Merry Christmas!!!

Wrapping Presents Today

First Snow

It snowed during the night leaving a thin layer of white on the ground.  Nothing to shovel.  Pretty in the early morning light.  Guess winter is on the way.

Fall--the view in my yard

The colors this fall have been incredible!

OUTSIDE THE BOX Blog Blitz all week!

Outside the Box. the Memory Box blog, is featuring a Blog Blitz this week with two posts every day.  Comment on each post for chances to win product from the newest collection!

Check out my Monday afternoon 10/5 post featuring the SMALL WINTER SLED. 

Altered Vest

Here's the vest I altered by adding half of a bureau scarf to the back, vintage lace and trims, embroidered cloths made into pockets, and other pieces of vintage embroidered work.  I took it to SEW AND TELL at Tacoma Lakes Quilters this week and Margo took these pictures to post on the TLQ blog.

Here's the back--
hmmm...should have ironed it
The panel is sewn at the shoulders and across the top neckline
and left to fall loosely on the back of the vest.

And here's the front.  I'm pointing out one of the pieces I appliqued to the front.
I used different trims on each front and along the bottom of the vest.
And you can almost see one of the two slanted pockets I added.  Gotta have pockets!
The blue piece on my right shoulder is a crocheted flower pin made by Carolyn Fitz-Patrick.

Inspiration from the NH QuiltShow August 13, 2015

great landscape; should make a quilt about Potter's Brook

close-up; she used a fine mesh over printed fabric

several people said this looked like something I'd do
so maybe I will...

detail from that quilt--embroidery over the quilting

"Flower Road in New York"--Fumiko Tanabe, Japan

I like the way there are two panels that extend down below the lower edge.
"The Land of Milk and Honey"--Hedva Meroz, Israel

wheat; pomegranate
detail from "Civil War Bride"--Ikuko Sakaguchi, United States

love the shape of this one with the leafy edge
"Calendula"--Klara Schafler-Landesberg, Israel

lots of geometric pieces again with sections that go outside the normal edge
"The Path We Walk"--Gail Solomon, Israel

"Happy as a Clam"--Rachaeldaisy, Australia
embellished denim circles

detail "Happy as a Clam"

detail "Happy as a Clam"
added this quilt to my Pinterest page
thought about making this using Mom's jeans and things on
the patches that represent her life

"The Lily Pond"--Bernadine Hine, Australia
love this...think it would be pretty in stained glass, too

feather stitched detail

"Pam's Peewee"--Beth Miller, Australia

"A Blog"--Irene MacWilliam, United Kingdom
She made a square a day and included a detail about each day.
rubber stamping, embroidery, sketching, applique

looks more like paper to me than cloth
waterfall/reminds me of Small's Falls, Madrid, Maine

detail--lots of seed beads, painting of the fabric

table runner in a booth made from quilted squares connected by a lattice
Sandi Hunt pointed this out to me or I would have missed it.

square detail

loved this poster of the metal/mixed media bird
good idea for Dad

detail of wolf
idea for my Red Riding Hood quilt

loved the narrow pieces and the stitched/embroidered lines off them above and below
another quilt with an odd edge

crazy quilt detail of a spider and web

vintage crazy quilt

she took a photograph of her house and
turned it into an architectural sketch
which she embroidered on a central panel

section from a modern crazy quilt
incorporating handkerchiefs

made to look like embroidered quilted blouse
open neck on panel
from the My Favorite Things inspired collection

"Honey Pi(e)" from the collection of Beatles Tributes Quilts

"Memories"--Niza Hoffman, Israel
the outer edge of the circle holds photos copied onto fabric
lots of buttons, beads, embroidery
her life story in a quilted piece

book is three dimensional
letters photocopied onto fabric, painted/dyed

reminds me of the paper collages from Lois Ehlert's
FEATHERS FOR LUNCH///
should revisit that book with an idea for making bird mini quilts

crow

corner detail from a Christmas piece
could do this with die cut holly leaves and beads for berries
love that it spills over the corner of the frame

"Protectress"--Gillian Cooper, United Kingdom
idea:  how about a series of Goddess quilts?

SPECIAL EXHIBITS THEMES

50 SHADES OF GRAY, Gold Coast Guild, Boca Raton, FL

gray had to be the focal fabric

ALONG THE SPICE ROUTE

41 wall quilts each interpreting a spice used in cooking today and its country of origin

INSPIRED BY THE BEATLES:  AN ART QUILT CHALLENGE

Beatles songs, each quilt 24"X24"

from book by Schiffer Publishing

MY FAVORITE THINGS, Cabin Branch Quilters and Stonehouse Quilters, Virginia

MY FAVOURITE HOLIDAY

had to incorporate challenge fabric :Holiday Green" from Quilters Treasure

WEARABLE ART CHALLENGE

and a challenge for me and Donna from Maine Quilts:  create a bookshelf wallhanging/quilt of the books read in a year...

4 Quilts to exhibit at Maine Quilts Show

These are the four quilts I will be exhibiting at the Maine Quilt Show later this month.

The challenge was to complete each 6X60 quilt using only three colors in each.

Fall:  brown, black, white

Winter:  white, blue, gray

Spring:  green, brown, pink

Summer:  orange, red, purple

left to right:

Fall:  Homage to Charley Harper
Winter:  Snow Birds
Spring:  At the Edge of the Woods
Summer:  Eat Your Veggies

My First Altered Jacket 2015

I found a great linen jacket at my favorite thrift store and decided to alter it using vintage trims and doilies.  I didn't like the way the collar flopped so I sewed it down to create a stand-up collar.  I removed the buttons and covered that edge and the buttonholes with vintage trims.  I added a lace collar  and vintage trim around the bottom edge above the flounce.

front

I particularly like the way the collar floats above the lacy panel I added to the back.  
They are both only sewn to the collar edge so they move freely.

sleeve detail

layered doilies and heart appliqued

small bag made from vintage fabrics, ribbons, buttons
added to the front as a pocket