Art Journal EveryDay

So excited about this! Check out this link balzerdesigns.typepad.com and look for the info on the Art Journal Everyday project. Lots of interesting stuff to look at and learn. Hope you can join us.

Link Party at Tea Rose Home

Be sure to head on over to tearosehome.blogspot.com for the link party. Lots of great things to look at including mine! I am in row seven to the right. Enjoy!!!

Vintage Pincushion

I added a couple of pincushions to my etsy site
( fabricfriendtara.etsy.com) last evening. This is one that a made using part of a cream and sugar set. The creamer already sold so this is it! It is a USA sugar bowl and I took a vintage doily and made a pincushion out of it and attached it to the top. The pins I made from corsage pins-very fun and easy to make. The picture is one of many that I keep in my stash. It is hard for me to part with any white or off-white pottery. I love any of the McCoy,Hull,USA or other unmarked white stuff. Enjoy!

These three little baby shoes were also added last evening. Two are a matched pair and then one single leather one that is fastened with safety pins. All three have handmade pins and a vintage photo attached.

Bird Nest Spoons

Cute little bird nest spoons that I made for our 1st show. There are a few left and will be listed in the shop soon. Happy Holidays!

New Quilts

Here are a couple of new quilts that I just got back from the machine quilter.

This is a Filmstrip Quilt. I have not used this color scheme in a long time-I think it turned out pretty good.

This was a block of the month I made a few years back and just got around to the setting and quilting. Both soon to be in the etsy store.

Baby Shoe Pincushions

Here are some cute little baby shoes made into pincushions. Soon to be listed in my etsy shop-fabricfriend.etsy.com. They were really fun to make and turned out so cute.

Giveaway

Check out this blog for a great free giveaway!http://sweetmagnoliasfarm.blogspot.com

Sold Quilt

Well.I sold another quilt off my etsy site!!!!

Goodbye lovely quilt. You are going to a good home.

New Tutorial

I just added my first tutorial! It is an easy one and I hope the directions and pictures are clear. Let me know what you think. I will be adding the clothes peg and spool tutorial soon.

Happy Sunday

Well,another week gone and when you look at the calendar almost another year. I must be getting old but where does the time go?? This season is always a busy,sometimes stressful,one and it is important to remember to slow down and enjoy everyday. Sounds easy enough but in reality it is pretty hard. At least we should never give up trying.

New Blog Look

Well,isn't this a great looking blog!! Jill at Bittersweet Cottage Design did a fabulous job and was a joy to work with. I love it when people are willing to share their knowledge and expertise. I am not great with computer stuff and asked tons of questions and she was very patient with me. Thanks Jill.
I am busy getting info out on my pages so keep checking. I plan on doing some tutorials and will get one posted this weekend. Nothing fancy but a quick and easy project that anyone can make.

New Look

I am in the process of creating a new look for my blog-really I am paying a very talented artist to spruce it up a bit. I am so looking forward to working with her. We had a very nice conversation on the phone today.
Thanks to everyone who made it out to Crafty Chicks last Saturday. It was a long day but we did well considering this was our first show. If we do other show we need to figure out an easier way to haul and display everything. That was the hardest part. Some items that I thought would sell did not sell at all and things I was sure I would be taking home went out the very first sale. Go figure. It was a good learning experience and we meet some nice people. Well, here's to my new look!!

CRAFTY CHICKS

sure hope everyone can make it out to the crafty chicks show this year. i will have a table full of lovely things to buy and all are reasonable priced. it should be fun. my best friend cindy will be with me and we always have a good time. we will have a variety of different things and hope to see you there!

Rusty Rooster

happy thanksgiving to all! be sure to take a look at the rusty rooster blog. she has some AWESOME ideas and projects.

so i am busy,busy trying to get things completed for the crafty chicks show in november. as usually my mind is off in 100 different directions of what to make and how many etc.... i am trying to stay focused and stick to a list of things to take or i will make myself crazy or crazier than i already am!

love this shrine because it lights up!

so check out this blog i found out about today! petitemichellelouise.blogspot.com
way cute stuff and i love it all!

Fall

So,this is my most favorite time of the year. Cool days and even cooler nights. Just that little nip in the air that makes you thing that fall is really here. I harvested the pumpkins and gourds today. A few years ago we had a couple of pumpkins sitting on the steps and the first really hard frost hit and they started to rot. We let them. Eventually they got kicked into the flower bed by the front door and the next spring we had volunteer pumpkins. Every year since then we have grown our own pumpkins and this year gourds. The pumpkins yielded 5 and the gourds(green and white stripped)4 really large ones and 3 smaller ones. When I figure out the picture software on this new computer I will post some pictures.

