More Fabric Postcards

Hi all!

Are you all as excited about the release of Harry Potter 7 tomorrow as I am :) I will be spending the weekend with a good book and a few cups of tea I think :)

Here are my latest fabric post cards. These are for three different swaps. On the far left is "June Brides." I did the ring-bearer pillow complete with rings. In the middle is "Orange You Glad" and this one was completely open as to what we could do. On the far right is "Somethings Fishy." I did small snow globes with fish confetti in them. When you shake them the fish all move around. I got motivated and finished all these swaps early and mailed them out so that I could enjoy watching the cards come in without worrying about getting mine finished. I find that when inspiration and motivation strike you gotta go with it!

Smiles For Children

Hi all!
I have been working on getting a box of embroidered items ready to ship out to the Smiles For Children Project. People from around the world send items in to a wonderful woman who bags them up and ships them to places around the world where the children have very little. I've been working with this project for a couple of years now and just love it. We make tic-tac-toe boards, finger puppets, paper dolls, pencil toppers and sucker covers and much more :) If you have an embroidery machine and would like to volunteer, or would just like more information, you can check out the link on the right or here. You can also see one of my previous shipments here. I did more sucker covers and pencil toppers this time and I am running my x's and o's right now. I think that the kids will like them? What do you think?

Fabric Post Card Display

Hi all;

I thought that I would post a photo of the way that I have just found to display my fabric post cards. This is a cafe curtain wire rod system from Ikea :) Here is a link to it if you want to see it. It has little clips that clip onto the top of the cards and an adjustable thick wire that is strung a few inches away from the wall. I was never happy with the way that I had them tacked up onto the wall; and, when we were in Ikea the other day I was looking at this system and a light bulb went on over my head. I love "a ha!" moments. I am going to go back and get a couple more of these. I also think that they would be great for hanging small wall quilts. Sorry the picture couldn't take in the entire post card display but this is the best that I could do :)

Quilt Guild Challenge Quilt

Hi all;
We had out quilt guild final meeting for the year last night. Wow what a great meeting :) We had a potluck appetizer type of buffet and the judging to the challenge last night.

The challenge was neat. We had 32 people enter so the challenge got divided into two groups. Out of the groups of 16 we all had to submit one meter of fabric. The next month we got back 1/16 of each of the meters of fabric. We were allowed to add one neutral and one other fabric.

This is my entry into the challenge. It is a pattern called "Magic Circles' from the book Scrap Frenzy by Sally Schneider. The pattern appealed to me since I teach pilates and we use a tool called a magic circle. The rings are mostly the different fabrics but my "other" fabric is in the rings as well. The neutral is the cream background fabric. I hand quilted this quilt 1/4" outside of every seam in the background and on a diagonal in the border. I didn't place but I had a lot of fun with the challenge especially since I didn't find myself inspired by the fabric so I had to come up with something that would be usable later and that I would like.

What do you all think? :)

UFO #15 for 2007!

Hi all;
I have been off my UFO challenge for a while but I did manage to finish another one. This quilt is made up of triangle in a square units that I made when I was demonstrating the Eleanor Burns Triangle in a Square ruler. I had planned on making a much larger quilt initially but I lost interest in the project and these blocks sat in a bag for 3 or so years. I needed to make a baby quilt so this seemed like a good use for the blocks. I didn't have enough of the fabric on the border so I came up with this design to use up some more blocks too. I think that it looks pretty funky. I'm not sure if you can really see the quilting but I think that it looks pretty funky too :) I almost don't want to give this one away.

15 down and only 18 more to go :)

Fabric Dyeing Workshop

I took a fabric dyeing workshop on the weekend from a local hand dyer named Elaine Quehl. Her fabrics are wonderful and she has been dyeing for many years so I thought that a class from her would be great :) I like to take classes like this from people who have been doing it for quite a while and whose work I have seen before. I wasn't disappointed! It was a great class. I have done some dyeing before in the brights so when I took the class I decided to dye the "earthy" 12 step colour wheel. They are pictured on the top. We also did some direct application dyeing using all kinds of colours. They are on the bottom.

At the beginning of the class we were given some socks that had been scoured and prepared for dying. This was in case we spilled any dye on our feet. Well, if you can believe it no one did so we had to do some direct application dyeing on our socks to get them coloured. Pictured is my oldest son posing with the socks on. They look pretty cool :) Personally, I prefer lower socks so if I do that again I'll get some shorter socks LOL! I love the effect though.

I've had some PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric for a while now just waiting for me to get some inspiration to start dyeing again so hopefully this will give me the kick that I need :) UPDATE: I dyed 7 meters of fabric today with the dyes that were left over from class. No one else wanted to take them so I said that I would since I knew that I had everything ready to dye. I'll see how they turn out tomorrow.

