Tote Bags & Purses

At the April meeting of the Eastern Edge Quilters, two of the ladies brought their new tote bags for Show and Tell. What a superb job they did. Of course, I had  to find out more about them! The pattern is called the Professional Tote Bag by The Creative Thimble.You will also find three free patterns on this site: Drawstring Bag, Grocery Bag and Accessory Bags.

My search also brought me to Henrietta's Handbags & Purse Patterns. This one is well worth visiting! I found a link at this site for free bag patterns called Purse Patterns. Now, who can refuse clicking on something that says FREE!!! Now all I need is to have the time to look at them and then maybe make some.

More free patterns:

• Flower Cutout Bag
• Patchwork patterns for Hand Bags & Purses
• Tote Bag with recessed zipper
• Basic Tote
• Easy Tote Bag 
• One yard, one hour free tote bag from Lazy Girl Designs
• Craft Stew has lots of free patterns
• Scrap Tote Bag 
• Bags & Totes to knit and crochet
• All People Quilt bag patterns
• Felt Tote from Martha Stewart
• Margaret Sling Bag - this is a nice one
• Studio Cat Designs 
• Cute tote by Phyllis Dobbs
• Striped Tote to crochet
• Hope Market Tote 
• Promenade Market Tote  

I think this will keep you busy especially on those nights when you simply can't get to sleep!

The Deep

This piece of art is called The Deep. It was on exhibit in Halifax, Nova Scotia a few years ago but not here at home. When it came back, my husband claimed it. It now resides in our living room. If you have visited my web site , you will see this one on the front page. Each fish was individually stitched using free motion stitching and hand stitched to the background. There is quite a bit of depth to this picture. This is created by using layers of wool roving and tulle. See more of my art here.

Mother's Day Ideas

My mother is 88 years old. At her stage in life, she is trying to get rid of things. For presents, she wants only 'stuff' she can wear or eat!. Well, a number of years ago, I was at my wits end as to what to get her. I had been making small fabric fish for my art work and it suddenly dawned on me that she has collected small pins to wear on her clothes for years. That sudden inspiration lead to a line of wearable art pins(scroll down).  I make some images by stitching them by free motion on my sewing machine. Others have been designed and converted to stitch for my embroidery machine. Needless to say, my mother usually gets # 1 of each new design. Here's a few samples of my pins:

Here's some other ideas for gifts to make for mom (or yourself):

• checkbook cover
• eyeglass case
• pot holder
• cell phone case
• purses & bags
• bed caddy
• patio chair pad 

Embroidery Guild

Last evening was the St. John's Guild of Embroiderers monthly meeting. Here are the ATC's that were received during March.

For the last couple of months, trinket/jewelery boxes were embroidered and constructed. The design for the embroidery was sketched by several ladies of the program committee. The box design is from the book, Hand-Stitched Boxes by Meg Evans. The inside is constructed from silk.

Traditional Quilting

I'm not into traditional quilting even though I belong to two quilt guilds. However, a lot of my friends do beautiful quilting. I have made a couple of quilts and one is for a queen size bed. My daughter, who lives in Chicago, has claimed it.

I just discovered Cluck Cluck Sew , a site with easy to follow (visuals) directions for making traditional quilts, applique pillows, and easy tote bag. Lots of links to other free tutorials and patterns at Cluck Cluck Sew as well.
For example:
oven mitt pattern
square pin cushion (PDF file)
fabric beach balls
little boxy pouch
bird ornament  (lots of patterns)        


I think I got off the track a bit! I was writing about traditional quilts, wasn't I ?!!! So much for a short attention span. Here goes again:
How Stuff Works has a traditional quilt patterns channel library.
I've mentioned Quilter's Cache before. They have oodles of patterns.
Check out Canadian Living
Bed quilts at Free Quilting

I hope this helps you get into the quilting mood! Now I need to get inspired to try something new, however it won't be making a quilt!!!

 

Artist Trading Cards (ATC's)

I belong to the St. John's Guild of Embroiderers. Just after Christmas, the guild decided to make ATC's to send to Embroidery Canada. This is actually a challenge started by the national association. Have a look at last years cards. There is such a wonderful variety. Here's a sneak peek at a few of the ones some of our guild members embroidered.

I hope you enjoy looking at the work!

Spring

Well, tomorrow is the first day of spring! I must say that St. John's has experienced a full week of beautiful weather. Maybe we'll even have a spring this year as the weather is often quite unpredictable. I have finally gotten some work done in the studio. It's been a struggle to get the mind in gear and do something productive. I have signed up to take a seminar next weekend on Cultural Product Development. This should prove interesting.

Last evening, I did some searching for Spring projects for both embroiderers and quilters.

