Weekly Report 2013 - 12/05

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I used my instruction sheet to create
this sample label. You may recall my
first grandchild, Andrew, from my
quilt, Adoration. He turned six
this past July.

Call me old fashion, but I still snail mail my holiday cards and relish every single one I receive. I take advantage of mail merge to send a "personalized" holiday letter with each card. This way I can an include a sentence or two directed at the recipient while only having to "write" the basic letter once. Recently I started creating my own return address labels with a holiday image using Microsoft Word. I use the same technique to brand my business return address labels. In my branded labels I use an image of one of my quilts. It seems every time I create a new label I have to go through the learning curve all over again. So, this time I wrote out the instructions for myself and then polished them up for you, should you be interested. 

Instructions for adding an image or logo to return address labels in Microsoft Word.

Despite being extra busy as I prepare for the holidays, I managed to accomplish even more than I thought I would this week. Here is how the week went.

1)  ZenBlossoms

• add to my FaceBook fan page - Done! You can now follow the evolution of ZenBlossoms from start to finish on my FaceBook fan page.

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments:

 

a) Foundation Piecing - Piece the 43 hexagons required for the goddess's face. - Nearly done. I have six more hexagons to go. After whining for several weeks about this project, I am beginning to look forward to my "breaks" piecing the hexagons. Who knows, hexagons may pop up in future quilts. They certainly have peaked my imagination.

Hexagon layout needed
to create the fabric necessary
to make the goddess's face for
Express Your Love II

The hexagons nearly all pieced
according to the layout.

b) Free Motion Quilting - Done!

This week's assignment was Daisy Echoes. I used one of my
favorite King Tut variegated thread by Superior. It was just
the ticket to cheer me up during several very grey days.

3) Visioning Project - Do the next two assignments from my Photoshop Elements class. - Done!

Each successive lesson seems to be getting longer and harder, but I am hanging in there. 

4) Trio - Piece the background. - Done! I even went on to baste the pieced background and start the quilting!!

The appliqués that will be placed on the background have
some fussy tiny parts. Therefore, I have opted to quilt the
background before I add the appliqué. 

Where will next week take me? Here is the game plan:
1) Trio - finish quilting the background

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments:

a) Foundation Piecing - 

i) Finish piecing the 43 hexagons required for the goddess's face.

ii) Remove the paper foundations from the hexagons.

iii) Mold the hexagons to the face foundation.

iv) Place and baste the face to the quilt.

b) Free Motion Quilting

3) Visioning Project - Do the next two assignments from my Photoshop Elements class.


I am now linking up to two blogs on Friday's. The first is Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project and the second is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays.