I just found a list of interesting tips

so decided to print them here- it will be a fairly long post, but I found it interesting -I found it in my Mother's things and am not sure where she got the list. It is old fashioned, but the tips DO work.

TIPS
Use empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and
you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
============================================
For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: Get warm water and put Dawn
dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't refreeze.
============================================
To remove old wax from a glass candle holder - Put it in the freezer for a few
hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will
fall out.
============================================
Crayon marks on walls? This works wonderfully! Use a damp rag, dipped in
baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease, that is!).
============================================
Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) Put
rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
=============================================
Whenever you purchase a box of S.O.S pads, immediately take a pair
of scissors and cut each pad into half.
It is more economical. A box of S.O.S pads will last indefinitely! In fact,
the
scissors get "sharpened'' that way!
=============================================
Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen peroxide on
a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood. Works every time!
=============================================
Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for
inside windows. Then you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar
will get outside windows really clean. Don't wash windows on a
sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.
=============================================
Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light
scent in each room when the light is turned on.
=============================================
Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell
freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and
linen.
=============================================
Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours
prior
to burning.
=============================================
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add
the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and
leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
=============================================
To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of
dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan. Bring to a boil on stove
top.
=============================================
Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in
tomato based sauces. No stains.
=============================================
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep
for weeks.
=============================================
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the
corn's natural sweetness.
=============================================
Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your forehead.
The throbbing will go away.
=============================================
Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use
in
casseroles and sauces.........
Left over wine? What's that? :)
=============================================
To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you
will experience instant relief.
=============================================
Ants, ants, ants everywhere Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line.
So, get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to
march. See for yourself.
=============================================
Use air-freshener to clean mirrors It does a good job and better still,
leaves
a lovely smell to the shine
=============================================
When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting
to tweezers or a needle Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, and then
pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
=============================================

Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer........
Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes,
brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china.
================ =============================
Clean a vase.
To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water
and
drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.
=============================================
Polish jewelry.
Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry
for two minutes.
=============================================
Clean a thermos bottle.
Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak
for an
hour (or longer, if necessary).
=============================================
Unclog a drain.
Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down
the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes and
then run the hot water.
=============================================
Burn your fingers?
Pour soy sauce over it and the burning sensation will immediately stop
(and you have a good chance of not blistering, too.) I don't know why, but it
just works.

FLOWER GARDEN FINISHED!

I finished quilting my flower garden wall hanging. Just need to bind it and make a case for it. I was happy to find this particular fabric to put on as a border as it works very well.

This will be put away and possibly used as one of the draw prizes for learningfa. ---------------- I spent the morning sorting out email addresses for the postcard swap, as well as the
'make a little book' class. It goes on the 6th .
We have some great classes coming up this year - and I know the word is spreading as we have 415 members!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will be teaching a beginning landscape in the near future and an advanced landscape later on - lots of interest in both of these. Some of our girls have really taken to
landscapes and that pleases me a lot.

We will also be doing a THREAD PAINTED landscape , in our ongoing thread painting work shop - the students have already done a rose bud, hummingbird,chickadee and robin.
Last night I sent them out the tutorial on trees and buildings so once they have practiced a bit we will do the the landscape. We are all having so much fun.
-------------------
I also plan to repeat the 'bouquet of flowers' which was a class I taught last year. As you can see we have lots planned -- Oh, and we just started a mystery quilt, and we will be doing "beginning quilting' very soon. Not enough time to do all the things we wish.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A lot of our members set up new blogs in the blogger 101 class which was held a few days ago. Chris opened a chat room and taught the class there. We will use the same method for some of our future classes, although will carry on send the classes in emails, as they are so easy to follow, and copy.

Well, I want to put the binding on the Flower garden so had better get at it. Shirley

Flower garden - foreground quilted

Here are pictures of the foreground with all the quilting finished. The picture doesn't show the grass too well in the foreground
but I followed the line of the flowers. I will now do the sky.

Notice how much better it looks in comparison to the unquilted picture.
(at the top).
I will now start quilting the sky and the border.

