I use color in art quilts intuitively: selecting “what feels right” for a piece. I am inspired by combinations found in nature, color combinations that I see in publications, and colors that I enjoy seeing together.

Below are a couple photos from my inspiration board in my studio:

I also have a palette that I love to use, an example is in my quilt below The Lesson & The Equation:

You can also see my palette repeated in this poster from first solo show in April 2019:

(It’s funny but it took a while for me to realize that I actually have a palette that I repeat!)

That being said, I have studied “color theory” in both formal art quilting classes as well as by reading many books. For example I love Joen Wolfrom’s book Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts (2000), the first book I ever read on color theory.

In order to challenge and “break the rules” when creating innovative art quilts, first you have to understand the rules! Although it might be disinteresting to some of the students in my workshop, it is a foundation of artistic creation and one I should cover during my workshop.

I realized that if I am going to teach an art quilting class next year (see post A Year of Finishes: The Pivot) I need to brush up on color theory. I thought the best way to do this was to create a project I found in the book Quilt Color Workshop by T. Bruecher, B. Greenberg, L. Goldsworthy, and J. Adams (2014), that I borrowed from the library.

I am making the Colour Wheel Quilt on the front cover, which will serve as a class visual for my workshop as well as refresh my understanding of Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Colors; and Pure Color, Tints, Tones, and Shades.

I have a lot of sorting to do to find the strips from my large collection of fabric scraps for the piece.

Currently I am sorting through my box of Reds, Purples, and Oranges to begin the project (I’ve organized many of my fabric scraps into wine crates that liquor stores have my kind enough to gift me or sell to me cheaply).

At first it was tedious, but then it became fun. It is a productive way to revisit my fabric scraps.

I am having fun mapping out the 6-day workshop I will give next year. I am planning to ship to the venue a large amount of my fabric scrap collection for the students to use if they like during the workshop. I am ready to move on from my crazy fabric scrap collection* and start digging into my crazy fat quarter collection (and create more scraps – ha!)

*75% of my fabric scrap collection is from fabric scraps others have given to me. So it is from others’ fabric choices. I am ready to primarily work from my fabric choices in the future…

A Year of Finishes - 2023, Special Events

A Year of Finishes: The Pivot

March 1, 2023March 1, 2023 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

As John Lennon said:

After writing the series of posts about auditing my existing unfinished projects, releasing/donating some of those projects, and coming up with a plan to finish over half of the remaining projects in 2023; the Universe has surprised me and I have to suddenly pivot.

Seemingly out of the blue (but not really out of the blue), I received an invitation to teach a 5-day or 6-day art quilting workshop at an very awesome venue in 2024. It is a first-major-crafting-related-teaching opportunity absolute dream.

At this time I am not sharing where it is or what I will be teaching until my curriculum and program name is approved and my workshop appears in the venue’s catalogue. I will also share in the future the specifics of how this opportunity came to me.

But you all are welcome to attend my workshop which will be limited to ten (10) students. And it is in an awesome and kind of famous place in regards to crafting workshops. That’s all I got to say at this time (smile), more to come later in 2023 or early in 2024.

So my major pivot from working on those unfinished projects is that I need to work on class samples and my curriculum, etc. I do have an extensive training/teaching background but that is in the healthcare industry. This will be different than teaching health care professionals how to use software; or doing a new hire orientation – ha!

So that’s my news.

I am going to finish up one more set of those drawstring/project bags and quilting a gift table runner; but I put all the other unfinished projects away!

Special Events

Black History Month

February 2, 2023February 1, 2023 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This post is a repost from February 2022. Rather than writing a new post about this important month, I thought I would just share what I wrote last year as it still resonants with me, and I hope it will for you:

Black History Month (repost from February 2, 2022)

I had a different post planned for this morning, but I was thinking about “Black History Month” in the US, which is every February. Here is a link from the History Channel network if you are not familiar with it or would like to learn more: Black History Month.

No matter where you live in the world I am guessing you are familiar with the history and struggles of people of African decent in the United States. I want to share a post I put on facebook yesterday about Black History Month:

Today is the first day of Black History Month and I know there are individuals in this country who might roll their eyes each February when this month comes around. When I was growing up my parents always made a big deal about Black History Month and we even had some type of encyclopedia they had bought related to Black History and had me read it regularly. Some of you might might not understand what it meant to me as a young Black child to learn about people like me who did GREAT THINGS. Growing up in the 1970s most of the history taught my school focused on “White History”. Back then they even skewed stories of slavery being focused on African tribes selling their tribe members instead of the horrors of our ancestors being stolen also from Africa. Growing up in a time where the focus was that as a person of color you were “less than” a White person was a very different experience than growing up today. I am so thankful for Black History Month and I will always celebrate it! I am so thankful to my parents that in a country that said I was “less than”, I was raised to know that I am “more than” any oppression that tries to tell me I am “less than”.

I am grateful that my parents who believed in education and making the best of yourself despite any challenges you might face. I always think of that Mahatma Gandhi quote when I think of how I was raised:

I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.

Remembering this quote has served me well when I am in a situation (which still happens today) in which it is implied that I am “less than”.

I recently finished an awesome audiobook by the Young Adult Fiction writer, John Green – The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet.

In this amazing collection of essays where he “reviews” common human experiences during our geological age, the Anthropocene.

To give the readers a perspective of time since the geologic creation of the earth, he uses the span of a year. The time humans appeared on the earth would be late December and what we would consider “major events in history” would be mere seconds, or milliseconds in the time span of the earth.

So you might be wondering where I am going with this…

Well the author’s use of a familiar time scale – a year’s period – really put into perspective how little time has really passed in the scope of human history (and tiny in the scope of earth’s history) of what we consider to be significant changes in race relations in the US like the end of slavery and the Civil Rights movement. I hope in a couple more generations, how people treat each other will evolve (hopefully for the good). Just my musings I am sharing.

I will close this post with a song that I’ve been listening to a lot lately, by Damien Marley, one of the very talented musician sons of Bob Marley, called Speak Life. It gives me a lot of thought on how I want to live my life. (I did some research and the video was shot in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, during Damien Marley’s tour of Africa. It is subtitled in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia).

If you’d like to see the lyrics here is a link: Damian Marley Speak Life Lyrics.

If you are wondering what “Speak Life” means, I did a little googling and it is related to a Bible verse and here’s a general summary which is a consensus of my research:

To speak life is to be a person of encouragement, edification, and blessing to others through what you say.
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG

I say we all go forward and “Speak Life” and make this world as bright as we can.

Featured image from dscout.com

Postscript

February 2, 2023

In addition to Black History Month, I am so happy there are months for other minorities in the U.S. like National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 – October 15), and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May), etc. because I think it is so important to continue to remind everyone of the contributions of people who are not of European ancestry to U.S. History. I also think these kind of months may inspire children who are not of European ancestry by showing/reminding them what people “just like them” have accomplished in the face of adversity.

Special Events, tierneycreates

Recycled Windows Selected for NMA Public Art Program

October 21, 2022October 21, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Recycled Hope IV: Recycled Windows has been selected for the New Mexico Arts Art in Public Places Program.

The notification I received by e-mail from Public Art Program Coordinator stated:

“Your submission has been selected to be part of Prospectus #268 Southwest Artist Series Purchase Initiative. The submitted artworks will be made available for purchase through the Art in Public Places Program. Your work will be shown to various sites throughout New Mexico with available 1% for public art funds. If your work is selected for purchase, I will contact you directly to begin the purchase process. The work will be made available for purchase for two years…”

Fingers crossed my art quilt gets selected for purchase! If I does I will need to get the art quilt (which measures 18 inches by 39 inches) professionally framed and have it professionally installed at the location in New Mexico it was purchased for. An estimate of the cost to have this done was included in the price I proposed to New Mexico Arts. It would so fun to travel to our neighboring state and oversee the installation!

