knitting Paradise

I belong to a wonderful knitting and crochet group called

Knitting Paradise.

http://www.knittingparadise.com

I hope you will drop by and check us out. Shirley

Sunday, February 15, 2009

My Valentine's story

Yesterday was Valentines and Pat and I realized we have had 52 Valentines' days together. Hard to believe. We have been married 53 years in April and only knew each other a few days. It was really 'love at first sight for both of us' We met on a Saturday night, at a party - he had just returned to Calgary from Korea with the United Nations, and was leaving on Monday for Camp Borden, Ont. He asked me to marry him on Monday and I said yes. Two weeks later I flew to Ontario and after a 3 day waiting period we got married. We rented a room with a hot plate and I used to cook some darned good meals for us. There were lots of army couples and we made some great friends. We have had our ups and downs as do all married couples, but here we are,nearly 53 years later! It was difficult and a big adjustment as he was in the Armed forces (army) and was gone for weeks at a time while stationed in Edmonton. I really raised our two boys on my own. He was sent to the Gaza Strip with the United Nations Peace Keepers in
l964 for a full year. There was no internet then, or much in the way of long distance phone calls, but he sent me 34 parcels of fabric, jewellry and Egyptian knick knacks.

In the 70's he got out of the army and we had a little girl - we then emigrated to NewZealand where we had a wonderful time - We lived there for two years. It was the first place that I started seriously doing my art work - I copper tooled pictures of different subjects a lot of them of the Maori chieftains with their wonderful 'Moko" (tatoos) on their faces.



I also did other original works for different people. We are still in touch with some of our friends from Whangaparaoa and Orewa. We came home and have lived in or around Calgary ever since. Each year gets better and better and he still makes my heart sing. I understand how lucky we both are. ---

The bottom pictures are part of an article printed in the New Zealand women's weekly, featuring my work.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Good morning!


I have been working on a "simple wall hanging' for my class on the learningfa group which is scheduled for March 14 and 15. I am ready to start quilting it. As you can see, I used a different type of border on this one and am happy to say that it works. I decided to do another summer day, and hopefully the girls who take the class will be able to follow the emails with the instructions.

I will follow this class with a more advanced
wall hanging which will go into much more detail and more advanced work, on April 25th. It is lots of fun to prepare these emails with step by step instructions and they seem to work well for our students. We have over l00 people signed up for the series.
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This is the landscape I am going to teach at a class in Athabasca, and I am quite excited about going up to visit my friend Debbie who lives there - We will have a great visit and hopefully a good 2 day class. It is another 'basic' wall hanging and hopefully the students will learn a lot.
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The 'FLOWER GARDEN' landscape will likely become another class. I have posted previous pictures of this one. I think these will be all the
summer themed landscapes I will be doing this year.

I plan on getting back to my "Canadian Rockies' series.
I think they will be done in the four different seasons. I already finished the "Three Sisters" and as I have either sold or given away the Mt. Rundle landscapes, I will probably do another in a winter scene. I hope to do Castle Mountain and other Alberta scenes, as well.

I have so many photos of the Rockies I will never run out of subjects. I do need some winter scenes though.

The 4 season Challenge is another project I want to do.
I will start with a winter scene - hopefully I can get all four done.

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We are working on a Mystery quilt which was designed by Noell from Calgary. I have seen her mysteries as she had done one for 3 or 4 years at the Big Sky retreat which I attend each year. They are gorgeous when finished. The girls are in the midst of receiving a new step every 3 days for 10 steps.
I will post pictures here when I receive pictures of finished pieces.
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Pat (dh) and I hope to take a trip up to the Sugar Pine Quilt store in Canmore next week if the weather holds up. I love buying landscape fq's there as they have so many batiks and different fabrics that I can use on my landscapes.
It is such a lovely trip as Canmore is right in the mountains, just before you get to Banff.
We might even decide to go up to Banff overnight as I want to get some good winter pictures of the mountains.

Well, I have run out of things to talk about so I will sign off until tomorrow.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Good Morning!

I don't have anything too interesting to talk about this morning, but here goes any way.

I really do feel spring in the air. My DIL arrived over with a bouquet of daffodils yesterday. They hadn't bloomed but I put them in water- This morning when I got up there they were in all their splendour! What a lovely way to wake up. I know it will be awhile, but seeing these lovely spring flowers, makes me realize that spring IS coming!.

