Embroidery Rose Face Quilt Top

Embroidery Rose Face Quilt Top #2, originally uploaded by WonderlandShoppe.

I am combining two crafts I love into one -- embroidery and quilting.

I thought for variety I would place the faces at different angles on the layout of this piece.

My daughter, Savannah Rose, suggested using the pin dot dusty rose fabric to finish it.

Spider Web Quilt -- Like Stained Glass

spider web quilt, originally uploaded by the little red hen - egg money.

I located this on flickr.com and am very tempted to try my skills at creating something very similar. I love the star shape details inside each formed block.

I wonder if this might also be called a Kaleidoscope Pattern. No matter, this is beautiful just the same!

The vibrant colors I love so well are displayed in this quilt. Wonderful work @ The Little Red Hen. Truly inspiring.

Aprons

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few,it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.


It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.


From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.


When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.


Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,

bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.


From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.


In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.


When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.


When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner..


It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ' old-time apron' that served so many purposes.


Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Now her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.


They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron!

Colors to Inspire -- Reminds me of Lifesavers

Colors to Inspire -- Reminds me of Lifesavers, originally uploaded by WonderlandShoppe.

Couldn't resist pushing the button on my digital camera while sitting under my picnic table umbrella tonight.

These are colors are gorgeous now but will soon fade with the summer sun shining down this season. I must be in "awe" while they are brilliant!

Sunny Day Delight

Yesterday was a gloomy rainy day. I didn't even stick my head out the door and didn't feel inspired to sit and sew, to read, to draw or just plain anything. I would have loved to stay in bed with the covers pulled up to my chin also.

But, like most, I made it through and now today is just gorgeous!

Here is a glass window hanging that I recently purchased at JoAnn Fabrics. It makes me happy and looks so beautiful when the sun light is showing through it.

I now feel inspired. Also, I am thrilled because my husband has two of our three kids out with him on a day road trip. Maybe I will get a little more house cleaning done while the foot traffic is lighter around here today.

Borrowed Hearts Quilt

I am putting some of the quilts I made this past year up for sale as I have a large amount and need to create some space. You can click on my WonderlandShoppe store on this blogsite to find this quilt and other interesting things I have listed.

This borrowed hearts pattern was found online at a free pattern site.

Like Cracks in the Stone -- Calligraphy

sketch, originally uploaded by Marina Marjina.

Such a beauty in this piece -- so delicate yet vast in meaning.

Hope you are home -- feeling good in your skin. I sometimes question where is home. I love my husband and kids, but I came from a very fractured beginning, was transplanted into another "family" that called me their own, but display otherwise. So 41 years later, here I am wondering if I should have been Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, yet not really knowing "there's no place like home, there's no place like home." -- Just my ramblings for today.

I will pick myself up and get busy -- so much to do!

Art Attack

Art Attack, originally uploaded by Regina J..

I just love this photograph. The colors -- inspiration! I am ready to grab one of these pencils and get to work creating something. Let my imagination run wild -- only wish I could put on paper what is in my brain from what I see and like. Tame me down now.

On the other hand I picked up wonderful books today on my travel to Goodwill -- Paper Piecing the Seasons by Liz Schwartz & Stephen Seifert, Spirit of the Northwoods by Debbie Field (12 unique applique' blocks for spectacular wildlife wallhangings or a magnificent quilt), Schoolhouse Wallhanging by Eleanor Burns, and Fast, Fun Cards by Emma Hardy.

These will keep me going for some time!






Also, today I finished a quilt block as shown here that I will be sending to the Esme Kenney Memorial Quilt, c/o St Theresa Textile Trove, 5846 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45224. Quilt blocks are accepted through May 31st. To find out more about Esme Kenney just do a Google search. A sad story for a beautiful young lady.







Keep creating and let Art Attack you!

Birdies In A Spring Basket

shared by barncat1 in Hoop Love Vintage Transfers on flickr.com

I find this pattern to be simply delightful!

While I sit here at my computer typing, I am hearing birdies chirping from all different directions. It is that wonderful time of the year.

