We are so excited to launch ‘Daily Doodlebugs’ an Arts & Crafts club running from 3pm-6pm Monday-Friday. The club is to all children aged 4-10 years....
Cockchafer / May bug (Melolontha melolontha, female) captured in flight some years ago. This year they are already back again in Central Europe :) Taken with Canon 350D camera, MP-E 65mm lens and Pentax 1.7x converter (used as wide-angle adapter). See also the MALE PHOTO for comparison.
Here's a follow up to Saturday's post. This is the other card I made with the Cityscape die from Memory Box. I also used the matching Cityscape Silhouette behind the skyline for this card. Enjoy! Once again, the sentiment stamp is from Ali Edward's Jingle all the Way stamp set. It's from Technique Tuesday and it's one of my favorites.
Fall has arrived, and soon, we'll be busy creating all types of Holiday projects. I thought I'd post a card I created a few weeks ago, before the Christmas stamps and dies completely take over. So, here she is. One of the new Doodle Garden stamps from MFT Stamps. Here are the Copic marker colors I used, for those interested: E33, E37, E31, BG15, BG34, BG09, YG03, YG06, Y11, Y15, Y17, R14, R17, and R22.
I'm linking up again for Five for Friday with Doodlebugs Teaching. This week was all about the Earth. 1. We learned about landfor...
THE ANT LION This remarkable creature has always been marked highly on my list of favorites. My cousins and I would find these little denizens of the sand on the beaches of Ludington MI. We'd push ants into the "funnel of doom," but most of the time, the ants would crawl out un-scathed. Those who didn't escape became a nourishing entree for the Ant Lion larva that huddled in the sand at the bottom of the funnel. I didn't realize that the Ant Lion larva/*doodlebugs matured into a beautiful airborne insect. I wanted them to maintain their larva look, grow to the size of Russian Wolf Hounds, dig larger funnels of doom and entrap sun bathers and other beach guests. RL * Not to be confused with the Doodlebops: DeeDee Doodle, Rooney Doodle and Moe Doodle are a Canadian musical trio who have their own TV spot "The Doodlebops" featured on the Disney channel.
I can't believe graduation is just around the corner! I just realized it's time for graduation party supplies, stamps, dies, and paper to make their appearance in the store. Where has the time gone? Here's a quick and easy card you can make using the Graduations Accents Die-namics die from MFT Stamps. I chose to use Sequim High School colors. However, you can easily customize it to any school colors. Here's a close up of the graduation cap. The set also comes with a diploma. Here's a peek at the whole set.
My self-imposed ban on blog reading and posting is over as Lent ends tonight. I was only posting finishes on my blog, since this is my way of keeping track of what I've done and, more importantly, when. I missed reading about everyone's quilting adventures, but it was good for me to stop for a bit. As with most of us, the mask making continues. In between making masks, I worked on this scrappy quilt using 2 1/2" squares. As those who follow me know, I do not enjoy making scrappy quilts and am not a huge fan of how they look, either. This quilt has been fun to make, though. I kind of used it as a leader/ender with the masks, but then just began sewing the blocks so it could move along. When cleaning my Hidey Hole, I found a bag of 2 1/2" squares I had cut several years ago. I dug into my hug bags of scraps and cut more, adding to the mix. Then the 16 patches were made. There are all kinds of fun things to find in this quilt... butterflies, crabs, fish, whales, flowers, basketballs, golf clubs and bags, snowmen, shells, the sun, etc. My favorite though is the fussy cut Snoopy in the photo above. :) At least two borders will be added; one of the cream and then another round of squares. I may add another round of cream after that, but we shall see. If I add another round of cream, I may use a scrappy binding. Needless to say, there are A LOT of 2 1/2" squares left. Maybe another scrappy quilt is in my future. ***Edit*** I have had several questions about the pattern for this quilt from No Reply Bloggers. I did not have a pattern for this quilt. The design just came to me as I went along making it. Now back to making masks! Happy Quilting! Be safe and be well.
I never thought I would be posting about this quilt being finished so soon. There is a lot going on with my family and some very close frie...
