Valerean

Now that I've (hopefully) settled on next year's calendar project with the crazy quilted monthly totes, I went over to Hotpot AI's art generator and put in the colors I'd like to do for January, namely silver and garnet, to get some ideas. Garnet was my grandmother's birthstone -- she was born in January -- and she left me a silver and garnet filigree ring of hers that remains one of my most prized possessions. This quilt block style is a bit too opulent; my grandmother was an elegant but simple person. I don't want the bag to be all gemstone-ish in one shape, either. This is more my speed. I think I can manage an assymmetrical assemblage of patchwork with different-size beads. I'd use silver and garnet fabrics, and add contrasting beadwork and embroidery. I know a lot of people frown on using AI to generate art. If someone did that to create these images and then claimed they were their original work, that's just wrong. It's also n...

My first mini-quilt for November was this kantha cutter piece, from which I removed half of the quilting stitches, folded each layer out in a fan to show the different fabrics, and restitched. Very meditative. I also started working on an art quilt in November, and to keep my fingers more flexible I began crocheting one-skein projects during my breaks. I made this no pattern scarf out of a skein of self-striping yarn as my first side project. This winter hat only took about two-thirds of a skein of variegated yarn. I tackled making a miniature version of bienenstich kuchen (German bee-sting cake) as a dessert for my guy. Not the easiest recipe, either, but another notch in my baking belt. I made this looooong scarf from one jumbo skein of variegated yarn. My second mini-quilt of November was a stitch and beading practice piece. I crocheted a winter hat from dollar store yarn (which was really nice to work with, actually.) I used half of my scrap yarn balls ...

With all the crochet projects I've been doing this year my scrap yarn ball basket is full to overflowing. I wanted to try a project I could make out of scraps and that I could add to in the future, so I found Jayda in Stitches' Scrapgahn tutorial and decided to give it a whirl Basically you make rows of half double crochet out of two strands of light and dark yarn held together. Simple, right? Other than knotting in more yarn as I used up each scrap ball I wouldn't even have to pay attention to it. Yes, well. When my first attempt started to slant in at the sides I realized I was being a bit too cocky and assuming I knew everything about crochet again. I ripped out two days of work to fix that. Here's the second attempt. This pattern does make a pretty thick blanket, but it's not quite as sturdy as Jayda's three-strand big beautiful basket. I like the stripy effect that comes from knotting in new colors, too. I could keep going and use up...

My fabric and yarn wannabut lot arrived; let's see what I got for my minimum bid. A ton of fabric (I will measure and report on the exact yardage in another post. There are three pieces that are linings that look like silk but are actually polyester; I love those for crazy quilting. There are some sheer curtain pieces, and I also found a brand new flat sheet for a twin bed still in its fabric case. That will work great as quilt backing. Twelve full skeins of yarn, plus nine scrap balls, all in new condition. Only one of the skeins doesn't have a label. The yarn is clean and odor free, too. Definitely worth the $8.99 I paid for the lot.

I'm back to posting twice a day until I catch up to myself. It's so easy to post ahead! Ha. The reason for this post is that many people I know are stressing about the cost of gift-giving during the holidays. Money is especially tight this year for most folks, and the sticker prices have risen as to be almost out of reach, too. That's why I thought I'd offer ten low-cost ideas that may appeal just as much as the pricey stuff. Books: There is no better gift than a book in my opinion (I'm biased; I write them). If your recipient is not a dedicated reader give them a book of humor, a coffee table book with lots of neat photos, a cook book, or a blank book they can write in. If you can't afford new books, look for them at your local thrift store. Calendar: Every year I give my guy and my favorite person a calendar I make custom-designed with my own photos of them and things we've done together over the past year. I usually get them done with a...

My vintage DMC floss cabinet just arrived, and it's in great shape. I can't exactly date it, as information on the internet is sparse. The company switched from a bell to the horse head in 1961. Actually the thick plastic drawer fronts and waffled particle board inside suggest the cabinet is a bit newer; maybe circa the late 70's or early 80's. I do know from pics on the internet that in its original condition there would have been dividers in the drawers, too. I can't express to you how much I've longed to find one of these cabinets for my sewing room. I also always assumed that I'd never be able to thrift one at a price I could afford. There's a bit of cracking to the wood case on one side that my guy is going to repair for me, but otherwise the cabinet is in marvelous shape and I couldn't be happier. As to what the cabinet is worth: I've found the same model selling for $48.00 on eBay. Due to the minor damage I'd ...