Santas for Charity

Every day I continue to be amazed at the people I'm "meeting" in blogland. Perhaps I'm viewing this part of the world through my rose-colored glasses but do you know what? I love what I'm seeing!

I met Kimberly of My Brown Bag Studio through blogging links. I can't recall how I got there, but I'm sure happy I found her. Kimberly's blog list is listed on her sidebar with a photo from that bloggers most recent post. To make a long story short, this photo caught my eye.

The caption read, "Carving Update". I was hooked. I clicked on the picture and it took me immediately to Tom's blog Quilting and Carving. Without going into too much detail as you can read Tom's complete profile on his blog, he is retired and you guessed it...carves and quilts! Tom was giving an update about his carved santas and was also offering them to anyone who would put them to good use.

Well, I just about fell off my chair! I love painting carved santas...if you remember this photo of the ones I painted that were carved from antique wooden spools by a friend of mine when we lived in Florida.

I emailed Tom and told him that I would be willing to...ahem...take some of his santas off his hands (wink), paint them and sell them with 100% of the profits to be donated to charity. I explained to Tom that a hospice is being built nearby with a projected opening in the fall of this year. The proceeds from the sale of the santas, which to my understanding are pin and ornament size, will be used to this end.

Tom enjoys the carving part and I enjoy the painting part. I "borrowed" the photos from Tom's blog to show you some of the santas that Tom both carved and painted.

Aren't they sooooo kewl? I've dusted off my brushes and paints and I'm ready to go.

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I just had to share how blogging and bloggers are making the world not only a smaller but a better place. Would you like to borrow my glasses...the rose-colored ones?

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Happy stitching...and painting!

Painting and Quilting

At the outset, please allow me to thank you all for your wonderful comments on the painted lamp that will be given away on the day of my 50th post. It's looking forward to finding a new home.

I've received a few emails asking about my painting and more specifically about my header and if I painted it. I did, waaaay back in 2005.

Sandy Kuczyk, who was the editor at the time of the decorative painting magazine "Painting", asked me if I could design something sewing-related for their Mother's Day issue.

My sewing experience at the time was very limited, so I had to call on friends for help in the "props" department in order to come up with a setup for a line drawing. Sandy provided me with the unprimed, galvanized tin sewing box as the surface on which to paint my design.

This is what I came up with, and the current header for my blog "The Painted Quilt" is a cropped part of that design.

My painting career involved designing, publishing and travel teaching to places as far away as Japan and lasted twenty-five wonderful years. I made many friends from many different walks of life, parts of the world and from varied and diverse backgrounds. The common thread that brought us together was the joy of painting.

I am now finding that the same spirit also lives within quilters and bloggers. The hearts are as big, the world just as small and the people just as giving of their time and expertise. I thank you all for adding something special to my life each and every day.

The tin sewing box now sits on top of the antique treadle machine right next to my computer desk in my studio as a constant reminder of the two things in life that have brought and continue to bring me so much pleasure...painting and sewing/quilting.


Thanks for asking and thanks for allowing me to share. And as always...

Happy stitching!

Another Pin Keep

Gosh I'm having fun! The last pin keep I made is winging it's way westward to a new home. In the interim while waiting for some fabric orders to arrive, I decided to make another one, with a few changes. Have I mentioned that I LOVE working with wool? (wink)

It started like this...

and looked like this when it was done.

Inside, there are many storage compartments which can hold all kinds of doo-dads.

There can never be too many compartments...or doo-dads...can there?

And a few more...just because I was having so much fun.

And finally...

And that's what I did yesterday.

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I need some kind of notion to keep it closed. I don't particularly want a snap as they are so predictable. I thought of a ribbon to tie it closed but then it would have to wrap around. Do you have any suggestions?

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Happy stitching!

Wool Version - Tisket-A-Tasket Block 3

We spent a quiet Sunday at home yesterday. My DH has a nasty head cold and we all know what men are like when they're sick..."Can you bring me?...Can you make me?...I think I'm going to lie down...I'm all stuffed up." Honestly, he's a SUPER guy but I hate when he catches a cold.

On the brighter side, I was able to complete the wool version of the third block of the Tisket-A-Tasket BOM. I know I've said this before but I just love working with wool on cotton. I never tried this before my Primitive Garden quilt and now I'm hooked! Not only do I get to buy fabric to feed my habit but wool as well and that collection is starting to grow by leaps and bounds.


I altered the position of the bunny somewhat and I kinda like him better this way. Now we've gotta wait a whole month til the next block...darn!

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Happy stitching!

Tisket-A-Tasket Block 3

Yesterday was a blah day weather-wise. It rained for most of the day and the temperatures soared to a high of about 38 degrees. I was really having trouble motivating myself to do something constructive. After catching up on paperwork and blogging for a bit, I decided that it was time to start on the third block of the Tisket-A-Tasket BOM that was released on Thursday.

Not only are these designs soooooo cute, they work up quickly and leave you with a great sense of accomplishment. Before dinner, I did all the prep work like choose the fabric, trace and cut the design elements out of freezer paper and make the bias strip for the basket handle. I sat down at around 7:00 last evening and it took about three hours to complete.

The doo-dads won't be added til after it's assembled and quilted. I can't wait!

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And a little reminder that there's still time to add your name to my first Give Away if you're interested. Just scroll down to the next post to read all about it. Happy stitching!