a butterfly – mushrooms- and a bunny
still stitching -just not posting
the 70th – 75th and 80th days
the butterfly has silk wings – don’t think it is going to fly away
I haven’t seen any in the garden yet, still too cold
then, my favorite mushrooms –Â Amanita muscaria – they are not edible and they don’t dye
they grew in abundance on the boulevard in front of my house until all the earth was dug up during the road work and now the mycellium is gone
and a Happy Easter to all – the bunny visited and brought chocolate
oh wow! four more 5 day stitching sections and then it’s finished
and I haven’t any idea what to start with tomorrow
🙂
Easter 2026
an Easter egg hunt
the Happy Gang are delighted to be out enjoying the sunshine
did you you know that bears like chocolate?
Abby, Bella and Alfie the Alien prefer the gummy bears
that’s my shadow – joining the hunt – Benjamin Bunny and I love any sweets
Happy Easter to all – I hope you enjoy a sunny day
folded flowers
it’s Spring – my search for inspiration led to fabric folded flowers
I choose to start with the folding pattern that look the simplest
it was a lot more complicated than expected
but, I finally managed to complete one full square (four flowers)
the reverse side does not look very experienced
the instructions suggest stitching the points of each petal down
and I have decided to stitch a tiny button in each flower center
it might become the center of a scrappy quilt for the Happy Gang – or, any suggestions?
and that is end of folded flowers for the time being – and the end of March “making”
so happy to get out in the garden
Spring is springing
Spring – 65 days – and it is time to get out in the garden
this is Victoria – while the rest of Canada is still digging out – everything is starting to bloom
it is time to get over my Winter blues/greys and get to work
what to do next??
this Calvin and Hobbs cartoon is years old – I wonder if they are still stuck?
and why am I feeling stuck too??
searching through some favorite books looking for inspiration
on the top, One-of-a-Kind Quilts, author Judy Hopkins, the book is small but mighty
I’m not a quilter but the focus is on unique, individual patterns that appeal to my scrappy sense of design
the pictures are small and dark but the design ideas are well explained and easy to work with
click to enlarge – the top quilt was designed and made (with some help from his mother) by Timothy Moser when he was 7 years old
I think it would be perfect for scrappy bits
then there is Bojagi and Beyond, the Korean technique that I’ve written about before, author Chunghie Lee,
it uses mainly light weight , plain fabrics with the emphasis on the triple stitched seams
  this Japanese style paper screen is in Paper Pleasures, author Faith Shannon
it would be wonderful using linen and stitched in the bojagi technique – maybe not quite so many panels?
Fantastic Fabric Folding, author Rebecca Wat, has a variety of folded flower blocks that are truly fantastic
if you click to enlarge, the writing suggests you make a wedding gown with a train full of these roses
a group of mothers, grands, aunts and cousins could make short work of this with a glass of wine and some goodies
can you imagine the fun they would have?
then there is my favorite –Â Rag Art – an exhibition catalogue from 1988-89Â – the applique work by Ayako Miyawaki
she uses wonderful old Japanese textiles to feature simple, everyday items – fish, vegetables and plants – on a plain background
I’m going to have to try a fish
and a vase/jug with flowers
and last but not least – Kaffe Fassett – The Artist’s Eye –Â author Dennis Nothdruft
a treasury of colour and design
now that I am on inspiration overload I’ll settle down with a cuppa and sort through my extensive collection of scraps
just wish there were more old, Japanese indigo pieces
should I cut up these sample pages I dyed in 2020 –Â and do something important
satisfaction
it is always a treat to finish work – that has taken approx. 5 months
for the weaving – and then there was the spinning and dyeing
but it seems so small – and insignificant – 5″ X 12″Â ( 12.7 cm. X 30.5 cm.)
wedge weave woven on a fringeless warp
removing the supplementary warp is easy, it simply slips out of each individual loop in the permanent warp threads
using handspun mohair, all natural dyed
I saved the trimmings to blend into wool for spinning
and there is enough wool left to start something new
finished!
last night was the Victoria Handweavers and Spinners Guild 92nd birthday
the oldest continuous meeting weaver’s guild in Canada – I’ve been a member for more than 30 years (can’t remember how long)
the cake was delicious
and Brenda was celebrating St. Patrick’s Day too (wearing a handwoven top) and a cute necklace
March madness
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day
(60 days of the 100 day challenge)
“When Irish eyes are smiling, sure
’tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter you can hear
the Angels sing.”
