A Quilter's Pin Dish

                            

This pretty pressed glass dish may have started out in life as a candy, nut or pickle dish, 

but now it's a quilter's pin dish! I use mine for straight pins and basting pins. It adds an elegant touch to my quilt studio. I enjoy the way it sparkles in the sunlight. 

These make terrific gifts because quilting time is "me time."

See the new gifts category in my Etsy shop.

Day Three - Hat by Arturo Rios

Day three: Another creation by talented California hat-maker Arturo Rios. He avoids the challenge  of finding outfits to go with this hat. These incredible hats really feed my creativity!

Day Two - Yellow Hat by Arturo Rios

Another fabulous hat by California hat-maker Arturo Rios. This will jump-start our creativity!
One more hat tomorrow.

Three Days of Hats - All by Arturo Rios

Arturo Rios is a fabulous hat-maker in Los Angeles, California. He offers his collection for sale on Etsy: Arturo Rios. I'm enjoying looking at his hats; it sparks my creativity. I'll feature another one  Friday and Saturday.

Now I need a formal outdoor event to go to. I don't know if I could pull this off, though. Could you?

Monster Knee Patch

Another cute denim idea: a monster knee patch. From Bebe a la mode design.

Denim Dog

What a cute way to upcycle an old pair of jeans! I found a site about making denim toys: here.

There are no patterns on that site, just lots of inspiration. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful day with a heart full of thanksgiving.

Flow Acrylic Paintings - Lots of Trial and Error

Interesting effects are created by pigment density disparities. Mix acrylic paints with water, pouring medium, and silicone oil. Some people mix silicone oil into only one color. Some use inks, heat, diluted dishwashing soap, or glue. So many factors at work, like Forrest Gump says, "you never know what you're going to get."

Antique Thimble Necklace

This would also make a nice Christmas tree ornament with some colorful satin bows. 

Have a creative day!

Little Bird from St. Petersburg, Russia

This little bird is the creation of slava che, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia. He has loved glass since he was young. I bought this on his Etsy shop Russian Miniatures. I love the colors and how you can see right through it. It sparkles in the sun. Nice job, slava!

Interesting Stone Work

Olive tree image in a wall. Pinterest, unidentified.

Stone work by Ithaca VW.

Amazing creativity with rocks!

Boho Springtime Quilt by Monique

I found this colorful quilt on Etsy. It was made by sewfunbymonique in California. She used Jennifer Paganelli's fabric line: Crazy Love. Such a simple design, but the bright fabrics do all the work.

Monique uses minky on the back and no batting in the middle. Clever, Monique!

Up-cycled Thread Spools

If you're a regular visitor to this blog, you know that some quilters save our empty thread spools and then count them at the end of the year as a rough measure of our quilting productivity. Every January someone asks for ideas about how to use them. How about this spool chair/folk art? Granted, the chair wouldn't look as amazing if it was made from the white plastic spools we have today. Haha.

This spool table was made around 1900. It was featured on Antiques Roadshow, and valued at $1,000-1,500 a few years ago.

Click here to see more ideas for up-cycling thread spools.

 Have a creative day!

Flow Acrylic Painting

Flow acrylic painting has captured my imagination this winter and I'm working on achieving these pretty "cells," the rounded shapes with narrow borders. It's tricky business getting the paints mixed to the correct consistency, and getting the right variety of paints so that they interact in interesting ways (like forming cells). It's very messy too! This painting is one of my most successful ones. I have a lot of duds, but I just paint over them.  

I haven't given up quilting; this is just a little side-trip.

I hope your new year is off to a good start.

Fingers Embroidered Collar

This whimsical collar by Vivetta in Italy is featured on Moda Operandi. 

It's not a shirt; it's a dickey to be worn under another garment. 

The price is $295 and they are sold out!

Fantasy Christmas Coat!

I love this Christmas fantasy coat made by my friend Barbara at Amber Studios in New Jersey.

Everything about it delights me: the use of real pine foliage, the shaggy woodland collar, the felted flowers, the combination of orange and pink, and the tiny waist too. I would wear this coat in the snowy forest when I bring apples to the fawns. I picture a scene from The Chronicles of Narnia. See all Barbara's creations here.

I hope you're having a merry Christmas season!

Paper Flower Installation in Japan

Over 25,000 paper flowers decorate a mall atrium in Tokyo! Called "Color Mixing,"

 this installation was made by Emmanuelle Moureaux, a French-born architect living in Japan. 

Found on My Modern Met. (Scroll way down.)  

Wrapped Chair

"My Mummy Made Me Do It!" by Tommy Simpson, exhibited at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts in 2013. This is one of several items featured on Quilter Beth's Blog.

It looks like it's wrapped with a variety of fabrics and ribbons. See the random knob that would be behind your right calf if you were sitting in the chair? Interesting.

Want to see more awesome chairs?

Fabric and Crochet Quilt!

While I was admiring pillowcases with crocheted edges yesterday, I found this elegant fabric/crochet quilt. It's from The Whoot in Australia. It looks like one-patch and four-patch blocks made like pot-holders, then bordered with a crocheted edge. The off-white roses are a very nice touch.

More From Hata Larson

Old tee shirts, monk cloth, and now beads! This looks like fun. See more from Hata Larson of Rusia here.