I don't know if they look as cute as the ones in the pattern, but I will keep a smile on my face and imagine so.

Hope this brightens your day!

Victorian Embroidery in Progress

I found this beautiful leaflet book at a local place called Hobby Land here in Great Falls, Montana recently and just knew that I could make it work for embroidery. The leaflet was for pyography (fancy word for woodburning). So showing for the first time is my work in progress after only a few days.



I am planning on making the piece into a wall hanging and have chosen the border fabric as pictured here.



It is going to be just lovely and I am totally excited and inspired on this project.

Memorial Day

Some wonderful cartoon art to remember what Memorial Day is all about:

Stained Glass Window Hanger - Celtic Design

Stained Glass Window Hanger - Celtic Design, originally uploaded by WonderlandShoppe.

My creation -- a stained glass window hanger with a Celtic cross design.

I like hanging jewelry charms on my creations.

Wish this foamy butterfly in purples and pinks had shown up better on the photograph.

Hawaiian Heart Block-New -Free Pattern Available

Hawaiian Heart Block-New -Free Pattern Available, originally uploaded by Cindy's Quilts.

Hawaiian Heart Block-New -Free Pattern Available
To download the free pattern go to:
carterquilter.wordpress.com
12.5" by 12.5


I just saw this quilt block pattern and have to get to rotary cutting and making it really soon!

Wonderland Whine

wonderland whine, originally uploaded by rawedge studio.

Wonderful illustration -- I just love this!

The Mad Hatter gets a new look

The Mad Hatter gets a new look, originally uploaded by nothinglikeit.

Part of the Beyond Alice series. What would all of the "Alice in Wonderland" characters be up to without Alice in the picture? Maybe the Mad Hatter would drag the White Rabbit with him to the mall to pick out a new hat?!? 9x12 watercolor pencil and pen on 140lb paper.

Drink Me -- Alice in Wonderland

drink me, originally uploaded by La boite a monstres.

I found this photo on Flickr.com and fell in love with it immediately. What artistic talent this person has. Also, the photography is stunning and very creative.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Just to let you know I'm thinking of you today.


No matter what situations life throws at you...


No matter how long and treacherous your journey may seem..


Remember ~~ there is a light at the end of the tunnel.





You're laughing aren't you?

That's good ~~ my job here is done!

Have a great day

Zombies go wild in Jane Austen's world

By William Weir • THE HARTFORD COURANT • May 11, 2009


It is true that zombies are not everyone's cup of tea; it is equally true that not everyone cares for Jane Austen. But it is a rare soul who cares neither for zombies nor Jane Austen.

This is the genius of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a surprise best-seller that has hovered near the top of Amazon's sales list this month.

Author Seth Grahame-Smith has struck gold by placing the menace of zombies in Austen's idyllic English countryside, where matters of courtship were previously the most pressing concerns. Supposedly, the book retains 85 percent of Jane Austen's original text; the remaining 15 percent is a zombie story woven throughout. The literary mash-up turns Elizabeth Bennet from feisty heroine to feisty heroine and adept zombie slayer:

"He lumbered toward Elizabeth at an impressive pace, and when he was but an arm's length from her, she plunged the dagger into his chest and pulled it skyward."

It's hard to explain the appeal of zombies to anyone who doesn't already share it; similarly, non-Austenites will never understand the hold that cravats and antiquated social mores have had on so many readers.

Finding common ground
On the surface of it, fusing Elizabeth, the arrogant Mr. Darcy and their horribly well-mannered ilk with drooling, limb-shedding zombies seems as stark a contrast as you could ask for. But Jane Austen books and zombies share at least one thing in common: an improbably long stay in pop culture and a strong connection to their respective fans.

By the Internet Movie Database's count, there have been some 45 Austen-related movies and television productions since 1938. The book-to-screen rush really took off in 1995 with adaptations of Emma, Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility. Then there are the countless novels that play off Austen's works, her life and even the lives of Austen fanatics. And PPZ (as the book's fans call it) will hardly be the end of it. In the works are two movies — one is Pride and Predator, essentially a similar reworking of the book but with aliens; the other is Jane Bites Back, in which the author herself is a vampire.

