My Craft Projects
I enjoy casual crafting and occasionaly throw myself into big projects. Here are a few of my favorites:
Quilt for Baby David
My dear friend gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and I wanted to mark the occasion with a handmade keepsake that celebrated his Alaska heritage. I modeled my project on the the recently-issued Alaska state quarter and embellished it with tactile elements to stimulate his experience with it.
 Alaska state quarter |
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 Design blown up 400% |
 Basic images in design |
 Individual piece cut-outs for patterning |
 Face pattern and fabric samples for bear |
 Fabric sample for fish |
 Bear pieces on fusible web and cut |
 Stitching the edges of the ironed-on design |
 The basic pieces together |
 Gold stitching on the fish |
 Determining placement and patterning of raised "sea foam" areas |
 Stitched sea foam and "David" lettering |
 Fully-pinned binding (after "sandwiching" with batting and backing) |
 Side view of pinned binding (as to understand how it will "bunch" when sewn) |
 Finished product, ready for baby wear-n-tear! |
Living Room at Christmas
High on the success of a group effort to create a king-size applique quilt in honor of a kindergarten class, I fashioned the following wall-hanging as a gift for my parents. It depicts their living room at Christmas, complete with a favorite chair, Sydney Lawrence painting, Norwegian flags criss-crossing the tree, and three-dimensional sheer curtains.
Commissioned Scrapbooking
I had the delightful opportunity to assemble two incredible photo albums for the sons of my friend, scrapbooks which chronicled a few of the highlights of the first 18 years of each of their lives. In total, I created two massive 18-year memory albums from five 14-gallon tubs of photos and memorabilia. In the four weeks I spent on this challenge I watched mere babes bloom into young men, aided and surrounded by love and opportunities.
 3 of the 5 tubs of photos and memorabilia |  |
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 One pile for each of 18 years for each boy |  The best choices of images and memorabilia for an individual start piling onto the table |
 The life events start to take shape | A rough-draft of choice moments and photos in two-page layouts |
 Assembly space |  All the items were organized to this point, so I just had to make them fit on the pages and into a book! |
 Each page included photos, memorabilia, subtle color accents, leaving plenty of room for the parents to write captions and stories |  And items that told the stories themselves were allowed to do just that! |