I first came across the African queen block in 2017. The newest one I hunted for the pattern/tutorial but found nothing. I drafted the pattern. First scribble Dimensions Background I made a block. It was midnight. I was dying to share it with someone who could share my enthusiasm. My first sister block I called Bernie on the west coast, knowing that she was likely to be awake. True to my expectations, Bernie was a mountain of encouragement. Bernie: I'd be happy to sell it in my Etsy store. Me: You are very kind. Internal Voice: It is not your pattern. You should not be profiting from it. Me: I drafted it. I refined it. I perfected it. Internal Voice: Not from scratch. The idea was someone else's. Me: Profit or not, I want to make more of thee blocks. Internal Voice: Go ahead. By the time RSC2019 came along, the design had been modified, several outrageously loud fabrics and been acquired and I was ready to churn out these lovely ladies on a regular basis. And I did. The Ladies in Red I experimented with various skin tones - freckles and age spots too. The ladies were received with universal appeal. I beamed with pleasure. Sunshine Ladies Even the closed palms were met with approval. I danced with joy. Aqua Maidens Here is a sample of what you said. There were several requests for a pattern/tutorial and the internal dialogue began all over again. One thing was abundantly clear to me - IF I shared the pattern it would be free. But I still struggled with the question - Do I share it with the world? An email from Mary and another from Nikki goaded me. The final decision came after a phone call with Mari. These ladies are very popular. There is no way you can keep them all to yourself, said Mari. If you don't share this tutorial, someone else surely will. The credit for naming goes to Cathy, who very wisely said "your lady blocks have morphed from African women to International Sisters" So here it is. Without further dialogue, internal or otherwise, I present the tutorial for the International Sister Quilt Block. International Sister Block Showing Finished Sizes Fabric Requirements Dress One square 7" side (skirt) Two rectangles 1.5" by 4" (sleeves) One rectangle 2" by 2.5" and One rectangle 2" by 4" (headdress) Face and Hands One square 2.5" side (face) Two squares 1.5" side (palms) Background Two rectangles 1.5" by 3.5" Two rectangles 3" by 7" Instructions All seams are 1/4". Press all seams open. 1. Fold the two squares (palms) in half, (wrong sides together) along the diagonal and press to create a crease. Place RST on the top corners (one aligning with the top left corner and one with the top right corner) of the small background rectangles. Sew on the crease. Cut 1/4" from the crease, discard the corners and press seams open. See pictures below. Aligned with left and right top corners Pinned Stitched Trimmed Pressed This was the trickiest step. It is all downhill from here :-) 2. Add the sleeves to the palms. Press seams open. See pictures below. Add sleeves Pressed 3. Sew the headdress to the face. Press seams open. See picture below. Face and Headdress 4. Arrange all the pieces on the board. Closed Palms If you switch the sleeves (left to right & right to left) you will get the open palms look) Open Palms You must decide whether you want palms open/closed before you add the large background rectangles to the sleeves. In this case, I am proceeding with an open palms block. Almost done 5. Sew the left sleeve to the skirt and the right sleeve to the head. One more seam to go 6. One last seam and we are done. Yes, please Press seams open for a neat flat finish. Square the block to 10.5". Time for a happy dance. Of course, if you'd rather rest then please let the world know with the closed palms look. Another time Thanks to all my quilty sisters - Bernie, Mari, Nikki, Mary and Cathy. You made this tutorial possible. Once again, I will be eagerly watching this space for your quilty hugs (translated into comments) :-D Should you have questions, please ask in the comments. I will respond here so that all can see. I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties, including Angela's Scrap Happy Saturday. See full list on the sidebar.
Around the small town of Ely, terrain and water merge into a vast adventureland that leads to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.
Paddle safely! We've got some tips for you, plus a paddler's checklist.
The Minnesota Legislature created the Minnesota Forest Service back in 1911 chiefly to prevent and fight forest fires. Today, this remains a core part of our mission: protecting life, property, and natural resources from fire on more than 45 million acres of public and private lands.
