New Directions.....new blog!

This is the year to branch out.....try new things...all craft-related, but not necessarily jewelry related. So I thought it would be a good thing to start a new blog to go along with the new endeavor.
It is at: trish-studio214.blogspot.com

The fate of this blog? It will still be here, and I'll be posting about jewelry related things....but suspect that the new blog will get most of the attention from here on out.

I do hope you'll come along on my new crafting journey....

The Christmas Chronicles - Final!

Although I had all my grandkids gifts all made by the end of October - there are a few others that needed doing - and boy it has been tough finding the time to make them!

There is a young couple in our church - daughter and son-in-law of the pastor - that have always had a special place in my heart. Their oldest son was born just a few weeks before I married my dear hubby, and they've kind of been 'stand-ins' for my kids and grandkids ever since. So, every Christmas I try to make something for the now two boys - one is 5 - and the other is about 16 months.

I had not thought of quilts at all for them, but then C's (the younger one) Mom mentioned how he loves feeling different textures - so the idea for a quilt for that was born. I think the ladies at the fabric store thought I was insane as I cruised the aisles - not looking at fabrics as much as touching them! I chose everything in shades of blue (big surprise there - I happen to love blue - and it IS for a boy....) - so besides the actual quilting fabric, I found some shiny smooth satin, some velvety, bumpy fabric, and some shaggy but soft furry fabric. This would be the front. My original idea was to have the alternate blocks of the quilt have something to 'do' on them - a zipper, a snap, some velcro, and a button - that's the 'busy' part...lol!

But, the blocks turned out to be too small to accomodate the things I wanted to put on, so I decided to flip the quilt over and have them on the back. And that worked out great - there is a zipper - a button that really buttons, a snap that snaps, and velcro that makes that cool ripping sound!

Created another problem though - doing it that way. There was no way to actually "quilt" the quilt - putting those rows of stitching in neat patterns that I have seen but never done.
So....reverting back to something I did years ago, I tied each block in the center with some blue cord. I love how it turned out - even though the different fabrics were a real challenge to work with!

Here it is:

The Front


Close-up of the fabrics

The back - the button and the velcro tab

The back - the zipper and the snap

The older boy LOVES Poo - he has several - a quilt and a pillow - and I am the designated "Poo-fixer" - believe me, that poor quilt and pillow have been through some times! I have repaired and repaired.....til not much of the original was left. So....after consulting his Mom - I decided that I would make a "back-up Pooh" quilt. Not wanting to replace the ancient ones he loves so much - but one for those times when they are in the wash, or got left at Grandma's.

The fabric store had some truly ugly fabric for Pooh - what were they thinking when they made it all garish purple and pink? UGLY! So, though I'm not really crazy about green and yellow - I did like the pictures on the fabric I got. I cut it up to spread out the pictures, and sandwiched it in, making the backing make a border. I was quite pleased with how that turned out. The quilting part, however, showed up how just being a tad off with the perfect squares, makes the lines off too. Just stitching through all those layers of stuff was a challenge......my sewing machine was smokin' after that!

I was pleased at how it turned out:

This one is a full 4 ft by 3 ft! I've never made anything like that before - and now have a new respect for quilters who can sew straight lines!

I also apologize for the poor quality of the photos - I have to learn when to turn on the macro and when to turn it off....

And now......except for Chex Mix and bread next week - I am DONE!!!

Baby Afghan Contest Update...Final..

Well, I got tired of waiting for an answer from any of the "active" chapters from the great state of Virginia - at least according to the national website.

So....no address on the local chapter link. Found the state chapter website - and their address. Packed up that lovely soft afghan, along with a letter telling them how I had tried to contact them to no avail - and that I did hope that the afghan would someday warm a little one.

So that's the end of this part of the 'craft for charity'- for Project Linus' - and I have fulfilled my part. I won't ever do one for them again - there has to be other equally deserving charities who take contact with people a little more seriously.

