Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit! They say that a person born in the year of the rabbit appreciates beauty, is interested in color and design, and pays attention to small details … sounds like a quilter to me!
Here’s a sneak peek at one of my upcoming quilt patterns from 2 Cute Quilts. Follow 2 Cute Quilts on Facebook for news about its release party and other upcoming new patterns.
Happy belated new year! I have no lofty resolutions to share with you this year, but I have decided to simply quilt every day. Could be a decade-old UFO or a brand new project, … something, anything.
So far in 2011 I’ve finished a quilt that I started in 2004, made progress on a new quilt pattern (scheduled to be released in Spring 2011), and started stitching together my Dear Diary 2010 blocks.
This wasn’t the layout I was envisioning last year … I mistakenly thought I only made a handful of blocks and intended the open spaces to not only add visual interest, but increase the quilt dimensions as well.
After 
I started sewing the blocks together potholder-quilt style, I discovered this stack of blocks in varying stages of completion. Guess I needn’t have worried about the finished quilt being too small. I’m still glad I’m doing it this way, not only will there be less sewing in the assembly, I think it’s going to look better.
Stay tuned this year for further Dear Diary 2010 updates, breaking news on my new quilt patterns, and more quilting adventures! Although I’m not going to be blogging every day, I will be quilting every day and therefore should have no problem figuring out what to blog about. I promise to periodically set down my needle and thread to post a blog entry or two from time to time. 
Here’s a sunny vintage quilt to brighten a rainy day (actually around Southern California, a rainy week).
It’s a hand quilted, pieced and appliqued 1920′s quilt. I don’t really leave it out on the bed like that all the time. It’s too fragile for that. Still everybody can use a little sunshine every now and then, especially when it rains.
And here’s a detail for you…
Have a very quilt-y Christmas and a piece-full new year!
Happy National Button Day everybody!
Not these kind of buttons!
Hope you were able to take a little time from your busy day to celebrate. If not, join me for some eye candy and enjoy what I did to celebrate buttons today (fabric cover-buttons, of course. My favorite kind of buttons!) They’re samples for some of my upcoming Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button Jewelry workshops.
Takumi Brooch
Takumi Mini Purse, view 1
Takumi Mini Purse, view 2
Hope you enjoyed your mini tour of Button Wonderland. Where did I find that gorgeous fabric, you say? Glad you asked. It’s from Kona Bay Fabrics’ Takumi Collection. And yes, for those of you enrolled in one of my upcoming workshops, it will be available in the workshop kits.
Christmas-time is:
A). Joyful
B). Frantic
C). Stressful
D). All of the above
While Christmas-time can be frantic and stressful, it doesn’t have to be. With a little help from our friends, we can reduce our stress and not only survive the holidays, but thrive! Here are my top ten holiday survival tips:
1. bake some Christmas cheerThere’s something special about the taste of made-from-scratch cookies, but making them doesn’t have to be an all-day affair. Gingerbread and sugar cookie dough can be prepared a few days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Or if you prefer, uncooked dough can also be frozen for up to 9 months. Just thaw your frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator. Then enjoy a magical afternoon of cookie baking with the kids.
2. crafty decoratingIf the kitchen’s not your thing, you can still have an afternoon of holiday fun with ready-to-paint Christmas tree decorations. One Christmas my daughter and I painted these mini wooden birdhouses. We still enjoy hanging them on the tree and the memories of making them together. You can also find paintable ceramic ornaments.
I have a red felt poodle skirt that I made for myself one Halloween. It doesn’t fit me very well, but the poodle skirt makes a fun Christmas tree skirt. What unusual things do you have around the house that would make unique holiday decorations?
If you’ve got a digital camera, chances are you already have all your family photos right there in your computer. I like to order my Christmas photo cards online because you get a wider variety of sizes and styles to choose from and you get to preview onscreen what your pictures will look like in the cards before you buy. Tiny Prints Christmas Cards even has fun die-cut designs.
Tiny Prints provides stylish, modern and unique stationery from photo cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards and business cards. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side the Holidays will be a cinch! They offer adorable Thanksgiving Cards, Christmas Cards, Hanukkah Cards, and even New Years Cards. All fully customizable and personalizable.
5. craft a Christmas traditionCrayola fabric markers are a fun way for children to create holiday mementos. How about a Christmas art quilt? Prewash 100% cotton solid white or muslin fabric, cut into the desired size squares and iron fabric squares to freezer paper (find it in the plastic wrap/tinfoil aisle), shiny side facing the fabric. This stabilizes the fabric so it’s easy to draw on. Let the kids draw Christmas pictures on the freezer paper-backed fabric, then remove freezer paper and heat set according to marker directions. Make a few new squares each year and save them up for a Christmas-art-through-the-years quilt.
6. treat yourselfIn the midst of all the holiday hustle and bustle, don’t forget to take a moment or two to treat yourself. My fave is a coffee treat, but others might prefer a chocolate truffle, a soak in a bubble bath or watching a favorite movie. Afterward you’ll be refreshed and ready to jump back into the middle of all the holiday fun.
