Patchwork Collage

Look what I figures out how to do :) I always wondered how everyone was doing those collages...well I might not be doing it the same way but I saw picnik has a version and I tried it out...

click on picture to see it larger

I worked on a project all day from the Patchwork Style book. (The present, I mentioned in prior post)...You would think little projects like this wouldn't take so long, but with all of the Log Cabin piecing, the 1/4 inch quilting ~ I've never done like that before, and being a new for me pattern, it does end up taking time...
This is actually not quite done on the inside-still need to add the bias tape to the edges, and some basting threads to pick, but almost there....I love how it turned out and can't wait to make more....Maybe a little larger...this is less than 12x5.
I hate when after I take a picture and then I see little strings hanging :0

What have you made lately?

O.k, so I have a thing for Japanese fabrics and pattern books.~If you've seen my shop you will see a lot of Japanese fabrics, especially on my pouches... Those books above are a few I have bought recently....The third from the left, just this morning. I had seen it around several blogs and thought it looked inspiring. Plus, I'm always looking for books to spend money on and use the 'it's so and so's birthday coming up and I need to try something new' excuse...

So if you're my French Aunt, and you're reading this, please stop reading this now~ si tu es ma tante francaise, arretes de lire cette 'poste' des maintenant (franglais) :)

I will certainly try and make her something from this book

Apparently it was first published in Japan, but this is an English version~which makes it handy for those who don't speak Japanese.
We have a Kinokuniya nearby and I have bought many books and magazines there. I will miss it when we move. I have made a few children's items from the books. If you are an experienced seamstress you can pretty much understand what's going on just by looking at the diagrams...

I am probably dreaming that anything I make from these books will fit me.

Can you spot the unexpected visitor who came to my photo shoot? I don't know where they came from!

unexpected guest

coccinelle !

This is a picture of my Dad, a little after he left Japan. He lived there for 2 years starting right after World War II ended. I tried to find a picture of him there and couldn't though he does have some mementos...Oh well, here he is in Morocco, a story for another time...Any Japanese he might've know would come in handy to me about now:)

Oh~and I wanted to mention for those interested: I found this site, it's got a very nice selection of Japanese craft books and more.
Do you like Japanese crafts too?

Stopping the procrastination

I feel like I haven't posted in a long time.Today I'll stop procrastinating. I haven't been slacking though, just packing. (It seems we will be moving this summer-yay!).
Some days I am not sure what to write about. Others, like today, I have a few stories and am not sure which to write about. Here are two, somewhat unrelated but still both to do with crafting.

Today I also stopped procrastinating about making a Greek chi ton. What's that you ask?
From dictionary.com

chi⋅ton

   /ˈkaɪtn, ˈkaɪtɒn/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kahyt-n, kahy-ton] Show IPA

–noun

1.	Also called sea cradle. a mollusk of the class Amphineura, having a mantle covered with calcareous plates, found adhering to rocks.

2.	a gown or tunic, with or without sleeves, worn by both sexes in ancient Greece.

---

Origin:
1810–20; < class="ital-inline">chitn tunic < class="ital-inline">kuttōneth tunic); ult. < class="luna-Img" src="http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png" alt="" border="0">

Do you think they wore gladiators with peace signs back in the day?

My daughter's in a 6th grade 'play' in which they will be reenacting Greek, Egyptian and Roman historical events....To complicate matters, she is not only playing Hercules, but a ' mother' as well. Thankfully the costumes' only difference for boys and girls was the length. We went somewhere between the 2 lengths.....She's stuffing her sleeves with polyfil to make it appear as though she has muscles. Not sure what she'll do with them when she's the mom. I found a 'Grecian key' stitch on my new machine and used that to hem the toga.
Making the chi ton was somewhat like doing custom work for me (which I have not done in a long time). I procrastinated til the end.
It's obviously something that isn't really my style, or something I am used to making. But, I learned it doesn't hurt to try something new. I never would have known that stitch was on my machine had I not had to make one. Who knows if I'll ever need it again but now I know it's there...

