Clergy Stoles from Guatemalan Handwovens and Kona Cottons

I just discovered the beauty of combining handwoven fabric from Guatemala with Kona solids. At the moment I'm focused on making clergy stoles for my Etsy store: Shadrach's, then I'll get back to quilting. This particular stole is called Dusk. I found the Guatemalan fabric on Carrie Wood's Etsy store: More Love Mama. The fabric is 36" wide, and costs $7.99/half yard. She has a great selection.

I love the 3 periwinkle rectangles in this stole. They cool down all the reds/oranges. This is my favorite clergy stole so far.

Read any good books lately?

Read any good books lately? I could really go for a good story. 

Leave your suggestions in the Comments.

Here are some that I enjoyed and you might like too:

1. Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese

2. Dead Wake, The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson

3. The Geography of Genius, A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley, Eric Weiner

4. The Boys in the Boat, Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Daniel James Brown

5. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving

6. The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer

7. Gilead: A Novel, Marilynne Robinson

8. The Help, Kathryn Stockett

9. The Invisible Hand, R. C. Sproul

10. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer

11. Ordinary Grace, William Kent Krueger

12. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner

13. Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson

14. Abba's Child, Brennan Manning

15. The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis

April Roudabush's Ferris Wheel Quilt

April Roudabush of Pennsylvania made this stunning Ferris Wheel quilt to give as a gift. 

The recipient of the quilt put it under a black light (below). Wow!

She is on Facebook as This Biker Quilts. 

Wonderful job, April!

Donna Bruno's Park Place Quilt!

This gorgeous Park Place quilt is Donna Bruno's latest finish. Isn't it a beauty? The little pink dots on the light background are actually little flowers. I love the red inner border and the black floral border too. Nice job, Donna!

Donna lives in Torrington, CT. She was co-President of the Hearthside Guild in Harwinton last year.  

To see the pattern for this quilt, click here: Park Place.

Everything Tea!

I've been binge-browsing on Pinterest, looking at everything tea: beautiful tea cups, interesting pots, tea party ideas, tea growing, tea houses, tea blends, and clever tea party recipes.

Treat yourself to a little virtual tea party inspiration here: Tea Time!

The lemon flower idea above is from SkinnyMs.

Haha. For links to the shirt and cup, see: Tea Time!

Knotted Binding?

I'm curious about this knotted quilt binding! I found this photo on 10Marifet, but it didn't tell how-to. 

Guzellestirin means "beautify" in Turkish. Well, I knew that from the photos! :)

I would guess you make the knots, then line them up side-by-side and sew them onto a narrow foundation strip. Then insert the strip into a knife-edge binding and top-stitch? I need to give this a try. Any advice?

Couching on Monk Cloth Looks Like Fun!

Look at this! It's by Hata Larson. The source is Postila in Russia. Even though I can't read it, each picture is worth a thousand words. This looks like fun! Knit strips couched on monk cloth. Draw the main shape, then just fill in the spaces. 

Portrait Quilt by Kate Themel

Stunning portrait quilt, "Looking Back," by Kate Themel. It measures 18" x 27."

And she lives close by, in Connecticut! Read about this accomplished artist here. 

Not Your Average Black Dress!

This gets my creativity gears turning! Pretty amazing!

This is from the 2015 Noir collection by Kei Ninomiya.

Read more about it on Style Zeitgeist.

More images on Google.

Sweater Loaded with Beads!

Wow, look at this! I may have to make one of these. Maybe I wouldn't put beads on the sleeves because they might snag on the body of the sweater. Leaning back in a wooden chair could be  uncomfortable too. Okay, beads only on the front. But still!