Another Festival with Crafts

Last weekend I happened upon another festival. Well, actually it was at the same location in League City as the last one I told you about. It's right across the street from St Christopher Thrift Shop, where I volunteer. Anyway . . . there was another festival, so I stopped in. This time I had my camera with me. It was put on by Bay Area Community Church. There was face painting, a cake walk and other games, and there was even a band performing. I got a shot of them between numbers. There were several booths with assorted crafts, jewelry, and some skin care and other direct sales people.

I met Brenda Petters (yes, two 't's) of Brenda's Bling, who makes jewelry and other items using conchos. They really caught my eye -- quite clever and very attractive. Here's a pic of her holding a beautiful cross made from horseshoes and conchos. She also makes crystal necklaces, crystal conchos, and leather crosses. You can soon see her work at http://www.baylitecandles.com/. Her tag line is "We make you and your horse sparkle."

I also met Nannette Deming of "Delightful Charms & Trinkets". She had some lovely jewelry and I enjoyed visiting with her. Her kids are working on a website for her, which I'm hoping she'll pass on to me once it's up and running so I can pass it on to you. Here's Nannette with one of her favorite necklace-earring sets.

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It's time for more quilts. The first is entitled "Tap Dance Finale", by Martha Brown, Pickering, Ontario, Canada. Techniques: machine applique, machine quilted, thread painted, hand painted. "A province-wide exhibition whose theme was Water celebrated the conservation and value of this basic natural element. I wanted something different, so I decided to portray a water tap emitting its final drop. The spigot is one hand-painted piece of fabric, sprinkled with salt while still wet to achieve the rough texture. Metallic threads add a bit of sparkle to the surface."

Next is "Zen Eucalyptus" by Jane LaFazio, San Diego, California, USA. Techniques: wool felted, hand stitched and needle felted, dyed. "Eucalyptus pods and leaves fractured, with whole zen circles. Cut into bits, chunks, squares and reassembled with 412 edges. A zen meditation and tribute to the taupe, celedon and plum eucalyptus."

More Beautiful Jewelry

Just got an Email from my friend Valerie, with pics of her latest creation -- bracelet and earrings set. It's stunning. Absolutely beautiful. You can get more info on this set or, as I said before, she can design jewelry for you -- you know, in the colors you desire. Email Valerie at vcorbeille@gmail.com.

Beautiful Jewelry

I want to show you some beautiful jewelry that my friend, Valerie, is making. Valerie has been making jewelry for some years now. It's been fun to watch her work progress from the basics to intricate, fabulous designs. I'm including a pic that she just e'd to me of what she's working on now. These are in Christmas colors. She also does special orders. If you're interested (and you should be), you can "E" her at vcorbeille@gmail.com.

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The quilt depicting the fish is entitled "Full Circle" by Kathryn Botsford, Campbell River, British Columbia Canada. Techniques: painted, thread painted, hand applique, and machine embellished, machine quilted. (I also took a close-up to show you some of the detail work involved. Stunning.) Design Source: original design. "Living on Vancouver Island, surrounded by water alive with Pacific salmon, is a continued reminder of transformation. West Coast salmon begin their lives as tiny yellow-orange eggs buried in the gravel of river beds. In their redd they continue to grow and to change into alveins with large large yellow-orange abdomens. As they further develop, they travel down the river and eventually become the adult salmon. They travel over incredible distances in the Pacific Ocean, and in time they return to their place of birth where they spawn and die."

The second quilt shown today is entitled "Dahlia Reflections #2" by Barbara Barrick McKie of Lyme, Connecticut, USA. Techniques: machine appliqued and quilted. "My garden this year as last was full of dahlias. This is the fifth in a series combining reflections of flowers in glass with the same flowers realistically portrayed. This dahlia was a fantastic bloomer with over 10 inch flowers."

(I also included a close-up of this quilt so you can appreciate the detailed work.)

The last quilt for today is by far the cleverest. The circles/ovals are photos of cracks in bricks, stones, etc. and they make up the alphabet. So cool!

The quilt is entitled "On Cracks: An Alphabet Quilt" by Gail Hunt, Vancouv

er, British Columbia, Canada. Techniques: original photography, image transfer, machine pieced, hand quilted. Design source: original design. "Made in response to myfab Quilt Challenge."

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I have been busy with company. Our son was in from Florida. What a nice visit we had. Also, we ate very well: seafood at Babins's on the Kemah Board Walk on Sunday night and great sandwiches in Galveston on Monday at the Sunflower Bakery. We also walked a bit on the seawall and drove around the island (Monday). Plus we got lots of visiting/catching up done.