If you’d like to read the Artist Statement for this piece which was created for a Central Oregon SAQA show several years ago, here it is:

18” W x 39″ L, recycled clothing, recycled denim, and recycled home decorating fabric

THE STORY OF THIS PIECE:

If you peek inside the window to my creative heart you will see it filled with a desire to reuse, repurpose, and reimagine materials which otherwise would have been discarded. Part of my Recycled Denim Stories Series, this piece blends a corduroy shirt and pants, denim jeans, sweat pants, a tweed jumper, an old curtain, and home decorating fabric sample scraps into an assemblage of window-like structures.

This is the second piece I’ve had selected by the NMA for their Art in Public Places program. The first piece was Recycled Hope III: Windows of Conversation in 2020 (see post Recycled Hope and Acclaimed Artist Series). Recycled Hope III: Windows of Conversation however was sold to a private collector in 2021, so I had to pull it from New Mexico Arts’ catalogue of prospective art for purchase.

Feature photo credit: New Mexico Arts

Special Events, WCQN

Update on the Langston Hughes, Pioneer Poet Quilt

June 9, 2022June 9, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is a follow up to my November 2021 post Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West (upcoming exhibit).

The Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) show at the The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art does not open until September 2022 but the museum had a recent fundraising event for the exhibition and Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi the head of the WCQN attended and took photos.

Included in the photos she shared on her Facebook page was an image of my quilt Langston Hughes, Pioneer Poet.

Since the quilt has officially been shown to the public, plus it is the featured quilt on the museum’s website advertisement for the show (see thejamesmuseum.org/special-exhibitions/, and scroll down to “Upcoming”), I figure I can share a full image of the quilt and my Artist Statement:

LANGSTON HUGHES, PIONEER POET

This quilt is part of the Women of Color Quilting Network’s Traveling Show – “Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West”

52″ W x 52″ L cotton, cotton flannel, image transfer fabric

THE STORY OF THIS PIECE:

Decades before the political rhetoric of “Make America Great Again”, American poet, novelist, activist and playwright Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967) challenged us to “Let America Be America Again” in his poem named the same .

Langston Hughes was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s (Smithsonian.com) and his writings focused on the African American experience. He wrote the poem that inspired this quilt, Let America Be America Again, in 1935. It was first published by Esquire magazine in 1936 (classicesquire.com). Langston Hughes has a special significance to my family: he is the namesake of the first grandchild born into our family, Langston, named after his late grandmother Gina’s favorite poet.

This quilt shares the opening four lines of the poem’s first stanza which challenges “let America be the dream it used to be (for)…the pioneer”. These four lines are followed by a powerful statement in parenthesis: “(America was never America to me)”, summarizing the plight of African Americans historically not having access to the “American American . The entire poem is powerful and worth a full reading (poem resource: Poets.org).

Using a B&W public archive image from the Smithsonian taken by photographer Carl Van Vechten in 1939, I recreated in cotton fabrics and image transfer fabric, a section of the scene from that photo, creatively reimagining his shirt to contain words representing he was a writer. In the backdrop of the image of Langston Hughes is the American Flag merged with African fabric to represent his African American heritage. The quilt is also bound with African fabric. Across the top of his hat I placed the word from the poem “pioneer” as I see Langston Hughes as a “Pioneer Poet”. He was the “pioneer on the plain” of writing relevant to the African American experience.

“Let America Be America Again” was written in 1935, however it remains quite relevant in 2021.

In addition to sharing on this blog post, I’ve also added the image of the quilt and the Artist Statement to my Portfolio page on my website, under the “Special Stories” section; as well as update to my News page (updates on my “textile art adventures”).

After the show Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West opens at The James Museum (show runs September 3, 2022 – January 8, 2023), it will begin a national tour through 2025.

According to Collections Manager at The James Museum, my piece Langston Hughes, Pioneer Poet will travel with the show to the following locations:

Booth Western Art Museum – January 28^th – May 21^st 2023
California Museum – June 17^th – October 1^st 2023
Stark Museum of Art – March 2^nd – June 23^rd 2024

Additional venues into 2025 are currently being explored.

If you’d like to read Langston Hughes’ poem that inspired this quilt – Let America Be America Again – you can read the entire poem at this website: poets.org/poem/let-america-be-america-again

Beastie Adventures, Special Events

Guest Blogger: Denver Quilt Craft and Sewing Festival

July 10, 2021July 10, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Tierneycreates Beastie here to report on my adventures at the Denver Quilt Craft and Sewing Festival. going on this weekend!

Here I am writing this post from my laptop on a make-shift desk

Oh in case you are new to this blog here is my standard blurb/background:

My name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. I was made by Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties in Dublin, Ireland. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when the human Tierney falls off the blogging-wagon and I have to help) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

A couple of weeks ago, Tierney (the human version of me) discovered that Denver is having it’s first Quilt/Craft/Sewing Festival since the pandemic. She immediately got us tickets:

It’s very warm here (we’ve been having a mini-heatwave past couple of days with temperatures up to 100F/38C) and I changed out of my standard T-shirt to my light summer dress for the festival:

I know, I know, I look extremely adorable. Can’t help it, I was made that way…

I did not wear my shoes as Tierney has a history of leaving one of my shoes behind somewhere when she helps me do my photo shoots.

I even took off my standard messenger bag where I keep my laptop (and library card) and put on my backpack in case Tierney needed help getting any fun finds at the festival home:

Ready to carry as much fabric as my backpack will hold!

The first thing we came across at the festival was a “make and take” table featuring a little felt coffee themed coaster you could make. We were tempted but we had so much to see.

After so many months of social distancing, it was strange to see all these crafters crammed into the festival (and they were all happy and very eager to wander around the booths!). The festival did require masks if you were unvaccinated and we did see some people with masks on (Tierney is fully vaccinated and I am…well I am made from yarn so I am immune in general…).

I could not help myself, there was so much fabric around, I had to play in it:

You think with all those fabric selections, Tierney could find some fabric to make me a new dress or two (I only have one dress, made by Helen @ CrawCrafts Beasties).

In addition to wandering around the many vendor booths at the festival, we also watched some cool demos:

Me watching a demo (I just noticed I have some lint in my hair, probably from laying in fabric)

We also chatted with a vendor that had a very unusual and cool woven shirt:

We had fun watching demos of Bernina sewing machines (and a long-arm quilting machine) we could not afford:

Tierney told the Bernina representative about my Beastinia and he was impressed!

Here are more images from the festival including several of me just being very cute:

We were exhausted after a couple hours at the festival but had fun chatting with other crafters and vendors as well as seeing some amazing things (most of which luckily we did not try to bring home).

Tierney could not help herself on her way to the car and had to take a photo in Black & White of some industrial spools in the parking lot (but she forgot to put me in the photo to make it interesting):

Tierney likes to pretend she is a photographer…

When we got back home, Tierney’s tote bag she took to the festival (one of her handmade tote bags) was full of goodies:

My backpack however only contained my laptop. I am not sure why she did not use my backpack for overflow. Well at least I offered.

I had a great time at my first festival (I know you are shocked that she never took me to one before). I can’t wait until my next one!

Oh and if you live in the U.S. and you are itching to go to one of these festivals, this website had a listing of upcoming (in person!) Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festivals:

https://quiltcraftsew.com/denver.html

But be safe – there are still “cooties” out there and the pandemic is not over yet (especially in many parts of the world).

Special Events, tierneycreates

Artists Teaching Students – Slide Deck Posted

February 27, 2021February 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is a follow up to the post – Artists Teaching Students. As I shared in that post, Beaverton School District in Beaverton, Oregon invited me to participate in their Art Literacy Program – Artist Teaching Students, by working with their Art Literacy Program Coordinator, Cathy Lamb, to create a slide deck presentation for kindergarten to eighth grade students (ages 5 – 14).