Flower garden - quilting

I just started quilting my Flower garden, starting with the fields. When you have a large area to quilt in a landscape - it is a good idea to change the directions of your quilting rows to give the effect of different fields and hills. There is a picture of the overall landscape as well as a close up of the quilting in the fields. I will post more pictures in the next post, as I continue quilting this wall hanging. ---------------------------

As I have mentioned before- I think it is extremely important how you quilt a landscape, as you can add contour to the land, -different ways of
giving 'life' to the sky etc. I thought it would be a good idea to show you how I choose what to do when I quilt one of my wall hangings. I

Challenge quilt

Helen Murphy, one of our Learningfa members from Alberta, just sent me a picture of her
Challenge quilt - isn't it lovely?

I taught a class to Helen here in Calgary a year or two ago and she had done a few landscapes with the learningfa group since then. She has a very very good eye for color and perspective.

Good job, Helen!. Shirley

Flower garden continued

is ready for quilting. I chose a dark green border and I hope it sets off the scene nicely. I will quilt it today and will post when I have it finished. I added some fields in the distance, and some thread painting. The foreground is fussy cut, and the important thing to watch for, is that you have a pleasant view of the flower bed, with different heights and colors.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
We are having lots of fun on the learningfa group as I just opened a new chatroom for
members - we will use it for discussions about the classes, have short tutorials, and just visit. Our group is thriving which is very satisfying for me.

We have a beginning quilting class still open for signups, so if you know of anyone who wants to start quilting, let them know and they might want to join the group and sign up.

We also have a "little fabric book" class coming up shortly.

We are going to have a postcard swap which will be set up shortly. We will swap with 3 other people so it isn't too much of a hassle to make the cards for the swap. I will post some pictures when the card photos are posted.

Thought for today

"Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be
entertained". John Powell

Crazy Patch

is something I learned a couple of years ago, and I love doing it. I don't seem to have much time, but it is a great way to lose yourself in creativity. I thought you might be interested in looking at some of the work I did in 2007 -2008.

Did a series of "fantasy" quilts, shown here are" Brown fantasy and Green Fantasy" The consist of 6
crazy patch blocks sewn together to make a wall hanging. I do quite a bit of thread painting on my blocks as well as fabric painting. If you look closely you can see a peacock with a beaded crown, as well as a thread painted chickadee and little house. I often use
crazy patch for my postcards. There doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to do all the things I love to do. But my supplies are here if I feel the need to do one of these
creations. I haven't branched out into small projects - scissor holders, little bags etc. although I did do a needle holder for a friend.

I hope you like the work I have shown here. I learned to do crazy patch from Julie C. in the learningfa group- I hope to have the class again sometime in 2009. Shirley

Blog visits

I have spent the last couple of hours visiting different blogs and enjoyed every minute.
The blogs are varied, interesting and I feel as if I have gotten to know some new people.

Chris's class (Blogger 101) showed a lot of new things to put our blogs. I managed to
put the first portion of posts from my favorite blogs. on my side bar, and I also put a list of the labels I have used for different posts. So much you can do. It certainly takes up
a lot of time, but so much fun! Shirley

Thought for today
" I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy
than be a success at something I hate" - George Burns

correction-The Magic Factory

Stephen is a 'creative partner' with Dmitri in the Magic Factory - Sorry Stephen - glad you let me know I had given the wrong information. Good luck with your endeavors, you are very talented. Shirley

This and That

Good morning - It is still very cold here in Alberta; it has been an endless winter and we still have a lot of time to go before spring arrives. Oh well, no use getting frustrated!

I am venturing out with my Husband this morning. I haven't been out of the house since
Thursday, as I haven't been feeling too well. It will be good to get some fresh air.
---------------------------------------------------------
I have been so interested in the Blogger 101 class that was held on the learningfa group this past weekend. Chris Dahl did a great job and there are lots of new blogs out there. I picked up a few tips and it was great to see what the girls accomplished. Very impressive.
----------------------------------------------------------
I still haven't gotten back to my Flower garden - I am nearly finished the top and hopefully I will get back at it when I get home. Some of my work seems to just fly by, while once in
awhile I have to force myself to finish it. I usually am reasonably happy when I get those finished, but I can't get up much enthusiasm - maybe because I haven't felt like doing anything except sit around for the past week.
----------------------------------------------------------
I did get my challenge quilts away and was happy with them. It will be interesting I think.

