Winners! And Hot Beverages for Christmas...

The time has come, and the drum roll has sounded. Four names were drawn for the prizes shown in the last two posts on this blog. Thanks for all of your comments, and for taking part. I drew the names for prizes in the order they were mentioned and shown in the posts. So here are the winners: 1) Vintage Christmas booklet- Cindy from Crimson Heart Studios; 2) Christmas journal- Malinda of Adornments; 3) Somerset Studio Gallery magazine- Donna Parker of Donna Did It; and 4) Christmas from the Heart book- Marilyn. So congratulations, and Merry Christmas! I've e-mailed each of you, but if you don't receive my message for some reason, please contact me.

I had small, same-size pieces left after trimming paper to make these Christmas matchbook-gift holders for my friends at the weekly Citra Crafty Quilters. Your names went on those paper slips for the drawing. Each of the matchbook-style holders has a packet of either cocoa or apple cider drink tied inside. Of course they were perfect for featuring more of my favorite vintage images from the Dover Clip Art CD. Malinda, who won the Christmas journal, is the one who shared the link for making these. The holders make simple, affordable gifts. And they are fairly quick to make. If you like them, check out the video at Eclectic Art Studio. One tip, when you go to thread the ribbon through the small punched holes, try using a floss threader. It makes the job very easy.

The remaining names are still in the quilty bag just in case I'm unable to contact any of the winners. I won the bag, which was nice and roomy for tossing and mixing up the names, on Kathy York's blog when she introduced her Urban Landscapes fabric line. Her article for making the drawstring bags appeared in Quilting Arts Gifts 2010 issue.

Is there no end to the fun we have with fabric and paper?? No! The answer is no. And I'll be back soon to share more with you.

More Prizes, More Christmas Joy...

Time to add more prizes to the mix. In addition to the little vintage booklet shown in Sunday's post, I'm also adding one of the Christmas journals shown above. The giveaway journal is the red cover one. Both are made using the methods in Mary Ann Moss' Remains of the Day online class. However, both journals are a smaller version- they measure about 5" x 7", closed. The red journal has one signature made from 9 folded pages inside, so that yields 36 actual pages on which to write or add photos and memorabilia. And if you like making journals yourself, there is room to add another signature of your own creation. Some of the inside pages from the red book are shown below.

These journals are so much fun to make. They provide a home for all the bits and pieces of paper, images, embellishments, and whatnots I can't bear to part with, but never knew what use to make of them! Take for instance the kitty in the Christmas stocking above. So cute, she can't be tossed. And the angel tag I received in a swap with another paper afficionado... it found a comfy spot in the pocket stitched from a Panera Bread gift card holder.

The inside pages are in no particular order. In fact this pretty church image, above, is the last page of the red book. It reminds me of a small New England village at Christmastime.

Remember, there are two chances to win one of the prizes: 1) just leave a comment on this post, and I'll write your name on a slip of paper to be placed in a bowl for drawing. And 2) go back to visit the Sunday post and leave a comment there telling me your favorite of the little books. Be sure I'm able to contact you easily through your own blog, or provide an e-mail address in your comment so I can let you know if your name is drawn. A couple of people mentioned that they had trouble leaving a comment, so alternatively, you can click on my profile in the sidebar (where it says "More About Quiltnan" and "view my complete profile"), and it will show my e-mail address. Just e-mail your comment to me and I'll add your name. I'll draw four winners and announce them on Wednesday, next week.

These Christmas tags are an insert from an old 1980s-era Women's Day magazine. I noticed a lot of cigarette ads aimed at women when going through the old issues. I'd forgotten about those ads that made smoking seem so glamorous and womanly.

This image is from a advertising flyer and is faced by a security envelope page.

The centerfold- it's also from that 1980s magazine. Imagine if this image had gone to the landfill! It needed to be preserved, don't you think?