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I finally finished all but the binding on one of my class projects, and I am happy with it.
I went to fabric land (fabric store here in Canada) last weekend for their big sale, and bought all sorts of fabric for my borders - so many of my quilts have very plain borders as I want them to frame the work rather than overcome it. However, I got weary of using dark greens and browns and blues so in keeping with the hopes for spring I used a pretty green and gold fabric. It looks quite nice. I have a class coming up in April hopefully, so wanted to get it finished.

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I learned something new yesterday- quite a few of us fairly new bloggers have been complaining about the fact that we can't seem to get our photos in the right place on our posts. Stephen from the Magic Factory in the UK, posted that he had found a way.

It is so simple, and I don't know why I never thought of at least trying it. When you download photos, and you want a certain photo in a specific place in your blog. Click on the photo - click on edit and then click on cut - the photo will disappear then click on paste at the exact spot you want your photo. It works!

People have been trying to find new programs to accomplish the same thing, and some of us (me included) were very frustrated. I hope some of you who follow this blog will
find it useful.
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Speaking of followers, I want to thank all the people who have signed up and follow my blog. It is very gratifying and I do appreciate it. If you would like to become a "follower" click on 'followers' in the side bar and follow the instructions.

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I put a new picture in the header today - it was the 'underwater world' that I donated to
"The Quilt Project " for cancer support- 2007. It was auctioned at the Calgary Auction and did very well. I had lots of fun doing it and that reminds me I am about ready to do another. I am finding life is very busy with the group and the blog and my commitments for my work.
--------------------------
I also finished the new wall hanging for the 'simple landscape' class on learningfa -- there are over l00 people signed up. Hard to believe as when I started doing my landscapes, people looked at me as if I was crazy and one or two told me 'they weren't really quilts'. Each year more and more of us are landscape and art quilters. With this one, as the class is called ' learn how to make a simple landscape' I didn't go to a lot of detail -The idea is to teach how you can develop the right perspective as far as distance- how to compose your picture and how to do trees. HOpefully the girls will enjoy it.

There is a second class in this series - "Lets made a Landscape" which is more involved - in each case I will walk the students through the steps.

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Our 4 season Landscape Challenge has 21 members signed up to do the challenge.
each portion must be done in a period of two month - so if we are doing all four seasons we should be finished in October. I am quite looking forward to seeing the results.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

TIPS- increasing size & press n seal

We have been discussing the best way to reduce or enlarge a picture for a landscape - as well as discussing press n seal.

Here are some of the posts from the group members and I think it is worth sharing -

"I found a program called Artrage 2.5 Plus.
I can put my photo in the program and draw around
the different parts of the photo. I can print out just
the lined drawing. I than take it to the copy center
and enlarge it. It's usually only about .25 or less for
the print. This program works on a Mac. I know
there are free programs that allow people to do the
same thing with their pc. When I took Making Fabrics
Portraits class many people were using those. It's
a vector program (I think) just google and see what you
find. I bought mine at Target for about $20. I plan to
do more fabric portraits and it really was helpful for me
to do it this way.
Janet Hartje
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When I want to enlarge I use my all-in-one printer/copier. Divide your
picture like Shirley does, and enlarge each section separately, and re-
attach all with tape. Then you can trace over it all onto another paper
or press and seal for your master copy. Saves time and money :)

Teri in Omaha
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"Chris in NJ" wrote:
>
> You can certainly do the enlargement the way Shirley explains or you
> can follow the way I do enlargements on my blog. I trace the elements
> of the scene with a permanent marker and then have that image enlarged
> at a copy center like Staples. I find this to be the quickest way to
> do it. Although it does cost for the enlargement. See my blog.
> Chris NJ

==========================================================
PRESS N SEAL

Ladies....

This stuff is great for quilting your quilts too, ladies! I have done
several of mine with it. I pin baste my quilt, or baste it any way you
choose, then, lay the PressN'Seal on top of it. Traces or draw your
quilting design on it. (If not sure about the pen you are using, test
first to see if it runs through the P'N, mine never has, but I always
check!). Trace or draw design on it you want to stitch. I do alot of
free motion, but also trace templates sometimes. Then stitch on it, &
remove it when you are done. As for pins, you can see them through
this stuff & go around them, or take them out as you get to them. I
love using it for my machine quilting, as I tend to quilt closer
together than I really need to, & this helps keep me from doing that.
Only complaint I have heard is if your stitching is too close
together, it's harder to remove. Otherwise, it's no sweat! Reminds me
of a sunburn & when your skin peels from that. This peels off kind of
the same way! Use your darning foot, as you do with free motion
otherwise, & give it a try!


