Woolin Rouge Designs + Island Batik = TRUE LOVE

  One of my true passions is creating wool applique' themed art quilts and intermingling the appliques on a mixture of various fabrics.

I have been dabbling at this for awhile now.  First with a very talented textile artist named Sylvia Gauthier who co-created Woolin Rouge Designs with me. And now I work alongside Jane Anderson who is a longtime friend and also a talented textile artist.

Recently Woolin Rouge Designs had the honor of bringing an art quilt design to life with fabrics from the Island Batik Beaujolais Collection.  This gorgeous batik collection was designed by Kathy Engle and is available for purchase in local quilt shops now.

Down to Earth

There are 29 fabrics in the Beaujolais Collection.  

Plus you can also purchase the collection in the following ways:

Beaujolais Stamp

Beaujolais Stack

Beaujolais Strips

For Down to Earth, we chose these two perfect batiks.

Beaujolais - 111709872 Background

Beaujolais - 111707845 Outer Border/Binding

                            For the inner border we used a little something from their Basics

Smore - Basics

 And for the backing/sleeve we used another fabric from Island Batik's Basics

Pinecone - Basics

 The leaves, moon and deer appliques' are created from felted wool that we collected from hand dyer's across the country.

If you are interested in purchasing the pattern Down to Earth, please visit the 

Woolin Rouge Designs Etsy store.  If you are interested in purchasing a fabric kit, email us at woolinrougedesigns@gmail.com and let us see what we can do.

We'd like to thank Island Batik for allowing us to be apart of your design team.  

You are such a welcoming and wonderful company to work with.

With Warm & Wooly Regards,

Traci & Jane 

“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
― Claude Monet

'Tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes!
~William Wordsworth, "Lines Written in Early Spring," Lyrical Ballads, 1798

.~ Hide n' Seek.~

Hide n' Seek by Traci Suzanne Marvel

My artistic spirit craves peace and quiet. 

There is a space in the middle between peace and quiet that I do my best work. 

 I call that space tranquility. 

The second I set foot on the Sundance Resort's property, tranquility greets me.

 This painting Hide n' Seek expresses how I feel when I visit there in the fall.

 It is a magical place where I go to both hide and seek.

.~ Love is Here to Stay.~

 Painting by Traci Suzanne Marvel

It's very clear, our love is here to stay
Not for a year but ever and a day
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies and in time may go

But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay

  Music written by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Fruits of the Spirit - Self Control

Today my mini goal was to create something new that represented Self Control.

Self control is defined as the ability to manage your actions, feelings and emotions.

Harder said then done at times.

Flip side of Self Control? 

defiant

disorderly

headstrong

ungoverened

unruly 

wayward

LOVE this statement by Zero Dean on Self-Discipline.

Like a muscle, the more you exercise self-control on a consistent basis, the stronger you get.
As your self-control increases, the more you gain the ability to direct your life in a manner that is congruent with the true you.
The more congruent your actions are with your thoughts and feelings, the better you feel about yourself and the decisions you make.
Every time you feel good about a decision you make, it raises your self-esteem and your self-confidence. You also reinforce in your mind what you are capable of and it makes it less difficult to make similar decisions in life.

Heading out to exercise my self-control muscle.
How about you?

 

.~ Goodness Gracious .~

Oh my...I lost my way on this task.  But here I am to pick up where I left off.

Today my mini goal was to create something new that represented goodness.

Some synonyms for goodness are:

friendliness

generosity

good will

grace

graciousness

honesty

integrity

kindness

righteousness

Some antonyms for goodness are:

corruption

cruelty

dishonesty

evil

dishonor

immorality

meanness

hindrance

wickedness

I use to work in an elementry school.
At the end of every day I would tell the children as they left
remember to use your super powers for good and not evil!

It always made them laugh.
But I hope they truly took those words to heart.

“Do your little bit of good where you are; 

it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”  Desmond Tutu

I am off to do a bit of good today.
Perhaps you will too.

. ~ Peace .~

Fruits of the Spirit ~ Peace

Today my mini goals was to create something new that represented Peace.

Some antonyms for Peace are the following:

diagreement

hate

discord

disharmony

worry

I think I am going to give Peace a chance.

Tomorrow's mini goal create something that represents Kindness.

Be at peace
Keep the peace
Make peace
Peace out.

.~Patience vs Unrest ~

Fruits of the Spirit ~ Patience

Today's mini goal #1 was to create something new that represents Patience.

Mini Goal #2 was to identify things that are causing unrest.
  
