SUMMERTIME IS HERE!

SUMMER FIREPLACE MANTLE MAKEOVER

Well, I finally put away the Easter decorations!  At least this year was more timely than the year I was putting Easter baskets away when I got the Halloween decorations out!

Part of the transformation is my fireplace mantle.  Here is the summer vignet.

 

I made six napkins out of three cordinating fabrics and arranged them on the mantle.  The dried flowers in the wreath coordinate with the flowers in the dark green fabric.  The stack of books on the right are very old "Fun With Dick and Jane" readers from the 1940's and 1950's and a very old cookbook from my grandmother.  The vases and other brick-a-brack were selected from a hobby store to round out the vignet.  And the screen door on the left was a craft mall purchase.

TOP TEN TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR QUILTING

I just got back from the NQA (National Quilting Association) 2012 Show in Columbus, Ohio, where I was privileged to give 2 lectures, attend three more, see the show, shop the vendor mall, and attend two dinners and hear a wonderful talk by Paula Nadelstern who does amazing awarding-winning kaleidescope quilts. 

I was also privileged to attend a class by another award-winning quilt artist, Maria Elkins, who taught us how to do quilt portraits.  My first portrait is almost finished and I hope to post a picture of it next week.

One of my lectures was on my Top Ten Tips To Improve Your Quilting. I will be listing all ten in future blogs. Here is the first.......

TIP NUMBER 1 - SHOP SMART!

Prepare a tote bag to keep in the car which contains:

• All the sales flyers and coupons from your local quilt shops and stores
• Calculator
• Notebook & pen
• Measuring tape
• 1 gallon ziploc bag which contains everything you need to purchase for a particular project (fabric requirements, swatches or printouts from your quilt program such as EQ or Quilt-Pro, etc.)
• Replace sales flyers as they become outdated and remember to KEEP IT IN THE CAR! It does you no good to stop at a store when the coupons are at home!

Stock up on notions and thread when they are on sale. Keep a list of everything you need on the notebook in your tote bag.

Keep white, off-white, gray and black thread on hand at all times. These colors will substitute for almost anything in a pinch - especially if you run out of the proper thread at 3am during an insomnia-induced sewing session.

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Visit me again next week when I will post my Tip #2 - Be Prepared!

Until then...........

PAM