Artist Trading Cards

As part of the initial Hold The Date invitation for my birthday party, I invited my friends to create artist trading cards to be traded at the party. Of course, we all got busy with the craft fair and whatnot, and no one made any cards, except for Janis!



There she is, on the far left. Way to go, Janis!

Well, I felt bad that I had initiated this challenge, and then hadn't risen to the occassion myself. So, I made an ATC. And here it is.



Well, I made plenty of mistakes, which inspired the next step to take as I went along. I had fun, will probably make another one or two, and might actually put my artist contact information on the back like I'm s'posed to.

And now, Akiko.




I did not take all these pictures. Someone else did. With my camera. I think it was Kim.

The Birthday Party

Ok, so I haven't had a "girlfriend" birthday party since I can't remember, but God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends here in Singapore, that I decided they should come over and eat lots of fattening food with me.



Nice tablecloth.
We had melons with blueberries, strawberries stuffed with whipped cream, raspberries, cream puffs, shortbread cookies, chocolate cake with candied walnuts, scones with clotted cream and jam, and tea sandwiches, of course.
Cucumber mint, toasted walnut, asparagus procuitto, and peppered turkey pesto were the flavors on offer. Yum.

Plus all sorts of teas.




Here's the group.

Back row: Sharon, Amy, Penny, Me, Norma and Janis
Front row: Kim, Melanie, Akiko, Sunny and Betz

And another shot.

Amy, Penny, Me, Norma, Janis, Betz and Sandy
Melanie, Akiko and Sunny

All of these women are wonderfully talented in many different ways - too many to go into here. But Sunny shared one of her talents with the group by playing her flute. She played "Unchained Melody" and it was beautiful.

Here is Akiko demonstrating... well, I'm not sure what she's doing. (Sorry, Akiko. I just had to!)




I can't explain this either.
But, hey! Lots of inexplicable things happen at birthday parties, don't they?

Anyway, in addition to the wonderful friends and yummy food, I got loot, too!

Score!

I had a great time, and wish you all could have been there.

Tutti Fruitti

October 2006 53.25"w x 42.75"h Machine and hand quilted on hand-dyed cotton


This quilt has been a learning experience all around. I was so intimidated by so many of the steps involved, but I learned that it's better to goof it up and have to tear it out than to let it grow and grow in your mind until the quilt is the artist and you are the fabric. You know what I mean?
Next time (ha! It didn't defeat me!) I will take my quilt to Glory's school, where I can lay it out on a large table in order to make the cutting of the back to the right size easier. Also, I will just sketch my quilting ideas on the quilt top with a piece of soap, and then just dive in. I wa so afraid to commit to the quilting. What if I mucked it up?
Well, what if I just stayed there and never quilted to durn thing?

Much better to muck it up. I can always rip it out.


This quilt is currently hanging in my dining room, and it thrills me to see it out of the corner of my eye.

I hope you can enjoy it, too.