Last Day Of School...

RSN Tutor, Owen Davies With Second Week Students

 

Yesterday was our final class session. We received our last day of instruction from our tutor, shared meals with new friends, and took lots of pictures. I even came away with two, new "adopted" daughters, Pauline and Sarah (both to the immediate right of me in the photo)!

 

Autographs From RSN Summer School

We exchanged autographs like high school kids, and have already made plans to get together again somewhere next year. Our butterflies will be completed at home, and then shared on social media...and we'll start new projects to share, too.

 

Memories and new friends were made this past week, and we'll hold them in our hearts and heads for a long time to come. We were the first to attend a summer school sponsored and taught by the tutors of The Royal School of Needlework. We can't wait to gather again for the next one.

 

Leila And The Love Birds...

Imagine my glee when I returned home to find a package from my swap partner, Artsy Creations by Leila, for the Blissfull ATC Swap group! This month's theme was "Leaves". Remember, my card to her which you can see here.

Along with her artist trading card, Leila also sent me one of her black and white art prints. Isn't she talented?
I love the detail that Leila put into my card. I think she really captured the theme, and her card is so beautiful. I'm constantly amazed by the amount of detail that my swap partners put into their cards.
Leila is another artist who finishes the backs of her cards. Sparkles and swirls...my favorites! Thank you, Leila. I love this newest addition to my collection, and your art print will be a cherished addition to my studio. (Please be sure to click on her link above to visit her blog. She's hosting a giveaway, too!)
I finished my "Love Birds" applique' quilt yesterday, too. I had a quilt guild meeting last night and wanted to take it to "Show and Tell". (We always refer to it as "Bring and Brag" in our house.)

I didn't work on it over the weekend. Too much slothing and drooling after driving through the night on Friday. (We don't bounce back from long driving trips like we used to.) Consequently, we rested over the weekend and I worked on my quilt again on Monday.
This was my first quilt for needle-turn applique', so I decided to try something else new, I incorporated a little shadow quilting on the same block to accent the applique' work. (Don't look too closely...it's far from perfect!)
I finished quilting the rest of the top by meandering each individual block. All the quilting was finished by the time I turned out the lights on Monday evening.
This is the detail strip I pieced into the back. I love this sweet floral fabric on the back. This fabric is also used in the front of the quilt, so it was perfect for the back.
I attached the binding by machine to the front of the quilt, and then finished it with hand-sewing. I haven't added the label yet, but will do that soon. No quilt is really finished until the label is attached, you know!

I'm happy with my "firsts" in this piece. I've got more confidence in needle-turn applique' now, and I also like the effect of the shadow quilting. I'll practice that technique to use in a future quilt. Now I can concentrate on the lap quilts for my giveaway!

September Blissfull ATC Swap Creation...

This is my September artist trading card for the Blissfull ATC Swap group. I sent it off to Leila of Artsy Creations by Leila early last week. I'm sure she's received it in California by now, and that my card from her will be waiting for me when I get home. I promise I'll share it with you as soon as I can open the envelope!

I used a Green Woman image, added leafy beads, a pretty ruffle and the words "Every leaf speaks bliss". All of the elements are sewn to a fabric base with a meandering stitch to join it to a little batting. It has my usual playing card back for stability.

Thanks again to Debbie and Wendy for hosting this fun and creative group for ATC artists. I'm really having a ball with this ongoing swap!

PS. No worries, girlfriends! My finger is healing nicely, doesn't hurt and isn't keeping me from stitching. Once I removed that bulky gauze bandage and just covered my finger with a regular Bandaid, things started looking up. I'll be back to "normal" soon. Thanks so much for your notes of concern. Although our schedule has me too busy to respond to each note, I've read them all and really appreciate all your kind thoughts. xoxo