My Crazy Quilting Passion - So What Will These Supplies Become?

I've been rather busy the past few weeks working on some of my blogs and some of my websites, but I've managed to get some shopping in.

Oh, what a surprise, Linda? There's always time for shopping! Right?

Now you might be wondering exactly what kind of shopping  I did and what is it for? As to where I went shopping -  if you know me it's a combination of letting your fingers do the walking and actually getting in the car and going retail shopping.

What it's for has to do with my new found crazy quilting passion and gifts for the holidays. Since some of it is for gifts this holidays season I don't want to spoil the surprise for the recipients so you'll just have to guess what I might be making out of all of the things I bought.

So, what did I buy?

Well, we have some whites........

We have some creams......

We have some beautiful golds....

We have some elegant silvers....

The ever formal and traditional blacks.....

Some linings perhaps.....

Maybe some pink lace edging can be used somewhere?

How about some delicate green and black lace edging?

It might even be time to utilize the beautiful lace from my sister's friends' old wedding gown....

I really hate cutting such a beautiful gown, but the lace is just gorgeous....

Wouldn't you agree it's perfect for some crazy quilting piece(s).....

How about some amazing trims and embellishments from Flights of Fancy....

I didn't forget the dragonflies.....

Some cording and straps from Joanns.....

Some beautiful florals from Pamela Amundson of theDelightfuldesigner on Etsy...

Some exquisite trims from Pamela Amundson of theDelightfuldesigner on Etsy...

Colorful silk ribbons from silkribbons4you on Etsy.....

Maybe some of my own ribbon trims might be put to use.....

Maybe even some of my lace trim stash.....

Perhaps something from my bridal floral stash.....

Didn't forget the threads from JoAnn's.. I haven't had time to shop for Kreinik threads yet....Don't worry, however, I will.....

Or, maybe I might even use some of the buttons from my stash.....

I can hardly wait to get started on this crazy quilting idea.  First, I have to develop my patterns.  That's right there's a plural (s) in there.  Can't exactly give everyone the same style. Can I?  They compare after all....

So, I'm left to developing a general pattern that I can modify here and there.

Have any idea what all the above is going to make?

Stay tuned.  For sure it will be revealed after the holidays....

I know, I know that's a long time to wait.  But, I don't want to give away the gift surprise.

Well, maybe I'll show you a few things between now and then.

We'll see.....

It's Been A Busy Few Weeks!

The past few weeks have been really busy week for me. I've been moving from one project to another to another and then back to the first to finish it. Thankfully, I've got several projects completed, several half done, and several at least started.

So, what have I been up to?

Well, I've been adding many, many handmade dolls & crafts and patterns to my Linda Walsh Originals Etsy shop. At last count I had 166 items for sale in my shop.

The "dollies" and I have been playing at Smilebox.com and creating some fun videos for the "dollies" as well as videos for my sister and her husband and "the alpaca kids." You know "the dollies" - they always LOVE to play.

I created several new fabric designs at my Linda Walsh Originals Fabric Designs shop at Spoonflower.com. Four were for "It's Raining Baby Showers" and twenty-five were for some of the other party decoration lines I'm working on.

I finished making the last of the "It's Raining Baby Showers" products using the various fabrics in my line and hope to have the products and patterns released sometime in the Fall. There's a LOT there and I hope you'll be pleased with all you can do to decorate for the best old-fashioned baby shower ever.

I managed to get some fun shopping in at JoAnn's and online at Etsy for some of the fabrics and supplies I need for my new crazy quilt passion. I can hardly wait to start these as I just LOVED my online crazy quilt class at Artful Gathering last month. There are so many ideas swirling around in my head for crazy quilting that I've started keeping a list of CQ To-Do's.

I also added more e-patterns to My Pattern Store: Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns on Craftsy. To date I've added 66 of my e-patterns there. Some for sale, some free. I hope you get a chance to visit My Pattern Store: Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns at Craftsy. If you like my store please follow me.

And, last but not least, but at least the most fun, I  managed to create a few new boards on Pinterest and added many new pins to my existing boards. I just LOVE Pinterest and find it so relaxing to just browse through picture after picture of beautiful creations. If you're on Pinterest I'd LOVE for you to follow me.



PHEW!!! That's what I've been up to the last few weeks. It's been busy, busy, busy and based on my "To-Do" list it doesn't look like it's going to slow down anytime soon.


Graphic Courtesy of  Image Emporium

How Can You Not LOVE This Face?

How can you not LOVE a face like Masquerade's?  

