a FMQ expert teacher to give us

tips and tutorials. This month it's Frances Moore -

You can read her blog Click here

Frances does beautiful work and we thank her for taking time

to help us out!

I haven't done FMQ in quite awhile, so I'm a little out of practice.

Getting my space prepared:

I cut a piece of plastic shelving to put under the
foot control so that it doesn't slide while I'm sewing.

Sometimes I use the extended table and
sometimes not.. But I always use the thread
holder for FMQ - it doesn't let the thread
get tangled and it flows freely.

I wear the quilting gloves - I don't really like
the rubber tips. The gloves help me to move
the fabric more easily.

I always warm up before I FMQ and also
test new threads, needles, tension, etc.

I'm using my old faithful Kenmore sewing machine -
I don't know how old it is....??
But the needle goes up and down and it works!
It also loves to do Free Motion Quilt best!

Most machines have a Presser foot pressure dial -
**** check your manual ****
Example: 3 - is for regular sewing 2- for applique
and free motion
1- sewing chiffon, lace and other fine fabrics

I cut out the front of my darning foot with a wire
cutter so that I could see where I was going a little
bit better. I got this idea from Luann Kessi
May Your Bobbins Always Be Full blog
stop by and see Luann's quilts - they're gorgeous!!

Practice drawing out the leaf design that
Frances showed us on her blog - first -
to get the feel of the motion.

Keeping the stitches even and smooth
is very difficult but with practice will improve.

My first practice piece (in a long time) - not too bad.
I write what thread, needle and whether I used
the feed dogs up or down. In this case
I put the feed dogs up - for some reason the
stitches came out better.

I'm looking forward to more tutorials each month
and to challenge myself to practice a little each day.

Thank you SewCalGal and Frances - Miss January!

Block Swap

2011-12-28T14:09:00.011-05:00

Block Swap on Facebook

I joined a group on FB and we're swapping
heart blocks. This is my very first swap!

Here's what I received so far:

Aren't they pretty!

Here's my block that I'm sending out.
Well, one of them anyway.
They are hand applique and I don't think that
I'll make the dead line - 12 of them by January 10th!
All 12 blocks don't have to be the same but they
must have a heart or heart fabric in them - pink or
red fabric is being used.

so

This will be my alternate block.
The center is hand applique and
I went around it with decorative stitches.
I like the way it came out.

So far I have 7 of them completed
Almost there!

**************************

Insights from SewCalGal is having a Free Motion
Challenge on Facebook! You will have to have a
Facebook account to join in on the fun. To learn
more - click below

************************************

Finished Folk Art Quilt

2011-12-07T22:53:00.009-05:00

To tell you the truth; I was not a big
fan of Folk Art until I tried Dawn's
BOM - "Folk Art Tribute". I hesitated
at first then thought that I should try
something different. And I'm so happy
that I did.

This took me about one year to finish.
All hand applique and pieced and quilted - whew!

Dawn encouraged us to use only what we had
in our stash. Yes! I could do that - I can't wait
to use what I have so that I can buy more (-:

I wanted to use some printed background fabric
just like Dawn did but I didn't have anything that
would blend well. So I took my white fabric and tea-
dyed it.

I also did this as a quilt-as-you-go - I echo quilted
around the images twice and then hand sewed the
blocks together.

When all of the blocks were sewn together - I then
crossed hatched using Big Stitch stitches. I love this
method and it's not as hard as I thought it would be.
I used crochet cotton yarn and an embroidery needle.

The applique is needle turned and I used two
techniques; back stitching and freezer paper
for the smaller parts, such as the leaves. My
preferred method is the back stitching technique -
I feel like I'm sculpturing the fabric as I go along.
I did however, machine sew the binding - no way
was I going to hand stitch that but the back of the
binding is hand stitched. I enjoyed this project and
the photo of the quilt doesn't do it justice!

Thank you Dawn!

Vicksburg was another BOM that Dawn designed:

I love this quilt! It's waiting patiently to be quilted.

Not only is Dawn a great Quilt Designer but she
is designing a new fabric line for Henry Glass
Fabrics! Good luck Dawn! Please visit her web site
at Linen Closet Quilts

Something I borrowed from one of my Facebook
Friends.

Happy Quilting!

My Etsy Shop!

2011-10-27T14:49:00.011-04:00

I have decided to open an Etsy shop!