• Erica's site has patterns for machine embroidery. Welcome spring with a free embroidery of flower pots and a watering can. 
•  The Floss Box and Needlework have lovely free line drawings for hand embroidery.
• For quilters, You Can Quilt This, has lots of free projects to help welcome spring! Here's a spring basket from Quilters Online Resource. This site has lots of nifty stuff for quilters.
• A floral sampler, from Coats & Clark , might be the right project for you !
• About.com has some spring paper piecing patterns for scrap-booking. However, why not use them with fabric instead. The baby lamb is a cute one for a baby quilt!
• I like this spring-colored felted bowl. This also comes from About.com.
• I love the spiders introducing Homeberries! Scroll down to see the little 'Whimsical' free hand embroidery designs.
• Check out e Quilt Patterns for a Spring Treats Quilt Pattern and Spring Celebration. These are paper pieced.
• There is a Welcome Spring Quilt at Cranson Village.
• Hoffman Fabrics, Spring Fling, is ready for quilters.
• Need a new tote for spring? Try the Luscious Bow Tote from Kaufman fabrics.
• Cross stitch your way into Spring with Free Patterns Online.
• McCall's Quilting has a simple Flower of Spring quilt block.
• I like this coiled fabric basket from Cultured Expressions. This is a nice site to visit.
• If Easter is your thing, go to Craft Ideas.
• If you like Baltimore Album applique, check out the block at Marcus Fabrics.

I think I have exhausted the list of Spring stuff I found last evening. Enjoy looking at the sites I found. If you find some more interesting sites, please let me know. You can reach me at judy@cbiz.ca 
or leave a comment at the end of this post.

Needlework Shops and Fabric Stores in London

I will be visiting London this fall as part of the group going on the 12 Day Quilting and Needlework Tour to England. Of course, one of the things I want to do is visit some needlework shops and fabric stores. While exploring the Works of Hand site, I came across Vincent's London vacation. His list, which came from members of Stitching Fingers, is great. You can visit his site (with photos) or check them out here:

• All the Fun of the Fair
• Broadwick Silks
• The Cloth House
• Soho Silks
• Liberty & Co of London
• Sewing & Knitting - John Lewis
• MacCulloch & Wallis
• The London Bead Co. / Delicate Stitches 

 Other places I found:

•  London Quilt Shops ( The London Quilters Guild)
• Tikki Patchwork  (Kew Gardens, London)
• Quilt Related Links to UK sites (lots to check out here)!
• More Here!
• Quilters Cloth (Cambridge) 
• The Knitting & Stitching Show - London (one of our tour stops)

Works of Hands - Vincent Valiente

I discovered the exquisite embroidery of  Vincent Valiente when I was exploring the Hand Embroidery Network.  His work is amazing! I am a fan of the needlework trees he did. These are entered in the Winter Wonderland Exhibit on the Hand Embroidery Network (HEN). Explore his site.

More Table Toppers

Just as I promised, here are some more pictures of the table toppers the Eastern Edge Quilters are sending to Quilt Canada, Calgary. I must say, there are a variety of shapes, patterns and colours!

My Table Topper

I have been learning to use Corel Photo Paint. This progran can do a lot of stuff to images. For my purposes, I am sharpening up photos, adjusting colour if needed and resizing the image for use on the web. Here is the table topper I made for Quilt Canada 2010. As I'm not into piecing, I have done a mini wholecloth topper using free motion stitching. This particular piece is reversible. The back comes to the front to form the border. I basted on a temporary quilt label. In case you are wondering, the greens are that green!


The Eastern Edge Quilters, St. John's, have made a bunch of table toppers to send. More photos will be posted as soon as I get my photos ready.

Canada Wins Gold!!! Congratulations to all

To celebrate Canada's gold medals at the Olympics in Vancouver, here's gold worth stitching! According to Wikipedia, 'goldwork is the art of embroidery using metal threads'. This is a very specialized type of embroidery requiring a certain level of expertise. Using the proper materials is important.

The gold and blue sampler piece was stitched as part of a hand embroidery (level 5 ) course I took. It is worked on silk.

Inspirational pieces! Have a look at this sampler and this piece.







Check out these books on Goldwork:   
Beginner's Guide to Goldwork by Ruth Chamberlin provides a good introduction to Goldwork embroidery. This book explains the historical development of the style and includes a complete introduction to supplies and techniques used. The photos are excellent!

Goldwork by Valerie Campbell-Harding, Jane Lemon and Kit Pyman
New Ideas in Goldwork by Tracy A. Franklin
Metal Thread Embroidery by Jane Lemon

These are excellent books for Goldwork but I find them to be inspirational as well. You never know what will lead to a new piece of work!

Tanja Berlin has a free Goldwork Heart Design on her site. She has excellent instructions for anyone wishing to try out this particular technique. I've been fortunate to have taken a course with Tanja (not in this technique) and I hightly recommend her as a teacher.

Appliqué Patterns

Here's one of my machine appliqué Fantasy Fish. I love using batiks as the colours are so bright.






As promised in the previous post, I've made a list of a few sites that have free patterns for Appliqué. Have fun checking them out.
Make Baby Stuff is just that, stuff for baby!
The Stitching Cow has a simple house to do.
Lots of applique patterns at the Sacred Spiral.
Bella Online has some wonderful applique patterns that Judie Bellingham found on her web travels. Something like I'm doing.
A simple butterfly at About.com: DIY Fashion
Wee Folk Art has applique done in felt but that doesn't mean you can't use cotton. In fact, check out the whole web site as there are lots of other patterns too.
Have fun with these!
If you like cats, there is a pattern on Craftown.
Block Crazy has free patchwork and applique patterns.
Teddlywinks has a couple of bear patterns to put on a small wall hanging or mini-quilt.
Applique pitchers in a log cabin quilt.
Welcome spring with this flower applique. More flowers here!
Using geometric shape templates in applique.
Stain Glass Spring Tulip

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me.

