My first exhibition!

EXPOZITIE

Patchwork & Arta Textila
29 mai – 11 iunie 2010

Casa de Cultura Traian Demetrescu, salonul Medieval
vernisaj 28 mai, ora 17

Str.Traian Demetrescu, nr.31, CRAIOVA 200395
Telefon: 0351413369, mobil 0723919750
e-mail : casa_cultura_traian_demetrescu@yahoo.com ; office@cctd.ro
http://www.cctd.ro/

This is a group exibition, a group of enhtousiastic, fabulous, extraordinary women, that I had the chance to meet through our common passion: the pieces :). The group is called : "The Romanian Little Patch", and is guided, with great care and inspiration by Mrs. Smaranda Bourgery, a truly fantastic person, that shares her great knowledge with us, the less gifted ones.... Thank you, Smaranda, for that you are doing for us!

I managed to pull out two quilts, but, unfortunately, since I've been sewing till 2 o'clock to finish them, I did not get the chance to take a photo. You have to wait untill:

a) somebody else publishes photo's from the exhibition, or

b) the quilts are coming back and I can make nice photo's :)))

Bye!.... I'm going to long in front of my computer, waiting for news from the "exhibition comitee"....

How to make a kanzashi flower

These are 2 ways of folding the fabric square, in order to obtain the original Kanzashi flower, and a pleated variation. The red folded petal is the pleated variation, whilst the green is the original. Here we go:

Take a 10 cm square. (can be any size you think you can handle, it also depends on the fabric structure)

Fold in half. Iron. This is the only fold that needs ironing.


Fold in half again, keep fold towards you.

Take the corner and fold it back to you, leaving it a bit aside so you have a pleat at about 2-3 mm from the point.




... the rest of the story is available on my website, http://quibi.ro/how-to-make-a-kanzashi-flower-cum-sa-faci-o-floare-kanzashi/
For the time being, it is only in Romanian language, but the photo's are quite self explanatory. Should the need arise (i.e. you as for it in a comment or something) I will make it in English too.

Have fun crafting! 

Long time no see...

...says an old saying. Well, you can imagine I've been busy. Not busy, but super busy. Cause we cannot just stop everything we're doing, do something else and them resume. No, that would have been to nice.

So we moved to a new home, while still going at work (and my work is just some sitting-behind-the-desk thing, but hubby is a bit more delicate subject... he has to perform surgery every now and then, let's not go there, OK?), celebrating the move with a huge box robot, having a kids party (the middle one turned 10, thank you ;), having open house for all friends and a zillion other things.
I've been busy doing curtains (and believe me, we have some windows :))) ) arranging a bit a space where I can spread my creative skills (call that my studio), fixing a tone of small sandwiches with paste of this or of that for whomever entered the house, fixing kids their favorite foods, buying plant and not forgetting to water them :P.Now I'm shortly leaving to visit some friends for a day or two, and that is what caused this post and some (more) work to do. Because I cannot just learn a new technique by doing just one thing. No sir! that is not me!. I've seen the famous Kanzashi flowers and I've fallen in love with it, so what better excuse and opportunity to make some than the visit to friends? They will receive one, I get to learn something I like, what better deal can be?
So I started cutting "just" some colors... (I wanted them rainbow, not just plain one color, hm... maybe that was a tad ambitious?)Maybe from the other side?


Hm, it still looks an awful lot! Never mind that, I've started pleating.
And sewing (how do you do a surgeons knot??? I could not understand that from my surgeon at home, since he can only do it with his instruments... I'm not going to tie knots of string with a surgical instrument! No way!) ... To make a long story short, this is the result:

The green one is the pleated version, the other two are the originals. I've been using 10 cm squares, the flowers are about 5-6 cm big.
'Til next time!

Mail

We're beginning, slowly, to move.

We started with the most unused and unneeded items in the house: my fabrics, my supplies, my creative things.... well, not olny because of unneededesness, but because also, my sewing studio is one of the rooms that are ready.

Beside this news, mail is incoming every now and then. This time, it brought me the supplies for a special order for two special little girls: the "double flower Winnie" project. The name comes from the number: two girls, the absolute urge to have the above mentioned bear and the necessity of flowers.

Enjoy the samples!

Looking back...

...at 2009.

It's been a very busy year, with many happenings in my life. It changed a lot, and it stayed the same, but in a much fuller way. I've gained a bunch of new friends, and I've managed to make my quilting dreams come not one, but more steps further. I've learned a new technique. I'm moving in a new home.

I think is time to let go. Good bye, 2009!

Welcome, 2010, with new projects, with new perspectives, with all new surprising days!

And, for you, my dear quilting friends, may the year bring the same joy and happiness as it already brought me... A big hug for all of you!

More fabric ;)

The other part of the luggage arrived, hurray!

Beside the dirty clothes and bath slippers and jars and boxes and bottles of Porto wine, there was also my green bag of first shopping stop at Arco-Iris a Metro in Lisbon, Portugal.

Some (more) fabric:

Some (even more) thread:

aaaaaand.... some felt :))

After all, Easter is knocking at the door, isn't it? And I don't want to start running again for raw material, I just want to sit on my table and make the design and then just plain execute the thing ...

One other thing I should mention: the lady in the shop was very friendly and helpful. She even threw in some extra fabric when I was done shopping, and she even said she could send orders by mail, so it seems like a good future relation.

p.s. great photos from non-patch visitis here!

Polka dots? Yeeeeessssssssssssssss!!!

I've been drooling over polka dots since a long time now, but couldn't get my hands on them so far. With the family trip we had for holidays, I've been eager to check on the local patchwork market. This time, precious Cosman was not of help, I plan to inform him as well about my finding, so he may add the shop to his list.

But, stubborn as I am, I started reading blogs and reviews, so this way I've stumbled upon this wonderful shop: Arco-Iris a Metro. I've been there twice: once on our way in, and once on our way back. (Since we spent most of our vacation in southern Portugal, and this shop was almost in Lisbon, I couldn't get there more times, luckily for our finances :)) )

Today, I show you the result of the second shopping session: polka dots and (some) quilting thread.

The rest is still on the way, since we could benefit of a friends car that brought most of our luggage back in the country. He didn't arrive yet, but is close, so you will see those things soon.