Looking Back!

I have met some great bloggers during this One World One Heart project. Lots of creativity out there! Thanks to all of you who have visited my blog and to those who have become followers. I am a follower of many new blogs as well. This is so much fun!

I went to one blog and it took me to another and then to another (Bejeweled Quilts by Barb). You know how that goes. I ended up at A Little of This and a Little of Pat. One of her posts had you looking back. You are supposed to go into your large computer file of photos and pick the 5th folder, 5th photo and then post it on your blog.

This photo with the chairs on the porch is what I had there at that very spot. The top photo is me sitting on the porch drinking tea one morning. They were both taken in Rhode Island a few years ago. My first trip to New England with my friend Lana (Lanas Threads and Musings) was wonderful!. We were staying in Woonsocket, Rhode Island at the Pillsbury House, a very nice B&B established in 1875, for our first night or so. We stayed in the original maids quarters on the 3rd floor. It was wonderful.

Then we traveled on to many other New England states, sort of doing an authors (Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Alcott etc) tour. We visited many states including Maine, Mass. ,Conn., and more. It was wonderful...ooooh the memories! My friend Lana and I have taken several trips together. Our husbands stay home (they said they have traveled enough in their lives) so it is just she and I. Our last big trip was to Italy...but that's another story! :)

This is a good way to look back

and remember good times.

Why don't you try it.

Post it on your blog

and then let me know that it's up.

Try the 6th folder, 6th photo this time.

Your story will be interesting,

especially to others!

Have fun!

Some Fun Things!

I've been really busy lately.

Wanted to share some more things with you today

that I hope you find a little bit fun.

In the Feb/March issue of Quilters Newsletter there is an article about Linda Wilkey, and her quilt happens to be on the cover too. Congrats Linda! Linda happens to be my quilt guild's ex president. She is a wonderful quilter and specializes in Civil War quilts. She is from this south Texas area, in fact was raised in my little town and now lives on the other side of Corpus. I didn't meet her until I joined the guild a few years ago, since I am fairly new to this area. Linda still gives quilt classes at the guild and everyone says she is amazing.

This quilt was made by her and 7 friends as part of a block exchange. The article tells all about it and is very interesting to read. So I hope if you get a copy you let me know what you think.

The quilt is gorgeous and when she brings her creations to show and tell I just love it!

This necklace is made from china berries from the China Berry Tree. These trees grow everywhere down here. The berries were dried and then painted and then strung into a necklace with beads in between. I don't know who made it, I wish I could give credit here. I think it's lovely.

This is Ethel and Marilyn. They made soap in my second class at Bayview RV campground. I had a few observers also. Ethel was in my first class and just loves to make soap. Ethel comes down here to south Texas every year with her husband, from the Panhandle of Texas. Marilyn made 2 batches for her very first time. She lives locally and is in my Stitch and Rip sewing group I belong to. They both made some wonderful soap.

Ethel is cutting her soap into bars. It has sat overnight in the mold and is now hard enough to cut like she wants. She made one batch of gardenia, oatmeal plus some other great stuff. It smelled wonderful!

Marilyn is preparing to remove her soap from the mold and getting ready to cut it. She made two batches of goats milk soap with lemongrass essential oil. She also put some herbs and oatmeal in. What is neat is that the goats milk came from her own goats!

Both ladies did a wonderful job.

In my 2 soap making classes there were 9 batches of soap made total. Every batch came out wonderful with no problems of any kind. Congrats ladies!

Now for my winnings! In the mail this week I received 3 doll patterns from Melissa at Ardeas Nest. I won two of them and I think she threw the 3rd one in just because she is such a nice person. Please check out my Enchanted places to visit on the right so you can go visit her to see all the creative and wonderful things she does. Thanks Melissa and I can't wait to try one of these dolls.

I also received in the mail my winnings from Belinda at Crazy Art Girl. Above are the copper and resin earrings she made. I just love them! They are different from each other and I love that. Love the little face on that one. Belinda, these are just so unique and wonderful. Thank you!

Belinda also had, as part of her giveaway, this colorful Trader Joe's tote. I went to Trader Joe's for the first time in California when I visited my brother a few years ago. We don't have them here where I live. I loved that store and came back with lots of specialty food items. I didn't get a bag while I was there though, so I am very happy to have this one. Thanks Belinda!

This Queen of Hearts doll is about 4-5 inches tall. It was part of a swap at the Yahoo group, Decidedly Different Dolls. Go to the right in my Enchanted Places to Visit to check it out and hopefully join us. I sent this doll to my swap partner Therese. I made this doll from paper fabric and a queen of hearts card from a deck of cards. She is standing on a slice of tree branch to stabilize her.

This photo shows the back of the Queen.

We have lots of swaps in this group and it is so much fun! Each doll is usually about 4-5 inches so it doesn't take very long to make one. They are inexpensive to ship and we just have fun! This group is growing in leaps and bounds, so come join us for some fun.

WooHoo, I'm on a Magic Carpet Ride!

