A little of this and a little of that...

Although I have been fairly absent from the blog world this month, I have continued to be very busy discovering news things all around me. I have just opened my home to an international student from Taiwan who arrived in the States on Friday. He will be with us until July. He is an absolute pleasure, and we are ALL very excited to share this year with him. Needless to say, the past four days have been overflowing with activity.

As you all know, I have recently begun this adventure of learning how to embroider. Sharon b of Pin Tangle offers a wonderful opportunity to both beginners and experienced stitchers. Take A Stitch Tuesday, commonly referred to as TAST, is a place where you can learn a new stitch every week. Although they are up to week 38, you can jump in at anytime. I decided to do what I could to begin this learning process, so I began a small sampler that uses the French Knot, Oyster Stitch, Buttonwheel Half-circle, Cast-on Stitch, and the Pistol Stitch. I began by brushing some color on a white-on-white fabric with PaintStiks....then began stitching. Sharon b also has a Work In Progress Wednesday...an opportunity for you to share a piece that you are currently working on. 

Another project I have recently become involved in is the Autumn Colors Sew Along. What is unique about this opportunity is that you are required to dye your own fabric, lace, and motif for a CQ block. You divide all these into three kits and send them to three people. When you receive your three kits, you stitch three CQ blocks and then send your completed work to three different people. So, when you are all done (whew!) you will receive three blocks that have each been made by two different people...one did the dying, and one did the stitching.  Fun, yes??

Now, I have never dyed fabric. Going into this, I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing....actually, I am still clueless. I started by dying four pieces of fabric. One of them is in the trash....not redeemable. The second was the wrong color for the autumn color scheme. I was left with two that I felt I could possibly work with, but I was really not happy with either of them.

The colors of the one above faded significantly when I washed it, so I got out my PaintStiks, thinking they would help add interest. The kits need to be sent out by October 1rst, so I have a week to keep experimenting.

The above piece was first tie-dyed. That was something I could do having done it with my children in the past, but, for me, it still wasn't enough...hence, the leaves!

Finally, I keep plugging away at the borders of the Millennium Compass quilt. I finished the top and bottom border last week, and sewed them on....tackled some of the tedious paper removal...and began working on the side borders.

Sides are now done, and the paper is removed from one strip. I did that while watching the first Lord of the Rings movie :) The end is finally in sight. By the end of this week, this quilt top will be done and ready to hang in the shop so we can begin the block-of-the-month on October 2nd. Just in time!

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!