The Art of Appliqué

Appliqué is the art of sewing smaller pieces of fabric onto a larger surface. To find out more about appliqué and how it is done, visit TAS - The Appliqué Society. The Art of Applique on the TAS site, has several interesting articles to get you started.
There are several different appliqué methods:

• Stain Glass Appliqué
• Machine Appliqué   Also check out Tips for machine appliqué.
• Reverse Appliqué    How to reverse-applique a tote bag.  How to make a reverse applique on a T-Shirt by machine. Mending using this method!
• Hand Appliqué  Also check out this Back Basting Tutorial for Hand Applique. A close-up picture of hand applique. Hand Applique using freezer paper.

This should get you thinking about experimenting with this particular technique. I will follow up in a later post with sites that have free appliqué patterns.

Quilting & Textiles in England Tour

Check out Quilting & Textiles in England Tour from September 29 - October 10, 2010. This 12 day tour features:

Royal School of Needlework

Hampton Court Embroiderers Guild

Knitting & Stitching Exhibition

Lucy Boston House

York Quilting Museum

Redditch Needle Museum

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'm not much into quilted or stitched heart stuff and as a result didn't post any free patterns from any of the sites I visit. However, I just came across something on twitter that is useful. It's an altered heart shaped candy box tutorial. Recycle that candy box that you received today and turn it into a pincushion or storage box for applique . . . This tutorial is a great way to practice free motion stitching too.
 Alice Burke also has a bunch of tutorials using new & recycled materials.

Here's a pattern for a heart tote bag.
Lots of Hearts quilt
Valentine Heart Block
Cross Stitch Heart
Heart Quilt Block
Valentine's Day Cross Stitch Patterns
Tri-Rec Heart Block
Heart Blocks

Now just think what I would find if I was really looking for this stuff!!
Happy quilting and stitching.

Table Toppers

The Eastern Edge Quilters are making table toppers for Quilt Canada 2010 in Calgary. As a result, I searched for some free patterns for quilters to use.

Fat Cat Patterns
Hexagon Table Topper or Wall Hanging
Wool Flower Table Topper
Hot Cross Buns Table Topper
Free patterns.com has lots of table topper patterns

As a rule, I don't do piecing. My hexagonal table topper consisted of a basic quilt sandwich. The back fabric was about 3 - 4 inches larger than the front because it is brought to the front and used as a binding. I did free motion stitching over the hexagon shape using a variegated thread. The binding was machine stitched. This particular type of topper is reversible. I thought for sure I had taken a picture of it but I can't find one!

Several quilters used leftover blocks from quilts they had made.

Hand Embroidery

A couple of years ago, I completed a three year (5 level) hand embroidery course. Here's a piece of Crewel Embroidery that I designed and embroidered. It's done on linen.

If you are interested in hand embroidery, check out the Winter Wonderland online embroidery exhibition. This show is part of the Hand Embroidery Network (HEN)!

Then of course, there is the exquisite hand embroidery of Helen Stevens. I inherited several of her books a few years ago from a dear old friend who passed away at age 80.

Closer to my home, is the hand embroidery of Susan Furneaux. View her work in the online gallery at the Craft Council of NL. Susan uses natural dyes in her work.

Fibreworks is a celebration of South African fiber and textile artists. You will find some very interesting work here. I was fortunate to take some courses from Rosalie Dace, Sue Akerman and Annette McMaster.

The Embroiderers' Guild , UK, has an online gallery that is fantastic! Make sure you check each year for the competitions. I've had a subscription to their magazine, Stitch, for years. It is full of inspiration for hand and machine embroiderers.

Check out the new commissions by the Royal School of Needlework. Also in the UK, is the Artist's Web. This page shows 17 artists in the embroidery category .

There is also interesting work by Julie Southworth, especially her Peruvian and Gaudi work.
If you are into bugs and birds, check out Sarah Whittle.

That's just a small taste of some hand embroidery sites that are worth a look! At the moment, I'm working on a sashiko tablecloth for my kitchen table. A work in progress!

Fabric Designs

Finding interesting fabric designs for a special project isn't always easy! Many textile artists will usually take a piece of fabric and change it in some way using such products as dyes, paint sticks, fabric paints and crayons, resist, stamping . . . the list is a long one! I have also printed directly onto cotton and silk from my computer.

In my search for things, I came across Spoonflower where you can design and print your own fabric. I was also fascinated with the blog for this site. Check out the many fabric designs. They are fabulous!

This site also has a list of interesting blogs and links to check out.

Sewing Stuff

It's a snow day here and what better way to spend some time than to surf the net! Actually I was looking for something in particular (for a future post), when I came across Sewing Stuff . This site has soooo many free patterns for all kinds of things, that I just had to post it immediately. Have fun!

Needle Felting

Last night at the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild, we had a talk and demonstration on needle felting. Quilters got a chance to try this technique.

• The Silver Penny has information and videos about needle felting basics.  

