The Challenge Quilt - Mermaid

Yippee!!!

I am so happy - - I won a ribbon in our Quilt Guild's Challenge. The challenge was to create a quilt to represent the colors of the gift bag we drew at random. Quilts were judged on the basis of innovation, use of color, use of "frou frou" and viewers choice.

I haven't won anything like this before. And I must admit - I was really clueless on this process...though I have had the creation of this in my mind for quite some time in my continuous endeavor to be at the beach or be reminded of the beach. And - -I have never attached all these items to a quilt....I impaled my finger a few times trying to stitch through the quilt...so I am really happy that my mermaid was well received and WON a RIBBON!! My prize was a lovely stack of fall colored fat quarters!!

Who would be

A mermaid fair,

Singing alone,

Combing her hair

Under the sea,

In a golden curl

With a comb of pearl,

On a throne?

I would be a mermaid fair;

I would sing to myself the whole of the day;

With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;

And still as I comb I would sing and say,

Who is it loves me? who loves not me?"

- Lord Alfred Tennyson, The Mermaid

Balloon Rally

What a lovely day here for a Balloon Event!! There were 55 balloons scheduled to lift off this afternoon, but since the wind picked up some - -I don't think I counted that many...and since there were occasional gusts of winds, the lift off, instead of happening very quickly and simultanously, took nearly an hour - so it was a lovely view - a few here and there lifting off and slipping off over the tree tops.

I won a Balloon Ride when we first moved here..about 10 years ago....it is the most amazing experience. Like floating over a slowiy moving landscape...incredibly quiet and lovely. If you ever have a chance - - take a hot air balloon ride. Fabulous.

Where did September and most of October go?

Wow - I have been neglecting my blog.....But I have been working lots and sewing some. My latest endeavor is wrap purses...from the book It's a Wrap. This is a nice project to work on while watching tv - - wrap wrap glue wrap wrap wrap glue...Of course I have no idea what I will do when I get to the handles, and have to invent some sort of pockets for the inside....

If you haven't seen these - they are really lovely!!

I was at a Fiber and Quilting show recently and bought a wrap bowl that really wasn't wrapped. The creator did an amazing thing - she just stitched the clothes line and dyed it. CLEVER isn't it?
This one is a knitting and crocheting ribbon yarn. It wraps really nicely, and doesn't ravel like the fabric I used on the above...I think Batiks would be nice for this project - - less or no raveling...