February Star of the Month

This month, I am starting something new. I will be highlighting two quilters a month instead of just one. This will double the number of bloggers that I can highlight in a year's time. For the first part of this month, my Star of the Month is Millie Kriel. Millie is a very talented, sweet lady, who makes her own quilts, but who also is a long arm quilter. She is truly multi-talented. I wanted to take this opportunity to also congratulate her for becoming an American citizen in January, and I am truly so happy for her.

Here is some of Millie's wonderful quilts, so enjoy the eye candy first, and then have a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy reading her lovely interview.

Here is her Interview:

A bit about me:
I was born and raised in South Africa. We became citizens of the U.S. on January 18th this year. I have three wonderful kids and an adorable husband. I'll attach a pic of me and my eldest daughter at the ceremony (my hubby took it). I worked as a social worker in South Africa but now I'm a longarm machine quilter which I enjoy a lot more.

What inspires me:
This one's a toughie. Quilting has always come naturally to me. I was constantly surrounded by it and just fell in love. As far as inspiration goes, I can say that it's pretty scattered... It comes from some blogs, some books, sometimes my customers inspire me. It could really come from anything. I also am inspired by visiting the Stash Manicure Blog.

What I love to do the most creatively:
I've never really like following quilting patterns. As a result, scrappy quilts were always my favorites. I love to look at old antique quilts and put a unique, modern twist to it. Simple, easy quilts fit in to my lifestyle so well.

My favorite fabric and designer:
I'd hate to cheat you out of an answer but to be honest I don't have favorites. I've been on a stash diet for a while and I haven't bought any new fabrics recently.

UFO I intend to finish first:
I have such a long list of UFO's but for now I am finishing my Postage Stamp quilt.

What's on the design wall now:
I don't have a design wall, but I do have a design floor! I'm just finishing UFO's so nothing new.

Who would I love to meet:
Whenever I stop to eat lunch I normally turn on the TV and go straight to soaps. Erica Kane from All My Children is one of my favorite characters so I would love to meet the actress who plays her. She's not completely role model material for me because she's had nearly 7 husbands but I enjoy watching her and the pretty clothes they pick out for her.

If I had one wish:
My one wish would be that all the little children in Africa get fed, clothed, medical treatment, and an education. (I guess my social worker side is coming out).

Plans for the future:
For quite a while now I've been looking into designing my own patterns and making kits to sell. I'm even trying to purchase an EQ7.

Thank you Millie. I love your wish for the children of Africa. I would love to also see hunger eradicated in the near future. As to EQ7, I just ordered it, so if you get it, we can compare notes and get through it a bit together. Thanks for taking the time to share about yourself. As I wrote you before, that pic of both of you was so sweet . It is amazing how much the two of you look a like...both real beauties!

One World , One Heart : This Contest is Closed!!!!!!!

Please go my home page and see the winner!

One World, One Heart is starting again, and I will be participating in the blog tours and having a giveaway in honor of this wonderful event. I am so happy that it is starting , and it will be running till February 17, 2011, as you can see by the wonderful logo presented by Lisa, who is hosting the event.

I so enjoyed it last year, and especially loved meeting new people. I always think of riding a magic carpet when I think of this event.... Sitting on the carpet and travelling magically to all of the participating blogs and being whisked into their worlds. It is a wonderful way to meet people from all over the world, even though you might not ever see them personally or visit their wonderful countries. Well, it is time again for another tour, and I am so excited!

I wanted to tell you about myself a bit...I love to quilt, do watercolors, make art journals, and do scrap books. I am inspired by nature and always by the wonderful bloggers that I have gotten to know. That is why I love this event...it gives me such inspiration when I visit all of the blogs.

My giveaway will involve 3 prizes for the lucky winner:

1. A book called Luminous Landscapes by Gloria Loughman, which is truly inspiring. You will love creating the landscapes, but I loved the sections on using various stitching techniques to achieve thread painting with your machine.

2. I went to one of our local craft

stores and bought this adorable sheep who has a shamrock on him and is wearing the cutest scarf....I just love sheep.

3. I am including Butlers Mint Truffle chocolate, which is

incredibly tasty and made here in Ireland....yes, it is called Butler, but I don't love it for that reason....It is just yummy!

All you have to do is leave a comment below, and please do so only in this post.

Then on the 17th of February,2011 at noon Ireland time, I will draw a winner using a random generator. I will mail the prize to any place in the world, so it is open to anyone. The winner will be notified by email.

