Sunday, January 13, 2008

Over The Top

Maybe I've actually lost my mind, but I'm still working on the same purse. I've been working on it for 2 weeks now (when I'm not at work that is...& now that I think about it, I've even been working on it at lunch at work, so I've no idea how many hours I have invested in this piece). I thought, even though I'm not finished, I'd start showing you a bit of what I'm doing on this one. I'm intentionally going "Over the Top With Embellishments". I'm going to be teaching a class by the same name, & needed a new purse for travel, so here's a little bit of Side #1.
Yarn fringe, fabric beads, glass beads, & burned fabric leaves. The base fabric is polyester Micro fiber. It looks & feels like suede, but is sturdy & stain resistant.
I've included 3 of the fused glass cast offs that my dear friend Mindy gave me. Bless her. I held them down to the surface with 2 different methods of Threadplay. The green side is just free-motion thread, the dark brown side is a thread base the needle-woven fun fibers.
I ran out of the tiny like dark bronze beads after spilling the small amount I had left, & there is one section I was 1/2 way through embellishing with them, so I decided I had to make an emergency trip to the Alaska Bead Co. It was a gloriously sunny day outside, so I thought I'd head out. I checked the thermometer, to decide which coat to wear. It was -4.9 F.
That's frost on my car, not snow. I decided the down-filled Eddie Bauer coat would be the best choice.
Sometimes when the sun shines, it doesn't mean warmth. It was still a beautiful day though.
I love the blue of the sky against the white mountain peaks on a crispy winter day.
Here's what I came home with. Of course not one of them is an exact match for the beads I wanted. But I guess I'll just have to get creative!

12 comments:

Granny Fran said...

The purse is looking gorgeous! Your snow photos are lovely but I don't think I could go out in that kind of weather. I could have when younger, but not now. I'd just have to enjoy it through a window.

laura west kong said...

I love the purse, such beautiful details!

I can't take the snow and cold either, mid 60s are looking mighty warm after all.

Debra Dixon said...

I'm glad there are souls like you who want to live in the snow. Don't count me as one of them!

Your purse is looking lovely!

Amy Munson said...

The teasers of the purse look great, cant wait to see it finished

Kathy -MIQuilter said...

Your purse is wonderful, can't wait to see it finished. I love the set in glass objects.
I told Vicky the same thing, her mom is so happy!

Micki said...

Can't wait to see the finished purse. Looks good so far. Beautiful country with all that snow, but waaaaay too cold for me.

allie aller said...

The monochrome work on side 1 of the purse just blew me away. Amazing texture there!!!!
Cute pic of you in the sunshine, too. ;-)

Shirley Goodwin said...

Oh how fabulous! You have such patience.

roxanestoner said...

Hey Deb, Your work is so nice on this purse. It just kills me not to see the whole thing. I do love the picture of your face all bundled up. I also had to smile about the picture of the purchase at the bead shop.... I can relate to that soooo much. I go for one thing end up not finding it and buying 20 things more. Collecting is so much fun isn't it? I will see you tonight at the meeting.
Later

Linda Fleming said...

Oh, Deb, that purse is looking stunning! Love all the rich embellishing you are doing. Isn't it frustrating when you run out of beads in the middle of something and then can't get more of the same beads? But as creative as you are, you will make it work. I can't wait to see this fabulous purse finished.

Helen said...

The purse looks really interesting Debs. You're lucky having a bead store close. Please encourage them to get on with their online store ;)). Isn't it always the way... once you dare set foot in a place like that you know it's a "dangerous" place to be and impossible to return with only one thing :)
Stay warm x

My Brain on Quilts said...

Absolutely stunning purse!
We have the threat of snow in Atlanta and there was a run on the market. Milk, bread, eggs. Gone, all gone. Heavens what would we do in -4 weather?