Another UPDATE:
Here are the one meter cuts of fabric that I dyed from the left over dye from the class. I used the same "baggie" wet application technique for these ones and wow do I love the colours. I was really loose with the formulas and just added a bit of this and a bit of that to the baggies. I really love that blue and I love the second red :) Some of the baggies had more of the soda ash solution added to them then others since I was running out. Likewise, some of the baggies had more dye in them than others. I love the freedom of dyeing and the experimentation.


This is a two meter cut that I dyed in the direct application method of dyeing using the little bits of dye that was left after I finished the above pieces. I added a bit more water to the dye solutions to dilute it a bit more. I did a lot of scrunching of the fabric and tried not to get too much mixing. I absolutely love the way that this piece turned out :) I love the colours and the tones :) I love how vibrant the colours are. I showed this at my quilt guild (to a few of the ladies) last night and they thought that I had purchased it so I guess that is a pretty big compliment :) Too mcuh fun! I think that I need to buy more PFD fabric :)

Bella Fiori Table Runner

Hi all;
I am trying to be a better blogger :) Here is another project that my friend Sandy and I did together. We didn't want to take the whole summer off so we decided to do this Bella Fiori table runner together. It is from Creative Expressions Magazine, issue #11, and the embroideries are by Jenny Haskins. We could only see part of the table runner in the picture so we made our best guess to the rest of it. It is a really neat project with the way that the diagonal lines are done, with a 6 mm twin needle and the serpentine stitch on my Pfaff, first then the embroideries are laid down.

Here is a picture of the table runner from a bit more of a distance. We rounded the edges (you can see that a bit). The quilting is done after the backing is on but only in some of the squares. This makes the table runner lay really flat and adds a lot of interest I find.

I'll post a picture of my finished rose bouquet wall hanging once I get the binding turned to the back.

What do you think :)

Rughooking

Hi all!

Long time no blog again but this time I can say that we went to the cottage and then I had a major computer melt-down :( I tried it again yesterday and it worked again :) So here I am :)

I started a new rug hooking project. I am doing a chair seat for a 150 year old chair that I stripped and re caned. I had to weave the cane by hand and it turned out wonderful. I have some more chairs to refinish and re cane and I plan on making chair pads for all of them. It will be a big project but I think that it will be worth it in the end. This is the first one that I am working on. It is out of scraps from the pumpkin rug that I made for my son.

The only thing that I am not sure of is the reddish plaid that I have started in the border. What do you guys think?

I didn't have enough of any one background type of wool so I over-dyed and off-white wool that I salvaged from a jacket using the onion skin dying technique. The wools on the left were the first ones that I did (with LOTS of onion skins in the pot), and, I thought that they turned out too dark for the background; but, they are perfect for the insides of the flowers.

The second set worked out really well for the background of the chair pad. I wanted some mottling but not a ton so these worked out well. Now to finish the chair pad :)

This weekend

What a great weekend :) Two of our friends invited us to their friend's cottage for the weekend and what a great weekend it was :) I could get used to that :) I love the cottage life. I can just envision myself ina cottage. I could take my Featherweight and have a great time :) I didn't do any sewing at all and I relaxed on the dock. Life is good.

Update

Hi all! I hope that spring is treating you all well. I have been spending a lot of time outside lately of course. My garden is growing like mad and is making me very happy. I can just stand there looking at it :)

I haven't been doing much work for myself lately. I have been quilting for other people and trying to get all of that finished up.

Here's what's new for me :) This is my new sewing machine!! Isn't she a beauty?? This is the Pfaff Hobby Grand Quilter. It is a straight stitch sewing machine with a larger harp (throat) and does it ever sew fast and beautifully. It is a semi industrial machine and I will use it for machine quilting. I am loving using it and getting to know what it can do. I need to get my husband to build me another table so that I can sink this down into the table. Right now I am using it on top of my table and using the extension table.

Joyce asked if I got the stitch regulator and no I didn't. I have been machine quilting for several years now and I find that my stitches are pretty even without it. The machine already has a speed control so that is enough for me. I don't plan to use this on a frame but rather just sink it into a table and quilt like normal. Thanks for the question!

Redwork Postcards

Hi all!
What a great spring we have been having here in North Eastern Ontario :) My garden is looking amazing and I have been spending a great deal of time outside. So of course on this long weekend (Victoria Day) I came down with an absolutely wicked cold. It's only today that I am starting to feel a little bit better

Having a bad cold gave me the opportunity to finish these fabric postcards. They are for a red work swap and I just love these little Sunbonnet Sue designs. I hope that everyone likes them. I kept the one of Sue playing jacks for myself since it was uneven on the bottom. I love dropping these little gems off at the post office :) The postal workers just love seeing them and I get a real kick out of seeing their faces. I wonder what I will get back this time? The swap was pretty wide open, being just red work, but, I always think of red work as being fairly traditional. I did these by machine of course :) My hand embroidery is no where this nice :)

My New Project

Hi all;
I can finally post a picture of this project for you all. This is a picture of the project that my friend Sandy and I have been working on together. It is from Jenny Haskin's magazine and is a project using her "Roses For Mary" embroidery card.

