are you dreaming of a white Christmas?

i've been unable to do much blog visiting as i have been busy creating more postcards for holiday sending but i am wishing everyone a beautiful holiday season full of love and laughter and a new year with health and happiness in every single day.

more Christmas postcards. i have just a few more to finish . . .

and i better get busy or their going to be late~!~

~a carrot quilt update~

despite my attempt to keep things to a minimum i've been completely overwhelmed by holiday preparations and life in general which is why i haven't posted more than the sunday postcard art challenge for the last few weeks. in general things are good, but the "slow setting" that MS puts me on isn't the best for keeping up with the usual holiday hubbub and so my blog posting has suffered some.

however, one of things that i have been able to continue doing is the carrot quilt stitching that i described in a previous post. and i'm delighted to have progress to report~!~

the first little indigo and white quilt measures approximately twelve and a half inches by fifteen and a quarter inches. i used some purchased antique blocks and hand sewed them into a top and then added a bleached muslin border around them. the blocks were constructed using a white muslin that had actually not yellowed or aged as much as sometimes happens with antique blocks so i rummaged through my muslin scraps and found one of my less white choices . . . despite the fact that they were not my brightest scraps i can really see the difference between what i used and what was originally used within the blocks. looking at the photo of the finished piece i can see that it turned out just fine and in fact delineates the border of the top a bit which i like. within my stash i managed to find a reproduction indigo fabric print for the binding and a shirting print that i used for the backing. all of that and a few hand quilting stitches and ta-da~!!!~ carrot quilt # 2 is finished.


carrot quilt # 3 is the result of some more purchased antique quilt blocks that i had on hand that were hand sewn together to create the top. i love the various blue fabrics used and that rogue plaid square~!~ which was pieced together from very small scraps of fabric by the original maker . . . a testament to the waste not, want not style of living that was once necessary. some of the other pieces are also "micro pieced" together too and i imagine that if you click on the photos you will be able to see some evidence of this yourself.
i found the border fabric and the backing fabric within my own stash and the binding was made from a chambray that i happen to have lots of because i like the way that it "plays" so well with the vintage and antique bits that i have accumulated. the backing fabric is the most wonderful print which includes the occasional bee and is one of my all time favorites. i chose to hand quilt the center using very simple straight diagonal lines in varying widths apart and i stitched a simple cable into the border. i like the way that the border seems to be a bit fancier in "attitude" than the simplicity of the center and think that it made for some subtle but good contrasts. this finished doll quilt measures approximately twenty two and a half inches by twenty inches.



i hope that you enjoy seeing the latest additions to my carrot quilt collection.
this evening i will begin to put the quilting stitches into carrot quilt # 4~!!~ yipppeeee~!!!!~

~St. Nicholas~

in celebration of St. Nicholas day this weeks theme is all about the jolly St. Nick~!~

this week for my Sunday Postcard Art challenge i once again started with a fabric postcard of my own making. i imported an image of it into pse7 for some further digital manipulations.

to see many more fantatstic postcards with a St. Nicholas theme go to:
www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com

~!!~happy St. Nicholas day~!!~

~Let it Snow~

this weeks Sunday Postcard Art challenge is "Let it Snow". i recently finished a fabric paper postcard for my daughter and i used an image of that card to create this one by importing it into photoshop elements and adding some additional layers, artwork and text to it. using the pencil and various brushes was challenging for me today and my lines look shaky which i was upset by at first but have now decided that i rather like the childish look of it in this piece . . . i even drew my own primitive little snowflake~!~

for more fabulous postcard art go to: www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com

SPA CHALLENGE ~ FLOURISH

this past week has been a busy one for me and i'm just barely getting anything done for the SPA challenge of "flourish". one of my own photographs and a quick insertion of some text and i'm calling it done.

http://www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/

"music" was this weeks theme at sunday postcard art. i have once again used several of my own photographs and had fun while learning some more about photoshop elements 7.

to see many more postcards go to:

http://www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/

this is my SPA challenge card for the week. the theme was "crackle". i used one of my own images, some special effects from pse7 and added a quote that i like.

to see many more postcards from some very talented artists go to:
www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com

my "carrot" quilt is finished~!!~ (except for the label) and i'm delighted with the way that it turned out. it measures roughly 19" x 24". it's a bit wobbly: the edges aren't straight and it isn't square. i wanted to honor the previous work done on it by not altering it much. i found a bit of feedsack within my collection that happened to be just the right size to work as the backing and i used a reproduction 30's print that i liked for the binding. it's hand quilted by me in a fan design which i felt was in keeping with it's age.

i am now considering possibilities for my next "carrot" quilt. i bought a group of nine patch and snowball antique quilt blocks from an e-bay seller several years ago. these blocks measure roughly six inches square and are hand sewn. the individual squares in the nine patch part of the block measuring a mere one inch after being sewn.

