One thing about my internet connection is the thrill of receiving "something" via the postie:
Yesterday,my thrill was receiving a tote bag and button from Joyce
(aka Chief-ten-bears) ........and I must take a pic and share it with you too!
Today I opened a NZ franked envelope and found this ATC from Evie!
Evie knows I want to try my skills at ATCs next year,hence the gorgeous card
(my photographic skills don't do it justice,SORRY!)and a blow by blow description of how she made it.
Between polymer clay faces,angelina fibres,heat guns.....my life has changed since Evie entered it.
Thanks a bunch,Evie!
">http://chief-ten-bears.blogspot.com/"
Woohoo!
The postie has been,and today there was a parcel from Chief Ten Bears in Whistler,Canada.
Joyce said that she'd give me a totebag featuring her "ten-bears.blogspot" label if I linked her Blog with mine.
I still haven't got the linking in the sidebar right,yet.But I will!!
In the meantime,go visit with her and see her mossy roof and the chimney cleaner at work.
Oh! did I mention the bears?
">Link
http://www.pirnie.org/christina/CQUnderseas.htm"
Haven't got much time to blog today..
cakes in oven;
Windows need cleaning----read this as an excuse to cool off!
It's about 32 deg C at the moment,my rainwater tanks are full so I don't feel so guilty about doing all the windows.The downside is that all our (wild) bird visitors can't see "clean windows" and tend to have a few collisions,but luckily no fatalities result.
In the meantime,do check out the Link included for Christina Pirnie's work and her whimsical cat-fish!
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Ingredients:
Cat fabric,Vlisoflex,sharp scissors,thread to tone
Take one piece of cat fabric
select the cats you want and cut it from fabric.
Iron vlisoflex (double sided fusible) to the wrong side of the fabric,then peel off paper backing and iron cat shape in position.
I generally draw and cut rough outline on Vlisoflex first,so none gets wasted.......and I also use a sheet of ovenbake to prevent vlisoflex STICKING to iron,ironing board,other fabrics,etc!
I generally prefer to satin stitch around the shape by machine and because of this I like to leave about 1/8th inch "seam allowance" around the shape.
The cats are actually hand stitched buttonhole because the sewing went with me this morning to Oncology clinic where it was difficult to take my Janome!
The flowers on Kim's bag were machine appliqued.....faster & neater!
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Am doing a little more handwork today to fill in the gaps.........
Hopefully I'll get the lining and handles completed too!
This pic was to remind of the positioning of the larger buttons as I tend to forget their order when it's time to attach.........I think a few smaller buttons will give a better trail effect.
">http://chief-ten-bears.blogspot.com/
Through Jo of NZ I visited the Blog of Chief-Ten-Bears who lives in Whistler,British Columbia.
Go,visit with her and learn of her love of bears.
And,with a very red face.........if you haven't visited Jo of NZ This is NZJo
http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/fruits_region_frameset.htm
While trawling the Net trying to identify that red fruit I stumbled on "Fruits around the world" 2
comments
You go perfectly innocently to check out Jennifer's Blog and get side-tracked.......
so,colour me PURPLE!!
| Your Blog Should Be Purple |
 You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say. |
We drive up to Tinbeerwah today to look at a property offered by Boystown as a Lifestyle Lottery.Forget about the house,the gardens were worth a visit though:
Down in the
back-yard" was this magificent Shell Ginger (Alpinia Speciosa).Already past it's blooming prime ,it was nevertheless a clump worth admiring:Over six foot tall,lovely glossy leaves and tall canes ,perfect in a sub tropical garden!
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[http://www.flickr.com/groups/72125064@NOO/pool/]
When I started my first BoF I had in mind a confection of soft pastel colours featuring butterflies super imposed on a background of flowers and stems which would comprise embroidery,beads and buttons.
However,somewhere along the way I decided to flaunt my "growing old,disgracefully" tendencies, and with the help of a machine embroiderer friend who constructed the red hats,umbrella and Miss Maude on the back pocket with her magical machine,my tribute to the Red Hat Society took over!
I kept as far as possible,to a red and purple theme and embellished flowers and vines in curves that echoed the pocket shapes on the front.I've used crewel wools,polyster punch needle threads,DMC Madeiras and even DMC stranded cottons.
Being a cat lover,who has at least one cat lurking somewhere in each of my CQ pieces,if you look closely,you'll find three on the front of the bag.
Because I was aware of how the rear of any bag rubs against the body I didn't do much work on the bag's back: Only a feisty lady peering out of one pocket,a red hat on one pocket and a basket on the other.
A few vines and flowers relieve the bareness of the remaining panels.
Some red braid goes through the waistloops and the lining of the bag and straps is a Red hat fabric from a chain-store.