I have been taking photographs of my garden
for years. I also love the scenery here in Lancaster
County which leads to more photographs.
During the winter months I feed the birds
and get some great shots of them - some of
which are very funny!
I joined Facebook a couple of years ago and
posted some of my photos with "famous quotes".
My friends enjoyed them so much and said it
brought a smile to their faces. That's when I
decided to make inspirational photo note cards!

(click on photos for a larger view)

There's a couple of them that can be used
as sympathy cards. They are blank inside
so that you can write you own note.

When someone is going through a hard
time they need some support. So I created
some cards for that time period in their
life when they need to hear from a friend
to show how much they care.

A Thank you card, Thinking of you, and
even one for your Artist friends.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my cards and
that you will visit my shop.

I will be adding more items to the shop
daily. Be sure to check it out:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LindaHarvey

Thank you for visiting!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T12:56:00.002-04:00

(Wantagh, Long Island)

Why I take Photographs - Part II

2011-10-01T22:19:00.029-04:00

"Photomacrography"

which is

Macro Photography

which is

close magnification - taking a close-up to see the
tiny details.

I first heard of Macro photography on Facebook.
One of my FB friends invited me to join the group.
I didn't know what it was, so I googled it to find
out more. I decided that I wanted to learn more
about this aspect of photography to I joined the
group. The photos were amazing! And I read that
you could use your point n shoot camera to get
some pretty good shots.

So I found out that my point and shoot camera
has a built in setting for Macro (the little flower) -
(who knew?)
I never experimented with any of those other options
(the little pictures)
before this.

All excited to start, I went outside in my garden
and started to experiment with shooting some
flowers. I must have taken 100 photos. When
I uploaded them into the computer there were
only a couple that I considered okay.

These were some of my first ---

I was really amazed at this shot because I
never dreamed that I would see the pollen!
Things that your eye doesn't normal see
in passing; you can find in the macro photos.

Now of course I'm not going to get results as I
would if I had a DSLR camera with the proper lenses.
(It's not in my budget at this time to purchase one.)

Learning Process

I want to learn to use my point and shoot camera
with all it's features first - I want know it inside
out.
I comfort myself by saying that you wouldn't teach
someone who never sewed before on one of those
complicated embroidery machines? No, you would
teach them first on a very simple machine to
learn the basics first.

So this is why I enjoy taking macro photos -
It's a chance to study and question what I see.
Even if it's a bug!

Or a bee

Or two

Or a -----

A big juicy spider!

Having Lunch!

Or just a dragonfly

If a photo doesn't come out quite the way
that I wanted it; I play with it in Photoshop---

Cool ! huh!

I also use these photos to get color ideas
for my painted and dyed fabrics!

Why I take photographs:

1 - to document
2 - tell a story
3 - whatever catches my eye
4 - I am in control of what I see
5- to share the beauty and wonder of nature
with others.
6 - to learn
7 - to play
8 - to study and question
9 - colors to use in my fabric
10 - it's artistic
11 - It relaxes me and puts me in a joyful and
contemplative mental state of mind.
12 - Allowing the viewer to share a moment
in your life - (to see what you see, to feel what
you feel)
13 - A photo is a personal moment - a relationship -
one between the subject and the photographer.
14 - I just love it!

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching,
of loving. What you have caught on film is
captured forever...it remembers little things,
long after you have forgotten everything.”
Aaron Siskind

Thank you for visiting my blog

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T11:49:00.002-04:00

Why I take Photographs - Part I

2011-09-12T22:48:00.014-04:00

Why do you take Photographs?

I see this question frequently on
photography sites and forums.

We all take photos of Birthdays, Anniversaries,
Weddings, our children growing up, etc.
It's kind of like documenting you and your
family's life. It's fun looking back and
reminiscing about those days.

Me and my mom

Me and My mom
I love this photo! And that tricycle got me
in more trouble!

My dad enjoyed taking photos and sometimes

he would develop his own film.
I used to love watching him during this process;
his face filled with joy!

And so I too took photos of my children.

And sometimes my husband.

My husband...
which leads me into why I take photographs.

My husband was admitted into a nursing home
right before that time of year when everyone
gets the flu or some kind of stomach virus.
Even though the staff is continually cleaning
and washing; there's still that terrible odor
as you're walking down the halls passing rooms
where someone is presently ill.

When I would leave the building; that odor
was still with me. I would take deep breaths
outside to try to make it leave!

