Monday, October 31, 2011

I Spy a Charm Quilt?

I Spy a Charm Quilt?
Years ago my mother knotted & finished a colorful scrappy quilt top that had been given to us. We used it whenever one of us didn't feel quite right, and it was a really comfy feeling - more than any other quilts I've had. I'm sure it's quite worn by now ( my ex has it - I think) and I still refer to it fondly as the "Magic Quilt". This quilt top reminds me of that quilt.

A thrift store find, this was a NEW QUILT (lap quilt size) with the blocks on both sides, with no batting. Even though I really, really, really do not like ripping that is what I did, and then added borders for a double bed size quilt top. After my remake it's now a combination of "I Spy Quilt" and "Charm Block Quilt" and "Scrappy Quilt" and "Magic Quilt" - all in one quilt!



Measures: 84" x 91" and is ready to knot or quilt by hand or machine.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

She's all that and more!

She's all that and more!

I feel like I know someone who has this "attitude"! We get a charge every time we look at her, and that was before I gave her "good hair".

This is a soap dispenser temporarily turned vase. "She" (the soap dispenser) was in the bottom of a bag of  fabrics from a yard sale....discovered while gloating over my "loot" later that day. That is the thing I LOVE about yard sales...you just DO NOT know what you will find. Long live yard sales!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Where Vintage met Contemporary

"Where Vintage Met Contemporary"
Interesting Zipper Tab!


"Closure"....we all have many openings, and many Closures! Each one a little different.  Some of our relationships last longer than others. Some were cut off short. Some have threads hanging loose yet. Some are rusty. Some are definitely vintage - that may be good or not so good. All depends.



The Story:
The cotton fabric for the quilt front and back is repurposed table napkins. The zippers and buttons are vintage and previously used. They look like the buttons my mother snipped off garments that had seen their best days & kept in her button jar until further notice. Zippers she saved from trousers, shirts and dresses and kept in a drawer of her Singer treadle sewing machine. I still remember how the drawers smelled. Often the threads were still hanging from the zippers and buttons. 
Note the zipper tab on the red zipper in particular! Click on the photos for a close-up view.


Measurements: 17" W. x 17" H.
Cotton fabric & fiberfill.
Vintage buttons and zippers.
Machine quilted using the stippling method.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Help Wanted!

Wanted: Info about the print on the shirt!

Picked this shirt up at the yardsale of a European couple & I plan to sell it so I'd be grateful for information about the print. Is it based on a particular comic strip or cartoons, or just a combination of various funnies?

Monday, October 17, 2011

Old Miakka Sunset

Old Miakka Sunset 10-16-2011
"My birthday gift for this year/month is the promise of screening the front porch & adding a door. That means we'll be able to spend much more time there undisturbed by mosquitoes! I am seeing my self/us sitting out there eating dinners by sunsets like this one. And just generally unwinding at bedtime for a good night's rest. Thinking about adding hanging planters - possibly herbs & lettuce, etc.; and strings of lights for a bit more ambience after it's dark." ~*~
                                                                   

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Reversible I Spy and Beatrix Potter ABC Quilt, and Princess Quilt

Beatrix Potter ABC Quilt
I Spy Quilt
I Spy Quilt - close-up
Beatrix Potter ABC Quilt - close-up
Princess Quilt
Princess Quilt - close-up
Princess Quilt - back view
The Beatrix Potter ABC and I Spy quilt are two sides of one reversible quilt. My intent was to make a quilt where both sides could be used as an educational tool at different stages of learning. I made 2 of this one for twin boys in Hawaii.


And the Princess Quilt is for a little princess, of course!... the sister of the twin boys in Hawaii!


Both quilts are 100% machine made & quilted by me. 


Fiber contents are: 
all cotton fabrics, thread, and 100% cotton or 80% cotton/ 20% poly batting


Care suggestions are: Machine wash in warm water & mild soap. Machine dry.


FYI about the intent of an I Spy Quilt...it's a educational game to play with children. One person says "I spy... (name something in the quilt such as a monkey)" and the other person/s try to find it. That's the general idea....


                                                                            ~*~

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Another day, another ride!

Lucky being nonchalant about his new "ride".

The two little yellow-greenish dots in the upper right are the eyes of Smoky, the black cat. Cats are so photogenic...always seem to be posing, don't they!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Antique Footstool to Storage Chest Conversion

From this Goodwill find....

Stripped down to this....

We did remove the spring unit & replaced 

it with a wooden lid....you wondered, didn't you?

Converted to this.....

And used for a display at the market!

I like good & sturdy furniture...some day when I have my restored log cabin then I want to fill it with old and useful wood furniture and vintage or antique overstuffed furniture. A woman can dream! 

Friday, October 7, 2011

After the Ball...First Friday Art Walk Weekend on etsy

Art Quilt - Garden in the Night

Forest Floor Ring

To see the rest of this autumn themed treasury see:
After the Ball - First Friday Art Walk Weekend etsy Treasury

For more about FFAW weekend see our team blog ----> First Friday Art Walk

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Don't Waste Your Time Living Someone Else's Life

Gone too soon....
   

~ Rumi:
"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. "

                                                                             

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Calamondin Marmalade & PB Sandwich...Mmmm!

Smuckers PB & my Calamondin Marmalade on Rye Bread

Kinda speaks for itself, doesn't it?
8 oz. Calamondin Marmalade - ready to go!

Calamondin, oranges & dried cranberry goodness! And, sugar (of course!), water, and pectin made from the calamondin seeds themselves.
These are the BEST Dried Cranberries ever!!!

To buy some of the MOST delicious dried cranberries click on the following link:  tootsytwo  Great for snacking or adding to granola or baking!  Read their product description to find out why these are superior to any  you can buy in stores. Seriously. You owe it to yourself!

Calamondin Fruit on the Tree - Stock Photo 

 Calamondin fruit is one of the neat discoveries I've made since moving to Florida. Making Marmalade with them is another neat discovery. The process from beginning to end is quite labor and time intensive...but fun!
~*~

Do you Want to be a Mermaid or a Whale?

French model Tara Lynn


via Delphine Fieberg on facebook:
A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: "How amazing am I ?! "

(The girl on the picture is French model Tara Lynn)