Pyography -- Woodburning

Plaque_Lizards1_Large, originally uploaded by TAnnison.

The dragonfly's escape - inspirational plaque.

Pyrography is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a poker. It is also known as pokerwork or wood burning.

Pyrography means "writing with fire" and is the traditional art of using a heated tip or wire to burn or scorch designs onto natural materials such as wood or leather. Burning can be done by means of a modern solid-point tool (similar to a soldering iron) or hot wire tool, or a more basic method using a metal implement heated in a fire, or even sunlight concentrated with a magnifying lens.

Wide Sargasso Sea

I just watched a 1993 movie adaptation of this book and now have to purchase a copy and read this author's character exploration in one of my favorite books Jane Eyre. Please read below:


Wide Sargasso Sea


First edition cover
Author Jean Rhys
Language English
Genre(s) Postmodern Novel
Publisher Deutsch (UK) & W. W. Norton (USA)
Publication date October 1966
Media type print (hardback & paperback)


Pages 192 pp
ISBN 0-233-95866-5


Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial parallel novel by Dominica-born author Jean Rhys. Since her previous work, Good Morning, Midnight, was published in 1939, Rhys had lived in obscurity. Wide Sargasso Sea put Rhys into the limelight once more, and became her most successful novel.

The novel acts as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's famous 1847 novel Jane Eyre. It is the story of the first Mrs. Rochester, Antoinette (Bertha) Mason, a white Creole heiress, from the time of her youth in the Caribbean to her unhappy marriage and relocation to England. Caught in an oppressive patriarchal society in which she belongs neither to the white Europeans nor the black Jamaicans, Rhys' novel re-imagines Brontë's devilish madwoman in the attic. As with many postcolonial works, the novel deals largely with the themes of racial inequality and the harshness of displacement and assimilation.

Deer Pillowcase Embroidery Pattern

Deer Pillowcase Pattern, originally uploaded by WonderlandShoppe.

Another find in a vintage transfer package I purchased while shopping at Goodwill.







Yesterday, my daughter, Savannah Rose, and I ventured out to a local elementary school Art Festival. Sorry, but we did not take any pictures as the turn out was wonderful and people were everywhere moving along to see each grade level exhibit. Isn't this a delightful creative invitation that was left on our front door inviting us to come!




The projects made were delightful and parents could purchase the pieces for small amounts to help the school. I recommend visiting some for inspiration on new forms of art to try. Savannah loved foil portraits completed and I will have to do some internet exploring to find out what color medium works best.

Afterward, we made it into The Salvation Army Thrift and I found five big sheet (basically new) quilting pattern templates in brand new condition. The purchase for them was $2.75 total. I love finding wonderful deals!

Adorable Quilt -- Bird Floral

swap - received!!!, originally uploaded by monaw2008.

This quilt is absolutely delightful! I am going to have to make something like this very soon. It would brighten anyone's day.

I am truly inspired and uplifted now.

Bird Floral Embroidery Pattern

Bird Floral Pattern, originally uploaded by WonderlandShoppe.

I found this old iron transfer pattern on an outing this weekend while shopping at a Goodwill.

I love the bird and different swirls in the flowers in it!

Got to get the hoop and threads out.

Alice Doll - A Character of Beauty

Alice - complete, originally uploaded by pureEVA.

This Alice Doll is simply delightful -- What a talent her creator is!


Alice can be found on Etsy for $180 at the site listed below -- Wonderful for the collector of Alice in Wonderland!

Below is what pureeva.etsy.com had to say about her stunning creation:

Alice is finally done. I realized about halfway through that it's the first time I've had to make a semi-realistic human nose and mouth. Next time I think I'll do it a little differently - brown lashes and not so dark eyes. Her legs & torso turned out well, but for some reason I am finding that the overall proportions just don't look right. I didn't see this defect until she was almost done. I thought about redoing the arms a little smaller too (they are the right length but a little too fat for her sleeves).

Sewing the pinafore was fast, which was great. Alice's hair is cotton so you can iron it or curl it. Every strand is woven in and out of her 'skull'.