• Mielke's Fiber Arts shows how to needle felt a lady bug. Learn about the kind of needles used in needle felting. 
• Some free patterns at Living Felt. Living Felt also shows how to felt a pattern that is drawn on a base fabric. 
• More ideas at Felting Crafts . 

• Learn to make a felted apple at the Felted Ewe. This looks like a nice project to try. 

• Another apple pattern at Maddy Craft. 

• Felted wool purse pattern at Owning-Alpaca. 

• Just in time for valentine's day, a needle felted heart/pouch.

• Needle felting without wool at Threads.

So experiment with a new technique and have fun!!

Fat Cat Patterns

In an earlier post I wrote about a monthly pattern by Fat Cat Patterns called Christmas Row by Row. The second row of the pattern was just posted today. If you want to get a head start on Christmas, 2010, this is the one to do! In fact, I can also see making mini quilts by using bits and pieces from the various templates. 

This site offers a wealth of lovely free patterns for machine and hand applique! Many of the ideas can be incorporated in quilts/wall hangings of your own design. Don't always settle on doing what someone else has done. Spread your wings and do it your way. This may take a bit of planning but in the end you have the satisfaction of saying it's your own design.

Butterflies

Back in October, 2009, I wrote about The Butterfly Project that the St. John's Guild of Embroiderers' was involved with. Well, here is a picture of the butterflies collected to date. If you look back in the blog, you will see that we have added to the collection. Some of the round ones on the top row and two on the second row were embroidered by members of the youth guild.
Check out some free embroidery butterfly patterns:
butterfly
butterfly redwork
Coats and Clark pattern for a butterfly place mat, napkin and napkin ring
cross stitch butterfly pattern
black magic butterfly
butterfly and bluebells bookmark

The Slipper

My sister gave me a very handy gadget for Christmas - The Slipper. It is a soleplate attachment made from a "durable space-age material" (looks like silicone to me), which makes ironing safe for every fabric. The non-stick material glides over all fabrics. I tried it on delicate fabrics using the highest setting on my iron and it works! 

This gadget was designed by Joanne Klassen and is distributed by:
Little Foot, Ltd.
PO Box 1027
Chama NM 87520

I couldn't find any mention of it on the web so if anyone comes across a website for these, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Kimono Ornaments

At the November meeting of the Eastern Edge Quilters, three of the members demonstrated how to make Japanese Kimono Ornaments. It was a very enjoyable evening. Permission to do this was granted by Ursula Riegel, the designer. Have a look at her patterns.

I made seven of these ornaments. This particular one was given to my friend, Judith, in British Columbia. Each of my 'mini guild' friends received one for Christmas.

Newfoundland Blog Roll

My blog has been listed on the Newfoundland BlogRoll, which is specifically set up for all NL blogs and web sites. Take a look as there are lots of things to see.

Voyage of Discovery

One question that I am frequently asked is how I started doing fabric art. Well, here goes! Ever since I can remember I've always been interested in doing things with my hands. My maternal grandmother taught me to knit. I enjoyed playing with dolls and would stitch up wardrobes for them from scraps of fabric. As I got older, I made my own clothes. I have tried most fabric crafts and finally became interested in quilting, and hand embroidery.

In 1995, the school where I was teaching, St. George's Elementary School, Conception Bay South, was contacted by St. George's Church of England School in Bristol, England. They wanted to correspond with a school in Newfoundland with the same name. Since 1997 would be the 500th. anniversary of John Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland, they wanted to get a head start on the celebrations. As the library resource teacher, I decided to take on the task. For two years, we sent letters and pictures back and forth. The school was quite close to the shipyard where The Matthew, a replica of John Cabot's ship, was been built. We even received shavings from the ship as well as photos showing the various stages of its construction. In fact, CBC radio set it up so that we could speak to the students and teachers in Bristol, England.

Both schools decided to exchange gifts when the ship was to set sail. Since this was to be quite a momentous occasion, I decided that I wanted to do something special too, but what?

I finally decided to design and create a wall hanging to commemorate the sailing of The Matthew across the ocean. This was really my first attempt at design other than clothes making. Little did I know where this would eventually lead. I decided to make a 3-D sailing ship and trace its path from England to Newfoundland. The piece was a combination of hand and machine stitching, and computer technology. I called the piece 'Voyage of Discovery' and this label was printed on cotton from my computer. The ship was a challenge as most pictures I found didn't work. Frustration was starting to set in until I discovered the perfect picture on a case of Newfoundland made beer. It gave me just the right amount of detail for the quilted piece. The sails were made from white silk and slightly stuffed. The masts were toothpicks. At the time, I made two identical pieces, one to send and one to keep. I made a smaller version for my school as wall space was limited.

On the day The Matthew set sail, the wall hanging was presented to the school by friends who traveled to England for the celebrations. A colour photo of the children from the school holding the piece was on the front page of the newspaper in England! When the ship finally docked in St. John's harbour, a presentation of gifts from Bristol, was made by the captain to myself and several students who had participated in the twinning of the two schools.

I retired from teaching that same year, 1997 and the rest of what I do is history!

Bonnie McCaffery's Vidcasts

I've been watching various vidcasts on Bonnie McCaffery's web site. They are worth watching! The 2009 International Quilts at Houston were spectacular.

I also watched Terry White demonstrate 'beading by machine'.Terry has a book out called Thread Painting Made Easy which can be seen on her web site. Also check out her YouTube Videos.

