Art, Craft and Needlework, April, 2026

[Harriet]

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Happy April at this, the beginning of the second quarter of 2026! Are you benefitting from creative time this year?

We're not the only ones who benefit because of our creativity. In March, Nancy donated a large project to a Veteran's Fair for a raffle. Last month, Twins' Mom donated crafting supplies to a school.

What are the donations of your art that you remember as meaningful in your creative life?
Were you ever given materials for your art, or given the opportunity to purchase donated supplies?
Do you have tools that you use all the time that actually came to you because someone else thought of giving them?

In March,
Cathy finished her "Mason Jar Lineup" cross stitch project, and is starting on a new work using dark Aida cloth.
Nancy is moving into pastels now that her red, white and blue knitting project has been donated.
Twins' Mom is fresh from a research trip to distant libraries and hopes to change gears into some refreshing creativity.
Kittykatt is gardening creatively and may be able to get back to her project of a hand-sewn tablecloth.
Harriet completed 1/3rd of the machine quilting of a bed-size quilt in March and drafted some quilting designs.

[Harriet]

After a few days of slowness on the boards, timing out, and at least a few hours of real down time, I think we're back to more ability to post everywhere we'd like.

My happiest donation was possibly a quilt I sent to a national charity for children I've mentioned here before. I would love to get back to more of that. I have a project box for that with blocks in it, chosen because they are cheerful together, not for other reasons I might put things together, like how or when they were made. Also, I used to work with a group that made quilts for displaced women at a shelter. Although I have reached out to learn about dog and cat shelter mats, I've never followed through and done any of that, but just contributed otherwise.

I'm grateful for having been given sewing supplies by matriarchs in my life. As I look around my sewing area, I can see/think of 5 important women in my life who either gave me or left me at least a few supplies each when I was young, several of which I've used within this very calendar year. No wait, 6, I was forgetting my dear aunt who gave me supplies for embroidery. I have been blessed over many years because of women who held out hope that I could someday sew a seam!

At times, I've found some perfectly nice cotton cloth in the clothing donated to thrift shops. The little borders and backings of all the bookmarks I gave this past fall came from a cotton shirt found there, and in my humble opinion, it was the highest and best use of that shirt! I appreciate whoever realized that someone would get a little monetary help from the donation, and someone else like me would get use out of an unwanted shirt!

[Nancy]

WTG on your progress gals!
I have about 1/3 rd of the pastel prayer shawl project knitted now yea for progress!
Not up to the 1/2 way point on it.

I have the 2nd dish cloth for the set I've been working at slowly is done.
Contemplating a set of hot pads not sure yet. Started a hot pads.

[Twins' Mom]

So nice to be with you again!

A slight tangent to Harriet's post - I have my dmom's treadle sewing machine upstairs - purchased c 1950 perhaps? I learned to sew on it myself and used it until I left home - then when her house was emptied after my brother died (2018) the sewing machine came here, and it's upstairs as a printer stand. But do you know those four little drawers, two on either side, and the little drawer on the front - I had never emptied them. Never could. Even now it tightens my throat to write - but I finally emptied them so I could use for some small office supplies - most went into a bos of tangled thread and stuff - threw a little out but didn't have heart to sort through it. Still need to dust the drawers.

So many memories.

[Harriet]

Pastels are a nice color scheme to be working with this time of year, Nancy.

I do know how those little side drawers were situated on treadle machines, yes, and can imagine that it's been difficult to empty them. A very sweet piece of furniture, Twins'.

I played thread chicken and won on Thursday night, with just an inch and a half left of bobbin thread on the fans of a Grandmother's Fan block. There are two of those blocks in this quilt and I'm doing them at the same time.

Then Friday night I experimented with how in the world I was going to mark dark fabric in one of the blocks that really needed quilting (too large a space to omit), where it would be nice to have a design. It worked out fine to pull up a line drawing on the computer screen, very simple, and trace that. I cut a matching shape to the dark fabric piece out of perforated embroidery backing I've had for years (a brand called "Easy Stitch") that pulls away after stitching. Traced onto that with my regular purple air-erasable pen so I would know the design fit, and pinned onto the fabric, sewed on the lines.

Not going to say it wasn't fiddley, tight work, lol, lots of turns, but it worked. I was pleased enough that I dragged HRH in to look at it. With less bulk, it would work more easily, so I'll remember that.

Quilting progress 12 out of 30 sections: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

Don't know how my procedure on my eye Tuesday a.m. is going to affect progress. I'm sure I'll be told to give my eye a long break. Plus, I don't want to do too much tomorrow. I won't press it.

Will have to count dreaming as creativity!

[Nancy]

I finished the pastel prayer shawl, won at yarn chicken with 13" left!

Started a diff. one and am to the last skein on it did some knitting this week.

[Kittykatt]

Congratulations, Nancy!

[Harriet]

Hi, I want to tell about even baby steps, because they are important! After several days of being sort of scared to squint at close work, I have been able to do one more section of quilting. I did make a mistake and am considering how much it may or may not bother me. I wouldn't care except that it becomes more obvious since it doesn't match other lines. I dread having to remove stitching. I could add to it, perhaps, without having to remove stitches, and have it look more like the nearby quilting.

Are ya'll like me in spring -
I can feel the heart-tug of gardening, squeezing in on the time for creativity in the calendar. I want to find ways to be creative outside and creative in my indoor stitching as well. Thinking. Mornings outdoors and trying to still preserve time for evening sewing, maybe. Feeling grateful that my eye is healing well, says dr.

Eyestrain at computer is definitely helped by the blue-blocking orange colored glasses. These go over my regular glasses, too, like goggles.

[Kittykatt]

Thank you for this timely reminder, Harriet! I confess I'm a bit of an "all or nothing " person, but you're right, and most big jobs can be broken down into small, manageable baby steps.

My back garden is a real suntrap,.so when it's very warm, I either need to be out there early, or later on when the sun has moved round. My tiny front garden faces NW, so again,. depending on the weather, I either need to utilise or avoid the sun. I also need to remind myself that there is no law which states that I need to plant all 24 geraniums (when I get them -- I'm hanging on for a couple.of weeks until the risk of frost is past!) at the same time! Much better to do a few at a time, and enjoy the process, as well as the end result.

This week, I've had a couple of short sessions working on my dolls house. I arranged the tiny blue tea set on the little dresser, which takes a surprisingly long time, as everything is so small (I.do have some long handled "tweezers" to help). I've also packed away some items which I would love to use , but which I simply don't have space for in my dolls house. Yet. I'm thinking about possibly rearranging a couple of the rooms. Daylight is definitely easier for this project, but yesterday I remembered my dolls house has its own lighting, and when I turned it on, it made the whole task much easier!

[Nancy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ8j39TdxXg

A 3 min. flip though of a book I"m getting for insp. & ideas to change up my journaling with
my drawings. Mine will be more of garden stuff. I am excited to try cartooning I"ve not done that.
So it's new for me. Also the page lay outs in some of her on line classes are great and I've taking some
notes. I'd forgotten about timed drawings like for writing.

I have an idea I can put the drawings in the 1/2 size marble comp. note books.