We are not big on Valentine's Day at my house. It's usually just like any other day around here. Yesterday, since we couldn't get up our driveway because of the ice storm we had on Saturday, I played in my Hidey Hole. The portable heater was plugged in, making the room nice and cozy. While this was going on outside.... (This is my only Valentine Decoration. The Be Kind sign stays out all of the time.) this was going on inside.... I usually web sew blocks together, but yesterday I just took my time and slowly sewed these blocks into rows. The sewing begins with the bottom row in my Hidey Hole because I'm short. This way I don't knock blocks onto the floor reaching for the top rows. I wasn't totally liking the gray sashing when I started, but it's growing on me. This will be a little like an I spy quilt with the different fun figures on some of the squares. Hopefully this will be a finish soon and will get quilted and ready to give to the new wee one. I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today. Happy Quilting!
I have always been a fan of M.C. Escher's work. It's fascinating to me to try and figure out his optical illusions and to see how he starts with one object and ends up with something completely different. His Geometries are even more intriguing to me. When I saw this pattern AND saw it made from Kaffe fabrics, it was a win/win for me. Cutting all of the pieces took some time. The fabrics had to be organized into light/medium/dark sets and then cut into strips. The strips were subcut into parallelogram shaped pieces. And the sewing began. And the ripping came shortly there after. After much sewing and not as much ripping (thank goodness!), the blocks are finished! Two different blocks were needed to complete the design... a left facing triangle and a right facing triangle. Once all of the triangles are made, the pattern gives very good directions on placing them in the right order so you end up with this! I could never design something like this, but I can follow directions! Blocks will be cut in half to fill in the top and bottom areas. These blocks aren't sewn into rows yet. It's going to be a slow process, too, to make sure they stay in the right order. This is one of the coolest patterns I've used. The link to the pattern has one made in black, white and red, too. I might have to make another one at some point, but need to finish this one first. Happy Quilting!
My self-imposed ban on blog reading and posting is over as Lent ends tonight. I was only posting finishes on my blog, since this is my way of keeping track of what I've done and, more importantly, when. I missed reading about everyone's quilting adventures, but it was good for me to stop for a bit. As with most of us, the mask making continues. In between making masks, I worked on this scrappy quilt using 2 1/2" squares. As those who follow me know, I do not enjoy making scrappy quilts and am not a huge fan of how they look, either. This quilt has been fun to make, though. I kind of used it as a leader/ender with the masks, but then just began sewing the blocks so it could move along. When cleaning my Hidey Hole, I found a bag of 2 1/2" squares I had cut several years ago. I dug into my hug bags of scraps and cut more, adding to the mix. Then the 16 patches were made. There are all kinds of fun things to find in this quilt... butterflies, crabs, fish, whales, flowers, basketballs, golf clubs and bags, snowmen, shells, the sun, etc. My favorite though is the fussy cut Snoopy in the photo above. :) At least two borders will be added; one of the cream and then another round of squares. I may add another round of cream after that, but we shall see. If I add another round of cream, I may use a scrappy binding. Needless to say, there are A LOT of 2 1/2" squares left. Maybe another scrappy quilt is in my future. ***Edit*** I have had several questions about the pattern for this quilt from No Reply Bloggers. I did not have a pattern for this quilt. The design just came to me as I went along making it. Now back to making masks! Happy Quilting! Be safe and be well.
This past week found me trekking through the countryside looking for dinosaur parts and I found them all! The blocks are finished and sewn into a quilt top. This was made using Elizabeth Hartman's pattern and fabrics all from my stash. I have never made a quilt like this and really enjoyed the process. It sure slowed me down, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I didn't have enough of one background fabric to make the entire quilt, so I used a different background for each dinosaur. The colors in the photos are off a bit, but I love all of the greens. After finishing the top, I've been pondering how to quilt it. I'm leaning toward using a diagonal grid or a straight grid, but we shall see. These guys are pretty cute... for dinosaurs. Hopefully this will be finished soon! Happy Quilting!
This past week found me trekking through the countryside looking for dinosaur parts and I found them all! The blocks are finished and sewn ...
