Lampwork Beads....my other obsession

Quilting and Lampwork Bead making are not as different as you may think.......take a look.

Both require attention to detail and both indulge a need to design wth color. Like modern quilting, making beads with hot glass allows you to throw traditional design rules right out of the window.

Some of my prettiest beads are the ones that initially looked like a mistake to me. Then they come out of the kiln and what a great surprise!

 Four years ago, a much loved cousin invited me over to see how she made her beautiful jewelry and a hot glass addict was born.

 I hope you enjoy some of my favorites.

We have two Winners!

Congratulations to our winners!

Mr. Random chose:

#25

Born4Travel said "Congrats on your new blog! I am following you now. Looking forward to getting to know you."

She is going to receive the Holiday Medly, charm pack.

#86

CraftyHourMom said "I'm a follower. I still don't know if I have more than a handful of readers... starting my craft blog was scary. For the most part I use it for documenting my sewing to refer back to, but I'm starting with some tutorials and sew alongs now too."

She will recieve the Sweet Scoop charm pack.

Thank you all! 

 I had a great time reading your comments and looking at so many new blogs during this weeks givaways......
I look forward to getting to know all of you.

Many thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew!

Grandma's Cathedral Windows

My Grandmother, Loretta, did various kinds of "handwork" all of my life.  About 10 years ago when she was 90, we decided to make a Cathedral Window Coverlet.  At that time, neither of us did machine quilting, just hand quilting.  I decided on a simple color palette, muslin and a rusty leaf pattern and she set to work teaching me how to create these beautiful little blocks. She would do a few and I would do a few and then hand sew them together.  Even though she was 90, her stitches  were perfect. We got many done before she passed away.

I hung on to them and tried to continue it several times but found that I just could not bring my self to finish it
without her...................

This past October when I was going through a stash of fabric, I found the little cathedral windows and had an idea......
I'll frame them!
I had one fairly large section and one smaller one. I took them to a custom framing shop in the Albany area and through tear filled eyes, told Grandma's story and handed the sections over to be matted and framed. I was terrified throughout the two months it took for them to be finished but when my sister and I went to pick them up, we were both overjoyed by their beauty.

One beloved treasure hangs in my living room and helps me feel close to Grandma every day the other now belongs to my aunt, her only daughter.

Welcome to my new blog and FIRST Giveaway, hosted by Sew Mama Sew!

Welcome to my FIRST Giveaway!

Sew Mama Sew is hosting a Giveaway and I am giving away two charm packs, in two giveaways. One is an adorable "Sweet Scoop" by Dan Morris for RJR Fabrics and the other is on of my favorites, "Holiday Medley", by Kansas Trouble for Moda.

Follow my new blog for a chance to win and leave me a comment about how the first weeks of your own blog went for a second chance to win. Willing to ship internationally.

The two winners will be chosen at random on May 10.

Loretta

This is Loretta! She is fourteen years old and a tried and true friend. When I picked her out, I had been sewing for years but mostly garments, mending, pillows and curtains.

 I had machine quilting in mind but didn't actually let Loretta have her quilty way with me for several years.

 I got the bug to start quilting again last fall and asked the advice of one of the best quilters that I know, my sister Michele, as to if it was time to schedule her for a good cleaning and maintenance.

Off I went to the same shop that I bought her from all those years ago. Two long weeks later, we were ready to go........
Loretta and I have been spending a lot of quality time together and expect to continue for many years to come.

PS: I recently attended a class and met a lovely lady who has had her Bernina for thirty years!

My First Win!

Yea! I won my first Giveaway .......
I'm so excited and can't wait till my Aspen Frost jellyroll arrives.

My Sister Dear Michele, has been my quilting re-entry mentor. When we first starting talking about me learning to machine quilt and she was describing the difference between the quilting world 15 years ago and now, one of the things she mentioned was the "giveaways" that she had won. I thought, hmmm, I have to find out how this works. So the evening before we went to pick up her long arm we sat for several hours and she brought me up to speed on lots of things including, starting my blog.

We were on the laptop for hours that night and entered lots of giveaways. I understood how it works but didn't think that it would ever happen to me. Then low and behold, on Monday,  Sister Dear called giggling her congratulations and asked how I like being a winner.
WHAT?
 I won????

She saw it before I did.

Years ago, hand quilting with my Grandmother was it's own sort of heaven. Now.....quilting is a community of new friends.

Giveaways, Shop Hops, Blog Hops, Jelly Rolls, Charms Packs, Turnovers, Layer Cakes... all new to me and I can't begin to describe how much fun I am having ! !