Crooked Gulley Art Quilts

One of the really neat things about Bird Island is the "Kindred Spirit" mail box.  It's along the way as you walk towards the Little River jetty. The mail box is nestled in the dunes with a bench for resting, viewing, thinking, reading, reminiscing... You can find all kinds of notes, letters, journals, sketches in the mailbox itself. So here comes my big "Ah Ha" idea. I need to put the mailbox in the picture! Wow, that overwhelmed me. So, on the left you can see what the mailbox looks like for real. And, this is how I did it in the quilt.  Now... all you bright people out there, explain to me how I get the lettering on my mailbox! ??? All I can think is a very fine point fabric pen in a light gray.  Does that even exist? See, this is where I come across as the beginner, newbie, less than an amateur. I will not be daunted by this task. I'm searching on line right now to find my answer. I was a First Grade teacher. Put the pen in my hand and I can do the per

I've started a new project. This is another thank you gift for dear friends. They visit us each year from Northern California (the best part of the state!) and come to enjoy the beach, ocean, and golf.... well, Mike enjoys the golf but Elizabeth comes to sew with me. Anyway, they love Sunset Beach so I thought a seascape would be a fine idea. Here's the beginning... Rather than using my usual method of fusing the layers, I decided to try anchoring them with a regular, good old glue stick. I wanted to see if the fabric would look softer without the Wonder Under. I carefully basted the layers with invisible thread as I anchored the whole thing onto a muslin backing. It all seemed to work fine. The glue stick gave me no trouble at all. Next I wanted to add a frame around the edge... So, I began to research how to do mitered corners. I consulted a new book I've just purchased The Art of Landscape Quilting  by Nancy Zieman and Natalie Sewell. Page 136 had a great tutorial on

Well, I  had fun quilting and making these two "Ittiy Bitty Bags" , a pattern by Karen West at Thimble Pleasures Quilt Store in Chapel Hill, NC. This little bag is so fabulous. I've made six now for friends. They are light weight and slip easily over your shoulder. You won't believe how much I can carry in mine... checkbook, wallet, sunglasses, address book, cell phone in the cute crazy quilt holder (I'll blog about that another day), camera, and junk like my golf score card that I need to record (boy it was hot on the course today), and a Little Duffle Bag (that holds lipstick, business cards, pill box, etc, and is also a Karen West Pattern). So who do I make these for??? These sweet ladies are each getting an Itty Bitty Bag for their birthdays this year. Last year I made each of them a Crazy Quilt cell phone holder. We luncheon together each month one of has a birthday. They also happen to be my golfing buddies. I choose coordinating fabrics with colors th