I used a small rectangle of Timtex to stabilise the base of the bag and added a couple of internal pockets in the lining.
I have found it a most convenient bag for general use,and not as heavy as I thought it would be.
I must now complete the "butterflies are free" bag and make 2 others,but,trust me,they wont have as much handwork as this one did!
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At latest count the Xmas Ornies I've completed is 10.I still have two bells,one heart and two punch needled shapes to finish off.
In a local "trash shop"( an el cheapo type)the other day I chanced on a beaded trim that I can use in place of the "icicles" that went AWOL....I hope it works as I planned.
On another front,one bag(see Bags of Fun) has been completed and christened.I must write up my journal to submit to SharonB.Somehow I don't think that my "Butterflies"bag will be completed by the deadline.
One thing about deadlines:they sure pressure you into finishing by due date instead of languishing indefinitely as WiPs.
My problem is I get too many "bright ideas" that just have to be pursued down beckoning sidetracks leading me away from the main game.
Next year I must try and be firm with myself and complete at least half of those UFOs;After all,that was the excuse I gave for commencing this blog:journalling the completion of UFOs,and what happened????
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Over the last week I've been slowly working on that pile of Xmas Ornies I'm committed to making for two Ornie swaps.
The punch-needled ones are a little smaller than my usual circular ornaments,but there is no doubt that they are BRIGHT!
Just need to add a few beads and tiny bells to them and then I can back and hang them.
Am very disappointed though---some icicle beads I received in an Aust/U.S. swap some 3 years back and which would be perfect for myoff-white and silver heart have gone AWOL! I "hid" them so carefully so that they wouldn't be used before the right inspiration hit,that I can't find them.Looks like I'll be using crystal beads instead.
On a lighter note,the list below came in one of my newsletters this week;I think it's applicable whether you're a dress maker,crafty person,or a quilter.
Enjoy!
If I Don't Buy That Fabric I'll Surely Faint!
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Few true sewers, quilters or fabric crafters need an excuse to buy more fabric. We are hooked on cotton. We obsess over silk. We daydream about calicos and ginghams and plaids. But just in case you need to explain to others why you have a million yards of fabric at home, but still need a few more fat quarters and just have to buy yardage of the newest prints ... here's a handy list of reasons you need more fabric! Copy this list and tuck it in your purse for quick reference!
It is a patriotic duty to support cotton farmers, textile mills and fabric shops.
"Oh, it's not for me! I'm buying it for a friend!"
It's on sale.
I need extra weight in the trunk of my car for traction on snowy, icy roads. This is important, even in Florida and Southern California, as you never know when the weather will change.
It's non-fattening.
Like dust, it's good for protecting previously empty spaces in the house.
Because it's there.
It's much cheaper to cover the floor with fabric than new carpeting.
The devil made you do it.
It's the only remotely artistic thing I have ever done.
I can't live without it.
I have new shelves for fabric storage.
It will go with some I bought last year.
It's so pretty, and I'll use it some day.
I want my daughter to have a proper inheritance.
Without fabric, I would have nothing to do with my rotary cutter and my mat and my sewing machine.
It does not promote tooth decay.
It calms the nerves, gratifies the soul and makes one feel good.
If I don't buy it now, I may never see it again.
A large fabric stash is the sign of a creative mind.
I owe myself a reward for that half-pound I lost last month
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I ventured down to Brisbane today to the Craft Fair.
What a disappointment for this hunter/gatherer...
(I think the one in April?May had far more appealing wares)
I went with a LIST and was disappointed to come home minus some of the goodies I was chasing---
amongst the items high on my agenda were Angelina fibres.........seems like the ThreadPlace in Perth or (forget who) in NZ are my only options.
Then I was on the look-out for Sculpey Art-doll moulds--------nada,zip,zilch!
Sculpey,Jovi polymer clays...........nil;
Fabric for my punch-needle with silk ribbon?? At least I could count on Pamela Gurney and her Dancing PunchNeedles(http://www.punchneedleembroidery.com/pages/default.cfm?page_id=4697) to supply the threads and fabric,AND a quick tecnique brush-up for the silk ribbon punch-needle )
Next on my list was a book on Fabric Bowls by Linda Johansenn...........YES!!
and a couple of mini porcelain dolls to grace my 1/12th size beds and cot....yes!!
Tatting edging,crochet motifs.....The Lace Place
Cotton broder edging and sumptous cotton laces...Starrs Lace.Worth visiting just to listen to HIS banter!! VBG
I checked out the Quilt Show section.............only found one CQ!
But the postcards from Alaska!!! Loved them!!I have a few ideas now for that Postcard swap next year with Mary-Frances'group (in Oregon??)
Maybe it's my sick SoH,but the postcard featuring roadkill was most memeorable!
