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Decorating experts share their 20 all-time best interior paint colors, which you can easily introduce into your own home.

Many have wondered what Her Majesty's favourite colour is - until now. Vogue magazine has studied every outfit she has worn in the last 12 months and found that blue is known as royal for a reason.

Completed in 2011 in Paris, France. Images by Sergio Grazia. A couple of stone’s throws away from the Gare de Lyon in Paris, whose business district was designed in the 1960s and 1970s by the architect Louis...

A couple of weeks ago, one of my fibre arts guild confrères gave me a lovely upholstery sample featuring an Indian elephant. At first I thought I'd make a conventional, geometrical quilt block with it. Then I decided that, because I am probably one of the worst, most imprecise quilters in the world (just ask my sister), the sample would be perfect for a crazy-quilt block. Crazy quilting is less a type of quilting—quilting being the pattern of stitching that binds the layers together—than a type of patchwork. Crazy quilts rarely have an internal layer of batting, and are perhaps more conventionally considered a type of textile art. Framed crazy-quilt block by Janet Stauffacher. Source: http://www.vintagevogue.com/html/crazy_quilting.html In crazy quilting, various pieces of fabric are combined in a pattern that has less to do with a preset design, and more to do with creating something that is visually pleasing. Once the base fabrics are arranged and attached—either by hand, or with a sewing machine—the individual patches and seams are heavily embellished with embroidery, braid, buttons, beads, ribbon and anything else that takes the designer's fancy. This is what gives crazy quilting its charm. Crazy quilting is thought to have been inspired in the United States by the Japanese Exhibit at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. Intrigued by the asymmetrical Japanese art in the exhibit, women began experimenting with fabric placement in their quilts, and crazy quilting was born. During the 1880s, crazy quilting became something of a, well, craze. Women's publications featured articles both for and against. Shops offered packages of random fabrics, and even pre-embellished pieces, for sale. For the first decade or so, crazy quilting usually featured fine fabrics such as silk, velvet and lace, and the quilts were heavily embellished. As time passed, women began making crazy quilts using everyday fabrics, and little or no embellishment was added. The benefit of crazy quilting for thrifty women was that it allowed them to use odd-shaped scraps of fabric left over from various sewing projects. Today, crazy quilting has entered the realm of fine craft, and is often the subject of museum and gallery exhibitions. In addition, early crazy quilts have become highly collectible, and there are numerous books and websites devoted to both collecting and creating crazy quilts. Crazy quilt from 1892–1893. Source: http://www.crazyquilts.ca/CQGallery.html I've been thinking about making a crazy quilt for years, and have all kinds of scraps of fabrics such as silk, velvet, satin and lace waiting to be used. Because I'm so terrible at regular quilting, I suppose I've been a bit daunted by the idea of quilting anything, but since I have a bit of extra time today, I thought I'd give it a try. For today's elephant, I'm using the sample given to me by Frances as my inspiration and starting point. The sample measures 24 x 17.5 cm (approx. 9.5 x 7 inches), with the main interest obviously being the elephant. But I also like the partial frame around the elephant, so I'm going to try to incorporate it somehow. I decided to sew the fabrics together on a sewing machine, as I expected the embellishment to take a great deal of time. I wasn't planning on a huge block, as I only have a day to work on this, but I thought that about 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inches) would be a good size. I dragged out my boxes of velvet and silk scraps, and started choosing colours that I thought worked well with the original sample. These are more or less what I chose, although I reserved the right to change my mind. To start, I pinned on a strip of red dupioni silk, then stitched it, folded it right way out, and ironed it. Next, I did the same with a strip of lime green silk. After this, I just kept adding pieces of silk and velvet, until the elephant was surrounded. Once the elephant was surrounded, it was time to finish the block. Since I wanted it to be 30 cm (12 inches) square when completed, I made it 33 cm (13 inches) square. This would leave me a seam allowance all the way around, in case I should ever decide to actually sew it to something. To end up with a square, and to make sure the elephant was dead centre, I measured 16.5 cm (6.5 inches) from the centre to each side, and to the top and bottom. I needed to add fabric, so I pieced the edges together until I had more than enough. I then cut a muslin square measuring 33 x 33 cm (13 x 13 inches), and sewed it to the back of my pieced quilt block, making sure to centre it over the elephant. I then trimmed all the edges. It was now ready for trims and whatever other embellishments took my fancy. I pulled out a bunch of ribbon, passementerie, sparkly things like sequins and beads, exotic embroidery threads, lace, and whatever else seemed to go with the patchwork block. I wasn't sure what I would end up using out of all this, but it was a place to start. To begin the embellishment phase, I added a scrap of tasselled trim. Next, I added some jaquard ribbon to one of the seams. After this, I added ribbon to a few other seams, although I reserved some joins for embroidered embellishing. Pretty much anything goes when it comes to crazy quilting, so I added whatever appealed to me—from whatever I actually had on hand. Next, because crazy quilting usually has embroidery on it, I began by embroidering a couple of seams. I'm woefully out of practice when it comes to embroidery, so it's not as extravagant or as neat as it could be. I embroidered a few more seams, added a flower, added some beads, and then ran out of time. I like the final result well enough, although it doesn't feel anywhere near finished yet. However, this took me most of the day, so finishing it will have to wait for another time. If you had a lot of time, this would be a great way to use up scraps of fabric, bits of trim and so forth. But it's definitely more time-consuming than I expected it to be. And I think it would look a lot better in combination with other blocks to offset some of the, well, craziness. Elephant Lore of the Day It is generally accepted that elephants are among the most intelligent creatures on Earth—and apparently they sometimes have a sense of humour to match. One of my favourite stories tells of a bull elephant named Charles, who was trying to push over a large tree in a Kenya reserve. A group of conservationists watched Charles for awhile, laughing at his frustration. Perhaps realizing that he was the source of their amusement, Charles suddenly stopped what he was doing, walked over to the conservationists and knocked down a smaller tree, sending it crashing onto their landrover. Charles then tossed its head and walked off into the bush. To Support Elephant Welfare World Wildlife Fund World Society for the Protection of Animals Elephant sanctuaries (this Wikipedia list allows you to click through to information on a number of sanctuaries around the world) Performing Animal Welfare Society Zoocheck Bring the Elephant Home African Wildlife Foundation Elephants Without Borders Save the Elephants

