There are 32 more quilt photos over on Flickr.
And there is this 32.
I have been taking photos of numbers for December twice and of course never only shot numbers between 1 and 31... from now on I will continue counting here on the blog, posting numbers whenever I have the right one to go on.
Enjoy the photos of the quilts and have a lovely Monday!
Edit: I deleted the part about the wisdom tooth because I usually really don't write about teeth here...
A dress to be sewn (no photos yet), an influenza epidemic at the kindergarten, today a very rainy afternoon, a child that wants to watch Peter Pan on DVD and a mother that has to leave this space because we don't own a TV or another screen...
Sorry for the delay and for falling off the wagon again, but you know me by now, I tend to be not the most reliable blogger.
Having been to the quilt show seems ages ago after this short break... the next photos are up, finally. Here.
Enjoy!
For more photos, visit Jennifer's set of this year's show over on Flickr. Great photos (and huge!) on Megan's blog, too!
Edit: Jan's photos!
Take care!
A replacement for the hat Dagny lost in Tokyo a few weeks ago. Took a while because the first attempt was too big and ended up on my head. Robin by Kim Hargreaves (pattern in Thrown Together), but knit in the round because I found the seam on the back a little odd. Number of stitches and rounds modified because of different gauge and children's size. Colour murasaki (purple/ violet), Dagny's current favourite. Initially thought to be purple and brown only, but I ran out of yarn and added the violet yarn I had at home, too. I am knitting from stash only these days...getting lighter... :)
But I think the violet is making a nice accent. Better to be seen here.
The next quilt photos are up. This batch includes a number of photos I took to show Dagny, like this and that. Both quilts made by children.
Also in this batch some traditional quilts, some naive, some very colourful and also a few cute ones. Taupe, too.
Off to prepare lunch... bye!
The first batch of photos is up.
The pictures are in no particular order, I only try to always put the close-ups next to the whole quilts... When I arrived at the show it was so crowded I was lucky when being able to peek at some details of the quilts. And take a photo of it. Later, when many visitors had already left (happens early, as Jennifer remarked last week), I did another round and enjoyed to have a calmer time with the quilts. Actually, I cannot say I did another round, because as usual I totally lost orientation and just went around and around, hoping to find my favourites again...
I will continue to go through my tons of photos and upload them whenever I have the next 50 or so ready. Hope you'll enjoy!
Thank you for all your kind comments and emails. And messages on ravelry. And for giving me awards.
Now that I have resurfaced I will try to get back to you.
What did I do in the meantime?
I cleared my inbox of thousands of spams during the last days and have discovered mails I didn't know I received. Back in November and December of last year... I also freed my craft room from a thick layer of all kinds of material that doesn't really need to be in a craft room... Same in the kitchen. Living in the same place for almost ten years led to a lot of keeping and storing. I am working on getting lighter, more movable.
Be well and check in later again for the next photos!
This new look of the compose editor here on Typepad keeps disturbing me, seriously disturbing. I guess I would have got used to it if I'd be posting more often but as things are, it doesn't feel like being at home. So, better come here more often to adept...
The new quilt in my life... I have been working on it.
Not much to say about it... Liberty, leaves, lots of tiny flowers, white. All from stash. hence the different shades of white fabric...
The center block was comfort zone, I did what I like to do, making lots of tiny stitches by hand while appliqueing. But then came the border... machine piecing, which I really am not used to. Never conquered it although having tried often... Anita's great instructions
led me, step by step, to the finished border. The result looks just fine, but machine piecing still feels like walking blindfolded to me. It is so strange not to sew on lines like I do when hand sewing my Popstars or the Jane feat. Rotkaeppchen blocks... until the final seam I was not convinced to end up with a decent result.
The reason for this mistrust in what I was doing simply is that I normally don't work precisely, I just go with the flow and react to things, build in bumps, don't plan too much - as long as I don't sew on lines, which is pretty much like paint by numbers.
Sewing this first border was quite a challenge for me. I guess I must work on precise cutting to be able to trust myself more when it comes to sewing.
Also I must work on keeping focus. This might save me from having a stiff neck in the future... Didn't I say I would work on my quilts I oh so urgently wanted to finish?! I got sidetracked, again, started knitting a cardigan two weeks ago... finished it yesterday (obviously could focus on that project, at least!). Now that that project is off the needles, I will return to quilting my Liberty Leaves. I really would like to see them finished and on my bed.
Hope you are all well!
Back soon with the cardigan.
Prendre la Liberté is what I did last week. And I am not just talking Liberty here, actually I finally, after a long time of not crafting on a daily basis (aside from knitting which I do everyday while being on the kindergarten's playground) I enjoyed one whole week of cutting, machine piecing, hand sewing and quilting, planning more quilts, making sketches... I am now dealing with what has been neglecting during this fabulous week, but I think it was worth it. At the beginning of the week I finally took the plunge and started quilting the Liberty Leaves. It'll be a rather dense quilting, so it takes some time till all is done.