Please do join in ,and visit all of the participating blogs listed at the Whimsical Bohemian Blog and join in the fun. It should be a blast! Thanks to Lisa so much for hosting it! Enjoy the whole event!!!!!

Attention All Avid Book Readers

The editor of Book Drum Tournament wrote me. I am glad that he was able to see that I was an avid reader and introduced me to the site. The site comprises of over 100 Book Drum Contributors who have created profiles of their favorite books. Currently, they have a competition for those people who create the profiles, and there are some really good monetary prizes. I enjoyed reading some of the profiles yesterday, and I will be writing one of my own over the next few days. As I was an English teacher from 1972-1997, this is right up my alley. I have always had a great love of books.I have so many favorite authors like Terri Pratchett, James Patterson, and tons of others. I have classic books that I have read that I adore like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. There are just too many to list. I know that I loved teaching literature, and I was always thrilled to spark the enthusiasm in my students for reading. I even got them to love Shakespeare, which is not an easy feat.

Thought you might like to know. I know there are a lot of avid book readers among the bloggers, and some of you have even bought a Kindle to make it even more convenient to read.

If you are interested, become a contributor . It looks like fun to me!

African Quilt Top Completed

I finally finished the African quilt top. I just have to now add the batting and backing, machine quilt it and complete the binding, but I did want you to see it. Joe stood on a chair and then stood on top the dresser to catch the whole wall hanging. The two borders that I used are the gold African fabric and then the darker pattern with yellow and black fabric. Don't count the purple that you see...it is only part of the bedspread. The circles and background has a bit more black in the Fairy Frost, but that is the best that Joe could catch it, as the flash went off. I am really so happy about it.

As to putting it together, it is not easy. I laid out the individual blocks and put them in the color pattern that I wanted. I had to pick them up the row in the order that I would have to sew it and I put sticky notes to mark the numbers of the rows. Then I sewed the blocks into rows and finally sewed the rows together. There are a lot of matching seams that you have to worry about to get the pattern just right, so this is definitely not a quilt for a beginner. I did enjoy making it so much! I will have to order the backing fabric and batting and will do that when I order the batiks for the two zebra pillows I am making. That is my next project....two 30x30 inch pillows where I will applique two zebras against a gorgeous African background.

I am making an African quilt once I finish the pillows, but it will be an elephant appliqued scene in the centre of the quilt, and then a colour wash effect for the rest of the quilt that I will create with the tons of four inch half square blocks that I will cut out with my AccuQuilt GO. I decided that I would make a different quilt to go with the African theme rather than a larger quilt made from the Drunkard pattern. I think the whole ensemble will be pretty.

Off to get dinner on the table. Joe is having a cottage pie that I made for him and I am having vegetarian.

Drunkard Path Tutorial

Hi all! I am doing the Drunkard Path tutorial as promised. I hope that it helps those people who have hesitated to do curves, and also gives everyone else some helpful hints.

1. Step One: Pair up, in this case the African print curve with the Fai

ry Frost concave.Fold each pair in half and finger crease to mark the centre of the curve. As you

can see, I have folded each part of the

Drunkard Path pair.

2.Now, you are ready for Step Two: With sides together, and with the larger concave piece on

the bottom, place three pins in the pair. How you pin

the pair is most important, so please take notice where I am putting the pins. Do it in the sequence that I present

a. Pin One: Place the first pin in the middle ...this is where the folding part is important as you have

the crease to show you where the middle of each pair is.

b. Then put the second pin on the left hand side and pin it vertically as shown and

lining up the sides. this will assure that the side is straight.

c. Then put the third pin at the centre of the two you just pinned, and you will be easing it in a bit.

You then do the same with the right side, and you have the

whole thing pinned perfectly.

Step 3:then sew the seam all the way around with a quarter inch seam allowance, and it will turn out perfect..

Step 4: Ironing the block: You want to iron the front of the unit you just sewed and then iron the back of the unit with the seam toward the centre. The block will now measure 7"x7".

When you sew four of the units together, you have a 14 inch block.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial! It really is easy doing curves once you use these tips and practice a bit.

I will have my African wall hanging top done this weekend, so I will post a pic.

Enjoy your weekends!

Two Swaps, Meow Part 2, and My African Wall hanging

I am still working on my Drunkard Path blocks. The reason it took me hours to cut out is I wanted to make sure that I did them just right. You need them accurate. I have gotten some emails about how some people can't do curves. I will prepare a little tutorial, as I learned tips that make it easy to do curves and have them turn out really nice. One blogger told me she had the GO die( which I will have soon) and hasn't used it as she is afraid of curves. Stay tuned for that tutorial.