It's basically the fall version of rainbow hair.

Celestial symbolism in writing refers to the use of celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars as symbols to convey deeper meanings in a literary work. Celestial symbolism has been used in literature for centuries. It can add depth and meaning to your work by conveying abstract ideas and emotions through concrete images. Symbolism helps to create a mood or atmosphere, and to reinforce themes and motifs throughout a text. The same symbol can represent a variety of things in literature depending on the context and the author's intent, which is why some examples may have more than one association.

Here are some of the art quilts (wallhangings) I have made over the years: Dancing in the Wind, 2018: machine piecing, 3D appliqué,hand embroidery, FMQ Pink Beauty, 2018: machine pieced, FMQ The Sail, 2018: machine-piecing and appliqué, FMQ Indian Elephant, 2018: machine piecing, FMQ Nordic Christmas, 2017: machine piecing, FMQ "Linger On", 2017, 146x95 cm, machine piecing, FMQ "A Binary opposition", 2017, 42x58 cm. Hand quilting, hand embroidery, fusible appliqué Scraps of Summer, 2017: 16'' by 35'', raw edge appliqué, FMQ We and I, 2017: 36''x64'', machine piecing, felting, FMQ Lily the Dragon, 2017: 31'' by 50'', ticker tape (machine appliqué), FMQ Dance of the Goddess, 2017 - 90x100 cm, FMQ appliqué The Meadow Quilt, 2017 - EPP, applique, FMQ Sunflower, 2016 - curve piecing, FMQ Christmas Wreath, 2016 - crafted appliqué, FMQ, 50x50 cm Winter Forest Friends, 2016 - machine pieced, machine quilted Poinsettia - 2016, curve piercing, FMQ, 85x107 cm Natural History - 2016, QAYG, FMQ, curve piecing, fabric crayons, 73x109 cm Fly Up, Fly Down - curve piecing, 30x30 in, 2016 A Study in Scarlet and Bordeaux, 2016 - ice dyed fabric, FMQ, fabric crayons Magnolias, 2016 - machine pieced, FMQ Little Kitty Village, 2016 - machine pieced, machine quilted Goldfish, 2016 - machine pieced, FMQ "Beach Extravaganza", 2016 - hand appliqué, FMQ "Color of Lightness, Color of Joy", 2016 - EPP, hand appliqué, hand quilting Road without End, 2016 curve piecing, FMQ Fallen by the Wayside, 2016 - raw edge appliqué, FMQ "Baikal", stained glass quilt "Little Lady's Wardrobe", wall quilt with pockets, hand appliqué "Pasque flower", machine pieced, FMQ "Waltz of the Flowers", hand appliqué, machine- and hand-pieced, FMQ Firebird, 2015 - raw edge appliqué, FMQ "Bonfire", one-block-wonder quilt, machine pieced, FMQ "Fall Forest", confetti (or"pizza") quilt "Silent Night", machine pieced, machine quilted "Violets", machine-pieced, hand applique, ribbon embroidery, FMQ You can find more of my quilts on my Pinterest board. Please drop by, have a look and follow! СохранитьСохранитьСохранитьСохранитьСохранитьСохранить

Whirlygig* block is the September Fat Quarter Mystery Quilt Block. Like all blocks in this year’s block of the month challenge, this block is 15" (finished

Fromwww.japonismeblog.com/; direct link www.sharecom.ca/phillips/56a.html Walter J. Phillips (1884-1963) Gloaming, 1921 colour woodcut on paper

Because it's Fall - or late-summer and will it ever really be fall here in Dallas? - we're enjoying anything that makes us think of the season. These are Tammy's Blockhead Blocks No. 1 through 28. She's using a big mix of scraps and pieces in fall colors. As an Indiana girl, she knows of such things. Juneau! Alaska. Is there a fall season in Juneau? (Enquiring minds want to know.) Block 29 from Lisa Bongean.

Today let's sew together this easy, beginner-friendly variation of the Chain and Knots quilt block. Typically, I use this type of block alternating with a more complicated block but it can be used all on its own in a quick and easy quilt. There's also a three color block at the end. Let's get started!

23 Original Artworks curated by Bridget Carron, Figurative Paintings. Original Art Collection created on 9/22/2014.

Barbara Brackman is commemorating the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a block-of-the-week along with history of the conflict. I got a late start (June) and am playing catch-up. These are the ones I've done to date. I'll be adding as I get the blocks completed. 1. Catch Me if You Can 2. North Star 3. Seven Sisters - I've decided not to make this applique block... or any other applique block in this series. I can do applique but don't care for it and would like to focus on pieced blocks for this quilt. I need 48 blocks for a large throw size quilt and there will be 52 blocks in the series so I have some wiggle room if any more applique blocks show up. Seven Sisters block by Becky 4. Tears for Texas 5. Kansas Troubles 6. Richmond 7. Log Cabin 8. Cotton Boll 9. Birds in the Air 10. Lincoln's Platform 11. London Square 12. Louisiana 13. Little Blue Basket 14. Fox & Geese 15. Fort Sumter 16. White House 17. Comfort Quilt 18. Union Square 19. Missouri Star 20. New England 21. Underground Railroad 22. Blockade 23. Illinois Roads 24. Ladies Aid Album 25. Calico Puzzle 26. Barbara Fritchie 27. Irish Chain 28. Next Door Neighbor 29. Railroad Crossing 30. Peterson's Stars and Stripes - Another applique blocks... I'll take a pass on this one! 31. Empty Spools 32. Carolina Lily 33. Indiana Puzzle 34: Rosebud 35: Star of the West 36: Kentucky Crossroads 37: Confederate Rose 38: Ohio Star 39: Hovering Hawks 40: Order Number Eleven 41: Red, White, and Blue Star 42: "H" is for Hospital 43: Right Hand of Friendship 45. Port and Starboard (have a thing for HSTs so made two) 46. Apple Tree 47. Dixie Tea 48. West Virginia 49. Yankee Puzzle 50. Grapes of Wrath 51: New York (decided not to make this one) 52: Christmas Wreath (or Star) 53: Union Shield (decided not to make this one too) Since I have omitted applique blocks and a couple of others, I needed extra blocks for a total of 56 for a 7x8 layout. These are the ones I've made... Friend's Star Grandmother's Fan Memory Wreath Sickle variation Southern Belle Windmill variation Scotch Squares (in honor of the folks from Scotland who settled in the Sandhills of NC) And... drum roll please.... the blocks all together...

