For Love

Well, hello. I have not blogged for quite awhile but now that the holidays are somewhat behind us I have decided to check in again. I want to share something about the women in my family. We all seem to have a creative bent. My mother, Dorothy Jewell Bates Wareham had a talent for crochet. She never learned to use a pattern but that did not stop her. A mother with ten children she made sure each and everyone of her children owned an afghan made with her own hands. Her sister Verna Bates Sutterfield was an accomplished artist. Another sister, Vera Bates Epperson also had a talent. Aunt Vera made her girls wedding dresses. She was able to design these dresses herself.  Because of their wonderful examples I was able to explore my own options. I am the oldest of ten children and as soon as I was able I would go to the local dime store and choose a baby sacque or dress ready to embroider. Over the years I have dabbled in many crafts. Today I limit myself to embroidery, cross stitch and especially quilting.  My sister Kathy makes gorgeous wreaths. I will share one soon. My daughter, Kelly is continuing the tradition. She is a wonderful cook, she makes cheer bows for her daughter as well as the team, she has been the wardrobe mistress for several local productions, often making the costumes and she crochets.

The coaster above is designed to hold the cup below.

This is Fireside Coffee. Add three to four teaspoon sof mix to hot wate rand stir with a candy cane. Yumm.

 This darling pincushion was also made by my daughter. Lovely don't you think? She makes these to sell on her Etsy account which you can access by clicking on the pink cup cake on the left or the Etsy
emblem on the right.
 

Below is the snowflake pennants she also made for me. I love this as it added just the right touch to my holiday.

Above you see my almost finished snow flake cake. I found the original recipe in Southern Living magazine. My version is not as pretty I think but so good. A little time consuming but worth every moment. The snow flakes are made of fondant. They are painted with a small amount of vodka and then edible glitter finishes the look.

I wanted to write this post because I have a feeling that you might feel the way I do when someone sits down and sets out to make something just for me. It touches me in a way I will never forget. The work above is my daughters but I am one of the blessed when it comes to friends. and family.  I hang out with such talented women. You know what I bet you do too. Don't give up on me, I think I will become creative again soon. After all it snowed some today. That just might mean I will be stuck at home a little more with my quilt frame beckoning in the corner. I hope you will share your story of creativity with me and others who come to see if I am still around.  Warmly, Nadine

Halloween? I think not!

I live in an area where Halloween is king, queen and perhaps princess. I do love seeing the children in costume. They are so excited and are at the door for candy.  I always have more than enough.

However, I think that the wreath I made for my front door is perhaps not a Halloween wreath but  lends itself more to a more literary time. I made three of these,one for my sister and one for my daughter. My daughter, the English teacher has suggested that I look at this from that literary standpoint. Now I read a great deal of those novels a long time ago, William Faulkner, Edger Allan Poe, Nelson Algren, Asimov, Bradberry, Pearl S Buck, Stephan Crane, Emily Dickenson, Scott Fitzgerald, Nathanial Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway, John Irving, Barbara Kingsolver, Sinclair Lewis, Herman Melville, Toni Morrison, Eugene O' Neill, John Steinbeck, Harriet Beecher Stowe Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, Jane Austin, Harper Lee, and so many more.

Two standouts for me are Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner. These are scary guys. As a young reader I was attracted to that kind of writing as well as science fiction.  I remember reading "Pit and Pendulum" around fourteen. Poe wrote," Arousing from the most profound of slumbers,we break the gossamer web of some dream. yet in a second after wards, ( so frail may have that web have been) we remember not that we have dreamed." I was fascinated with that phrase most of my life. Of course the truth is the biggest impact of that story was always the beating heart!!!

As to William Faulkner my favorite of his, is "A Rose For Emily"  I still remember " Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition and a duty,  a care; a sort of a heredity and obligation upon the town"

As I look at what I have written I realize it is a kind of ramble but sometimes that is all I have to offer. I started to read when I was almost four, so technically when I was three. bet you are impressed. I continued reading almost everyday of my life. Sometimes it helps me survive the day, always it is a comfort and joy.

Be sure to read the green box. I have seen it happen. Good reading to you. I hope you you come by and tell me about your own journey.