Ok, I joined two swaps and that is it for me this year.LOL One is the Sisterhood of the Triangles Exchange that I joined at

The Quilt Show. This was started by the author and quilter named Edyta Sitar, who is also joining in on the swap. We will be using her 2 inch triangle paper to make a minimum of 28 half square triangles, but I am going to

try to make a lot of them, so I can get a quilt out of this. So, if I turn in let's say 150 of them, I get that amount back. As the half square triangles will be all various fabrics, I will get a very scrappy quilt, as I will be getting various fabrics from all over the world. I am excited! I will get her book at that time and make a scrappy quilt. I have included a pic of Edyta..she is an amazingly talented woman.

The other swap I am involved in is a doll quilt swap being hosted by Once Upon a Quilt Blog. We are going to be making a miniature quilt that we are exchanging with a partner. I have a paper pieced miniature in mind to make. We can give a sneak peak, which I will do soon, but we can't show the whole quilt, until the partners get the mini quilts...By the way, my partner is Debra Anger, a lovely lady whose blog is

Patchwork Sanity. I will be using the book

Paper Pieced Mini Quilts.

So, in the midst of the African project, working on the Rose of Sharon quilt bit by bit, I will be making lots of triangles and a miniature quilt. That will keep me husy.

Now, as for the kitten....I was talking to Joe about which cat I wanted

to get...you remember that it was between the Birman and the Snoeshoe. Well, someone wrote me about her Devon Rex, and I mentioned it to Joe and he saw a pic of it....Well, he fell in love with it lock,stock, and barrel.

Here is a pic of the cat.....It looks like Yoda from Star Wars, but it is supposed to be super intelligent, very friendly and personable, and acts like a monkey. Joe is hooked, so we are getting that one. There are breeders in England, as the cat is from Devon originally, but I have to find a breeder in Ireland. Someone in England gave me a woman in Ireland, who may help me.

As you can see, it is cute in a strange way, and it comes in various colours, has big ears and eyes like Yoda, very short curly hair. Joe just fell in love, and upon reading about the Devon, I am hooked too. I just hope we can find a breeder in Ireland.

Yeah the Fairy Frost Arrived and Meow!

My Michael Miller Fairy Frost finally arrived. I was ecstatic to say the least. Now, I could start my African quilt. I had worked on the design in EQ6 and I was finally starting. I don't have the Drunkard Path Die for the GO yet. I told Kelly from IHAN that I was getting it for the matching quilt that I will be making, but right now, I have to order tons of things from IHAN for my Rose of Sharon quilt, plus batik fabrics that I will be getting from The Fat Quarter Shop for the zebra pillows, so that will be enough money to spend. Thus, I used templates. Needless to say, it took me loads of time. I have been spoiled by the AccuQuilt GO, so it wasn't easy, but I finished cutting it all. Joe took a pic, but it wasn't easy to catch all of the various types of African fabrics that I used. Also,the Fairy Frost is a darker black with that silver pattern, but the black did not show through...Don't ask me why, but it could have been the flash...LOL
Now the fun begins...I begin to sew the Drunkard Path blocks. The block will measure 7 and a half inches x7 and half inches and each 4-block unit will form a circle. When it finishes, you will see the surprise in the quilt...I won't say what...but it will be based on the colors that I am using.

Got your curiosity going?

The quilt will be 53x53, and will be used as a wall hanging over our bed.

Let me tell you this... after the cutting that I did today, I will appreciate the GO even more when Kelly sends me the die in February. I can't imagine doing what I did today for the

larger African quilt that will match the wall hanging...no way Jose!

Before I do the quilt, I will be doing the zebra pillows, so I have lots to do before this ensemble for our bedroom is finished.

Stay tuned later this week for the completed top...You will love this one.

Oh, I convinced Joe to let me get a kitten. It is between a Birman or a Snowshoe. Tell me which one you like. They both have white boots, but the Birman has longer hair.( He's the one on the right.)I am leaning towards the Birman. Joe doesn't like cats, but I told him that once he sees either of these, he will fall in love. Anyway, he said, "Yes."

A Watercolor, Wonderful Fabric and the Latest News

I am thoroughly enjoying doing my watercolor journal. I love doing portraits,and probably enjoy doing them more than landscapes. I think that it is because I have always been amazed by faces. Having taken one of my Master's Degrees in Clinical Psychology, I love to be able to see into the person's eyes and see the wealth of information. It is not easy catching the expression in painting, and of course you have to get the features just right.This Indian that I did the watercolor on has an incredibly expressive face, doesn't he? That is what I remember the most...all the wonderful faces of the Indians that I taught and got to know.