there are quite a few and the blocks were made of many fabrics (apparently scraps). a few of them were not quite as scrappy as the rest and used old indigo fabrics. these happened to be my favorites and so i've culled them out and am now pushing around the many options open to me. there aren't a lot of them but i should be able to create a doll quilt (maybe even two) from them.

i know that i will continue to hand sew them into their finished quilt as, once again, i see it as a way of honoring the previous makers work as i add my own and i know that i will hand quilt it but the rest is still a mystery to be worked out . . .

i would like to add some gratitudes to this post. i am so very grateful that my eyes and hands continue to cooperate with me in my wish to create and finish these wonderful pieces from the past. and i am grateful that there are others who inspire me with the work that they do in the antique/vintage/traditional style of quilting that i love so much. one that i would like to specifically mention is: Diane of www.persnicketyquilts.blogspot.com/ . Diane's blog is chocked full of both small and large quilt wonders. i love going there and often treat her blog as a gallery. in other words i just go and stare at the quilts until my eyes hurt~!~lol

i highly recommend it as one of those blogs that requires a cup (or two) of warm tea . . .

the winner of my "winter comforts" give-away is:

congratulations Lesley Ninnes of: http://www.sea-blue-sky-abstracts.blogspot.com/ ~!~

i will need you to send an e-mail to libbyquilter@yahoo.com with your address information and then i will be happily mailing you some comforting goodies~!~



thank you to everyone who entered. i do wish you all a winter FULL of the kindest comforts.




and now for another sunday postcard art card. the theme was Edgar Allan Poe and i once again managed to use some of my own photos to create a digital collage. i am having quite a bit of fun with the program now although it is still a whole lot of trial and error.

http://www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com

winter has landed and baby it's cold outside~!!~! when winter arrives i always think of it as soup season. the ultimate in comfort food when a bit of inner warmth is required. i love soup and am always on the look-out for new and tasty vegetarian soup recipes. there are certainly other fabulous comfort foods that i enjoy such as mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese (extra cheese please) and a huge mug of warm tea with honey added . . . maybe a scone on the side . . . you get the picture.

normally i do not think of carrots as comfort food but i've recently discovered that a carrot a day helps keep me warm on the inside too. let me explain: a couple of weeks ago i got quite annoyed at myself while looking at my studio walls full of small quilt tops that need to be completed. in general these are the ones that i began or collected for myself and had to put aside until there was "more time" . . . the ones that i would like to hand quilt and keep in a tiny dolly cupboard or trunk just for me, occasionally rotating two or three of them as house and/or wall decorations. some of these tops i made myself. some are bits that i purchased as unfinished blocks and tiny tops . . . my favorite ones are those made from vintage/antique fabrics and blocks, primitives that look as if a young person was acquiring sewing skills as they "played" with their dolls. clumsy stitching, naive patchwork and sometimes no real pattern at all . . . but oh-so-charming anyway~!~ i was looking at these small treasures and thinking about how cute they are, but as pretty as they are in the unfinished stages i would like to see them in their finished form. my fingers began itching to stitch one of them and then, as usually happens, i realized that i had many other obligations to fulfill. damn it. and then i hatched a little scheme so that i could work on these pieces guilt free.

i have decided that if i have kept my commitments to the best of my (fluctuating) ability/energy levels on any given day then in the evening i will thread three needles with thread and empty them into a project just for me . . . sort of a carrot/reward system that will allow me to see some progress on my own special small and doll quilts while still gaining ground on the projects i am doing for others. now i know three needles is not much stitching but i am seeing some very nice progress and think this may be working out rather well.
i have come to think of it as my daily carrot and am very comforted by this regular bit of self care. some evenings i'm just too tired to even pick it up or i only manage to get through one or two of those threaded needles but usually i get in at least a few stitches and frequently enjoy all three.

and best of all i have one of those primitive little vintage tops nearly full of my own hand quilting stitches and almost to the binding stage. i've decided to only show a sneak peek for now but may have a small hand quilted doll quilt to show you soon.

and someday maybe i'll have a whole bunch of "carrot" quilts to show off~!~

another comforting activity that i am trying to make more time for is reading. this happens to be the book i am reading now. actually i am re-reading this one. i read it years ago and loved it and recently decided to re-visit it. and it's as good (or better) than i remembered it~!~ if you haven't read this one you should definitely put it on your list. i'd love to hear your thoughts about it if you want to share them.

now all of this chat about comfort brings me nicely to my next announcement. i am offering a "winter comforts" giveaway. if you leave a comment on my blog on Halloween day (October 31) with the words "trick or treat" written somewhere within it i will put your name in the basket for a drawing that is all about the "treats" and not the "tricks"~!~ a small package of surprises to bring comfort to a lucky someone during this upcoming winter season.