Meanwhile, on Facebook, someone who was
an avid photographer, friended me. Looking
at his photographs, which usually told a story,
my mind was captivated in another world.
I studied the light, the details and what the
photo said. I believe that this man "saved"
my sanity. I only wish that I had the nerve
to tell him! Maybe he'll read my blog (-:
Thank you!

I joined photography pages on FB and
friended other photographers. Did I
learn a lot! And am still continually
learning.

So now when I went to visit my husband;
I would bring my camera with me. When
I would leave; I would go for long drives
with the windows down (clear out my
head)
And look to see what caught my eye.

Sometimes just driving through the park.

This is what I thought:

I can't control the terrible images that
I see in the nursing home. I can't control
looking at my husband getting worse.
It's a very very sad feeling.

But when I was out with my camera -
Then I Am In Control Of What I See!

To be continued......

Macro? What the heck is a Macro?

Quilts > what else?

2011-09-07T18:01:00.015-04:00

I found this great pattern tutorial over at
Oh Fransson

I fell in love with the pattern and just had

to make one.

This quilt is for sale at my Etsy SHOP(click here)
I hope that you will visit.

Crazy nine patch

Because the name is "Crazy" - I thought that

I would use the left over scraps to make a

"Crazy" border.

It was quilted by a member of my Guild - The

Red Rose Quilters Guild - Kim Loar (long armer)

I just love the clam shell pattern and love the way

that the quilt came together.

********************************************

My Wild and Crazy Amish Quilts

One day while going through a

book about Amish Quilts; the thought

came to me "What if" I made traditional

Amish Patterns but used Wild and Crazy -

Bold fabrics???

So, I went through my stash looking for

the Wildest pattern I could find.

Once I found the fabrics; I had to decide

which Amish pattern to use. This is what

I choose:

Wild and Crazy Amish #1

Amish Bars - my version

I love black and white with red! And I really like the

way it came out - even though it may make your eyes cross.

I mitered the corners so that the pattern just flowed.

Wild and Crazy Amish #2

This is the Square in a Square Amish Pattern.

For the center square I used the The Stack and

Whack 4 patch technique.

I think that the colorful printed fabric is

Robert Kaufman's? and also the border?

But the light pink border is Lonni Rossi's -

I just love her fabric!

Again, I mitered the borders so that the pattern

just flowed. I really like the way this one came out!

These are just tops and have not been quilted yet.

Rest assured that I will probably do a Wild and Crazy

kind of quilt design for them.

I am planning to make a series of these.

I just love doing them and they're

so much fun!

2011-09-01T00:38:00.004-04:00

Jean Pearsall

My mom passed away last Saturday. It's so sad watching

the woman who gave you life, slowly deteriorate . Then at

the end there is a sense of relief because I know that she

isn't suffering anymore and she now has peace. I will miss

her!

Busy as a bee.....

2011-07-27T23:09:00.008-04:00

I've been as busy as a bee------

Just took a little vacation time from blogging.

I have been------

Dyeing and over dyeing

Making a quilt for my son-in-law's niece

and

Making slow progress on Dawn's BOM
Folk Art Tribute.
I echo quilted around the applique -
now I think I'm going to do crosshatch
on the rest of it. s-l-ow- but I love it!

By the way, Dawn has a new BOM!

And

of course, I've been riding through this
beautiful countryside taking photos!

Have a great week!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-11T09:26:00.001-04:00

L'Chaim!

2011-05-03T18:12:00.025-04:00

L'Chaim is Hebrew - used to toast a person
or to a couples health - or just something in general.

The literal meaning "To Life"!

Today was one of those days where I felt..
... I really don't know what word to use..
maybe "spiritual" or "in sync" with the
universe? Wow that sounds so 60's!
Or how about "oneness" or "in perfect
harmony" .. whatever. Ever feel that way?

While shopping in a store - did you ever
make eye contact with someone and then
at the same exact moment you both smile
and say "hello" to each other. And you don't
even know them and have never seen them before!

I asked a friend about this once and she said
that it happens to her. Her explanation was
that your inner spirits recognize one another..?
Kindred spirits maybe.
All I know that when it happens it makes
me very happy ... don't know why that is but
it does.
And this is how my day progressed.

There's a robin red-breast that has taken
residence in a small tree by my front door.
Every time I come out or go in she goes
crazy twittering away. Kind of like yelling
at me. So when I came home from shopping;
she wasn't there. I suspected that she was
guarding her nest and sure enough I found
a nest with 4 little baby birds! I took advantage
of her absence and grabbed for my camera before
her return. I gently pushed aside the branches
(I didn't want to scare the little ones to death!)
and I proceeded to take several shots.