A parcel arrived in the mail....Yeah! I finally got the African fabric that I ordered. Isn't it just incredible? I will be making my African quilt that I planned in EQ6. I am so excited about it. Wait till you see it...it is going to be so pretty!

I also ordered black Michael Miller fairy frost fabric to coordinate with the African fabrics. If you know Fairy Frost is very textured and beautiful. Kimberly from Fat Quarter Shop sent it out chic choc, as she always does, and I expect that to arrive early this week Anyways, you have a pic to see what it looks like. I love Fairy Frost!

When the Fairy Frost arrives, I will be able to begin the wall hanging.The pattern is based on a Drunkard Path pattern, but the color choices are important in this design, and I think the African fabrics combined with the black will be wonderful. I have it all laid out in EQ6, and it is going to be gorgeous.Of course, I will be using the AccuQuilt Go to help me cut all of this out.

This is a pic of the pattern that I will be making for two large zebra pillows.It also arrived in the mail. I just fell in love with it. Joe wants two big pillows on our bed for when we watch movies in bed. I do plan on making a quilt to go with the wall hanging and pillows. Joe with a big smile on his face, said that our bedroom is going to remind him of an African safari. It's going to be exotic for sure. I am ordering some batiks for the African landscape, and I found a place that had zebra fabric....The pillows will be 26"x26".

Guess what came in the mail? Our

E Machine 350 that Joe won. It is just adorable, but more importantly, it works perfectly. It has Windows 7 on it, and I love, love, love

it!

That's the latest news...all good and happy news. Hope you have a great weekend!

Winner of the Facebook Giveaway for the Quilt Pattern Magazine

Congrats to Hillary McPharlane who won the Quilt Pattern Magazine Subscription Giveaway that I hosted on Facebook! As Hillary is from Australia, how convenient it will be for her to just download the magazine! I am so happy for her!

Thanks for everyone who entered, and I was happy to be a hostess of the various giveaways concerning the magazine!

Many thanks to Cindy who organized all of the giveaways! I received the first issue of the magazine as a download and am thrilled with it. I would highly recommend your subscribing to the magazine, as you can't beat the price or the convenience, and you will love the BOM in the first issue.

We are off to Letterkenny! Have a wonderful day and thanks again so much for entering!

International Quilt Festival In Ireland: Keeping you Posted

I have mentioned before that we are having an International Quilt Festival in Ireland on June 7-10 in 2012. They are beginning the preparations for the show. Jinny Beyer will be at the Grand Opening of the Quilt show, and after an elegant dinner, we will be entertained by Trad on the Prom performing Irish music and dance, and you can enjoy a bit of the music here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k0jKgiyiOsdition

Here is Trad on the Prom's website:

http://www.tradontheprom.com/

I know a lot of you are writing me that you are planning a trip. This will be one quilt show you won't want to miss.I will be keeping you up on all of the events that are being planned. I posted this on Facebook too. Think of the fun we could all have....I could find out the best place for us to stay near the festival, and we could all meet there and have a blast!

Keep Smiling!

Some Information About Entering the Giveaway on Facebook

Some of you have commented that you have not been able to make a comment on Facebook for the giveaway. I just now added "Add as Friend" next to my name, so just click on that and add me as a friend on Facebook, Then you will be able to add a comment for the giveaway. Hope that helps! Someone just wrote me that it worked for them.

The Quilt Pattern Magazine Giveaway on Facebook and Some News

I am having another giveaway for the year's subscription to

The Quilt Pattern Magazine on Facebook. Please go to Facebook and leave a comment, and I will choose a person on Thursday, 12 noon my time. The comment must be made on Facebook for the giveaway. I will announce the winner on Facebook and also on my blog on Thursday.

Good luck!

I have to tell you...Joe won an E Machine 350 Netbook...It is on its way to us. I was so surprised! It came at the perfect time, as our laptop has been turning on and off...Don't ask me why. It should be arriving at the end of this week.

Hope your are having a wonderful week so far!.

Winner Of The Quilt Pattern Magazine

I am happy to announce that the random generator picked Debbie from Woolen Sails as the winner of the Quilt Pattern Magazine! Congrats Deb!

I know you will enjoy having the convenience of downloading a magazine lickety split.

Thanks for everyone who entered. I will be having one more giveaway for the magazine subscription on the 12th of January on Facebook. I will give you the link again and remind you on the 11th.

We got a bit of snow today, but it is already going away, but boy is it cold!