..........................................................

Stopping the procrastination #3 for the day:
I've given up trying to take a decent picture of my 'Little Red Riding Hood' pouch. She's one of my favorites and hard as I try, the lighting or the colors or both do not turn out right. So instead of procrastinating (ahem, again), I am just going to list it in the shop as shown.

If you've been reading my blog you might have seen it before...

a little detail of the bear on the back

The back

The inside. I'm not sure how to take a good picture of the inside without my little models hands showing....

I have tried taking this pouch on a blue that matched the birds, but the blue just killed the red. I tried a smudged red, which ended up looking too pink.Then lastly this putty color. I think it's the best so far...til I try again.

Who's been eating my flowers?

The girls bought some pansies and other flowers a few weeks ago for the garden....

Lately some of them looked half chewed:

At first we thought snails or some other type of bugs were getting to them.

Then we noticed some of the flowers were completely torn off their stems:

We tried to figure out the cause.

Then I saw it. Lurking through the Johnny Jump-ups:

Caught you! No treats for you today!

Who, me?

Crafter's Block

Detail from the tin on shelf below

I have not gotten much accomplished lately, except for a few paper clay mushrooms we made the other day.They aren't even painted yet....I made some a few years ago and they turned out really nice, I antiqued them with gel and put them in little basket gardens we made....If I find them I'll take a picture and show you. They were much smaller, about 1/2 inch tall.These are about 2 inches....
I have set out with the best of intentions in the Easter project department but things like time, running errands, trying to pack for a move, volunteering, and the like, keep getting in the way. The things I have started, I have not been successful with either. Stuffed rabbits, stuffed birds, etc.etc , just don't always translate from paper to sewing machine.
If writer's block exists, surely crafter's block does too? Next time I will start out with the projects a few months early. I used to be that way. I'd make things months in advance, then forget and by the time the holiday/occasion rolled around I was making more things...
So, I thought instead I'd show some of my German Easter egg collection. Some of these are old and I received them for Easter when I was a kid. My Dad was German, but my Mom got me started on these:


The light has been dreary lately and today it's raining here in sunny Southern California, so my pictures aren't as nice as I wanted , but if you click on them I think you can see the details a little better....

The older ones will be marked something like "made in Western Germany", like this one:

Sometimes they'll have paper lace edging on the inside

This is the outside of that egg, one of my oldest:

This is one of my favorites ...

Well I'd better go get something done around here...

Do you have an Easter egg collection?

Here are the boxes

click on the pictures to enlarge

As promised, before I pack them up for moving (?)- A few pictures of my Caffarel tin collection. This is just a dent in the whole collection! I wasn't even able to find the small ones. Some of these are not Caffarel but they're nice just the same:)



The green one on the left held cookies. It's from Venice. I wish the pictures were better:(
When I was little I would look at drawings in a children's book we had of cities around the world, it said that Venice didn't have cars, just boats. I thought that was pretty wonderful. We went a few years ago and only got to stay for an afternoon, but it was worth it, and I do hope to go back some day. It just seemed like the perfect, quaint little artist's island. We went in one store that was so perfect, a girl was hand sewing a project and she had old tins like these and "Steiff teddy bears" and neat things all around.I wish I had taken a picture.

Here are some closeups of some of my favorites...These are little tiny boxes.Just an inch or so:

and another with some gnomes:

I don't even like the candy inside of these, (-licorice-) I just bought them for the images!

"The milk can", I love the beehive...this one holds caramel and coffee flavored candies...

I bought most of these in Italy. Every time we stop the car I find the nearest bakery or candy shop!

Well I must go and deliver my 'See's' to my customers before school gets out.
Have a great day!

I won!

Yay:)
I have never won anything before, and today I got an email from RAVENX saying I won a Print and darling Lulette heart ring from Noodle and Lou.

Please go check out her blog :Ravenxxxx.blogspot.com to see what I won:)

I have admired Noodle and Lou's artwork for awhile now so I am really happy to win this . Click on her name there in red and you can visit her blog too.
Have a great day-