And the winner is....

Judy Haas!

She has chosen the vintage watch, good choice!

My new baby

is big and heavy, but just what I need, and it came in time to be set up for my birthday! It was shipped as freight, and I was told to have help available when it arrived. So what toes a mom of 3 boys to? She bribes her oldest son and some of his friends to help, and is amazed how strong they are. They decided to carry the whole crate around to the studio door, which turned out to be a very wise decision, because it was much easier to lift when using the wood framing, than once it was removed.

The quilting table came in that crate, and my new George quilting machine came in a separate box to protect it. One of them asked what I would need it for, and before I could answer, another asked him if he had noticed all the quilts they had passed in the house, and that was what the machine was going to be used for. Of course the boys had never seen a long arm quilting machine, and commented that I must be a hardcore quilter to get such a machine. So here it is, my new baby George!

Giveaway reminder

Today is the last day to leave a comment and be entered to win one of these three:

Current progress

Yes, I know you can't tell what this is - it's because it is for a challenge and can't be seen yet. What I will tell you, is that the top is complete, and ready for basting and quilting.

Curious George - the squirrel

This little guy was so cute and entertaining, I didn't mind him stealing the bird's food.

Instead of running from my camera, he was curious and came closer. If the window had been open, I bet he would have come inside. He even posed for me!

Gilded Scrolls

I've been holding out on posting this one, while I decided if it would be entered into any contests with photo restrictions or not, but finally decided it was time to go ahead and show it to you. In February, I took Ellen Lindner's Instant Art Quilt class, to learn her piecing technique, and made two quilts, this being the second. Since I'm a free motion quilter, I strayed from the class instructions when it came to quilting, and finishing with both of them, doing it my way (although I really like her piecing method and will do it again). I love the look of vintage scrollwork, so using copyright free scrollwork designs, it was quilted, and then the scrollwork was painted.

More spinning..... an update on my progress

I've finally finished spinning singles from the Northern Lights yarn! Wabbit said I should have enough for a hat and small scarf, or a small shawl, and I'm happy I should have enough to make a whole project from. I'll make sure to choose a pattern that can be worked until I'm close to running out, so that I can use as much as possible. Of course, these still need to be plied, and the twist set, before I can start knitting with them.

Thank you all

for visiting, it's so nice to hear from all of you! I keep adding names to the jewelry drawing, and if you missed the giveaway post, it is on Sept 16, and you have until Sept 26 to leave a comment to be entered.

Chickadee for Michelle - how it was done

Earlier this month, I was asked how it was done, so I thought I'd give an illustrated explanation (although I only took one in-progress photo at the time).

First, the little chickadee was drawn lightly with a pencil on white fabric with a regular pencil, and then painted (the photo is one of my extras). When the paint was dry, they were layered with thin cotton batting, and quilted. I did several, so that I would be able to do a little practicing, with both painting and quilting. Before it was appliqued to the quilt top, the batting was cut away from the back, leaving batting only under the bird, and then the fabric was trimmed, leaving about 1/ 4" seam allowance.

I decided to use batik fabric for the tree and leaves, as it doesn't fray nearly as much as other quilting cottons. The background fabric was set on top of a layer of batting, then branches and leaves were cut freehand, and pinned in place on the background. Straight stitches were used around the edges of the applique pieces, with feather stitch used for the veins on the leaf. The little chickadee was hand appliqued in place on the branch, as I didn't want large stitches to detract from the painted image.

The backing was cut at least an inch longer than I would have used for a quilt with binding, then it was cut about 3" down from the top, and sewn back together, leaving an opening large enough to turn it right side out. After turning and pressing, it was quilted (yes it is more difficult to hang onto when quilting at the edges, but is the easiest, and quickest way to finish a small quilt.

For the chickadee's nest I twisted a variety of ribbons together and pinned them in place. Beads and buttons were used to tack it in place and embellish at the same time, and a bead was used for the bird's eye. All that was left was to add the hanging sleeve to the back and sign it.

Mermaid Forest Socks - one down, one to go

This is where I am with my current take-along sock project. They are called Mermaid Forest Socks from SuzisKnits, and I love the way they are coming out (although I did decide not to continue the lace pattern down into the foot). The yarn I'm using is a Jumbo Gems superwash fingering yarn by louet, that has been hand painted in the Key West Waters colorway by Cherry Tree Hill.