Scrap Happy March 2026
going through my basket of bits and pieces I found a collection of paper hexies
they were practice pieces made when I was experimenting using a circle shape rather than a square
they were never used because they were difficult to sew
but – they would work for the 15 minute – 100 day project
the background is from a very old, fragile Noh theater play book
making hexies using circles is quick and easy – but I’m not getting addicted!
I enjoy working with good, handmade paper and so the hexies led me on to spinning more tea bag yarn
( posted on the December 2025 Scrap Happy) -as I mainly use loose tea it takes time to save enough bags to spin
you need the type of tea bag that appears to be two layers (folded in half with a string and label stitched on the top)
open it up very carefully, I iron them, then fold in the same way as a large sheet of Japanese paper and cut approx. 2/5 of a cm. with a very sharp blade)
each bag yields approx. 3 yds. ( 2.7 metres) of yarn
I spin it on a Jenkins kuchulu turkish spindle
10 bags – 30 yards
how much more before I can weave something??
sorry – I forgot to include the list of other Scrap Happy folks – not everyone posts every month but check them out
Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan,Â
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean (me), Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,Â
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin, Â Alissa, Tierney,
Hannah and Maggie
50 days
halfway there – 12 hours, 30 minutes of stitching
at least double that of designing in my mind
this time it is interwoven strips of designer fabrics
I really like how the white capped waves worked out – purely accidental
more waves running vertically on the left side
and the back is interesting
here is all 70 inches (almost 2 yards)Â – 178 centimeters
there were times when I didn’t think I would get this far – and still haven’t really “got in the flow” – there is no theme, no story to tell
and on some first days I have no idea where to start – I just dig into the big basket of scraps, ribbons, lace and buttons and thread the needle
if you look closely, there are even a couple very old Brownie badges and a patch from my nursing cape!
will that keep me going for another 50 days? – April 26th
pins and needles
at a time when our entire world is in trouble—-
a new Provincial Sales Tax in British Columbia –Â a tax on needles and thread, patterns and fabric?
will your love of textile “making” or a family’s need to – make and mend – knit sweaters – cost 7% more
The recent B.C. government budget states “goods and services that were once deemed essential but are no longer commonly used” will be subject to the PST
no longer commonly used –Â have I (we) become redundant?
 “basic laundry services will remain exempt” – is that because politicians send their suits to the dry cleaners??
how will this affect the small business we love, supplying us with pins and needles??
shop at home
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-yarn-materials-pst-exemption-ends-9.7108997
surely this is peanuts compared to what can/could be taxed – the budget overruns are incredible and our politicians are resorting to this!
I wrote this 3 days ago and then decided it was too political for this blog
sorry, I’ve changed my mind – I just might make a little politician stuffed doll and use it as a pin cushion
I’ll shut up now- thanks to those folks that read to the end
counting the days
40 days – celebrating the lunar New Year – the Year of the Horse
striped piece is an old, very fine silk kimono fabric
on top of it is a piece I was gifted in Japan – woven with linen and horse hair
and then a scrap woven with my shifu paper yarn
the natural square is my hand spun/hand woven hemp and under it is another silk kimono scrap
45 days – is what I call log cabin scraps
this is a technique I’ve used many times – both as a circle and a hexie
start with a center piece and then stitch overlapping scraps around and around
on the latest piece I used several scraps that had one finished edge
the pieces with a raw edge were stitched with a narrow hem, folded to the right side and top stitched
the wedge weave tapestry is progressing
the blue warp threads are the temporary warp for a fringeless or four selvedge warp
the woven part measures 8.5 inches with 5 inches remaining to weave
google – fringeless – and get a video of Sarah Swett and Rebecca Mezoff explaining the technique
and for a wonderful break in the routine we went for tea with the Hitty human
unfortunately the Hittys were busy – maybe next time
the chocolate cupcake was delicious
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