Tomorrow - according to the Caron website - they will be picking the 6 finalists for the contest - the other half of this venture - and then we'll see if mine was good enough to make the cut. I have no idea how many people entered - I suspect a lot - and most will be better than I at crochet - but I was concentrating on warmth and usefulness rather than technique.

I'll keep y'all posted....

The Infamous Cards...

My life has been consumed by cards.....shouldn't have been that way...but was. This was my December Craft Night project for church - and it really IS a cool craft - called "Iris Folding" - as in the iris of a camera or your eye.

Then I made an error - I asked the children's department head if she knew of a SMALL group of older folks that we could make these pretty cards into an outreach for. We'd make them, and the kids could pack a little gift, add our cards and deliver them. Simple - small - and spreading Christmas joy in a small way. Until.....

Somehow the 12 member Bible group we originally were making the cards for morphed into an assisted living facility - where they had 130 people living!!! Talk about panic! There was no way in the world that the usual 12-14 people who come to Craft Night could do this. So...I asked her to get me a 'firm' number - and made it clear that 100+ was not a possibility. Weeks later, she did get back to me....and the number was 50 - that's who "normally' showed up for events of this kind at the facility. Sure hope this one is normal!

To add to my woes, only about 4 people signed up for Craft Night - not a good sign. I knew it was December, and people have lots of things to do before Christmas, but this was a bona-fide disaster! I knew then that the cards would be mine to make, for the most part - so I got started. Figured out how many I had to do each day to meet my goal....and then....

Had to cut out of each card the outline of the finished design - there were five - a bell, a stocking, a tree, a snowman, and an ornament. After doing several backwards, which ruined the cards, I finally figured out one must work from the reverse side. OK...onward - got all 50 cards cut out - 10 of each design. Then I had to tape the matching patterns to sturdy cardstock to use under the cut-out portion of the cards. Another night gone.

Now came the 'fun' part - at least it should have been - and it was....for a while. Decide what colors to use, what kind of origami papers to use, and then cut the strips of paper and fold them, taping each one in place and taping them down - the tape manufacturers must LOVE this craft - it takes a LOT! It took all of my time for a solid week - day and night - to get 35 of these puppies done.

Ah...but they weren't really DONE. I had to go back, paste a blank cardstock over the backside of the design, to hide the ugly part, then find appropriate verses to go in them, print them out on paper, cut them to fit.....and finally to hold the whole thing together, a ribbon threaded through all the layers.

I now hate paper, I hate folding paper, I hate iris folding.....and don['t care if the remaining 15 cards get done or not! I did try a 'guilt trip' - asking for help for those who had not signed up for carft night - and now we have 14 - so....if they all make one, and I make one (UGH), then we'll have the right number.

Here are a couple of the cards, so you can see what I've been doing 24-7!!

This one was done with foil and opalescent papers, with hand-cut leaves and berries

This one used plain origami paper and opalescent in the cuff and iris

I don't care if I EVER make another card as long as i live.....but I AM a genuine expert in them!

New Studio!!!

At last!! A dream realized!! Ever since I expressed a 'burning' interest in learning how to make glass beads - an activity that requires a gas torch and melting glass - my dear husband has been busy transforming the garage out in our backyard into a studio for me! He was not about to let me light a torch in the house...lol!

It has taken a good while - we had, at the very beginning, decided that this would be a 'pay-as-you-go' project, so there have been many times we just had to wait til money freed up to do more. But - just before Thanksgiving, the studio was (except for a few odds and ends - like a ceiling fan and AC unit - both not needed til next summer) DONE! After our annual trip to North Carolina for the Thanksgiving holiday - yesterday was move-in day!! I am incredibly happy with my little creative corner!!

I had to name it - had to! I have always loved the Christian bands that use a Scripture reference in their name (as in "Building 429") - and I decided to do the same....and I knew the exact thing I wanted! So....the name of my workspace is now "Studio 214".

What does that mean, you ask? Happy to tell you and it is a double! The first quotation that explains the name is 2 Chronicles 2:14

He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him.

Then I found this in Titus 2:14:

who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

I love the thought of being a person that is God's very own, and I am so eager to do what is good!! Love it!!

