I Won a Magazine

On December 26 / 15, Monika Kinner Whalen, of My Sweet Prairie, had a giveaway on Face Book. She had 5 extra copies of Noro Magazine, in which she was featured. She used the blended colors of Noro to create intricate details of plant life in her embroidered works of art.

Well, I was one of the 5 winners and just received my copy. This is a new magazine to me and I must say, it has a lot of impressive looking modern style patterns using Noro yarns. Check them out on their web site above.

Drop by My Sweet Prairie too, as you won't be disappointed. 

Thanks, Monika!

 

Fan Fare

This post is to pass on some information that might be of interest to you.

Have you heard about the Fan Fare Show? I'm just finding out about it too so learn along with me.  FAN stands for Fiber Art Now. There is a magazine but to receive this, you have to subscribe and pay for it. You can read all about the benefits of been a paid member HERE. By the way, I have NO affiliation with this company. I'm just passing on some information that you might not have come across in your web journey. There, I think I've said that twice!!

Instead of writing the following in my own words, I copied it from the Fan Fare web page:

FAN Fare is a free, online, interactive, web show devoted to inspiring and connecting the fiber arts community. Every month, FAN Fare will give viewers the opportunity to actively participate in the program and ask questions while watching the live show. Our host, Cami Smith, has been involved with Fiber Art Now since it first started. She has been building the FAN community and connecting with artists and authors for three years. Now she will connect us with some of the happenings, views, and news that she has discovered. Her natural ability to engage people makes her the perfect host for FAN Fare!

You don't have to be a paid up member to view the various videos. So if you get the chance, check them out.

You can find the Fan Fare Blog HERE.
Lots of stuff to see. Enjoy!!

Through Our Hands

This morning as I was glancing through my emails, I came across a new on-line magazine, Through Our Hands, from Design Matters. Figuring it was another promo where you could view the first one but then have to purchase the rest, I was mildly surprised to see that it is FREE!  As they write: You can view it online, you can save, share and even print a copy if you want to. There are articles from Through Our Hands artists, guest writers and all illustrated in lovely full colour throughout.

I have quickly glanced through the magazine but will be going back to have a more thorough look. I'm sure there is a little something for everyone! I want to go back to the Meet the Artist page and visit each one.
Enjoy!

A Nice Surprise

I don't usually win things but I wrote a comment on Margaret Blank's web site a couple days ago. I was just notified that I won # 76 of Inspirations 2012. Margaret lives in Alberta, Canada. She is celebrating ten years of blogging and getting very close to her 1000 post. Please drop by her blog and have a look around.

Thanks again, Margaret, for selecting my name!

Happy Canada Day

From me to you - have a great Canada Day - wherever you are!!

This little wall hanging is from the Spring / Summer 2011 edition of Fons & Porter's Quilting Celebrations. It is a gift for my year old American born Granddaughter who just got her Canadian citizenship papers.

Paint Sticks

Have you ever played with oil paint sticks? Check out Cedar Canyon Textiles for information about this product and where to get them. I have a few sets of the paint sticks as well as some of the rubbing plates. However, I haven't spent much time playing with them. They do have lots of potential for adding decoration to fabric. Cedar Canyon Textiles blog has a wealth of information about this product.

Here are some sites to check out:

• Sue Dennis
• Threads
• You Tube Embellishing with Paint Sticks (there are lots of demos)
• Quilting Arts
• Melody Crust - Fiber Artist
• Better Homes and Gardens: Color Your Own Fabric
• Stitch with the Embroiders' Guild (a fantastic British magazine) - Make Your Mark
• The Magic Bean - Shiva Paint Stick Tutorial

Down Under Textiles

I finally got a chance to check my blog list. I'm sure I've missed a lot this past month or two but things are starting to settle down. Life will get back to 'normal' soon (I hope)!

I came across Down Under Textiles, an Australian magazine, launched in 2009. In it are the latest techniques, tools and products; instructions for making projects; colour, design and composition theory as well as galleries of textile art work. Issue one is available online for FREE. I had a quick look through it and was impressed! It just might be my next magazine purchase. Have a look at it here.

46 Days Until Christmas!

Wow! 46 days left - Christmas will be here before you know it. I hadn't given it much thought until I started to pay attention to the Christmas projects in the various craft and quilting magazines on the news stands. I started looking and found a few simple free projects to get you started on your Christmas list.
Christmas Pudding Pin Cushion
BOM quilts has lots of free patterns for Christmas
Christmas Basket Applique
Figgy Pudding and Holiday Magic Place mats, Napkins & Napkin Rings from Red Rooster Quilts
Simply Santa from CompuQuilt - paper piecing
Christmas Ornaments from Better Homes & Gardens
Christmas Tree Quilt Pattern - applique

Also check out my previous posts:

Freebies for Crafters
Pincushions
Freebies From Freda's Hive

Garden Sewing Box

In 2005, I was contacted by Carla A. Cantonica, publisher of A Needle Pulling Thread, a new Magazine promoting Canadian needlework. Carla asked if I would design and create a piece for the spring 2006 Volume 1 Issue 2 of her magazine. Apparently she had seen one of my fantasy fish pins that a friend had and liked it. I agreed to do something and the result is my Garden Sewing Box. This piece started as a sketch showing various parts of my own garden and evolved into the piece you see here. When I start sewing, things change as I go along and the drawings are sometimes ignored, modified and/or adapted to suit the evolving idea. But that is part of the creative process. This is a functional piece with an inside box that comes out for easy accessibility of my sewing tools. Included in the box is a small embroidered needle case to match the outside, pockets for various things and a pincushion. I found a jewelery magnetic clasp at Michael's that was perfect to stitch onto the inside of the box to hold my needle. The closure for the top is large hooks & eye that go together perfectly. The feet are made from thin cording knotted to form balls and stitched in place.The full pattern for the box are published in the magazine.
Since its publication, this piece has won a couple of awards:

• Award for Excellence in Craft for Technical Mastery from the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2006
• A National Award for Original Design from the Embroidery Association of Canada, 2007

As a result of designing this piece, my mini pics series, Flower Pots, was born. These are a combination of machine and hand embroidery. The containers are stitched and appliqued onto the background.





 Since the topic is flowers, here's some freebies to get you started on your own project:

• If you are into machine embroidery, check out Erica's flower pots and watering can
• Free hand embroidery patterns at Craft Gossip 
• Flower motifs from Needle 'N Thread
• Native American Inspired Floral Embroidery Motif from You Can Quilt This
• Floral Sampler from Coats & Clark
• Spring-Colored Felted Bowl by Sarah E. White, About.com
• Baltimore Album Basket by Judie Rothermel

This is just a small sampling of what's available. Have fun!