Our Bee's Charm Exchange

Last year we came across the blog entitled "A Charming Exchange." I would invite you to log on and read about this special exchange. A book by the same name has been published and is available through many outlets. I'm posting the Amazon listing here.

Note: While you are logged on "A Charming Exchange," please check the items being auctioned for breast cancer awareness. Hurry, there's only one day left.

Inspired by this blog, our group decided to do something similar.We gave ourselves ample time to research and decide what we wanted to do. After one year we're almost finished. I wanted to share my charm necklace. I will receive another six charms before the project is completed but I just had to share the progress so far.

This charm is made by our Bee founder, Jan. You can see the reverse side and the spider web if you enlarge the above necklace photo. Isn't this charm wonderful? It's even signed and dated.

Dolores has done a beautiful grouping of charms. It includes an angel, a heart and an oval hanging from this pretty stone.

This one has the beaded cabochon on one side and dainty Brazilian Embroidery on the reverse side. It has been made by Claudette.

This one has a mini crazy quilt block pieced in my favorite peach colors. It was created by Karen



The next three charms were made by Lynnis. The circular ones are beaded with beautiful peach Swarovski crystals. The other charm is a pretty bronze dichroic glass heart. I must admit to asking for that mini Swarovski piece. It's beautiful!

This charm is done by Stephanie in New Jersey. She creates the most beautiful dolls and teaches both online and in classes. She has done this beautiful face with a half moon on the back.

The final two charms are ones that I made. The basket has a small velvet emery insert with a tiny pair of scissors attached. The second one is a tiny cluster of grapes with a sterling silver leaf attached.

Busy Month

October has flown by at an unbelievable speed. October 1 -4 Julie and I were in Pennsylvania for the 2010 ArtBra Exhibit and gala event at Byer's Choice. It was fabulous and we sold out of our 2010 ArtBra Calendars during the weekend events. The second printing has arrived and you can order your copy by logging on to the WTWW website.

Victoria Adams Brown, founder of WTWW and the ArtBras was a wonderful hostess and we enjoyed our short time in Pennsylvania.

October 8 - 11 Julie and I represented CQMagOnline at the Houston Quilt Market. We would invite you to check out each quarterly issue of the magazine for articles on our favorite techniques and tools.

Last Friday I visited the Quilt Festival for one day only. It's impossible to see everything in one day but it's fun trying. They have a wonderful embellishment area catering to the wants & needs of the crazy quilter.

I had the opportunity to meet "The Shibori Girl" at her booth and see her beautiful work up close. If you haven't been introduced to shibori silk you will want to read Julie's article in the upcoming issue of CQMag available around the first of November.

I ordered some of the shibori silk last month and played with it a short time. Pictured here is my first flower. The silk is bias cut and approximately 4" in width. It is pleated in very tiny 1/8" pleats resulting in a width of about 1".

After spending time at The Shibori Girl booth I was inspired to get the ribbon out and do some more playing. Here is my experiment from this weekend.

I felt compelled to pull out a hand-dyed motif along with some beads. Note the beautiful green shibori silk leaves.

I have lots of other projects and photos to share. I'll try to get my photos downloaded and organized. Check back often.

Website for 2010 ArtBra Calendars

The WTWW (Way to Women's Wellness) website is now set up to pre-order your 2010 ArtBra Calendars. We invite you to log on and browse through the Gallery where you will be able to see the new ArtBra creations and three of the crazy quilted wall hangings. We encourage you to Shop for a Cure and join with us in promoting breast cancer awareness.

You will find information about each artist under 2010 ArtBra Designers. A special thanks to Victoria Adams Brown for her artistic vision of the ArtBra as a vehicle for raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research. What a special honor it is to have played a small part in this amazing endeavor.

Announcing the 2010 ArtBra Calendar

The 2010 WTWW ArtBras and three of our wall hangings have been professionally photographed and the process has begun for creating the 2010 calendars. Vic has a Flickr site where you can view the latest creations and I would encourage you to log on and spend some time browsing through the photos.

