etc.

The postman has been kind to me this week. Finally, the long-awaited arrival of The Modern Quilt Workshop, and, oh yes, I threw a copy of Denyse Schmidt Quilts into the order, which was published and released during the Very Long Wait for the Kerr & Ringle to arrive (I waited so very patiently that I figured I was due a reward). Here they are, freshly pulled from their packaging (bits of which Sebastian just had to play with):

As I think I’ve mentioned previously, I signed up for the Modern Quilt-Along Kim is hosting, and have since signed up for the Denyse Schmidt Quilt-Along, hosted by Sarah. How about that for someone who has quilted naught? Well, there was the one tea cosy, but that wasn’t much more than the textile equivalent of a munge job. Now I just have to find myself a real sewing machine.

Anything else from the postman? Oh yes!

I signed up for Kerstin’s fabric scrap swap and three packages of lovely scraps arrived this week. I’ve already spent hours pawing through the pile, and will likely spend a few more hours with it before putting it away (and that’s just 3 packages! There are still 8 to go!). And I finally managed to get my scrap parcels wrapped up and shipped out this week (here they are wrapped up and on their way to being shipped out):

My offerings are no where near as impressive as the ones I’ve received (and watched others receive), I just haven’t amassed the amounts of fabric scraps that I thought I had in my meagre 5-month sewing tenure. I made sure to include a few substantial bits in each package to make up for the paltry numbers, hope they are useful.

I contributed some earrings and note cards to The Sampler last month and received a subscription for the month in return! Lots of lovely trinkets, bibelots, jewellery, and buttons. Like Christmas in July!

Also, my backtack goodies arrived last week and this picture scarcely does them justice. I got a lovely notions holder (here, have a closer look), a quilted book holder, and all manner of other sewing and beaded goodies! Thank you, back tack partner! Now, if only I could figure out who you are… (found the fabric in the gallery, but no “from” & “to”!)

I have to admit, I’ve had these pictures taken and downloaded for a few days, but I was enjoying hearing about everyone’s book organization so very much that I delayed posting as long as I could so that I could keep collecting your comments! Thank you! When I posted the question I mostly expected minor variations on genre/alpha-ordered books so I was thrilled and floored by so many different organization techniques! I’m happy to say that my books have been shelved and the rest of the studio is coming along nicely (we’re 90% there), so stay tuned for the impending reveal. The anticipation!

Postcards have been steadily landing on my doorstep all week and the thrill of opening the door to these slips of creativity at the end of the day has been better than I could have hoped for! Here are the six that arrived this week in the order in which they appeared (right column first):

These lovely creations are from Jill, Alison, Janet, Charlotte, Hana, and Pam (yes, that is a felt/fabric quilted card!). Treasures, all six of them! Thanks, folks!

When I read Myra’s blog the day she announced her postcard swap, I knew I needed to get in on the mail art action. I have a fierce little collection of discarded catalogue cards from the library I work at, and I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to incorporate them into a project. This swap ended up being the opportunity I was waiting for and it was out of a pile of music catalogue cards that this series was born. I call it high-culture :: material culture and the process involved choosing 10 catalogue cards for classical pieces (including operas and other artifacts of “high culture”) and adding them to a collage of images, colours, textures, and artifacts of material culture. I was delighted to find a couple of catalogue cards for John Gay’s The Beggar’s opera in my collection, which is a wonderfully ironic take on “high culture”, so they definitely made it into the series! All cards went out last Thursday, here are the scanned versions:

Hip hip for secret pals who rock my socks! Here’s what was on my doorstep last night when I got home:

A package of lovely buttons, 5 fat quarters worth of fabric in prints that delight and confound, and a Japanese toy pattern book. Yes, that’s right, a pattern book that is pretty well exactly like the one I fawned all over a couple of weeks ago. O, the glee! Thank you, secret pal!

And because I simply can’t get enough of them, have a peek at some of the irresistible little critters in this book:

More goodies! Organic green tea with lemongrass, cocoa powder, and fair trade chocolate — gracias, secret pal!

Treats! Thank you, secret pal, your timing is impeccable. There is no better salve for the common cold than organic chocolate, real British Cadbury, and gummy candy. To be sure.