Tangled Thursday - Seeing Rings, Olympic Rings that is.

Inspired by last week's theme of the Olympics, we stuck with rings again. Any tangle could be used as long as it involved circles/rings.  I returned to string 58, which we played with a few weeks ago.  Here's the link to that earlier post.

Tangles used this week: Printemps, Beelight, Bubbles, Chads, Dandelion Seeds, and Nipa

 

Welcome to Tangled Thursday.  A few of my local and online friends have joined me in an occasional Zentangle challenge.  We'll take turns choosing a theme  and them post our drawings in about 2 weeks time.  All are welcome to join in the fun.  If you are new to Zentangles, then visit the website for a complete explanation and all sorts of online resources.  I'm also a big fan of TanglePatterns.com

I was no where near done playing with circles after one tile.  I thought the arcs of string 89 lent well to this week's theme.

Tangles used: Bales, Flutter, Kings Crown variation, Twilight Zone, and Knightsbridge variation.

And finally, one of my favourite strings, a stylised Z.  Tangles used: Unagi, Wabi, Soup Bowls , and Pintemps.

Many of the tangles I used this week were new to me.  I have been working my way through the 100 tangles illustrated in Joy of Zentangle : Drawing Your Way to Increased Creativity, Focus, and Well-Being by Suzanne McNeill, Sandy Steen Bartholomew, and Marie Browning.

I hope that you had a chance to work through the lessons that I posted last week.  They are a good place to start your Zentangle journey.   I'd love to hear back whether they were helpful.

For those who have joined us on our tangled journey, I hope that you'll join below and add your link to Mr. Linky.  I'll be sure to visit and leave a comment.

Needelwork Tuesday: Help needed with Antique Tulip Quilt

Today I have a special Needlework Tuesday post.  This lovely double tulip quilt belongs to my daughter's voice teacher.  It was made by one of her great grandmothers in 1937.  As expected, it is in need of some careful attention.  It has already been treated to some replacement patches by her grandmother, and now Angela want to replace some more.

This is the sole remaining original block.  It appears to be a double tulip. If you look carefully, you can notice that the tulip has a second set of petals in pale pink. In all the other blocks, they have been replaced with a single unit and the curved petal behind the middle one has disappeared.

 

 

I've done a little colour manipulation in this image to try and bring up the pale petals.

 

 

Most of the blocks look like this one where the applique is almost totally worn away.

 

The blocks are about 11 inches square and are set on point, alternating with a plain block.  This corner triangle in a replacement.  The originals appear to have been a pale pink.

Both grandmother's signatures embroidered in pale pink.

I don't have any books on antique quilts and my online research hasn't yielded any info on this block.  I have seen one similar one but the stem is very different.  Any help in identifying the pattern would be appreciated.

Also, We are going to replace the binding, actually add a new binding over the top.  Should we stick with the ivory/white or go with pink or green?  I don't want to remove the original binding as I'm afraid that if I remove it it will weaken the edge and perhaps some of the quilting threads will come loose.  The quilting is in very good shape with few breaks.  As a side note, many of the knots are on the outside of the quilt and not buried inside.  The threads have been cut right tight up to the knot.  The quilt measures approximately 65 x 78 inches.  It is well loved and cared for by Angela.

Did you do some needlework this past week, perhaps while watching some of the Olympic events?  Visit Mr. Linky below and add a link to your post.  i'll be sure to stop by and leave a comment.

Gargoyles: 30 Postcards

What's not to love about a book of purposely ugly characters.  Each card is 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches and is printed on a good quality card stock.  The front is glossy and the back is matte.  All photos are by Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton, a Professor of Art History at Pace University in New York. 

These old world gargoyles are found on cathedrals and other significant buildings in Great Britain and Europe.  Your friends and family will love receiving these quirky characters in the mail.

From Abbeville Publishing Group.

 

Funny face, found on a cloister beside the Oviedo Cathedral, Spain.

 

Green Man found at Salisbury Cathedral, England.  There are currently 14 green men reports at Salisbury Cathedral.

 

Human face on a monstrous body, Lichfield Cathedral, England.

How to get started with Zentangles

Welcome to Tangled Thursday.  A few of my local and online friends have joined me in an occasional Zentangle challenge.  We'll take turns choosing a theme  and them post our drawings in about 2 weeks time.  All are welcome to join in the fun.  If you are new to Zentangles, then visit the website for a complete explanation and all sorts of online resources.  I'm also a big fan of TanglePatterns.com

Quite a few readers have commented that they don't know how to get started.  Your best bet is to find a Certified Zentangle Teacher and take a class.  It will be money well spent.  If that is not an option,  today I have prepared some lessons for my readers.