Summer Time

I am trying to stay busy around here. My professional life is in a bit of turmoil. Hopefully that will be straightened out soon. In the mean time here are some pictures of what I have been working on. Check out my shop on etsy.

Lovely Alexander Henry Starlings fabric.

This pattern is from an old issue of Fons and Porter.

I love using bits of old stuff to create this little art quilts.

New Pictures

So here are a couple of pictures of a new listing on my etsy site. This is a small piece and I hope to have a couple more finished and listed soon.

Rainy Days

So it has been raining here for what seems like forever. I do have pictures to post of a couple of new things that I have finished and a couple in progress. I hope to post soon-like tomorrow!

SOLD

WOW!! I just sold a quilt!! One of the volleyball moms saw a quilt I was using at a tournament and said she really liked it and before I knew it offered to purchase it. I will post pictures but it is a pink/gray quilt that I made using the pattern from Oh,Fransson's site-ohfransson.com.It is the modern quilt pattern-she had a quilt along that I missed but I did make the quilt. In fact I have made two using the same pattern and I am not crazy about either one of them. I love the pink and gray fabric but do not like how it is machine quilted and do not like the rust fabric that I picked for the other one at all. Do not know what I was thinking.
I don't sell very much so when I do have a sale it is cause for celebration! It gives you that boost of confidence to keep creating.

Tooth Fairy Bag

I am listing these sweet little tooth fairy bags on my etsy site-fabricfriend. My BFF Cindy make these for a show we sere hoping to get into last fall. The show ran out of spaces so here they are. Not sure were the pattern came from or if she thought it all up on her own but they are CUTE!!!

They are hand-stitched and made of felt. The top has a small casing for the all natural cotton drawstring. The little tooth on the front is just big enough to hold a small tooth. The tooth fairy comes along,takes the tooth and leaves a little something extra behind. Great way to start a new tradition in your family or in the family of someone you love. Makes a great shower gift!
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I love the colors of these fabrics. The solids are Kona and the prints are Kate Spain.


These are the fabrics for the filmstrip quilt I started and made Friday. I did not use all the fabrics so I will need to make something else. I really love the mushroom looking trees. I will post pictures before to long

New Quilt

This is the quilt that I finished for my oldest niece for Christmas. Yes-I am ahead of the game but I have three to make so one down and two to go. this is a Chinese coin quilt and I will be shipping it off to have it machine quilted at Stover Quality Quilting.

Flea Market Finds

Here are a few pictures of goodies I found while I was out.

The red box has a place to put pencils-I'm pretty sure I am going to paint it white and the blue box looks like a wood shop project-also painting it white. The bird picture is for my May Day swap partner and I love Pyrex. the Saint Candle is a nice addition to my collection and a sewing basket with a built in thread holder!!!

Spring

Well the snow is gone and I think spring might be here. We had 5 inches of snow over the weekend-weird. Today it was 70 degrees,go figure. The kids at school are ready for spring break and so am I. I am planning on painting my office and working on something fun. I don't know what yet-but something fun. I have some pictures from the Mexican kitsch swap. Lovely goodies sent by my partner.

Yes-that is a St.Anthony shrine. Love it!!

Some more loveliness. My partner sent a skull box with a St.Anthony necklace and earrings,stickers,pins,a couple of shrines and a fabulous bag!

Day Light Saving Time

So it has been a volleyball weekend. On top of that it is day-light saving time weekend so goodbye to an hour of much needed sleep. I am still working on my Mexican Kitsch swap-I have changed my mind several times but I think I am finally decided on my "big" item. I will be posting pictures soon. Off to bed!

Mexican Kitsch Swap-Bunting

This is the bunting I came up with for my Mexican Kitsch Swap. I am almost finished with all my projects and hope to sent soon. I am still looking for a jacket to finish up the large project. Large projects need to be 10+ hours,mediums are 2+ and smalls are under 2. At least I think that is how it works. So I made a belt with Frida images on it,a pocket shrine and two buntings. Hope my partner likes everything.

New Name

I hope this does not confuse my followers-all three of them-but I changed the name of my blog to fabricfriend. My etsy site is also fabricfriend and that is what I will be using on my business cards and tags. So the address is fabricfriendtara.blogspot.com.
I am working on a making my site a little more eye catching-colors,banner etc...
Suggestions are welcome.