On peut venir du même pays, le Japon, et explorer le textile de façon bien différente... Fumiko Nakayama , amoureuse des Molas, et ses tableaux de grande taille créés avec beaucoup de minutie et de couleurs: Tomie Nagano et ses somptueux quilts indigos...

Todays dash of eye candy is a 6 inch block in the I dropped the button box crazy quilt This is a continuation of my post yesterday. Before I go on however I would like to stress that there are no hard and fast rules in crazy quilting so anything …

Edited Mon., 2/15--I didn't get to link up for Stash Report Sunday yesterday, so this is going to be my Design Wall Monday post instead. Have you heard about the 365 Challenge, The Ultimate Sampler? It is a sampler quilt that is made by constructing one block every day. The project is headed up by Kathryn Kerr of Australia, and she posts the instructions for a new block every single day. Most of the blocks finish at either 3" or 6". At the end of the year, there will be 365 blocks, making a 90" square quilt. Here's the general layout planned for the quilt. Amazing, right? I first heard about this challenge right around the beginning of the year, which is when the first blocks were posted. I was very tempted to join in, but managed to resist for a whole month, partly because I couldn't come up with a color scheme I wanted to use. Then it was February and I could resist no longer. I decided to go with blue and orange/rust/gold. Yesterday I finished making all of the blocks from January. These blocks all finish at 3". I'm not used to working in such a small scale as these blocks use. Several of them include pieces that finish at only 1/2"! This will be a good test of my piecing accuracy. Here is one block with 1/2" squares in it. Those are some seriously small pieces! I used approximately 5/8 yard of fabric on my sampler blocks for January. This week I also used 1/2 yard for a set of blocks for the RSC 2016 Sampler Quilt. You can see those blocks in yesterday's post. No additions to my stash this week. STASH TOTALS: Used this week: 1.125 yards Used year to date: 13.375 yards Stashed this week: 0 yards Stashed year to date: 10.25 yards Net year to date: 3.125 yards used I am joining Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking the number of days each week that I spend at least 15 minutes quilting. The more days I quilt, the more quilts I can get done and the more fabric used. 15 Minute Challenge: February 7 - 13 6 for 7 days February total 11 for 13 days 350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: This week's block total: 24 Check out more design walls at Patchwork Times. Julie in GA

Today let's sew together this easy, beginner-friendly variation of the Chain and Knots quilt block. Typically, I use this type of block alternating with a more complicated block but it can be used all on its own in a quick and easy quilt. There's also a three color block at the end. Let's get started!

Explore knitnlit's 899 photos on Flickr!

