Holiday Gifts Crazy Quilt Wall hanging

The Christmas holidays are upon us and ideas galore swim through our minds. Some gifts are easy to choose for friends and/or family whereas ideas for others may leave us stumped and we wander through store after store trying to get inspired.

One gift idea can be giving a handmade home decoration such as a Crazy quilt wall hanging. Now why choose this? Home decorating can be fun for everybody but will depend on personal taste and styles. One has to like color, details and whimsy since a crazy quilt encompasses these qualities.

The days of yore with castles and monarchies, wall hangings and tapestries, of all sizes, were used for decorative purposes. Royalty, monasteries, nobility, wealthy merchants and farmers were the main patrons of fiber artists to provide these decorative pieces for their homes therefore were quite splendid and beautiful. These wall hangings and tapestries also sharpened the acoustics of a room. This particular piece of home decoration slowly diminished over time changing fiber crafts into industries.

A crazy quilt wall hanging can be made in various sizes, colors and embellished with embroidery, ribbons, beads, buttons, lace, charms, and assorted embroidered designs. Fabrics can range from simple cottons to expensive silk, satin, velvet and brocade. It’s the finished product that will provide the visual delight, interesting topic of conversation, become a art collection, and one-of-a-kind showcase gift.

Crazy quilt wall hangings are gaining popularity amongst art collectors due to the skill and labor involved in the creation not to mention, no two quilts are the same. We can give three colors of fabric to three individuals and each will piece it together with their own distinct style and therein lies the beauty of a crazy quilt.

A crazy quilt wall hanging can be found online with a search query. Numerous quilting guilds can also be found online and in our telephone books. It’s considered a textile and/or fiber art and can be a collector’s item. As I mentioned before regarding choice, it’s best to choose one for somebody who can appreciate something beautiful and unusual. I wish you a Merry Christmas, safe and Happy New Year!

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A Tripping Date

The world of quilters have a common passion for quilting and all that encompasses the craft, to produce their quilt. A store related to sewing will capture their imagination and stir excitement. A fabric, notions or quilt store is wonderful eye candy. Would you consider adding visits to such shops while travelling?

Travelling to another region within our homeland or abroad overseas, opens the door to explore new markets. Along with exploring the regular tourist destinations is the opportunity to inspire learning new quilting methods, patterns and designs or integration.

A couple of methods to locate these shops will require planning ahead of time. As we know, travelling starts with the destination. Including this information gathered ahead of time will make travel that much smoother and stress free. A few methods to locate shops:

 - Search engine, to bring up general highlights
 - Advanced search, use keywords for specific information
 - Yellowpages online
 - Online Directories, will list participating shop sites
 - Quilt Event Calendar plus your destination search
 - Quilters Directory book from local book store

Once you have your  shop list(s) compiled -take a few more steps. Visit the US Customs websites to learn what is allowed vs prohibited items to bring back home and the duties that will be required. Plan to find out early if the retailer can ship the item home for you as they may be more adept and knowledgeable with shipping brokers and customs. Ensure you gather all tracking forms and documentation. Exchange contact information for yourself and the retailer in the event there is damage or loss.

Planning ahead is always good advice to follow. One last stop before beginning your trip is to visit your FedEx, UPS sites. Explore the international costs of shipping home from your upcoming destination
point. As has been mentioned before about shipping -include your insurance costs.

The costs of international shipping may be high so consideration to budget must be followed. We must ask ourselves would I pay this price at home? is the over all cost worth it? Using a shipping service vs risk of lost
luggage is another factor to consider when packing purchased gifts in your suitcase.

Foresight and pre-preparation planning is important. Other sources of information may be found with;

 - Embassy newsletters
 - Tourist brochures
 - Flight/Cruise booking agent

A safe journey and enjoyable shopping will only be part of a trip but to have potential risks overseen will only make the experience so much better!

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