On A Spinner's Back

So many wonderful items that spinners create are worn on their back.  You must turn them around to see their handiwork.  So, during the January spin-in, I went around to take photos of spinner's backs!  You never know what you'll find when they turn around.  Here are a few examples of beautiful creations:

How About Some Color in Your Yarn?

It's time for the vendors to move into The Palms of Destin conference center for our annual

January Spin-in

and they have brought a wide variety of lovely yarns for

our spinners!

The theme for the year is "Cotton Candy" and this 

vendor set her booth with these yummy looking

cotton candy cones!  What a fun way to spin!

Oh my, which one to choose?!

And sock blanks!  Love these!

More blended braids to decide about

Since many are knitters as well as spinners,

this vendor brought wonderful color coordinated scarf kits.

Silk!  Silk! Silk!

We have you covered if you are a weaver!

Just try to choose what to spin this day!

And this is a 'sale' bucket!!

okay, I'm lost in these wonders!

Blends, wool, silk, exotic and yes cotton abound!

And if you are a weaver--the vendors have you covered!

Every year, the last full weekend in January, we sponsor

our January Spin-in.  You must be registered, we do not

allow walk-ins or shoppers.  You come for one day, two days,

or the full four days.  It's fun, learning and sharing time.

No workshops or seminars--just spinners being spinners!

Just For Charity...................................

This year my Charity project is so create a version of the Fat Quarter Shop's Charity quilt, Crossroads. The supply list is now available!

This year the charity we are supporting is the March of Dimes foundation and we will be raising funds to help their efforts to fight premature births. We hope you will sew along and donate to this amazing cause through our fundraising link:

March of Dimes

download our Fabric Requirements PDF. 

And if you want to make the quilt just like the above, you can order a kit

BUY THE KIT HERE, they are LIMITED!

Here is the schedule…

• January 15 Fabric Requirements
• February 15 House Block
• March 15 Diamond Block
• April 15 Friendship Block
• May 15 Family Block
• June 15 Intersection Block
• July 15 Chain Block
• August 15 Finishing
• September 15 Pieced Backing
• We will begin auctioning our quilt around September 1^st , 2016

For more information about the quilt along, please visit our blog here:

Fat Quarter Shop

The Splendid Sampler

A super Collaboration between Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson plus 83 other designers!

Check out Splendid Sampler

• This is a mystery that consists of 100 spectacular 6” finished quilt blocks. All different techniques from pieced, to applique, to embroidery, to English Paper Piecing (EPP) and Paper piecing.
• The blocks are released 2 a week, with 2 holiday breaks for Christmas Day and New Year’s day
• There is no supply list. We will be sharing fabrics used by the designers in upcoming articles so you have an idea of what we gave them to use.
• There will be two Splendid colorways shown.
• There will be a layout given in the future, we’ll give a supply list for the setting. 
• We will also have giveaways, a way to share your blocks via link party quilt show, a list of tutorials, and exciting ideas for how to quilt this from a master quilter on our team!
• The blocks are free until March 2017. 
• The first block is Valentines day Feb 14, 2016.
• Each Sunday and Thursday a new block is released.

It's That Time Again!

January Spin-in 2016

Destin, Florida

Let the Fun Begin!

Let's Read...................

Every January my friend posts the books that she'll read throughout the year.  It's always an interesting and diverse list and I'm anxious to see what she has chosen.  I follow along with her as she writes her review of each book--so, here is her list for 2016:

1. The Four Swans: A Novel of Cornwall, 1795-1797, Winston Graham (1976)
2. One Zentangle a Day, Beckah Krahula (2012)
3. Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways to be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are, Danny Gregory (2015)
4. The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge, Robert Murphy and Ivan Terestchenko (2009)

And if you want to wet your appetite with more interesting and diverse books,

look no further than 40 Books to Unlock Your Creativity

Latest Bonnie

I like that some of my quilting friends are advancing quite rapidly on

Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery--actually, it isn't a mystery anymore

as the quilt has been revealed.

