fabric stuff

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Some New T’ings

I have been fiddling around with some new stuff these past few days.  Needed a break for my imagination.
First I had to do some potholders for the Potholder Pass in Flickr, and I had this idea in my head to do the free form letters on them.  This was the outcome, and now I wish I had a set for me!
“Live Love Laugh”
One of my, many, favorite sayings!
I have also been itching to try some new things at the torch.  So I took some time this morning to try out a frog:
I thought it was okay for my first attempt.  Here is his back:
And I had tried a hollow bead a few weeks ago, couldn’t get it to work, but I am not one to let that discourage me, so I tried again:
It is not the perfect bead shape….BUT it is HOLLOW!!  I know some flame working pros are probably thinking “I can’t believe she is posting these ugly beads”, but since I either figure things out in my head or read a book, I am pretty proud of myself.
Also attempted a heart….this needs work:
Not sure what design that is on the front…..just a blob of color!
Thought I’d try a white on white color combo also, which should look cool with some bezeled sea glass pieces:
So, in a nutshell, that is what I did today.  Now they all need to sit in the kiln and be annealed……tomorrow maybe 🙂
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Happy Mother’s Day!!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!!!
My mom told me not to buy her anything for mother’s day, but she knows I don’t listen all that well, or she should know that!!  I got her a gift certificate to one of the local plant stores, and then I made her these……
So I listened halfway………guess I gave gotten better since my teenage years!
She loves to cook, so I thought these potholders would be perfect.  She is also more of a traditional quilter (okay she’s VERY traditional) and she would never make these curvy pieced potholders for herself.  They are made from Bahama Hand Prints fabrics.
As well as trying to finish orders I have been trying to build up some jewelry stock and get some components together for several jewelry swaps I am involved in.  One of them is Bead Soup Party (the button is over to the right of this page).  In this party I send a focal, a special clasp and an assortment of coordinating beads to another jewelry artist, I get the same in return and we both make something from that mix, adding our own special touches.
Here are some of the pieces I am considering for some of my swaps…….
I will of course add some of my flame worked beads to that mix as well, and maybe a copper & silver, riveted pendant…..i don’t know….too many ideas in my head!
The sea glass to the right of the picture, which I have not done anything with yet, I am trying to decide what to do with it.  When i was going thru my sea glass these ended up on the table together and I just loved the combo.  Here is a closer look……
Love these together, but cannot decide how to combine them.
Anyone have any ideas?
One of my other swaps for the summer is a Pincushion Swap and my pincushion was used for the swap tab!! I was honored and so excited!
You can sign up for this swap until the end of May, just click on the link on the right of my blog.  Or just follow the swap and see all the cool pincushions that are created!  It starts in June and runs thru the summer.  As you can see my swap addiction is worse than ever….I need help!
Have a great Mother’s Day!
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My Weekend of Gardening and Quilting

Spent this weekend in the garden.  I love the weather we have right now….warm but not too hot with a nice breeze.  I was also very excited that my bottle brush tree finally bloomed.
I think this is my favorite tree.  It is so pretty when it is blooming.
Also cleaned out the turtle ponds.  Whenever we do this the dogs are very curious about the turtles.  Trixi got nipped in the nose by one this time, so she’s not so curious anymore!
But Salty here has no fear!
I let some of the turtles have a run in the grass.  Whoever came up with the idea that these creatures are slow….was very wrong!  This one below is my large female.  She is about five times bigger than the little one in the above picture.  I couldn’t hold her in one hand and take a picture with the other!……well I could if I wanted to get nipped myself, but after Trixi yelped and jumped back about four feet, I figured it hurts!
I also finished up my Urban Home Goods Swap this weekend and will be mailing it out tomorrow.
I made a journal cover and a set of coasters.  Hope my partner likes them!
Just a quick post since I just came from the studio trying to finish up some jewelry orders.  I have usually been asleep for an hour by now, so that is why there are a lot of pictures and not much writing in this post!
Good night for now.  Will be back in a few days with some new creations 🙂
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A Peek and A Ta-Daaaa!