New Bunting

I am in a Mexican Kitsch swap on craftster.org-if you have not discovered craftster yet it is great. Lots of cool ideas and groups to join and swaps. You swap/trade stuff that you made with stuff other people made. This is the four swap I have been in and have had a great time with each one.
I am making a jacket,belt,wallet shrine and some bunting for my swap partner. This bunting looks kind of Day of the Deadish but I think it will be okay.

Added Etsy

Check this out!!! I figured out how to add my ETSY site to my blog. Okay-it took a little while to get it added but it worked!!

Almost Spring Cleaning

I have been on this major cleaning kick,must be all the time we had at home due to snow days,and spent some time cleaning and organizing my sewing drawer. Well,one drawer. Amazing what you can find that has nothing to do with sewing. Band-aids and an alcohol wipe. I think I put it there following an incident involving my finger and the sewing machine needle. Sounds worse that what it was. A few bobby pins. These are good for holding hems if you don't have those little hemming bird things-I do but since I reorganized I can't find them so I use the bobby pins. Q-tips,poker chips,a magnet and a fortune from a Chinese fortune cookie round out my findings. I'm sure I had a plan,I just forgot where I put it.
I'm going to be busy the next few days getting some things ready for my Mom to take around to a couple of shops. That was one of my goals this year along with this blog so I am hoping for good things. If anyone can convince people to carry my stuff it is my Mom. So I will be posting pictures of what I am sending. Come on St. Anthony!!!

Okay-so I am making myself keep my New Year's resolution. I am posting. I finished the scarf ad will have pic's up soon. My number one critic thinks it is to plain,needs more color. I'll think about it. I know I need to work on spacing and letter formation but that will come with time. I dyed some muslin yesterday-chartreuse. Yummy! Need to figure out what color thread will pop on it. Still looking up profound or sometimes profane things to write on the scarfs. So you make all this stuff and what do you do with it???? I have given some much away and I really wonder if people appreciate the time and work that goes into making these things.

Coffee Dyed Scarf

I am trying some thread work on coffee dyed muslin. Right now I am looking for a quote to stitch on the panel-something short but meaningful. This is a picture of the strips before I added stitching. It was a pain to press-I put them in the dryer to speed up the process and they wrinkled something awful. Hopefully, I can find a quote and get this done quickly.

Painted Canvas

So this is the new technique I was talking about using painted canvas and a copy of a black and white photo. I ripped the canvas apart and then sewed it back with exposed seams and loose threads. White paint was added and allowed to dry before a paint wash was applied. I think I used a little to much white-the wash does not cover the white paint but it worked. The photo I used is one of my Mom and it had to a copy done on a toner copier to allow it to stick to the paint. I attached it using a gel medium and while it was still wet added a paint wash.
The thread writing is what I am really excited about. It would have been easier to add before the photo but I did not think of the thread writing until after I saw the photo and wondered
what to add.

Back to School

It was really hard to go back to work today. I spent quite a few days cleaning and getting rid of stuff and had started working on some new projects. I have some canvas that I am trying out a new technique (at least for me) on and I am anxious to see how it will turn out.
This new box has a picture of my Great Aunt Stella in it and is not quite finished. I am still looking for just the right things for the little cubbyholes on either side.

Snow-Again

Yes-snow again! We have had no school the last three days and it looks like the powers that be may cancel Thursday and Friday. Wish we would have gone somewhere over the break-three weeks is a long time and would love to have traveled. Instead we have cleaned and organized and purged almost every closet in the house. We are working in the studio now. It does help to get the creative energy moving. I have a memory that is almost completed that I hope to be posting in the next couple of days as well as some new items on my etsy site. Stay warm!

This is one of my favorite memory boxes. I have added a door that opens and a drawer full of interesting stuff.
After the box is cut and covered with a base layer you can start to add paint and other vintage papers. I did not add much vintage paper-just the tape around the frame and a few other small pieces. There is a chicken bone at the very top-I love the look that the bones give-and I wired on a piece of twisted willow for the drawer handle.

This is one in a series of memory boxes that I have made and are available on my etsy site under fabricfriend. I have made several of these and find them fascinating. They are very light weight-made from foam core-and the pictures are sometimes of my family or old photos that I find at our local antique mall.

1/03/2010
So my first try at blogging. Lets see what happens.