My project is on the right and Sandy's is on the left. I really like both of the projects and think that they are both wonderful.

I'll post a better picture when I finish the machine quilting on it.

I had a comment about my friend Sandy and I and our projects together. Sandy and I are really good friends and we sew together quite a bit. We get together on Mondays at about 10:30 am to work on a project together. She lives about 15-20 minutes away from me in a small neighboring town. We meet at my house and we sew until about 3:00 pm. We are going to be starting a new project on Monday, a small one this time, then take the summer off. Sandy brings all her stuff to my house and I make a nice lunch for us to thank her. We are having a great time learning what out Pfaff sewing and embroidery machines can do and making beautiful projects. Thank you for your comment :)

Hi all;
I did another silly blog thing and I found this one funny because you answer only a few questions and they give you your personality. it's amazing how easy it is for some people to pigeon-hole other people don't you think? LOL!

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISFP)

Your personality type is caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 8% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Finished the hooking on the rug

Hi all;
I finished hooking my primitive house rug. Now I just need to block it, trim it and turn the black binding tape to the back. After I sew a hanging sleeve onto the back it will be ready to hang. I really didn't think that I would like the way that it turned out but I really do. I want to get into some more funky rugs and some chair pads so this kit was a little bit primitive for me. But, it did really grow on me :) Shows what I know LOL!

What do you guys think?

I have just recently been introduced to Facebook. Are any of you on it? It is really addictive :) Basically it is a way for you to link up with friends and share photos and things with those people that you have allowed to be your friends. So far I have been able to reconnect with a bunch of people from high school that I haven't seen in years. I've been having a really good time but I can see that you could seriously waste some time there. And I thought that The Sims 2 was addictive LOL! :)

Another Yard Sale Find

Okay so this is another yard sale find but it is not mine :) My Mother found this great sweatshirt jacket at a yard sale in Florida this winter for $2.00 and bought it for me. Isn't it wonderful??

It is only a few years old and made from a Sandy Gervais fabric line from a few years ago. It fits me really well and I can't wait to show it off to my quilt guild at our meeting in a few weeks.

The funny thing is that my Mother didn't think that I would like it since I didn't make it myself. Isn't that wild?! I love all forms of fiber art whether I made them or someone else. Considering that I kept a quilt top for 5 years before I made it into a sweatshirt jacket i find it remarckable that someone would think that I wouldn't like someone else's work.
Anyways, here is a picture of the back of the jacket. Please notice the great small piecing work that was done on the jacket around the top and I don't know if you can see it, but, under the arms.

Someone did some wonderful work on this jacket and it was put in a yard sale for $2! I almost feel an obligation to purchase things like this so that they find a good home. The wonderful use of decorative stitches and the attention to detail on this jacket make it worth saving so I wonder why someone wanted to get rid of it?

Anyways, I am very happy to have this jacket in my wardrobe; but, if anyone has any information on it I would love to hear about it.

My Friend's "In Full Bloom" Quilt

Hi all;
This is a picture of my friend Sandy's "In Full Bloom" quilt by Pineneedles. Didn't she do a wonderful job?! She ordered a complete kit from Hancocks, I think, so that she had all the patterns and all the fabric for the quilt. It is embellished with hot fix crystals and various stones as well as silk ribbon. I posted this picture because she had asked me to do the quilting for her. When I quilt the Pineneedles designs I always do the machine appliqué and quilting at the same time to get a great effect. That way you don't have too much mono filament thread on the quilt and it makes the pieces pop up a bit. I think that Sandy did a great job on it. She hangs her quilts in her hair salon so that all her customers can enjoy them. Aren't they lucky :)

Sorry it's been sooo long!

Sorry it's been soooo long since I last posted. Life has just been happening lately and I really haven't had the time to do much. First of all it is spring so the need to clean up the yard can really take over for a while. Not that i mind getting outside :)

My Mother came up for a week to visit so I spent a lot of time with her which was great. She was down in Florida for several months so it was great to see her again.

I also machine quilted a quilt for a friend and that took a lot of hours. Good thing I like machine quilting. I have also been working on hand quilting my guild challenge quilt that I can't post a photo of yet until June in case anyone from my guild sees it :)

I news about me :) My Mother brought up my new rug hooking gripper frame from Bee Creek Ltd. Isn't it great! I love how sturdy it is and how nice the metal looks. I like industrial looking things and this one looks nice. I must say that it is far easier to hook on a frame like this rather than a Q-Snap.