Get out a fine point marker, some paper and a pencil.  Use the pencil to lightly draw a 3 inch square (free hand is good) on the paper. Start with the first lesson, work through all four, and then lesson 5 you put them together.  YOu can use small pieces of paper or use a larger one and draw several squares (referred to as tiles) on it and your lessons will be all in one place.  Then take a photo and post it on your blog, and then come back here and add the link to that post to Mr. Linky.  or if you don't have a blog, email me a photo of your artwork from  lesson 5 and I'll post it next week.
My email  heatherdpear at Hotmail dot com


** note- I have shown broken down the tangle to individual steps.  The red lines are what is added at each step.  You will only draw one square and do all the steps in that square.  Yours will look like the final block in each lesson.  

Lesson 1 - Static ( I added some shading in the final block to make it look more 3D)

Lesson 2 Knightsbridge

Lesson 3 Keeko

Lesson 4 Corn Rows

Lesson 5 Putting it together

This weeks challenge, posed by Tami, was the Olympics.  Since I spent my time drawing lessons, I didn't get much done, but I did incorporate two of the tangles, Knightsbridge and Static in my drawing.   It as fun using tangles with circles, and there are a lot to chose from.

Next week's challenge is still keeping the Olympics in mind, use tangles with circles.

Do you have a post to share, add your name and link to Mr. Linky.  i'll be sure to drop by for a visit and will leave a comment.

Without by Glenis Stott

It was the cover of this book that caught my attention.  It's clean and to the point and, being an environmental studies grad, I couldn't pass by.

Daily life in England some 30 years after the Upheaval is still recognisable, but there are some noticeable differences.  There is nothing new, everything is used, re-used and then re-used again and again.  All manufacturing has ceased and residents of England are dependent on the cast offs of their neighbours, but many items are becoming un-usable.  The structure is pushed to the limits and something is bound to break.

Celia and her husband Robin have been feeling this strain and are no longer complacent about their lot in this well ordered life. 

This new society didn't really seem like much of a stretch from being possible.  Some people would come out better and others would be worse off, but on average, would most people really notice especially after a few decades.

I liked the way that author Glenis Stott introduced the concept of no choice in your life and that there was no benefit to people taking initiative.  Even that the population in the cities were losing the basic skills of how to care for their belongings, since nothing belonged to them.

This novel is an example of the characters within the book carrying a good concept too far.

website for Glenis Stott

Needlework Tuesday - A Really Cute Tea Cosy

My second tea cosy of the year is perfectly timed for the cold snowy weather we've been having.  It is from the pattern Purple Teacozy of Sex by Suzy Gonzalez.   It turned out great, though it is too big for any of my teapots.  It is supposed to fit a 4 cup pot, but using two strands of worsted weight yarn together is obviously bigger than chunky.  Oh well, some one in the family is bound to have a larger pot.  Daughter helped me select the fun buttons for the front.

This month I'll be working on the Scallop Tea Cosy  by Crochetroo from Australia.

Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you.

The temperature scarves and getting long; they are as tall as I am now.  On the left is mine for Waterloo, Ontario and on the left is the mystery location which I'll be revealing in October.

Last week I mentioned that I have once again signed up for the 350 Block Challenge hosted by Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts. see the link in the side bar to the left of this post.  This month I pieced 20 fabric post cards and two more traditional blocks.  The construction of the postcards will be more fully discussed on my postcard blog Send a Postcard a Week.  ps. if you like to receive postcards,  I currently have a contest running to have a Nancy Drew postcard mailed to you. click this link to be taken to that post where you can use the Rafflecopter to enter.

Red Heart Yarns is hosting a Crochet Along this year.  Every two weeks they will be releasing a new pattern stitch.  There will be ten different blocks along with ten granny squares to compete the quilt.  Cross stitched Square is the first block, so if you haven't started, it won't take you long to get caught up.  My block is a bit small even though I increased my hook size from 3.75 to 4.25 mm.   I'm looking forward to the  next pattern which will be on Red Heart's blog on Thursday.

Did you have a chance to do some stitching this past week.  Add a link to your recent post to Mr. Linky and I'll be sure to drop by for a visit.

 

 

The Secret of the OldClock: Nancy Drew 30 Postcards

Nancy Drew novels were very popular when I was a teen.  I spent many hours reading  and talking about them.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the publisher had released a postcard collection of some of the original titles.

 

They are printed in full colour on sturdy card stock.  The cards fit into three groups.  The first, are reproductions of covers from circa 1939.  The covers from this period were illustrated by Russell H. Tandy. These first books were penned by author Mildred A. Wirt Benson.  For decades I had thought they were written by Carolyn Keene. I'm glad I didn't find this out when I was young, I would have been dis-illusioned.

 

These covers, that I am familiar with, are were introduced in 1962 and featured the iconic yellow spine.

This cover was introduced in 1962.

Regardless of the cover style, the intrigue and appeal of the books remained the same.  It will be wonderful to send these cards out to my girlfriends and trigger fond memories of when they were young.

To read more about the Nancy Drew series, visit the site Nancy Drew Sleuth.

 See the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win one of these postcards to be addressed and mailed to you.  Open to international entrants.

a Rafflecopter giveaway