VidCast #62 Festival of Quilts - Birmingham, UK

http://youtu.be/AnMatZktfY8
There was so much to see at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England that there are two parts to this month's VidCast! Be sure to watch both parts so you can come along to see everything from the quilts and exhibits to visitors from all over!
Part 1
The Festival was teeming with brilliantly talented quilters and their art. In Part 1 of this VidCast, see a ton of quilts, meet a few of their creators and hear from visitors from around the globe.
Part 2
In Part 2, see some of the gorgeous exhibits at the Festival and hear from some of the representatives of these exhibits.

Bonnie Lyn McCaffery - http://bonniemccaffery.com/

Festival of Quilts - http://www.twistedthread.com/

Sponsored By - www.eQuilter.com

Music performed by Kevin MacLeod- http://incompetech.com/

A Morning on the Beach

When you awake before the sun what should you do? Me? I decided to take a ride to the beach. There's nothing like the early morning light for taking photos.


The sun was a great spotlight as the birds posed for me while they had their morning meal.






One of my favorite birds at the ocean is the Sandpiper. They scurry in and out of the water pursuing their dream...in their case it's a good bite to eat...and even when the ocean tries to scare them away, they hurry right back into the water. This little piper was taking the easy route and fishing in a pond. "Hey, you lookin' at me?"



I am so blessed to be alive!



Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
- Posted using BlogPress

Location:St. Petersburg, FL

Life Lesson - doing good

Sometimes life gives you a mission and you don't have a choice...so you just do what ya gotta do. My daughters car has been inoperable for over a week and she needs rides to and from work. Everyone is pitching in. I've been lucky to get some of the early (I'm talkin' leaving here at 6:45AM) for a 40 minute ride to pick her up.
I've decided when you gotta do stuff, you have to look for the positive. So on one of my rides I took my camera and left a few minutes early. And there it was...the prize for doing something good.



It was actually a dreary kind of day, but as I crested the hill the sun was just peeking thru the clouds. I park, I shot, and this is what I got.
On the way back I stopped to see what I could get from this strange piece of farm equipment...


Another great find...just by moving and changing the point of view.



So my mission on a daily basis? Look for the beauty wherever it might be. Sometimes ya just gotta keep looking for the shot...or the beauty in whatever you have to do...
Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Beach Lake, PA

Beading DVD by Lyric Kinard - a Review

Do you want to know lots of great beading techniques? Lyric Kinard has a brand new DVD out called "Bead It Like You Mean It".
http://lyrickinard.com/bead_it_like_you_mean_it_.html



This DVD is fantastic...and I know because I filmed it. Lyric shows you step-by-step how to add single beads, stacks, lines of beads, curved lines, turning the corner, the secrets of using bugle beads, a couple of fast tricks to apply beads, beading on top of a finished quilt and lots more. Lyric is thorough in her explanations and demonstrates everything so you can see exactly what she's talking about.



"But I don't have time to bead by hand" some would say. Not Lyric Kinard. She says "I don't have time not to." This busy woman is a wife, mother of five children, artist, and teacher. Her children range from kindergarten to college. But she balances is all with incredible grace. While sitting at any of the mom-waiting-for kids events Lyric always has a project with her. In fact she"ll show you how she packs it all up in a tiny carry along box with everything you need for the project so you never miss the chance to add a few more beads.

After I filmed her DVD all I wanted to do was go home and bead and I'm sure you will too. Check out the video clip on her website...she's adorable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnk10hDvdwc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
You'll have to click on the link above or go to Lyrics website.


Check it out and tell her Bonnie sent you...
Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
- Posted using BlogPress

Day 2 UK Festival of Quilts

The day started with filming the Tentmakers of Cairo. All I can say is WOW. Wait til you see the VidCast. Hasom and Tarek showed me how they create their beautiful quilts. You'll also get to see how FAST they do their Applique stitch. I guess if you do it every day, all day to make a living with it, you would get faster too.



The Meerkat Cat quilt is one of my favorites. I was lucky ton catch several of the makers on video. It is the best interview...
I had a lovely lunch with my dear friend Melinda Schwakofer-Coxon. A bit more filming and then my camera battery got tired and so did I. I decided to ditch the camera and just walk around to see what they were selling. Besides the usual fabric, thread and sewing machines, there was a booth where you could buy a kit to make a fascinator...you know, the little English hat topper worn at the Royal weddings. Supplies to do gold work (which always intrigues me), a gadget to make cording (we used to use a spool with some nails and a crochet hook), and so much more.


Topped off the evening with a Bollywood night...good food, good people, great dancing, and a talk about Kaantha embroidery. I dream of going to India so this was a perfect night for me.
Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
- Posted using BlogPress

Location:Birmingham UK