Have small children in the house? Decorate a mini tree or wreath just for them. Find party favors in their favorite theme: princess, pirate or whatever they’re into most this year. Tie them to the tree or wreath with pretty ribbons. You won’t have to worry about the decorations breaking, and after Christmas is over, pass the party favors out to your children and their friends or save them for birthday parties or small rewards in the coming year. Next year choose a new theme to decorate the mini tree or wreath with.
8. gift from the heart & handThere are probably at least a few people on your gift list who would love a handmade present. Try a mini purse or piece of jewelry from my book, Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button Jewelry: Make Gifts & Glamour in an Afternoon (C&T Publishing). They really are fast, fun and easy, and with all that wonderful fabric out there to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect print for that special someone.
Tiny Prints’ Customized Day Planners make a perfect holiday gift. There’s nothing more quick and simple to do if you already have a photo ready in your computer, and it’s a stylish and thoughtful gift the recipient will enjoy using all year long.
10. stock up for Christmas craftingWhen you’re hitting the after-Christmas sales, don’t forget about holiday fabric. Pick up a few yards and stash them away. You can sew up Christmas trinkets in April, August or whenever the crafting bug bites. Then next year you’ll be ready for Christmas gift-giving, decorating or stocking a booth at your holiday craft bazaar.
What about you? Please share a holiday survival tip or two of your own.
I’ve got a new book out, We Shall Be Changed
… Well, not just me. Author, editor (and friend ) Christy K. Robinson compiled this book of 365 devotionals for 2011. It’s a year’s worth of inspiring and uplifting stories from everyday life … and even quilting!
Read a sample devotional: That We May Be One
Visit Christy on her blog
Find We Shall Be Changed on Amazon
Longarm update: My very lovely Hinterberg quilting frame arrived and I’m getting it ready to assemble. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Ikea any more. Could it be the sweet smell of the baltic birch wood? Or maybe that there’s not an Allen wrench in sight? Whatever the reason, there will soon be a whole lot of quilting going on! Stay tuned for another exciting longarm update…
I love Asian fabrics for my cover-button jewelry. Here’s a sample I made recently for Maeda Importing. This one is the Silk Fabric Cord necklace from my Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button Jewelry book. I substituted Maeda’s beautiful hand-dyed satin cord for the silk fabric cord. Wild Iris is the colorway I used.
If you use craft glues you’ll be interested to know about a new adhesive I tried for the findings on this necklace, Beacon’s Tiger Bond. I don’t like using glues with fumes, and my previous fume-free favorite was discontinued last year. I was excited to give Tiger Bond a try. Here are my results:
| Tiger Bond | E-6000 | |
| Clear | X | X |
| Extremely strong | X | X |
| Flexible/not brittle | X | X |
| Thick/easy to use | X | X |
| Fast grab | X | X |
| Cure time: 48 hours | X | X |
| Works well for metal/jewelry findings | X | X |
| Multi-purpose | X | X |
| Odor/fume free | X | |
| Eco-friendly | X | |
| Size tube for approx. $5.00 | .5 oz | 3.7 oz |
As you can see, Tiger Bond performed equally as well as E-6000 with the added bonus of not having to worry about health issues and headaches from the fumes. This will be especially useful for my jewelry-making workshops. If you think the fumes are bad with just one person in the room gluing stuff, imagine what it’s like when there’s 20 people gluing stuff, even with the windows open.
I’ve also noticed with jewelry that even after the 48 hour curing process is complete, you can still smell the fumes for days and sometimes even a week or more afterwards if you put the jewelry on. (Depends on the weather how long the fumes stick around.) I always set my finished jewelry in the garage to air out for a week or two before I wear it if I used E-6000 on the findings.
Tiger Bond is more expensive. But here’s the thing, I don’t use my glue every day, or even every week. So usually my tubes of glue, whether large or small, dry up before I use it all. I don’t know how many large tubes of nearly full dried up E-6000 I’ve thrown out over the years. So unless you’re making stuff like crazy to sell on etsy or give as gifts, you’re probably not going to use up that entire super-sized tube of glue anyways. (And if you are using that much glue, you should really consider something that’s easier on your lungs.)
I used a 40% off coupon at the craft store for the Tiger Bond, but now that I’ve tried it, I like it so much that I’d buy Tiger Bond again, even without a coupon. In fact, I can’t imagine why I’d ever go back. E-6000 has been around for over 25 years, and it has served crafters well. But technology is changing at a rapid pace, and it’s great to now have more products to choose from that are just as effective, but safer.
If you like glue (and who doesn’t like glue?), there are some great resources on Beacon’s website, including a glue guide and helpful hints for working with glue.
My latest quilt block? … An exciting new fabric line? … The grand opening of my Etsy store? …
Actually, none of the above. (Although beads would make a fabulous subject for a fabric print.) Beading Arts is featuring Fiber Jewelry Artists for the month of September and I’m today’s Featured Artist. Check out the article on the Beading Arts website.
Here’s a simple (hopefully not too obvious) tip for today: When embellishing your quilt top with beads, it’s better to wait until after you quilt it before you sew the beads on. It’s impossible to machine quilt around the beading and not much fun to hand quilt either. Ask me how I figured this one out. 
happy beading!
A Cuppa Beads
©2010 by Laura West Kong
