Sewing - an adult apron made from medium weight cotton fabric in a block printed design - GA

I have had this fabric in my GA stash since last year.  I have the intention of making a bag with it but having LONDON fabric for bags right now I checked it out and there was enough to make an adult apron so I made one up.  It is a design I found on Instructables - Sew an adjustable Chef's apron - in several different sizes.  I made a very long tie (132") which allows them to be brought to the front to be tied.  I did add a pocket on the right hand side big enough for a phone, keys or glasses, etc.  It is very adjustable and suitable for most adults.  It is headed to the merchandise table at a future Gramma Link Africa event.  Therese
 

Cardmaking - a large card embellished with embossed vellum, die cut photo and some die cut leaves

I worked on cards for family this week!!  I started with a large tan card and added a hand decorated piece of paper which I had embossed with leaves at the top, birch trees in the middle and bubbles on the bottom.  I added some light brown ink to highlight the embossing a little bit.  It also filled in some of the white edges on the embossed areas which was good.  Added this to my card front.  I embossed a strip of vellum (SU) with a torn edge and added a slit into which my photo would fit and secured it with double sided tape.  I added the bird photo which I had die cut with Nestibilities then added three little leaves I had sitting on my desk from a previous cardmaking session. They were the perfect colours!!

Therese
 

Sewing - fun London fabric for two sets of potholders - GA

 I made up a couple of sets of potholders with what was left of the LONDON fabric I had in my GA stash.  They have interesting graphics and recognizable as images from London.  I used black fabric for the backing and cotton batting, flannel and cotton terry for the inside layers.  I brought the backing to the front, folded it twice and stitched it down.  I included the loop on the last corner.  These will be included in our Gramma Link Africa merchandise for our future events.  Therese

Sewing - medium hot pad with a removeable and reversible cover - GA

I made a cover for another of the hot pads I made a while back.  It is about 13" x 10" and had cotton, metallic insulation and knitted wool batting with a cotton flannel to hold all the layers together.  I stitched up a cover (sleeve) for it using four different cotton fabrics - red guitar, checkered green, rust cross hatch and multi coloured uneven stripes.  The pieces were all the same size (14" x 11") and I stitched two together on the long edges to make a tube.  And again for the other two.  I turned one inside out and inserted it in the other one (right sides together) and stitched both ends leaving a gap of about 4" on one of the ends.  I turned the whole thing inside out and pressed it flat.  I hand stitched closed the opening I had left and then added top stitching to both top and bottom edges and to the two side seams which should allow it to be restored to it's rectangular shape after it is washed. Pick your favorite fabric on the day you use it and after using it simply remove the cover and wash it to be ready for next time.  Small enough to fit in most drawers and enough variety to rise to every occasion.  It will accommodate several small hot dishes or a 9" x 13" casserole. Going into Gramma link Africa merchandise inventory.   Therese

 

Cardmaking - sympathy card featuring a butterfly and dove

 A friend of ours has passed away and I have made a card for his wife and their family which we know reasonably well.  

I started with a yellow card after I choose the paper I was putting in the circle.  I found the green paper next and cut a circle from it and then cut the yellow paper just a bit bigger.  I stamped the green layer with a script stamp in light green ink, secured the yellow circle behind the opening with tape and applied this large element to my card front.  I die cut a silver body for the fabric butterfly and secured it to the edge of the opening with double sided tape.  Wanting a less typical greeting I stamped the words onto white cardstock and embossed with silver, cut the top and bottom with a thin metal die (first time I used it!!) with a wavy edge and trimmed it to the same width as my decorative background.  Really love how that worked out.  I added a small silver dove sequin with 3D foam tape to finish it off.  

It is always sad to lose people who are part of your community.  

Therese

 

Sewing - 12 bright quilt squares with hand stitched collage hearts in their centers

These are very bright and joyful!!!  I finished stitching the hearts while on holidays after Christmas and have finally added some bright fabrics to them.  I used a light weight substrate and added pieces log cabin style and then trimmed them (9").  It was a fun day of stitching and they are beautiful all together.  I will have to see what I can sash them with to make a small blanket for a child.  It was so fun to dig out fabrics from my brights bin and make them into wonderful squares.  Therese
 

Sewing - trivets with wool and cotton batting

 I had a made up some hot pad inserts from a wool sweater, cotton batting and cotton.  I have finally given the two small ones cute cotton covers.  I tied the corduroy one - love the pattern of red and orange floral shapes and a classic white and black design for the other one which I machine stitched with diagonal lines.  They are about 6" square and suitable to be used a trivets for a tea pot, a small pie or a warm bowl of soup.  They would be great coasters for a large mug as well.  Therese