Stitching Personality

I can't believe another week has gone by already. I've been doing a lot of stitching, Had a great time making the owl from Countryside Softies. Hand stitched softies have personalities you just wont find on any other toy. The handstitchers club will begin this owl project on Tuesday. She was fun to make, and uses little bits of things, so you may have what you need in your scrap box. The body pieces do need to be a slightly stretchy fabric. I didn't have a felted wool sweater like the book suggested, but I used some leftover polar fleece (purple) and it worked fine. You could probably use an old t-shirt too, doubled if it is thin. The rest is all felt and fabric scraps. Don't forget to bring some stuffing. Again, I used leftovers, this time batting leftovers. Worked just great. The full list of supplies is on the handstitchers page.

Handstitchers club is the first of our May events. Please get signed up for the workshops you want to take this month. Having a great new project to work on makes the rain much easier to bear. The Knitted Purse has plenty of room, and the new evening time (starting May 9, 6:30 ) should be helpful to those of you who work. We know that many of you love to knit, and even more want to learn how. If you do and you also don't want to get hooked into another addictive hobby, this is a way to learn to knit without needing to start another stash. Using strips of fabric instead of yarn gives a wonderful texture to the finished object, and will have you looking at your fabrics - even the ugly ones - in a whole new way. The only thing a quilter really needs to add is a pair of knitting needles. Everything else to knit with fabric is probably already in your project bag. I know you will love this.

Please also mark your calendars for the trunk show and discussion by K Velis Turan, on her quilted artwork. Her star is on the rise and you will be bale to say you met her when. She was recently the Featured quilter and speaker at the Colors of Life Quilt Show, in Ravenna, and her work has been on the cover of Quilting Arts Magazine. She is creative and and fun, even if you don't make art quilts, you will love to hear her talk about her work. Come find out how she went beyond traditional techniques and developed her signature style using printmaking to create whole cloth quilts. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternooon,( May 14, 1 pm ) and it's even free. See you then.