There's nothing like snow to get me started thinking more seriously about the upcoming holidays! I have a lot of November birthdays amongst my friends and family, so I always have the feeling that I'm ahead, only to realize at Thanksgiving that I've given most of my gifts away already! I'm determined avoid this realization this year. For today, here are some glances at some knitting that's underway (more information on Ravelry). Quilting shots to come tomorrow!
I've been eying these rather retro telephone tables for a while at flea markets and finally gave in a couple of month ago. Several rounds of sanding and painting later, I'm happy with the result! The new fabric is from Marimekko (sorry, I don't know the name of the pattern). It took a while to find the perfect pulls for the drawers, but a friend finally found some for me at a little shop here in Vaasa. I'd also love to find an old green rotary phone to top it off - I miss rotary phones! I don't even have a land line anymore.
I hope everyone enjoyed the slideshow from my quilt group's current exhibit. For those of us who live far away from the big shows, the Bloggers' Quilt Festival organized by Park City Girl is a great alternative! I participated in the first one last April, but soon after, I finished this quilt, which might be my favorite quilt that I've made to date! It's made with Finnish Marimekko fabrics and white Kona cotton. Here's the original post. Don't forget to visit all the other bloggers participating in this great event and enjoy!
There is also an installation piece in the works, inspired by students' study paths. Here are some of the raw ingredients for that project.
My quilt group is having an exhibit in October, so I hope to have some photos to share from that soon, and there will certainly be photos after Kajsa's workshop here in Vaasa on Saturday!
I start teaching again this week, so I suppose it's natural that my summer push to finish up lingering UFOs has lost steam. Instead, I started not one, but two new projects this weekend. The first will be made up almost entirely of pink, red, and white scraps and thrifted fabrics, built around a fussy-cut pillowcase covered with hearts and flowers. It's a little 'girly' for me, but I hope that it will be just right for the intended recipient. I have 37 11.5" blocks and have run out of steam to make any more. I'm planning on some white sashing between the blocks, but I was completely stalled in terms of ideas of how to make it a little larger, especially considering that I almost never put borders on my quilts, until I went to my quilt group this evening. We're getting ready for an October exhibit and one member brought in her first quilt (made 15 years ago), a gorgeous blue and pink full/queen size log cabin with a piano key border. That border was just the solution I was looking for! Unfortunately she doesn't have a blog (and I didn't have my camera with me). Two other members do of the group do have blogs, though, and you can check them out here and here! For the back of this quilt, I'm thinking of using this technique to use up some smaller red and pink scraps.
For the second new project I just made a single 12" block. I'll need to make 55 more. Can you guess the pattern?
I got a wonderful package in the mail on Wednesday from a friend who's done a lot of traveling recently. The Obama print is a kanga from Tanzania celebrating the election of Barack Obama (obviously!). I posted about some kanga this same friend sent me a while ago, and you can read more about kanga here.
The package also included some buttons made from coconut shell and bone made by participants in a vocational education program in Tanzania, as well as fabric scraps from a Hawaiian shirt producer and an eyeglass case made with traditional Hawaiian applique. Wow - what a great package - thanks!! I can't wait to use the shirt scraps; I've already decided to mix them with some white Kona cotton. Stay tuned!
