You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'friends' tag.
Over the past month there has been a flurry of activity on the Fabric Postcard front – I have dispatched a round of cards to friends taking part in the “Stitch Me A Rainbow” swap and I have also sent off my first “Birthday Swap” for a Stitchin’ Fingers exchange.
In the mail I have received these cards from Rainbow swappers:
All things Purple from Penny
Under the Blue Sea from Kay
Both of the above cards were made in a “how to class” – the base fabric was made using strips sewn onto a 13″ lightweight interfacing square and flipped…. then they were covered with a selection of knitting yarns and threads.
A layer of black bridal tulle was pinned over and free form quilting/embroidery using variagated threads then stitched. A layer of heavy weight iron on interfacing was applied to the back of the piece before the stitching was started. The piece was then cut into six postcard sized and further embellished. This was the first time either of the girls had made cards and I think both Penny and Kay are hooked!
This picture is the card sent to Peggy in the US - the technique is similar but instead of capturing the threads under tulle, I stitched each one in place – sometimes using a decorative stitch and/or sewing thread. Some yarns were stitched in place while the piece was still 13″ square and others were added once the piece was cut down into individual cards. Decorative embroidery stitches were added to each card individually.
Traces of Teal sent to Peggy
The first card I was to make for the Birthday Swap needed to be into the post quickly as Allyson’s birthday was September 6 – however she is in South Africa and apparently there is a postal strike (at the time we were notified it had been running for two weeks)
Happy Birthday Allyson!
This card was made using die cut felt pieces I found at OfficeWorks, believe it or not! Each felt layer has been machine stitched in place after the purple ribbon stem had been stitched down. The quilting is a very fine stipple using a Guterman Sulky variagated thread and the centre button hand stitched in place. Plain Guterman Purple Sulky thread was used for the satin stitched edging.
In class, we plan to explore some Crazy Patchwork techniques over the next few weeks so our next postcard exchange will feature Crazy Patchwork. It is planned that this exchange will take place by the end of October if there are any takers to join us for this swap.
Sofie has posted on her blog about the swap …. and she has some pictures as well! You can see here the cards I sent her. I can’t wait to see what she will create to send back! She has made some great ATC’s that are used for displays on the site so I am really looking forward to this.
She has also reminded everyone to have a look at the scrapmatts site as the new product for September is up…this includes the new nested shapes range (some of which I have used in my ATCs) and words! I’m guessing this is what card makers are looking for!
Just in time for Christmas!
Today I posted cards for the first ATC swap I have done with anyone. After the Canberra show, Sofie and I decided we should exchange cards and we challenged each other to use a new green with gold ribbon from ArtStamps Aus.
Sofie has been busy at the Stitches and Craft show at Rosehill in the last week and I have been home recovering from my cold. I decided I would get to work on my cards and made six or seven featuring the vintage nude pictures I like working with….as well as the green and gold ribbon, of course!
These are a couple of the cards I didn’t send to Sofie (they didn’t get the “challenge ribbon” in them either!)….I wouldn’t want to spoil her surprise when she gets her packet in the next day or two!
Mixed media ATCs
Naturally, Murphy’s Law dictated that I should have a flat battery in my camera when I wanted to photograph all the cards – this one overly dark shot I managed to squeeze out of it before that nasty flashing red light told me I couldn’t possibly expect it to perform any longer!
This overlocker has now been sold….thank you for your interest!!
A friend of mine contacted me recently and asked for some help in selling her overlocker – its virtually brand new, sitting on the shelf and making her feel guilty for not using it!
It needs a new home.
Are you interested in acquiring a barely used, airjet feed BabyLock overlocker worth $2195 new for just $1500? It comes in it’s original box with all accessories and instructional DVDs.
Specifications:
Babylock Imagine BLE1AT
BabyLock Imagine BLE1AT
Instant Jet-Air Threading™
Automatic Thread Delivery System
Full-featured differential feed:
2 to 1 Ratio-gathering
3 to 4 Ratio – stretching
4/3/2 Thread serging
Rolled hemming with 3 threads
Flatlock stitching with 2 or 3 threads
Dial adjustable stitch width: 1.5 – 7.5mm
Dial adjustable stitch length: 0 – 4mm
Dial adjustable built-in rolled hem: 0- 2mm
Heavy-duty cutting system
Side thread cutter
1500 stitches per minute
Built-in needle threader
Electronic foot control
Snap on, multi-purpose presser foot
Built-in accessory storage
Built-in light
Built-in ribbon/tape guide
Ruffling Foot BLE-RF
This overlocker has now been sold…..thank you for your interest!