When I first started taking photos I had the idea in my head that I wanted to take beautiful portraits or maybe shoot fashion. I’ve found lately that my true passion lies with telling peoples’ stories and showing the stunning complexity in nature. As my world of photography has been expanded through my years at CMU, my constant travel, and viewing exhibits, I have come to admire many photographers. Though many photos make me think and keep me on the creative path, there are a few photographers whose body of work and talent I wish I had. One of my main inspirations is Art Wolfe, who is an international photographer and instructor. He and his work give me the desire to travel and explore everything around me as opposed to just stagnating. Wolfe photographs people, buildings, animals, landscape, and anything that catches his eye. He has a good sense of composition, lighting, moment, and detail. Perhaps his best work involves animals and nature as opposed to people and their environment. Like Wolfe, I want to refine my work so that I can specialize in a certain type of photography, but still be skilled and versatile enough to do all kinds of work. I admire his ability to wait for certain situations to arise in nature and his knowing of when to click the shutter. Wolfe inspires me to explore my camera settings, be patient for good moments, and be quick to capture them. His website is http://www.artwolfe.com/index.html. And clips of his show Travels to the Edge is on Youtube. Another of my main inspirations is Unembedded. It is a book and national touring exhibit by four independent journalists who spent years photographing the Iraq war. The group was made up of two woman and two men who work outside of the U.S military embedding program in order to get closer to their subjects and shoot the war from the view point of the Iraqi people. This collection of photographs gave me the ambition to be a war photographer. The summer before my junior year at college I did not have enough money to return to CMU to finish my degree. My loans had been denied and although I was working two jobs I wasn’t getting anywhere. I met with NAVY recruiters who told me about Combat Camera and that the program only accepts 1,000 people. My chances at that point of getting trained in that field were slim so I decided to wait to join. However, the work of Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Kael Alford, Throne Anderson, and Rita Leistner still makes me want to travel and show the world people’s stories behind the conflict. I want my photographs to have the power to give the world a wake up call. The website for Unembedded is http://www.unembedded.net. Each photographer's gallery is listed under index. Their work inspires me to get more involved with the subjects to the point that there are no longer just subjects but are human beings. I want to learn that fine line of becoming too involved but to be able to let my passion show through. All of the photos are dynamic, make you think, and want to stare and look away at the same time. This inspires me to have my work make people want to gaze at it for a long time and contemplate the stories of the people. The access in unbelievable and inspires me to stop being shy and push my limits. And all of the photos of people show emotion. This is what I really want to be able to do. I want to be able to convey that happiness, anger, sadness, and shock as well as these photographers. And last but not least of my inspirations in National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg. I admire him because he started off not even going to school for journalism or photography and eventually started working for a few papers. After less than a year he submitted photos to National Geographic and started working as freelancer. Awhile later they accepted him as a contract photographer and he has done that now for around 30 years while also having work published in magazines like Life and Newsweek. He inspires me to just stop doubting and waiting for the right moment but to get out there and just take risks and do all I want to do. Brandenburg also has good control of light and a good eye for composition. He works at many angles to get his shots and takes photos at all depths of field. What I take from his work into my own style is that I want to experiment with my angles, heights, focal lengths, and settings to achieve the best photo. Brandenburg’s photos have a style to them so that they look very skilled and technical but at the same time like an un-posed piece of life. I want to keep in mind all the elements in my photos and control my settings but not be too busy to just shoot. He also has mastered taking pictures in all kinds of weather. I admire this and would like to perfect the shots I take on cloudy, rainy, snowy, foggy, and any other less than perfect days . Brandenburg’s website is: http://www.jimbrandenburg.com/flash/index_flash.html.
This reading list of best travel memoirs inspires wanderlust. Escape your comfort zone with travel writers and their favorite travel books.
Norwegian visual artist Andreas Lie blurs the boundary between the beautiful wilderness of Norway and the people who call it home, creating subtle double exposure portraits. Inspired by the surroundings of his hometown Bergen, Norway, landscapes filled with water, snowy mountains, the Northern Lights, or the deep forests. These beautiful portraits generate a peaceful visual […]
Prepare to fall into the worlds of these books with magic twists and astounding mythology. They'll capitvate, enthrall, and bewitch you!
Design your own 3D Pirate Ship Paper Plate Craft 3D Project for Kids - great for preschool and daycare crafts or kid's pirate birthday parties!
K-PS3-1. Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface. [Clarification Statement: Examples of Earth’s surface could include sand, soil, rocks, and water] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment of temperature is limited to relative measures such as warmer/cooler.] PowerPoint Presentation that facilitates the conversation with your students about warm and cooling Earth surfaces. Each slide asks student to give a thumbs up or down to a specific example. Each example if followed by a slide that asks the students to explain their answer to a partner and then reveals the answer in a funny animation.
For a whole year, Eric Chandler wrote a poem after every cross-country ski, run, hike, and paddle. Chandler logged his observations both at home in Duluth, Minnesota and while traveling as an airline pilot. A few months into this project, he wrote a haibun (with its combination of prose and haiku) and stuck with that form for the rest of the year. He took one of the most adventurous, solo backpacking trips of his life that year: he and his dog Leo hiked for five days through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota. They followed the Kekekabic Trail, inspiring the book's title. This unique poetry collection will inspire you to pay closer attention during your outdoor adventures whether close to home or far away.
