Crocus Flowers….a beautiful start to spring

By on 4-10-2011 in Original photos

crocus flowers

This spring’s crocus are breathtaking. Such a delicate purple with darker lines of deep colour.

crocus

I couldn’t choose which photo to post so I am posting all three. They look like they were painted onto fine china.

crocus

These yellow crocus glow with colour, reaching out for the sun’s rays. Stunning….I wish they could stay blooming for longer.

yellow crocus flowers

Again, I could not make a decision of which photo to post so I am posting both.

yellow crocus

April….Spring at last !!!!

By on 4-09-2011 in Original photos

Spring in the Ottawa Valley…..the crocus are ready to bloom. The purple crocus are so pretty this year. The variegated tones of purple stand out against the grey and brown of last autumn’s leaves.

purple buds

These yellow buds are a delicate shade, much like the new spring sun.

yellow buds

Our resident bunny has made an appearance as well. Here he is munching on his favourite salad. I wonder is he related to Peter, the storybook rabbit of our childhoods?

bunny

Valerie Hearder’s “Points of View “

By on 4-21-2010 in art quilts, Artists and Authors that I love

Valerie Hearder is a Canadian quilt artist who has written 2 books on landscape quilting. www.valeriehearder.com She travels to South Africa, purchases textiles made by the Grandmother-to-Grandmother Campaign, donating 15% of the proceeds to the campaign. Also see her blog:http://www.threadlink.typepad.com/

Points of View is Valerie’s latest book. Valerie starts at the beginning with tips on what types of fabrics you will want to use in your landscapes, equipment that eases your journey through your personal masterpieces and how to get started. She includes lessons in creating basic landscapes, how to put together each piece as well as adding techniques throughout each chapter. You will learn how to colour your own fabrics using transfer dyes, fabric crayons, oil paint sticks and coloured pencils. The lessons are all well documented, photographed and easy to understand. I suggest you read through the whole book before trying a creation of your own….you won’t want to miss a step or technique that will make your landscape quilt shine.

Christmas in April

By on 4-15-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

ornaments

The first time I saw these little ornaments in McCall’s Christmas Vol X magazine I loved them, but didn’t like the colours they chose at the time. No actual pattern was given. McCall’s instructions were to paste them onto cardboard and cut them out as ornaments. They would look great stitched in Christmas colours on a black or white background. You could also stitch them in one solid colour on a plain muslin backing as in Redwork. I have prepared a pattern page for you to use and posted the first four. The other six are included in a 514kb pdf file which you can download.

McCall’s Christmas Make It Ideas Volume X Cookie Cutter Ornaments

ornament pattern

ornaments

Easter Paper Dolls

By on 3-26-2010 in Paper Dolls

posey

Next week is April. March has been a great month, warm and sunny. I thought since Easter is April 4, I would post the Easter paper dolls early. Let me introduce you to Posey Piglette and Patches Puppy. They can hardly wait to hunt for what the Easter Bunny has hidden for them.

patches