Nancy/NC
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Monday, February 9, 2009

A better way to transfer!

One of our members posted the following and I think it is a much easier way than my way to increase or decrease the size of your picture. I can see where it is much better. It just shows that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks - grin. Shirley

"
When I want to enlarge I use my all-in-one printer/copier. Divide your
picture like Shirley does, and enlarge each section separately, and re-
attach all with tape. Then you can trace over it all onto another paper
or press and seal for your master copy. Saves time and money :)

Teri in Omaha"""

Increasing or decreasing size of picture - Press.n seal




If you are doing the landscape 4 season challenge. It would definitely be worth your while to go to the December posts and on Dec. l7 there is a series of instructions as to how to change the size of your picture. It is not difficult and I would recommend it -

Once you have your pattern at least l2" x 14" on your paper - you are ready to transfer it to fabric.

Then go to the October posts and visit the posts with the eagles in it. Oct. 12.

You can now transfer your picture to your fabric -- -

These two steps will save you lots of time as they both work well in conjunction with each other and you will be ready to start your landscape. Both steps will take less than half a day.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

4 Season Challenge


For those of you who are interested in the challenge discussed below. If you are interested in joining in with us - please click on the sidebar where it says to join the yahoo group Learningfa - and go to the photos -- There is an album (4 seasons challenge) and the black and white photos are numbered - the information as to the challenge is in the files - once you have picked out your challenge photo - please email me with your number and I will email the photo to you. Shirley

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Beautiful story

Please visit the T&C HOMESTEAD blog on my side bar. Char's post today is so beautifully written, I want you all to read it. She expresses herself so very well - Good job Char! Shirley

CHALLENGE #2 - 4 Seasons










Here are the black and white photos that I will offer to any of the students who decide to do
our second challenge -- They may choose one of the photos and will be expected to do at least two wall hangings, or preferably one for each season - The work must be a real contrast- It would be wonderful to have a series of four to go together. The minimum size will be 12" x 14"

They will have to choose entirely different palettes for each season - this is the fun of it.
I have nine pictures for them to choose from -and here they are: I think it will give lots of different scenes to choose from.The student may choose one photo for each season, or, if preferred one photo for all the seasons. The cabin is ours, and if I were doing the challenge I would leave out the chairs and would do the same with the other photos. Reducing the amount of detail on most of them. ---- Please if you read this blog, would you mind putting a comment in with your thoughts about this challenge. I would love some input.

Shirley




I have mentioned previously our Learningfa landscap challenge. Here are 3 completed challenges - aren't they wonderful? You will note that each person took a photo, changed it to black and white - put the original away out of site, and then did a landscape of the black and white picture, using colors of their choice. I think it is interesting to see how each of them interpreted their photo. Sher's (the mountains), realized that there was just too much in the photo so she reduced the length of the mountains - this is something that should be looked at when you are doing a landscape from a photo. You don't need to take every little bush and subject that is in the photo. You want to give the IMPRESSION
Of the picture. All three of the girls, Judy, Joyce and Sher have done an excellent job . I really like their fabric choices, and the fact that they used the values shown in the photos very well. EXCELLENT JOB, LADIES!

I am going to set up another challenge but this time we will do the 4 seasons - Each person can choose AT LEAST two of the four seasons and hopefully they will do all four seasons.
I have chosen some of my photos and changed them to black and white - and the students can choose which photo they want to work with from the ones I post. If this appeals to any of my blog followers, please join learningfa (click on icon on the sidebar) and join the group - then sign up in the data base. These challenges will be included in our draws for one of my wall hangings.

I am going to post the black and white pictures they can choose from, in my next post. Iknow there are a few challenges in the works and I will post them when I receive the pictures.


Friday, February 6, 2009

AURORA BOREALIS (NORTHERN LIGHTS)








I have received, over the past year or two, some wonderful pictures of the 'Northern Lights'
. They are so beautiful. I have seen them a few times , but they are usually brighter further north. We lived in Edmonton and sometimes you could see them on a wintery day. These pictures were taken in either Yellowknife, or Whitehorse (interesting names) and they show them so well. Here are some of them.
I believe this was a festival. Some of these have been floating around the internet so you might have seen them.

I am in a small postcard swap in my learning group, and I think I will use them as a theme.

Isn't nature a wonderful thing?