****Comments are closed****
I will be announcing the winner this afternoon.
2-15-10
It was a great ride!

Welcome everyone!

I have joined One World One Heart

and I'm taking the magic carpet ride.

WooHoo!

Hope you will come along with me.

This is a wonderful way to meet fellow bloggers

and to win something in the meantime.

That's always fun!

To celebrate I am giving away 2 bars of my handcrafted soap.

To be eligible to win this lemon poppyseed,

100% natural soap,

just leave a comment on this blog post

after becoming a participant in OWOH.

To find out all the details just click on the following link.

http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/one-world-one-heart.html

I will select a winner by a random drawing on February 15th.

Hope it's YOU!

In the meantime I hope you visit for awhile

and read my other posts to see what all I have been up to.

I've been busy creating every day,

art dolls, art quilts and much more.

Here's wishing you peace and good health!

WHEEEEEE! Here I go!

Saturday Quilters

Our meeting at the Saturday Quilters went well

and we had lots of show and tell

that I want to share with you.

Last meeting we each bought some challenge fabric to make the block of our choice.

This shows how many different blocks came back and how creative people are.

The winner of all the blocks will put it together as she pleases.
This quilt above and the following one are two of the quilts that June's students made.
June teaches at the Pan Am school here.
She teaches art
and one of her classes is quilting.
Her students have never seen a sewing machine,
never held a needle,
and from scratch they made these wonderful quilts.
They hand quilted them too.
Isn't that amazing!
They used sheets for the fabric since there is no fabric store nearby.
They came up with their own design, choosing the fabric that June had for them.

This one by a Pan Am student is a whole cloth quilt
where she quilted it all by hand using her own design.
They are very talented aren't they!

This quilt above is the first quilt for this Saturday Quilter.
She used her mother's fabric from long ago.
This quilter is on her way to making many
more beautiful quilts.

This one is Joyce's free quilt.
She won all the blocks at the quilt guild
and put it together beautifully.

Brenda finished her African Mask block for the bee.
Judy won all of them if you remember in my previous post.
She will end up with a great art quilt.
The fabric Brenda used is her own hand dyed fabric.
Wonderful job!

One of our Winter Texans made this beautiful quilt
called Pink Lemonade.
This is her first quilt.

Another winter Texan is showing her
crazy log cabin quilt and told how easy
it is to make this pattern.
I think it is stack and whack.


This one is a raffle quilt made by the ladies at a local campground.
Most of them are Winter Texans.
Isn't it gorgeous!
They will have their quilt show toward the last of February,
so I will go and get lots of photos to show.

The embroidered pillowcase was made by one of our
Saturday quilters, for her grandson.
Isn't that cute!

Here is a great snowman block put on an apron!
Great idea for the holidays,
a gift or for yourself.

A great scrap quilt!

Here is a way to make a flower in fabric strips and buttons.

The fabric strip petals are folded in half and are just tacked down

on the bottom side of the petal. Very nice.

Carol Ann had made a lot of homespun linen cloths and pot holders.

Aren't they nice!

January Full Wolf Moon Doll

Full Wolf Moon Doll

Native Americans have names for each full moon of the year.

Bea at Dog in the Hole Studio decided to present a challenge

for anyone who wanted to try something different.

Each month we are to create our version

of a doll or quilt block etc. to represent

that month's full moon name.

Each month has several names.

One name for January is

Full Wolf Moon,

and I chose to do a doll

with that name.

I used polymer clay to create this 10 inch doll.

The full moon

and a wolf paw print

decorate her clothing.

Her necklace is part of an old earring I had.

Real feathers adorn her hair.

I added feathers and Juniper berries

at the base she is standing on.

She is holding a basket

(an old tea strainer without the handle)

full of mountain laurel seed pods.

Click on

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/ethnobot/images/mountain-laurel.html

to read some info

on how the Indians

used the mountain laurel

in their daily lives.

Juniper berries were very important to

the Native Americans.

They can be used to make vibrant purple dyes.
Black beads can be made

from juniper berries.

After collecting a fair quantity of berries,

string them on a small sliver of wood

and let them dry.

After they have dried,

pour grease on the fire

and smoke the dried berries

in the thick smoke,

turning the berries black.

Polish and string the beads

interspersing with wolf willow beads.

Blue Chair

This photo of the blue chair was taken by Bea at Dog in the Hole Studio.

I knew right away that I had to make

an art quilt from this photo.

This was back in August '09 I believe.

Bea and I said

we would both make an art quilt

from this picture.

I think she is about finished with hers.

I just finished mine today.

It measures 17 by 18 inches for the entire piece.

Right click to enlarge in order to see the detail.

I made it from fabric, polymer clay and paper fabric.

The chair is polymer clay

which is attached using E6000 glue.

The door is some of my hand dyed shibori.

My batik is used for the window glass.

There are a few black beads on the side of the door.

I did some free motion stitching on it and

added some color and texture with oil paint sticks and also acrylics.

The edging is fabric paper that I painted turquoise,

but let the paper underneath show through a little bit.