I have spent a good portion of the day on the web. Check out some of the blogs I've joined.

Out of the Blog

I just received the latest issue of the Craft Council of NL newsletter. I got to the second last page and read the title, Out of the Blog. I just glanced at the pictures and wondered why my friend's cathedral window was there. Taking a much closer look, discovered the page was all about my blog. It's nice to receive a surprise like that!

The Craft Council's Annual Member's Exhibit for 2009 has lots of beautiful art pieces. Take a peek!

Tag Galaxy

I just found this very interesting site on Valerie Hearder's Landscape Quilt Group called Tag Galaxy. I typed the word quilts into the box (enter initial tag) and it indicated that there were 50318 quilt photos to view. The globe filled with photos. Click on a photo to see each one. To rotate the globe, put the cursor on it and hold down the left mouse button. Click the arrow on top to see lots more photos.

I also typed in St. John's, Newfoundland and found lots of pictures.
Give it a try! You never know what you will find.

Getting Organized

This posting is for my quilt buddy, Anne! Last evening at Eastern Edge Quilt Guild meeting, Anne was one of the program participants who showed us her lovely Christmas present of marvelous fabrics. However, getting a new stash of stuff meant getting organized all over again. Anne's presentation of how this was happening at her house, was very entertaining. Anyway, Anne, here's a site called Today's Creative Blog to help give you more ideas. The Domestic Diva shows a way to organize fabric too and there are a bunch of links for organizing your sewing room and craft supplies at Tipnut.
Happy Organizing!!

Stitchin Fingers

I just joined Stitchin Fingers which is for everyone interested in all areas of fibre and textiles. This seems to be a very active group. I am having a bit of difficulty adding my picture to my profile page - more experimenting to do! I did add a picture of pisci fantasticus to the photo page and already had a couple of comments from one of the members of the group.

This site is definitely worth a look or two. The photo section is fabulous - such beautiful work.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Living on the eastern coast of North America, Christmas Day arrives here first. In fact, we have out own time zone which is ahead of the rest of the country by 30 minutes. The tradition here at my house is to open one gift just after midnight. I was delighted to receive the book, Fibreart Montage, by Judith Baker Montana. You can read a bit about the book on her site. I have several of her books which tend to be good references for hand stitching. Crazy stitching/quilting is one of her specialities. Go here for some free crazy quilting patterns.

My quilting friend sent this to me however she did not know who wrote it. If someone out there knows the source, I'd appreciate an email so I can give credit to the author.

A Quilter's Dream come true!

'Twas the night before Christmas,

And the quilts were not made.

The threads were all tangled, the cookies delayed.

The stocking weren't hung, the pantry was bare.

The poor weary Quilter, was tearing her hair.

Stacks of fat quarters, tipped over in streams.

Visions of Log Cabins, had turned into dreams.

When what to her wondering eyes should appear,

But a bus full of quilters with all of their gear.

They went straight to work with just a few mutters,

Sorting and stitching and brandishing cutters.

The patterns emerged from all of the clutter,

Like magic the fabrics arranged in a flutter.

Log Cabins, Lone Stars, Flying Geese & Bear Tracks

Each quilt was a beauty-even the backs.

Her house how it twinkled, her quilts how they glowed.

The cookies were baking, the stockings were sewed.

Their work was all done, so they folded their frames,

And packed up their needles, without giving their names.

They boarded the bus, and checked the next address.

More quilts to be made, another quilter in distress.

She heard one voice echo, as they drove out of sight,

Happy quilting to all and to all a good night!

Happy Birthday Joan

Today is my sister's birthday. She was the receipent of a Pisci Fantasticus. For me, it is often difficult to know what to get that special person. However, I do know that people love receiving gifts you make yourself. Sometimes that gift may be something baked in your kitchen, stitched by hand or by sewing machine. I found a few things that might be suitable for a sister, mom, aunt, granny or friend.

Here is a nice reversible placemat or centerpiece mat for a dessert or candy. A clutch purse that's simple to make would be perfect for a special sister. Check out a travel shoe bag and cosmetic bag. For the person who sews (or for yourself), here is an armchair sewing organizer. For those who live far away, why not make a felt cake (yes, you read it correctly). I just had to include this one. Sorry Joan, you get a real chocolate cake when you get home on Monday!! A kimono needle roll looks interesting, also this water bottle tote. Tea anyone! Find out about the insulated tea cozy, oven mitt and table runner. There, these projects should get you motivated.

Christmas Tree

I finally finished decorating my living room Christmas Tree! Here's a picture of it. Three smaller ones to go. My tree skirt is a purchased panel that I put together years ago. My daughter has a crazy quilted one that I made her from scraps of clothes from when she was a young child.

I just did a quick search for more free stuff on the web related to Christmas trees.
Here's a short list:
Miniature Christmas Tree Quilt Pattern
Christmas Tree Quilt Block
More free Christmas quilted stuff
Traditional Tree Skirt
For the stitcher
Sew have some fun!

Freebies for Crafters

The weather outside is miserable! Just right for staying inside & playing with fabric. I came across Freebies for Crafters by chance, while looking around Sewing by the Sea. I had a quick look around both sites and figured they were worthwhile spots to explore.  I like to check out blogs and web sites that others find interesting enough to post.