Pictures!!!

First the "done but empty" pictures!

Outside View!!

The Back Wall

The Right Wall

The Left Wall

Move In Day!!!

All I can say is "Thank You, God, and my dear husband, for giving me this!"

Baby Afghan Contest Update...

Well, I did get an email yesterday in answer to mine from the National Project Linus website. She stated that both the other chapters I had contacted were 'active' (really?) - and offered up the excuse of the Thanksgiving holiday. I'll give the Charlottesville chapter a pass, as it was fairly close to the holiday - but do they not catch up on their email after? Or do they just delete it and start over? The local chapter? Nope - I emailed her on October 20.....not close to anything - just a 'no answer'. The Project Linus lady then suggests that I 'call them' - and yanno? I"m not going to do that. I don't have the time, nor will I pay long-distance charges to GIVE something away!
She stated that 'she would contact them also' - hmmm....let's see if that produces an answer. If not, I'm just mailing it off to the national address - and then it's on them - I did my part.

Confess I've been really put off by the attitude and response.

Baby Afghan Contest Entry!

Recently I read about a contest being sponsored by Caron (of the yummy yarns) and AC Moore - now there's a combination I just couldn't ignore!

First - it is for charity - since I had all my Christmas presents done, I wanted to do something to give to someone who needed it (and being a baby....it was a no-brainer). AND - AC Moore was giving a grand prize of $300!!!! Oh, my what I could do with that!!! Even more, AC Moore was donating a dollar to Project Linus for every entry - on top of all those afghans that would be made. Cool!

Second - it used a new yarn from Caron - well, actually two - but since it was for a baby, I didn't want to use the worsted weight "Country" yarn.....so I opted for the "Spa" yarn - which amazingly enough is partly made from bamboo. That is not a typo...really....bamboo! Where I would normally think 'floor' or 'furniture' - it was a real turn to feel the extraordinary softness of this yarn! Oh, yeah....a baby's gonna love this! It came in five yummy colors - so I decided to use them all! No fancy edgings - per the rules - no fringe - and no lacy pattern (that from me). The point is to keep baby warm.....so that's what I went for.

I finished the afghan a while back....and per instructions, contacted the local chapter of Project Linus....wanting to know from them where to mail the afghan. No answer. Odd. Ok...went back to the Project Linus site - found the 'state' chapter site - and emailed them - hoping they would be monitoring their email as the local person obviously was not. And I waited....and waited....no answer. Hmmmm.....and I thought....well...ok...it IS a holiday - Thanksgiving - but then...there IS this contest going on.

Today was the deadline....to enter the contest....glad that the afghan didn't also have to be delivered, or I'd be out of the running before I began! So....did all my stuff to enter the contest, sending in all the materials they asked for, along with a picture of the afghan. They will be picking 6 finalists this week or next.....and then the public gets to vote. You can bet I'll be putting the link on here for y'all to go vote for my afghan!

Still having no answer as to where to send my completed afghan....so off I went to the National website for Project Linus....and sent them an email, explaining that I was unable to get any answer from the state or local chapters.....so far....no answer. I'll give it a couple of days - and then I'm just gonna send it to the address they have published on their site. I have to admit, I am a tad put off by the lack of response. In this internet world - waiting days and weeks for answers to email is, frankly, not acceptable. And I'll remember it when I get the urge to craft something for charity next time....

So.....here are the photos of the afghan....which I LOVE - it looks nice, it feels wonderful....and is just a pleasure - to make and look at!

I just could not resist wrapping up my porcelain doll - which, by the way - I made myself - from scratch....seems like a lifetime ago!

This is a closeup of the pattern - and the edging that is a combination of three different stitches - wanted it to look dainty, but not 'fringy'!

And this is the photo I sent in with my entry - wanted to send the baby one - but this shows the afghan better - hope it wasn't a mistake. Ah, well - it's enough to know some darling little baby will be wrapped up in it soon!

Stay tuned!! I'll post the voting link, and let you know how the voting turns out.....and if I ever get a response from Project Linus!