Just When I Think I've Seen it All.....

Tuesday is one of my favorite days of the week. This is the day our crazy quilt group meets and we always have such a wonderful time. We share ideas and techniques and spend the entire day stitching and visiting.

We love to discover some new gadget or invention that the others have not thought of. This is not an easy task since our group has been stitching together for so long... but it doesn't prevent us from trying. Today Maureen came up with one of those new techniques and I just have to share with all of you.

She has taken her husbands electric drill and instead of a drill bit she's inserted one of her large plastic hairpins. In this picture she is demonstrating how she winds silk ribbon into wonderful little spools. With a little practice you can wind a perfect spool.

She also discovered that she can edge-dye the ribbon by brushing the dye onto the rolled spool. By not wetting the ribbon she can get a more defined edge. With the edge dyed you can then dampen the ribbon and over dye it.

In this picture you can see some of the neat little rolls of 2mm, 4mm and 7mm ribbon. She has even wound some on a bobbin.

Maureen has proven to me that I really haven't seen everything yet.

The Silk Ribbon Heirloom Yahoo group is having a needle case exchange and I've finished mine. Several years ago I bought a pattern from Gooseberry Hill. I decided to use this design for my needle case.

I used a beautiful piece of blue and green brocade lined with a blue/gray silk satin.

I've used Hanah silk satin ribbon for the tie and the colors blend beautifully with the brocade fabric.

Forty have signed up for the exchange and I can't wait to see all the beautiful needle cases made by the talented women in this group.