The slide deck is now posted on the Beaverton School District’s Art Literacy website:

https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/student-programs/art-literacy

image credit – Beaverton School District

If you scroll down, past the smiling children image to the Artist Teaching Students Online Lessons and click on the arrow next to the text, it will open access to the artists’ lessons

If you scroll down to Tierney Davis Hogan, you will reach my slide deck:

Here is a sample of the presentation via a couple screenshots:

There are many more slides in the actual presentation/slide deck on the Beaverton School District Art Literacy Program website including a slide with my (terrible) 5th Grade school photo!

Here is the link again if you want to check out the full presentation:

https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/student-programs/art-literacy

You’ll have to see the full presentation if you want to check out awkward 11 year old Tierney (I was years from becoming the babe I became at 19 – 20 years old when I met my late husband Terry while I was in nursing school, ha!).

I have to give most of the credit for the awesome slide deck to the work of the wonderful Beaverton School District Art Literacy Program Coordinator, Cathy Lamb. Cathy and I used Google Sheets to collaborate over the phone to develop the slide deck and Cathy selected most of the quilts/images from my tierneycreates.com site that she thought would fit with the presentation.

I so enjoyed my collaboration with Cathy and how she helped me tailor concepts, such as my overall Artist Statement on my Artist Statement page on tierneycreates.com, and the artist statements for the quilts in the slide deck, into words and concepts that would be meaningful to kids. She had me just talk about how I felt about developing different quilts in plain language and she translated that into text for elementary and middle school students. It was a memorable and poignant conversation.

I hope you get the chance to check out the full presentation on the Beaverton School District Art Literacy website to see Cathy’s amazing work and the results of our collaboration!

I’ve added this to my Textile Adventures page which is a chronological summary of the highlights of my artistic journey to date.

Postscript

After the slide deck was posted, a teacher/advisor at one of the schools (Arts & Communication Magnet Academy, ACMA) in the Beaverton School District reached out to me and invited me to meet with a group of students in the National Art Honors Society (NAHS) via Zoom video call.

So sometime in the near future I will be meeting with students via video to talk about textile art.

The Universe keeps surprising me!

Special Events, tierneycreates

Artists Teaching Students

February 20, 2021February 20, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The Universe never fails to surprise me. Last week I received an inquiry through my website/blog from the Program Coordinator for the Art Literacy Program, Beaverton School District, in Beaverton, Oregon.

She invited me to participate in the Beaverton School District’s Artists Teaching Students Program by working with her to develop a slide deck to teach students about my art and becoming an artist.

Here is an excerpt from her original inquiry to me:

I coordinate Art Literacy for the Beaverton School District. Art Literacy is a program that brings artists and art lessons to our students. A few of our artists – Faith Ringgold, Monet, Lois Mailou Jones, Romare Bearden, Picasso, Deborah Butterfield, Michelangelo, Grandma Moses, Vermeer, etc. When schools closed in March, I began writing a new curriculum called Artists Teaching Students. I feature local artists and their work, lives, studios, childhoods, etc. through a slide deck. The slide deck is sent out to all of our elementary and middle school students. I wanted to bring art to our kids during a really hard time.
– Program Coordinator Art Literacy, Beaverton School District

If you look at the Beaverton School District Art Literacy page – Art Literacy Beaverton Schools, and scroll down to the section “Artist Teaching Students Online Lessons” you will see examples of the presentations by other artists, geared towards elementary and middle school students, who have participated in this program.

Last evening I worked with the Program Coordinator to draft up a slide deck for the middle school students and she is adapting that for elementary school students. I will share the link to this slide deck in the future once it is complete if you’d like to see my online program for students.

The Program Coordinator does any amazing job developing these decks in collaboration with featured artists.

I am very honored to be invited to participate in this program.

I smile because although I no longer live in Oregon or Washington State, these states keep reaching out to me in some way, whether it is through the City of Seattle inviting me to have a solo show and purchasing my art for their Portable Works Collection; or an Oregon school district reaching out to participate in their Art Literacy program.

Special Events, tierneycreates

Recycled Hope and Acclaimed Artist Series

October 25, 2020October 25, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

ACCLAIMED ARTIST SERIES

I have some cool news! My piece Recycled Hope III: Windows of Conversation was selected by New Mexico Arts for their Art in Public Places: Acclaimed Artist Series pool.

Here is what the representative from New Mexico Arts informed me in the acceptance letter:

Photos/videos that you submitted of your artwork will be placed in a slideshow presentation. This presentation will be shown to potential buyers across the state of New Mexico over the next two years. These sites can include: amphitheaters, animal shelters, community centers, courthouses, educational institutions, fire stations, healthcare facilities, recreation complexes, rest areas, senior centers, etc. Participating sites will have a total budget equal to 1% of recent capital outlay funds appropriated for new construction or major renovation projects. If your artwork is selected by a site I will contact you to begin the purchasing process.

So I am hoping one of the New Mexico public institutions feel that my piece is a match for them. If selected I have to go to New Mexico and oversee the installation of the art quilt under plexiglass (I am responsible for all costs related to installation it is included in the fee they will give me if selected).

RECYCLED HOPE

Windows of Conversation used to be part of my Recycled Denim Series (all my art quilt series are listed with images and Artist Statements on my page Art Quilt Stories). Recently I reimagined by Recycled Denim series into the Recycled Hope series. It seemed to me that “hope” was something many people needed with all that is going on in the world.

I added in newer non-denim quilts into this series I’ve made such as All the Trimmings (see post “All the Trimmings” is all done) which is made from recycled materials. If you scroll on my Art Quilt Stories page to Recycled Hope VII: All the Trimmings you will see it listed.

Here is what I put on the Art Quilt Stories page as an overview about the Recycled Hope series:

The Recycled Hope an ongoing series of improvisational art quilts using recycled materials to include denim as the primary fabric on many of the pieces, combined with other recycled materials. “Hope” and the interpretation of the word “hope” is the primary theme of infused into these pieces.

Most of the fabrics were not reusable as clothing or home decor and were destined to end up in a landfill. Reimagining recycled clothing and other materials into art quilts satisfies my hopeful desire to honor the environment and make art that is eco-conscious. Ending up in an art quilt is a better outcome than ending up in a landfill.

Below is the updated Artist Statement for Recycled Hope III: Windows of Conversation

Photographed by Tierney Davis Hogan

55” W x 59” L, recycled jeans, various recycled clothing, and recycled home decor fabric

THE STORY OF THIS PIECE:

This textile creation in the Recycled Hope series, was inspired my hope that in order to move forward as country we need to foster open windows of conversation and respectful dialogue between peoples of different cultures, socioeconomic statuses, ages, identities and life experiences.

From the Woodshop, Papercrafting, Special Events

Card Making Playdate

October 4, 2020May 3, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am off work on Fridays and last Friday I had my friend Michele over for a card making playdate!

Michele got me into card making back in the late 1990s when we worked together at a company in Seattle, Washington (in the Queen Anne area if you are familiar with Seattle). Along with our friend Sandy we would make cards in the conference room during our lunch break.

I’ve not make cards for a couple years, not since I made them for my tierneycreates Etsy shop (which I still daydream about reopening someday). Here are the sets of cards I sold on my Etsy shop years ago:

I lined the inside of the cards with a white folded sheet of paper to make it easier to write inside the card (instead of trying to write a greeting on deep colored card stock.

So Michele and I thought it would be fun after all these years, and since I now also live in the Denver Metro area where she lives, to get together for making cards (and we could relatively socially distance while crafting).

I converted my studio/sewing room into a “paper crafting emporium” for the day, putting away my sewing machine and current project in progress (which I will share in a future post) and dusted off my old paper crafting supplies and set them up around the room.

