Milargos

I have a fansination with religious artifacts. Last year I discovered Milargos. The word milagro means "miracle" in Spanish. People might carry a milagro with them in order to get its benefit. Milagros can represent specific objects, persons, or animals, or they might represent concepts that might be symbolized by the object represented in the milagro. The Milargos I used were blessed by a priest. I believe in being blessed by God, giving a blessing and recieving a blessing. Descriptions or concepts of common of Milargos Some I gave away and the others I kept to make something special. I thought for awhile my milargos were going to be part of necklace. Last night they decided they wanted to be a bracelet I could wear in my travels. I used the new C-LON cord I got from Cindy's Crafts with half hitch macrame knots. A good book to learn how to make Micr0-Macrame Jewerly with tips and techniuqes for knotting with beads is Micro-Macrame by Joan R. Babcock The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord's face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Merry Christmas

Click here for a full color chart of the pattern. Christmas is just around the corner. In two short days we will be going from sun bunnies to snow bunnies and heading home for Christmas. While worked on packing up the gifts we got for the kids and the grandbabies I wanted to give something to you. A Christmas Teddy Stocking. May your Christmas holiday be filled with peace, love and joy. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Christmas Prayer I said a Christmas prayer for you Because the season's near I didn't ask for riches But for gifts so much more dear. I asked for joyful gatherings With your family all around And for carols to inspire you With their old familiar sound. I asked for quiet moments In your heart on Christmas morn For a special time to celebrate The Savior who was born. I asked for friends to send their best That you might know they care I asked for peace and love and hope And I know God heard my prayer. ~ Nancy Brummett ~ Text © Abbey Press, St. Meinrad, IN. 47577 http://www.abbeypress.com/

Felting Frenzy

Our time together at the Gilmer Get Away has come to an end. It looks like we have felted everything we could our hands on. Becky and Jackie are back home. A wintry mix kept me an extra day. I didn't mind at all. It was another day to play with beads and spend with Marcie and Judith. We started with needle felting on wool making pictures and designs. Becky made a sampler. Working magic with the needle and roving. Pushing the envelope she created her felted bag with a heart design. Jackie sat quietly in the corner needle felting a ladybug with a sun. Before we knew it she had a snowman scene completed with a beaded Christmas tree. After a trip to "Dressing Gaudy" Jackie was inspired to make a cell phone holder and glass case. Freeform Felting Marcie added her special touch with freeform felting to create a wonderful abstract bag. Her cleverness didn't stop there as Marcie felted the sides of her bag together. I believe she created a new technique. Felted Ball Necklaces and Lariats Bev made a black abstract. Judith made several felted ball necklaces. Sleeve Art by Bev and Judith So much was done in such a short time. I love our Gilmer Get Aways!

Sleeve Art

It's that time of the year when we get together for our Gilmer Get Away. We have fun trying out new ideas on each other to see where they will take us. We all tried our hand felting. It is always interesting to see what five different women will come up with all using the same supplies. First we tried wet felting and made felted ball. Jackie brought wool garments which we washed and felted. Out of necessity sleeve art was created. I can sew with the beads but I can't sew material together to make something. Isn't that crazy! The light came on with Judith first. She created her purse using the felted sleeve of a cashmere sweater which brought me to the sleeve of a jacket for my flamingo purse. This was the beginning of sleeve art. The other projects we worked on here felted cell phone holders, felted ball necklace and felted lariats. What was really different about this get together was the food we ate. Over the last seven years we have acquired special diets. I have to eat Gluten-free and Marcie has to eat low carb and low sugar. Our first night was a rolled port roast with bread crumbs made from Gluten free bread and special spices. The side dishes were pumpkin with spices, baked apples and a salad. The next night was spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce. We all take turns cooking and the next night Jackie made a stir fry chicken veggie dish with the spaghetti squash and green beans with cranberries. Are you hungry yet? Tonight it was eggplant with ham and baked apples. So far our favorite shopping trip has been to Dressing Gaudy. What a fun place. Funky clothes, beaded shoes, boa's and hand bags. It was a fun place to hang out for awhile in between the beading stretches. Watch for more pictures of a beaded square picture we have been working.