--------
I just scrolled through all my posts since I opened the blog in August - there are 3 or 4 quite helpful tutorials and lots of information, so I hope you will scroll back- Lots of
pictures of my work, and the work of our students are there too. If you have the time, I hope you will scroll back. There is a good tree tutorial (how to include trees in a landscape- shapes, sizes, thread painted, etc.) as well as the instructions for
increasing the size from a photo , and also a tutorial on the Press n seal use for transferring patterns.
-----
I hope you like my Header picture. I made that wall hanging a few years ago; it was the first time I really got into the quilting,and since I made this one, quilting has become very important for my work. I would strongly recommend to those who are doing landscapes, carefully think out your quilting patterns, as they can add to your work. (note the sky).
Shirley

Thought for today.

"There are two kinds of people: those who don't do what they want to do, so they
write down in a diary about what they haven't done, and those who haven't time to
write about it because they are out doing it".

Richard Flournoy and Lewis R. Foster

Round robins

I love round robins, although I don't have much time for them right now. It is a challenge for me, as well as the traditional quilters I share rounds with, but it is so much fun!
here are a few of them I have entered over the years. A goodly number of the centers on these were painted with acrylics and then others are thread painted. Usually they were organized at the retreats I attend, or on the Cdnquiltswappers. Enjoy!

Thought for today"

"It is easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you are a winner, when you are number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you are NOT a winner"
Vince Lombardi

Painted table cloths.

I used to join round robins with my friends and have a lot of them on hand. A lot of the centers were painted. Here are a few. I painted a lot of table cloths for gifts - infact we still use the Christmas table cloth shown. I have a lot of my smaller landscapes painted on fabric in my Webshots pages so do drop in and check them out.

Painted quilts and wall hangings

I used to make painted quilts, usually with a southwest theme, for my family and friends.

I loved doing them, and I taught myself to quilt by making regular, queen and king sized quilts. I used the technique 'quilt as you go'
--------------
The green king sized quilt was my last venture into painting a large quilt. I just felt they were a bit fragile, although all of those I did are still used as quilts.
-----------------

The red bordered quilt was donated to the Strathmore Crisis shelter and raffled, it did very well and help build a playground for the shelter which opened in 2000. I think it is my favorite. The queen sized quilt was given to my son, who still has it on his bed.

The 'little people wall hanging' was the very first painting on fabric. I taught a class in
a park we stayed at in Arizona and the girls good my example piece and made it into a wall hanging for me. ---- I was in a maple leaf swap at the Western Retreat a few years ago, and incorporated the blocks as a border for one of my painted and appliqued quilts. The wall hanging with the rust border was a round robin I was in a few years ago - it is still on my wall. I hope you have enjoyed checking out my painted quilts.

I will see if I can find some pictures of small painted wall hangings. As you will note ,most of my early work represented the southwest - I loved doing the southwest scenes.

The magic Factory

The link is in the side bar under interesting links (Magic Factory) Shirley

The Magic Factory

is a very interesting place - I just checked out the work one of Learningfa's members Stephen du Toit, from the UK,
who is a partner in this interesting company. He is the costume designer and his work is very good. Obviously he is very aware of how to use fabric. I was most interested in his jackets. Once you are in the magic factory, click on designs. He will also be opening a new blog in the very new future and I will put his blog in the links.

I think it wonderful that there are so many talented people on our list and that they use
fabric in so many ways. I understand he also does sets for many of the plays they are involved in. His partner is a director and very good artist. Check them out. Shirley

Blogger class (learningfa)

Chris Dahl is doing a great job on the blogger l0l class which is currently underway.

I have learned quite a bit already and am most impressed. I am hoping to put some of my new knowledge to tweak this blog - grin. l00 people signed up for the free class, one of many on the learningfa group. We are one away from 400 members which is very exciting.

It is one of the most satisfying things I have ever done - starting the learningfa group and seeing it grow and grow. The best part is watching the members jump in and teach an online class for the first time! We have started out sending out a Mystery quilt which was written by my friend Noell -

You can still sign up for other classes in the data base in the group. Go to the sidebar
and join learningfa if it interests you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that I am feeling a bit better -( felt horrible for the past 4 days), I will get back to the tutorial on the Flower garden - see previous posts - and will post the steps as I go along.
------------------------------
I do hope you will join my followers, and don't forget to comment on a post once in awhile. \I would certainly appreciate any feed back on the tutorials.