Memories


When I was growing up in Calgary, there was a store called Woolworths, which was the beginning of the stores like walmart, or target. It had a great
little restaurant with a long counter and lots of
stools. I just received a menu from Woolworths from a friend of mine, which was printed in the 40's and 50's. We always went there when we were downtown and it was a place where we met our friends. It sure shows how life has changed since that time. Their food was soooo good.

I wonder if any of you remember the 40's and 50's
and if you are Canadian whether you remember
Woolworths? Such a different time, but happy memories.
I am seriously thinking about doing posts about my life as it has been an interesting one. Will have to think about it. My friends have always said I should write a book, but never got around to it - grin.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Thread painting workshop






My friend Margaret from Saskatchewan is taking my thread painting class and has finished the first portion of the class.

I want to share pictures of her work. I have seen some of her
other work and she is very talented. I am so pleased that
the work coming out of that class is so well done.

Once this portion of the class is completed, we will be doing a tutorial on trees, and buildings, and then we will do a thread painted landscape
using the different techniques we have learned. This is an ongoing class, and once we finish the series, I will start another on the group. (learningfa) - It is very satisfying that so many people are interested in trying landscapes - a few years ago there was very little interest but now lots of people are wanting to make the leap from traditional quilting to art quilting - and it is wonderful that they are interested. New experiences add so much to our lives. I just hope I can make the transition easier for those who are interested.

I will have an ongoing thread painting class underway all the time. As soon as one group is finished we will start another.

We also have two rough edged, threadpainted landscapes in the sign up (data base) on our group site (see side bar to join) the first will be a simple landscape - we will then carry on with a more involved landscape - using what we have learned in all the art classes.
I am so pleased with the success of our group - we have 415 members with more joining every day.

Shirley

Monday, February 2, 2009

here I am again


- a couple of years ago I made a wall hanging for a friend, who wanted to give it to her daughter in law. My friend recently sent me a picture of the wall hanging which had been framed - it is the first, I believe, of all my landscapes that has been framed, and I was very happy to receive the picture. She said that at first it doesn't look like fabric, more like a painting. I thought I would share it with you.

2009 Landscape challenge

I have mentioned previously about the Landscape Challenge we are holding - some great results have been received. I was particularly interested in the Challenge that Chris
is showing in her blog - I just love it - I would suggest you check it out. It is going to be wonderful when she gets it finished. She is a very talented quilter. Shirley

Beginning landscape class


I am ready to put the border on this
beginning landscape scene. The class is scheduled for the Learningfa group - I am going to border it with dark green and a pretty
fabric in paler green. There are lots of signups for this class and I hope the students enjoy it.

Once we have finished this one I plan on teaching a more advanced class (something like 'Horse country" which is more involved.

I am finding on my group that there is a lot of interest in learning landscapes so that is quite satisfying to me. I am also going to teach another summer landscape on the advanced thread painting class where we will do a lot more different thread painting, including the buildings. So far in the thread painting class, we have learned how to thread paint a rosebud, hummingbird, chickadee and robin, and now we are branching into trees and buildings- once these are under control we will make the landscape.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

February 1st!


We are slowly getting through winter, day by day! I decided, as it is February to change my background and title picture to represent Valentines - a nice change from the darker, and
Christmas theme. The wall hanging shown is my
first 3 fabric wall hanging and I thread painted the humming bird.

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Now that I have the top finished (Flower garden), I am binding 3 wall hangings that need finishing.
The picture of the 'floral bouquet' which is a class project I taught to 3 groups, including Learningfa
last year, has been waiting to be quilted. I don't know why I have put it off but today is the day I quilt it. I also will be doing the binding on my forest scene which I finished recently. I hope to sew it this after noon as my gd is coming over so that her Dad can watch the big game with his friends. He is such a good father, and as he doesn't get too much time to himself, we are going to have her here while the game is on. My DH
would rather have her with us than sit and watch the game. We are both pulling for the
Arizona Cardinals as we used to spend all our winters in Arizona.

It is not a bad day here in Calgary - it is above zero C so that is nice. I am thinking of
the ice storm in Kentucky - I hope that everyone is safe. What a weird winter we have all had this year.

Well, that is it for today -- have fun watching the game and take care if you are in an area where the ice storm hit. Shirley

Saturday, January 31, 2009

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.
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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.
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Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours
prior
to burning.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Use air-freshener to clean mirrors It does a good job and better still,
leaves
a lovely smell to the shine
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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.
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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!
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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

Thursday, January 29, 2009

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