Baltimore on the Prarie 2013

Having returned from Baltimore on the Prairie in Omaha Nebraska a few weeks ago I am still thinking and remembering my wonderful experience there. As an instructor I have the pleasure of sharing my joy in making quilts. Over the last few years I have concentrated mostly on Baltimore applique and and frankly any kind of applique. At BOTP, students can indulge themselves in lovely choices with something for everyone. I am pretty traditional with a world of wonderful quilts made in the past for inspiration.   My classes next year include the Bird in the Bush block nestled in the lower left corner above and is my main conference class. The one day offering is second in the top row. It is called "The Way We Were". A catchy title if I do say so myself, but the name serves a purpose. I grew up the oldest of ten children and at my mother's side. We washed on Monday, ironed on Tuesday and well you get the idea. That is the way we were. Today's reality is clearly different, but you can still re-create that time in this project. A little embroidery, a little applique. It gets no better.

Now I cannot speak for the other great instructors except to say they are all first rate. It keeps getting better and better. Nancy Kerns brings lovely applique to the table with her beautiful vase of flowers in the bottom row second block. Beautiful! In the top row third square is a gorgeous slightly contemporary spray of flowers. You need to see this one close up, it is breath taking.

Jeanne Sullivan is very popular at BOTP and with good reason. Her work is lovely and absolutely meticulous. She will take you through a variety of special techniques. her blocks appear on the top row, left and the bottom row right. Look closely at both. It will take your breath away.

Don't forget Rita Verroca.  Next year she will be offering two special classes using the Broiderie perse techniques as well as regular applique. Her classes are very popular and well received. her color sense is right on and her skills are wonderful. Her samples are shown in top row fourth block and bottom row third block.

Okay, now you know a little about next year and I really hope to see you there. Truth is the instructors often have more fun than the students and that is saying a lot. Come, spend a few days and i bet you will come back again and again!   Let me know what you think, what you would do and what you would like to see. Happy, happy stitching, Nadine





 

I have really talented friends

 

I am so lucky to have so many talented friends in my life. One of these is Jeanne Sullivan. She is an amazing quilt artist and has won the Northcott fabric challenge for a number of years. She has been working on her book for the last couple of years and it will soon be on the market for all to share. I am personally looking forward to working my way through the entire book and perhaps improving my own skills. Jeanne has an incredible and very tiny berry I am hoping to see in the book just to find out if I can recreate it. Okay I am also hoping to add to my own work with the skill sets I know are in this book. Now, at three o'clock this afternoon I waltzed over to   jeannesullivandesign.com and signed up for my own copy. Jeanne has wonderful sewing items for sale as well as applique items and more. I know this seems like a commercial but sometimes you just have to celebrate for a friend.  See you there

Just sharing

A Bird in the Hand

This was fun!

Freddy Lake

LibbyLu, Fast Forward 2012

l

 LibbyLu graduated from middle school a few weeks ago. There was a lot of talk among the girls about graduation dresses, dresses for graduation dance, and well you get the idea. She asked me if I would help her make her own dress for graduation. You can imagine how happy that made me. The last two years have made these kinds of activities difficult to pull off but here we were with a window. So, to pull it off we had to find a pattern, so a trip to JoAnns. I was pretty impressed with her choice of a classic dress. Now I didn't say we wouldn't shorten the skirt. I know the rules. Above she is holding the back of the dress together to humor me when I wanted to take a photo. Nice smile though.

The dress is finished but not the story so bare with me a little longer. LibbyLu has had a mind of her own for a very long time now so i made up my mind to be patient this time so we could both enjoy our project. However, I needn't have worried. She was willing to listen  to everything. So, my first suggestion was that she trace all the pattern parts she needed for her dress on vellum. You know how it is these days, a pattern is in multiple sizes and if you cut out your size it becomes somewhat impossible to easily cut out a different size. So she traced and cut out her size, As we went through the process, she stitched every seam except the one for the arm facing and she cut it perfectly so it fit without a single  problem. Towards the end I realized that I have not sewn for myself for years. So I turned to my daughter Kelly. She did the zipper. yay!  We are three generations on this project. It makes my heart sing. With all that said she looks proud and to her Mimi, adorable.  Another reminder, take time to sew with your children. You will not be sorry and they will take away memories to share with their own children. Thank you for coming by. I know I do not post often enough to hold your interest. Life gets in the way but believe me I miss you.