Welcome to my blog!

Hello friends!  Welcome to my blog! 

A little about me...old lady, loves loves loves my family, thrilled to be creating with textiles in life and planning to just continue with the same for as long as life gives me.

I have always loved art, coloring, sewing, collecting all of the great textile stuff I can find.  I have dabbled in all of these things my whole life.  I was quite busy raising my family as a married mom, single mom and weekend mom (horrible way to live) during the 80s and into the 90s.  My art took a back seat during these years.  I am now in my late 50s and find myself with the time and support to create again. 

I have been quilting since 1979 when I took a basic traditional quilting class while pregnant with my first child.  For many years I struggled and struggled with piecing traditional quilts...wasn't enjoying it much and wasn't very good at it.  I did experiment during these years with art quilts as well.  All of the quilts I made from 1980-2011 were given away to charity or friends and family but mostly for charity.  I am starting to make art quilts for my own collection now and am thrilled to be doing so.

About 4 years ago I was introduced to handmade beaded necklaces at an art fair and was totally enamored with them!  I realized it was why I had collected ALL OF THAT STUFF for so many years.  I set about learning how to make necklaces and earrings...trash-to-treasure...using old and new parts combined.  Amazingly, my handmade jewelry was selling!  People were willing to PAY money for my creations!  For several years I made a lot of necklaces!

About 3 years ago I was introduced to the crazy world of Crazy Quilting...OMG!!  I was home!  Make what you want, no rules and put all of your "stuff" all over the piece!  Happy happy.  I entered into many RRs, swaps and challenges to learn as much as I could from many very talented stitchers.  What a trip!  You guys are all sooooo impressive! 

The last year I have ventured more into art quilts and lately have been combining my love of crazy quilting with my love of art quilting...fun fun!

I continue to make jewelry...mostly custom pieces now using vintage heirloom pieces which I take apart for people and repurpose them with additional items from my stash into a little more up-to-date look...a way to take grandma's old brooch or earring and turn it into something you can give to your daughter or granddaughter to wear and cherish. Below are some pieces I recently completed for a very nice lady in Georgia.  She wanted 15 necklaces to give as gifts to the ladies in the family at a bridal shower. 

...from this...

...to this...

...and this...

If you are interested in visiting about "trash-to-treasure/vintage-to-repurposed" jewelry, please just leave me a comment with your email address and I will get back with you!

Thank you for coming by to visit my blog!

Colleen