I've also been busy REorganizing my studio. Thanks to The Fabric Organizer by DeNiece Designs (see photo at left) for getting me started. This is a great product. I bought 20 of the large and 10 of the small Fabric Organizers, and I must have more, more, more. I can see the fabrics clearly and they are easily accesible. I love that! And to make this product even better, it's made and sold locally by a young lady in Spring, Texas. I'll be calling her soon to order more. I'm rearranging everything so I can put a majority of my fabrics on these little jewels. Check them out at http://www.thefabricorganizer.com/. Here's what I have to show you so far (see photo at right) of my REorganizing.


I also want to share just a couple of quilts that I snapped at IQF. There were so many gorgeous quilts, and I took so many pictures. I'll just have to share a few at a time.





This quilt is entitled "Abandoned" by Lynne Morin of Kanata, Ontario, Canada. Techniques: painted, machine applique, machine quilted. Design Source: a photo. "A photo of an orphan in Africa inspired me to think of so many 'abandoned'."








The next quilt is entitled "Moving Forward", also by Lynne Morin of Kanata, Ontario, Canada. Techniques: painted, machine applique, machine quilted. Design Source: Based on a photograph. "This was inspired by my niece who is looking back in the photo, and also looking back on her life so far. She is moving forward by making changes in her life."

IQF-1

I started my IQF trek in the vendor area. This happened by chance. It's the door I entered, right there at the vendor area. So, it must have been where I was supposed to start. Right? And who doesn't love to shop! My prey -- gadgets. I love gadgets. Gadgets, that is, that make sewing tasks and techniques faster and easier.

My first stop was at #2018, The Wave Edge, where I watched Lily Marie Amaru demonstrate the Wave and Circle products she designed. She wrote a 65-page book, "Let's Make Waves", showing step-by-step how to use The Wave Edge Ruler. She first demonstrated The Simple Circles tool, and how to sew the circle. You can see both of Lily's unique gadgets, and her patterns at http://www.thewaveedgeruler.com/. But to purchase, look for her tools and patterns at your local quilt store. Lily is my kind of lady, as she suggested we buy her items at our quilt stores, to both support local businesses and to save us the expense of the shipping fees. Thanks Lily.

The last photo is a shot of a photo Lily had at her booth of her in all her splendor, boa and all, working hard. I think it's her favorite shot, as she wanted to make sure I shared it. It's pretty funny. Be sure and check out her website (link above). This is really a talented and fun lady.

International Quilt Festival (IQF) 2009

I spent Friday at the Houston International Quilt Festival (its 35th year) at the George R Brown Convention Center. I had not been in a number of years; so, it was time to go again. I believe it will now be an annual trip for me. All I can say is WOW!

Nah. I can say much more. I have lots to tell and show you.

I arrived around 11:00 a.m. and left when it closed at 7:00 p.m. So, I literally walked for 8 hours. I sat down maybe three times. I imagine I walked about 8 miles at least, up and down vendor aisles, and up and down and across while looking at all the quilts, and up and down vendor aisles again. The quilts were amazing. I took over 200 photos.

I'll be sharing a little at a time about my IQF experience. There is sooooooooo much to share! The photo shown in this post is a photo of the cover of the Houston IQF 2009 commemorative program. The quilt shown is "Star of Stars" c. 1845, from the International Quilt Festival Collection.

BEST LAID PLANS

I left the house today to attend a local church festival, thinking there would be arts and crafts booths, and thus local artisans to visit with. Even remembered my camera this time. Alas. It was a food and games festival, fun and well-attended. There were a few arts and crafts in one little booth, but no artists to visit with. So, I took off for The Hope Village Resale Shop in Friendswood to see what I could find. They have lots of clothes, plus household goods and furniture. Many, many interesting things. My fabulous find: Home Dec fabric, remnants on the long tube rolls. When I say "fabulous find," I am not exaggerating. The price was $1.00 per roll. Each had varying amounts of fabric, but frankly, anything over a yard is a great buy for $1.00. Needless to say I was thrilled. Bought 4 rolls. Wahoo!

I'm Found

Had a very interesting email today from the folks at http://makingjewelrysupplies.com. They indicated they'd found my blog and featured it on their web page. I checked it out, and I'm the featured blog (today, at least). I thought that was very nice, so I'm telling you about them to return the favor. Ahhhhh. Our world just gets smaller and smaller. Nice.