Stippling

I've been doing some small scale quilting lately and I realized I'd never tried stippling. This technique involves taking your quilt sandwhich (backing fabric, batting and quilted top fabric) over to your machine, lower the feed dogs and start moving your piece around so that you have a nice pleasing meandering of stitches to hold the three layers together. You have to completely control your stitch length when the feed dogs are lowered. I've been told it's simple but takes a little practice. Hhmmm, what to make. I hate doing practice stuff. I pretty much always go right into a project and hope for the best. I decided to keep the project small. I saw this cute little girls craft bag. The front has little pockets for crayons. Very cute. Unfortunately I used monofilament thread so you can't see the stippling but take my word for it...it's not a bad first attempt.
The front:


The back:


Inside:


I sent this bag to my little buddy Katie. The cutest 4 year old on the planet. She has 2 sisters and a brother so I sent a little something for them too. Baby Maggie got a new bib.


I attached the cutest daisy applique to the front and didn't take another picture.
Big sister Alex got a beautiful pair of sea glass earrings. Picture. What picture? Do you see a trend here? And finally Ben. What to make a 9 year old boy that he won't think is stupid. I know. I had some left over fabric from the
quilt so I made him a pillowcase.


That ought to help in the "sweet dreams" department. He said it was "sick". His mother assured me that that was good.

BOM II

I received my second Mystery Block of the Month last week. I really want to keep up with it and have every block finished before the next one arrives. So far, so good. Here is block number 2.

Crazy Daisy Hat

It's finished, it's very cute and I probably won't ever make it again. It's one of those projects you see and absolutely love and have to make. A bit more work than I'd like for a baby hat although now that it's done I believe it was worth it. If you are not familiar with Debby Ware and her designs you should check them out here. She's a wonderful designer. Here's my Lazy Daisy Hat by Debby Ware.


I sewed velcro to the back of the daisy applique and the front of the i-cord on top so the flower could be removed for washing. I think I'll hang onto this one for awhile. It's a very happy hat and you can't help but smile when you look at it. Maybe I will make another...someday.

Da BOM

BOM...as in Block of the Month. My friend Lisa and I joined a mystery BOM. This BOM is offered from The Fat Quarter Shop. Every month, starting last month, we get fabric and directions to make a quilt block. Each one is designed by a different person and we never know what we are going to get. That's the fun part. I like the "mystery" part of this club. The fabric is from the Peace on Earth collection by 3 Sisters. Here is a peek at the club. My goal is to keep up. So far so good. One month down and one block completed. The next one should be here tomorrow. Here's a picture of my first block.


I really like it. The pace is good and in about a year and a half I'll have a finished quilt. :)

Fibery Goodness

My neighbor next door and her husband travelled to Prince Edward Island, Canada last week. She thought about me on her island adventure because they kept coming across all things fiber. She brought me back 4 oz of roving called "Fortune Bay". It's 40% Alpaca, 40% Merino, 10% Soy Silk and 10% Bombyx Silk. Absolutely gorgeous! I have to stop handling because I may felt it before I get to spin it.


Thanks Cheryl!

Turning Japanese

Remember the lyrics from "I'm Turning Japanese" by The Vapors?
Im turning japanese
I think Im turning japanese
I really think so
Turning japanese
I think Im turning japanese
I really think so
Im turning japanese
I think Im turning japanese
I really think so
Turning japanese
I think Im turning japanese
I really think so

Well this is how I felt when I opened a craft kit from Japan. Let me say that the Japanese are well known in the craft world for the absolute cutest fabrics, crafts and creations. I purchased a felt box kit a while back. I wasn't too worried about it because I also have a Japanese pompom maker and the seller threw in directions in English. No such luck this time. Here are some pictures of the kit.


Good thing for diagrams. It's all I have.




This is what it's supposed to look like when it's done.


Good luck to me!