My block for Ing

This is the block I will be sending to Ing in California to work on. It is about 11" X 12". The theme for our little one on one round robin is flower fairies.

Ing's flower fairy heart

This is a heart pieced by Ing in California. We are doing a one on one round robin. I have just finished my block for her to work on, and will be sending it to her with her completed heart.
I did a silk ribbon embroidery daffodil on this heart, and the fairy's skirt is organza ribbon and beads.

A winter block to work on

This block belongs to Mary in New Orleans. We are trading blocks temporarily to work on each others, then send them back. She has requested that hers be winter themed only; no Christmas. It reminds me of sparkling snow, but I didn't photograph it very well. It is so much prettier in person.

Sunrise

Three more vested bears

These are 3 more bears for the upcoming craft show. I had so much fun doing the first two, and actually sold one of them, so I've tried a few more. This one is one of the $3 bears that you can buy at Hobby Lobby. It (and the following green one) are smaller than the first two I did, and I don't think I'd attempt to make a vest any smaller than this.


This is a bear that my sister gave me to work on. He's a dark green, and I thought his vest would look really nice in shades of purple with green, purple, and gold stitching.



The last bear is snowy white, and again, I thought he'd look great with shades of purple and pink. He's big enough to use the larger vest size like the first two bears I did. I'm really pleased with all of them, and hope they'll find good homes at the craft show.

My favorite boys

Trying to get a good shot of my 3 boys....

First Zack looked away.....

then Jaxon blinked....

success at last....except Zack has his pacifier in his mouth....oh well.

Elvis! Nancy's CYOT block

This block is for the Choose Your Own Theme round robin that I am just finishing up. There were only 5 of us in this round, but I've gotten to do some really fun blocks. First there was Lauri's romance novel theme, then Anne's Japanese, Flora's pineapples and palm trees, and now Nancy's Elvis. I was never a huge Elvis fan, (though I didn't dislike him) so I wasn't feeling very inspired at first. Nancy included with her focus fabric (which is the shiny, sparkly blue/green) some images printed on fabric of Elvis through his life. I chose one of him that might be an album cover (the larger one) and a smaller one also of just his face. There is just a bit of salmon pink in each of the images, so the main color scheme is from the blue/green, gold, and that soft salmon.

To the left of the smaller photo, I did a button trail that includes symbols of several of his gold and platinum hits. See if you can find them first, then check at the end of this post to see if you got them!

Zack and his grandpa were sharing a Kodak moment last night. Zack is probably wondering why grandpa's chin looks so different, and just had to have a feel of it.

Did you find:
A rose, for "Mama Liked the Roses"
A dog, for "Hound Dog"
A heart for "Heartbreak Hotel"
A teddy bear for "Teddy Bear"
A cross for all the gospel songs

Pouch purses

This is a really easy to make little envelope purse or pouch. I started by cutting a piece of muslin for the foundation of the cqed part, which is the front of the envelope and the flap. I cqed it, then chose a solid color fabric from the ones used in the cqing to be the back of the envelope. This shape I cut by folding over the flap of the cqed piece (as it would be when assembled and closed) and using that shape as a template.

I used both the cqed front and the solid back as templates to cut the lining fabric, which in this case is a subdued black print, with dragonflies to match the cq design. With right sides together, I sewed the cq front piece to the solid back piece, and the two lining pieces in the same way. Clip corners, trim seams, etc. Turn the cq part right side out and press.

Tuck the cq piece into the lining piece (which is still wrong side out), and pin the two pieces together around the raw edges. Tuck the strap into the sides of this seam, and an elastic loop at the top of the flap. Sew it most of the way around, leaving an opening to turn through on the straight seam at the top of the back piece/lining. Clip corners, trim seams, etc. Turn the pouch right side out, tucking lining inside. Machine stitch or whip stitch the opening.

Press again gently, and add a button to catch the elastic loop to hold the pouch closed.
Sorry I didn't actually have photos of each step. The pouches are all done for now, with no plans to do more in the near future. Questions? Just ask and I'll try to answer.

Costumes

Michaela and Darah have been friends since about 2nd grade, and are now in the 7th grade. They managed to collect about 5 pounds of candy each last night.