What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

...what would it look like?  Think about that for a second. Would it be bright all over or would it contain dark areas? Would it have mistakes, inconsistent stitches, small rips and tears that may have been mended (or not), star points missing here and there or would it be perfect? Would each block be similar or would there be variety? What would your life-as-a-quilt reveal?  I recently attended

...what would it look like?  Think about that for a second. Would it be bright all over or would it contain dark areas? Would it have mistakes, inconsistent stitches, small rips and tears that may have been mended (or not), star points missing here and there or would it be perfect? Would each block be similar or would there be variety? What would your life-as-a-quilt reveal?  I recently attended

Really I have no idea where the week has gone!  I've been working all day and then stitching for a few hours every night.  One thing I can say is that being this productive really doesn't make for really interesting blogging!  (sorry!) So I thought  I would just show you the progress I've made on my three main projects!

Project I - Homeward Bound BOM  Quilt - Month 2

OMGoodness!!  How could it take me this long to hand applique these little suckers?!?  When I first started quilting (BT - before Tessa), I would do hand applique blocks in the ...

Ya know, even though I don't put much belief in astrology, I can totally see myself fitting nicely under

Instead of "No-shave November," over here it is "Gnome-shave November," as our gentleman gnome has a fun and curly beard! We have used curly wool to give some great texture to our gnome's beard, and the curly wool is available as part of the embellishments in our wool kit. While it might look complicated, we have broken the process down for you in a series of pictures.

 

I ...

We are home again after our recent trip to Hawkes Bay to attend my sister’s Kathleen’s Memorial Service.  Here are a few highlights of our time away.  What could be better than fish and chips for our evening meal the day we arrived?  The Filter Room was close by and consists of a cidery, restaurant, and also does take away fish and chips.  Just what we wanted.  We may have to go back next time and do a cider tasting, I think.  As we were waiting for our order to be cooked, Robin sat in front of a ...

So here’s the thing…  I feel a whole lot better when I show up even when I feel awful, even when I feel things are rough and I’m tired, even when I don’t want to.  I’ve also learned that showing up anyway is the single best remedy for not continuing to feel that way. Except […]

Stitch, put on the design wall, evaluate, consider, take down, add a new element, stitch, put back up on the design wall, take a photograph, consider, have an idea, take down, thread up a new color, take a chance, take a risk, take a breath, stitch and then the tears arrive.  Not a few drops […]

This blog is a reminder of my mother.  She was my biggest supporter and commented over the years more than anyone else. It was through this blog that I often kept in touch with her and towards the end it was the one full proof way I knew I could reach her, especially when my […]

Jennifer Reis stitching her latest piece

This time, I was lucky enough to snag a spot in Jennifer Reis' Embellishment class.  We spent the week first learning (or refreshing) all sorts of hand ...

Off we go on our grand adventure to Africa tomorrow! Here is a little recap of the last 24 hours… Yesterday: Wake up to find we have been sent a notification from the airlines that our flight has been cancelled. Wait, what?!??? My heart skips a beat, a precursor to the flood of panic that […]

As it turns out the bobbin winder on my new Bernina is broken. Silly me, thinking I could wind the bobbin upside down, I didn’t realize this until it was too late, and it did us both in. Off to the shop it will go, but in the meantime, I continue to fine tune my […]

There are still spaces left for The Basics Workshop! This workshop is for any and all who want to learn basic design concepts, techniques, stitches and have lots and lots of fun. Hurry and sign up now before it fills up. I did a livestream for my Patrons yesterday using my newly organized space and […]

I’ve been traveling. Though I must say that though this trip to visit my mother and sister is a long one, involving connections and then an hour and a half drive, it was about as flawless and easy as traveling can be during these bizarre times. First off, the La Guardia Airport has done an […]

As I mentioned in my last post, I put my hand stitching aside in order to take a Pat Pauly virtual workshop. It was all about line, setting, composition and boy did she pack a lot into those two days. So much fun! I’m not a quilter. I just have to say that. I mean […]

 I recently transformed a Wedding Dress into a Memory Bear.

When I was ask to do this I did think long and hard about it for a couple of months.

In the end I decided I quite fancied the Challenge.

I've made plenty of Teddy Bears over the years. BUT never one in Silk.

Here is the rather beautiful and elegant Wedding Dress. Classy and understated I'd say.

The Pattern

It took a while for me to choose a Teddy Pattern. I wanted one that reflected the personality of the Dress. Which in turn I hoped would reflect ...

Here is a link to the Japanese Boro Bag Tutorial I used to make my own Boro Bag below.

And read about Sashiko and Boro Work

This tutorial has lovely pics and some basic instructions. I'm just going to go into a little bit of detail on how I put this bag together for those of you who need a little more detail. So this post is not how to make the bag. The Japanese Boro Bag Tutorial link above does that. This post simply gives a little more detail of how I made the Boro Bag. So follow ...