Here is my studio table all set for card making (with snacks of course!):

And the paper crafting supplies spread around the room:

Here is Michele’s work in progress and the cards she made:

I tried to recreate the style of the cards I made previously for my Etsy shop that I featured earlier in the post but I was struggling with my paper cutter (old dull blade, etc.) in order to make larger cards from card stock, so I settled on using pre-made and folded smaller card stock I found in my paper crafting stash (likely 15+ year old!).

I also made these cards (some of the cards have 2 images – one with the ribbon in place and one with it moved so you can read the text):

Most of cards Michele and I added an inner liner of folded white paper glued into the crease to make it easy to write a note inside the card.

Michele and I had a very fun day while Mike the Miniature Schnauzer hung out in the room with us while we crafted.

At one point Mike keep seeking attention from Michele, and she took out a sheet of pre-printed adhesive letters and began teaching Mike the alphabet/to read (while we giggled). During the pandemic she’s been helping her son in his remote home schooling (like so many awesome Moms out there) so she used her Mom-Teacher skills on Mike!

Mike did listen attentively but he was not very good at learning the alphabet!

We had a wonderful lunch prepared by my partner John (who full time telecommutes during the pandemic) of scalloped potatoes, honey ham, and sautéed broccoli.

We also went on a walk around the green space/park behind my house.

It was a lovely way to spend a Friday and we plan to paper craft again in the near future. This time Michele is going to pull out her dusty paper crafting supplies and we will craft at her house.

Postscript

Speaking of crafting, my partner John, who has since the pandemic started and we became homebound, has been studying woodworking and continuing working on projects. I shared the tables he made in the Postscript section of the post – Making My Own Granny Square Afghan.

Well recently he completely a bench/table with drawers for his Miter Saw which in my opinion is pretty impressive for a new woodworker! He bought plans online for the bench/table and improved upon those plans to better reinforce the table.

He’s been having a lot of fun in his studio since we converted part of the daylight basement to his woodworking shop!

Special Events

Leonardo…

September 22, 2020September 22, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

And now for something completely different…(and if you get the Monty Python reference then you are my people!)

Nothing can be loved or hated unless it is first understood.
– Leonardo da Vinci

I’ve always been fascinated by Leonardo da Vinci. I first learned about this Renaissance genius Italian polymath in my high school European History class; and I’ve remained fascinated by his works all my life.

The first Leonardo da Vinci exhibit I attended was when I lived in Houston, Texas at the Museum of Fine Arts. The second exhibit I attended was in British Columbia at the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, Canada when I lived in Seattle, Washington (British Columbia is fairly close to the Pacific Northwestern part of the US and we took the Victoria Clipper ferry from Washington state to Victoria).

Here is one of my favorite posters of all time that I put up on the wall wherever I live since I purchased it in 1999 at the exhibit:

Last August I visited the exhibit Leonardo da Vinci: 500 Years of Genius at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and I thought I would share some highlights of this exhibit with you (I meant to blog about it last year after I attended, and I forgot…)

Here is an excerpt of the description of the exhibit from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Although Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519, his influence has endured. His extraordinary legacy comes to life…through a variety of experiences that illustrate why the ultimate Renaissance man remains an inspiration for the ages.

- See nearly 70 of Leonardo’s machine inventions, built using detailed concepts from his famous codices (notebooks), including a helicopter, airplane, automobile, submarine and military tank.
- Explore the exclusive “The Secrets of Mona Lisa,” an analysis of the iconic painting conducted at the Louvre by scientific engineer and photographer Pascal Cotte.
- Be immersed in Leonardo’s works through a multisensory cinematic experience using Grande Exhibitions’ SENSORY4 technology.
- Test a Leonardo-inspired catapult, and encounter the Museum’s historical enactors, presenting characters who bring a personal perspective to the story of Leonardo.

What was most amazing about this exhibit (besides the whole room dedicated to the science and the mystery behind the Mona Lisa) was seeing life size models of da Vinci’s creations from his drawings in his famous notebooks.

By the way – throughout the exhibit they had enlarged reproductions of da Vinci’s famous backward writing on the walls of the exhibit:

Leonardo Machine Inventions Brought to Life From His Notebooks

Here are some of the machine models created from da Vinci’s drawings for this exhibit and reproductions of the original drawings.

Anatomic Drawings and Vitruvian Man

The exhibit also had a section on da Vinci’s anatomic drawings and his famous Virtuvian Man . Here are a couple images from that section:

The Mona Lisa

The exhibit also had an amazing section on the mysteries of the Mona Lisa. It was the most crowded section of the exhibit.

As I mentioned unfortunately it was very crowded in this part of the exhibit and I did not get to spend as much time as I’d like to.

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is pretty awesome and we’ve attend several other awesome exhibits there in the past (see post The Art of the Brick).

Postscript

Around the time I first learned about Leonardo da Vinci (in high school), I also discovered Monty Python.

There is no relation to the two, but I opened this post with a Monty Python reference and now I am going to close it with a clip of one of my favorite Monty Python skits:

Ministry of Silly Walks

I dare you not to laugh, John Cleese is so brilliant in it. I’ve seen this clip many times and it always brings a smile to my face (and most times a belly laugh!)

Special Events

The Art of the Brick

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

“Art nurtures the brain. Whether made from clay, paint, wood, or a modern-day toy.” – Nathan Sawaya

Sunday we went to see an awesome new exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science – The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya. All the pieces are made out of Legos!

We are museum members so we got invited to a members’ only showing which was awesome as the crowd was small (and everyone was social distancing and had their masks on).

The pieces in the exhibit were amazing and many were HUGE! We imagined hours and hours of creating these pieces. Here is a video I found from when the exhibit visited Manchester, UK. (which unfortunately closed early due to the pandemic).

Well let’s dive into images from the Denver show we saw Sunday:

All life size or larger!

Also displayed were an amazing collection of reproductions of famous paintings and sculptures done in Legos:

The artist also created some very unique pieces with Legos, including a giant figure swimming in Lego water:

My favorite piece in the show was this one (yes a Legos dog made life size):

My partner John’s favorite piece was this twisted Lego block:

John loved Legos as a kid and participated in Legos building competitions. He got a kick posing with several of the Legos figures at the exhibit!

I’ll close out this post with one of the posters of quotes from the artist throughout the exhibit:

A Crafter's Life, Special Events, tierneytravels

California Quilting Sisters Adventures, Part I

February 17, 2020August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Currently I am on “holiday”, as my friends on the other side of the pond would call it. I am taking a lovely break from the snowstorms and biting cold of the Denver Metro area and relaxing in paradise. I’ll share a future post about my current adventures, however, as promised in a previous post, I want to catch up on some of my 2019 adventures I did not blog about.

For those of you just joining us, in December 2018 I suddenly and unexpectedly loss my best friend and husband of many years, Terry the Quilting Husband, and became a widow. So the 2018 holiday season and winter 2019 were a very dark and sad time in my life.

Thank goodness for my wonderful family and friends, who were an amazing support system during very dark days.

Also thank goodness for my (surprising to many) plans to leave Central Oregon and move to the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area (see series of posts Colorado Bound) as it gave me something else to focus on besides my all encompassing grief over the loss of my life parter.

One of the wonderful things my friends did to distract me from my loneliness and grief was to invite me to visit them and I shared the first fun trip I went on in 2019 in the post Fabric Fangirl Frenzy with my Quilting Sisters Judy and Dana (for the backstory on my Quilting Sisters see the posts Quilting Sisters I, and II).

The next trip I took was in March 2019 to visit my friend Michele and to tour apartment in the Denver metro area (see post An Awesome Way to Display Kid Art!).