He's my sister's newest addition to her Rock Garden Alpacas farm and is just adorable as far as I'm concerned. According to my sister, for an alpaca he's very theatrical and choosy as to whom he'll let pet him. I think he looks like he belongs in the "Phantom Of The Opera!"

And, I bet his fleece is just amazing with all the color combinations. I can envision using it for the beard and hair on a woodland type doll. What do you all think?

What I'd really like to do is make a little replica alpaca doll of him. However, before I can do that I have to hone my needle felting skills. It's on my massive "to-do" list. Perhaps in the Fall......

"So you're the new kid huh" - February 2012 With Cosmo

My Crazy Quilt Purse Is DONE!

What is it they say?  "A little rain never hurt anyone!"  Well, that's true as far as I'm concerned as a little rain today allowed me extra time to finish my crazy quilt purse.

If you've been following along with the posts on my Linda's Blog you know that I've been taking my very first online class with Pat Winter on Artful Gathering. The class is called Crazy Quilting 101 and I have LOVED every minute of the class. Pat is such a fantastic teacher. I only wish I had taken one of her classes years ago.

My head is filled with all sorts of ideas for crazy quilting creations that I can make and, maybe, give as Xmas presents this year. Who knows! My head is spinning.

What I do know is that I LOVE crazy quilting and may have found a new passion.

Does that mean I'm giving up of dolls, Victorian fashions, silk florals, history and everything else I LOVE. Of course not! It just means I'm going to find a way to combine everything I love. That means I may be creating crazy quilting things related to Victorian dolls or florals.  Maybe a little genealogy? You never know.

I ended up lining and finishing my purse with some addition iron-on interfacing being added  to the lining material as well.  So, both the lining pieces and the front and back pieces ended up with iron-on interfacing on them.  The front actually ended up with two iron-on interface pieces.

I'm also thinking that I'm going to sew two large snaps to the inside top of my purse to hold the top closed. That way no one can just reach in and steal my belongings. Not that I'd put anything in it worthy of stealing! Well, Chapstick maybe!

I'm really pleased with the way my purse came out. Definitely looks Victorian which is certainly right up my alley. I may just have to keep my beautiful blue purse. I'm such a bad sister!

Silk Ribbon Embroidery and Final Beading On My Crazy Quilt 101 Purse Is Done

It's pouring cats and dogs and I'm sitting here finishing the last silk ribbon embroidery flower and final beading detail on my Crazy Quilting 101 Artful Gathering 2012 class purse.

So far I'm very pleased with the way my purse is coming out. The next step is to add the lining, the cording around the side and top edges and the strap. As mentioned in a previous Linda's Blog post I'm going to add the lining and finish the purse a little differently than Pat's instructions called for.

Once the lining is done my purse will be finished. I'll be sure to take a picture so you can see the final results.

I've thoroughly enjoyed taking Pat's course. If you love crazy quilting and want to learn from a terrific teacher then you'll want to take one of Pat Winter's crazy quilting classes. She has definitely created a crazy quilting monster in me. Just don't tell hubby this! LOL LOL

Some Stitching and Beading Work On My Crazy Quilting Purse

I just LOVE really productive days. Don't you?

Yesterday was one such day for me.  The morning was close to 100 degrees and the afternoon brought thunderstorms so I was able to catch up on several things, including my Crazy Quilting 101 Artful Gathering 2012 class purse.

I'm probably right on schedule but wanted to get more done yesterday as some of the other students in the class seem to be ahead of me. And, you should see their creations. They are absolutely beautiful.

In fact, Pat Winter is going to be publishing pictures of the students finished purses in the Fall edition of her Crazy Quilt Gatherings Magazine so be on the lookout when that issue comes out. I, of course, will be purchasing that issue not only because I'll be in it, but because I've been purchasing Pat's magazine since it first came out. I absolutely LOVE each issue and still find myself thumbing through issue after issue and viewing the gorgeous crazy quilting eye candy.

So, yesterday was a very productive day. I added green herringbone stitch and shiny white beads to the top right hand seam. I also added a beaded dragonfly to the top right hand corner as well as a tiny blue beaded spider just below that and just above the blue/teal embroidered flower. Can you see it?

I added wide gold herringbone stitch and blue sequins with shiny white beads to the lower right hand corner just below the decorative blue/gold lace trim.

I used the Cretan stitch with gold beads to secure the left hand side of the blue/gold lace trim.

In the blue/black/gold piece at the very bottom of my purse I stitched a lazy daisy type flower with a combination of cream and blue thread and added gold and blue sequins with white beads as well as a combination of white, blue and gold beads inside the petals.

