Inspiration for the New Year...

for Christmas my childhood friend Ana gave me a wonderful book of Gustav Klimt.
Klimt has always been one of my favorite artists. In fact, I have been collecting fabric for several years to one day explore and do one of his paintings in cloth.

I now think that I may be exploring his techniques and do my own design, but based on his. We will have to wait and see.....
I have ignored these fabrics tucked away in little drawers, but now the gift of the book gave new inspiration.
Winter will be a great time to explore this.....

Great weekend in Coolville retreat

This weekend I spent it with old and new friends at a retreat in Coolville,Ohio. It was my second stay and we had new friends as well as old friends gather for quilting, designing, and just have fun.

I was able to work on my second design a little bit and gather more ideas.
My rooster is coming along....spent a lot of time figuring out the color and position of each feather....I am pretty happy with it so far....

This is the house where we stay. It is huge....we also cook all our meals and have dinner together with some wine of course...



this is the sewing room....Many creative friends doing all sorts of projects....


Monica here had a visit from the retreat per, Patches. He likes to come out and check our work....
We had rain most of the weekend but Sunday Monica and I had a chance to sit a bit by the pond and enjoy the fresh air....



Isn't it gorgeous!





Here is Wanda with her beautiful quilt and Barb who worked all weekend on a beautiful Cinderella costume for her granddaughter...
Kris was a new friend....she was a blast! Had us laughing all weekend....Here she's working on a quilt that we all worked on for our dear friend Sherry who is the one responsible for organizing this retreat!
My friend Michelle came for the first time and had a great time. Barb and Lesa work by her....

Lesa worked on this fantastic quilt!

my friend Lori also came for the first time...I was glad they all had a great time and can't wait for the next retreat!

I also met Sandy and Carol who were also wonderful new friends!

Thanks to Wanda for all the work she did to make this retreat another unforgettable time!

JUDE HILL'S THE MAGIC FEATHER PROJECT

I have admired Jude Hill's work for a while.....the simplicity, the understated beauty of her work....


When I saw the post about her Magic Feather Project I knew this was the time to get closer to her work.


Please check it out.....I am honoured to be able to be one of the many people who will make these beautiful feathers soar......





Join me!!!





PS: I did 2 of them already! I will post them tonight!

My first fabric book for my niece Acacia

I have been looking for a while at the beautiful fabric books or journals people make, check SuziQ's site on my blog page) hers are the best I have seen! I wanted to make one, and while no comparison should be made to hers, LOL, when my niece came to visit I thought I would try and make one for her to keep a few curious things and I attached pins, little books, all sorts of scrapbooking tools, and some of the pages are just made of muslin so she can journal with fabric markers....
I knew she would love it!
So here's my first modest try at it.....it sure was fun to make!

Our garden

We also are enjoying the hummingbird and butterfly gardens....and the birds love the sunflowers too!














It has been very hot here and hard to keep up with the garden. But it's so nice to walk out and get everything for our salad every day! I have also made quiche with zucchini from the garden, so good....

A peek at my second design!

Well, I finally finished the 1st wall hanging design and so I decided to start on my second one....
I had done it in cotton as a prototype and gave it to my friend RoseMary for her birthday.
Now,I am making it in wool...stay tuned for the next step!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend....

WHERE I CREATE.....

Well, I missed the deadline to participate in Where Bloggers Create 2011 but I thought it would still be cool to show you around my little studio........







Here are some of my favorite wool rovings, a doll my sister made of me when I was in elementary school, and a cute sheep my parents gave me...







Some beautiful work by some special friends....


I love this tiny cupboard, full of stamps and fabrics






Lace.......



And colorful ribbons........my friend Michelle just gave me a bunch of these!So yummy!


My friend Lori made this beautiful wool bag for my birthday....

Some favorite things on my desk....

Quilts I am finishing......



Some Sue Spargo designs on my design wall....

This is my mantel with some favorite pictures and things













This is a beautiful desk my parents bought me when they were here ...it has lots of little drawers to put all sorts of things in.......

My Giveaway winners...

Since all of you lovely ladies that commented on my post are so dear to me, I decided you all get a prize!
I will be putting them together and sending as soon as I get them ready and all our addresses!

Thanks for always checking my blog and giving me so much encouragement!

Flowers are blooming....

I love to see all the flowers blooming.....