Last year I started making blocks using some blue batiks and the Canyon Dance templates. A baby quilt was made from a little over half of the blocks, so I had a bunch left to use. A few more blocks were made and another baby quilt came from these blocks. This pattern is addictive! As soon as I finished quilting this, I have the urge to make another one. It's a good thing, too, as my daughter has asked for a queen size Canyon Dance for her guest bed. This one will be put away and wait for a baby to whom to gift it. Happy Quilting!
I started this quilt at the beginning of the year and then put the birds that I had made away. Some of the birds must have flown south for the winter and it has taken them this long to come back. :) All of the birds are together and sewn into a finished quilt top. Originally, I had made three bird blocks for the Queen Bee for the Gridsters and the pattern was free on Block Lotto. I can't find it there today, but it is on the Missouri Star website. Choosing the fabrics for these birds is so much fun. The more colorful, the better. I had the black and white swirls in my stash and love the pops of color with the cornerstones. They are all sewn together, so they won't fly away again! (It's a very dreary day here today, so the photos are a little dark.) Happy Quilting!
I never thought I would be posting about this quilt being finished so soon. There is a lot going on with my family and some very close frie...
Did I just type June????? Wow... almost half way through the year. We must be having fun, because Time is Flying! :) A few little projects can be found on my Design Wall today. The blocks for this scrappy Baby Quilt has been sewn together and it is waiting to be quilted. The bright colors and the Polka Dots make me smile. This quilt will be donated to my church's Baby Quilt project. From the scraps of this baby quilt I made some Frogs! (Three frogs were cut from the scraps) This little guy will have some button eyes, be filled with rice and used as a heating pad type thing. He will be able to be heated in the microwave and molded to any sore, aching part of the body. It's WONDERFUL!! Here is the pattern: And finally, I have two mini quilts made with the May Scrappy Challenge blocks. They are pin basted and ready to be quilted. The "word" fabric I found for the background is so much fun. I have more of these little blocks to sew together, too. Please visit Patchwork Times to see what others are creating. Happy June! Happy Quilting!!
A couple of weeks ago I cut a lot of the pieces for Canyon Dance, so if I have a few minutes, I can sew a block or two together. If you have never sewn curves before, this is the pattern with which to begin. It's so easy because nothing needs to meet or match. The pieces are sewn together in a certain order and then the block is trimmed to size. Easy Peasy. This is mindless sewing for me. Before I begin, I arrange the pieces in pleasing sets and stack them on a cookie sheet. Then I sit and sew while listening to my book. Thirty eight of 110 blocks are made. As I make more blocks, things are rearranged. There will be a lot of rearranging once all of the blocks are finished. Happy Quilting!
My kiddos have been loving directed drawing activities this year! This week we made these Lions inspired by this post from Kasey at Doodlebugs. We used chalk pastel to create the drawings on black A3
The co-worker of a friend asked me to make her ten Christmas pot holders. I decided they had better get made now or Christmas would come and go and they wouldn't be done. Out came my Christmas fabrics, batting, Insulbright and the sewing began. I had enough bits and pieces of Christmas fabrics that I didn't need to cut into yardage. There are 12 pot holders here... two are for my friend. Making these in an assembly line made them go together quickly. They are ready to deliver! Happy Quilting!
Quilters are such awesome people! So kind and generous... especially with their quilting talents. A group in New Zealand is collecting green heart blocks and are going to make quilts for the victims and families of those killed and injured in the mass shooting there. A woman here in the US is collecting hearts to send to them from quilters here. There is so much senseless tragedy in the world these days. It's nice to lose oneself in the creating of something that will, hopefully, bring a bit of peace and love to those who are suffering. These hearts and binding will be sent to be added to the quilts. It would be wonderful if something like this is never needed again. I have been working on the new quilt being made with Kaffe fabrics. This quilt is one that I have to pay attention to while I am working! Guess what this means! Yep...the blocks have to be taken apart. Even though I had written on the label what way the block is facing, I STILL made it incorrectly!! UGH!! This is my progress so far! I just love the pattern in this quilt. Hopefully I will not need the seam ripper again after using it on the stack of blocks above. These are my block sets, labeled and stacked. I have eight more sets to make and then I can begin putting the top together. Stay tuned! Happy Quilting!
When two of my favorite things come together, life is Wonderful! As those who follow me know, I love, love, love Kaffe Fassett fabrics. (...