Stream in wilderness, River Rapids Pen and Ink drawing with watercolor. Giclee reproduction art print. Great for Sportsmen, fishermen, Boy or Child's room, or for nature lovers. Top quality giclee print: Epson Archival paper with 9 Epson archival inks printed on heavy weight smooth fine art paper. Ships in an aicd-free sleeve on board. Available in different sizes on request. This listing is for 8 X 10 or 8.5 X 11. This is a painting I did for a book about northern wilderness area of the U.S. (Minnesota) Here is a link to an illustration of a Northern Pike Muskie fish: https://www.etsy.com/listing/174898939/fisherman-gift-sporting-decor-northern?ref=shop_home_active_8 Here is a link to a sunrise, sunset in brilliant colors, in the wilderness: https://www.etsy.com/listing/177177162/sunrise-sunset-colors-reflecting-in?ref=listing-shop-header-2 Here is an illustration of a campfire and s'mores: https://www.etsy.com/listing/177177162/sunrise-sunset-colors-reflecting-in?ref=listing-shop-header-2 My personal website is here: www.kathiekemp.com
Peruvian artist Ana Teresa Barboza is a master of embroidery – the art form thatshe interprets and revives in a highly original way. Combining embroidery and crocheting she creates lively landscapes with sea water spatters and rich green moss waving down the wall, making the boundary between tapestry and sculpture fade away.
Here's another natural fertiliser that's easy to make. You may have been cursing the comfrey for its vigour as you hacked it down once again, but quite apart from its usefulness it’s also a very attractive plant to have growing around your plot that attracts bees. If you're interested in producing natural fertilisers you may also find the post on nettle fertiliser of use. Comfrey is a perennial herb with a black turnip-like root and large hairy broad leaves and produces small bell-shaped white, cream, light purple or pink flowers that attracts bees. It’s native to Europe and widespread throughout Ireland and Britain, growing in damp grassy places. Comfrey has long been recognised by both organic gardeners and herbalists for its great usefulness and versatility. If your plant produces purple flowers then you have the “Bocking 14” cultivar of Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum). This strain was developed during the 1950s and will not set seed, an advantage over other types since it won’t spread out of control. This variety is propagated from root cuttings. If you’re developing your own comfrey bed don’t harvest leaves in the first season and remove any flowering stems so the plant focuses its energy on establishing itself. Mature plants can be harvested up to four or five times a year and are ready for cutting when about 2 feet high from mid Spring through to mid Autumn. Comfrey will rapidly grow again and be ready for further cutting about 5 weeks later. It’s best to cut shortly before flowering; this is when the plant is at its most potent for nutrients. Harvest by using shears to cut to about 2 inches above the ground. Take care when handling and consider wearing gloves since the leaves and stems are covered in hairs that can irritate the skin. Stop leaf cutting after Autumn to allow plants to build up winter reserves. The leaves will die back and break down in winter and nutrients and minerals are transported back to the roots for use the following spring. Comfrey is an excellent source of potassium, an essential plant nutrient needed for flower, seed and fruit production. Its leaves contain 2-3 times more potassium than farmyard manure. There are various ways in which comfrey can be utilised as a fertiliser, these include: Compost activator Include in the compost heap to add nitrogen and help to heat the heap. Comfrey should not be added in quantity as it will quickly break down into a dark sludgy liquid that needs to be balanced with more fibrous, carbon rich material. Liquid fertilizer Weigh down a handful of leaves in a bucket of water, cover and leave to rot down for 4–5 weeks to produce a ready to use comfrey fertiliser. Alternatively put several bunches of leaves in a refuse bin and fill with water. Mulch A two inch layer of comfrey leaves placed around a crop will slowly break down and release plant nutrients; it’s especially useful for crops that need extra potassium, such as fruit bearers, but also does well for potatoes. Avoid using flowering stems as these can root.
Bagh Chal or Sunken courtyard was an Iranian native method to protect from hot weather, in this way the courtyard stays below the ground level. Designed by Iranian architect Davood Salavati manager of Team Group, Bagh Chal is a botique restaurant located in Kashan, Esfahan, Iran. Project descrip...
H U G: Healing Urban Garden; view of concrete; circular water feature and grey stone path slabs surrounded by Festuca glauca (blue fescue grass), Lavandula, Thymes - Designer: Rae Wilkinson; Sponsor: Living Landscapes; RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2015
Forest Floor II wall art for home and office decor. Discover canvas art prints, photos, mural, big canvas art and framed wall art in GreatBigCanvas.com's varied collections.
Pin it Journal Bandolier • $17.95 • Clever Hands For anyone who's ever scrounged around in their bag for a stray pen, this is for you. This strap can be wrapped around a journal, planner, or other b
