Rain Go Away But this Gift Made Me Smile.

My dear friend Pat Winter had a giveaway

a few weeks back and I was one 

of the lucky winners. 

This beautiful dragonfly arrived

and made my day. Pat is one talented lady,

and I consider her a good friend.

She sparked my interest in crazy quilting

and has always been so helpful when I had a

question.

She must be in sink with my mind as I

had a collie just like this one as a child.

Thank you for all your goodies and your 

treasured friendship.

Am I Bad, So Bad......

On Pat's blog last Sunday she told us about Cartwright's. They sell vintage buttons and sequins. So I thought I'd hop over for a look. So I did ! I turned into a kid in a candy shop. "Good grief" Lucy would have said. I am quite sure I was drooling..... It was so easy to just gently touch that little button, you know the one, it says "Add to the Cart".... I hear you Lucy.... Anyway after an exhausting amount of time (there is so much to see) I hit the check out and was done. That was Sunday afternoon. On Wednesday morning I had my beloved package in my paws. I do think the mail lady worries about me... a grown woman squealing with delight as she clutches her box of goodies. So here they are. I thought you might like a peek! They are the tiniest 3mm sequins and 5mm flowers, just perfect for those small projects and puzzle pieces! So thanks Pat (you get me in so much trouble) I love my order. I will certainly shop at Cartwright's again (but don't mention it to DH). Their service is the best I have ever seen and no I don't work for them. Sorry if my pictures are not so hot but they are tiny........!LOL

Bangle bracelet

I love chickadees and so I put this little fellow on my new bangle bracelet.
Lots of colors, CQ stitching, beads, motifs, silk ribbon embroidery and sequins. A lady always needs sequins. Just a fun little piece!

Another Little Swing Purse

I love the colors in this purse. I used silk dupioni and vintage laces as the main part of the purse. Lined it in silk. Added a silk yo yo flower, silk ribbon roses & leaves and a silk image of a lovely lady. I got the image from Shabby Cottage Studios. Gail has always had wonderful images. She also has a wonderful and fun monthly challenge at Mind Wide Open. Here are some close ups. I used lots of tiny beads & silk threads for embroidery. I love how silk thread just flows so easily through the materials. I was getting ready to put this one on my Etsy, when a friend came by, saw it and had to have it as a gift for someone. So now I shall start all over again for my Etsy. But I don't mind at all. I am just so pleased she liked it. I enjoy making these. Just spreading the word about crazy quilting. :-)

Crazy Quilted Sachets

After standing in the PO for 45minutes and running errands,last minute shopping (uncompleted) I am home and just put the finishing touches on my sachets. What do you think? I need to keep going before the storm gets here. They are forecasting 6 to 12 " of snow. You east coast people think nothing of it, but here we have hills (steep) and little equipment for handling it all. Also people are not used to driving in it. The combination is not good. LOL!!!!! So I shall now curl up and enjoy the snow and sew. If the camera behaves I'll try to get some pics for you.

Some are for presents and some are on my Etsy shop. These were fun to make. After stitching them I filled them with lavender, that I harvested from my garden last summer. I then trimmed them out with satin ribbons. They can be hung in any room and have that wonderful lavender scent. I made some unscented ones for people who would prefer that or wish to had their own special scent , by droplets on the felt backing. I must add that I became very relaxed and sleepy while filling them. Mmmm that lavender will do it every time.

Treasure box finished

You may remember the treasure box I started several weeks ago. After lots of paint and crazy quilting it is finished. I painted it a sage green, with a purple stripe with white polka dots. The feet have polka dots too. The inside is lined in a purple felt. The top turned out nicely with crazy quilting, ribbon embroidery, beading, some lace from 1920's France and a precious little girl who I stuffed higher than the rest of the quilt. I think the young lady will like it. I plan to have a little surprise in the box.

A Treasure Box

I have been working on a little treasure box for a Christmas gift . The little girl this is going to is a treasure herself. I had a treasure box as a child (I still have it) where I kept small things that were special to me. Here is how it looks at the start. I shall make a crazy quilted top for the box.

The box shall be painted in her favorite colors. Those are little feet I created for the box to sit on. I will post my progress, but the sun is out and Teddy wants to go for a walk. He has his priorities, you know.....LOL

Finished !

