Yarns

I added more yarn to my stash. These will be used in a variety of projects. I couldn't resist the variegated ones as there are so many different colours in one ball. Since I don't knit with them, I can cut them up and felt them or lay them out and eventually make 'fantasy' fabric to use in a project.

• Pinterest: Yarn and wool felt projects
• Felting, More HERE, 
• Felt Projects to Make 
• Free Felting Projects     

 Enjoy!!
    

My Sew Together Bag is Finished!

This beautiful, sunny afternoon was spent in my studio finishing up one of my UFO's. This Sew Together Bag has been on the go since last spring. It was even with me last summer in Nova Scotia. I am 'sew' glad there was a tutorial on making it as the pattern lacked pictures. The Quilt Barn has the tutorial. Now you can see where I used my decorative machine stitched piece. I used all batik fabrics for this one.

Check out other Sew Together Bags on Pinterest HERE, HERE & HERE. It's interesting to see what fabric combinations others have used!

Thanks, Linda in NS

Enjoy!!

Decorative Machine Stitches

Even though I enjoy hand embroidery, I do like the effect of using decorative machine stitches. Here's a couple of pieces that are ready to use in future projects.

Batik fabric

• Decorative Stitches: Love Them! Use Them!
• Sewing Tips for Decorative Stitches  More HERE,  
• Ten Creative Ways to Use Decorative Stitches on Your Sewing Machine 
• Pinterest ideas HERE, HERE & HERE   
• Using Decorative Machine Stitches    
• Rebecca Kemp Brent: You Tube using decorative stitches

Enjoy!!

Red Work Done in Blue

I'm trying to do a little hand stitching everyday during 2017. So far, I've managed to do just that. My doodle cloth, which I started last year, is for experimenting with different threads and yarns using a variety of stitches. My one 'rule' on the doodle cloth - no taking out stitches. I will try to self correct as I continue stitching or do a 'restart' next to the fumbled work! Like my word? 

I have several other different pieces ready to stitch. These are my TV watching pieces as I really can't sit with idle hands. I don't know about you, but I need something fairly simple at times like that. Concentrating on a complicated pattern is for other times.
Here's my latest finish:

I don't know where I got this image - sorry! It was traced onto fabric a few years ago and put aside. This one will be quilted and probably made into a small wall hanging. I used a back stitch using Valdani Threads.

There are thousands of images out there to use for hand stitching. All those Adult Colouring books, for example, that are flooding the book stores, supermarkets etc, have excellent images to reproduce onto fabric. Maybe bits and pieces from several images can be combined to make a totally different piece. Experiment!

Here's a few links with images / patterns to use:

• Hand Embroidery Patterns on Pinterest HERE, HERE,  
• Red Work on Pinterest HERE,   
• Free patterns from Bird Brain Designs   
• Red Work Patterns 

Enjoy!  

Happy Birthday, Jill & a Giveaway to Celebrate!!

Today is my daughter's birthday. I want to send her the warmest wishes possible. Hopefully, next year we will be all together to celebrate in style!! There will be lots of chocolate cake.

• Happy Birthday Place Mat
• Quilted Themed Birthday Party on Pinterest HERE,  HERE,    
• Quilty Fun Birthday Block 
• Happy Birthday Quilt     
• Birthday Cross Stitch  More HERE & HERE 

Enjoy your day, JIll!  

Also, to celebrate, I will be giving away one of my shimmers to two lucky people. Please leave a comment on this post. You will get an extra chance to win if you sign up to receive notification of future posts or if you are already a follower (let me know with an extra comment). The draw will take place on February 6th. The winners will be notified via email and here on my blog. Good Luck. 

C & T Publishing

2017 Road to California Winners

Today's Showcase of quilts - the 2017 winners of the Road to California Quilt Show. Eye candy? You bet it is!! Have fun.

Now check out these other Road to California winning quilts:

• Miniature Quilts Road to California winners (Pinterest)
• 2016 Winners 
• 2015 Winners 
• 2014 Modern Quilt Winners   

Best Modern Quilt – Lost in Space by Clare Victor, Palm Springs, CA 2014

Cats - A New Shimmer Design

Another new Shimmer has been added to the collection. So far, I have them embroidered in black and gray.  These are 4 inches high.

