Giveaway Winner and Recent Makes

Fanfare! The winner of the Sew Together bag is Connie from Freemotion by the River. That giveaway was the first time I used the free Rafflecopter gadget and it worked really well - no affiliation, just a little plug for a free thing that worked well.

While that giveaway was ticking along I was busy working on these varied bits and bobs. First of all came the preparation for a bit of Shibori.

You know tie dye from the sixties and still going now? Shibori was the traditional craft it came from and you know by now my fascination with traditional japanese crafts. I am so lucky to have a library near by and the japanese libraries have craft sections to die for. (I couldn't bring myself to put "to dye for" even though I wanted to.) The shibori books in mine vary from 1930s manuals which are 99% text written on very thin paper to more modern glossy picture books - heaven! There is also of course a lot online. This site is especially useful. I have tried some Nui (stitch resist), a Suji type (pleating) and have the perfect bottle for Arashi ("storm" where you wrap fabric around a bottle, tie it and then scrunch it down on itself). You know you have a craft addiction when you go to the supermarket and buy something based on the shape and size of the container, regardless of the contents, because you need to wrap fabric around it. I am off to buy the dye today so have high hopes of getting to work with it this week.

When I was little I had a small woven ribbon pillow and had always admired the way the ribbons interconnected and the effect it created. My recent dabbling and thinking about weaving combined with planning for an upcoming metal frame purse workshop and resulted in this.

I got the ribbon online from this etsy shop. Man, that was slippery stuff to weave! Hence all the pins. I love the effect though and put a small piece to use in this.

And the other side...cats of course.

The workshop is tomorrow evening so this will be an extra one for them to look at before they start making their own.

Finally, some more stitching on my Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses blocks coincidentally coincided with the arrival of a straggler from the I Love Lucy Bee (the top left one).

It may be 9 months late but that just shows it was worth waiting for!

Considering that I have also taught a crochet workshop, knitted a sleeve and finished the top of a machine sewn patchwork quilt this week I've certainly been quite diverse in my pursuits!