- Results from #10

Union Square can represent the Union recruits, eager to sign up in the spring of 1861. Individual Union states were responsible for raising troops to fight the new war. Using the same organization that worked during the War with Mexico in the 1840s, local militias volunteered under charismatic commanders. Ohio's George McClellan was state militia commander, Major General of Volunteers, and exceptionally good at attracting troops.Young men were drawn by patriotism and promises of glory, much to their mothers' anguish. Milan Ohio April 20, 1861 "Dear Carlos Likely you have heard about the war down South….You may have heard that Mrs. Dan. Hamilton tried to stop Will, who had enlisted at Springfield---she was too late---he had marched before she got there---She is said to consider it a greater affliction than any previous one, which have been many and severe." H. Colton The photographs are from a Flickr Group and the Library of Congress called Civil War Faces. The Liljenquist Family recently donated their rare collection of almost 700 ambrotype and tintype photographs to the Library of Congress in remembrance of the Union and Confederate soldiers who served in the American Civil War. Click here to see the soldiers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/sets/72157625520211184/with/5229146672/ I brightened up the portraits a bit so you can see how young some of the boys are. These beautiful photograph cases may give you quilting ideas for mid-century reproductions. Recruiting units later used bonuses and a draft as well as patriotism and honor to attract soldiers.  Union Square is BlockBase #2417, given that name in the Nancy Cabot column in the Chicago Tribune of the 1930s. Cutting an 8" Finished Block A - Cut 4 dark squares 2-1/2" B - Cut 4 medium squares 2-7/8". Cut each into two triangles with one diagonal cut. You will need 8 triangles. You may want to cut these triangles a little larger, say using a 3-1/4" square, and then trim them. C - Cut 5 light and 4 dark squares 2-3/8" for the center nine patch. The letter above is from The Colton Letters: Civil War Period 1861-1865, edited by Betsey Gates. McLane Pub., 1993. The letters are from a large Ohio family of young men and women.

I cant quite believe that it is time to introduce block 7 (placed on this grid). Writing these posts about this quilt have fallen into a routine and they now seem to mark my days. Another block makes me aware of another block of time which has passed. This is …

What is the first thought that comes to mind when you imagine things to do in Bucharest? Movies certainly portray the Romanian capital as an endless sea of grey concrete blocks, a post-communist country with bad music and angry people. This might have been the case 30 years ago, but today, Bucharest is a flourishing capital city with exquisite French architecture, a Berlinesque nightlife and a contrasting way of life.

