Christmas Show & Tell

We have a great bunch of quilters in this neck of the woods! Everyone is so eager to share their work. Of course, at this time of year, the focus is on Christmas. Take a look!

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Now check these out:

Door Stop This can be made for any season with a change of fabrics and embroidery design.
Candy Table Runner
Tree Skirt
Christmas Block Tutorial
Santa Ornament - cute one
Christmas Ornaments Seasonal Sampler

Enjoy!

Nothing Personal . . . and Some Sites to Explore

A great big thank you to everyone who reads my post! When I started this blog in 2009, I made a mental note to keep my personal life private. However, on that note, I'm sure you are wondering what happened to my almost daily posts. On November 16, my 91 year old father had a car accident and has been in hospital ever since. Daily trips to the hospital, moving my mother from a senior's cottage to a level 1 - 2 care facility and getting her settled in as well as trying to have her visit my father as often as she is able, takes all my time. I'm wiped out at the end of the day. I miss posting and hope that will change soon.

In the meantime, here's a few sites to explore:

The Quilting Edge Tutorials
Chez Beeper Bebe
Christmas Tree Skirt
Christmas Table Runner
Christmas Present Quilt
Snowflake Ornament

Enjoy!

Ornament Exchange

Each year, members of the St. John's Embroidery Guild, exchange hand-made ornaments at the Christmas social. I managed to get photos of a few! Such lovely work . . .

Gift Wrapping for Christmas

Eric White, a well known interior decorator, provided some wonderful gift wrapping ideas at the St. John's Embroidery Guild social last week. He also entertained everyone with great anecdotes about some of the people he has met over the years. Needless to say, the evening was enjoyable. Here are some of the ideas he presented:

The design on this present is a window decal from the $ Shop!

This is a take-out box and bow (also from the $ Shop).

The right ribbon and craft items can change an inexpensive candy dish into a lovely gift.

There is a second vase / candle holder in the box,

An unbreakable bauble is attached to a Christmas card for an inexpensive gift.

A Touch of Glass

Here's another great find at the Christmas Craft Fair, A Touch of Glass, owned by Kylene Barrett. She uses Dichroic glass in her jewellery and Christmas ornaments. I have always been attracted to glittery 'stuff' and this type of glass certainly fits into that category! I've had several compliments on my purchase made at her booth.

More From The Christmas Craft Fair

It's taken me awhile to post more photos from the Christmas Craft Fair. Check these out.
Graham Blair Woodcuts are relatively new to the fair. I love the simplicity of his images. Last year, I added the Jay bird print to my collection. You can see it in the second row,

Donna Clouston works in water colour and makes limited editions of her work. Please check out her web site as you won't be disappointed!

Next, we have printing on linen from Renee Scott of Brindy Linens. She uses such nice, simple designs using such vivid colours. Enjoy!

Shopping Locally for Christmas

Today I visited another Christmas Craft Fair here in St. John's. At these events, I always look for unique, well made items. I wasn't disappointed! A young sewer, Susan Riley, had a small booth displaying her one-of-a-kind creations made from recycled leather, clothing, fabrics and hardware. As a sewer myself, I was impressed with her work. Her sewing and designs were quite nice and I purchased two pieces for Christmas gifts.

Happy Thanksgiving America

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American relatives, friends and visitors to my blog! Today we are having a glorious, sunny day in St. John's - not even a breeze is blowing. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this area of the country, the wind rarely rests. Newfoundland is a very large island in the middle of the North Atlantic so we are affected by the ocean currents.  I hope you are having a fabulous time with family and friends. It's never too late or too early to plan for next year, so here are a few free Thanksgiving projects to check out:

Sewing Org
Thanksgiving Turkey Wall Hanging
Placemats
Thanksgiving Ideas
Thanksgiving Projects

Enjoy!

Felted ornaments

Today's topic is felted ornaments - wet and needle felting. Last week I made needle felted ornaments for the Devon House Shop, Craft Council of NL. I put silver lame cord at the top for hanging. My art work has been selling there since I started making original art pieces in 1999. Check out my web site and photos (link at the top of my blog) for a quick view of my work. I own a needle felting machine so making flat, decorative pieces of felt is quick and easy. However, for more dimensional work, hand felting needles are used. Check out a previous post on needle felting HERE.

Making Felted Balls with Judy Coates Perez
20 Coolest & Weirdest Needle Felted Creations
Needle Felting Basicshttp://www.thesilverpenny.com/freeprojectneedlefelting.html
Videos for Needle Felting 
Slow and Steady
Felted Round Balls

Enjoy!

Blogathon Canada

Today is the start of Blogathon Canada where you will meet hundreds of bloggers from across Canada. It's an opportunity to find out about the Canadian community of quilters, see their projects and have a chance to win great prizes! Each day host bloggers will introduce themselves and their work on their blogs. Not only that, they will include links to lots more blogs from their province. So check back each day and click on the button to the right of your screen.



November 18 Kick-off  Quilting Gallery
November 19 BC          Felicity Quilts
November 19 BC          Blueberry Patch

Enjoy!

Friday at the Christmas Craft Fair

When I got home from the Christmas Craft Fair Wednesday afternoon, I realized I had missed the whole bottom floor of booths! So Friday I went back again. Of course, my wallet came away a little lighter too! I also took a few more photos to share here with you. Since I used to have a booth at this venue, I know most of the booth holders. I also introduced myself to the new crafts people, so going there for a quick visit never happens.

I was also lucky to get a quick lesson on rug hooking using hand dyed nylon pantihose from Molly at Molly Made. I like the finer texture using this material instead of the heavier weight yarns and cotton strips used for larger pieces. Both look great, but that is my preference. The mittens on the line are made with the pantihose.

 

I met Jason Holly a number of years ago when he was just starting to make chainmaille jewellery. Since then, he has expanded this technique to include the medium of clay. Jason just got back from SOFA, Chicago, where he had an exhibit of his work. Check out his blog.

The next three photos are from North Eastern Folk Art. They always have a great selection of pieces as well as new products each year.

Silver and Silk, by Rosland Ford, is another jewellery line to check out. She has also added copper pieces to her collection.