If you have friends who like chocolate, see the molton chocolate mugs from Aikson Design (listed on the Freebies for Crafters site). I just might try this one!!

Christmas Tea & Sale

I spent a pleasant afternoon at the Anna Templeton Center Christmas Tea & Sale. The cookie selection was marvelous but I wasn't tempted to have any. I wandered around the booths chatting to exhibitors and admiring the items for sale. As a member of  the Craft Council of NL, I know most of the exhibitors. I had a grand chat with Vicky Taylor-Hood of Sea Strands Studio. Visit Vicky's web site to see her wonderful textile creations. Vicky was sharing a space with her mother, Mary Hood. Mary designs and creates toys for children. She is well known for her Burnt Island Bears. 

If you are looking for quality hand knits of Newfoundland such as caps/hats, socks & mitts, contact Christine at christinelegrow@nl.rogers.com. Her company is called Spindrift. I was also talking to Erin of Northeastern Folk Art. She specializes in handmade Raku pottery & giftware. I have a couple of Erin's pieces and have sent some as gifts. The bronze colour is beautiful.

Steph Squires of Fire Dove Jewellery has beautiful wire & gemstone necklace and earrings. Two of my stitching buddies also make jewellery and were displaying on the second floor. They sell pendants, earrings, rings & small knitted beaded evening bags under the name Jocale. Jason Holly and Roslind Ford, also jewellery makers, shared a space on the main floor. Jason designs chain mail jewellery as well as clay pieces and Roslind creates miniature hand dyed woven thread pieces mounted on silver. Very unique pieces.

There were some very lovely stain glass ornaments from Stain Glass Reflections. Many of the pieces are one-of-a-kind. I think there will be a blog designed in the near future, featuring the glass pieces.

The last booth I visited was Riddle Fence, a journal of arts & crafts. Take a look at their site.

Thanks for visiting!

One of the things I enjoy about having this blog is looking at the cluster map part way down the screen. I check each day to see if another country has been added. Some of my friends might say (for fun - I hope) that she has nothing better to do! I wish I could say that. Thanks for visiting and I hope you continue to come back. Comments and suggestions are welcome too.

I just finished the last of the scarves before Christmas. This one is black, grey and silver on one side and black, blue and green on the reverse. I just love the colours so much I just might make that combination for myself.

I am going to visit the Anna Templeton Center this afternoon for their annual Christmas Tea and Sale. Should be an interesting visit.

Pincushions

I just came across these pincushions which are decorative as well as practical. So start saving those plastic bottle caps as you will need them for this project! Check out some very colourful pincushions here. I may have to try out some of these. They would make nice gifts for stitchers. Bunches more to see! Just click on the pictures to visit other crafty web sites. Have fun!

Owls

Last evening at quilt guild, a friend mentioned that she was interested in owls. She was quite pleased to see a link for an owl pattern in one of my posts. Well, here's a tutorial on making a cute stuffed fabric owl. This one would make a neat pin cushion or even a toy for a child. Enjoy!

Templates

This has been a very busy day. Unfortunately, I have not been in my studio until late evening and then only to search the web. However, I did find some free templates for using with card stock. BUT why not cover the card stock with fabric to make a small artist trading card envelope, a butterfly card, or a candy box. There are lots of templates to choose from. Have fun!

Pumpkin Tutorial - crazy quilting

Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends! I just found this neat site, The Painted Quilt by Kaaren Johnson. One of the first things that caught my eye was the crazy quilted 3-D pumpkin. Other tutorials include a  sewing box and tomato pincushion. On the first Friday of each month there is a free pattern for you to use. Lots of stuff to check out.

Hand Embroidery

I found this neat site called the Hand Embroidery Network or HEN. "The website's aim is to encourage and pomote the practice and knowledge of the art of embroidery in all its forms and to bring together like minded people who enjoy needlework and wish to learn and share their knowledge."
You will find the following:

• An illustrated hand embroidery stitch A to Z
• Focus on embroidery basics such as threads, tools and fabrics
• Free projects such as design templates and creative backgrounds
• Take part in online exhibitions
• Embroidery events
• Embroidery techniques
• Members gallery
• Embroidery forum
• Video tutorials

The network also has a blog. Check out the listings for October's Stitch A Day. The stitch samples are quite well done.

Connecting Threads

I just came across this free pattern for making gift bags from Connecting Threads. It's fat quarter friendly! I can see doing these in a variery of different fabrics to suit the season or special occassion.  For those who enjoy crazy quilting, this pattern could certainly be used for that purpose. In fact, this very simple pattern has lots of potential.

Cathedral Windows

One of my mini guild friends,Verna, makes wonderful cathedral window projects. This is the table mat she made by hand, for my birthday last July. She knows turquoise is one of my favorite colours!

Well, I just came across a tutorial on making cathedral windows. So if anyone wants to give it a try, check out how to make one here.

I have to clarify the term mini guild. We are six quilters (we were seven until one friend moved to BC) who belong to a larger guild. We meet once a month at one of the members houses. As we couldn't come up with an appropriate name for our group, we decided to call ourselves the mini guild.

