I still had my Pretty Birds book out, from this post here, and decided to make a parrot just for fun. I think I'll give it to our friend who makes sure Sasha gets her twice-daily does of thyroid medicine when we go out of town. He loves birds and kept a parrot for a...
I love books and I love bookstores but those are harder to find, at least the good ones with All The Books and All The Things. For instance, we no longer have a Borders or a Barnes & Noble, and our Books-A-Million is super tiny. But the BAM where I visited for...
I visited family for Thanksgiving and went to one of my all-time favorite stores, Ben Franklins. Among other things, I scooped up a pre-made brown polkadot pouch and a pretty floral patch. Ta-da! A new pretty dice bag! The patch is not iron-on, which lends itself to...
A while back I was at a discount bookstore and picked up a book by Virginia Lindsay, Pretty Birds. It has very simple patterns to make a range of different little birds and was just the thing I needed to find an idea for the handmade ornament exchange my embroidery...
I made some more mini felt cacti (see the originals here, and my last round here). I needed a gift and it never makes sense to only make one since they are pretty easy so I was experimenting with a few options. You'll notice I tried painting the terra cotta pots. One...
Amina at Stitch Floral graciously posted a free pattern she calls Snowflake Mandala. It looked Scandinavian to me, so I decided to try it in a bold red. I love how it turned out, so thank you very much, Amina! I chose a tea towel as my base and hid the back stitches...
I needle felted a Christmas pickle! I realize not everyone knows what that is, so let me explain. My MIL introduced me to this concept many years ago, which is apparently German-American, though I don't think I ever heard anyone in my family using the tradition....
Heyo heyo! I don't know why it has taken me so long to finish this bag, but here it is! You might remember my first foray into the world of French boutis - I took that pattern and altered it a little to add my own little swirly heart design and I used a swan image I...
Today's post is all about Michelle Patterns' Mending Kit, which I've used before as a travel bag when I visited Peru, but now with more of my own custom personalizations. (It amazes me how much skill I've picked up accidentally over the years!) I love this...
You know that I was working on my second crazy quilt block under the tutelage of Kathy Shawkl (check out my first here!). Well, I completed my beautiful disaster! And I do mean that, disaster. Yes, yes, it looks alright but for some reason when I pulled it...
I made two more felt cacti, although they are less-mini than the previous set. Unfortunately, I gave both away without getting a photo next to the tiny originals for a size comparison (they happen to be on display at the county library with other embroidery guild...
I made a little potted garden of mini felt cacti! I set out to make them for Boy's office, but then people caught wind and wanted some;) You might remember from last week's WIP post that I was using Delilah Iris's Cactus Plush pattern. I added bead melon's to some of...
For my embroidery guild ornament exchange, I decided to make a Little Lark - Gingermelon Dolls makes the cutest little plushies, and she is so generous to offer some patterns for free! To test out my skills and the pattern, I started with a fabric I really liked and...
Brrr it is cold out there! This week's Works in Progress do not include TAST, nor has there been progress on my crazy quilt block, but I do have things to show! I needed to make something for the ornament exchange with my guild. I will write about that in another post...
Today I am traveling for the holiday so I preemptively wrote this for ya'll. I don't have all the photos taken because while I have made progress on both TAST and other WIPs, I just didn't get around to photographing everything. First, I am making slow progress in my...
I recently mentioned that I was almost done with this project, what I call the "folk art panel". And now, here it is in all it's wonky glory! I pieced it together by machine, but everything else was done by hand (hence the "wonky" bit, as I certainly could use more...
The first SewIN Quilt and Fiber Biennial, put together by Art Seed, begins tomorrow. I tell you this because through a serendipitous encounter, my crazy quilt block is in the art show! I passed through my old stomping grounds coming back from my work in Kentucky and...
Let me tell you about Shawkl's BCQC 1 class! Kathy is so generous for putting it together - for free! The instructions are very clear, and she is quick to answer questions and comment on your work. I've learned the basic elements of making a crazy quilt block and am...
Speaking of the beginner's crazy quilt course, I sewed together my first block. While I enjoy the colors together and do plan to use this in a different project, I've decided to sew a different color combination for the purposes of the class. You'll see that maybe by...
I finished the French boutis bag I've been working on all summer and have decided to gift it to my gramma who travels frequently and may need a nice place for her jewelry or such. I was going to drive through the area yesterday on my way down to Living...