Treasures by Louise

I just won a blog giveaway of a Journal and Freezer Paper! Now if you are a beader and not a quilter, that second item will not make much sense! But freezer paper is a handy tool for creating applique and stenciling, and perhaps other things you do to make marks on cloth. Printing or dyeing your own cloth is a wonderful way to make your quilts ART and beyond what you can purchase. I have some wonderful marbled and dyed fabric in my stash... but that is another story for another post. If you can, check out the blog of Julie B Booth,  http://www.threadbornblog before February 14th. She's the author of a new book entitled: Fabric Printing at Home.!!! This book will have you pulling the whole produce drawer from the fridge and starting to print on fabric. Be sure to follow the links on the book tour for about 15 chances to win this book. You'll be inspired and intrigued. I know I want to find out what else I can do with my freezer paper! 

While at the Library, I was looking for bead related books, to see if there was something new. I was thinking seed beads: off-loom bead-weaving or bead embroidery. I wanted to learn more about doing a picot edge for a bracelet that I started. (It won't need that picot edge for a while, but I was anticipating the challenge!) I found my tutorial on beaded picot edge in a wonderful book about beaded quilts. Wow! Two of my great passions together in one book, and what quilts they were, too! Whether you are a beader or a quilter, you will LOVE looking at this book.  My first passion, and the cause of my overflowing fabric stash was quilting, or collecting quilt fabrics, if you will. ;) While I have set aside making quilts in the last few years, I still have a love and appreciation of fabric, bed quilts, art quilts, and all things mixed-media. So I highly recommend this book for both the tutorials on bead embroidery and the beautiful quilts pictured inside. Here is a link to Amaz...

Welcome to my Blog. (Mom!) With a New Year upon us, I should dedicate some time to cleaning out the mess that the basement has become. I should stop buying craft supplies, especially if I already have them some where in the dungeon (!). Better yet, make beautiful and creative things with what I have on hand. I so admire the artists of collage and assemblage who create beautiful art with 'found objects'. I have begun some little wall quilts to test out my newly restored sewing machine and I look forward to posting photos soon. Meanwhile, I will add a link to an Etsy artist who makes tote bags using recycled vintage fabric: Recycled Canvas Carryall