It was a very excited prospective Grandmother who asked me in January if I would make her a quilt as a gift for the grandchild she had just been informed would arrive sometime in May.
She asked me if I would bring some of my children’s quilts to our next lunch so she could consider what sort of quilt she would like me to make. Knowing Helene’s penchant for bright colours, I took along my samples of bright I Spy quilts as well as some more sedate choices.
Of course, it was the bright strong colours of the I Spy quilts that immediately sold Helene on the idea of a cot sized quilt – she wanted to take one away immediately! Given these were my samples and had been traipsed all over the countryside, I could not let her have one of these… besides I wanted the chance to make something different and new for her.
Over the past few months I have put together this quilt – there were a couple of the I Spy fabrics Helene particularly wanted, and I tried to include a fair bit of Green and Purple in the quilt. The bride and groom had worn purple and green (their respective favourite colours) at their wedding and I wanted to tie that into the quilt in some way.
Quilt laid out ready for basting.
The quilt for Eleana was handed over to Helene on Wednesday – Eleana had arrived a trifle early but safely on May 25th.
I was very pleased with the effect of this diagonal stripe binding.
A rapid “touch base” phone call with Jimmie from Fiddlesticks Papercrafts reveals he and Barbie are safe – that it was “close, but we are alright”.
Given the proximity of their home to the Kilmore fire fronts, this is a great relief.
For those of you who know Pamela Gurney from Dancing Needle Designs, I can report that she and her family is, at this stage, safe.
I was able to talk to her at some length last night and she has been overwhelmed with messages and calls from friends and customers from all over the country.
Your thoughts and concern are greatly appreciated.
If you have not had reply from her, please understand that resources like phone links are under enormous pressure and much of the local infrastructure like mobile phone repeater towers have been lost.
The full horror and the extent of losses in the fires is yet to be fully revealed. As the death toll climbs (173 confirmed dead at last count) there are families and friends all over the world touched by this tragedy.
In my personal corner, my family is safe but each of them have friends affected. Friends are reeling at the news of lost family members, neighbours and friends. The property losses count in the millions but are insignificant in the face of the human toll.
It was a bittersweet time I spent yesterday with my daughter at her father’s bedside. His surgery has been successful and he faces a long road to recovery. Despite this, he is keen to be back up and out there with his volunteer CFA brigade protecting his community from further loss. It will be sometime before he is fit to do so, but his son is still out there fighting the fires still threatening life and property.
There are appeals being coordinated for donations for relief funds – via the Australian Red Cross and the Salvation Army as well as at all the major Australian Banks. Many retailers are conducting appeals including supermarkets donating proceeds from shoppping done on Friday. The RSPCA and the Wildlife Carers Group are also seeking financial aid to provide for the animals injured. Your support is welcomed.
The Blood Bank is in need of blood and blood product donations but can only manage to deal with a certain number of donations at any one time so it is suggested you register online and you will be advised of when your donation can be made.
My thoughts are with all those who have suffered loss.
I am delighted to have received my first international postcard swap from my friend Shari in Canada. It has inspired me to get moving on making my own exchanges and getting them in the post!
I was saddened today to hear of the sudden death of June Kelly, patchworker and friend. I met June about 15 years ago through Essendon Patchworkers and continued my association with her through the Monday Runaways and The Loft Network.
June Kelly
June made many contributions to the charity quilts project run through The Loft Network and was an active participant in our block exchanges, Round Robin Quilts and Birthday Blocks exchange.
There will be more than a few people out there with a little piece of June’s fabric, talent and love in one or more of their quilts. Many organisations have benefitted from her contributions including Tweddle Baby and Maternal Care Centre, Bone Marrow Donor Institute and the victims of the Trentham fires.
My favourite memory is the laugh she gave us all telling how she picked up the bits of her finger she had managed to slice off with a rotary cutter and walking herself to a neighbour to ask that they get her a bandaid…sensibly she was taken to hospital and her finger beautifully repaired so she could be back to her beloved applique as soon as possible.
In more recent years, I have not had the chance to see much of her but have always been pleased to hear of her latest exploits from mutual friends. I knew her as a caring and giving person of her time and energy – she was always helping out her less mobile neighbours and friends.
Vale June.