In April I visited with my my Quilting Sisters Kathy and Lisa who live in the Sacramento, California area and this next several posts are about that wonderful visit!

2019-04-03_20-55-24_350 — Snuggling with the Quilting Sisters Kathy and Lisa

It’s All About the Puppy

I stayed with my Quilting Sister Kathy and her husband Matt. They had just adopted a Chocolate Labrador puppy named Riley.

I love dogs, and I absolutely LOVE PUPPIES, and I fell in love quickly with Riley (so much so that by the end of trip the officially made me Riley’s “dog godmother”).

I spent a lot of the weekend cuddling with Riley (good therapy). She was a puppy of course and very active and crazy by nature but I set up a system of “Swaddling” her in a towel the evening to relax her and give us a break from her crazy puppy energy.

Kathy, Matt, Riley and I went to a local brewery and had a wonderful time with the pup! Here are some photos from our brewery time (and the brewery staff was very patient and accommodating when the pup had an “accident”).

More Pups and even a Cat

My Quilting Sister Lisa is a brilliant Veterinarian as well as the owner of Supreme Point Kennels – she shows and breeds Wirehaired Pointing Griffons.

Kathy took me over to Lisa’s home for a visit (and before we headed out on a Quilt Shop Hop Adventure which I will share in another post in this series) and I got to visit with the herd at her house which includes several gorgeous Wirehaired Pointing Griffons, a Giant Schnauzer, several rescued dogs and a cat.

I was in furry creature heaven at Lisa’s home! There was a lot of petting and snuggling going on! I really got a kick out of the cat who just thought he was another one of the dogs and was very comfortable with the large dogs and being part of “the herd”.

Lisa was working on an awesome Griffon themed quilt from a class she took on portrait quilts:

Human Snuggling

As I mentioned earlier in this post, during the most difficult time in my life, I was so supported (and still supported) by a wonderful network for family and friends.

During my visit to the Sacramento, CA area I got some time to be “loved on” and snuggled by my California Quilting Sisters which was very nurturing and healing.

Here we are snuggling on the sofa at Kathy’s house (I took a break from snuggling with Riley the pup to do human snuggling instead – ha!):

And here I am feeling all warm and cozy, sipping a Jameson Irish Whiskey that Kathy’s husband Matt poured for me, while knitting (working on the hat I discussed in this post The Ball of Yarn (which eventually became a hat)), sitting under one of Kathy’s handmade quilts, and watching baseball with my Quilting Sisters.

And for a beautiful moment in the midst of my grief, I felt at peace and quite loved.

A Crafter's Life, Special Events

Bucket List Delight!

December 28, 2019December 28, 2019 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

2019 was a year filled with some major lows but also some MAJOR HIGHS (the Universe tried to keep itself in balance?).

These highs included being invited by the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture for my first solo art show (see posts Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part I, Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part II, and Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part III); moving to Colorado (see series of posts Colorado Bound); and meeting my partner John (see post Morning Walk in Black and White).

However one of the “awesome-nest” highs of 2019 involved achieving one of my “bucket list” items – seeing President Barack Obama speak in person.

I’ll share the story of how it happened in a moment, but this was the second opportunity I was lucky enough to experience seeing a U.S. President in person. The first U.S. President I saw speak in person was in May 2018 – 43rd President George Bush, Jr (see post A Presidential Artistic Journey (Re-post)) and that was very awesome.

However seeing President Obama (44th U.S. President) speak in person was something very high on my “bucket list”.

Greenbuild Conference 2019

I have two very awesome siblings, they are two of my best friends on this planet – a brother Raoul and a sister Rianna (by the way, I am writing this post from the Denver International Airport as I get ready to fly to Las Vegas for the weekend to meet up with my brother and his family).

My sister Rianna, earlier in 2019, finished her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with a focus on Project Management (the same MBA I have from the same university) and got her dream job as a Construction Project Manager for a University she was already working, but this time with their contractor Project Management company. (I was so impressed she finished her MBA in record time while working full time and being a busy Mom!).

She is working on her LEED green building certification and her new employer approved for her to attend the Greenbuild International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia November 19 – 22, 2019. She was very excited to be approved for this opportunity but she was in shock when she discovered that the keynote speaker was President Barack Obama!!!

For an extra fee, you could bring a guest with you to the keynote as well as some limited events at the conference. So for my early Christmas present, my sister got me a ticket to the keynote which was actually titled “A Conversation with President Barack Obama“.

There was a crazy extremely long line to get seated for the keynote, luckily we showed up early. Here we are waiting on line in major anticipation of seeing/hearing in person one of the people we most admire:

The keynote was actually an interview of President Obama by U.S. Green Building Council’s president and CEO, Mahesh Ramanujam. The focus on the discussion/interview was on sustainability and affordability.

Here is a link to an online article with a wonderful summary of the highlights of the event – Highlights from former President Obama’s Greenbuild keynote.

I also found several excerpts from the keynote on YouTube:

It was very exciting to (sort of) be breathing the same air that President Obama was breathing and my sister and I tried to restrain our inner fan girls and just focus on his talk/interview/conversation.

We sat in the middle of the very large auditorium and luckily they had large monitors so we could get a close up view of the interview. Here are several of my photos of him speaking on the large monitors:

He was as we expected, an incredibly eloquent and engaging speaker!

My sister and I were in sort of daze after the keynote was done and we were giggling/laughing with other conference attendees as we walked out of the auditorium, squealing “that really happened, we really saw President Obama speak!!!”

I got the feeling that this moment was part of many attendees’ “bucket lists”!

After the Keynote/Conference

I telecommuted for work from our Atlanta, Georgia hotel while my sister attended the rest of the Greenbuild Conference and then we wandered around downtown Atlanta, Georgia.

We stopped at Centennial Olympic Park from when 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was very cool to see the iconic Olympic Rings in person:

In the park area they had a sweet little German-style Holiday Market going on and we wandered about that market and enjoyed some Bavarian hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies.

My sister used to live in Heidelberg, Germany for several years while she was in the military and she had fun chatting with a market vendor who was from Heidelberg.

Autumn colors were in full force in Atlanta and we also enjoyed wandering around enjoying the beautiful foliage!

On the final day of the conference, in the evening, they had a major end of conference party/event – a party on the field of Mercedes Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons (U.S. Football team for my blogging friends abroad)!

It was amazing to actually be on the playing field of a U.S. Football team. I cannot share photos, as it might be embarrassing (smile), but they actually let party/conference attendees try kicking a field goal from the goal line! My sister was very brave and tried it herself, without much success, and she accepts she does not have a future as a professional football player (smile).

Here we are at the party on the stadium field:

They also had a concert on the field for conference attendees by the band Collective Soul!

Postscript

I’ve traveled a lot in 2019, the most I’ve ever traveled in one year. I am quite behind in sharing my adventures and hopefully I can catch up on the backlog of stories I would like to share. Not to mention the backlog of reading my favorite blogs I follow!

The New Year is nearly upon us! Hope you and your loved ones are having a wonderful holiday season! Hopefully I will post more before the end of 2019 (smile).

Beastie Adventures, Special Events

Solo Show, Part IV – Pieces Sold

May 18, 2019May 18, 2019 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I have some wonderful news to share and a follow up to my series of posts about my current solo show at the Seattle Municipal Tower in downtown Seattle, Washington (most recent post Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part III).

The City of Seattle is purchasing three of my pieces made from recycled silks:

COLOR STORY I: FLYING TRIANGLES

COLOR STORY II: SILK LANDSCAPE

COLOR STORY IV: COLOR CHANGE

These pieces will become part of the City of Seattle’s permanent rotating art collection, like my piece that they purchased in 2016 – COLOR STORY V: ABANDONED WATER STRUCTURE:

Since 2016 this piece has rotated display through the City of Seattle’s offices. I was informed that currently it is on display at the City of Seattle Courthouse.