" Patience is the quality that brings about inner peace, and together with perseverance, brings about success in whatever endeavor we choose to undertake. Impatience causes irritation, imprudence, wrong decisions, poor relationships, and contributes greatly to personal unhappiness. Patience in its deeper sense is rooted in faith -- faith in our fellow human beings and faith that divine justice will prevail in the long run." Self-Transformation Series: Issue No. 29

I have identified many things in my life that are are causing unrest.  I choose to keep them to myself.  I am looking forward to exercising my patience muscle in 2017.

If you are interested read The Value of Patience.
It was helpful to me.
Perhaps it will be helpful to you. 


Tomorrow's mini goal is to create something new that represents Peace.

 

.~ Joy vs Clutter . ~

 

Fruits of the Spirit ~ Joy

Today's Mini Goal #1 was to create something new that represents JOY. 
Mini Goal #2 was to discard something that is causing clutter in my life. 

Full Scripture: "His anger lasts a moment; his favor lasts for life! 

Weeping may go on all night, but in the morning there is joy." Psalm 30:5

Last night I tossed and turned.  So many things going on causing me to overthink everything.

Today I need to know that God's got this.  I just need to cast my cares to Him and stay rooted in LOVE .

As far as discarding clutter not only will I discard the cart in my brain that is filled with anxiety driven thoughts, but I have some coats that have been hanging in the closet that have not been worn or even looked at for over 8 years.  Hopefully they will bring comfort and JOY to someone else.

Look just what came in!

A Memo from Heaven!

Praying for a Joy Filled day for you too! ox

Tomorrow's mini goal #1 is to create something new that represents Patience.

Mini Goal #2 is to identify things that are causing unrest.

.~ Love vs Hatred~

Fruits of the Spirit - Love

Mini Goal #1 from yesterday was to create something new that represents LOVE.  

This scripture verse resonated loud and clear to me and felt like the perfect choice.

As I move through 2017, my long term goal is to root myself in this scripture.

Mini Goal #2 from yesterday was to discard something that represents hatred.
For today that means letting go of feelings and thoughts I have about President Trump.
Perhaps it is time to steep my thoughts in Proverbs 10:12   

"Hatred stirs up conflict,
    but love covers over all wrongs."

Tomorrow's Mini Goal #1 is to create something new that represents JOY. 
Mini Goal #2 is to discard something that is causing clutter in my life. 

May you enjoy your day without complaint.  ox 

.~ 2017 Question's ~

Question #1.
 What are the things that have energized you, tasks or activities that make you "come alive"?

I have come to the conclusion that the simple act of creating energizes me and makes me come alive.
Creating what?  Everything and anything.  Life is one BIG art project to me.  But to narrow it down a bit for 2017, I am ready to create a new collection of artwork.  I have several ideas for themes, one that is resonating with me is a collection that includes an image that represents each word in the fruits of the spirit scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Question #2.
What are the things that have drained the life out of you?
Negativity in all forms.
Bad attitudes.
Clutter.
Basically anything that has to do with the deeds of the flesh: Galatians 5:19-21

Today's mini goal is to create something NEW that represents LOVE. 
Today's other mini goal is to discard something that represents HATRED.

I will post my goal results tomorrow.

Now it is time to get out and ENJOY the DAY!

.~ Come Alive vs Drained .~

I have been soul searching and I think I am getting close to the answers to the questions I posed on my last post.  I am enjoying this quest very much so far.  How about you?  Are you coming up with answers to the questions as well?

Question #1.
 What are the things that have energized you, tasks or activities that make you "come alive"?

Question #2.
What are the things that have drained the life out of you?

. ~ 2017 Quest Day 1 . ~

It is the first day of a New Year! 
Thus starts my focused quest to find out to discover who God wants me to be in 2017.

I think its best to start with asking God that question directly. Matthew 10:39 states, "If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me" (paraphrased in The Message).

Perfect so I will look first to God to discover the gifts he gave me.

John Thomas writes in part 3 of the article What's God's Will For My Life this advice: "Discovering these gifts can be a bit of an art form. Of course, experience is one of the best indicators. As you look back over your life, what are the things that have energized you, tasks or activities that make you "come alive"?

Alternatively, what are the things that have drained the life out of you? Are there any underlying themes that rise to the surface? The key is finding out what is it about you, and what is it about those tasks and activities, that make for the connection or disconnection. Your answers to those questions will help you begin to recognize some general ideas about your design."

Question #1.
 What are the things that have energized you, tasks or activities that make you "come alive"?

Question #2.
What are the things that have drained the life out of you?

That is a great place to start today.  As I move through this day I will ponder these questions and share the answers as they surface.  Perhaps you might want to ask yourself the same questions too.

May your day be filled promise of good things to come.

Cheers!~