Just to prove a point

A few years ago, my friend Ann and I were complaining about the quilts we had seen at some quilt show. We both noticed that there was little or no hand quilting and everything with a ribbon had beads and stuff all over them. I bet her, that I could throw something together, sew on some beads and it would win a ribbon.

I cut up a lot of my blues and started a strip quilt, really simple, no instructions necessary. I have to tell you that I don't do machine quilting. Oh, I know how, but my workmen ship is the pits. I will machine quilt the preemie quilts I do for charity (I'll post some of them another time) and I might machine quilt a small wall hanging for myself. But when it comes to making a queen size, I either hand quilt it or send it to the longarmers, (which is why I don't make too many big quilts).

But, I machine quilted this baby with shiny nylon and metallic threads and sewed the beads on by hand. The whole process didn't take very long.

So you can see by the photo that the quilt took a third place ribbon at the Broward Quilt Expo last March. My friend Ann named it "Ocean Tears" which is the name on the entry form, but it's real name is "Just to prove a point"

For all of you who make such gorgeous quilts and enter them in contests, I mean no disrespect. My viewpoint applys to the quilts I have seen here in South Florida.

More Postcards

But first, a report on wool felting. The sweater was a big mistake, don't try felting bulky knits. The purple isn't too good either as it is also a knitted fabric not a woven. The tan and tweed didn't turn out too bad, but we'll see once I try stitching it. As for the red, it really killed me to cut that jacket up. The label was Evan Piccone and you could tell it was an expensive jacket. It was in great condition and ready for someone to wear. Unfortunately, it was a size -0-. I don't know about you, but I do not and never will fit into a size -0-. It has been cut up and is now in the washer.

I am a member of Fiber Arts Postcard Swap. Here are some cards from Dotti in Nevada.

The one on the left is from a private swap, "Where are you from?" The card is titled "Moonshine on the Comstock" I love metallic threads. The one on the right is from a swap called "Mad for Plaid" It was the first swapped postcard I have ever received.

This one is from a swap with a theme of crazy quilts. It is one of my favorite cards.

Here are some cards from Paule in North Yorkshire in England. The first one is again from the where you are from private swap. She says the card depicts the misty moors full of heather and sheep. The little white dots are the really cute white sheep.

Some more cards from Paule. On the left is "The Color Green" on the right "Art Nouveau"

Felted Wool

I have wanted to make a felted wool project for some time now. I keep seeing such cute stuff online and in magazines but I have been too lazy to get the necessary material. I just got a copy of Quiltmaker Magazine and it has a pattern for the cutest needlecase. I must try my hand at this.

I took a day off work today and hit the thrift shops. I got 4 100% wool jackets and one wool sweater for only $27.00. Check it out........

I have spent the afternoon cutting them all up, washing & drying them. I have lived in Florida for a long time now and have not owned a wool anything since I left New York. How come none of the magazines reminded me of how bad wet wool smells?

Happy Harvest

I made this little wall hanging quilt several years ago. It was one of Debbie Mumm's patterns. I was over at Mar's Pincushion Diaries Blog this morning, and what does she have posted? The very same quilt (with different fabrics of course). So I just had to post mine too. Besides, I didn't want you all to think all I did was postcards.

Cards Received - Part 2

Here are a few cards I have received

This card was made by Hillie in Massachusetts. The photo was taken in her garden and transferred to fabric. You cannot see it in this photo, but there is alot of stitching around the petals and several seed beads in the centers. It was not put in an envelope, but arrived as if she handed it to me herself. I really like this one.

This card was made by Cindy in Michigan. The dragonflies eyes are jewel and the wings are metallic with netting. Beautiful colors.

This card was made by Helina and came all the way from Finland (it still amazes me when I get something from outside the US.) I don't know if you can see it or not, but every seam has hand stitching on it. She even embroidered her initials. The rose in the center I think is made of bullion stitches. I have tried that one many times and all I ever end up with is a mess of knots. Another really nice card.

I'd like to thank Kate North of Kate's Quilting (and other fiber arts) blog who gave me some blogging instructions today. I was having difficulty getting the pictures in the right place. So how does it look? Thanks Kate.

Cards Received

I belong to 3 different postcard swap groups. One of them is Art2Mail. When you sign up, they group you in with 24 other participants. Your group then decides how and what you are going to do. My group, #34, decided to do whatever you wanted, no rules other than a deadline. I have asked permission to post pictures and several of the girls have said it was OK with them. Last night I tried to post a few, but it got all sorts of wonky. So I will try again tonight.

Nothing new today

I am not liking the way my photos are coming out. These cards are square yet they look lopsided. I have asked for advice and I am told I need a photo program. My husband says he has PhotoShop Elements on his laptop. He is not sure if he has the disk or if he downloaded it online. He said he would look to see if he has the disk. This will be a long wait.

In the meantime, here is a pic of a card I did for a swap called "Circles, Dots and Spots". It is square, seriously.

Lots to Learn

So I'm learning how to blog and use a digital camera at the same time. It's an awful lot for this old gal to digest all at once. Anyway, I have managed to successfully get a photo into the header. It's not the best (and I plan on replacing it) but it's there for now. It's a recent postcard I made from a symbol that is several years old. I wonder if anyone recognizes it.

Here's a photo of a postcard I made this weekend for a current swap I am in. It also didn't turn out as good as I had hoped. Postcards are my newest craze and I am improving with every one I make. You should have seen the first one I made.

Where do I start?

Where do I start? What do I say? I had a journal in high school. My mother decided to read it. Boy was I in trouble. About 15 years later, I tried a journal again. This time my husband decided he would read it. Big mistake, in trouble again.
In 2001 I signed up at a popular website which had a message board. It didn't take long before someone got pissed at something I said. Then came a rash of emails that I didn't send but was accused of, and once again I was in trouble.
So here I am again, putting stuff in writing. All I really want to do is have a place to keep track of my craft projects . But I garantee, someone's going to get pissed off about something.
Anyone want to start a pool on how long it will take?