Well, I had better get going and try to work on the wall hanging. Shirley
=================================================================
Thought for the day

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking
your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one" Mark Twain

LANDSCAPE CHALLENGE 2009

Recently I mentioned on my blog that I was holding a challenge on my learningfa group.

Each person was to find a nice landscape photo and copy it into their phot0 program. Then they were to change it to black and white, or sepia. Then put away the original card and
make a landscape of the picture, using their own colors - (not referring to the original picture.) We have had a couple of pictures and I want to show you, a Challenge finished by Judy S. in the group.

Judy had a picture of Kingston Creek, N.B. so she sent me a picture of the original black and white as well as her finished wall hanging - isn't it great? It is such a good exercise and approximately 20 girls from the group decided to take part. I will show them as I receive them. (Click on the pictures and it should increase the size). I will also post the Challenge in case any of you want to give it a try. I guarantee that it will help you with color choices, perspective and many other things. I recommended to the girls that they do this exercise at least 4 times.

Enjoy! Shirley

#3 Summer Garden

I started laying the flowers in the foreground for the garden. Once I get the flowers attached (I am
thinking of using invisible thread, OR Stitch Witchery to attach the flowers. I haven't made up my mind yet.

I haven't decided whether I will put in a large foreground tree. That will be the last thing, as I want to get the
main scene finished - I still have lots of thread painting to do, but want to put the main portions of the picture together- then I will decide what else is needed. I
am glad I decided not to put a fence in. The main thing you have to do in this kind of picture is get your
perspective right. If you don't, your scene will look 'flat'
and the picture will look as if it is standing on end.

Always remember, the furthest away is small - Objects get larger as they come forward. I take pictures and study them and if something bothers me - I show my husband the scene and 99% of the time he picks out the same problem as I did. If it doesn't look right, it likely isn't right.
I will try to get the flowers sewn down and more thread painting done and post the results tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying this little tutorial. Shirley
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for the Day
"I've always been proud of my age. I think people should be proud they've been around
long enough to have learned something". Frances Moore Lappe

Thought for the day

"You were born an original - don't die a copy". John Mason

#2 FLOWER GARDEN

I got a bit sidetracked yesterday (watching CNN) but did manage to finish the thread painting around the house. I have decided to put in a lake and a pond, and then start the flower garden in the foreground. I was going to put in a fence, but decided against it as I have done a couple with a fence in the past and I want this one to be something I haven't tried before. I am in the process of laying out the flowers for the garden and will take a picture when they are
fastened down. I do enjoy doing these
wall hangings - and it is so much fun because I never know what I am going to end up with. I won't know until it is finished!.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I also just finished thread painting a bright red poppy for a project I was working on- it
turned out very well and added to the project. I thought you might be interested in seeing the flower part. I transferred the poppy with stretch n seal . I hope you like it.

Flower garden Wall hanging --Pt. 1- information

Please check out the comments on yesterday's post, as I answered a couple of questions which I think are quite important. I hope that if you are reading about this landscape, you will ask questions - and I will try to answer them in the comments. I am in the process of taking pictures for the second post and will put the pictures and instructions in the next couple of hours.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am watching CNN and what a wonderful day for the United States.

I know the world is watching - I believe if anyone is needed for this job it is Barack Obama.
My prayers and those of most Canadians are with him. It is so great to see the joy
on people's faces. What a wonderful day!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thought for the day

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you"?

Flower garden Wall hanging --Pt. 1

I have decided to put a tutorial on my blog, showing you my steps in making a
"Flower Garden" wall hanging. It will take 2 or three days to finish the center of
the wall hanging. If you decide you want to follow along with this tutorial, you will need a background blue sky (1/4 - 1/3) at the top of the picture -- 1/3 medium green just below the sky - see picture. Note: I put some hills in at the sky line - fussy cutting some varied green fabric - This wall hanging will be rough edged applique and thread painting. I thread painted a few trees along the distant hills - I also appliqued the hills down with a narrow zig zag. As the distance is NOT the focal point in the scene I will not add a lot of different things to this area, although I will add some trees around the little house which will be off in the distance. I am considering adding some water to break the green in front of the hills.
Remember, this is the background so you don't need too much detail. I printed the little house on fabric and painted it with two shades of red so that is will show up well in the piece. I will put more trees, shrubs and possibly flowers around the house and around the lake which I am going to add next.