There are no words that would capture my excitement and the honor I feel that my pieces were selected for purchase. The whole experience has been magical. The City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture reached out to me about the solo show (which at first I misunderstood that they were inviting me to be part of a show with other artists).

I am so incredibly grateful to the coordinator of the Ethnic Heritage Arts Gallery, the Curator for the Office of Arts of Culture, and the talented person who hung my art quilts so beautifully at the Seattle Municipal Tower.

In addition to the three pieces being purchased by the City of Seattle, I also have two private collector purchases pending/in the works for these two pieces:

RECYCLED DENIM STORY III: RECYCLED ROAD

COLOR STORY VI: ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG – THE VESSEL

I am also very honored that several friends of mine want to have my art in their homes!!!!

Now I need to make more art as my available collection is dwindling (and that is a good thing!)

Postscript

This is a follow up to yesterday’s post Another Beastie Blogging Intervention: New Studio Tour, Part III.

No need for any petitions, tierneycreates Beastie and I have been in negotiations for a new space for her and Mikelet to hang out.

I’ve moved them to the cutting area in my sewing area to hang out. Though this sounds like a potentially dangerous idea in case she begins playing with my rotary cutter – see post Guest Blogger: October Quilt Retreat Part II…

2018-10-25_15-03-23_912 — A friend at a quilt retreat handing a Beastie a rotary cutter…not the best idea…

Now I am just using the plastic box to store her off season clothes (her Aran sweater and hat beautiful knitted by Helen @Crawcrafts Beasties!)

Special Events

Fabric Fangirl Frenzy

May 11, 2019May 12, 2019 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Time to step back and catch up you up on some of my adventures from the past several months.

At the end of February I joined my Seattle area based friends Judy and Dana at the 2019 Sew & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, Washington.

I will share photos from the 2019 Expo in a future post but this post about how I became a crazed FABRIC FANGIRL when I got to meet my favorite fabric designer Marcia Derse at the Expo!

I’ve loved Marcia Derse fabrics for many years and first discovered them at the Stitchin’ Post in Sisters, Oregon when I lived in Central Oregon.

I’ve made several quilts with her fabrics, such as this one below:

I also have a ridiculous collection of fat quarters of her fabrics (collected over the years from the Stitchin’ Post) and some yardage including prints and solids:

So when I saw that she had a booth at the 2019 Sew & Stitchery Expo I had to go introduce myself as her “biggest fabric fan” and generally embarrass myself with my fabric fangirl frenzy. I did not even know she was going to be at Expo – what an incredible surprise as I wandered through all the booths with my friends.

She was very humble and gracious and showed me her new fabric line as well as existing fabric lines (which I was quite familiar):

She also had on display some of her amazing quilts made with her fabrics:

I dragged my friend Dana over to introduce her to Marcia Derse and her fabric line and before you know it, Marcia was helping Dana select fabrics for an impromptu quilt idea:

Dana left the booth with a nice collection of Marcia Derse fabrics:

Of course I left the booth with fabrics – including Marcia Derse’s new spectacular art prints:

It was very exciting to have Marcia herself packaging up my fabric!

Here are my new acquisitions with my existing collection of Marcia Derse fabrics:

Postscript

We ran into my friend, New York Times Best Selling Author Marie Bostwick at Sew Expo and had her autograph a book for my friend Lisa, who is one of her biggest fans.

Judy, Dana and I spent time with Marie at our Tula Pink Quilt Retreat in September 2018 (see post Tula Pink “All Stars” Retreat (Part II))

By the way if you’d like to see my series of posts from the 2018 Sew & Stitchery Expo, see the links below:

Sewing & Stitchery Expo 2018, Part I

Sewing & Stitchery Expo 2018, Part II

A Crafter's Life, Special Events

A Presidential Artistic Journey (Re-post)

December 5, 2018December 5, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Today is a national day of mourning in the U.S. to honor the legacy of the recently deceased 41st President, George H.W. Bush, Sr.

No matter how you might feel politically about him, let’s agree that it takes a lot to live a life of public service, something few of us would take on. He was also a World War II Veteran.

So in honor of George H.W. Bush, Sr.’s legacy, I thought I would repost this post from June 2018 about the opportunity I had in May 2018 to hear his son, former U.S. President George W. Bush, Jr. speak in person and talk about his artistic journey.

A Presidential Artistic Journey

This is not a political post, but this post is about a former political figure, now a private citizen – former U.S. President George W. Bush, Jr.

Suspend for a moment any political leanings you hold and let me share a very special opportunity I had to see a former U.S. President speak in person in early May and to learn of his artistic journey.

A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity

April 30 – May 4th, I attended a national conference for the industry that I am employed , in Orlando, Florida. One of the keynote presentations at the conference was a conversation with former President George W. Bush, Jr. and the president of a national organization hosting the conference.

No photos were allowed and there was strict security so unfortunately I have no photos from the experience to share (when I first discovered that President Bush would be speaking I had hopes of a “selfie” with a former U.S. President!). I’ve never seen a U.S. President in person so just the experience to see a historical figure in person was very exciting to me.

To be honest, I was not a huge fan of President Bush during his Presidency, but I put those thoughts aside and approached the presentation with an open mind.

He was absolutely amazing and spoke with much wonderful humor, insight, inspiration and Texas twang! He shared the experience of recently losing his mother, Barbara Bush (who I always greatly respected). He also spoke candidly about 9/11 (September 11, 2001/World Trade Center bombings) and other challenges and his Presidency; and about what’s going on in the world and in the U.S. today.

As I do not want this to be a political post I will not share all the specifics of what he said but let’s just say he might not fully support the current choices and political environment of the current U.S. Presidential Administration. He said that the U.S. cannot become isolationists, we have to stay connected to the world and shared specific reasons, in his opinion, why it is important that the U.S. stay engaged.

He did encourage those of us who might feel currently discouraged not to give up on democracy; and that the office of U.S. President is greater than the behavior of any one individual.

He also talked about what he has seen in the world and that those that live in the U.S. should remember just how blessed we are to live in this country (in regards to all the freedoms and opportunities we have available to us that are not available in all parts of the world).

Interestingly during his talk I learned that he is close friends the Dalai Llama and Bono (lead singer of the band U2 who is heavily involved in humanitarian causes) – who would have known?

Overall his talk was very inspirational, spiritual (he is a man of strong faith) and hopeful – he brought many of us to tears several times during his talk.

A Former U.S. President’s Artistic Journey

For me the best part of his talk was when he shared how he became a painter and his evolution as an artist/his artistic journey. He talked about the fear he had to overcome to start painting and bouts with self doubt of his painting ability.

He also talked about the moment when he realized he was not too bad at painting. I wish I could have taken notes as there were many gems in his discussion of his artistic journey and I could relate to many of those experiences in my journey.

He eventually combined his love of painting with his post-presidency humanitarian efforts, which include working with Veterans especially those dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He painted Veterans for his book Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors (if you click on the link you will see an image of former President Bush painting a portrait) and proceeds from book sales, according to the website, “helps post-9/11 veterans and their families make a successful transition to civilian life and addresses issues of veteran wellness, including post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury”.

Screen Shot 2018-06-09 at 10.07.56 PM — image credit: bushcenter.org

He shared a couple of amazing stories about the friendships he developed with several Veterans dealing with PTSD while working on their portraits. He tried to capture in their portrait painting not only their physical features but what the individual was dealing with internally at the time, he made an effort to get to know each Veteran he was painting.

I’m so thankful to my employer for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they gave me in sending me to the conference in Orlando. I also appreciate the opportunity to share this experience with you all and ask for you to be moderate and thoughtful in your comments on this post as fellow readers have differing political views, thanks.

