700th Flower

I just placed this, the 700th flower at a fabric shop just down the street us from us. Actually it was in a display holding eleven. It's on consignment. I check in about once a month and if some are sold I give them an invoice. I do this at two other shops and it has worked out well.

Utah State Fair--September 2010

I took this picture of my quilt on display at the fair. I was a little disappointed more wasn't showing, but with so much blue denim I guess they needed to cover it. I found a great machine quilter who did a beautiful job within a two week period. I bound it the night before I took it in which took me four hours of continuous hand stitching. As always Hunter was my support, driver, and camera man! (video taped the excursion)
We walked over to Creative Arts after visiting the Home Arts building and enjoying the quilts. We saw some amazing carved gourds. I love to see the creative talent at the fair.

Cedar City

We went to the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah last week. We enjoyed three plays: Great Expectations--the musical, The 39 Steps, and Pride and Prejudice. I took my knitting along  (I'm making felted puzzle slippers) and we accidentally took movies instead of pictures (so no picture). While walking back to our car, we took some pictures of a plant the gardener called Woolly Mullein.  Somehow I erased the photos so I'll try to explain how the plant looks. It is gray and fuzzy and the thick stems or stocks curve out and are taller than the other plants. It has yellow flowers. The gardener gave me a piece of a stalk with seed pods on it so I could try to grow it. During our time in Cedar City, I was on the hunt for antique stores  and found Betty's on 1181 South Main (well really on a frontage road East of Main Street). Hunter took movies of the place. It is and acre or more of old stuff:  old farm equipment, treadle sewing machine bases, metal bed frames, tractor seats, and plenty of junk. I found a tractor seat to affix to an old Russian Olive tree stump in our yard for a seat. On the way back home we stopped at our favorite store in Fillmore and bought ribbon and rick-rack for 15 cents a yard. It is a  home improvement store that has morphed into a all and everything store. They now have an on line store. They carry Wilton products, party supplies, Halloween costumes, etc. I'm a treasure/bargain hunter and have heard of another store in Salt Lake I want to go to that has collectibles. I enjoy making things from collectibles and found objects.

Headbands and Hair Clips

We did some new photos for another local store. The headbands are currently at Unwind and Piper's. I really like the rosebuds and I always enjoy the wonderfully colored wool roving from which they're made.

Wood and Wire and Pressed Flowers

I have created a new art piece. I used a plain wood frame and stained it with a burnt umber wash. I had the glass cut to fit it and then arranged and glued the pressed buttercups,  feverfew, and forget-me-nots between the panes of glass to look like a meadow. On the face of the frame I created a bee or butterfly ( you can decide) and a wire flower. They are made from rusty found wire and some new wire and rusty garden staples which had been used to hold landscape fabric in our garden. I took the photo in the garden so there are live plants behind.

Hello Cupcake

Janie asked me to make cupcake dogs or "pupcakes" for a BBQ for her dog show friends. We ended up making 16 for the party (Bethany came to my rescue) and I made another 8 for another BBQ. There were Chocolate Labs, Dalmations, Sheep Dogs, Dachshunds, and others. They are embellished with all kinds of candies: tootsie rolls, jelly bellys, candy coated sunflower seeds, marshmallows, mini Reese's Pieces and more. Here is a picture of just one kind of dog we made. Whatever it is!  Karen Tack has another book called, What's New, Cupcake!

Butterfly Gardening I--on display at the Bingham Creek Library---until the end of August

Click the title above to see how to get to the Bingham Creek Library to see my pressed flower art piece. After this last showing. it will be coming home.

Pink Tulips and Pale Yellow Daffodills

 

We were delighted to find these beautiful tulips and daffodils blooming along the road. I actually couldn't remember where they came from at first and then finally remembered that Margaret had given us the bulbs last fall. I'm not sure, however, who planted them, but I am sure it wasn't me. I can remember some things still. Hunter took the gorgeous pictures yesterday.

Headbands--just in time for Spring

Click on the title to see the fun way Erin has displayed them and the cute little model.