They are going slower than the others for a few reasons, I'm knitting lace, which always takes me longer than simple knit and pearl designs, the pattern uses quite different heel and toe designs, and we have been spending less time in the car during daylight. Somehow we always end up traveling home in the dark, so there isn't enough light to knit by - not that I haven't tried. I've knit as the sun was going down, and then ended up taking out what I had knit because it was incorrect due to the fact that I just couldn't see what I was doing well enough. Well time to cast on the second sock, so it will be ready for the next trip.

Jewelry and Stone Donuts

Teri asked where I found the stone donuts - I found them at Fusion Beads in Seattle. They also have a website, and the website has newer products that are available before they arrive in the brick and mortar shop (I had gone there looking for beads in their newsletter, but they weren't there yet). You can find the donuts starting on this page of their site (in the New Products area of their site - near the bottom of the navigation menu).

Giveaway

In celebration of the blog award, I thought it might be a good time to offer a gift to those of you who not only read my blog, but take a minute to post a comment. Now in order for me to award it, you will need to provide me with your email address, so that I can contact you if you win, to get the mailing information (if you don't want to post it in the comment, you can provide it in a separate, private email. You have until Sept 26th to leave me a comment to be entered into a drawing to win your choice of one of the following:

Good luck to everyone!

Jewelry making

As you can tell, I've been busy making jewelry......

I love stone donuts, and here are just a couple things that can be done with them.

Green is one of my favorite colors to wear, goes with so much!

My bead version of a charm bracelet.

And a silver watch that can go with just about everything.

And the award goes to...

Remember when I told you that Paddy's Daughter awarded me the "I heart your blog" award? You probably thought I'd forgotten about it, but I've just been trying to figure out who to pass it on to, and what could be done to celebrate. I think I'll celebrate by doing a giveaway (details to follow). Decisions, decisions, decisions...

There are so many great blogs out there, my computer has a long list stored for me, and I know there are so many more that I haven't discovered yet. However, I think I've finally decided to pass the award on to these blogs (even though I'd love to be able to give it to all of them) and hope you will like the variety.

So here it is, the short list (in alphabetical order):

All Things Quilty - Jeanne creates quilts and does longarm quilting for herself and others. Currently, she is doing some experimentation with art crayons on fabric.

And So it Goes - Terry's blog has quite a variety of textile art, some created for challenges or special exhibitions.

Andrea Joseph's Sketchblog - Andrea does the most incredible drawings, with so much detail. I'm always checking to see what she has drawn, and many times I keep the page open, as my computer art for the day.

BaddaBingBaddaBoom Sisters - Patricia is a fiber artist who creates the most interesting fabric collage from photographs and imagination.

Dyed and Gone to Heaven - Lisa is a textile artist who is also a dyer and teacher who makes colorful quilts and shares with us not only her projects, but also some of her students' work.

In a Minute Ago - Sharon is an awesome crazy quilter who does the most exquisite needlework, and is so sharing with techniques. She hosts challenges, has an online stitch dictionary and many other online resources.

Kindred Threads - Angela is a fiber artist who shares her beautiful weaving, dyeing and spinning projects. and takes us with her to fiber fairs and festivals.

The rules of this award are as follows:
1. The winner can put the logo on the blog.
2. Put a link on the blog to the person who awarded it.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Put links to those you nominate and
5. Advise those you have nominated.

Watches with beaded bands

It seems we are always busy in our house, many things to do, places to go, and since the kids are older, most of us are on different schedules, running in different directions.

I'm working on another challenge quilt, so can't post photos of that, but I did manage to take a little time to do a little jewelry making, and can share that with you. The watch I wear every day needed a little repair, as the jump ring that attaches the band to the watch had separated, and as I was getting out the tools, I noticed some watch faces that were waiting for bands. After a bit more digging, I found everything I needed not only to repair my every day watch, but to finish these watches, as well as some bracelets. I just couldn't resist posting a quick picture of these now - instant gratification, you know.

My blog has been chosen!

I never dreamed my blog would receive an award, but by Paddy's Daughter awarded it this one:


As it's the beginning of my birthday month, it is one of the first gifts for me to receive, and I'm truly surprised! The difficult part is going to be choosing who to pass the award to, because

there are so many great blogs out there, but I'll put on my thinking cap and come up with some winners.