Winter Wanderings: February 2010

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Karey's CD

The Third ToteTuesday was another resounding success! Over $3,329.00 was raised on this day alone, totalling the three ToteTuesdays to over $9,000!!!!! Plus my two favorite totes were both purchased at Glorious Donation amounts (over & above the Go-for-the-Gold preset limits!) Woo Hoo!!!

Best of all, Karey Bresenhan has turned her donation into a continuing gift as she is offering copies of her CD of photographs of the flowers in Monet's Giverny gardens to anyone who donates $50.00 to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause. Karey is the Honorary Chairperson of Fiberart For A Cause and has given her support to this effort in so many amazing ways! Thank you Karey!!!

I have made my donation and can hardly wait for my CD to arrive. Don't you want a copy of Karey's floral CD too?

If you would like a copy of the CD, follow these 3 steps:

1. Make a $50 donation through Fiberart For A Cause here.
2. Send an e-mail (Subject line: KAREY B. CD) with your snail mail to Virginia at Virginia(at)VirginiaSpiegel.com
3. Virginia will forward your name/address on to Karey who will zip a CD out to you. Easy Peasy.

Deadline to donate and order your one-of-a-kind CD is Sunday, February 28.

PLEASE NOTE: Your $50 donation to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause includes the right to use any or all of the images, copyright free, for personal, non-commercial, non-exclusive use. You DO have the right to use the images in quilts but not to produce multiple quilts of the same image for sale. You do not have the right to pattern the images or publish them in hard copy or online.

logo by Jeannelle McCall

Remember ...
The LAST ToteTuesday will take place next week, on Tuesday February 23, 2010 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Be sure to look at Virginia Spiegel's blog next Monday for a sneak preview of these last totes and artwork.

Last of all, Thank you to all the gracious donors supporting ToteTuesday 2010!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Round #3

logo by Jeannelle McCall

Tomorrow is the Third ToteTuesday event, the latest Fiberart For A Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Click here to see a preview of this week's featured items. Virginia Spiegel's blog has more about ToteTuesday. Remember, the Auction begins tomorrow morning (Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010) promptly at 11 a.m. (Central Standard Time). Bidding ends at 2:00 p.m. on the same day.

I can't decide if I must have Jamie Fingal's Girl Scout tote (which includes TWO boxes of Girl Scout Mint cookies, YUM!)

or one of Karey Bresenhan's fabulous collections...

Karey calls this one "The Earth Laughs in Flowers." Among its many treasures is a CD of 100 floral close-up photos taken by Karey in Monet's Giverny gardens! WOW!

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/ToteTuesdayFeb16.html

Bidding opens Tuesday, February 16 at 11:00 a.m. CST
Opening Bids posted at 10:50 a.m. CST
Bidding closes at 2:00 p.m. CST

ToteTuesday has raised $5,675 in the first two Tuesday events. Let's pass the goal of $10,000 with tomorrow's auction. Be ready to spend money on some wonderful Totes and Fiber Art tomorrow -- Let's support Cancer Research and Fiberart For A Cause. Tomorrow -- Virginia's website -- be there!

P.S. My felted soaps will be tucked into totes somewhere either this week or possibly next week ....

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Slugger

My March 2009 Bead Journal Project piece honors the start of Little League (at least for my family). Our team in the 2009 season was the Red Wings. In March, my son hit an "Over-the-Fence" homerun!!! It was amazing to watch it soar over the infield and then the outfield from the score box where I was tracking hits, runs and outs for our team.

This is the beginning of my BJP showing the profile which was reverse-appliqued. An actual baseball cap has been cut-down to fit my journal page. The hair is either handles off a shopping-bag/gift-sack or possibly a shoe lace.... creative "up-cycling", or rather "re-cycling" of materials readily found in my home.

"Slugger" names this BJP. The Astros logo is from the baseball cap used in this piece. I worked with the eye a bit too ... but "Slugger" was still needing something more. So I day-dreamed and played around with some ideas, including adding dimensional buttons in the shape of a baseball, baseball glove and baseball bat. (note: They were edited off even before getting firmly stitched into place) ... more pondering ....

"Slugger"

The final version shows "Slugger" holding a baseball bat on his shoulder, the number 18 stitched on his jersey back, and a few more beads stitched on here and there for further embellishment.

For my previous 2008-09 Bead Journal Project pieces click here and here and here.

For more information on the Bead Journal Project, check out our website at http://www.beadjournalproject.com/

Be sure to look at the journal pages from the first two series of this BJP program. Click here for the first group which first ran from June 2007 to May 2008, then here for the second BJP group that ran from September 2008 to August 2009. The third year of BJP began this January. There is wonderful bead eye candy among both member galleries.

Thank you Robin Atkins for starting the Bead Journal Project and enchanting me with your beautiful beadwork!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Queen of Hearts

Presenting the reigning monarch of February:

"Queen of Hearts"

My initial inspiration for this piece is the charm bracelet of hearts now featured as her crown. I can remember buying this charm bracelet years ago while attending an Arts-n-Crafts fair in the Valley. She looks a tad tired, doesn't she? Is she old? weary? thinking of the many broken hearts she's witnessed during her reign? What stories can she tell?

This completes my sixth Bead Journal Project for my 2008-2009 series. Click here to see my first two BJPs of this series, September and October. Then click here to see my November, December and January pieces.
I am slowly catching up ... I think I can I think I can I think I can.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Dreams Take Flight

"Dreams Take Flight"

Here is the completed panel from the LEM-4 team, led by Robin Koehler along with Chris Gilman, Katherine McNease and myself. Chris created the hot-air balloon - man's first venture into the skies, Katherine honored early airplane adventurers with her bi-wing plane, Robin crafted the meticulous Lunar Excursion Module in honor of her grandfather, who was one of the builders of the LEM, and my block, the Space Shuttle, honors today's astronauts who continue to venture up into the skies and beyond.

This quartet-quilt has been sent to the Dream Rocket headquarters to be part of the massive International Fiber Coalition's project to wrap a Saturn V Rocket from head to toe in quilts.

There is still time to join this fun art initiative. Click here for more information on joining the Dream Rocket art project.

Friday, February 5, 2010

New feltings

Originally I made these felted soaps to share with the ToteTuesday campaign.

Tote Tuesday is Virgina Spiegel's newest fundraising project (via Fiberart For A Cause) for the American Cancer Society, and takes place every Tuesday in February of 2010, between 10am and 2 pm. Click here to learn more.

The soaps were so easy to do, I have made more.....

The big question is how many do I send (which really means: dare I keep any for myself?) and they need to get into the mail fast (I have already missed the beginning of the ToteTuesday fun!)

maybe one ... the one below (as it has some minor issues on the flip side which needs attending to by moi).

These felted soaps are easy to make. Click here to read/see instructions by Judy Coates Perez. Thanks Judy for such a fabulous step-by-step tutorial!

logo by Jeanelle McCall

Be sure to bid on these artistic totes, as well as featured artwork by a number of Fiber Artist, every Tuesday for the next few weeks of February .... Kudos to Virginia for another grand fundraising effort. ToteTuesday has raised over $1500.00 in it's first week!