Check out this Tutorial

This evening, I've been working on several fibre lace scarves. These are special orders and have to be completed by early December. While taking a break, I came across this tutorial on making a sewing organizer. Since christmas is only a few weeks away, it might make a nice gift for that special friend.

Cabot Quilters' Guild

I've been a member of the Cabot Quilt Guild since 1997. This guild 'is a non-profit organization which aims to preserve the heritage of quilting, to be a source of information and inspiration, to encourage a high standard of excellence in quilting and related arts, and to provide a forum for fellowship and sharing.' We meet the third Tuesday of each month except June at St. Peter's Parish Hall, Mount Pearl.

Tomorrow, November 17 is the guild's annual auction. Preview of the items begins at 6:30 with the auction starting at 7:30. There will also be a Chinese auction and Silent auction. The evening is always a hugh success with guests and members going home happy with their purchases of beautiful quilted pieces, some baked goods, preserves and christmas decorations.

Canada's Search Engine

I'm now listed on Canada's search engine, Canadae.ca. Just click on arts. This site has lots of blogs from across Canada. In fact, I found it by accident last week and haven't really searched through it yet. I'm always trying to find things that are Canadian whether it's a list of shops or textile / fibre artists. I'm interested in finding more Canadian sites related to textiles.

Part Two of the Fair & Other Stuff

This has been a week of recovery! The Fine Craft & Design Fair was a grand success for me this year. In fact, it was the best I've ever had!  However, it was very exhausting to say the least. I went back for the opening of the second part as a potential customer and didn't walk away empty handed.

Now I'm searching for some simple quilted Christmas projects. Something that could be used at a quilt guild meeting. I revisited About.Com for quilting stuff. I used to search that site quite frequently. This time I found some free Christmas patterns! I found lots of ornaments at a site called All Crafts. For the stitchers, here's a Hardanger ornament. More christmas patterns here but not really what I'm looking for. The search goes on and on and on...

CBC's Weekend Arts Magazine (WAM)

Saturday, November 7/09, CBC's Weekend Arts Magazine was held live at the Fine Craft & Art Fair.  It was an early morning as the show started at 7 am. All of the exhibitors in attendance had their moment of fame!! When the show opened at 10 o'clock, I was totally amazed at all the people who said they heard my interview. One elderly lady came by in the afternoon. She told me she had never bothered to go to any craft fairs but was curious about the 'shimmers' I had mentioned. She was delighted when I explained a bit of the process to her. She did purchase a couple to send to relatives.
Here are three starfish shimmers. These ornaments can be put on a tree or hung in a window. The fine metallic threads just 'shimmer' in the light thus their name.

Craft Fair

This was day 2 of the Fine Craft & Art Fair here in St. John's, NL. We began setting up on Tuesday and finished about an hour prior to the 2 o'clock deadline. To the left is a picture of my booth and the other picture shows a view from my booth.

Tuesday was hectic but today was a bit more relaxing. I did get some time to visit the other booths. At the King's Point Pottery booth, I had a chance to watch the slide show of photos taken by Linda Yates and David Hayashida, at the world's biggest craft exhibition, the Cheongui International Craft Exhibition (CICB), South Korea. Linda Yates and David Hayashida (King's Point Pottery) and Isabella St. John (Blue Moon Pottery), travelled there in October for the opening.

Hanging Small Quilts

Here are several ways to display a small quilt. Options include:
Fast Finish Triangles
Tradutional Quilt Sleeve
Split Sleeve
Hanging Ring
Picture Hook
Plain Back
Use a picture frame

Art Quilts Displayed at Houston

Have a look at the 1,077 Art Quilts that were dontated in aid of Alzheimer's at the Houston Quilt Festival this past October.

Check these out!

Another busy day! It started out with constructing two more smaller images, setting in windows and planting flowers (in the fabric garden). I have finally photographed all my Pisci Fantasticus so they are ready for the Craft Fair.
I've also been looking at some interesting web sites. For example, have you ever heard of a zentangle?
Also check out:
Quilting Tips
Tutorials and Freebies.
Shadow Trapunto & lots of quilting stuff from Romania.
Art Quilts

Christmas Craft Fair

This year, the 2009 Fine Craft & Design Fair or its old name of the 'Christmas Craft Fair' (Craft Council of NL), will be held at a new venue: The Arts and Culture Center, St. John's. 10 days - 2 fairs running from November 4 - 8 and November 11 - 15. Free Admission!! Some venders choose to do the 10 days, I didn't! I will be there for the first half.

This is a very busy time but the end is near!

The Butterfly Project

I belong to the St. John's Guild of Embroiderers'. The summer challenge 2009 was to embroider a butterfly. 1,500,00 children perished in the Holocaust and in an effort to remember them, the Holocaust Museum, Houston, Texas, is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies. The butterflies are scheduled for exhibit during Spring 2012. The following poem was the inspiration for making butterflies. The picture below shows some of the butterflies made by members of the guild.

The Butterfly

The last, the vey last,

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.

perhaps if the sun's tears would sing

against a white stone...

Such, such a yellow

Is carried lightly 'way up high.

it went away I'm ure

because itwished

to kiss the world good-bye.

For seven week I've lived in here.

Penned up inside this ghetto.

But I have found what I love here.