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Een warme dag in juli. Alle shorten zitten in de was. Wat kan ik hem nog aantrekken? Er staat ook een zak met oude T-shirten klaar voor de kringloopwinkel.... 1+1 = Snelle broekjes! Ondertussen heb ik er een 10-tal gemaakt en het lukt me om er eentje op een half uur af te werken, zoals deze. Het zijn speelshortjes, geen sjieke zondagsbroeken. De werkwijze is navenant! Vind je tricot (T-shirtstof) lastig? Geen nood, je kan ook gewone katoenen hemden van pa of opa gebruiken. Dan hoef je ook niet te werken met die speciale stretchsteken (zie verder), gewoon zigzaggen en rechtdoor stikken is voldoende. MAAT: Voor een smalle kleuter van 3à4 jaar. Voor een brede of een lange kleuter kan je het patroon een beetje aanpassen: langer/korterer, breder PATROON (pdf Scribd), naadwaarde en zoom is inbegrepen in het patroon: deel 1 van 5 - deel 2 van 5 - deel 3 van 5 - deel 4 van 5 - deel 5 van 5 Patroon via Google Docs: deel 1 van 5 - deel 2 van 5 - deel 3 van 5 - deel 4 van 5 - deel 5 van 5 Kleef de patroondelen van de voorkant en van het middenstuk van de achterkant aan elkaar (zie punten a, b, c en d). © eloleo.be Het patroon van de Snelle broekjes is enkel voor persoonlijk gebruik bedoeld. Gelieve het patroon of de broekjes die ermee gemaakt zijn niet te verkopen. MATERIAAL: Als je oude T-shirten gebruikt, is het niet nodig om de stof vooraf te wassen. Nieuwe stof altijd voorwassen! - stretchsteken op je naaimachine (een gewone machine, ik heb zelf ook geen overlocker)! - jersey naald + draad - oude T-shirten - kleuterelastiek (gekocht in Hema, dat heet dus echt "kleuterelastiek" want hij is extra zacht) - een gewone stikvoet STOF KNIPPEN: De T-shirten mogen niet al te dun zijn (dat stikt moeilijker, dat krult op, miserie...). Gebruik voor de inzetstukken op de achterzijde stof van een gelijkaardige kwaliteit/dikte als de rest van de short. Voor je "voor goed" begint, probeer je best eerst de stretchsteken op een proeflapje. Je zal de draadspanning en de druk van de persvoet beetje bij beetje moeten bijstellen tot het er ok uitziet. Let wel, het zal altijd wel een beetje "bobbelen" maar dat kan je achteraf wegstrijken. HANDLEIDING: De foto's werden genomen tijdens het maken van verschillende broekjes. Let dus niet op de kleur van de stof of de print. Je kan op de foto's klikken op ze te vergroten. Knip alle patroondelen: twee keer de voorkant en twee keer de achterkant (middenstuk + boven- en onderstuk in een contrasterende print/kleur). Begin met de achterkant. Leg boven- en onderstuk op het middenstuk, overlap 1 cm en speld vast. Hecht vast met een stretchsteek, een soort zigzag die je kan opentrekken: zo en zo. Met een kleine stretchsteek hecht je beide achterkant-delen aan elkaar. Begin bovenaan en stik helemaal door tot aan het kruis. Er is 1cm naadwaarde voorzien