I am still finishing off swaps goodies this week.  I am not sure how I got involved in so many at one time.  Actually I say that and today I have signed up for MORE!!!  Slight addiction (maybe).  I just love making goodies for people and receiving their goodies 🙂
Here is a sneak peek of one of my placemats for the Placemat Quilt Swap.
I can only show a peek because I know that calamitykim follows my blog!  She and I agreed to do a pair for each other so our husbands could have one to use as well!  She does some pretty cool work, so go check out her blog.
Also, back in January there was a benefit concert, raffle and auction here in Abaco to raise money for Royal Potcake Rescue to do a spay and neuter clinic.  I offered to donate a quilt to the raffle.  At the time I couldn’t sew because of some stitches I had, but the winner was very patient and the organizer of the event is in Abaco now and (I think) the quilt has been delivered to her.  So now I feel okay posting it on my blog.  Since the fundraiser was for the potcakes this is the original idea I had:
Since my drawings are not to scale they don’t turn out exactly alike, but close.
I stitched “potcake” on the side of one of the dogs, and then along the bottom I stitched “the most colorful dog”, which they are in SO MANY ways!
Here is what became of the drawing…….
And as always, when I am doing my little photo shoots, my own potcake helpers must be there to supervise and check things out.  PLUS they think the pool deck was built just for them, so I am not allowed out there alone, and that is where I take most of my pictures.
That is Karma giving it a close inspection and thinking “that dog has crooked ears just like me!”
Trooper is being distracted because Trixi is trying to chew his leg off!….never a dull moment around here…..that’s why I love them so much 🙂
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It helps to read the instructions!

I have been very inspired over the last few months with all the curvy pieced quilts, and for a while I have had the book by Jean Wells, “Intuitive Color and Design” which teaches how to do this curvy piecing.
BUT….being the artist that I am, I looked at the pages, the lovely pictures, tried to do it my way, and it failed.  
Then I got my swap quilt from mamacjt last week, and was totally inspired.
So here are my first successful attempts, after I read the instructions!
Then I had to try a piece with fabric other than scraps…….
Not sure what I will do with it, but I am pretty pleased with myself 🙂
Along with that the last few days have been filled with finishing off swap projects that have to be shipped out this week to meet the deadline.
Here are snippets of two of them.
Sneak peek at the coin mini quilt for Terrie.
And here is the Anything Goes Mini quilt for mamacjt……I sure hope she is as happy with this as I was with my goodies from her!
I couldn’t have done all this the past few days without help from my kitty “Sunshine”
OH! and i almost forgot…..I also finished two blocks for an online quilt bee I am in called “Bee Liberated”.  It is based on the book “Collaborative Quilting”.  Each month one person picks a block out of this book, the rest of the group make one or two of the specified block and send them to the person who’s month it is.  Then instantly you have enough blocks for a quilt top made by an online group.
Pretty neat hey?
These are my May blocks:
My month is June so I am trying to decide which block I am going to pick….tough decision because I love everything in that book!
Back into my sewing room for a few more hours to finish up three more swap projects for this month, then the next month it all starts over again for more swaps!
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in His Grace: Favorites Party

in His Grace: Favorites Party

Go check out this cool blog by a great mosaic artist.  She is having a Favorite Friday post and you can see faves from lots of other bloggers!
Here are a *few* of my favorite things:

My Rescued Turtles.
Some of these guys (and gals) are bought at pet stores as small little creatures, and people don’t realize they can grow to 14 inches long.  So i take them and put them in my ponds.
My dogs and my quilts are top of this list for sure!!!
Trooper wanted to be in the photo shoot also!
Great food with friends and family!
Actually, I love food so much that it is a fave even if I am alone! 🙂
My collection of Blythe Dolls.  So now some of you are pretty surprised!
Agility with my heart dog “Sailor”
Crochet, which at times is not a fave because it is a challenge for me 🙂  but keep on hooking!
How could i forget my cats?!?!! Especially the ones that are really impressed with their picture being taken, like Doodle below!
My garden (minus the million frogs that live in it!!)
And……my new adventures in jewelry creation, silversmithing and flame working!
Hope you enjoyed that!
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Last Weekend’s Show and My Surprise Package