Here's the nest.
I have to come in a little closer without
scaring them.

Oh wow! I was never this close to
a bird's nest before this!

I guess they're waiting for some
juicy worms.

I had my camera set on Macro.
You can see the little hairs... future
feathers on his head! Aren't they
adorable!

L'Chaim

Onward to the Garden!

"Almost there"
Iris

Such glorious colors!

Doesn't it seem like everything turned
green so fast!

And finally

Folk Art Tribute

Dawn just published the last block.
The basket block on the bottom.
The pieces are cut out and backed with
freezer paper, the binding is pressed.
Now I just need to applique everything
down.
The middle block is hand quilted.
This will probably take me all summer
to hand quilt! I love it!
Thank you Dawn!

Psalm 92
For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work:
I will triumph in the works of thy hands.

L'Chaim!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T10:05:00.002-04:00

April 24

2011-04-24T23:03:00.021-04:00

Hope that everyone had a very Blessed
Easter.

I am all caught up with Dawn's BOM - Folk Art Tribute

This is the first time that I have ever attempted
anything folk artsy. So I was a little out of my
comfort zone here. I was unsure what fabrics
would go well with Dawn's folk art designs. I was
frantically digging around in my stash to hopefully
make it work.

Here is the middle block which I'm hand
quilting.

I'm using the quilt-as-you-go technique and also
hand quilting them. Here I'm echoing around the
applique piece - this is new to me also as I've never
done this before.

There is one more block for Dawn to publish.

*******************************

I also just finished the binding on another
quilt that guild member Kim Loar quilted
for me. Yeah!

Swirling flowers in variegated thread.

**********************************

I went to Long Island to visit my daughter and son-in-law
for a week in their new home!
I haven't been there in 4 years because of my husband's
illness. It felt so good to be back!

The first place that we went to was Iavarone Bros.
They have the best Italian food!

Sausage bread

Stromboli to die for!
(is it any surprise that I've gained
5 lbs. !)

My daughter wanted to buy some plants for
her garden and so we went to Hicks Nursery.
I haven't been there in years.

And being a native Long Islander - I just had
to see the docks at Freeport.

My father's family has lived in Hempstead since
1644, being one of the original settlers here.

******************************

Look who I found while I was sitting in
the backyard.

Looks to me like she's getting ready
to build a nest somewhere!

Red breasted Robin
I haven't been able to get a photo
of them in my yard.

One of the biggest thrills for me was that
I found a quilt shop!
Gone Sewing
When I lived here there was not one quilt shop
in Nassau county! So when I visit my daughter again;
I'll have a quilt shop to hang out in!

2011-04-08T23:07:00.009-04:00

I have managed to finish yet another
quilt! My closet is gradually emptying
out and that makes me feel like I'm
actually accomplishing the task that
I set out to do.

This quilt top below; I've blogged about
sometime last year. I had this fabric
for a couple of years (I think).

I had bought two packs of fat quarters and
forgot who the manufactured the fabric.
I know I bought it at The Old Country Store
in Intercourse; so I brought some scraps in
to see if they had more of it. The woman there
told me "oh that's old".
The reason that I wanted more of this fabric
is because I decided that I did want borders
on it. Previously, I didn't.

To me the colors in this quilt top
reminded me of Amy Butler colors.
So, now I'm thinking and thinking of what
to do and decided to go to The Sassy Tassel
in Lititz - they have bolts of her fabric.
I found one that "almost" matched and went
with that.

I took whatever scraps that I had left and
made a small border around. Then took
the Amy Butler fabric and made another
larger border. I wasn't happy with the way
it looked so I thought about making squares
of Amy's fabric and adding it to the center of
the bento-like boxes. Then adding more
scraps around the border. I liked the way
it worked and machine appliqued the squares
on.

Now that it was finished; I gave it to Kim
to longarm.

Can you see the humming bird that she quilted on it!

There are also leaves and flowers but the
humming bird is my favorite!

Kim also quilted my Carpenter Wheel quilt top,
from Mimi and Norma's class.

I'm donating this one to Quilts of Valor.

Look at the stars and swirls that Kim quilted on
this top. Love this pattern and great for QOV!

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Don't know which end is up?

Have a great week!