I'm still chugging along on step 4 or is it 3?

I like the assembly line stitching--until you get a phone call

from a friend and you must stop to chat

All those above will or should turn out to look like this

And the box, on the left, is filled with stitched parts, that should look like the ones on the right.

Just need to spend time pressing those suckers.

oh, humm, I think I'll have another cup of coffee and think about

my Organizational Skills....................

Scrap Organization--

A Quilting Life has wonderful suggestions on how to organize your

fabric scraps.  Take a look!  Great ideas!

I thought it would help me get my act together 

and put all those fabric scraps into a decent order.

Look!  I made a start............

and these are cut 2.5" square--Nice, huh?

and then................

there is that huge bin of scraps in the closet to go through............

oh, well,

think I'll leave those for another day!

Did You Know?

There are so many facts that I didn't know about our history, especially the Civil War.

Recently, I came across an article about Roswell Mill and women.

Since I'm a weaver and very interested in the production of fiber, this was a story to read carefully.  The Mills of the South had women workers, some with children on site.

Read this story and wonder--how could this happen?

I've been reading this book, especially since our annual spin-in theme is "Cotton Candy".

What a story!  Our daily life is surrounded by so many cotton products--want to read,

give me a shout--

Wisteria ?????

Just a few more days and all will be revealed

Melody's Makings

Wisteria is an elegant, lacy, and gorgeous project with all sizes from Girl's Small (5-7 Years) through Women's XXXL.  So it's perfect for all shapes and sizes

Check her website out for super neat crochet and knit patterns while

you wait for the mystery!

Wax Paper?? Who Would Have Thought??

Okay, gang--I use some of these ideas, but 

others--who would have thought????

Mandalas

The mandala is one of humankind's most ancient art forms. With the circle as its basis, it reflects eternity and all of nature: the sun, the moon and even the bird's nest. Types of mandalas may be found in all religions, as well as in psychology.

The circle is the most natural form known to mankind. The universe is made up of planets, stars, moons and the sun---all spherical in shape. The sun rises and sets in a never-ending circle; seasons pass in an annual circle. Trees, rocks and raindrops are circular, and most fruits and flowers are spherical. The cells and atoms that make up everything within the universe are circular.

 

Mandala history

How about Mandala's to color?

Join in on the interesting artistic world of Mandalas by becoming a member

of  Facebook group.

We see Mandalas in our every day life.

My Mandala is my spinning wheels--what is yours?

Here Comes the Queen of Hearts!

It's time to think about that sweetest time of the year--Valentine's Day!  Did you know that Valentine's Day is celebrated in various countries around the world?  It is a time to show your love and affection for someone special in your life.

I'm thinking about Valentine's Day because the brown headed kid asked for a table runner for her new home--she requested this valentine one.

Joy Shope has the tutorial--we are stash diving for this one!

Should be fun to create for her table.

Other patterns are found here on this site--have fun!

and for some history, we have this from Wikepedia........

Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,^[1] is a celebration observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not a public holiday in most of them.

St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines that belonged to February 14, and added to later martyrologies.^[2] A popular hagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.^[3]Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion,^[4] as well as in the Lutheran Church.^[5] The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine's Day, albeit on July 6 and July 30, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers "as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart", as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady).^[6] Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.^[7]

Antique Valentine's card
Also called	Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine
Observed by	People in many countries; Anglican Communion (see calendar) Eastern Orthodox Church (see calendar) Lutheran Church (see calendar)
Type	Christian, cultural, commercial
Significance	Feast day of Saint Valentine; the celebration of love and affection
Observances	Sending greeting cards and gifts, dating, church services
Date	February 14 (fixed by the Western Christian Church) July 6 (fixed by the Eastern Orthodox Church)
Frequency	annual

Crayola has coloring pages!! for you to download and color!

And if you need something to write in those Colorful cards, you can find Poems!  Much sweeter than candy!