Even Lulu the cat found her way into the journal. Her photo was attached to a swap packet of journal items I recieved from the Remains of the Day Yahoo group. Lulu had chewed the corner of the packet and sent her note of apology with her photo. Isn't she pretty?

This is the back view of the journals. Some crazy piecing, braided ribbon and fabrics for the tie, ball fringe... anything goes when sewing these journal covers! And look below for a current magazine and a Christmas book I'll give away, as well.

I love all of the Stampington & Company publications. This Somerset Studio Gallery is the current winter 2012 issue. It's packed with mixed media projects and ideas. Pleasurable reading.

Here is this year's Christmas From the Heart book from Better Homes & Gardens. It's full of fun projects and tasty-looking recipes. I'd love for you to have one of these prizes.. just leave a comment. Merry Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Past...

Since I'm such a big fan of vintage images, it's only natural that I'd sign up for Mary Green's "Christmas Gluebook" online class. Mary supplied the expertise, the instructions, and many of the images used to make these nostalgic little booklets. Other images came from a Dover clipart CD titled "Christmas Illustrations", which I was able to print out on matte photo paper. Wielding a pair of sharp scissors, a glue stick, and some ribbon along with the images and watercolor paper, these collage-style books were the happy result! Apparently I had not gotten my fill of paper dolls and other such crafts in my youth because I found this project to be endlessly absorbing and fun. The Blue Book below is the first one I created in Mary's class. I couldn't stop at just one!

The cover for the Red Book is shown above, and the inside pages and back cover follow. Doesn't that sweet little girl look pensive as she writes her letter to Santa? The reason I'm showing most of the images of all three books here is because I'd like to share one of them with one of you. I'm grateful to those of you who read and/or follow this blog and for the comments you add. It's very encouraging. I'm coming up on a two-year anniversary of the blog, and thought now would be a good time to hold a giveaway to express my thanks.

There will be four prizes (one of them will be a booklet shown here), and here's how you get two chances to win:

1) First Chance: Leave a comment on this blog post telling me which of the booklets or images is your favorite.. Red Book, Green Book, or Blue Book. Make sure your e-mail is one I can easily find, or add it to your post to ensure that I can contact you for your mailing address you if you win. All of the names of those who comment on this post will be written on slips of paper and placed in a bowl for the drawing.

2) Second Chance: Stop back later this week (starting on Thursday) to see the rest of the giveaway prizes, and leave a comment on that post as well. I'll add all the names from that post to those already in the bowl, and draw winners the following week. (I will mail your prize internationally).That's it... so simple. Tell your friends, and invite them to visit so they can leave a comment and enter, too. And we'll all have a Merry Christmas!

Center pages, Red Book

Pages 6-7, Red Book

Back cover, Red Book

Cover, Green Book

Pages 2-3, Green Book

Center pages, Green Book

Pages 6-7, Green Book

Back cover, Green Book

Cover, Blue Book

Pages 2-3, Blue Book

Pages 6-7, Blue Book

Back cover, Blue Book

Wool Quilts from Tailor Scraps...

At last I'm happily back to blogging after my computer nose dive. It was nearly lost for good, but thankfully the Staples tech magician was able to recover and restore much of what was needed. I did lose quite a few photos and videos, but most of the important stuff is still available to me. Even though I thought I'd backed up all files on the little "passport" device, the photos were gone. I apparently know just enough about computers to create problems, but not enough to solve them! However, I'm moving along the learning curve as I've had to reinstall some things and it's been successful. 

In the interim, I was able to visit blogs and I found this wonderful post on Jean Carlton's Quiltsetcetera. Visit her if you get a chance. She shows a variety of wool quilts- new ones and vintage examples. Just stunning. It reminded me that I'd made these wool quilts several years back, using scraps given to me by a New York tailor shop.

The one shown above is a Crazy Quilt with lots of embroidery stitches. I tend to fall back on a few of the same stitches. Notice how I changed the color of the floss to fool the viewer into thinking less is more! heh, heh, heh. But I did even manage some bullion roses.

