So, March was pretty easy. Especially since I had most of the birthday blocks done way in advance.
First done was Marissa's block. She asked for a nautical themed block in red, teal and white.
As soon as I saw this block, I knew it was the one. I enjoyed working it, despite the smaller piecing, although I think there's too much white in it. I hope it fits in with her other blocks.
Next up was Ralu's blue and white block. She didn't have a pattern specified, so I picked this one, called "Glory Boxes". Then I had to buy some blue and white fabric. I had some, but nothing that I wanted went together in the way I should.
So far, this is my favorite block. But it is only March, but I really like how well it came out. The toile was a new fabric, the rest actually came from stash.
Mary's block was next. She asked for a "Shooting Star" block in black and novelty prints. I thought of it as an "I Spy" block and really had fun picking out my fabrics that I wasn't going to use in anything else but really liked.
I really like the "I Spy" feel to it. Although it came out a little wonky in size. I am going to send it to her and do a second one this coming weekend since I'm really happy with my 12 in 2012 progress. :) (Plus I have more fun fabric I'd love to use!)
So, another one of the swaps I do is a fabric postcard swap. Last year I did a set of "rainbow" themed ones and had a blast. This time around the theme was "beginnings". And honestly, I sat on these a lot longer than I should because nothing really came to me. Other than sprouts and gardens, which I didn't want to do. All of a sudden while riding in the car all 5 of them came to me in brief images. I ripped a receipt out of my purse and scribbled them down.
The first one I worked on I called "Beginning of a Quilt". I grabbed my "random shapes" scrap bag and sorted by color. Seeing I had a lot of pinks and browns, I focused on those.
I imagined a crazy quilt being hand pieced for this one, and wanted to practice my surface stitching, so added a little blanket stitch. I'm happy how it came out.
The next one was easy for me, what do I start my day with? Tea! All year round. (Just becomes iced or bubble in the summer!).
Trying to find fabrics that complemented without clashing too bad was harder than it should have been for this one, especially since I still wanted to work from my stash. I love the tea bag. I almost wrote TEA on it, but decided against it.
My next idea was either sunrise or sunset and again I wanted to use up some stash. I had a pretty good vision and wanted to try attaching some vintage lace to it, like foam on waves.
Although it is nowhere as lovely as it was in my head, I'm happy with it. And the person who received it saw what I was trying with the lace right away, so I can't complain there. This is a theme I will come back to again, for sure.
Next up was the simplest. I thought about the stereotypical beginning of a story. "Once upon a time...". I had wanted to write more, but my embroidery wasn't turning out *that* good...
I'm really happy with this and would like to try a whole page with maybe a ribbon bookmark for next time.
This is my last one. I was reminded of an image I had already seen and wanted to play in homage in a way.
This was the card I was most nervous about because I wasn't sure how well it would be received. I almost didn't send it. Seriously. But, I was already late enough, so decided to send it to a new home. This is also a motif I will come back to, possibly as I work on my embroidery again, I can see an incarnation of this in a hoop in my craft room....
So, March was a productive month for me. I don't have much coming up in April and May, which is good because I start rehearsals for 'Doubt' late April. So, in the meantime, I'll be showing you some interesting WIP's. And getting ready for the 2012 CSA Season. I can't wait!
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