Cats:

• Cats on Pinterest HERE, HERE,
• Cat Embroidery on Pinterest HERE,  HERE,  & HERE
• Cat Embroidery of Hiroko Kubota  
• Free Kitten embroidery from Bustle & Sew

Enjoy!!!

Contemporary Needlelace: Art of Agnes Herczeghe

Have you seen the incredible needle lace and pillow lace of Agnes Herczeghe? I just discovered her amazing work on a recent post by Feeling Stitchy, Stitchy Snippits: Lace Pictures.

Agnes refers to her art as making pictures with lace. Well, let me tell you, it's not the lace found in fabric shops. Read more about her in this interview posted on Creative Room 4 Talk, HERE.
Check out her Pinterest Board HERE.



More  about Needle lace:

• Needle Lace Wikipedia 
• Learning Needle Lace 
• Tutorial from Michael Dennis Needlelace   
• Armenian Needle Lace 
•  on Pinterest      

 Enjoy!!

2017 Tokyo Quilt Festival

The Tokyo Quilt Festival opened its doors on January 19, 2017. My friend sent along this link from Okan Arts and it is well worth a look at the beautiful quilts. This show is open for seven days so I'm sure there will be lots more photos posted by various quilters who attended the show.

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four

Photos from past shows:

• On Pinterest HERE,   
• Videos (some work)
• 2016 Part One
• 2016 Part Two 

Grab a cup of something and enjoy!!

    

New Embroidery Books

Two new hand embroidery books have been added to my library. One of my friends has these and brought them to one of our stitch days. Of course, they were "must have"! 

The projects in Simply Stitched uses a combination of wool embroidery thread and cotton embroidery floss on linen. Using wool means that fewer stitches are used. However, using thicker embroidery floss, might just work as well (my opinion). The motifs are simple yet elegant and can be used in a variety of ways. You can experiment and use them in other projects than those in the book.

Zakka Embroidery designs are 'an elegant blend of Japanese and Scandinavian style. The motifs and patterns are spare and graphic, yet softened with organic shapes and imagery drawn from nature'. In this book, the motifs are stitched using just one or two colours. The photographs, the step-by-step instructions and detailed diagrams, are very well done. I can see using this book for inspiration, perhaps taking bits and pieces and incorporating them into an original piece.

Some inspiration, tutorials, Pinterest . . .

• Pinterest HERE (work is fantastic), HERE, & HERE 
• Art of Michelle Kingdom, UK   
• Thread Organizer  
• Yumiko Higuchi on Instagram & Pinterest  (both worth a look)

Enjoy!!  

Paper Pieced Hearts

I was digging through some of my mother's things (she just moved to a nursing home) and found this paper pieced wall hanging that I made ages ago.  It's hanging on her wall beside her bed.

Here's a few links to valentine blocks / projects:

• Paper Pieced Hearts More HERE  
• Mug Mat   (cute) another HERE
• Heart Tutorial (can be used for Crazy Quilting) Another HERE   
• Candy Box Heart    
• Quilted Hearts on Pinterest HERE & HERE  
• Free Heart Patterns from Quilt Inspirations  

Enjoy!

Finally Found!!!

Have you ever put something away and forgotten where it was? I've been searching for my clamp-on embroidery hoop holder for ages. Husband made it years ago when I was taking some embroidery courses. It folds flat, which I had forgotten about, so I wasn't looking for it in that format. I've searched the house from top to bottom.

Today, I happened to look for something else (isn't that always the case), and found it under one of the machines. I was a happy camper but also a little ticked off that it took so long to find!

Folded flat!

Clamped on, ready to use! The part holding the hoop rotates so I can see the back of my work.

This is a very handy gadget! Lots of knobs for adjusting.
You can also see the progress I'm making on my snowmen.

Enjoy your weekend. St. John's is under a blizzard advisory. Nothing happening yet! Maybe it will miss us? Wishful thinking . . .

The Dory

The original smaller Dory Shimmer has been slightly enlarged as you can see. It was the smallest of my shimmers but very popular with tourists. I will have a selection of these at the wholesale show in February.

