2011 Holiday Greetings from Diana's Blythe Family!!

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Blythe & Friends Doll Meet

On Oct. 9, 2011 over 160 dolls attended a Blythe & Friends Doll Meet in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.  Besides a count of 48 Blythes, there were also Barbies, DAL, Pulip, Momoko dolls just to name a few.  Thanks to 王子 for organizing the doll meet.

Enjoy the slide show!!

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What's been happening...

It's been 3 months since my last post.  I was on vacation in the States visiting my family.  It was sad saying goodbye because it'll be a few years before I can see them again.

Once I came back I dived right back into sewing.  Why not quilting you asked?  Because I had to make doll clothes for my 2 Blythes :  Raspberry Sorbet and Punkaholic People.  Yes, I know I'm still calling them by their model names.  I simply can't think of any suitable names for these two dolls.  For now they're simply referred to as Sorbet and Punk.

Now, sit back and enjoy a Blythe fashion show!!

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Some outfits were made with free patterns courtesy of puchicollective.com and xoxoBlythe.com.  Other outfits were made using patterns from Mook books.

Blythe - Raspberry Sorbet

Today a much anticipated parcel arrived at my door step.  

I gingerly opened the box { heart is thumping xoxoxo}

It's my first Blythe - Raspberry Sorbet!!  I bought her online based on other collector's recommendation.  Overall  I had a great experience buying her online.  

Took me a while to dress her up and we had a stroll around the neighborhood.  Finally convinced her to pose for a picture.  At last... she's still too shy to look into the camera!  

I'm thinking of washing her hair, but haven't found out the how's yet.  

Advanced Machine Quilting Class Sampler Quilt

After 6 months of work, my 2nd sampler quilt is finally DONE!!  I've never pieced such a big quilt before, designing the border was a first.  At times I was frustrated with the bulk while FMQ.  But I persevered and have a quilt to show...

Close-ups of the FMQ on the quilt.  Since this is a sampler quilt, I had to incorporate at least 6 different quilting designs.

This is the final project for my Certified Machine Quilting Class.  Onward to the next level of classes....!!

HST Mini Quilt Top

Remember  this pieced border?  There were probably closed to 200 corners cut off from the border.  I didn't throw away any of the scraps, I chain pieced those corner units into HST thinking one of these days I'm going to make something out of it.

Then the other day Chasing Cottons started a Quilt Class 101 .  I was motivated by what she was doing.  Voila!  After 1 day of squaring up more than 40 HST into  5 x 5 cm squares, I pieced these 25 blocks into a mini quilt top.

I haven't decided how I'm going to finish this quilt top yet.  Should I just make a mini quilt out of it or incorporate it into a bigger project?  Any suggestions?

Happy Quilting!

Fearless Fawn

I was lucky enough to be one of the few to test drive this paper pieced pattern by Shape Moth.

Fearless Fawn
(Since I chose a cream background fabric, it blended in with the background  :(    )

Kirie's patterns are well designed and easy to understand.  I had so much fun piecing this adorable fawn together.

Thank you, Kirie, for sharing!

Innocent Crush + Block Party

After a long search at my LQS I was able to purchase my first stash of Anna Maria Horner fabric!

Five yards of Innocent Crush combined with the quilt top I made with these blocks will result in my 2nd sampler quilt.  Instead of plain borders, I've challenged myself to make a pieced border for this quilt.



Here's the first audition of border design:

Second border design looked better:

                                                          (KF shot cotton for sashing)


Close-ups of my paper pieced borders:

  
                      --    some block centers were pieced with 2 or                   
                           more different fabric!

 

It took me several hours to tear off all the paper from the border.  A tedious task but worth the precision paper piecing provided for this beginning quilter.



I'm using Innocent Crush as my quilt backing.  I've sandwiched my sampler quilt and am in the process of machine quilting.   Hopefully by the end of May I'll have a finished quilt to show everyone!

Happy Quilting!

DQS10 Received

Look what arrived at my doorstep today!  My very own doll quilt from lollybix .    This quilt, aptly named Circling the Sun, has all of my favorite quilting elements... circles, birds, and FMQ.    My secret partner truly made an outstanding quilt for me.

Not only am I the lucky recipient of this beautifully made quilt, I now own a bundle of Kona solids, too!  lollybix  must be psychic, because I have the Kona solids on my Xmas wish list.

Thank you, lollybix , for my beautiful quilt and fabric!!



This concludes my first Doll Quilt Swap experience!  I hope there'll be more to come!

Mid March Finishes!

I've been taking morning walks lately to enjoy the perfect spring weather we've been having!  Therefore, haven't done much in quilting except for completing two small sewing projects.

 Yuwa oilcloth was used for this particular bag.  It's quite sturdy and perfect for those rainy day grocery trips!  Thank you, Hana, for sharing this bag pattern.

I made this Bella stuff doll in celebration of the Year of the Rabbit!   Thank you, Peggy, for sharing this pattern!


More WIP to finish this month....!

Doll Quilt Swap (DQS10) - Tile Quilt Completed!

Finally finished the hand binding on my DQS10 quilt.  I think this is my best work yet - of course the pattern and the beautiful fabric made this possible.

This tile quilt was raw edge appliqued with matching or variegated thread and quilted in the ditch.  I chose to finish up the quilt with just a simple binding so not to distract the eyes form the image.   

Here's the back view of the quilt!  I haven't added the label yet, who could it be for?   

Here are two close up views of the quilt!  

I hope this quilt has a place in your home, partner!

After thought:  I feel so fortunate to be participating in Doll Quilt Swap.  These doll (mini) quilts are perfect for trying out new technique and challenging oneself.  

Doll Quilt Swap (DQS10) - Tile Quilt

I'm so lucky to be participating in this round of Doll Quilt Swap.  Here's our swap button

After stalking through my secret swap partner's inspiration mosaic, I came up with the following pattern and fabric selection.

This is a pattern from the book "Tile Quilt Revival" by Carol Gilham Jones & Bobbi Finley.  My partner likes bright colors so I'm going with KF fabrics.  Hope she'll like it!   ((Find it at Flickr)