Saturday at the craft factory...

A busy day! Finished two paint brush rolls, some quilted postcards, and washed, pressed, and squared up all the fabric to work on more small quilts tomorrow. I am ready to go.



picture from an old Chesterfield cigarette ad




Nesting doll is cut from a Christmas card I recieved this year.



Small quilts and the Civil War

 I have been making small quilts lately, mainly for dolls,  and I decided I needed to do more with it. I also needed to learn some techniques and tricks.  It is so difficult to get these little 3'' squares to lay flat. I enjoy classes and things to meet people so I signed up for a small quilt club in town, "Jo's Little Women". We use patterns from Jo Morton and her Civil War reproduction fabrics.

The teacher, and beloved quilt guru, suggested we also learn a bit more about the American Civil War to share at meetings. Well, aside from crafts, I also love to do research!

Within just a few days I already have a short pile of books found at a local used shop. One of the most interesting  is "Weep not for me, dear Mother" by Elizabeth Whitley Robertson. She came into possession of letters written by a Confederate soldier, Eli Pinson Landers, and has compiled them along with researching the battles, places, and conditions he wrote of. I am a sucker for old letters and his are definately worth reading.  I like to hear personal stories and opinions from these historical events. Every war has thousands of stories.

Two others I found were "Civil War Women" ( a collection of fiction) and "Russell's Civil War Photographs" by Andrew J. Russell. It's nice to see images from the day. Pretty amazing really. All of my photos of my quilt squares have his photos as the background.

These are just the first 2 squares for a 19''x19'' quilt. Much more to do!

My Erosion Bundle




The Erosion Bundle happily tucked in its woodsy home!

 

 Last year I was too late to get in on the Erosion Bundle Project, but here is my 2011 bundle...it's ready to go mix and mingle with the elements and see what transpires. I love the idea of this; placing fabrics, fibers, old items, linen, ribbons, and anything you fancy together and placing it in the world to let Mother Nature work magic on it!

Here are some of the items within my linen and muslin: lace, old tin, Canadian coins, metal bits, buckles, feathers...

 ...an eggplant flower, herbs, lavender, felted wool...

 ...old clasps and buttons, old postcards from decades ago...

These will be brought back inside in April and then rediscovered.  And also repurposed into new artwork. What a wonderful idea for a project. I am thrilled to take part. Check out The Erosion Bundle Project to see other bundles and what people have created in years past.

Mail Art

A Butterfly for Take A Word, working on the mail art stash, and reworking an old painting...

 This is one of my favorite Kaffe Fasset fabrics- worked perfect for the background of my butterfly.

 Using old family photos and my used stamp collection for envelopes with interest.

 These birds are actually from a cutting board my Grandma gave me. I used transfer paper to make this fabric postcard.

This is a portion of a painting I did months ago. I used photoshop to cut the image down and printed it onto transfer paper to make the fabric postcard.  The matching envelope was run through the printer.

Now I am ready to send more mail art!

My Stamps Arrived!

 I Love the US Postal Service...no, I really LOVE those people! And I especially love that anyone can use any photo and have stamps made! Yes, it's a bit more, but I still think mailing a letter is some pretty cheap entertainment and I have always liked writing letters, postcards, and doing mail art.

These stamps are a picture of a doll I did...the photo was actually taken somewhere along the process and I just liked this one.

Getting ready for valentine's Day

Starting Valentine's early! Actually, I don't think I've made cards for this holiday since grade school, but it sure is fun with felt and a sewing machine! This was a project from a calendar a friend gave me. Little notes tuck into the heart pockets or envelopes. So cute!

Little magnet beauties

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle



Are you there God, it's me Margaret by Judy Blume



This week's Take A Word challenge is "Beauty". I decided to make a fabric magnet of the "Black Beauty" book cover, one of my favorite childhood books. I also loved Judy Blume books, and this was her best! Last, but not least, I had to do my absolute favorite "A Wrinkle in Time".

Lovely buttons

This was a project idea in an older issue of Cloth Paper Scissors- a felted quilt to showcase some of those favorite buttons we all have. What a great idea!   This pink button is one I love, and it truly is out of my " Red Tin" from Grandma.

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