Blogging - 1589 posts!

I was reading Margaret Blank's blog and she mentioned that she has been blogging for 15 years and posted over 1500 posts. That got me thinking, so I checked my blog profile and so far, my total is 1589 posts. I didn't think I had written that much in ten years (it will be ten next August). Some would say 'long winded'!

I've tried to keep my comments related to my art and the art of others. Most of the time, I've linked to lots of interesting sites where you will find things related to textile / fibre art such as free patterns, tutorials, YouTube videos, other blogs, teachers, classes, quilt shows . . .

Thanks for stopping by and for your comments.
Now it's time to view a few links:

• Magpie Mumblings has lots of interesting links. Her writing usually gives me a chuckle or two.
• Needle and Thread Network  
• Brown Paper Bag (from Magpie Mumblings) 
• Asian Sewing Patterns 
• Fabulous Fat Quarter Sewing Projects 
• Sashiko and Other Stitching (Susan Briscoe's photos from Tokyo 2018 Quilt Festival)
• Free Coaster Tutorials & Patterns for all Occasions   

 Enjoy!


  Here's yesterday's visitor:

Flew the Coop

We had a family of 5 baby birds nesting in the garden just under the overhang of a raised flowerbed. The mama bird was very wary of any one out in the garden and would twitter her displeasure! Today, they flew the coop! For awhile we didn't see them hiding in the flowers. All of a sudden, each one tried to fly up to the next flower bed. A couple had to make several attempts before they got the hang of flying. It was amazing to watch these tiny things take off with the mama bird.

Enjoy!

Wishing for Spring!!!

Today's post is brought to you from an overcast St. John's. I do believe the sun is shining - somewhere . . . My daughter told me it was 'sunny and warmish' in Bridgewater, NS today and my sister keeps telling me that 'spring has sprung' in Tennessee with 75 F on Monday and a close 71 F the next day. Ho Hum . . .

In any case, this has been a long winter with lots of snow. I think it's time for some SPRING ideas

• Blue Bird
• Bird House
• Spring Napkin Rings
• Coiled Fabric Basket

One can live in hope! 

            

Winter

Today was another storm! What a pile of snow.

View from patio door

My poor Holly bushes!

View from studio. I opened the window to get this shot.

when we moved in about 25 years ago, this tree was about 4 feet tall.

Winter inspiration:

• Winter embroidery etc. on Pinterest HERE, HERE & HERE 
• Winter themed quilts on Pinterest HERE,
• Winter landscape quilts 
• Mug Rug Winter 
• Bird Patterns 

Enjoy!!           

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
    

Chickadees and Berries

Have you ever purchased a pre-printed panel to quilt and then wondered what to do with it? How to quilt it? Well, I was checking out some blogs on one of the Happy Friday Posts from yesterday and came across Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals - Redbird Quilt Company.

Karen has been working on a Chickadees and Berries Panel by Jackie Robinson from Benartex. This is a beautiful panel (as you can see below) and Karen has shared her tutorial on making the wall hanging, table topper and coasters. The step by step tutorial is on the Bear Creek Quilting Company Blog. It is quite detailed and well worth a look.

I have no affiliation with these companies. I thought the information might be of interest to you.

There's also a great giveaway which I entered! Someone has to win . . .

Enjoy!

Linky Tuesday

Today I joined up with Linky Tuesday on Freemotion By The River! So far, 39 quilters have posted about what they are doing in quilting. Quite a variety of projects. Hop over to have a look.

I'm working on some pieced birds. It's very liberating as there's no measuring, just rotary cutting and sewing. Yes, quite a departure for me from my regular work. I'll post photos soon. You might also see a wonky row house or two.

Bird Tree Blog Hop

For those interested in birds, I think you will be interested in the Bird Tree Blog Hop.  It starts today and continues for 7 days. Lana Dunkerly of It Seams To Be Sew, is the cheerleader for this blog hop which is the creation of Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt and Stitch. Have fun hopping for the next 7 days!

Cabot Show & Tell

We had another wonderful Show & Tell at the Cabot Quilt Guild's April meeting. Take a look! A lot of batik fabrics were used in several of following quilted items. Can you tell which ones?

The appliqued birds are from fantasy fabric created in my March class.
The quilt with all the colourful hexagons and applique was entirely hand pieced and hand quilted. Beautiful work from everyone!
Enjoy!



 

 

More Show & Tell

Here are a few more pieces from the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild Show & Tell.
The first piece is done with Shiva Paint Sticks, hand embroidery and beads. It is mounted on a canvas form - quite a nice piece!

 

Gifts Given . . . Enjoy

Here are some of the things I made for Christmas gifts. The quilt is from a kit I purchased last summer at the Hobby Horse, Georgetown, Ontario. The panel caught my eye as each block has words about the sounds each object makes. It's part of the Little Genius series. The toy giraffe pattern was from Tilda's Studio by Tone Finnanger. Both were made for my little granddaughter in Chicago.



  This bird was featured in a Quilting Arts Magazine. It lives in Manitoba. A similar one is in Tennessee.

I made five table toppers but I forgot to photograph the one gone to Texas.



 

Gertie Little - Quilted Pieces

More eye candy for you!!

Spring

Well, spring weather has finally arrived! By that I don't mean wet, foggy days, as we've had that. I mean warm sunshine. It's registering 20C on my back deck. The car therometer was 16C about an hour ago. So to celebrate, here is some quilted stuff specifically for spring.

Spring in the Swamp Quilt
Spring Flowers
Spring Blossoms
Spring Beauties - Tulip Garden
Spring is in the Air - Contra Costa Quilt Show
Bird Houses - free patterns
Love-ly Garden - free applique pattern
Flower Garden Pillow Tutorial

Knitters - Take Note!

Yarn bombed? This pier in Saltburn-by-the-Sea near Teesside, England, certainly was! Take a look at some awsome photos of these Olympics-themed knitted figures that a mystery knitter did for the London 2012 Olympics. Check it out on this video by the BBC. Could there be a new knitting book out there soon? There is one about the Royals. Take a look at it on this video.

In this article, the creative knitting has been called Yarnstorming. Also check out these 41 Extraordinary Knit Designs. It's amazing what knitters come up with these days!
To find out about the history of knitting, check out Wikipedia's definition and links.

Now for some free patterns:

• mini christmas figures
• miniature dolls
• Easter Peeps
• Jack Frost
• Little Birds
• Gnome Children
• Ribbit
• Kitty
• Elephant
• Monster Chunks
• Tiny Perching Pigeons
• Miniatures - lots of them!

Eastern Edge Quilt Guild Show & Tell

There was quite a variety of items for the February Show & Tell at the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild. This guild meets the first Tuesday of the month. There were quilts, Japanese Sashiko bags (from a workshop given by one of the quilters), my Sashiko tabletopper, a flock of birds, a set of cushions and a wall hanging. The wall hanging was quite lovely. It was the result of an on-line course, Darned Quilts by Dena Crain, a teacher from Quilt University. Enjoy!

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