I hope you will sign up

as a 'friend' if you visit my blog often. I see that 12 people who visit often have already joined. You will be able to keep track of the posts, and I would be honored to include you as a 'friend'.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for the Day

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly"
Richard Bach

One of my friends,

Dixie, just sent us some pictures of finished work she has finished this past while, from classes she took on the learningfa groups. She is doing beginning thread painting and this is the Robin & pussywillow, as well as two lovely 3 fabric wall hangings from the class I recently taught. I was so impressed with her work. I am still in awe of the work that the students have done over the past l8 months since learningfa started up. My friend Noell has designed a mystery quilt for us and I know it will be well received.
I met her and another dear friend Bobbie Keer today for lunch, and it sounds as if
the mystery will be wonderful.
---------

I have finished my two challenge quilts and will get the photos in the mail shortly. It should be interesting.
-------------------------------------
Our streets are really messy right now - the snow is melting and at least the main
streets are clear - the side streets should be better tomorrow. I hope those in Eastern Canada and the States are safe and taking care. ---------- It looks like it will be very cold for Obama's inaugaration - millions of people - I hope they all dress warmly. It is a history making day for the United States.

Well, I had better get back to my new wall hanging. Talk to you all later.

Cathedral Windows

I just checked out a great tutorial on Cathedral windows and I thought it might be
a great one to tell you about. I will also put it in my links - It is very clear, and I
know that just about anyone could follow it. The blog belongs to an Australian woman and is most impressive.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We had a fun day yesterday- My husband helped push 9 people out of the snow in the
parking lot driveway and then last night we found out we were stuck ourselves. Luckily
a young man came along and helped us. They had 'cleaned the road with a snow plough, but ended up putting a ridge of snow behind all the parked cars. What a mess. I hope it
is over as once again they say it is going to thaw. (I will believe it when I see it). I was
very concerned as he has a history of heart problems so I have made him promise not to
push any more cars!. In this part of the world we are used to snow and cold weather,
however this winter has been the worst for 45 years. The city didn't even try to clear
the side streets - only the main thoroughfares. I sure will be glad when it is spring!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have finished one of the challenge quilts and am working on the second - I still have some work to do on it. It has been interesting for me. I want to get the photos in the mail
asap and then it is done until we are notified if ours are chosen. I wouldn't mind at all if they aren't as they are quite pretty and I think they might do well for Wellspring at the auction in November for Cancer support.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is nice to be into the New Year - our learningfa group is picking up, lots of questions and answers and new members as well as many many class
sign ups. There were l00 people signed up for Chris Dahl's Blogger 101 - she has done an amazing job and I think it will be very successful. Many are still working on their Square Dance quilt, and their thread painting so it looks as if we are going to have a great year
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am going to read my paper and have a cup of coffee - see you later. Shirley
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for the Day:

"The first step is to find out what you love---and don't be practical about it. The second
step is to start doing what you love immediately, in any small way possible"
Barbara Sher

Challenge 2009

I put up a challenge on the learning fa group and the first one has been posted in our photos. Joyce did exactly what I wanted her to do in the challenge. She was to take a picture and copy it into black and white or sepia and cream, transfer it to a new fabric. Then she had to put away the original, and decide what colors to use on the photo. I am really happy with what she achieved. Take a look at the original sepia picture of Hawkins Lake and Homestead - and then look at the finished wall hanging. Great job Joyce!

I think I might put the challenge up on the blog tomorrow as it is a great exercise if you
need practice in choosing colors. Shirley
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for the day:

"Ninety -nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making
excuses". George Washington Carver

Here are some pictures of

some of the work done by students in Learningfa -

We have lots of traditional quilting classes. In the next day or two I will post some of the thread painting work. This is a very small sample of
the work accomplished by our students.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am so frustrated with myself. I was adding a link to my link list and somehow
deleted the whole link section! grr. I don't remember all of them, so I will start over again. I sometimes wonder about my self - grin. Shirley

