My friend Diana made this carrying case from Atkinson's Designs (I found it here). After all these years quilting I have decided this is THE ONE thing I cannot live without. When you are packing to go on vacation, to a retreat, or for a day of sewing at your girlfriend's house, you can fit into this carrier everything you need. Fabric, thread, needles and pins, pens, small templates... I had everything I needed to use during my two-week vacation, stowed away into one package! It … [Read more...] about The ONE thing I cannot live without
Turning your passion into business – Part Two
You read about Woolin Rouge - an online store selling hand dyed wool and quilt patterns - and their creators, Traci and Sylvia, on my previous post. Now you have a chance to read my interview with Sylvia Gauthier and to find out, from her perspective, what it is like to start a business based on something you really enjoy doing. Sylvia brings her own strengths to their new business venture: a passion for sewing and quilting, and her ability to turn Traci's drawings into very cool wool … [Read more...] about Turning your passion into business – Part Two
Turning your passion into business – Part One
Sample hand dyed wool pack from Woolin Rouge Many years ago I was a freelance translator, working with marketing materials and ad copy from English into Brazilian Portuguese. Since I loved what I was doing, was very good at it, was reliable and fast, clients were abundant. After a few years I decided to open my own translation agency. Within two years the agency was profitable, and by the time I sold it to a competitor - some 10 years later - we were translating into over 150 languages, … [Read more...] about Turning your passion into business – Part One
Second knitted baby hat
This time I made it exactly as the pattern with ribbing, decreasing the stitches every other row, and I loved making it! It was good practice with the circular needles, and using DPNs (double pointed needles) definitely made it easier to finish it. Casting on stitches using the knitted method ensures the edge is not too loose. Youtube helped give me courage (whatever did we do before it?) when I wasn't sure what to do. One ball of yarn was enough for two hats, with some to spare which I will … [Read more...] about Second knitted baby hat
One more embroidery block finished!
The kittens are done! I added some grass and flowers to the block... I mixed two strands of DMC floss - dark gray and almost silver for the kittens, amber for the eyes, dark gray for the whiskers. Here are the other blocks I've done so far: giraffes and puppies, elephants, pigs, horses and snakes. French knots are so much easier to make when one uses a hoop... Depending on the work I will not use it, as when working with wool or photographs. I will probably complete two or more blocks this … [Read more...] about One more embroidery block finished!
Hexagons
Prepared dozens of hexies last week (then could not do anything else for three days as my left hand was swollen :-( ). When I started to sew them together, the corners kept coming apart, as I used the glue pen (Sewline - I found it here) as suggested by Sue at Patchwork with Busy Fingers. I liked working with the glue pen, but I must have done something wrong. I will need to go back and sew each one the old fashioned way... I will finish the design and probably applique them onto a … [Read more...] about Hexagons