• Fishing Designs and more on Pinterest HERE, HERE (embroidery),  & HERE  
• Fish & Quilts 
• Fish & Boat Quilts on Pinterest  HERE    
• Little Fish Hand Embroidery Pattern   

     Enjoy!!

New Shimmers

New shimmers in the studio today! I've had requests for music related shimmers so here's a start. These are about 4" high.

• Music Quilts on Pinterest HERE,  HERE,  & HERE 
• 6" Musical Notes Block  another HERE  

Enjoy!!  

All About Modern

Modern Quilting - what exactly is it? The Stitchin' Post gives an answer to this question.
According to the "Modern Quilt Guild," modern quilts are primarily functional and inspired by modern design. Modern quilters work in different styles and define modern quilting in different ways, but several characteristics often appear which may help identify a modern quilt. These include, but are not limited to: the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, expansive negative space, and alternate grid work. "Modern traditionalism" or the updating of classic quilt designs is also often seen in modern quilting."

Me, I like the ones with lots of white or black space and colour. The colour would not be any particular quilt block - more random.  I also like the work of Jean Wells. Her books, Inspired Art Quilting and Intuitive Color & Design are both  in my library collection.

• Modern Quilt Blocks on Pinterest HERE, HERE & HERE  
• Modern Monday 
• Modern Quilt Blocks 
• Modern BOM from Sew Mama Sew 
• Modern Quilt Guild    
• Tallgrass Prarie Studio  (Jacquie Gering) 
• Jean Wells on Pinterest   
• Scrapmaster  (my friend, Linda's blog) 

Enjoy!!
 

Jacquie Gering Quilt, part of her Trunk Show here in St. John's

Another one of Jacquie's quilts

Eye Candy

Sometimes it nice to just look at other artists work, don't you think? I enjoy seeing what others are doing. You never know what might trigger an idea for a new project.

Not one to make excuses for what I do, I'm very proud to present my artist daughter, Jill Thirza Cooper. Have a look at her work and bio.

• Next are birds, beautiful embroidered / beaded birds made by Julia Gornia. Her work is exquisite.
• Embroidery by Kitaeva Irina. It's not in English but scroll through her posts. 
• Textile Art by Susan Teech 
• Embroidered Art by Rachel Wright
• Kate Barlow's Budgerigar - a gorgeous piece. 
• Adventures Textiles by Cecile Maraglia 
• Fiber Artist / Embroiderer, Eve Botelho 

 Enjoy!1
    

3-D, A Look Back

I was going through my mom's things this weekend (she just moved to a new nursing home) and came across this quilted wall hanging of The Matthew. I designed and created this one for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary in 1997. It is a much smaller version of the one I made to commemorate the 500th. anniversary of John Cabot's Discovery of Newfoundland, 1497 -1997.

Read more about The Matthew HERE.

The ship is in 3-D. I found a good photo to use from off one of our local brewery boxes. I traced it onto fabric and went from there. The sails are made from a silky fabric. Fabric stiffener was used on the edges to make them billow out.

Click on the photo to get a closer view.


Enjoy these few links:

• Sailing Ship quilt block  
• Free Pattern of Sail Boat Quilt 
• Sail Boats & Nautical on Pinterest     
• The Mayflower  
• Applique Sailing Ship

 

All About Cats!

This post is all about cats! Why? Because my granddaughter just got a new kitten which she named Holtzmann. That's the name of her favorite Ghostbuster's character.

We had a cat for 17 years. I don't miss the cat hairs but having a cat around was nice.



Cats to quilt and stitch:

• Mini Cat Cross Stitch Series at Happiness is Cross Stitching 
• Tiny Kitten in a Box 
• Calico Cat Ornament (crazy quilting)     
• Cat Applique Patterns 
• Free Cat Patterns 
• Love Me, Love My Cat Applique Pattern    
• Stained Glass Cat Pattern     
• Cat / Dog Quilts on Pinterest     

Enjoy! 

TGIF - the 13th!

Friday the 13th! Anyone superstitious?  It rained here most of the day and the only thing I was concerned about was maybe slipping on some of the ice that remained. I didn't give a thought to anything related to the 13th.