A multiple of nine patch blocks

were posted on Quilting on budget - our 'sister' group - check out the following link.
You will see a page of information about 9 patch, and a section of different blocks at the top. If you click on refresh, each time you do you will see another whole section of blocks - I think it would be very helpful for those who want to design a nine patch block that is different.
I will also put this link in my side bar.

http://www.levitated.net/daily/lev9block.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am looking forward to the "Blogger 101" class' being held in Learningfa, and taught by
Chris Dahl who is very computer savvy. We had 100 signups - hard to believe. The signups are now closed and the student information has been sent to Chris. The class will be in a couple of weeks and it will be interesting to see how many new blogs are started after the class.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am still working on the little Challenge quilt - I have it nearly finished. It has been a
reach for me to say the least. As we are allowed to do two, I think I will try another one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am going to start posting pictures of some of the work from our students, during 2007, our first year. It is quite probable you will be amazed at the quality of the work.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thought for the day

"Always listen to experts. They will tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it"
Robert Heinlein

I want you to see

the Wedding gown quilt that Susan quilted - it is absolutely glorious. The mother of the Bride took the dress and sewed it so that it laid flat, and Susan Quilted it. She does the most wonderful
quilting. Click on her name and check it out. She answered some of my questions about it in answer to one of my comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would also recommend that you visit the group Quilting on a budget (click on my link) yahoo group and check out the great list of BOM's that Joan (the list owner) has gathered
together. They are wonderful! I recommend this group as there is lots of information discussed and when you do join, click on the different BOM's especially the quilt that shows the rows quilt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of my quilts has been chosen as a feature quilt in Quilters' Show and Tell - It is going to be uploaded at ll.am on Tuesday in Australia. As we are nearly a day later, it should be
there late tonight or tomorrow morning. There are a couple of unbelievable art quilts, as well as some wonderful traditional quilts that have already been featured- well worth a visit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is nice to see my follower list is getting larger - if you want to see all the posts, you might decide to join the follower's group so that you can follow this blog easily.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am working away on the challenge for the 2010 Calendar for the Quilting Arts Magazine.
It is a new experience to keep the quilt 12" square. I am having fun though. I understand that there were over 200 applicants last year, so I don't have high expectations. I am enjoying the process anyway.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for the day

"Let each man pass his days in that wherein his skill is greatest" Henry Miller

Three fabric wall hanging class

was taught last week on the learningfa group - I did a post about them awhile ago.
This is the first picture I have received of a finished wall hanging - and I am so
pleased with the job that Tricia from the group did on this one. I really think she
got her colors together very well, and this one is a keeper. They are so easy to do
and the results are great - they make wonderful gifts and certainly will be lovely hanging in a bed room, or any wall for that matter. Good job! I expect there will be lots more posted in learningfa this next while. All finished projects make the student eligible for the draw f one of my wall hangings.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The snow is melting! the snow is melting! The temperature is rising, so I am a happy
camper. I imagine it will be a mess for awhile until all the snow is gone. The streets will have residue gravel to clear up, but oh, it is nice out there!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our dear little Hayley stayed overnight with us. She is starting kindergarden in Sept. and visited her new school. They told her parents she would learn to count to l0 and all her numbers. She can already count to l50 can do some subtraction, and some adding, and
at dinner the other night her aunt said she was turning 50 and showed her the number with her hands, but didn't say 50 - she asked her how old? and Hayley took a moment and said ' l0 x 5 that is 50! It is a French immersion school where they speak nothing but
french after the first 2 months. They hope she will continue with French immersion all through school. Her mother speaks fluent french, required by the Air Canada as she is a flight attendant.
it is good in Canada to be fluent in French as all government agencies require that
employees be fluent in French as well as English.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am working away on my little challenge quilt. We are allowed to send two so I hope to finish this one within a week, and start another right away and get the pictures of both mailed asap. I am having fun with it. Different concept for me to work on a small
area.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our learningfa group has very close to 400 members, in fact we might have reached that number already! It is
wonderful how we have grown and how much fun we have. We have so much interest in the classes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for the day:

"The older I get, the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking 'first things first'- a
process which often reduces the most complex human problems to manageable proportions." Dwight D. Eisenhower

FOILING ON FABRIC -this and that.