in het patroon. Doe hetzelfde met de beide delen van de voorkant. Op deze foto zie je ook de achterkant van de zigzag-stretch. Het is duidelijk dat de stof een beetje "bobbelt". Leg dan de achterkant op de voorkant en stik de zijnaden (smalle stretch). Er is 1 cm naadwaarde voorzien in het patroon. Hoe voorzichtig ik ook ben, toch lijpt de ene stof altijd een beetje meer mee dan de andere. Patroonpapier onderleggen terwijl je stikt, zou ook al helpen (maar dat heb ik zelf nog niet geprobeerd). Geen nood, dit kan je achteraf nog bijwerken. Het broekje zit nu bijna in elkaar. Nog enkel de naden tussen de benen (van het kruis tot aan de knie). Het kruis is het vertrekpunt. Vouw de ene naad naar links en de andere naad naar rechts en speld vast. Begin dan van punt A en stretch-stik de pijp door tot op het einde. Doe hetzelfde vanaf punt B. Het kruis zelf heb je nu twee keer overstikt. 1cm naadwaarde is inbegrepen in het patroon. Aan de goede kant ziet het er nu zo uit. Mahaaaar! Er is een probleempje onderaan. Hallelujah als jij dat probleem niet hebt! Ik had het bij elk van de 10 shortjes wel. Sommige T-shirten lijpen verschrikkelijk hard uit, anderen niet. Soms scheelde het maar 3mm en hier wel een dikke cm. Bijsnijden dus! PS: als je met een overlocker werkt, zou je dit probleem niet hebben... naar het schijnt. Het broekje langs de binnenkant. Handig aan Tricot: de naden rafelen niet uit dus je hoeft deze ook niet te zigzaggen tegen rafelen. Vouw dan een zoom van ongeveer 1,5 tot 2 cm aan de buik. Let er op dat je alle naden omlegt in dezelfde richting (zie rode pijltjes), zo voorkom je problemen achteraf als je de rekker erdoor trekt. Stik met een smalle stretchsteek rondom rond maar laat aan de achterkant een opening van 1cm. Door deze opening trek je, met behulp van een speld, de rekker. Schuif de speld erdoor in de richting waarin je de naden gelegd hebt. Piece of Cake! Naai de uiteinden van de rekker aan elkaar en stik de opening dicht. Vouw daarna een zoom aan elke broekspijp van 1,5cm en doorstik eveneens met een smalle stretchsteek. Dan strijk-strijk-strijk je het broekje en hopla, het is... KLAAR!!!! De snelle broekjes zitten zeer comfi. Als ze spelen gaat het er soms heftig aan toe... bij die van mij alleszins ;-). Ga ook eens kijken bij Lil Blue Boo, ter inspiratie! Een dagje speelpleinwerking... © eloleo.be Alle eloleo-patronen zijn voor persoonlijk gebruik bedoeld. Gelieve het patroon of de maaksels uit dat patroon niet te verkopen (tenzij in kleine oplagen en als je er een goed doel mee steunt... ofzo). Dank! De Flickr-Pool voor alles wat JULLIE maken met de handleidingen en patronen van eloleo.

Yesterday, I gave you some options for the Chisel Die. I started playing around in Electric Quilt and came up with some more options. The individual block will be shown first, and then the quilt la…