I used a green chevron stitch with green beads along the left hand side seam just to the left of the white butterfly.

Later today or tomorrow I'm hoping to add some of the silk ribbon embroidery flowers around the picture. Then I may be done with my embroidery embellishments. We'll see. 

The First Day of My 1st Online Class - CQ101 With Pat Winter at Artful Gathering

Several months ago I decided to take my 1st online class and decided to take one of the Artful Gathering classes that were being offered in Session One and/or Session Two. My problem was there were so many wonderful classes to choose from that choosing just one was going to be difficult. I finally decided to take Pat Winter's Crazy Quilting CQ101 class. I'll be making that adorable crazy quilt purse you see in the picture above.

So, I've been anxiously awaiting June 6th, which is when the Session One classes were to begin. Along the way I've been receiving emails from Artful Gathering regarding how taking classes with this Ning group will work and how to maneuver around my Ning page. I'd didn't have any problem with any of this as I've been a member of several Ning groups for years.

I was really anxious this morning to start on my purse but I had foolishly scheduled a hairdresser appointment and wasn't able to begin right away. When I got home I followed the steps outlined in the class initialization memo and proceeded to see what was involved.

I clicked through all the links in Pat's welcome page and quickly discovered how easy it would be to start and stop the video's for my time-frame during the next 6 weeks. Pat had also included a bunch of printable vintage freebies and some instructions for different silk ribbon embroidery (SRE) styles as well as how-to's for different stitches we will be using. Thank you very much for those Pat. They are well appreciated.

I made it through the introduction which is the first of twenty video's for this class and ran out of time for today. Hopefully, I'll have more time tomorrow.

I keep looking at all the material, all the lace, all the ribbons, and all the beads in my kit. There's a lot there. Hopefully, my purse will come out really, really good. We'll find out. Tomorrow I start with Video 2.

So far all I can say is, "WOW!" There was a LOT OF WORK involved in creating and organizing this Artful Gathering event for C. Zinnia Galliher and a lot of work for each of the instructors in putting their video's together. My hats off to all of you for a job well done.

Inspired Creations By D - Moms Joy Fabric Wall Art E-Pattern

Of all my sister's wonderful wall art quilts I have to say that Moms Joy, shown above, is my favorite. Second to that is her Dads Tiger.

Of course, it's not hard to see why they would be my favorites.  Moms Joy was created in remembrance of our mother and Dads Tiger was created in remembrance of our Dad.

I think they both would be very proud of my sister's beautiful wall art quilts and very pleased with the designs she created for both of them.

Copyright © 2013 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed By Debbie Bohringer

How Can Small Business Artists and Crafters Not LOVE Pinterest?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have fallen in LOVE with Pinterest.com and have been in love with it for several months now.  If you haven't heard about the Pinterest.com phenomenon by now you certainly will be.  It is by far the most wonderful way to organize everything and anything about "you."

What moves you, what you like, what you're keeping tabs on, things you saw online that you want to remember, things you want to try in the future, places you've been, what you consider "beautiful", your creations, your interests, foods you like, websites you like, blogs you like, your dreams, future plans for a wedding, dream home, your decorating style, must haves, things you'd like to make, inspirations, DIY projects to try, tips for everything and anything, tutorials to try, your bucket list, beautiful pictures, beautiful colors, things for your kids, nature at its finest, beautiful animals, decorations for the holidays, and your favorites - whether they are artists, crafters, movies, pictures, collections, music, recipes, favorite hobbies, etc.  The list goes on and on.  Your boards and your page give your followers and the world a pictorial glimpse into the essence of "you."

But, it's also become a great tool for small business artists and crafters online.  In fact, in my opinion,  it's become a "must" for artists and crafters.  A "must" not just because it is one of the easiest ways to promote your creations online and drive traffic to your website or blog, but one of the best ways today for artists and crafters to promote each other.  In fact, it could easily be called the best link exchange ever.

For example, I am a doll maker and doll pattern designer who loves dolls of every kind and creation, who loves doll pattern designs, who loves art dolls, teddy bears, cloth dolls, etc.  However, I also LOVE artists and crafters blogs, tutorials, patterns, projects, sewing, quilting, handmade goods, beautiful pictures, animals, etc.  As you can see my list go on and on and on.  Yours could, too.

Well, what Pinterest.com does is it allows me to organize my likes, desires, and inspirations into boards containing whatever I want to put there. Just by looking at my boards you get a feel for who I am and what I like. And, it helps to keep me organized. For someone in the "baby boomer generation" any help in this area is always welcome.