I then sewed the fabric piece to the fabric paper.

The writing on the bottom says

"Down in the Blue chair...we can watch our troubles rise!"

That is part of a song titled

Blue Chair

sung by

Elvis Costello.

Kenny Chesney does one too called

Blue Chair.

There are a few Blue Chair songs out there,

all different from each other.

Well Bea, what do you think!!!!

African mask blocks

My quilting Bee had a fun project lately.

We made African masks using a picture as a guide.

Each one of us made either one or two each.

These two are the ones I made.

The top one is made using fabric paper.

The other one I just used African looking fabric,

and my bleach discharge fabric for the background.

It has a bit of my hand dyed fabric in it too.

Then we had a drawing to see who won

all of the blocks.

There were nine blocks total.

Judy was the winner and she was thrilled.

Here are all of the blocks.

Click on the photo to enlarge it,

so you can see the detail more easily.

Aren't they wonderful!

Next month we are doing a

tree block.

Each block will be 12 inches square

when finished, just like these.

Then we do anything we want,

any kind of tree,

any kind of embellishment.

Then we will draw again

to see who wins them all!

This is FUN!

Soapmaking Time !

At the beginning of this week I gave a 2 day soap making class to some ladies at Bayview RV campground. I had about 12 in the class and had a total of 6 making soap. One lady (Anne) is not shown here because she could not make it on the last day for pics.

All of us had fun here at the park clubhouse. The other ladies who were observing said they learned a lot too. I taught the basics of cold processed soap making. They each added their own ingredients, from the list I provided them, and their own essential or fragrance oils. So it was hands on for this Soap 101 class.

Shown here are Judy, Ann, Betty, Ethel and Patty.
In the above picture Patty is removing her soap from the mold
getting ready to cut it into her desired bars.
She made a good quality unscented soap.
This is great for sensitive skin!


Here is a pic of some of the cut soap.
Ann and Judy made a batch together and
cut their bars into smaller manageable pieces.
They added tangerine essential oil
which made it the golden color and oatmeal.


This is Ethel's soap above.
She used three oils,
one being extra light olive oil,
which gave her soap its creamy white color.
She added a rose fragrance that was wonderful.
She also added her homegrown lavender buds
and oatmeal.
A beautiful soap!

Patty is holding her mold full of cut bars,
ready to take home with her.
There she will let them cure
for several weeks.
Then they will be ready to use,
or give away as gifts.
She calls it Mimi's Lye Soap!

Betty made a wonderful soap using oatmeal
as an additive.
Her essential oil was a mixture of
sweet orange and lavender.
Very nice!

Ann and Judy are holding
their mini bars that they cut,
and are very happy with the results!

Here is Ethel holding her
beautiful creamy white bars,
with lavender buds and oatmeal.

Next week I will be giving another class there.
My husband makes the wood molds
and we sell them for $20.00 to class participants.

Until then, happy soaping!
Thanks ladies!

Quilters, Needleworkers, Artists

My quilt guild met last week

and we really had a great meeting.

Lots going on as usual!

This is Darlene

telling what our little art quilt group will be doing this year.

She is a wonderful artist and heads our little group.

She was going over what can be done

with an art quilt once you have it made.

There were lots of demo stations this meeting.

This is Brenda learning how to knit.

That's something I never could get the hang of.

This is a book of rug hooking patterns.

Aren't they pretty.

I love the boots and the bunny.

Harriet Parker is our new president and

she was showing us how to hook rugs.

I think she will be a wonderful president.

Our old president was wonderful too.

Her name is Linda Wilkey

and she specializes in

Civil War quilts.

I'm not sure which quilt she has on the cover

of the next issue of Quilters Newsletter,

but look for it.

How exciting!

This is one of our best hand quilters.

I think this is Marilyn.

We have about 100 members and

I can't remember every one's name.

I'm so bad! I learned more names

when I was librarian last year,

and also ran the silent auction.

But I am enjoying not being librarian again,

as I get to visit everyone more,

and just enjoy myself.

If you enlarge this you can see

the Brazilian embroidery.

This was done by a member

and it is part of her daughters

wedding dress.

This type of embroidery is beautiful

because it is 3D.

Here she is showing us how to make a rose.

This is a framed needlework piece done by
Anna Williams.
It is done with ribbon embroidery.
Beautiful!
I would like to learn how to do this.

This is Anna giving us more tips.

We always have a great show and tell!

Above is Linda Wilkey, our past president.

Remember!

Her quilt will be on the cover of

the next Quilters Newsletter.

Isn't this quilt gorgeous!

Below is a quilt with a story!

This is Faye and she calls this quilt Krista's Quilt.

Krista is someone she doesn't know.

If you go to this website you can also

become involved.

http://marinecomfortquilts.us/guide.htm

We have some wonderful and giving quilters

and needle workers in our guild.

It touches my heart to see

what they do.

They all inspire me to give more!

Following are more show and tell quilts!

I love show and tell!

Everything is just beautiful!

Hope you enjoyed it!