Spent the weekend finishing up my little girl purse. Lots of fun ribbons and lace, buttons and bows. The colors are bright and cheerful. I lined the purse with sheared cotton velvet. Oh to be a little girl again and have a tea party! The back and the stuffed strap are a delightful purple and pink with polka dots, of course! What fun.

Some little ornaments

With the weather we are having, I have been secluding myself in my little studio with Teddy at my feet. He actually makes a very fine foot warmer. I am most concerned for the people in the valley living near the Snoqualmie river. They say we may flood like we did in the 90's which was very bad. I keep hoping the rain will let up for those people or it will be devastating. I live high up so no worries there as long as the winds don't get bad. That's when the trees come down. Anyway we are snug in the studio making great progress on new and unfinished projects. Should have two purses done today. Made up some cute ornaments after reading CQ. Just had to give them a try.I think they turned out delightful and will look great on the tree. I used colorful different materials, not Christmas fabrics so that I could have them "hanging around" all year. Not just for the holidays if one so desired. Well I'm off to check our creek and then a nice cup of herb tea from a wonderful little health food store in Seattle. It has beautiful flowers floating in it. Yes I strain it in my little french press , before drinking.LOL It sounds funny but this tea is beautiful while it steeps. The radio just said we are in stage 4 flood alert, so off I go to check the creek. Time to make my own sunshine!

Finished!

I am now finished with my purse. I love how it turned out. The colors are soft muted shades of sage , a mellow yellow, rust, all the colors of Fall. I dyed and blended the lace motifs and silk ribbons. The back of the bag is a sheared chenille in a warm rust color. The strap is also the chenille, hanging length of 20 inches. I was really lucky to find the 6 inch fringe. The colors are exactly the colors in the purse. The purse before the fringe is 10 by 8 and has a shimmering lame lining. It's truly a swing purse.

My dreaming purse is finished

Finally found enough time to put the finishing touches on my "Dreaming in the garden", purse. I like how it turned out. The colors are so warm and I couldn't believe my luck in finding the fringe that I did. It is absolutely a match with all the fabric in the purse including the back, which is sheared chenille. Now it's on to more projects. The weather has been unusually warm but they are threatening snow at Snoqualmie pass ( which is only 25 miles east of me). So I shall lap up all the sun I can before the big brrrrr!

ANOTHER PROJECT UNDERWAY...

I've been dying lace motifs for this cq purse. Have lots left to do. Plan on adding some hand dyed silk pongee cording to the gold dupioni area. I wonder what this luscious lady is thinking about? Perhaps the dragon fly above her head.....

CRAZY QUILTING

A MEMORY PILLOW

I had several old pictures, that I treasure. They are of my mother and her twin sister

when they were little. Their mother made all of their clothes and was a beautiful seamstress. I treasure the few things I have of hers. I thought my sister would like this memory pillow. I even found some tatting my mother made during WW2. I have a trunk to go through for other treasures. I shall wait until a rainy day and have some fun. Click on photos for close ups.

Crazy quilt wall hanging and camping out with the bear!

Had fun creating a crazy quilt wall hanging , using the babies birth announcement. I sewed it to a satin stuffed hanger with little pearls, for easy hanging. It was a fun project and the parents loved it. A small treasure for the child to have when she gets older. Click on photo for close up.

I do believe Fall is coming early. I hope not, but we have had so much rain. We are getting ready for a family get together. Everyone is coming for my father in laws 90Th birthday. He runs circles around all of us. Anyway everyone is starting to arrive Wednesday and we are planning for some to camp out on the property. We have 9 acres with creeks and ponds, woods and pastures. But we had a bear visit 2 nights ago so I feel camping close to the house in the fenced area will be safer. Last year we caught a bear that decided he liked living on our lawn furniture and wandering about the yard as though he owned the place. So the rangers set a trap and filled it with "KRISPY CREAM " doughnuts. He seemed to like them very much. They moved him north to Monroe and over the cascades to the east. They did not take him to Snoqualmie Pass only 25 minutes away, because they told me he would be back in 14 days. So is the life of a crazy quilter living in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. :-) Let the party begin and pray for sunshine!!!!!!! Click on photo for close up.

Sorry the bear will not allow close ups!!!!!!