Workshop Wonders

Here is a a basted block from a workshop earlier this week:

That's right!  A doily surrounded by tile pieces.  Don't they make a fine combination? The maker of this block was pleased with the look of it, but noted that the edges of the doily would have to be securely stitched to the background fabric if she were going to have someone machine quilt it for her. 

Another workshop participant pieced and fussy cut one of the circles in her block to give this great mirror image effect:

And how about these paisley orange peel shapes?

Pretty wonderful.

Sarah's Challenge

Sarah Fayman of Sarah's (fabulous) Fabrics in Lawrence, KS, is issuing a fat quarter of this fabric--

to any member of the Kaw Valley Quilt Guild who will use it to make a small quilt, c. 18'' to 24'', to donate to the guild's mini-quilt auction for charitable purposes.  A very real aspect of this challenge is to use such a large-scale print in a small quilt.  After pondering the possibilities, I decided a tile block centering on the challenge fabric and bordered with it was my answer.  Here's the block in progress--you may be able to see the needle and thread poised to stitch the central circles of the challenge fabric:

I'll post a photo of the completed block with the border.

Sarah plans to make this an ongoing challenge, issuing fat quarters of a different fabric every few months.  It's going to be fun to see what people come up with, and it's a great idea for stocking our mini-quilt auction.

Atlasta Hasselblad

So, here is the perfectly sized and detailed Hasselblad crocheted by Nadra Dangerfield for John Gary Brown:

It's awesome from every angle:

Who needs to understand the impetus when the product is so engaging?


And something else delightful--an illustrated edition of The Elements of Style!  Not just any illustrations, but illustrations by Maira Kalman.  She is a visual columnist for The New York Times and writes the blog, And the Pursuit of Happiness.  She has such an interesting and quirky way of looking at the world--her Illustration for The Elements of Style's Table of Contents is a watermelon pink package tied with string...


I came across the wonderful little volume while sorting books at lunchtime today.  The Friends of our local public library twice a year conducts a grand sale of donated books.  Proceeds, of course, benefit the library.  I help in a tiny way by sorting books into sale categories.  It's always a joy to come across something unknown or unexpected, and it certainly was a joy today to find, of all things, the classic style manual with charming illustrations.