I've found another Blog Hop that started January 9 so you already have a couple of days to check.  This one is New Beginnings by Island Batik. It's interesting to see what other quilters create using specific fabrics and colour themes.



If you still want to browse quilt related 'stuff', go to Crazy Mom Quilts. I've mentioned this site several times before.  

Regarding my studio work: not much happened today. I stitched out 80 Viking Ship Shimmers this week as I have a couple of orders for the spring tourist seasons. It's great when I get early requests for things. Today I managed to stitch out some dory's.  These are larger than my previous ones. I will post a photo when they are ready.

Time to do some free style stitching!
Enjoy!!

Hearts

I was searching for some Valentine's Day projects and came across a bunch of free cross stitch patterns at Cyber Stitchers.com.  You will find all kinds of subject matter there.

Now on to my original subject of Valentines,  as you have just a month to get something done in time. I'm not into the heart / Valentine related stuff but lots of you are. Here are a few finds for today:

• Hex and Heart Coasters (these I could do and use) 
• Heartfelt Valentine's Day Sewing Projects from All People Quilt   
• Valentine Quilts on Pinterest HERE 
• Stitch a Fabric Valentine in 15 minutes   
• 7 Quick Valentine Projects  
• Hearts & Valentines - free quilting projects   

Of course, my Fibre Art Heart Shaped Pendants are just the thing to wear on Valentine's Day or any day, for that matter. As you can see below, the traditional reds and pinks aren't found here.

 

     

To The Moon

The moon was quite large this afternoon. I took several photos but they were not clear. However, this one was interesting. The larger circle is the moon and the other two are lights in the parking lot but it does look like three moons up there (GRIN)!  Could be an alien sky!!

Links:

• Free moon and stars quilt  
• Sun & Moon quilts on Pinterest 
• Moon Phases Quilt Tutorial 
• Moon & Stars Applique 
• Moonlight Star 

Enjoy!             

Free Quilt Along from Sew Fresh Quilts

I've just added a new button on the side of my blog, Have a Jolly Little Christmas Quilt Along with Sew Fresh Quilts. This quilt along begins January 14th. You can make as many or as few blocks as you wish to create either a quilt, a mini wall hanging, a cushion, a table runner, a bed runner or whatever your heart desires!!

Christmas is a whole year away so if you get started now, you could have a few special handmade gifts ready to give.

Did I mention that this is a FREE Quilt Along from Sew Fresh Quilts?

In my 'spare' time, I've been stitching up a snowman mini. It is my take away piece when stitching with friends. I find that when we get together, it's hard to concentrate on a 'follow a pattern' piece.


I'm using an 8 inch hoop and # 8 Valdani Pearl Cotton. Note the tiny magnet holding my needle. It's easier to let the magnet catch the needle.

Stitching Patterns:

• Redwork Embroidery (note the alphabet series)
• Redwork and Embroidery on Pinterest  
• Quilt Inspiration Redwork Patterns    

If you are looking for something different, check out the 'adult colouring books' that seem to be all the rage these days.

Or maybe Zentangle Designs might be something different to stitch. Check Pinterest HERE  & HERE for some and this YouTube on How To Draw Zen-tangles, is a good one.    

Enjoy!!      

Hand Embroidery

I have several embroidery links to share.

• Martha Fieber   Landscape in Thread - Hand Embroidery
• Savage Stitch    The Art of Hand Embroidery 
• Cazadora de inspiracion     Pinterest boards for this artist HERE   
• The Splendid Sampler  
• Adventures Textile  
• Pinterest: Hand Embroidery 
• Hand Embroidery Network              

 A tiny hand embroidery on one of my Fibre Art Pendants.

The Rooms

We took the family to The Rooms today for brunch. The food and the view of St. John's was awesome!
One of the galleries had an exhibit of Inuit art. Photographs were permitted. I did zero in on a couple of pieces with applique, beading and fine stitching.

The caribou are beautiful!