Special Events

Announcing the Winners of the tierneycreates Blog’s 5th Anniversary Giveaway

November 1, 2018December 2, 2019 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Random Drawing Winners of Five Giveaways

This morning Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH) did the drawing of the names of the winners of the FIVE (5) Giveaways to celebrate the tierneycreates Blog’s 5th anniversary.

Names were drawn from those who left comments on the five (5) posts and below are the randomly drawn winners by post:

5th Blog Anniversary Giveaway #1

Claudia McGill @Claudia McGill

5th Blog Anniversary Giveaway #5

Pat T.

The posts are linked above the winner’s names in case you need to refer back and see exactly what you have won!

Special Recognition Giveaways

Top Commenters

To celebrate the tierneycreates blog 5th anniversary I posted daily for 31 days and that is a lot of posts for people to endure, I mean read! Thank you so much to everyone who read and commented on the 31 days of posts in October!

TTQH and I did a 6th surprise drawing based on the “Top Recent Commenters” according to my WordPress stats:

We did a random drawing from the names above, and the winner of the 6th drawing is Mary @zippyquilts. Mary can select a little wallet and a choice of a set of my art quilt cards or a miniature kimono.

One more special recognition

As a special thank you to someone who has followed me for nearly 5 years (one of my first 5 followers), I am giving Claire @knitnkwilt a little wallet and a choice of a set of my art quilt cards or a miniature kimono!

Instructions for the Drawing Winners

Please use the Questions/Contact Me form to send me your mailing address as well as your full name for mailing purposes. I will not use your name and address for anything other than mailing you your drawing winning.

Also please let me know what color little wallet you would like and an alternate color. If you won a miniature kimono, please let me know what color you would prefer. My final selection of what to send you will be based on availability.

And if you decide you do not want the prize or that you do not want to provide your mailing information (I will not be offended, it is okay), let me know and we will draw an alternate winner from the other names.

Thanks everyone for sharing my in 5th anniversary blog celebration!

Feature Image Credit: Krzysztof (Kriss) Szkurlatowski, freeimages.com

Special Events

5th Blog Anniversary Giveaway #5

October 30, 2018October 30, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

We are at Day #5 of the 5 days of giveaways in celebration of the tierneycreates 5th blog anniversary.

The 5th giveaway is inspired by previous posts on Thrift Shop Adventures, most recently the post Awesome $3 Thrift Shop Find; and by my former Etsy shop which is the initial reason I started the blog and one of the items I used to sell on my shop.

Inspired by a comment from Shasta@highroadquilter, I am giving away a couple of the home decor fabrics, that have a vintage fabric feel, from my recent thrift store find; and I am giving away a set of little love pillows in vintage style fabrics.

The home decor fabric totals 1.5 – 2+ yards (around 2 meters/metres) in the bigger pieces.

In addition to above, like in giveaways 1 – 4, in addition to a miniature kimono in a color of your choosing (if available), you will also receive a little wallet in a color of your choosing:

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #5 simply write in the “Thoughts/Comments” section of THIS CURRENT POST if you’ve ever had an exciting thrift store or garage sale find (or if you have never even been to a thrift store or garage sale).

Good Luck 🙂

This drawing is open until 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time on 10/31/18 and a winner will be selected by random drawing from those who commented on this post.

Special Events

5th Blog Anniversary Giveaway #4

October 29, 2018October 29, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

We are at Day #4 of the 5 days of giveaways in celebration of the tierneycreates 5th blog anniversary. I am back home and have decent WiFi again! I am starting to catch up on reading all the wonderful comments on the posts over the past couple days.

I seriously appreciate DFLAMMIA3 @travelitch2 ‘s comment on yesterday’ post – “Chins up…we all understand and no need to respond to everyone’s comments.” Alas, being sort of compulsive I will continue to try to eventually reply to every comment (smile).

Starting to catch up on recent comments I discovered that a “Pat T.” has been following my blog for nearly 5 years, she (assuming she) left a wonderful comment on the post 5th Blog Anniversary Giveaway #1 that makes me never want to give up blogging. So I will be updating the post Guest Blogger: tierneycreates 5th Anniversary Celebration Giveaway, in which I list the bloggers and non bloggers that have followed my blog for nearly 4 or 5 years.

By the way, tierneycreates Beastie is back from attending her first quilt retreat and she or I (we have to discuss) will be posting about the retreat, but here is preview – we let her play with rotary cutter (danger, danger!):

So What Is Today’s Giveaway?

Well before we get to today’s giveaway (see I am so wordy when I have access to decent WiFi) here is a listing of the posts related to the 5th anniversary giveaway to date:

Originally on these posts I mention that the drawing will close at October 30th at 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time. I am moving that cut off date to October 31st at 11:59 pm.

Today’s giveaway takes us back to where the blog began: as a vehicle for my no longer open Etsy shop – tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles & smiles. The first thing I sold on my Etsy shop and my most successful offer was my handmade miniature kimonos.

Below is are example of the miniature kimonos I sold on my Etsy shop – the photos below are of one of my all time favorite miniature kimonos (which sold immediately when I listed it on my Etsy shop):

The Miniature Kimono Story

I began making miniature kimonos to feature beautiful Asian fabrics many years ago. I came across a miniature kimono at a small quilt shop in British Columbia but there was no pattern.

The original miniature kimono from a quilt shop in Victoria, BC

So I reverse engineered it as close as I could and started making them.

I use two coordinating fabrics are used: an intriguing Asian print and a solid cotton. I decorate them with buttons and occasionally tassels and hang them from a chopstick tied with a heavy embroidery thread.

These Miniature Kimono are approximately 6 x 7 inches and look great hung from a chopstick; or frame in a shadowbox individually or in a grouping.

Below are some examples:

Here is what I have left in my stash of miniature kimonos I did not sell through my Etsy shop:

In addition to a miniature kimono in a color of your choosing (if available), you will also receive a little wallet in a color of your choosing:

So How Do I Win It?

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #4 simply write in the “Thoughts/Comments” section of THIS CURRENT POST whether you have ever sold your crafts online and/or if you have every purchased handmade crafts online.

Feel free to elaborate on your experience if you like.

Good Luck 🙂

This drawing is open until 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time on 10/31/18 and a winner will be selected by random drawing from those who commented on this post.

Special Events

5th Blog Anniversary Giveaway #3

October 28, 2018October 28, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It’s day 3 of the 5 days of giveaways in celebration of the tierneycreates blog 5th anniversary celebration and I’ve run into a little snag at the quilt retreat I am currently attending – the WiFi is spotty.

So I haven’t been able to respond to your comments or read any of the blogs I follow without using up my cellular data minutes (yup I am the last person on earth who doesn’t have an unlimited data plan, ha!)

I am briefly posting from my phone to keep to the challenge of daily posts for the 31 days of October. This post will not be pretty but it will do the job 😀

Today’s giveaway is a book by my friend and the talented art quilter and teacher, Wendy Hill – On The Surface: Thread Embellishment & Fabric Manipulation.

One of the projects in this book, was mentioned in the August 2016 post What’s on the Design Wall…Thread? – handmade light switch covers.

The winner of the giveaway will also win a little wallet in a color of their choosing (as available).

In order to enter the drawing for the giveaway please share if you’ve ever experimented with making fiber/textile art.

Good Luck 😀

This drawing is open until 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time on 10/31/18 and a winner will be selected by random drawing from those who commented on this post.

Special Events, Thrift Shop Adventures

5th Blog Anniversary Giveaway #2

October 27, 2018October 29, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Welcome to Day 2 of the 5 Days of Giveaways in celebration of the tierneycreates blog 5th anniversary!

Here are two related previous posts if you need are just joining us today:

So What Are You Giving Away Today Tierney?