Stray Stitches Giveaway

Linda at Stray Stitches is giving away a beautiful pattern and fabric. You have till January 9th to enter. You don't want to miss this one.

Great News,a Giveaway, and My Irish Coffee Wallhanging

As you know, I am one of the hosts of the Quilt Pattern Magazine Tour, but I also entered the tour and visited many of the blogs on the tour too. I won two subscriptions to the magazine, so besides getting mine for free, I have an extra one, so Cindy has agreed that I can have a giveaway . I will make this one short. On Saturday, I will choose another person to win a year's subscription to the magazine. I already got Issue One, and I am loving it, especially the BOM.

All you have to do is comment on this post and on Saturday, January 8th, at 12 noon Irish time, I will draw the winner. I am thrilled to be able to do this, and thanks to Cindy for giving me the go ahead.

As promised, I wanted to also show you my Irish Coffee Wall hanging which I finished

and is now hanging in the kitchen. I love coffee, and so this is very appropriate indeed. Irish coffee is just so yummy, and I have given you the recipe for it over the Christmas holidays, so you can try it out too.

We are off to Letterkenny for for food shopping...Enjoy your day!

Cowboy Watercolour and Christmas Star Block Arrives

Joe has been asking me to do a watercolor of a cowboy and his horse for a long time, so that is exactly what I did for him. I really enjoyed doing this one, as Joe was ecstatic about it.

Joe and I both love westerns. I used to watch all the westerns on television when I was growing up, like Wagon Train, Sugarfoot, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, the Virginian, Cheyenne, High Chapparell, Branded, Bonanza, Lawman, and the list goes on. I loved them all! I was a Western show fanatic for sure. Plus, I know how to sing all the theme songs of each and every one of the shows. Joe and I both love the Western movies, especially the Lonesome Dove Series, Maverick, Unforgiven, and lest we not forget all of the John Wayne movies. There are too many to name!

Of course, being a Native American fan, I really did not like the way Hollywood portrayed the Indians, until I saw Dances With Wolves, which was a beautiful, unforgettable film. The Indians were finally being shown in their true light.

Getting back to my watercolor, I made the cowboy look a lot like Joe...an artist's prerogative. I really love the way it turned out, especially the effects I got with the colors.

Well, I was also busy today finishing my Irish Coffee wall hanging, which I will post about tomorrow. Joe needs to take a pic of it, and then he will be hanging it up in our kitchen. It just seems to fit a

kitchen, and anyways goes with the colors there.

Last, but certainly not least, I received a Christmas star block from Crafty Pug. Isn't it lovely? I sent her a star too, as we were partners in December.In addition, a piece of the fabric that she used for the star, and a gorgeous postcard. Thanks so much!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post when I show you my finished Irish Coffee wall hanging. It turned out so cute! Also, tomorrow will be a giveaway...won't tell you about it till I post...I know I am a tease.

More Native American Watercolour Journal Entries

I have been having fun doing my journal work. It has been fun remembering all my experiences on the Navajo Reservation. I loved the ceremonies the best and all the dances. They would dress up in very elaborate costumes, and the music was incredible, which inspired me to start collecting Native American music, and I now have a lot. The music is so spiritual and haunting, and there is always a story within the song. I did one of the watercolours about a Native American dancing a hunting dance. It was supposed to give the hunter luck in his hunt. The other is just one of a Native American with all the extensive warpaint on his face, which was also used for the ceremonies and dances.

The dance that I loved the best was the Maiden dance. The men line up ,and the maidens choose someone to dance with. Funny enough, they asked me to do it, and even though I am shy, I did. I chose someone I was just friends with, and we did the dance. You are supposed to be then promised to that man, but of course I was married at the time, even though it was a terrible marriage. I really had so much fun doing it. Here is a link to watch the dance a bit. Also, I have included a pic of a Navajo maiden choosing the man she wanted to dance with. I wish that I had a pic of me in that costume, but sadly, there were no cameras around, but I will never forget it.

I do so wish that Joe had been with me. I was very sad in my heart during that time, but I will never forget how the Navajo people opened their hearts to me, and one day I will go back and thank them for their kindess and love. They are a wonderful people, and so giving, and funny enough, though I was the teacher, I learned so much more from the children and of course from the entire tribe.

January Star Part 2

Kelly just sent me some of her wonderful creations, so I knew that you would want to see them, so that is why I am doing Part 2 to my January Star post. Enjoy her wonderful eye candy. This is one talented lady. I apologize, but for some unknown reason, the pics are not opening larger, but I think you will be able to see them still well.