small finishes

I still have plenty of UFOs left, but I finished up three smallish ones in the last week -- yahoo! Up above is a little round robin that one of my mini-groups did; I probably showed a picture when it came back to me last March, but now it's quilted and bound and hanging in the front hall. I did quite a bit of free-motion quilting on it.

The next one is another mini-group project, from my other group. I made the large block and then handed if off, and it came back to me with a stack of small blocks. It hung around, on and off my design wall, for probably 4 years before I decided how to put it all together. It's about 24" square -- perfect for a small table topper.
Next up is the collage I made in Rosemary Eichorn's class at Asilomar a couple of years ago. I have no idea why it took me so long to put binding on it! I'm still thinking about some beading but...


This last photo is a little purse/pouch/bag that one of my friends made -- it's so clever! It starts with a 20" square of fabric and is the perfect size for a small knitting project (yeah, I'm still making hats) or other handwork. I learned how to make them and will try to post a tutorial sometime soon.Signing off for the next few days, which are shaping up to be busy but fun. Happy Holidays to all of you!

this & that -- holiday style

I've been noodling around with a number of little projects lately, some of which I neglected to take photos of... there were more knitted hats and a pair of mittens for one of the little nephews. All of these have been mailed off to cold, cold Wisconsin!

Then there were a bunch of little ornaments using Carol Doak's patterns from her Yahoo group. I think I made about 8 of these; they were fun to embellish with some sparkly thread and sequins.
Finally, there was this crazy little combo for a bottle of wine we brought to a party last weekend --
I've misplaced the instructions I printed out, but there's a similar design here. I got the whole scarf done between poker hands one evening (and I won a lot that night too!) and made the hat in a short time the next afternoon -- a fun way to use up a little bit of leftover sock yarn, but it would go even faster with something thicker.

Finally, there's the BOM from Planet Patchwork. Here is block #2:
This is a fun project, and of course it's not too late to join in!

And I leave you with a strange pose by Bucky -- I've never seen him lying with his tail tucked under him (and sticking out the back!) like this before. Silly maybe, but I found it pretty amusing.

fun with trees

This is the year of wonky blocks on Block Lotto, and December's project is pairs of trees in black and jewel tones. These were so much fun to make! It's a month when I'd really like to win...
It's funny. I've lived in California all my life but if I have to draw the shape of the state I always have to stop and think about it for a while and I usually draw it backwards. So when I was cutting out these blocks I had a similar experience... what shape IS a tree?

Anyone can join the lotto, by the way... check it out.