Easter Treat

This is a recipe that I tried which you serve in an egg shell. It's very tasty. Don't let the egg shell gross you out. Okay, it's lemon curd served in a shell made of white chocolate. I made it for April Fool's Day. I also made a sunny side up egg on toast by piping white icing on a slice of pound cake and then piping lemon curd on top for the yolk.
 Lemon Curd Recipe (from the Bosch store)
1/2 c. sugar, 2 T. cornstarch, pinch of salt, 3/4 c. cold water, 3 large egg yolks, 1 1/2 t. lemon zest and 1/4 c. lemon juice, 1 T. butter.
Directions: Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water in a sauce pan over medium heat whisking until the mixture thickens and comes to a simmer. Whisk in one egg yolk at a time, then whisk in lemon zest and juice, and finally the butter. Cook for one minute, whisking constantly. Cool.
I put the lemon curd in a zip top baggy and cut a hole in the corner to pipe it out. The shells were made by dipping water balloons which I blew up (keeping them kind of small) in melted white chocolate. I hung them from a skewer overnight to dry.
I found these ideas on the Today Show. Click the title of this post to go to the Today Show video. The ideas are from What's New, Cupcake?  by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. They also authored a previous book, Hello, Cupcake!

Spring Headbands

Putting felted flowers on elastic headbands has been my latest  felting endeavor. Margaret brought Lisa a flower headband made on an elastic band for her birthday and immediately I thought why not felt flowers instead of fabric.  Abby received the first one I made with two different types of  flowers. Since then I have made a few more with single flowers, rows of flowers, etc. (shown above).
Carol wanted one with a bug. I wonder if a butterfly would fit the bill?

IINFFP (better known as Ida's Ideas Needle Felted Flower Pattern) has been reviewed on Nancy's Notions Website

"Beautiful hand-felted flowers. The pattern is easy-to-follow with text and photographs. A lot of people around here are wearing felted flowers in their hair and pinning them to bags. A great pattern."  (click on the title to see my pattern in Nancy's Notions catalog. You can purchase it from there, also.)

3 Elephants Needle Felted Art Piece at the

Zoo Art Show 2010---The 3 Elephants piece has been sold. I received a check from the Utah Zoological Society today. Now it will be hung in someone's home (well after the show is over on March 14th) and then they can enjoy it.  (click on the title to see all the pieces, prizes won, and which ones sold)

Butterfly Gardening I---now showing at the South Jordan Library

I made this piece for an earth friendly recycling contest. The finished piece is roughly 12" x 15 1/2 ". The butterfly was created from pressed flowers which are glued to a pane of glass with another pane on top. At the top of the piece is a rusted rake head which goes down behind the glass panes and becomes the butterfly's body. Two strings of barbed wire run along the sides of the butterfly which tie the piece together. Shards from a broken clay pot have been glued to the frame in mosaic fashion. You can now see Butterfly Gardening I at Whitmore Library (downstairs) through the end of February. It will then go to South Jordan Library - Mar - Apr,  Tyler Library - May - June,  and Bingham Creek Library - Jul - Aug 2010.

Needle Felted Art Piece at the Zoo

I entered the Utah's Hogle Zoo Art Contest and my piece was selected to be in the show. I didn't win a prize but it was fun to go see it hanging in the gallery along with the over 100 other beautiful pieces. It will be on display until March 14th. It is constructed from needle felted wool and is hung from part of a fallen tree limb.
(click on title to see the show pieces, prices, and which were sold)

Needle Felted Pincushion---New Display

It's really not a new idea but I thought the pin cushions were extra specially nice in this display. I made it for a shop I really like but I'm not sure they if they will take it or not. We'll see.
The stand is made from  a bun foot, which is a rounded wood piece I found at Lowe's. I drilled holes in it and glued spools on the top. It holds ten pincushions.

Needle Felted Flowers Pattern

Here it is! My pattern for needle felting flowers. It is actually my first pattern. Nancy's Notions has it in their Early Winter 2010 catalog. It is also in several shops in the Salt Lake City area. I have to give special thanks to my family for their expert abilities in photography, graphics, editing, and general encouragement. Also thanks to Lora and Kathy at Nancy's Notions for their encouragement and help. (Click the title of this post to see the pattern in their catalog).

Christmas Slippers

I made 11 pair of felted slippers for my family for Christmas. Three of them are not pictured because I sent them off to Michigan before I took a picture.
They are made from felted wool sweaters which I purchased from thrift stores or were given to me by family members. The pattern is on Martha Stewart's website.http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/felt-slippers They have a template which I took to the copy store to enlarge to the various sizes I needed.
It was fun to decide how to embellish them. A lot of work, but a fun project.

Butterfly Gardening II

I created a second Butterfly Gardening to enter in the Utah State Fair since the first one would be away for a while. To my amazement it won Best of Show and rewarded me with $15.00, a lovely ribbon, and a large bag with Best in Show printed on it. Thanks to Jeff and Katie for the photo and turning it right side up for me.