Points of View QAL

Just Quiltin' 

has a great quilt along!

check it out.

I'm thinking--another great quilt from the stash!

Genius Hacks For Quilters

Hacks for Quilters?!  I'm all in!

Such great suggestions from experts, how 

could you go wrong?

check it out.............I like the idea of glue on binding,

and the Magic 8 to make half-square triangles!

Anything to make our work easier and quicker!

Spin, Span, Spun!

I'm totally having a super time with this fiber.

Where has it been all these days?

I recently cleaned up my fiber closet and it's strange

the interesting things you find hiding in the 

nooks and crannies....

like this fiber!

It's a fleece I bought--who knows how many years ago--

and dyed it in the grease, as I do most of my hot off

the hoof wools.

Why I hadn't spun it before is beyond me--

such a lovely fiber; soft, pleasing to spin

and I absolutely love the colors that the dyes

gave it.

Such a multitude of colors all in one fleece

Does it not look--spinable?

trust me, it's spinning up nicely.

On the other hand, I have this luscious bombyx silk that I purchased

sometime ago from Rivers Edge Fiber Arts

I'm loving this fiber too!  I spin some silk; I spin some wool.

And I'm in a happy place!

Do You Love Color?!!

Are you obsessed with color as much as I am?!

This article popped up and I laughed.............

oh my gosh,

this is so ME!

I

This is so true--

and these photos on this website are

so --well--colorful!

I am so excited to get new colored pencils, crayons or pens.

As I said in a previous post, we are remodeling the house--

that is so much fun (!) and making decisions

about paint color--oh MY Gosh!

How do I decide?  I've gathered so many paint chips and paint books--

it's exciting to see all these colors

maybe, I think I'm totally obsessed with color!!

BLOOM!

It's beginning to look like Spring!

And there will be

Blooms!

So, I was delighted to find this interesting QAL

sponsored by Lori Holt, with  Riley Blake Designs

I decided to order Lori's simple shapes for applique.  She has great tutorials

on her website for each block.  Let's get to planting those fabrics to 

BLOOM!

Creativity----But, I'm Busy!

• Read:  Art Before Breakfast by Danny Gregory
• Begin Working Art Projects via Daisy Yellow Art collection
• Stop Procrastinating! 
• Get away from distractions (aka do creative things when away from home).
• Commit to a ‘project’
• Do the smallest thing. 
• Schedule some creative down time with friends. 
• Make time for workshops or retreats.  
• Thanks Jade Herriman for the motivation!

Okay, here I go--I'm leaping right into creativity!! 

Cabin Crochet--Inland Waterways

About 20 years ago, as I was attending Houston International Quilt Festival, I spotted a note pinned to the lobby bulletin board.  It said, "Wanted:  Pen Pal"  The address was England.  I left the note

on the board for the whole weekend.  When I came back on the last day of the festival, the note was still pinned--so, I took it down to bring home.

Thus, began several years of letter writing with a stranger in a far off land.

What is a Pen Pal, you say?

in these days of instant gratification and instant messaging, the art of letter writing has gone by the way side.  But, 20 years ago, it was a good thing to do and I loved writing letters.

It only cost a few cents to mail a letter, but a world of friendship developed.

we exchanged information about our family and friends,

about our surrounding area, our daily activities became writing material.

We also exchanged small gifts about fiber techniques

and these two booklets were ones that Joan sent me. 

We both had a love of crochet and knitting, as well as quilting. 

I found these books fascinating!  What lovely ways to decorate your

boat--a single hook and some thread gave the windows a homey

look and feel.

Crochet lace was introduced to British women in mid-19th century.  The boat women took a copy of

netted and darned lace, filet, as one of their styles of decorating their boats.  The true Filet lace consists of hand knotted net; taking this work into Filet Crochet, which allowed any design, floral, pictorial, letters, etc, to be worked with a hook and thread.

Here is a photo of one of the canal boats--alas, Joan couldn't find any photos of the crochet work

that fancied the windows.  She did find the two booklets though.

Over the years, we slowly drifted apart, much like the boats on the canals.  

I re-read her letters and fancy she's enjoying another walk along the canal; 

or she's stitching another jumper for maybe a great grand baby.

I miss my pen pal--today, it would be so easy to chat with her

through the internet, but there is nothing like opening a hand written letter.