in the upper corner of my small crazy quilt.
Sometimes, while I am deep in the middle of working on a project............my creative flow comes to a halt and I take some time off to reflect and gather inspiration.............and sometimes, it flies right to me..........as a colorful dragonfly did one day as I was ambling along the pond's edge..............
A dragonfly at the pond's edge in November?.........you might ask?......
Yes, here in the part of Texas I live in, although some days and nights have gotten chilly, the weather is still warm and balmy, with wildflowers still blooming, bees still gathering at the water dish and ............dragonflies at the pond.
Life is sweet.
After I watched it dip into the water and eventually buzz away, I quickly went to work at creating it for my quilt. . I embroidered the legs with regular embroidery floss, and I then embroidered it's wings with a decorative gold filament kind of thread that I usually use in counted cross stitch. I then whipped over the inside wing veins with a metallic blue filament thread.
I then embroidered the dragonfly's head with a decorative silver, rose embossed bead, and for the body I used a gold bead. I then used jewel toned bugle beads for the tail and one jewel toned seed bead at the end of the tail.......making the dragonfly look as if it is ready to take off in flight.
How about you?
In your area, is it still warm enough to see bees.....dragonflies......or a graceful butterfly perhaps?
I would love to hear.
12 comments:
Kathleen, your dragonfly is breathtaking. Firstly I love dragonflies, as they are so beautiful, and remind me of fairies flitting about. You have truly captured their beautiful wings and airy countenance.
Yes, I am sorry to say that here, south of Houston, it is still warm enough for dragonflies and, I might add, other not so welcomed guests, such as mosquitos. I am so looking forward to another cold front.
Thank you for visiting...I'm glad you did because it got me to pop by and see your lovely handiwork. I'll be back for more visits to be sure.
Enjoy the day,
Marianne
Beautiful...and yes at my New winter home... it is still warm enough for a dragonfly. I am so blessed to have this new home!
Beautiful job.
Your dragonfly is so beautiful!!! I love them!! We still seem to have mosquitos. But I haven't noticed any other bugs around. The robins have headed south and a very naughty flicker had pecked a hole in the shingles of my house to make a nest.
Kathleen, this morning I have been looking at some of your beautiful, beautiful embroidery work. I have fallen in love with your dragonfly (even though dragonflies do sometimes chase away the hummingbirds around my flowers). Lil red hen had told me I should go over to your blog and take a look at your wonderful work. Your blog is one I will keep going back to when I need inspiration, or when I just want to look at beautiful things.
Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. Blogging and working with clay are both relatively new to me, but seem to keep my mind busy which is a good thing, I think. Your quote from Henry David Thoreau is one of my favorites.
This is just amazing!! I thought it was a brooch you had attached, never imagining you made it yourself! My, you are so talented! This makes me want to finish my little crazy quilt.
Love, love your dragonfly. They are one of my favorite things. It's too cold here now so they have all gone south or hibernating. I don't know which. You should do a tutorial on how to make your dragonfly, love it!!
Whipping the butterfly veins! Great idea!
You amaze me with your stitching talent! Your dragonfly is stunning!
It's amazing! I am so impressed with your creativity and the quality (as usual) of your work! What a great inspiration you had from the real one! This is as creativity should be...the inspiration, and then the flow of artistry! And this is truly art.
I really thought your dragonfly was a broach you attached to that corner. It's so very beautiful. My 13-year old just told me yesterday that dragonflies have a very short lifespan, so I looked it up and turns out, they spend most of their life as aquatic larvae (1-3 years) and only as adults long enough to breed, and depending on the weather, they might live up to 6 months (like in TX), though in colder regions, only a few weeks. Very interesting stuff. Hope you have a great weekend. Tammy
So far I have only imagined doing hand embroidery. Your designs call to me. Maybe I will start with your designs.
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