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Name that contest!

We Have Winner!!

Actually, we have two winners! 

Denise from Oregon and Jackie Young!

They win their choice of either a Rag Doll or a 4” tall 5” dia  glazed bowl at the following link Pottery

Both ladies had excellent ideas. 

Be sure to check for more contests coming your way.

Quilting Cabin by Barbara Stidd 

www.quiltingcabin.com

I live in Philippi, West Virginia. A small town in North Central WV, on the Western side of the Appalachia Mountains, just outside of the Monongahela National Forest. I am a member of Defenders of Wildlife and I donate 10% of my sales to them. I have 2 sons, age 26 & 24, all grown up & have left the nest, so I have a lot of time to sew now!!

 I have been sewing all my life ~ a special gift from my mom. I really enjoy making my own things & making gifts for my family & friends. With their encouragement & support I started selling my products at local crafts shows, which I still do for certain events.

 I love to browse through all the shops on the Internet and one day I decided ~ I wanted my own shop too!!  After doing a lot of research, I opened ~ Quilting Cabin ~ where you will find creative quilted items for your home & gifts for your family & friends. My items include ~ Pre-made & custom -made quilts, quilted baby & children items, quilted tablecloths, runners, placemats, lap quilts, throws, pillows, wall quilts, pet quilts...... I do all my own work either by hand or with my trusty old sewing machine. I make each of my products one at a time to give you my best quality. Come on over for a visit & see some of my products.     www.quiltingcabin.com

 You can E-Mail me anytime if you have any suggestions, questions or to make you something special.  All custom orders are welcome.  If you would like to sign up to receive my newsletter, E-Mail me your name & address (web or home). I send them out once a month to let you know of monthly specials, new products I’m working on & also I have a drawing for a free quilted item, all of which can only be found in my newsletter.    tansyrose48@msn.com      

~ A very special Thank You to Lizzie for featuring Quilting Cabin in her newsletter ~

Barbara Stidd        The Quilting Cabin             www.quiltingcabin.com 

Be sure to Check out A Frayed Knot for all your Country Craft, Primitive, and Shabby Chic needs!! 

There is no ceiling unless you build it   

by Tina Crawford

http://home.comcast.net/~ccricket 

My birth family couldn't have been more different than I. It was a mistake on the stork's part, I am sure. I was an orange in a family of apples. This was back in the dark ages. A female was expected above all to be a lady. I wanted to climb trees. A girl was supposed to look like Shirley Temple. I resembled Helga of the North. A young woman was measured by her ability to waltz gracefully and behave with sophisticated airs. I  was the only girl in gym class who could climb the ropes clear to the ceiling. I could run fast  I excelled at dodge ball. And worst of all - I sweated.

My parents were determined to make me into their image of what was expected. Two things saved me. I had a talent for art, and I had a step-grandmother who sewed. When I was four she spent time showing me how to embroider. I remember creating a rabbit in pink floss on a small circle that eventually became a pillow for my stuffed rabbit. I still have it somewhere.
Forced to spend hours in my room, I drew and painted and colored with crayons. I copied cartoon characters, and practiced until I could draw them perfectly. I can still do a pretty good Mighty Mouse. Mostly I escaped into my head and made up pictures. It is pictures from my head that I use now to do my fabric art.

As for sewing, I was sent to live with an aunt one summer when I was seven. She took me to town one day. We went to a real 5 and 10. Way in the back was the fabric department. She let me choose enough felt to make a belt with flowers sewn on it. The background was blue, and the flowers red and yellow. It laced up the front. She showed me how to appliqué the flowers onto the belt.

Meanwhile my aunt made clothes. She had a White sewing machine. I was fascinated. When I got older, I made clothes for myself by hand until I got my first machine, a Singer. I made clothes for both my children, and taught each how to sew. (Yes, the son as well as the daughter.) Eventually I taught myself how to knit and then crochet. Argyle socks and those with custom designs (e.g. beer mugs with angora foam) on the ankles were my favorites. I subscribed for awhile to The Workbasket and got more ideas for gifts. Between the differing planes of existence, I shifted like a lone traveler with a carpet bag of survival skills and a head full of dreams. I never bought into what I couldn't do or be. I just kept trying the new ideas of things I could do. Finally I found what I really enjoyed most was making my fabric pictures. It is as if I were organizing all the scenes I have carried in my mind and am organizing them outside for others to see and share if they care to. It is really pretty straight forward. There is no ceiling unless you build it.

Tina Crawford                    A Fabric Artist    http://home.comcast.net/~ccricket          

Tina sells her work online and is showing at a gallery in Colorado.  For more information on all our artists, please go to their website.

Happenings in my world

I would like to thank all the wonderful artists who have taken the time from their busy schedule to send in their stories.  Many times, in our busy lives, we forget about the actual person behind the store front or web page.  I hope with each story I share with my readers, I bring to life the actual artist behind that handcrafted item that is purchased. 

This artist shares with us their imagination and their inspirations and is a real live person who took the time to put their passions and talents into making a wonderful item that the customer will cherish for years to come.  Often they charge much less than the actual time and material it cost for them to make such an item. 

Items that are made in other countries with lower labor and materials and items that are made by machine is, in reality, no competition for these artists.  There is no comparison between hand crafted and machine made. Items with the tag of hand crafted were individually made with care and love, with small errors, imperfections.  How can one say that about a machine or assembly line that spits forth the same uniform item perfectly time and time again?

Again, I would like to say thanks to all those artists that make us appreciate “hand crafted”.

Local Shows in Texas

Jun 4-5 - Houston Bead Market - Stafford, TX

Jun 4 - Ice Cream Celebration - Brenham, Texas, TX

Jun 11 - 21st Annual Tomato Festival - Jacksonville, TX

Jun 11-12 - 12th Annual Tour de Braz & Fitness Fair - Alvin, TX

Jun 24-25 - 2005 Show of Wheels - Fairfield, TX

To find out more about what is going on in your area, go to

http://www.craftlister.com/