Then I used more of the textured scraps in this Brick-style quilt shown below. It's jazzed up with some graphic shapes cut from the small pile of red wool scraps. And I stuck with a standard herringbone stitch for the seams on this one. Small projects were my choice for this because I find working with wool can be tricky (it can get baggy, to say nothing of moth-eaten) and large wool quilts are bulky and heavy. Plus the scrap supply was limited. But they were fun projects to work on.

So I'm glad to be back, and I'm still adjusting to the way things work differently now (like Blogger's layout). But I'll be back in December with a little giveaway for Christmas. I appreciate all of you who read and enjoy this blog, and this will be my way of saying many thanks. Oh hey... December is tomorrow! I better get working on the giveaway prizes. More to come! See you real soon.

Black Friday Blues...

My computer is in sick bay once again. So when I get it back, I'll celebrate and express my thanks to those who visit this blog with a Christmas giveaway. How's that? Hope it's soon.

The Girls of Christmas...

These five lovelies now reside on a mixed-media Christmas banner I made as part of an online class at Roses on My Table. The images are from a Dover CD titled "Christmas Illustrations." The pennant shapes, a chipboard product, went through several stages and processes before being joined together in the large display piece you can see below. I think the happy girl in the image above is my favorite one of the five. I'm such a fan of vintage images, and she somehow reminds me of old Coca Cola ads. I call her Merry.

After covering the triangles on both sides with patterned paper, we then added grommets along with collage elements like text papers, rub-ons, sheet music, and stamped images.

Next came some dry-brushed paints, stenciled paste, edge gilding, and embellishments of jewels and silk flowers. And finally, the completed pennants were strung together with ribbon. I'm not sure just where these will be displayed, but they'll probably grace our Citra sewing group's Christmas party... just to keep us company. The others need names, too. The one at above, left looks like Noelle might be a good choice for her. And possibly Ethel Ann on the right. These were great fun to make, and I've got enough triangles to make some for another holiday. I'm thinking Valentine's Day might be a good choice.

PS- Speaking of names, "Cosmic Confluence", "Ring Toss", and "Magician's Rings" were three excellent suggestions for the challenge quilt shown in the previous post. I haven't settled on one yet, but it will be one of these. Thanks for the creative quilt names!

Quilt Challenge Revealed...

Here's my entry. I call it "The Quilt That Invented Itself". With only a fat quarter of the retro-floral-print challenge fabric to work with (we could have purchased more, and limited to the addition of pink, orange, black and white, this quilt just about did call the shots. I also wanted to primarily use fabrics on hand, so the black pin-dot was the lone purchase for this quilt. Can you suggest an appropriate name for this wacky lap-size quilt?

Here is the back. And a detail shot of the curly quilting in the rings. I combined free-motion quilting with colorful ties of embroidery floss to secure the layers.

Peggy's Heirlooms of Tomorrow, one of our local quilt shops, graciously hostessed our challenge tea. You can see the pretty table arrangement in the photo below, along with a wall full of more challenge quilts. There were more than 25 participants in this challenge. A record number, despite our little bit of whining about the challenge print!

Just look at the variety of techniques, methods, ideas everyone used! No wonder quilters love a challenge. The assortment of quilts seen together is quite exciting. You can just get a glimpse of Carol's "Viewer's Choice" winner... it's the Log Cabin and Butterfly quilt at the lower left of the photo below. It's king size and gorgeous. Mine is peeking out right next to hers.

Below on the right is Kay's winning quilt done in Seminole-style piecing and heavily embelllished. The entry on the left is all pieced over paper shapes as in English Paper Piecing.

And this one at right is Dot's "Crossing the Rio Grande" quilt.

Eddie made a quilt using design units from "Beyond the Block" (AQS Publishing), and Sharon made hers into a row-by-row quilt. So there you have it... the Country Road Quilters fall challenge. We're on to our next one now. It's Stars. I'm going to try and plan it rather than allow it to invent itself this time. But then again... maybe not.