So, how does it help one small business artist or crafter? Well, if you look at my "Art Dolls Designers" board you will find that I have many, many pins. Each and every pin contains a picture of one of my favorite art doll artists creations along with a link to the page I found it on. Plus, I'm a firm believer in crediting artists and crafters with their creations so every one of my pins contains the artist or crafters name and is linked back to their website and/or blog, their Etsy page, etc.

When someone clicks through my board to the pin and clicks through to the original source they wind up on that artist or crafters website, blog, Etsy page, etc.  If they like my pin they can "like" it or re-pin it in which case the picture and all the links follow through to their board.  If someone sees their re-pin and likes it they, too, can either "like" it or re-pin it to there boards.  All of the descriptions, likes and re-pins for this particular picture are linked together on all the boards.

Talk about a beautiful way for all of us to help promote one another. It doesn't get much better or easier than this.  My motto has always been, "What Helps One of Us Helps All of Us!"  Pinterest.com is a fabulous way to do just  that.

If you'd like to follow my boards on Pinterest just click the red "Follow Me On Pinterest" button above.  If you'd like to see my page please CLICK HERE.

A Wonderful Doll Collection

If you follow my Victorian Dolls, Victorian Traditions, The Victorian Era and Me Blog you know that I just LOVE the Victorian Era, love history, and love to do research. In doing all of that I ran across the Metropolitan Museum of Art website the other day and fell in love with their collections, the ability to see everything they have in their collections, and the ability to set-up my own "My Met" space to bookmark items at the MET that I love.

Well, while "Moseying At The MET!" last week I came across items from their French Doll Fashion Collection and fell in love with them.  Now all you have to know as to why I would fall in LOVE with them is they have to do with dolls and have to do with the fashions of the Victorian Era and periods before and after that.

They are in fact a collection of fashion dolls displaying French fashions from 1715 until 1906.  There seems to be 42 dolls int he collection and they give you a wonderful picture of the way French fashion has changed through the ages.  I would love to see this collection in person, but it isn't on display.

If you'd like to read more about this collection please CLICK HERE for my Victorian Dolls, Victorian Traditions, The Victorian Era and Me Blog post entitled, "The French Doll Fashion Collection At The MET."

My Historical Fashion Periods Timeline

The other day I posted an article entitled "A Wonderful Moseying At The MET!" concerning my preliminary research on the historical fashion periods and what I had learned.  Since I tend to like everything nice and neat and totally organized I decided the best way for me to try and understand the different fashion periods was to create a time line that I could update, change, and add to from time to time.

So, I created an Historical Fashion Periods timeline that I've added to the sidebar of my Victorian Dolls, Victorian Traditions, The Victorian Era and Me Blog

This timeline is really for me to help me understand what periods the fashions I like might fall into when I see different styles.  I am far from and will never claim to be any kind of an expert on historical fashion periods.  My timeline is being included in my sidebar as a personal reference tool for me. Something I can learn from, something I can update, something changeable if incorrect, and something I can update from time to time.

I'm hoping to do a little research into the different fashion periods, especially the periods before and after the Victorian Era and will post what I've found on my Victorian Dolls, Victorian Traditions, The Victorian Era and Me Blog.

If you'd like to see what my timeline has so far just click on the link below and scroll down the right hand sidebar.

YIKES! That's A Lot of Family and Childhood Stories, Linda!

Time certainly flies when you're having fun - or so they say! Whoever they are?

I was thinking about all the stories I've written about my family and my childhood. Stories about my ancestors, my grandparents, my mother and father, my brothers and sister, my mother-in-law, my step-children, my grandchildren, my sisters-in-law, my brother-in-law, my fur baby "Bud", the "dollies", and - of course - my dear husband.

I've probably written the most about "hubby" as he's involved in many, many of the "dollie" stories and at times is the reason for their "antics!" But, that story is for another day.

In any event, since 2004 my family category has risen to over 255 posts. That's a lot of stories.

YIKES!!

Either I've been very busy, I've got "Blogorrhea", I'm very old,  or I've got a very large family.

I'd have to say it's the latter. With a big extended family there's a lot of stories.

Sometimes my story is about a family member or about my childhood. Sometimes there's a reference within a post to a family member or my childhood. Suffice to say - it's a mixture of both. A little if this - a little of that!

So, I decided to create a family label on the sidebar of my Linda's Blog just to keep track of my stories.

Of course you have to keep in mind that these are "stories" and as such there may be a little exaggeration going on here or there. They are stories after all.




Graphic - courtesy of The Graphics Fairy