A few posts ago I told you I was busy getting ready for a show.  Abaco had its first Agri-Expo and it was a great success!!  That’s me in my tent with my quilts hanging up.  I had little art quilts, jewelry and ceramics on the table, and had great upright stands for them but the wind was brutal and everything kept blowing down.  I did well, sold quite a bit of jewelry, ceramics and got an order for a quilt!
There were lots of vendors with organic produce, farmers brought their goats, pigs, sheep and chickens out, and there were many other arts and crafts tents.  There were also fantastic food vendors including a vendor that had vegan foods for sale……YUMMY!
So this week I have been trying to gather my self together again, work on orders, work on swap quilts, quilt a quilt for a fundraiser this weekend, and stay inspired.  I still feel like my imagination is overflowing and I am enjoying that, just wish I had more time to play with these ideas.
Yesterday I got a nice surprise in the mail…….my “Anything Goes Mini Quilt Swap”
Here is one of the quilts I received:
It is 8″x 8″ square with embroidery stitches and button embellishments!!!  I LOVE it!!!  Looks like the water and bubbles.  It is hanging next to a flower that is painted on my studio wall and matches perfectly.
My sweet swap partner wasn’t sure I would like that quilt.  Thought it may have been too pastel-y, after seeing my work, so she sent me another on!!!!!! Can you believe it?
This one is called “Here Comes Summer” and I am infatuated with this one as well!!!  I can’t believe I was so lucky to receive TWO and from such a great quilter!!!  Her work is perfect and precise and I feel honored to be her partner.  I have been admiring her work for a while now, so I hope we get to be partners again!!!
Check out her blog and look at her awesome work.
I have quite a collection of swap quilts now, and am involved in 4 more right now, so that means I have 4 more on the way to me!!
This is the wall in my studio that I started to hang my collection.
Well, I need to get back to work and finish those swap projects!!!  Today I was making clay buttons to add to one of those projects, so I thought I’d do a post while I was waiting on those to dry.
I’ll be back the end of the week to show you the large quilt I am quilting for the fundraiser.
Have a great week 🙂
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Latest Quilt

I cannot believe it has been a week since my last post!!! Time goes by too quickly!
Last week I was busy finishing a quilt that was being donated to a fundraiser, as a raffle prize, for a young boy here in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, that has Hodgkins Lymphoma.
It was a double bed size quilt, made from a variety of fabrics to give it a scrappy look.  I love quilts made from many different fabrics.
Had a few blocks left over that I included into the backing.
Since the weekend I have been spending a lot of time on my torch making glass beads, and I also have another quilt in the works.
If the sun stays out later, I will take pictures and post them for you to see.
Have a great day!
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A Little Something New

Still busy, busy, busy trying to create a good bit of inventory, but I thought I’d do a quick post to show you another new item.
Been so inspired by the artwork I have seen lately using felt and embroidery.
I don’t think I have embroidered since grade school!
Added some sequins just because that is one classy owl, and did some leafy-stippled quilting.
This little bag is perfect for grabbing your keys, money and phone and zipping out the door.  It even has a wrist loop so it can be with you all the time.
Bottom has a slightly flattened bottom so it can sit all by itself.
Bye for now…… I am off to finish doing one million things all at the same time 🙂
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Owls Keep Appearing

Today I have been trying to get enough clay stuff together to fire up my kiln, and i was not getting very far since my kiln is pretty big.
So while I was waiting for that to dry I decided to make this journal cover for a friend.
The above picture shows the entire quilted piece, before i added the binding.
Here it is all finished, with a ribbon tie for a closure and another ribbon for a book marker.
I sure hope she likes it.
Can’t forget to show you the back with the little pink baby bird.
In between making this journal cover, waiting for glazes to dry and getting frustrated because my kiln is too big……..I ordered myself a smaller kiln.
A neat little one that plugs into a regular outlet….the one I have needs a dryer outlet.
The new one can do glass, ceramic, bead annealing and metal clay!!!
Should be here next week……I cannot wait…..but hopefully by then I will have fired up my big one and get to show you those pieces……..I think there’s probably a few owls in there!…..imagine that!!