So….join Noreen at Hankering for Yarn.  She and Tottie Tomato invite you to a virtual tea party, where you can enjoy a cup of tea with other artists and crafters.  Invite someone to tea with you and share your favorite quilting stories.
Just as the pioneer ladies at quilting bees gathered around the frame, enjoyed food and stories…and shared quilt patterns, you can mingle with the other guests at Tottie’s party.
Incidentally, Noreen has created a whole world around Tottie, the doll she designed and made.  Maybe you have a patchwork doll you’ve created who would like to meet Tottie!
Noreen even has …read more

  You’ll find more Halloween ideas for decorating and entertaining on the Arts and Design Channel, even though we posted numerous ones during our Halloween and Day of the Dead Blog Carnival  hosted by Noreen at Hankering for Yarn.
*Christine has some  delightful Altered Take Out Boxes over at Mad Cropper.  Also check out the Halloween Mini Project Book here.
*Tammy shows us a Beaded Halloween Card at Jewelry and Beading.  Her Candy For Kids Jewelry project features a Candi the Corn pin.  Scroll Tammy’s Jewelry and Beading blog for a number of Halloween designs in earrings, pins, and charms.
*Josh at Junk Creation gives …read more

  Generally the monthly Arts and Design Showcase features only bloggers from that channel.  This month, our host, Noreen from Hankering for Yarn, is opening it up to all craft bloggers.
The theme is Halloween or Day of the Dead crafts.  For more details on Noreen’s blog  about  linking your blog post, click here.
The showcase is scheduled for October 21.  Noreen would like all links and a short blurb by a deadline of October 19.
See you there!

When I read about the pin cushion contest, Call for entries: Pincusions,  at Noreen’s Hankering for Yarn, my mind slipped into “memory gear” and I thought of my first pinchusion.  When my grandmother (Nanny) and I were quilting, she decided I needed a pincushion like hers.
I don’t know if she bought it, or found she had an extra.  However, it was one of those tomoato red ones with the little red ball or tomato attached for keeping needles and pins sharp.  This remained in my sewing box for years.  (I have no idea where it, and the little sewing box …read more

What a marvelous idea Noreen Crone-Findlay had to begin the festivities for her daughter Chloe…a bridal tea.  Noreen blogs at Hankering for Yarn and Chloe at Tangled Thread.
Since I enjoy tea myself and often write about it in “one of my other lives” as a newspaper columnist of the Country Kitchen column, I thought the idea of a bridal tea simply a delightful one.  This could be adapted for a quilter who’s getting married by using patchwork placemats or appliqued table cloth.  Perhaps there would be napkins to carry out the theme.
Would there be some type of quilted or patchwork …read more

           Quilters and fabric artists find buttons a popular embellishment in their work.  Some may sew on an occasional button.  Others practically cover their piece with these interesting attachments.
I’ve always enjoyed collecting buttons, ever since I explored my grandmother’s and mother’s button jars.  In days ago, ladies didn’t run to the store for buttons.  They saved them from worn clothing relegated to the rag bag.  They cut the buttons off and put them  into a jar or tin.
When my daughter was small and we lived in a distant city while my husband attended airline pilot training school, I made friends with …read more

Quilters and fabric artists use many types of embellishments for their art, especially for wall hangings, fabric boxes, “inchies”, postcards and other projects.  These may be antique items, buttons, keys, charms, and items you’ve made.
I discovered delightful tatted butterflies at Noreen’s Hankering for Yarn blog that would be ideal for quilted and fabric art projects.  You might want to take a look at the butterflies Noreen is making for her daughter’s wedding dress, as well as for original purse designs.
(Here’s some additional instructions for making tatted butterflies.  Noreen also takes lovely photos of her work.)