~!!~i did it~!!~

this is my digital postcard creation for sunday postcard art (halloween). my very first digital creation and if you ask me how i did it i would not begin to know what to tell you because it was a whole lot of experimental trial and error. it's not perfect or anything but I DID IT~!!~

www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com

btw: this was created using five of my own photographic images

last weekend i went for a wander up into the nearby foothills and it was a beautiful day. as you can see the snowline is dipping lower with the trees seemingly in flames down below . . . our fall season has been an extended and beautiful one so far and i am enjoying the profusion of color all around me.

i loved taking these shots of the local seeds, hips, berries, petals and leaves as the local flora approaches it's lengthy winter rest. this is a fairly harsh environment and these things struggle in our high altitude and short seasons. it's both exciting to see the colors and sad to know that it will soon be covered by snow. i am grateful to have my camera and be able to capture and save these sweet mellow moments of this fleeting season.

i only wish that i were as adept at capturing these wonderful natural gifts as my fellow blogger Carolyn at http://www.love-stitching-red.blogspot.com/ . if you want to really see some fabulous photography and how she interprets it into some of the most sensational needlework i've ever seen you should pop on over to her blog. let me warn you that you should plan on staying a while because you will almost certainly find yourself wanting to brew a cup of tea (or two) and get comfortable as you explore her sweet space. she's been doing some still life photography using vellum as a layer within her set ups and it's just one of the many beautiful and oh-so-inspiring things you will have the pleasure of enjoying. she has been on a short blog vacation and i've really missed her but a little bird tells me that she'll be back to posting very soon and may even be hosting a give-away . . . just one more good reason to go over for a visit . . . i'll be there and i hope that you will join me in welcoming her back.

Exciting News~!~

i've just been to Eileen's at: http://ruralwisconsin.blogspot.com/ and learned about a wonderfully generous giveaway.

you really must go see the fat quarter bundle of Red Rooster's Pumpkins & Spice Fabrics by Whimsicals. that's a whopping 27 fat quarter surprise pack that's being offered at: http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-happy-halloween-giveaway.html
Pumpkin Patch Primitives Quilt Shoppe is being extraordinarily generous with this one and isn't a Halloween give-away a great idea~!?!~ it brings trick or treating to a whole new level~!!~ and now i'm going to have to think about what i can offer as my own Halloween night giveaway . . . hmmmmm . . .

it's all about golden sunshine moments

and COLOR today~!~
check out the intensity of that blue sky~!~

i am grateful that i live

in a color filled world

and

that i have the gift of sight.

last night it rained. and rained. and rained. i expected our temps to dip into the freezing zone and i would wake up to snow but that did not happen. instead i woke up to partially cloudy skies and some sunshine trying to break through so i went out with my camera to see what i could see . . .

at first glance things look bleak as there have been some frosts (earlier this fall) and the plants are all brown and droopy. but i simply cannot look through that lens without it being set to macro and so discovered a multitude of seeds. when looked at this way, i decided that i could be grateful for the many and varied "promises" being made by the garden to enchant me once again after their winter rest.

the ornamental crabapple tree is just loaded with tiny little fruits that are getting redder by the day.

these fruits are about the size of a marble and the birds are going to have plenty to feast on this winter.

some have fallen to the ground and made their own colorful poetry.

thank you to all of my readers who left such understanding and comforting thoughts on my last post. i have discovered that one of my gratitudes is the friends that i have made via my blog.

i have no reason to be overwhelmed by depression and yet i am. it is such an ugly state to be in and i find myself knee deep in it with the waters rising dangerously fast.
my current ammunition of choice is to hunker down and look for the gratitudes within my life until it lifts. i do not give this information in an effort to elicit sympathy. i don't want sympathy. what i do want is understanding for whatever may come. i'll continue to share what joy lies in my life in an effort to stay focused on the positive because if i don't, the negative will darken my life like the worst kind of dark storm. these things may or may not be things that you feel grateful for and i will totally understand if you decide to mosey elsewhere while i get through it.

i am grateful.

for lunch i enjoyed a toasted parmesan cheese bagel with a slice of muenster on top and a few slices of a deliciously ripe nectarine on the side. as i prepared and ate it i kept in mind how much i enjoy this tasty meal and how lucky i am to have virtually whatever i might like to eat at any given time. i live in a wealthy country and can enjoy a simple, nutritious and beautiful meal whenever i feel motivated enough to prepare it. never do i cry because there isn't enough to nourish myself or those that i love. this is a gift and not everyone is able to enjoy it.

this week's SPA challenge was

"SKULLS & SKELLIES!".

www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com