I just read an interesting post about foiling on fabric which explains how to use foil
for your landscapes, or wall hangings. I have used foil in the past and I think I still have
some on hand somewhere. Will have to dig it out and try it again. It is very effective. I used
foil for a lot of my postcards a few years ago.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have broken the weather barrier!!! It is above zero C for the first time in approximately 6 weeks. Feels like summer out there! If I remember correctly that would mean + 32 F.
The British Columbia and Washington coast are getting huge amounts of rain. They have
had some major weather problems this past few years. It sounds as if the snow is melting and flooding is causing many problems in the Vancouver area. We have also had some
really bad avalanches in the Mountains. 8 ski mobilers were killed by an avalanche
last week near Fernie B.C. There doesn't seem to be much good news coming from any
where!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My grand daughter is coming for a sleepover tonight so we should have lots of fun.
I figured I had better post early, as I never know whether I will get on the computer while she is here. -----
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to join in a challenge (first time) so am doing a lot of thread painting. The photos of the little quilts have to be at their destination by March so I want to get both of them done asap. I rarely work on a small surface and these need to be 12"x 12" - I couldn't sleep last night trying to decide exactly how I would do them. Once they have chosen the winners, I will post what I have done- whether I am accepted or not. I understand that over 200 people sent pictures in for last year's challenge so my chances aren't great. It is fun anyway! My friend Debbie has been after me to join different challenges for years. I have never done it but this time I decided to go for it. I always thought I might join in the Challenges (12 small quilts) for Quilt art, but never seemed to get around to it. I have also thought of doing a set of
12"x12" Rocky Mountain scenes that would be hung together - and maybe this will give
me the incentive to try it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are starting to get organized for the spring Learningfa classes. I have a couple of
interesting classes to offer already - I am looking for some 'different' traditional wall hangings, quilts or even just blocks, as well as an art quilt or two. Chris in NJ is going to show us how to do a wall hanging of a house -- she did a beautiful picture of her Grandmothers' house and I was so impressed. I will see if I can find a picture to show you. Isn't it amazing the talent we have , and isn't it great that we can share ideas and techniques with each other?
===============================================================
Thought for the Day

"We have only this moment,sparkling like a star in our hand......and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late" Marie Beynon

"Thought for the day"

"I never feel my age.....If you have creative work, you don't have age, or worry about time."
Louise Nevelson

I have a new project!

I saw a program on tv where a group of ladies were taking plastic grocery and gift bags, cutting each one in one long strip about 2" wide and crocheting them into Grocery bags, or
makeup bags, any kind of bag you might need. I have started one and they work up quickly. I have all my family and friends saving plastic bags for me. I started at the top on one side
and will double crochet until I have enough to make a good sized bag by folding in half.

I will put strong handles on each side of the top - I think they will be handy for groceries and will recycle all the plastic bags we still get. I will post a picture when the bag is finished. I thought I might make 5 or 6 to carry when we buy our big order of groceries.

My dil also wants me to make some for her too. I thought you all might be interested. I haven't googled them, but I am sure they are on a website somewhere. I am just doing very simple ones. I think if I was going to make a travel makeup bag or a meds bag for travelling I would single crochet rather than double crochet. They are very light and I think they will be handy. I haven't decided how I will do the handles but will deal with that when I get to that stage.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to join a Challenge on the Quilting Arts magazine so I will be working on both pieces for the next while. I have never entered my stuff anywhere but my friend Deb
talked me into it. It should be interesting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is FINALLY + 4 C. First time we have been plus instead of minus for about 5 weeks.
We went shopping and it was quite pleasant, although still lots and lots of snow, especially
on the side streets. It sounds as if the bad weather we have had and the storms are heading south east.--------------We have our 5 year old for a sleepover tomorrow night
so that is going to be fun. I likely won't get much done - will likely work on the crochet bag as I like to be in the living room with Pat (dh) and Hayley (don't want to miss much!)

Well, now that I have drawn up my challenge, I think I will work on it for awhile. Talk to
you later! Shirley

"Fallen Leaves"

I finished my "Fallen Leaves" and I hope you like it!

I think I will give it to one of the winners of the draws on
Learningfa this next year. It is 33" x 22" .

I used a variegated green & rust thread for the green border
and am very happy with the result. I feel strongly that
the quilting on these wall hangings is nearly as important as making the center block - it really adds to the quilt.

Shirley