magikquilter September 19th, 2008
Fabulous thrift find …inspiration for future upcycled skirts made from various sources. This is from New Zealand designer Annah Stretton who has a business turnover at present of ten million dollars per year! Her clothes are now sold worldwide and in some select boutiques in Australia. Have I got an eye for fashion or what, although I really surprised myself this time as this was mixed in with the average skirts ….not a designer item in sight. These little beauties [her skirts] retail for between $260 and $360 New Zealand new and I paid $7.50 for it. This deserves an entry to itself under the category of Spectacular Thrift Find.
Next post will show the amazing unused vintage sheets and tablecloths I found at the same store over two days….don’t go too far away from a computer.
Tags: Annah Stretton skirt, designer upcycling fashion, patchwork upcycled skirt
magikquilter August 19th, 2008
Was saddened to read, a month later, of the death of Tony Snow to cancer. Out of all the people who used to be on the Fox News Channel I felt he had the most integrity. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Tags: cancer takes another brave soul, Tony Snow dies
magikquilter August 16th, 2008
My inspiration for making this necklace was the beautiful art deco era style cards by Marilyn Robertson for Spirit FINE ART COLLECTION …cannot find a website for her but her work can be found here ..and my gorgeous leather patchwork handbag which is yet another bag I bought after looking after a friend’s bag and accessories shop.
The art work I intend to frame in either red or black lacquered frames….am on the lookout for the perfect frames whenever I am shopping. The beads for the necklace are some that I have collected over a period of a year or so and I managed to find a glass pendant in red and black in a stunning leaf shape in a sale in Spotlight a few weeks ago. I am hoping to do a multi stranded style necklace with beads of varying sizes, shapes and composition.
Update: The Marilyn Robertson I initially linked to is not the same artist who was responsible for the cards…there are two apparently. The one I found is a gifted artist who blogs and makes jewellery from rocks and stones…how lucky was that mistake!!! She is going on my blogroll….if that is okay with her… so you will find her there.
Further update this is from the Marlyn who did the above artwork:
My name is Marilyn Robertson
I understand you have been searching me out. delighted you were inspired by my images. I am a UK freelance artist/designer. I license my work to many companies. I am in the process of having a new web site built....
I will keep you informed as to it's progress.
Keep enjoying collecting and producing I will be in touch once I can direct to you to a much better site.
best wishes
Marilyn
Tags: art deco, artwork, glass beads, patchwork handbag
magikquilter August 15th, 2008
A little peek into the cluttered mind and bedroom of a thrift and craftaholic. Am hoping the neatness inspires me to finish a lot of projects. The work area is getting to be almost as tidy as my new blog. Am somewhat baffled that nobody appears to have noticed the new look….perhaps everyone is reading it on their readers and not actually seeing it. Am thankful to my son and appreciate it even if nobody else notices anything different. And that brings me to a philosophical point …..maybe people who are so into reading the content do not really notice the actual format of a blog…have had incredible stats recently, even CJ said so. Along with that comes getting slammed I guess!
Tags: art books, design books, glass beads, new blog, quilting books, sewing notions, tidy work area, work area
magikquilter August 7th, 2008
Been sewing madly since I bought my geisha figures. I am trying to incorporate all the colours of the geisha into a quilt top using some of the many geisha fabric I have collected over the past year. Its a little trickier than usual as I would not normally use blue with the purple and red and gold which is predominant in the geisha fabric. Have sewn five strips together out of seven and then just the contrast strips to go on top and bottom and then will have a better idea of if it is working. Stay tuned.
Tags: geisha, hand made, Japanese Design, Japanese fabric
magikquilter August 6th, 2008
I made this almost a year ago for a lady who has had a really rough time with two serious health issues. She is a mother of a preteen who loves mermaids and likes them herself so when I heard she was having a 50th birthday I knew I had the perfect thing to make for her. I love to use Laurel Burch panels especially for children or people who are ill as I firmly believe in the power of colour therapy and also the power of the prayer and meditation which goes into the making of these quilts.
I have not spoken to her since she received it as we no longer go to the bookclub which her ex was a part of but am trusting that the quilt is doing its job…last time I heard she was in much better health.
Tags: cancer, colour therapy with cancer, Laurel Burch, mermaids, rheumatoid arthritis
