Scrumptious Scraps Week 2

Week two of my Scrumptious scraps class has been really fun. Above are photos of the dyed lace base. I'm hoping I didn't go too dark, and that my embellishments will show well once they are applied. I'm thinking that I'll add quite a bit of bead work to cover the areas I'm not that fond of. My plan to finish my piece is to add a border, and I have a very cool vintage crochet yoke that will act as a focal for the upper left corner. I will have a picture of that later, when my batteries are recharged.

On a side note, I have been working hard to organize my studio. I've been feeling totally overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I've accumulated over the last 23 years of quilting. I just don't want to share pictures yet because I still have a long way to go until it's finished. I don't suppose anyone else out there is in the same boat?

Scrumptious Scraps Week One

I'm taking my very first online class at Joggles, an interesting online store that caters to art quilters and dollmakers. I have been wanting to take this class ever since I saw the beautiful example of work done by my friend Freda while at a retreat last summer in St. Louis.

I wasn't sure I would like an online class, but I know that it's unlikely that I will ever have the opportunity to take a class in person from the instructor, Christen Brown, since she resides in California.

The class project is to take odd bits of laces and apply them to a base. Once that is complete, there are 4 more lessons that will guide students to dye the base, and then add various embellishemnts. In my piece, I've combined vintage lace collars, small strips of scrap laces and Venice lace flower motifs. It is so great to finally have found a project to incorporate the beautiful pieces that have been languising in my lace box for more years than I care to count.

I'm really enjoying the process! I love that I didn't have to haul all the needed supplies any further than my worktable, and I wasn't stressed about not having the right supplies because everything I needed was close at hand. Christen's directions are clear, and she's been very prompt in answering questions in the class forum as they come up. I still miss the personal interaction with classmates and being able to see the class sample in person, but the lower stress level is worth it's weight in gold.

I'm really excited to start the next phase of the class, where we will dye the lace base that was created in the first lesson. I'll be sure to have photos when that part is done.