Crafty Things

Coasters ( Mug Rugs)

Two years ago I purchased a set of 4 fabric coasters at a craft bazaar.  I always knew pre-washing fabrics was a good idea but the crafter who created these coasters had not pre-washed the fabric. As a result, each time they were used, massive amounts of condensation dripped down and bled the colors. This caused the coasters to start looking pretty ugly.

What do do? Buy some new ones? Possibly an option. However, remember my group quilt I finally completed? I had quite a bit of the scrappy binding left over after finishing the quilt so I thought I would just make some coasters myself. The perfect idea would be to do some crazy quilt paper piecing (more practice of that technique!) for the coasters and finish them off with the leftover scrappy binding. I managed to get a free motion foot for my sewing machine so I thought why not learn how to do free motion quilting. All this for a set of coasters!

First step was to practice the free motion quilting. I made up two 12-inch squares of fabric and batting. My first one was absolutely a disaster. Not a smooth curve was achieved. But by the second 12-inch square at least I managed to do a little better. I continue to have tension issues I can't quite get right so I've got some more practicing in my future! After the second practice square I felt confident enough to give it a try on the coasters.I am definitely not ready to free motion quilt a topper. Each one is different but they are all pretty.

Embroidery

While in Boulder, Colorado, in 2015, I picked up a small book of basic embroidery stitches. I needed to learn how to embroider my name on something. I knew it would eventually come in handy for other things.

A few weeks ago one of my super talented friends was teaching a specific embroidery technique to one of the other ladies in the group. I thought I should probably learn this too! I didn't want to do the simple small heart being taught so I drew something and got started.  So here is my first embroidery project. It's about 4 inches X 5 inches. I'll probably frame it!

I've wanted to do something in the form of a bajaj (motorized tricycle taxi) for a long time. Now was the time! After extensive hunting I finally found an image I could manipulate into something perfect for embroidery. Step one done. Now, how do I connect the bajaj to my Needle Nomads group? Fill the bajaj with rolls of colorful fabric!  Two more friends are leaving and mini-quilt gifts are in the works. These two mini-blocks are already in two small quilts for our friends. These blocks are only 2 inches square!

Lotus Leaf Painting

Some members of my crafty group Needle Nomads recently participated in a Lotus Leaf Painting class. I had no idea what this meant when I signed up but it sounded interesting so why not?

You don't actually create the lotus leaves. The gallery purchases "canvases" from Thailand. The "canvases" are framed pieces of wood with dried, flattened, overlapping lotus leaves firmly glued to the wood. During the drying and flattening process, the lotus leaves are split so they can be forced into a 2D condition. Then they are glued onto the wood.

We had to pre-order a specific size. I chose 40 cm x 40 cm.

On the day of the class we had two more choices to make. We had to decide whether we would use oils or acrylics to create our masterpiece. After the demo, the entire group chose oils. You really need a slower drying time to work on these and oils are better for that. The colors are mostly applied with fingers, though you can use a brush or sponges for background color. But the best tool for the shading turned out to be fingers. The last choice was to select a color scheme. I found a website that lists 100 "color themes" and from this site I selected Arctic sunset for my palette. The set I found will also be extremely fun to use as a basic for jewelry.

This currently hangs on the wall of the guest room. You are welcome to come and see it in person!

Here are few of my friends in the group who took this class with me plus the mother of one of my friends. Mom was visiting from The Netherlands. The countries represented in this photo are the US, Austria, Australia, The Netherlands, Iran and Brazil. We are definitely a multi-national group.

Afghan

This is my most recent knitting project I completed. Our driver, Pak Oky, and his wife are expecting their second child. I decided to knit a baby blanket for the new baby. When I started the project, B and I selected a gender neutral color scheme. Now we know it will be another boy! The baby is due "any minute." The due date is today. It took me forever to finalize the pattern. I wanted something that was a nice pattern but also was pretty easy to knit. Ta da!

I am still working on my next quilt project. It's progressing slowly and right now is mostly just piles of block so I can't share any photos yet. I keep getting pulled away from the quilt project for other things.