While working on the leaves I was thinking that this quilt was supposed to be a quick one which had been started as a simple, machine pieced quilt that could be finished almost instantly... while working on my Pop Stars (which I planned to finish during the first half of 2008)... Seems I find myself in a sort of patchwork spiral because on Friday last week I had the brilliant idea of squeezing in a simple, machine pieced quilt that could be finished almost instantly... this time, however, I am pretty certain I will succeed... but let's see where we are at the end of the month ;)
I took the scraps that were left over after cutting the leaves from those striped sheets, cut small squares, cut strips of solids I had in my stash and made Courthouse Steps blocks in a Denyse Schmidt's What a Bunch of Squares manner. This block really is a quick one and so I had my twelve blocks done in a day. It's a pretty uninspired project but I love simple blocks like the Courthouse Steps or Log Cabin and never get tired of them. And as I said, that one shall really be a quick quilt.
And if I wasn't busy enough, over the weekend I started another quilt... a rather slow natured one, yes, another one of those, because I love accumulating long term quilt projects which make me worry if I will be living long enough to finish them...
It will be the center of my Medallion Quilt. Again I am using leftovers from the Liberty Leaves, seems a bit unoriginal and you may already be fed up with all those tiny flowers, but I feel good using up all those scraps and no doubt it will turn out pretty. So? Why not.
And speaking of scraps: the lovely Kristine of Townmouse recently sent me a wonderful selection of precious Liberty bits... *sigh*
Once again, Kristine, thank you so much for this generous and inspiring gift!
And you, dear readers, be prepared for more tiny flowers projects...
And while we're at it, I would like to finally introduce this adorable guy we got about two years ago. Of course I have been thanking Alison before, but I always intended to blog about him, so, eventually, after all this time, here he is!
And because this blog is for taking record of my all my crafty endeavours... some nicely bedded owls I made a few months ago for an exchange of sweets with Josie over at mr. monkeysuit (oh, what a cute picnic they just had!)
The end.
Have a nice day!
I am a little scared of preparing the sandwich in order to quilt it. Because I am not... ready for quilting. The top is, the back, too, and I have made a large enough piece of batting. I's my first large quilt, so naturally I am not too certain it will go smoothly. Then I still haven't decided which pattern would suit. So, I rather sit here, showing you the latest developments of the quilt instead of bringing it forward.
From strips I had left over after making the leaves, a 16 cm wide, long row was pieced, bringing two parts of backing fabric together. The quilt measures about 135 cm x 227 cm, so I had to piece the back to make it wide enough. The backing fabric's colour is something like this, called indignant over there, which I cannot quite see though, calm is what comes to my mind when looking at it. As a reoccurring element the dots are making their appearance on the back, too, but that's all. Quite simple.
Hope you'll be having a lovely day!
It's Golden Week here in Japan, and today, Sunday Edit: tomorrow, Monday (I thought it was the fifth already) it's kodomo no hi (Children's Day), a holiday on which Tango no Sekku, the Boy's Festival is celebrated.
Samurai dolls like this (photo taken earlier this week while we were in the Yokohama area) are displayed in the houses and carp streamers hung from balconies or mounted on huge poles in the gardens to pray for the families' sons' health and success in life.
If you happen to live somewhere in our area, there's the Giant Kite Festival at the Sagami River, lots of carp streamers, said giant kites and festival food... worth a visit.
Three favourites from Monday's walk:
And the update... all but six circles are attached, joyously. I liked the appliqueing by hand and also it's so nice to see the whole thing is actually coming together. Next step after finishing the circles will be stamping a label. Or embroidering one. Not sure yet.
Enjoy your weekend!
Yesterday we had a national holiday here in Japan (midori no hi - Greenery Day Edit: Showa Day, things changed last year, as I just learned, Greenery Day is now celebrated on May 4) and spent a long day in the Yokohama area, walking a lot and riding the train, too, of course, and even a Ferris wheel.
Above photo I took on yesterday's walk.
Resembles in a way what I have begun this evening - appliqueing little spots of Liberty on the quilt top that got sewn together this morning.
Thank you all so much for being here and over at Flickr to see how the leaves are doing. I am really back on track with the Liberty quilt now and very much looking forward seeing it finished. And it's so much fun doing this together with you!
As for the Month of Windows, I think I will just keep posting photos every once in a while because I have much more I'd like to share with you. The same goes for the numbers I have been collecting during last year's December - ever since, actually, never stopped.
If you have anything you would like to see me photographing here in Japan to show you, please let me know.
See you tomorrow!
A quick update on the Liberty Leaves!
All leaves have been sewn (and in a not ironed state photographed), the fun part can begin. Haven't yet decided how they will be coming together and how much of the white background will stay, but that won't take long.
After sewing together the quilt top, round patches of Liberty will be appliqued (by hand) in random places. That part, I know, will be highly enjoyable.
I hope my idea for the quilt top will work out the way I picture it. If all goes right it may turn out playful and fun. If not, things might be more on the goofy and silly side... let's hope for the best.
Have a lovely day!
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