The dandelions call to me

And the white chestnut branches in the court

Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.

Butterflies don't live in here, in the ghetto.

Pavel Friedman, June 4, 1942

Born in prague on January 7, 1921.

Deported to the Terezin Concentration Camp on April 26, 1942.

Died in Aushchwitz on September 29, 1944.

Fibre Lace Scarves

Since the weather wasn't great, I spent the whole day in my studio. I finished the Christmas tree felted art cards and started two more fibre lace scarves. The one in the photo was done awhile ago. As you can see, this one is reversible. I like to use lots of different yarns in each scarf so whenever I travel, I search for unusual yarns and fibres. One of the places I frequent is Romni Wools in downtown Toronto. What a fabulous place for yarns and fibers! Yarns with lots of glitz and glitter usually catch my attention. Locally, Wool Trends has a nice variety of yarns.

Machine Felting

I spent the afternoon experimenting with my felting machine. The Fine Craft & Design Fair is in two weeks and I decided to create some Christmas Tree art cards. The first thing was to make a base fabric. I started with green craft felt and laid lots of decorative yarns across horizontally. These were then attached to the base by needle felting with the machine.


I made a triangle template to use as a guide to cut my trees from the needle felted fabric.

Tree trunks from a thick brown yarn was added last.

Linen with gold threads was used as a background for the finished tree. This was mounted on a blank card.

New Work

Here's a couple of new images, in a series, that I've been working on. Cotton batiks are used for the 'clapboard' and window trim. The batik fabric a thinner but tighter weave and works well in this application. The window pane is made from two layers of grey organza fused with Misty Fuse and put on a black piece of cotton. Satin stitch was used on the window. The bushes are made from green organza that was stitched with free motion zigzag stitch. The daisies were hand stitched in a hoop and attached to the background giving a 3 dimensional appearance. The pink lupins were stitched using free motion on pink organza and attached to the backgound. These pieces will be matted and framed. They will be at my booth at the Fine Craft Design Fair, St. John's, November 4 - 8 at the Arts & Culture Centre.

I use a number of different fusibles in my art work but the misty fuse is soft and works well with organzas and other light weight fabrics. Whenever fusibles are used, stitching is added. Years ago I made a wall hanging for my sister for Christmas. As time was flying, I decided to do a wallhanging using all fusible interfacing. The piece was beautiful! Several years later, as I was helping her pack up to move, I came across this same hanging. Most of the pieces were falling off. So much for fusing! I made up my mind that in the future, anything fused would also have some stitching to hold it in place. I think it was a very wise decision. Who knows what affect climate has on fusible interfacings.

Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador

I've been a member of the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador for about 9 years. The first piece I ever exhibited, Field of Daisies, was in the Annual Member's Exhibit, 2000. Since then, I have had pieces in various exhibits at Devon House. To see some of the works of art, and read about the artists, go to the Artist Profiles on the Craft Council site. I tried to make a link to it but had no success. For information about the gallery and shop, please take a moment to read about them on the web. Devon House Shop and Gallery is well worth a visit!

Iceberg Art Cards

Here lately, I've been making a series of 'iceberg' Art Cards. The 'iceberg' is made from painted dryer sheets and stitched onto hand painted backgrounds. The background is interfacing that goes on the tops of drapes. It can be purchased by the metre at Fabricville. I used acrylic paint. Each art card is unique. In the spring of the year, icebergs float along the coast of Newfoundland.

Quilt Shop in Chicago

The last time I visited Chicago, I came across a very unique quilt shop called Quiltology. I was looking for unusual batiks at the time and found some there! I was impressed with the quilts on display and the selection of fabrics they carry. Check them out. I have used some of the batiks in the making of my Pisci Fantasticus (fantasy fish).

Free Motion Designs

I found this wonderful site full of free motion quilting designs. Leah Day decided she wanted to create a design a day. I must say, she has done quite a job so far! In fact, she has also created short video clips to demonstrate her techniques.

Killer-Works

I was asked today about one of my 'favorite web sites', Killer-Works. It didn't seem to fit with the things that interest me. It is my daughter's web site and is one of her current projects. Jill is a graduate of TUNS (Technical University of Nova Scotia) with a masters degree in Architecture. She has designed sets for CTV, Discovery Channel's Daily Planet, etc. Check her profile on the killer-works site!

new photos added

I've just added some new photos to my Flickr page.

Cheongju International Craft Biennale

The Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Korea, is one of the largest and most prestigious craft exhibitions in the world. This year, Canada has been selected as the guest country. In all, fourteen Newfoundland and Labrador craft makers have their work represented at the Biennale, either in the Exhibition, for sale in the Marketplace, or both. The Biennale is open from September 23 until November 1, 2009. This project is managed by the Canadian Crafts Federation and provincial craft councils across Canada, including the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador .

I was contacted by the craft council late last year and asked if I would like to have some of my work for sale in the Marketplace. I was thrilled to be asked! But what a lot of work! I did get my 'stuff' ready in time. Some of the things requested were: fibre lace scarves, evening purses, wearable art pins and shimmers. I've included a picture of one of my maple leaf art pins. For all my pins, I create the base fabric so that even though the shapes may be the same, no two pins are alike, each is one-of-a-kind.