In honor of my love of craft books (see posts like Craft Book Hoarder?!?!?) and my great finds at thrift stores (see my series of posts Thrift Shop Adventures) the next two giveaways are related to crafting books found at a thrift shop.

The first one is Modern Designs for Classic Quilts: 12 Traditionally Inspired Patterns Made New (2012 by Kelly Biscopink and Andrea Johnson.

51aSSVv29tL._SX398_BO1,204,203,200_ — image credit: amazon.com

This book is used but it is in very good condition.

It is a book I already have in my collection (and plan to make a quilt from it someday!) so if you win it then maybe we can work on the same quilt from the book at the same time (and maybe you can inspire me to actually use a book I own to make a quilt instead of just letting it gather dust on my bookshelf!)

Here is a screen shot from the Barnes & Noble Bookstore website with an overview of the book:

In addition to this book, if you win this giveaway you will also get a little wallet in your choice of color:

So How Do I Win It?

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #2 simply write in the “Thoughts/Comments” section of THIS CURRENT POST whether you prefer Classic/Traditional Design or Modern Design in general.

Feel free to elaborate on your preference of just write “Classic” or “Modern” in the Comments.

Good Luck 🙂

This drawing is open until 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time on 10/31/18 and a winner will be selected by random drawing from those who commented on this post.

Special Events

5th Blog Anniversary Giveaway #1

October 26, 2018October 28, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Welcome to Day #1 of the 5 day tierneycreates Blog 5th Anniversary Celebration Giveaways.

Giveaway #1

Pleas see yesterday’s post Guest Blogger: tierneycreates 5th Anniversary Celebration Giveaway for additional details; and the first giveaway is a set of four (4) tierneycreates art cards of the first 4 art quilts I made.

You can read more about these cards in this post – Art Quilt Cards.

The cards will arrive packaged like this:

In addition to a set of Art Cards, the winner will also receive a Little Wallet in a color of their choice (if available):

How to Enter

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #1 (set of art cards and a little wallet) please explore any old tierneycreates post from October 2013 to December 2017.

Below are links to posts organized by month from October 2013 to December 2017 to help you locate old posts. Simply write in the “Thoughts/Comments” section of THIS CURRENT POST the title and date of the old post from October 2013 – December 2017 you peeked at.

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger, Special Events, tierneycreates

Guest Blogger: tierneycreates 5th Anniversary Celebration Giveaway

October 25, 2018August 13, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hi there, this is tierneycreates Beastie and I am the guest blogger for today’s post. Below is a shocking photo of me, but I will explain in a moment:

First a little background if you are new to this blog: Yes, I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. You can read my story and see some of my adventures so far in the series of posts – Beastie Adventures. I was born in Dublin, Ireland and moved (well was shipped) to Central Oregon to join Tierney of tierneycreates in June 2018.

So normally I look like this:

2018-09-14_14-18-38_290 — In my hand-knit Irish cable Aran sweater!

Or like this in warmer weather:

2018-07-27_18-05-22_257 — Tierney made me a make shift desk so I could work on my first guest blog post back in July.

And often I am accompanied by my dog Mikelet:

But the reason why I am currently in a plastic bag is that Tierney of tierneycreates is letting me go to my first Quilt Retreat today. She is headed to a 4 day retreat with her quilting friends from Oregon, California and Washington state – and I get to go with her!

We decided not to bring Mikelet, we are going to let him stay at home with Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH) and Big Mike the Miniature Schnauzer (well to Mikelet who is a couple inches tall, Mike is pretty big!).

I agreed that it would be safest to have me travel securely so that I do not lose my glasses or any of my other accessories (if you check out the post Beastie Adventures: Sisters, Oregon, you will see how once nearly lost my little boots when I was wandering around in a yarn paradise!) in route.

What I think is cool is I get to travel in Tierney’s messenger bag where she also keeps her laptop. Well I have a messenger bag too and a laptop (as well as a library card just like Tierney):

I am actually in this bag right now (and you might be wondering how I am managing to write this post. Well, you’ll just have to trust me that I am making it work…):

Okay, now what was this post originally about?

Oh yes, the tierneycreates Blog Fifth Anniversary Celebration!

The tierneycreates Blog Fifth Anniversary Celebration and Giveaway

Tierney’s first post was on October 27, 2013 and in two days the tierneycreates blog will be officially 5 years old!

Originally she started her blog as a vehicle for her now closed tierneycreates Etsy shop. Then she discovered she enjoyed blogging much more than she enjoyed running her Etsy shop and trying to sell handmade items online.

Tierney appreciates all her blog followers/readers and she asked me to recognize her longest, still active followers:

Bloggers

Claire @ knitnkwilt – nearly 5 years

Cindy @ A Quilter’s Corner with Cindy Anderson – nearly 4 years

Non Bloggers

Rianna (Tierney’s sister)

Michele (Tierney’s longtime friend)

Pat T. (dedicated follower)

Terry the Quilting Husband (aka TTQH)

What does Tierney love most about blogging? Connecting with creative people all over the world! Tierney and I took a look at her WordPress stats and her blog has been visited by readers in everyone continent except Antartica.

Here is a screenshot from the tierneycreates blog stats page to show all the countries around the world from which people have visited her blog:

Screen Shot 2018-10-24 at 9.34.31 PM.png — Yellow to red = visitors from these countries

As you can see, besides Antarctica (which is not even tracked by WordPress) no one in Greenland cares for her blog!

For 2018, the top 10 countries for visitors to the tierneycreates blog are:

On behalf of Tierney, thank you so much to those creative people in these countries and to all people in all countries who spent the time to visit the tierneycreates blog during the past 5 years!

Tierney is very surprised that she made it to 25 days so far of daily blogging posts in honor of the 5th anniversary without pulling any posts from her archives. That is a lot of new ramblings! Over the next 5 days she will announce FIVE GIVEAWAYS in honor of her 5th Anniversary. Tomorrow’s post announced the first giveaway.

Here are the general guidelines and overall plan for the upcoming five days of giveaways:

Each day will feature a different giveaway and all items will relate to a tierneycreates blog post over the past 5 years.
One winner will be selected for each giveaway.
In addition to each of the giveaways a handmade little wallet will be included (see post Little Wallet Madness.) will be sent to the winner (so there will be two gifts).
Special instructions will be provided each day on how to enter the drawing (no worries, nothing complicated but there will be an activity related to commenting on the post).
Readers in any country are eligible, and like last year’s 4th anniversary celebration, Tierney will mail items to the winners at her cost in any country (note – you will have to use the Questions/Comments form to privately send Tierney your mailing address so she can get the item to you!).
There will be one special 6th giveaway announced at the end of the month.

Tierney and TTQH will use the same process as last year to randomly select names (see post Announcing the Winners of the tierneycreates Blog’s 4th Anniversary Giveaway), except unfortunately Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer passed away in December 2017 so it will be only Mike the Miniature Schnauzer officiating from the firm Schnauzer Associates, Inc.

Well I am off on the “road to retreat” and I am so excited about my first quilt retreat with Tierney and her quilting friends (and you know there will eventually be a blog post or two about it). Hopefully they won’t accidentally sew me into any of their projects.

And honestly, I cannot wait to get out of the plastic bag

– tierneycreates Beastie.

Thanks everyone for 5 years of reading these ramblings and musings – Tierney

Life in B&W, Quilters Take Manhattan, Special Events

New York City in Black and White

October 24, 2018November 19, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The “Noir” setting on my iPhone camera is a dangerous thing in the hands of an imaginary photographer!

Last year while attending Quilters Take Manhattan 2017 (see my series of posts Quilters Take Manhattan), I took a series of photos while wandering Manhattan (and on the Long Island Express train from Manhattan to Queens) in Black & White. Like yesterday’s post photos I recently came across these photos while cleaning up my photo storage.

So I will let today’s post be a photo essay of New York City in Black & White.