Sea Glass Mosaic

Sunday, November 3, 2019

On our southern Spain trip, I'd collect sea glass on the beach. I'd never seen so much, and I picked up every piece I could find! When we returned, I cleaned it all and placed them in a giant mason jar, where it promptly sat for 4 years. But when brainstorming for the downstairs bathroom, I finally figured out what to do. And so here we are with a sea glass mosaic.

I followed this sailboat sea glass mosaic DIY from Beachcombing Magazine, although it's pretty straight forward: use clear silicone caulking to attach the frame's glass to the frame (wait a day), draw out your design on paper & place behind the glass, use clear silicone caulking to attach sea glass to frame glass, toothpicks & q-tips for cleaning up errant caulking (I did not do a good job of this), and then let dry for a couple days.

The pattern I chose is loosely based off this mini-quilt masterpiece which was very helpful in making the free-form waves of the triangle quilt back. It's sort of meant to look ocean-y, although the colors of glass aren't that distinct, I think it comes off close enough to that feeling.

1. Attach frame-glass to frame with a small bead of silicone caulking. Let dry overnight.
2. Organizing Sea Glass By Color
   
3. Testing Out Mosaic Design on Paper
   
4. Using Silicone Caulking to Attach Sea Glass
   
5. Toothpicks + Pliers for Adjusting Design
   
6. Let dry for a few days.

Quilts So Far

Sunday, December 30, 2018

I don't consider myself a prolific quilter, but looking at all these listed out, it seems I may be a tad bit mistaken. At 6 throw quilts, you can definitely determine what my favorite size to work in is! They're easy enough that they all are gifts, to family, friends, PhD cohort members, advisors, newlyweds, newly-babied, etc. I've learned over time that none of my quilts will ever be perfect. My inability to sew a straight line looks terrible up close, but when the quilt is taken in as a whole, all the flaws seem to melt away. That, and shrinking the quilt a bit in the dryer covers 75% of all flaws!

The best versions of my quilting process are detailed in the Triangle Xmas Tree Skirt and Double Wedding Ring Quilt. I've decided to do a lighter touch on the documentation in quilts going forward, as the tiny steps of starting to machine quilt, basting a quilt sandwich, making continuous bias binding, etc. are all extensively documented on this blog.

My first quilt was entirely paper pieced and hand sewn, and it's what started me down my journey of machine quilting. Hand quilting is painful for the finger tips, and takes quite awhile to complete. After the Hexagon quilt, the only hand-quilting I do is for personalization or for double wedding ring quilts. Although, I am interested in trying TalesOfCloth's light machine quilting followed by hand-quilting over time. This would give you a usable quilt almost immediately, with the hand-stitching being added over time.

Anyways, here's the running list of all things quilt-ish on this blog:

Queen Sized

1. Blue, Gray, Yellow Isosceles Triangle Time Wimey Quilt (queen size) with coordinating pillowcases.
   
   
2. 100% Hand-Sewn Hexagon Quilt (queen size)
   
   

Throw Sized

3. Grays & Muted Colors Double Wedding Ring Quilt in the Blithe Fabric Collection (throw size)
   
   
4. Modern Flying Geese Quilt in Yellows and Grays (throw size)
   
   
5. Minecraft Inspired Diamond Ore Baby Quilt (throw/baby size)
   
   
6. Minecraft Inspired Farm Animal Baby Quilt (throw/baby size)
   
   
7. Over-sized Bear Paw Quilt in Plaids (throw size)
   
   
8. Diamond Strips Quilt as You Go in Pastel Ginghams (throw size)
   
   

Tree Skirt Quilts

9. Hexagonal Equilateral Triangle Christmas Tree Skirt (Xmas tree skirt)
   
   
10. Winter-themed Circular Dresden Plate Christmas Tree Skirt (Xmas tree skirt)
    
    

Miscellaneous Quilt Projects

11. Quilted Sewing Machine Cover in Trees (miscellaneous)
    
    
    
12. Two-sided Quilted Sewing Machine Cover in Starburst + Hexagons (miscellaneous)
    
    
    
13. Bear Paw Mini Quilt Block (sachet size)
    
    
14. Mini Double Pinwheel Quilt Block (sachet size)
    
15. Mini Star Flower Quilt Block (sachet size)
    
16. Circle of Geese within a Circle of Geese Quilt Block (wall hanging)
    

BYOV's Holiday Crafts

Sunday, November 25, 2018

When one has a blog for...(!10 years!), it is possible to compile quite the collection of winter holiday crafts. On this post, I'm collecting all my Xmas-y and winter-themed DIYs and posts, in the hopes of remembering to make more of them!

DIY Christmas Tree Skirts

Maybe make your own customized Xmas Tree Skirt Quilt? I have one tutorial for a Circular, Desden Plate Tree Skirt and another for a hexagon-shaped triangle Christmas tree skirt

Ornaments

Of course there's DIY tree ornaments, too. Like this jingle bell wreath ornament tutorial and the wedding paper Xmas ornament.

Gift Toppers

And gift toppers, too. Some that are only meant to be gift toppers, but others that could be turned into decor and tree ornaments. Printable Gift Tags and wire and felt figures

Decor

I've spent considerable time putting together holiday decor items. If you make them yourself, you can make them all match. Like this felt rose wreath and felt circle garland. You can make a pet paw stocking in whatever color scheme you want. Then there's the cotton ball snowflake window dressing, and the possibility of binding all your Holiday Greetings cards into a homemade album.

Drinks

Can't forget the seasonal drinks. Like everyone's favorite eggnog and red and white mulled wines.