Wednesday Wow

Somewhere, there must be a website which has catchy blog entry titles you can use instead of trying to think of something interesting for each post. You'll have to forgive my lack of originality and excitement and just enjoy the photos instead!

So, I'll start today with what I actually worked on last - a set of ATCs (Artist Trading Cards - these are 2.5x3.5 inches) for a swap with Lenna's Creative Swaps website - the theme is Angel, Fairy & Diva and the cards have to use an image from an Altered by Design image sheet. This sheet was called (surprisingly!) Ladies in Red. I had fun with these - I had fewer red embellishments than I thought I did, so it was a bit of a stretch to find what I wanted - I think I need to buy some more embellishments - perhaps that's what I'll spend my money on at the various shows in the upcoming quilt show season, rather than fabric, which I have quite a bit of. I used one of the extra pieces from the styrofoam stamping swap as a background, and on the back as well - it had a silvery paint, but with some bits of gold showing through, so I have mixed silver and gold on the front of the cards with the red. 6 will go to the swap, 2 will show up here sometime in May when I post some ATCs for general trading. Not for a few weeks yet, though.




I actually spent most of the day today sewing, etc - after a quick run into New Malden to pick up a different zipper for the bag I was going to finish today (I had bought a neutral one, but didn't really like it with the bright pink and purple fabric so I decided to take it out and put in one more appropriate in colour - I'm glad I did, as I know it would have bothered me every time I used the bag, but a word of advice - don't ever remove a zip unless you have to - what a pain - almost as bad as putting the blessed thing in, in the first place). I can't show the bag (which is the May bag for the BQL Bag Challenge) until tomorrow, but I will show it then - it's fantastic, if I do say so myself (I didn't write the pattern, so I can say that, right?) - it's got an insulated lining, so it will be a picnic bag - and we picnic a lot - sometimes in a more formal way, and sometimes just in the sense of taking a packed lunch along on an outing - so it will get a lot of use.

I also worked on my quilt for the Miniature Booty Swap, which I ALSO can't show, so I've just put a little arty teaser photo above right - it doesn't give much away except a bit of colour, and as I showed you the fabrics I was going to use a while ago on the blog, you knew that anyway!

Above left is the next step of the mystery quilt (on nancy rose's site) I did today - 4 strips of 4 patch blocks made from nickels - I'm beginning to really wonder what this mystery will look like - it's bothering me less than I thought it would not to know in advance, which is a good thing...



And finally, my fabrics from the Just Japanese fabric club - 16 fat sixteenths of Japanese fabrics - some nice red ones this month. I thought I'd share the way they arrive in these sweet little bundles - I immediately unbundle them and have a better look, of course, but I do admire them in their little packets first.