Laugh

I made another small mixed-media quilt today. I put a charm on this one that says "LAUGH". There is a famous quote by E.E. Cummings that says "The Earth Laughs in Flowers". I like that. This is available in my Etsy shop.


Bob and I have been doing some remodeling in the house lately. We are redoing the main floor bathroom with new paint and flooring. I had placed some towels on top of the vanity at one point to protect it and today as I was working in the kitchen I glanced over and through the bathroom door I saw this cute scene:

New Work and a Reminder

Yesterday I completed a couple of small art quilts that would make great Valentine's Day gifts. They are both basically the same except for a few minor details. I've added them to my Etsy shop.




REMINDERS: My Mixed-Media Collage for the Fiber Artist online workshop is starting next Monday (Feb. 2). I'll be taking registrations for this class up through February 8. If you have been thinking about taking this class, check it out. You will find all the details here.

Also in February is my brand new workshop called Faces on Fabric. It starts on February 23. More information here.

A Gift

Someone I know recently did something very nice for me. So I thought I would give her a gift. A thank you gift. Here is what I made. I hope she likes it.


Here is my progress on my hand quilting. This quilt has nine blocks and I've completed the circular quilting in all nine of the center squares of each block. It's very difficult to see the quilting in the center square because of the floral design. The block shown here is the only one that has all the circles completed.

New Studio Furniture

I consider myself very blessed that I have a husband who is willing to indulge my every need. Okay, maybe not EVERY one. But when I recently was thinking out loud about how I'd like to take that teeny, tiny cast-off kitchen table out of my studio and replace it with a lovely new cutting table with storage area....well I lucked out. We figured out dimensions, made a plan, bought supplies, and he and his brother got to work. Later I got to help with the varnishing.

We moved the cutting table into my room about a week ago...and I've been busy filling up the storage area with all the storage containers that had been stacked around the perimeter of my room. It's not totally done yet as we have doors to put on yet so that all the storage area will be enclosed. But now that I'm looking at it, I think I wouldn't have minded leaving it wide open....oh well, too late as the doors have already been varnished. Here is one side:


And here is the other side. I can actually fit in 32 (16 on each side) of those plastic storage containers that you see. But I don't have that many right now. Notice I said "right now". Tee hee!


Every morning we have a ritual in my house. Abby walks on me to wake me up. No need for an alarm clock in my house. She's pretty consistent with her timing too. Yep, right around 5:00 a.m. Ugh! I feed her and Zoey, make coffee, get the wood stove going, get coffee, sit down to the laptop on the couch to check emails and what's happening on the World Wide Web. Then, once I've settled in, Abby climbs onto my lap to have a snooze and sometimes check out the Web too. I happened to have my camera nearby this morning so I snapped this shot.


It can sometimes get challenging to balance the laptop on my legs and make room for Abby all at the same time. Can anyone guess whose web site I was viewing?

Thrift Shop Hopping

Today I had to run a couple of errands and while doing that I decided to stop by a couple of local thrift shops. I enjoy browsing through thrift shops occasionally because you just never know what treasures you may find. The two shops I stopped by today are actually located about three doors apart on the same block, so park once and shop twice. Cool, more thriftiness.

Here are the treasures I found. I must have been in a lacy mood today because just look at all the lovely lacy fabrics and trims I found. I seem to have a love affair with sheer, lacy, and decorative fabrics lately and these will be great additions to my stash.


I received a lovely surprise in my mail box today. I found a complimentary copy of the latest issue of Altered Couture.


If you flip through you'll find the t-shirts I decorated. I did the two shirts on the right-hand page and also the shirt on the lower left-hand page.


Recently I was looking through my box of UFOs and came across a small quilt that I had pieced about five years ago. The quilt top was completely pieced and the backing fabric I had purchased for it was there as well. So I decided I'd try and finish it. I pieced the backing fabric so it would fit and made my quilt sandwich. I originally thought I'd machine quilt it, but after a couple of attempts at that, and not liking the results, I decided to hand quilt it. I am usually looking for something to occupy my hands in the evenings anyway, so this would be perfect. Here's a sneak peek. I'll show more of the quilt as I go.

Chat Room

I've received my swap quilt from Peggy. I had to wait an extra day before I received my package in the mail. Too much snow prevented normally delivery. But good things come to those who wait.

Peggy's quilt creation, which she has named Chat Room, is so lovely. There are many little details that are hard to pick up with the camera. I love teapots and even have my own small teapot collection. Thanks Peggy, I love my new wall hanging and am looking forward to finding the perfect spot to hang it.

No Longer a Secret

Some of you may recall that around Christmastime I had been working on an art quilt for a swap I was part of. Well I couldn't show my creation because the quilt recipient (Hi Peggy!) wanted to be surprised.

Peggy received her quilt in yesterday's mail and I can now share it here with you. I'm happy to report that she is very happy with her new wall hanging.

The quilt she made for me hasn't arrived yet, hopefully today, but I will be sure to share it also.

Exciting News

Sue and I are very pleased to announce that we've published our first book together!

The book is a compilation of projects and articles by Sue and I from the first six issues of our online mixed-media fiber arts zine Fibre&Stitch. You can read more about the book and peek inside here.

You can order autographed copies at the link above. Normally this 114-page paperback book will sell for $19.99, but we're offering a pre-order special for the next two weeks and you can order a copy for only $17.99! Books will start shipping in 3 to 4 weeks. You'll also be able to order non-autographed copies through Amazon.com (isbn: 9781440489150) in a few weeks.

Bowl for a Batt

I'm betting you recognize what this pile of fabric strips is for. You've seen me making these a lot lately. Well I needed one more in custom colors.


Here is the finished bowl.


An online friend, Linda, wanted a bowl, so I proposed a swap. She makes wool batts for yarn spinning and I will get a batt and she will get a bowl. Good deal!

One of My Favorite Things

Sue and I have made available a tip sheet on working with Mistyfuse and it is available on the Two Creative Studios web site on the free projects page. I hope you find it helpful. I know when I first started using Mistyfuse, I found it a little challenging, but once I was past the learning curve, I loved it and that's all I use now.

A New Online Class

I'm already well on my way to reaching one of my 2009 goals. I'm preparing a new online class and the above quilt is the sample for it. The class is called Faces on Fabric and will run for 6 weeks. You can read more about it here.

REMINDER: My Paper Quilting Explorations online class is beginning on January 12. There's still plenty of time to register for this workshop if you are thinking about it. More information here.

Sue has created a new free project for the Two Creative Studios web site. She is so creative and I love her new project. This one is called Mixed-Media Fiber Cuffs and you'll find it on the free projects page here.

How I Spent My Holiday

Cutting and Snipping and Sewing.....Oh My!