I’m a sucker for books about art, design, color, and art quilting. For Christmas, I received two that I think will be fantastic. Adventures in Designis by Joen Wolfrom, and it’s written for quilters. She wrote an earlier book, Visual Dance, which really taught me a lot. I think this one will be similar, which […]
Would you like to learn the basics of making a fresh flower arrangement? It’s very easy, and you only need a few tips and supplies to get started. First, you’ll need a container. Something the size of a cereal bowl is about right. Next, you’ll need the key construction element: Oasis floral foam This green foam is […]
My mom rocks! She sent me a box of greenery cuttings from the family farm, in Virginia. Not only that, she included a container, floral foam, and all the supplies I needed to create an arrangement. A big bow, too. How cool is that? Click any image for a larger view I gleefully unpacked Magnolia […]
A couple of months ago, I came across a quilting challenge involving the use of unconventional materials. That piqued my interest, and I began to consider what materials I might like to use. Since I was spending lots of time in a hospital clinic, I gleefully decided to collect everyday objects for a week. I […]
After seeing beautiful hand smocking recently, I decided to give it a try. I bought the needed supplies, a book for beginners, and set to work. That’s when I was reminded of a few things about myself: 1) I’m impatient, and 2) I like to do my own thing. Following a smocking pattern conflicted with […]
It was great fun to knit together all my fabric strips. The resulting item is colorful and full of texture. Click any image to view larger But at approximately 6″ x 60″ what is it? (Before blocking, below.) My original thought was that I was making a scarf. And, I think it looks really good […]
In my recent search for portable hand projects, I’ve been taking a new look at some of my unfinished items. This one of Croton leaves was started in a class with Pamela Allen. It has quite a bit of merit, don’t you think? Click any image for a larger view Things I like: – the […]
Do you ever get creative ideas late at night? But then, you don’t have the fabric or supplies you need for your plan? This happens to me all the time, and is frequently the catalyst for serious improvisation. Take, for instance, my 11 P.M. decision to re-learn how to knit. I had been thinking that […]
Even before finishing this little quilt I knew it needed a border. But, I had already trimmed it! What to do? For starters, I went ahead and completely finished it, facing it as usual. Then, I decided to make an entirely new background quilt to serve as the border. Later, I joined them together: a […]
Inspired by an old map, I’ve been working on this little quilt for a while. I wanted to experiment with sheer fabrics, so the background is loaded with a wide variety of them. The list includes cheesecloth, lots of decorator fabrics, and even an embroidered sheer fabric from Mood Fabrics (of Project Runway fame.) I’ve also used paper and loosely woven craft […]
