Alice, Tommy and the Dinosaurs

By on 9-25-2010 in Paper Dolls, Places to See

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Alice and Tommy visited the Museum of nature in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They had so much fun learning about these ancient animals and were amazed how huge some of them were. You can visit the museum by clicking on this link Museum of Nature. When they went to bed that night they snuggled up in their pajamas and dreamed of dinosaurs. On the first day of school they told everybody about their wonderful visit. If you would like to colour the cute little dinosaur, you can find it here: preschoollearningonline

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Introducing Alice and Tommy, Canadian Paper Rag Dolls

By on 8-31-2010 in Paper Dolls, Places to See

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Here are two new paperdolls. I have always loved Raggedy Anne and Andy, but I thought Canada needed their own rag dolls. Meet Alice and Tommy. August was a great month for them. They went swimming in the pool…..always when a lifeguard was on duty. Never swim alone without a buddy and a lifeguard to keep you safe. The rag dolls also visited the horse exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. This is a great exhibit and it is here until January 2, 2011. Click Horse Exhibit to visit the story of horses. After January 2011 this link will not work, but you can visit the museum by clicking: Canadian Museum of Civilization

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July is Day Lily Month

By on 7-23-2010 in art quilts, Fabric Postcards, Original Pattern, Original photos

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Day Lilies are my favourite wild flower. They grow everywhere, lending their bright orange colour to even the dullest days. I don’t have to water or feed or weed them. These two photos are from the plants growing beside the driveway. They make my heart sing every time I look out the window during the month of July.

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I couldn’t leave this astounding image alone. Here is a pattern for the day lily. This flower would look great on a postcard. I created it in the Quilt Assistant software which can be found by clicking the link: www.cosman.nl/software_en in my “sites I love” column on the right side. I use Quilt Assistant software often, setting up a library of images that I can use when I feel the creative urge. It works well, is easy to use and best of all it is free.

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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.