Pictured here is my design called "The Days of Wine and Roses." The base of the bra is done with a free form crochet using hand-dyed strips of silk. I've hand-dyed the roses in my favorite peach color. I decided to do white grapes this year since my 2006 ArtBra, "Grape Expectations," featured the purple ones.

It's so exciting to see all the news releases and read the flyers announcing the ArtBra exhibits scheduled for October. Calendars will be on sale at each of the events and autographed by the artists attending.

Victoria Adams Brown of Ribbonsmyth is the founder of the WTWW foundation and the original creator of the ArtBras. I continue to be inspired by her dedication, creativity and talent in creating these wonderful calendars. They will begin to ship the last week in September. The cost is $14 plus postage and proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Please consider purchasing these calendars for special gifts. So many of our friends and family have been affected by some form of cancer. Your purchase will provide funding for all the needs associated with finding a cure for this dreaded disease. We appreciate your support.

Please check back for the website for purchasing these calendars. I will post it as soon as I have this information.

Another Great Retreat

My local crazy quilt group just returned from our quarterly retreat in Wallis, Texas. Ten of us spent 4 days and 3 nights at Premiere Estates - a beautifully restored manor house "deep in the heart of Texas."

Our thanks to Sharon & Belinda for their wonderful hospitality. They have established the perfect setting for a retreat. One large room is fully equipped to meet the needs of quilters, scrap booking enthusiasts and any other craft-oriented group. Ten people can comfortably sit and stitch, share ideas and "play" for untold hours.

There are two homes available on adjoining properties and each one affords all the amenities needed. On the weekends they cater meals for their guests. We always go during the week and provide our own meals. I can guarantee you a wonderful time in Wallis at Premiere Estates!

Our group kindly agreed to test my scalloped needle case design. I have classes scheduled for September 4th. and 5th. at Quiltworks in Cypress, Texas. It provided a wonderful opportunity for me to see the problem areas and re-vamp my directions and pattern pieces.

Ruching the flower was definitely not their favorite part of the process but each produced a masterpiece. I absolutely loved seeing the various color combinations the girls chose as well as the differing techniques they used. It was a great experience.

Update on ArtBra Exhibit

Those of us affiliated with Victoria Adams Brown's original ARTBRA EXHIBIT are so excited with the upcoming events. I wanted to share the Byers' Choice website which will host a fundraiser in the month of October. Log onto their website for additional information. I was so pleased and honored to see my bra, "Grape Expectations," appear in their article.

There will be a 2010 ArtBra calendar as well. I'll post updates as they are available. We hope many will lend their support for breast cancer research by purchasing these calendars. If you are in Pennsylvania in October we hope you will make plans to attend the Byers' Choice Gala.

Busy times

Almost another month has past since my last blog - it's hard to believe how quickly time passes. I've been busy stitching various projects during the month. First I put together our beautiful blocks for the 2009 wall hanging for breast cancer research. You can see the individual blocks on my Flickr site.

Many exciting things have been happening during the month. Victoria Adams Brown's original ArtBras will be on display at Byers' Choice during the month of October for breast cancer awareness. Another calendar is in the works for 2010 and we are all so excited to see these ArtBras continue to inspire as well as earn money for breast cancer research.

You can read about Byers' Choice and the ArtBra Exhibit in one of my articles in CQMagOnline. Log on to the website and click on current issue - then browse through the table of contents. There are other great articles in this issue as well. Be sure to take a peak at Vic's article on curved piecing.

I taught my second class at Quiltworks last Saturday and have another two scheduled for September. The upcoming classes will be one of my newest designs. Pictured here is my "flower pot needlecase." The outside is a teal dupioni and the inside is a beautiful floral batik. Quiltworks has been busy making kits with some fabulous fabrics.

I hope to do better with my blogging in the future and promise to share additional photos.