raebeth

I still consider myself a newbie to the crafty swap, blog world, a random crafter (not into one thing, like to try new ones). Participated in my first swap quite a few years ago from a craft podcast & made my 1st fabric postcard for it. I'd like to do more swaps but don't want to disappoint all the seasoned swappers with newbie mistakes. Finished a sampler quilt from a block-a-week class& the online Jellyroll Sampler Quiltalong from moosequilts.blospot.com, now need to finish one from the 80's (seafoam green & peach, YUK). Also made a few for Project Night Night, Hope Squared & Project Linus. Participated in a monthly art quilt group, also completed a few handbags & zip pouches. As my 2 daughters are getting older, I'm working on re-establishing my personal creative time. Right now I'm liking greens, oranges & yellows, browns & blues, never pastels. Trying to get away from my standard favs of gold, red & olive ( I love warm rich colors). I love taking pictures of my girls & nature oddities & beauties. Card making is more frequent than scapbooking these days. Its fun to easily impress non-crafters with a card that cost nothing to make & took minutes to make. I love creating gifts for those who appreciate handmade,even just a small flower arrangement from my small garden using whatever is around for filler including basil, mint & prarie grasses in a jelly jar with a ribbon. Creating with paper, fabric, fiber & beads is always fun, but I still haven't combined it all for some cool mixed media projects.

Currently I have my sewing machine out to encourage me to use it more. Recently making a few little friendship bags, zip pouches, pin cushions, fabric flowers, keychains, I like working small. I think its just an excuse to not finish larger projects that sit unfinished. I enjoy making quick cards with fabric scraps from the small projects by sewing them to cardstock & adding some stamped images with some of my many rubber & clear vinyl stamps. I've been a member of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild, which is something I look forward to for the monthly meetings. I am the self-appointed photographer for them & post the pictures of our monthly Show & Tell at our Flickr group http://www.flickr.com/groups/chicagomodernquiltguild/pool/ I am "the-randomcrafter" As a guild, we've recently done a mug rug swap & made fabric postcards & learned the different ways to applique.Also did a fun round robin & about to start a new challenge art swap. That should be fun.

Since money is tight, I love using what I have to create my small projects. Thrift stores are a treasure trove of new supplies that can be purchased for pocket change. Would like to try re-fashioning some clothes, that would take planning ahead, though! I'm liking quicker gratification lately. Love to browse thrift stores, rummage sales, etc to find unique household items that have stood the test of time or vintage sewing supplies.