Feeling Crafty

The kids were sick this week. Nothing miserable - they just sounded like a bunch of seals. So we stayed home from everything. Aside from constantly refilling humidifiers, that left me a lot of free time to play with my projects during naps etc. It was great! Here are some of the results:
I finished my table runner! Here's how it looks on our table. (A friend gave me the centerpiece for my birthday - Ben told the kids that it's a Pilgrim and an Indian dancing on a pickle.)
I learned a lot of new skills along the way! At the church activity, we painted the backsides of real leaves and stamped them onto the fabric with a special kind of paint. That was the end of the official project. But I wanted to make mine "nice." So I taught myself (with some coaching from my sis-in-law and mom) how to heat-set the paint, layer the fabrics, machine stitch around each leaf, and bind the edges. If only it were as easy as it sounds. But I enjoyed it and now I know how to do these things the next time I feel adventurous.
I have a new appreciation for this kind of stitching. I keep going to the table and running my hand over it lovingly. (Maybe that's why it's called a table runner?) The binding looks black but it's actually a chocolate brown - yummy - with a decorative stitch holding it in place.

Total cost: $5 It's supposed to be machine washable, but I doubt I'll ever take that chance. No Cheetos allowed at our table in the month of November!
Project #2 was a baby quilt for a friend. It's a good thing she doesn't know about my blog, or I'd be spoiling the surprise! Sshhh, don't tell. It's a rag quilt, which is my specialty - meaning that it's the only kind I've ever made. I do have my own way of binding the edges though, which keeps it more sturdy and it looks cleaner from the backside. Look closely above and you'll see the pillow I made from the extra squares.

I had to show a closeup of the main pattern. So cute for a boy! If you want the instructions for this, ask Chelon (Colquitt Clan). =o) I think it took about ten hours from beginning to end. I will start working on OUR baby's blanket one of these days.

Sorry if my crafts weren't very exciting to read about. I have some fun pictures of Nicole I'll post soon - I had forgotten they were on my camera. She's a nut! Until next time... Happy Thanksgiving Season!