Sunday, August 13, 2006

The Valentine's Heart Quilt


The Valentine's Heart Quilt Posted by Picasa

Mum had this finished for me on the night of my party, so the day after my birthday I got to sleep under it. She hand quilted it twice, once on each side, because we used wool batting and she had trouble quilting through both sides. It still looks beautiful though. I pieced most of the sashing and part of the hearts, she finished off what I didn't do and quilted the whole thing. It was a better present than anything else I got, and I'm now wondering if I should let her help with the DJ quilt or leave it as a surprise. It's more fun for me to have it as a surprise! =)

The Needle Companions


The Needle Companions Posted by Picasa

This picture shows my needle companion open, and mum's closed. She has calico where I have green.

This was a quick little project that was fun and allowed us to work together. We used the last of the pellon from the pillowcase. It has two cute little pockets that button close and another little pouch. The felt part is for pins and needles. It was a learning experience, as everything is at this point, but it was lots of fun.

Monday, August 07, 2006

The Second Day (Other Crafts)

Just a little update this time, no pictures. =)

On the second day of the show, I went with mum and her friend Di. Because my friends didn't get to meet me there, I spent a lot of time wandering around by myself. It was so much fun! I took three classes (none of which were quilting, but still fun.)

The first class was a twisted wire pearl bracelet. I won't go into too much detail because this is meant to be a quilting blog, but I can say that mum loved it so much she kept stealing it from me. So, we had to buy another kit later on that day.

The second class was a lace beading technique, making a Christmas star. I love this technique though I can't find good quality size 9 beads around. There's a craft show in September that I'll go to where the same shop that held the class should be there.

The third class was a Swarovski crystal slider bracelet. It was very cute and very easy. I'm glad I took those classes. Sometimes I need a distraction from quilting (but not for long!)

Lately I've been doing a lot of the lace beading, but my technique sucks and I find myself breaking beads or threads or undoing the knots and having to start again. I can use polyester cotton with those size 9 Olaf beads so I'm very fond of those, as that thread is stronger than beading thread. September isn't too far away though, I'll just put it aside until then.

I did manage to shop between classes- I found my Drunkard's Path template (and the lady remembered me from Thursday) and I bought a wire knitting kit with beads, though I have no idea how that will turn out and I'll probably just give it to mum to do. I also bought a 'easy decoupage' kit of a puppy that I'm really enjoying right now. I usually do that while mum's doing her mosaics. Chuck said it was nice that we still spend time together, even while doing other crafts.

And in the meantime, I haven't finished my butterfly trapunto blocks for my class, and this month's block is especially hard! Silly trapunto cording... And I'm told we have to do it again for 'feathers' next month. Argh! I'm getting mum to help me on this one... =/