Tuesday, September 29, 2009

More 3D Figures



I have been working away trying to create more 3D figures and objects. I am trying to use different methods and explore easier techniques to create a similar effect.

The latest is the butterfly and flower that have a raw edge. I have found several ways to cover the raw edge, including oil pastels and yarn. Both are effective.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Please Vote for Me

I entered a quilt contest, now need your help to vote for my quilt. It closes on October 4th. Here is the link for it.

Now scroll down till you see 'vote now'. click on that, then it takes you to another page and scroll down and you will see 'large quilts', keep scrolling till you see 'small quilts', then right under that title is a quilt called '3D Flower', pls click and vote for that one. Thank you.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Raspberry Jam


I made raspberry jam today.... out of green tomatoes. It is very good, has a nice tang to it. The tomatoes have seeds very similar to the raspberry and with raspberry jello added as the last ingredient, you acquire the colour and flavour. The jello, sugar and green tomatoes are the only ingredients in the jam. How nice is that for my family that I know all the ingredients and can control how much sugar goes into the food.
And if you saw the number of green tomatoes I had, you would come over and help.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Quilted Broach


Here is quilted broach of a flower and butterfly. They are couched with yarn around the edges and the flower center is beaded.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Castle Cake


A little friend of mine turned four at the beginning of September. She loves princesses, and castles and all things girlie.

I made her a castle cake complete with a princess picture on the very front.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Creative Festival

This is the place to be October 16th -18th. It is the Craft Festival in Toronto. If you do any beading, sewing, quilting, card making, knitting, you name it, they have got it. It is supposed to be the Craft weekend of Toronto. Here is the link for it.

Check it out, there is a huge vendors market, workshops, classes, demos, a fashion show and free goodies. It really is too good to miss. Well, I haven't been, but if you have, please post a comment and let us know if it really is as good as it looks.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

My Living Room

I still don't know all the ins and outs of blogging. But it can certainly suck time from you. There are some hilarious sites I follow just for that reason. And there are some fantastic quilting sites I follow. And of course I follow my friends, to keep up with their lives.

This world of blogging is quite unique, and everyone does it for a different reason. I do it for 2 reasons.

I had been trying to get my head around the personal aspect of it, yet the openness of it all. You write whatever your private thoughts are, yet the whole world, thanks to internet, has the ability to read it.

A friend of mine put it into perspective yesterday. She said, "your blog is like your living room, you can say whatever you want in it, and no one can tell you what you can and can't do in your own house." (barring copyright issues=)

I thought that was very insightful and very true. So I will continue to blog along expressing myself and you can choose to visit me in my living room or not.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Harvest Time



We love spaghetti squash and it is one of the better vegetables to eat, not that any are bad for you. Spaghetti squash does have so many different ways you can cook with it. A couple of my favourites are: cook it then add butter and maple syrup. Another is to use as spaghetti and top with tomato meat sauce. And the last is make lasagna and sub it for the pasta. You can even freeze it.

You may wonder why I am learning so much about this delicious veggie. I decided I wanted to try and grow them in my garden this year, so ordered a packet of seeds, and let me clarify, a packet. That means one, single packet.

The last count I did was 40, yes, forty spaghetti squash in my garden. That is alot of spaghetti squash, even for a family that loves it. Needless to say when you drop by for a coffee, you get a parting gift.

And don't even get me started on tomatoes....

Monday, September 14, 2009

Quilt University

Check it out if you are a quilter! The prices are fantastic and I have heard from several people that the courses are very well run with lots of feedback.

It is online, and I should be able to provide the link for you but haven't learned that step yet.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Try and Try Again


I have been having a real learning experience the last few days. Last week I jotted a quick email to a friend of mine in the quilting world asking a question about entering juried shows. What followed was numerous emails, some excellent critiquing and me looking at my quilting in a whole new light.

What I didn't know at the time of sending my email, is this person is taking her judging certification for quilting and doesn't mind answering my questions. Well, she says that now... wait till she really gets to know me and sees how many questions I can ask. But for now, I am ecstatic. The craziest part of all this, I have known her for 4 years but never met her, our friendship has developed strictly through email. I know she is a hoot, as her emails make me laugh, and I think she is a little on the wild side.... don't tell her that though. And one of these years, I will get to a quilting convention and just go right up to her and meet her. How fun will that be?

I knew I had lots to learn about entering quilts into competitions, and she started me off with a few major things that I really needed to work on. First was my background choice of the quilt. I have always been so focused on what I was attaching to it, that I always just grabbed a whole piece of cloth. Not anymore.

I have been scouring all my quilting magazines looking at their backgrounds for examples and have been getting quite educated in the process.

Having said all of that, the current project I had planned had to be completely revamped. And that took me 3 days to figure out just the background! I have got it done but may make it bigger. The picture above is the colours of the quilt, I think. And don't worry, I am going to embellish the heck out of it.

This one is really making me think cause I want to try and improve and use her suggestions. And when it is done I want a higher mark than my last one!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

They Work!

Just a quick update on my snack/sandwich bags. I put cut up grapes in them and left them in it overnight. The next morning, the inside of the bag was wet of course, but that was all. It was dry everywhere else.

I pulled the liner out a bit and ran water directly on the inside to wash it out, gave it dry and it was ready to go. They can be washed in the machine, but that seemed like a lot of unnecessary work. I have four made for my two boys but think I will make a few more for them. Today I sent a peach in one bag and cheese and meat in the other. I think I could send a sandwich in a third bag. Yes, my kids eat alot.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Snack Bags




These are my newest creations. They are sandwich or snack bags. They are lined with a fabric called PUL that is waterproof. The point of them is to be more environmentally friendly. They are to replace ziploc bags. Each one would cost about $6-7, depending on the fabric used. My kids are going to give them a try. I figure if 2 young boys don't destroy them, they will hold up to anyone.
I am going to start by putting cut up grapes in them and see how the bag does.
To clean, you can just wipe with cloth or wash in machine in warm water. I will try that too.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

My Tie Bag




As promised, I designed this little purse from the narrow leftover tie ends of my tie skirt. It is very strong and heavily quilted. The front has a little butterfly catch where the FOE (foldover elastic) hooks through to close the purse. The strap is also from the narrow ends of a tie.

I will be able to show this at our next guild meeting, as it is a quilted item. I might even wear my tie skirt to be really matching!