Quilt label

 I forgot to include this in yesterday's post. 

This is the label I made to attach to the quilt for my daughter. (That's my initials with last name hidden under the strip of paper.) I used different stamps and some very careful, repeated application of paint. Heat set with the iron.

 

I actually forgot to make it before I wrapped the quilt so I ended up sewing it on after she opened it on Christmas. LOL

 

Irish chain quilt

 Not the best photos. A quilt I made for my daughter this past Christmas. Click the photos to see larger. (after you do that you can right click and open image in a new tab to see it at the full uploaded size if you want)

This first pic where I'm getting the layers layered gives you a better idea of the pattern before it's quilted.

This photo gives you a better idea of the patterns as the light colored blocks in the other photos make them appear white but they are actually a white print on a tan background. The dragonfly print is really pretty, too. I wanted a color closer to the background color of the dragonfly fabric but it wasn't to be.

These were the first 2 fabrics I had bought.

 This photo I'm showing what I used for the backing. I wish my photos were better so you could see that actual colors.

 

It ended up looking okay but I had really struggled with the quilting and feeding it through my machine so there's actually all kinds of uneven stitches from larger than they were supposed to be to super tiny. 

Here's the end result of the full quilt. I really wish I had a better pic!

Cat mat

 I made this little nap mat for my kitty who liked to take a nap on top of a shelf unit on my desk when I was in there scrapping. I think it's the first time I've really tried machine quilting something as my sewing machine doesn't have much clearance room to maneuver large projects. Some day I may try again but the small number of quilts I've done (only one is a bed size for a twin) have all been tied.

I used leftover fabric and also a fabric from a pair of flannel pj bottoms that had seen better days.

State Fair 2012 - lots of pics

Last year I didn't get around to doing much to enter so I didn't enter anything. This year I entered 16 items and 13 received blue ribbons! (Our fair uses the Danish system of judging.)

Sorry, the pics I took at the exhibit aren't very good. Other than the little shade that I gave away, if anyone wants to see a better pic I can take another one at home of the item. :)

First, the less than stellar. My muffins (zucchini) only got a participation ribbon. The landscape color photography, a third place ribbon (I think having a 5.0 megapixel camera doesn't help when blowing up and well, I am VERY amateur. LOL ) My little woodsie & craft stick Santa in a chimney (Christmas tree decorations), a second place ribbon.

Here are my blue ribbons! The knitted felted pocketbook is the first knitting project I've ever completed followed by the knitted scarf (which, btw, 'homespun' yarn is a bit of a pain to  knit with. Probably makes it easier to camouflage imperfections in stitching though.) I've only made about handful of quilt blankets (mostly lap/crib size - only one bed sized one) and this was the first time I ever did a binding. And it's a continuous binding (thank you, youtube!) I did make a mistake doing the corners and had to fix it - which involved stitching the corners back together.

 

Then we have beadwork (earrings), ceramics - other (I painted an unfinished piece), children's clothing - skirt, decoupage (which I posted here, lit up.

 

 

Drop cookies (chocolate peppermint chip), felt craft, pillow, scrapbook page. We don't have a category for paper crafts. I have to enter it under special crafts - other.

 

 

 

Then here's the candle shade I made which you put on wine glasses. They taped it to the glass though so it's a bit wonky. And I forgot to take a pic of it on my way through before so I took it when I was picking my stuff up. And last, my wet felted hat made from a recycled wool sweater. The holly design I needle felted all the way around. And it actually fits on my head smoother than how it looks on the dummy head they used. LOL

 

 

 

Ok, I think I got them all. Thanks for looking and let me know if there's anything you want a better pic of. Some of them are pretty bad. LOL

 

 

State Fair

So this year, I have submitted 5 things to the state fair. I have never entered a fair before. Our fair uses the Danish system. (Our judges use the Danish system for grading. Judging is based on its own merit using the general judging criteria of: Appearance and Workmanship. For fiber work cleanliness, colors, design, blocking and/or pressing, neatness, tension, pattern execution, gauge, piecing, accurate machine stitching, seam/hem finishes. ~excerpt from the exhibitor's handbook) I'm glad they do this because if you're being compared to other people that can be rather discouraging as some people have much more experience. I would feel like I didn't have a chance in hell against someone who's been quilting for 20+ years! (Heck, this is only like the 3rd complete patchwork type quilt I've made and the other 2 were about crib size!)

*As always, click pics to view larger*

I made this for my daughter's room. All those little ties were a bugger to tie! I was happy enough that I got a red ribbon but none of the bed quilts got a blue ribbon so I feel even better about it. LOL


Just a necklace I had made for myself and realized when I was looking to enter stuff I could enter it. LOL


No, I did not blur the faces in the LO when I submitted it to the fair! LOL The shoes embellishments were made with leftover sparkly fabric that I had used when I made my daughter's costume. I had covered an old pair of sneakers with it for ruby slippers.


A dress I had made for my daughter. She only wore it once because I had made it a bit too small. *sigh* That was a few years ago but I still had the dress. Last one I had that I've made her over the years when she still wore them.


Ok, now here's the thing with this afghan. I started it and worked out a pattern of stripes with the intent of using up yarn I've had around for years. I told myself to do it and get it done or just finally donate the yarn instead of keeping it all for another God-knows-how-many years. (However, still procrastinating after having gotten a good start on it, it was 3 years (at least) in the making!) So what do you think happened? I ran out of some of the colors and HAD TO BUY MORE YARN! I think like 4 skeins of different colors. The last was black. I was almost done the last black stripe on it when I ran out. And it's pretty hard to match an off-white with a brand you don't know you used and got years ago to boot. So, needless to say, it's not a perfect match. I managed to finish it the night before it had to be submitted. Well, technically it was finished. But I decided to do a stitch up the sides to 1. border it and 2. hopefully improve the look of the sides. I did THAT the day OF. Why do I do this to myself anyway?? I had a whole year to get it done knowing I wanted to put it in the fair.


So there you have it. My first fair entries! 3 red ribbons and 2 blue. Oh, happy day!! Thanks for stopping by and sharing my moment! When I get my things back Monday evening I'll take pictures of the afghan and quilt so you can see them fully spread out.