I also got the lap base for the frame to make it more portable if I want to travel with it. I figured that I might as well get everything that I wanted all at once LOL!


I have been working on the rug hooking kit that I got at a local thrift store just so that I have something to get working on right away. I ripped out the work that had been done, so that I could replace it with my own work :), and have been working on it in the evenings. It's a very primitive rug but I think that it will look nice hanging over a door.

I'm not really sure how to hang these half round rugs like this though. Anyone have any ideas?

Just Ducky Postcards

Hi all;
I thought that I would share this picture of these fabric postcards before i send them away today. These are my two "Just Ducky" fabric post cards for the Fabric Postcards Yahoo list that I belong to. There were only three of us participating in this one so I send two off and get two back. I hope that everyone likes them.

I love making fabric postcards. There is something so amazing about a textile piece of art that goes through the mail. People always ask me if they get through the mail okay and I have to say yes! The postal workers love seeing them when I bring them in to be hand canceled and I have to think that they get even more special attention by the delivery people. My Christmas cards that I sent out got to all over Canada and the USA without any problems. You can see them here and here. And, I have to say that this was the first time that I have received and Thank You note for a Christmas card that I sent out. Now to think about what to send this year.

I thought that I would also share the results of my dying experiment yesterday. These wools turned out a little more purple than I wanted but I still think that they look great. I think that they may be darker because I started with gray and brown wools. I have ordered a couple of dying books to help me along; but, right now I am working in the dark a bit :) I want to take a course in dying wool this summer; but, it is hard to wait when you want to get started.

I'll dye more wools late maybe. I think that greens and blues may be next :)

Adventures in Dying

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I've been working on quilting my guild challenge quilt and quilting a quilt for a friend. I'll have to see if she will allow me to post a photo f it when I am finished.
I thought that I would try and over-dye some to the reclaimed wool that I have been purchasing. So I weighed out a pound of wool and put it into my dye pot with some dye. I used the Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes from Dharma Trading. I know that a lot of wool dyers like Cushings dyes but these were what I had on hand from dying fabric. Dying cotton and dying wool are two different procedures. When you dye wool it needs to be heated up on the stove for quite some time and then left to cool. I got the wool dying instructions from the Dharma Trading site since I was using their dyes.

I think that I may have added a bit too much dye. I wanted very vibrant colours, so I added a lot of dye; but, these came out a bit darker than I wanted. I added a touch of blue to the mix so that is probably why.

They are all lovely shades of purple :) I wanted it to be burgundy but this is fine for my first attempt :) I have some more wool in the dye pot right now. This time I added half the amount of red, left out the blue, and, added just a touch of orange to the mix. So far it is more of a cherry red in the pot.

Isn't it amazing how a bunch of brown and grey plaids and tweeds can look so different when they are over-dyed? I just love the transformation and I love that these were all reclaimed wools that now look just like wool that you buy in stores. I'll post a picture of my second batch later hopefully.

UFO #14 finished and a new purchase!

Hi all;
I finished my UFO #14 last night :) I am really excited to have 14 out of my 33 UFOs finished and it is only the end of March. This is a Celtic table runner that I started in a course from Quilt University. It is a great way to do Celtic designs that is much easier than the usual way. I finished the hand quilting on it and got the binding on it last night. I love the way that the inserts look. They really add a great design element to it but since the runner is all batik fabric it was hard to hand quilt through since batik has a higher thread count. I really wanted to hand quilt this runner though, since it is all hand appliqued, so it was worth it. Now onto the next UFO.
This is my new purchase :) Yey! I finally got a rug hooking strip cutter. Yes I know that I can cut the strips with my rotary cutter but this is sooooo much easier. I got a great deal on this new Rigby cutter from a local quilt shop. I am building up a pretty large stash of recycled wools so it is a good idea to have something to cut them so that I can actually use them properly.

Speaking of rug hooking I got two GREAT DVDs by Gene Shepherd on learning to rug hook. If you are interested and can't find a class in your area this is a great resource. I took a class a couple of years ago and I learned so much from these DVDs. I also like that you can watch over and over again in case you forget something.
This is another rug hooking thrift store find if you can believe it :) This came in a kit with yarn and a small, and very flimsy looking, cutter. I got it for all of $1.00. I decided not to use the yarn, and since I have my new cutter, I cut some strips of a purple wool that I have and I am going to try it out with my own wool strips. It is just a small little pattern and I had to add leaders onto the sides so that it would fit into my Q-Snap; but, I think that it will be a nice little project to work on while I wait to get my new frame.

In the corner you can see where I was trying out some of my black and white plaid strips. They make a really cool effect I think.