Quilt Block Swap Starting

I have been asked how does one find out about these swaps that happen. Well, here is one that is just starting out, and you can join.

There is a group just getting started over on flickr called block of the month. This is a group all about sharing quilt blocks. If you sew or embroider, you can do this. Objective of this group is to swap blocks each month. Once you have enough blocks, you can assemble a quilt and show it to the group.

Blocks, hopefully, will come from all over the world because this will be open for international swapping. Please feel free to check out this group, see rules, and join.

I will have tutorials here for most of the blocks and a link to the patterns. You can sign up now for the group for sign ups for each month start August 1, 2007.

Thanks for checking this out
Take care
Sunshine

http://www.flickr.com/groups/blockofthemonth/

Getting a few things finished

My daughter finished her needle punch today. I thought she would have had it finished yesterday, but she burned out a little. Not bad for three days' work.

I also finished a repair project I had been putting off due to time and sick kids. I repaired seven alter clothes this morning for my church. Then I drove 20 miles to return them and discovered I had two more to repair, so as soon as I got home I repaired the other two. This time I don't want to be behind. I will deliver them this week. Two things we are ahead of right now. Trust me, that is amazing because I feel behind on everything at the moment.

WIP: Flag in Russian Needle punch

My oldest daughter has a take-home assignment from her art class at school. During the semester she is supposed to make an item that shows at least one hour of work. She is up to eight hours of work on this so far and I think she will finish it today. This is how she wanted to spend Spring Break. Learning a new skill. She was upset when it was her younger sister learning how for a take-home assignment and not her. So when it came time for her do her take-home, she asked to learn what her sister had learned. I think children as young as five can learn how to do this if you thread the needle for them. Older children can thread the needle themselves.

Front

The design she came up with herself. We discussed a few things then I handed her a post-it note tablet and let her draw her design. If you do this, remember on the fabric the image is drawn on the back of the work and has to be a mirror image or something like a flag will be backward and so will words if you don't plan ahead.

Back

To see all the Russian needle punch that both daughters and myself have posted thus far, go here.

If you want to view just the photos and not the stories that go with them, go here on flickr.

I also started a group today if you do this type of needle work I would love to see it join the group and add your photos.

Part 6 Valentine done

The second heart for the Valentine swap I am in at my hand-embroidery group is done. Now I just need to package them up, and get them in the mail.

Front

BackPart 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Now for the other Old Fashioned Valentine swap I am in at MJF. In that one, people sign up for swapping cards. The hitch is they all have to be hand made. I think we are up to about thirty people, so I need to get cracking on that.

Part 5 Valentine Progress sort of

I didn't get to work on this as much as would have liked to this weekend. Oh well, this is were it is, and I had fun doing craft projects with my kids instead.

FrontBack

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Part 3 Valentine swap WIP 2nd heart

Here is the next heart pattern in the heart swap. This one is more simplistic than the last one. A lot more traditional as well. I will probably do a tiny bit of shaping with it, but I'm not sure yet. These hearts can be used in Crazy quilts.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Part 2 Embroidered Valentine Swap

The first Valentine for the swap is now complete. It was my WIP for the day, but I finished it about 20 minuets ago. On to the next one which won't be near as colorful or busy; more of the cupid and heart thing. I will make two more, actually my daughter wants me to make one for us to keep, as well. These hearts can be used in Crazy quilts.

FrontBack
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Part 1 Valentine swap (embroidered heart)

In the embroidery group I belong to on the internet, they are having a swap for Valentine's Day. You can make either 1 or 2 hearts, and you get back as many as you make. I started one yesterday; the first one is about half the way done. It took about 14 hours to get to this point. Mine is in Russian needle punch embroidery. Sign ups for the swap are open 'till January 19, if you want to join in the fun. Just an FYI this is 6 inches across at it's widest point. These hearts can be used in Crazy quilts or any thing else the receiver can think of.

backfront
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Russian Needlepuch Nutcracker finished

My daughter finished her Nutcracker. To bad she forgot to tell me it was due the day before vacation so now it is late even though it is done.

I think she did a great job on it. When she gets it back from school we will have it framed in a shadow box hard to tell in the photos but this has a lot of depth to it.

She has the second round of awards on Tuesday night. She doesn't know yet, but she did win again. Not for her Russian Needle punch but for her chalk drawing. One of these days I am actually going to see that drawing because she completed it at school and entered it without me ever seeing it. Her Russian needle punch is in 3D art and there isn't a division of that at the State level of the Reflections program, so it was stopped at this level, I think. She will have fun with the awards ceremony as the mayor of our little town will give her the award. Pretty cool for a 7 year old.

To see all the posts on my daughter's Russian needle punch go here.

Update: Jan 2 2007 Well she turned it in today to find out it wasn't late after all. It is due at the end of the semester in two and a half weeks. She thought Christmas break was the end of the semester. So all is good and it is early instead of late. Plus we may get the other one back from the art contest and she can still turn that one in too.

Russian Needle Punch Nut Cracker

We have progress on my seven-year-old daughter's art project.

I think she is doing pretty well and getting a lot done. To see what she has done so far go here. Front on right side of text back on left side. If you look closely at the pictures, you will see the needle is left in the work when my daughter is not working on it. The gold-looking tool top left in left photo.

Russian Needle punch table top stand

This is the hoop my daughter is using for her Russian needle punch.

This is known as a table top hoop. It is actually two hoops in one, depending how big your work is. One hoop forms the base for the other and visa verse. She is punching this even as I type. I will take photos later to show her progress.

Update
She is working on it.

Look at the concentration on that face! I am not even sure she knew I was there till I took the photo. She is actually getting a lot done on it today. The bandages on her hand are from playing, not working on the embroidery. When working on Russian Needle punch you actually work from the wrong side of the piece. So in these photos you are actually seeing the back side of the piece. It looks different on the front; you just have to know what you will get in the end if you do sculpting.

Nut Cracker in Russian Needlepunch

My daughter is starting her second project using this technique.

This will be for an art show at school in about a month. The last one she did won the last art contest she entered. The current project is for an un-jurored show, so it doesn't all have to be her own original designs. She won't be drafting her own pattern this time.

Since Christmas is around the corner she wanted to do a Nut Cracker. The first three steps of this project are done: fabric picked (wool gabardine), image decided upon, image transferred to fabric using a light table and a green permanent market. The punch work begins tomorrow. I think this time when I am teaching her I will have her play with different fibers, maybe wool for the hair and gold metallic thread for buttons and things like that, but she will have to decide as it is her project. Maybe she will work with playing with depth of the thread loop lengths for added texture. I will just let her see her options in supplies and techniques and she can go from there.

She won two awards

If you remember, a little while back my middle daughter learned Russian Needle punch.

She entered it and two other of her works into an art contest. Today we found out that it and her chalk drawing won awards and will go on to the next level. I think it is a pretty good piece considering it is her first attempt and she is only in first grade.

Russian Needle punch

It has been Mommy-daughter art time a lot lately.

I have spent the last five days teaching my 7 year old how to do Russian needle punch. She designed the image herself and then picked the colors. For a first time at doing this, I think it is pretty good; it is the size of a square post-it note standard size. That is what she drew her image on and wanted it to stay that size. I think it is the perfect size for a starter project; not too small and not too big. I promised her that before the art show in December I will get it framed and hang it in our front room for all to see. That just made her day. Please, if you like it, leave positive comments so I can show her ;it will just make her day to know other people like it because she is massively shy.