 Carved antler 

 Basket weaving

Sewing Projects

This week, I've been trying to cram in lots of family time with granddaughter and her parents. They go back to Nova Scotia on Sunday. I did finish a lovely fleece robe for Gale and started a small embroidered snowman wall hanging. And, I have started making more Shimmer Ornaments for the Wholesale Show in February.

Since I have nothing to show you today, have a look at these projects:

• Mug or Can Organizer 
• Fat Quarter Projects 
• Bento Box 
• Round Nesting Boxes 
• Fabric Baskets 
• Lots of Tutorials 
• Open Wide Zipper Pouch Tutorial 
• Snippets 

  This snowman is from Sandy Point, NL - my brother's place!  
                                 

Home Sweet Home: An Embroidery Workbox

This is the third book that I received for Christmas. I'm not interested in 'building' another workbox but I was curious about the embroidery stitches and how Carolyn Pearce used them. Beautiful coloured photos, detailed instructions and clear diagrams, provide all you need to embroider and construct the workbox and matching accessories.

The book has a full size pattern sheet and lots of step-by-step photos to help you create all the projects in the book.

Some sewing kits:

• On Pinterest: HERE, HERE & HERE    
• Tag Along Sewing Kit  
• Travel Sewing Kit   Another HERE  
• Victorian Sewing Kit 
• Matchbook Sewing Kit  
• Crochet Cupcake Pincushion Sewing Kit 
• Needle Books & Cases    

Enjoy!                     

Celebrations

This year is Canada's 150th Birthday. Celebrations will be going on across the country for the entire year. Below, are a few quilt / stitching related projects, commemorating this event:

• Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, Toronto, Ontario, is hosting a Block of the Month, The Canadian Sampler. It isn't free but some of you might be interested. It may also inspire you to design your own Canadian Quilt or wall hanging.

• The Canadian Quilting Association is hosting the Big Quilt Bee and a mystery quilt for quilters to celebrate Canada's Birthday

• Then there is Northcott's Canadian Quilt Challenge

• Sew Sew has a free paper piecing quilt pattern, Canada 150 Year Birthday Logo  

•  Canadian Mystery Quilt from A Great Notion   

• View the official logo HERE     

• Project Maple     

If you know of other projects related to Canada's Birthday, I love to hear about them.

Enjoy!!

Modern Folk Embroidery

Here's another new book added to my collection. The photos are beautiful and the designs can be found in folk art but with a modern twist. I've been following Nancy Nicholson's embroidery for awhile. I like her distinctive style, which 'draws on influences from Scandinavia and the Far East'. She uses a variety of stitches to create 30 interesting projects.

Each project is provided with embroidery suggestions which show the stitches used. There are pages of stitch combinations to explore in a variety of ways.

Links related to Folk Art:

• Freebie Christmas Tree Folk Art    
• Folk Art on Pinterest, more HERE  
• Wee Folk Art 
• Folk Art Free Patterns 
• Scandinavian Folk Designs 
• Scandinavian Embroidery on Needle 'N Thread    

Enjoy!         

Snow

Today, we woke up to a wonderland of snow. There was no wind and the trees were just laden with it - so pretty. I'm not a winter person, but can appreciate the beauty of new fallen snow. The two snow photos look like black and white.

My back garden

The snow is still on the trees at dusk. I love the Christmas Tree reflected in the living room window.

 Now for a few links:

• Snow Art   
• Winter Flurries 
• Snowflake Quilt Pattern 
• Snowball Quilts 
• Snow Quilts           

Enjoy!!        

Goals?

Do you have any goals for 2017? I want to stitch something every day even if it is just a few stitches. Last year, I started to do this on a scrap of fabric but did not follow through. I experimented with some different yarns and threads but other things took over. I used all kinds of unusual fibers, some were so thick that couching was the only way to tack them down. Now I'm going to give it another try. Some of the stitches below were used in several underwater scenes.

I also have another small snowman in one of my hoops. It may get done by next Christmas!

Here's a few embroidery links for you to check.

• Needlework and Embroidery Techniques  
• Artfabrik - Wool Stitch Along 
• Aventures Textiles 
• Let's Learn Embroidery 
• The Splendid Sampler 
• Penguin & Fish - Embroidery Stitches   

Enjoy!