The Travel Kit that didn't

This is the travel quilt kit that was supposed to be with me in the California desert right now. But because my kit and I arrived for our Seattle departure during Alaska Air's computer meltdown and my flight (and about 150 others) was canceled, I'm still in rainy Washington. The earliest Alaska could rebook me on anything wasn't until two days after my six-day trip was supposed to begin, so I bagged it and got a refund.

The upside is that I have a new colorful quilt project started and all of the embellishment supplies tucked in this little tin and ready to carry around with me. I included a few skeins of Laura Wasilowski's hand-dyed perle cotton, some silk ribbon that I painted last year (see "Silk ribbon painting experiment"), some beads, needles and beading thread, and my Gingher thread snippers. Airport screeners never question the needles or snippers.

These are a few of the base blocks. I started with six-inch squares of my own hand-painted fabric and fused on arcs that I cut freehand (purposely irregular). Then I machine-couched chenille yarn over some of the edges. Here's a possible arrangement:

And here's the yarn I used. It's really quick to couch this down with a cording foot and big zig-zag stitch. I used invisible thread.

After reconciling with myself that the desert was not in the cards for me anytime soon, I curled up on the couch with chocolate and my handy little kit and started covering the raw edges with big embroidery stitches.

Awhile back, I remember seeing photos on Jane LaFazio's blog about a class she teaches called "Recycled Circles," in which quarter circles are heavily embellished and then arranged into wonderful, wonky circles. (Or maybe she starts with whole circles and then cuts them in quarters and rearranges them. That might be easier.) Anyway, that's sort of the effect I'm hoping for, except not so heavily embellished. It's the wonkiness that I really like. I'd love to take a class from her.

Here's another possible arrangement. It still needs beads and more embroidery, but at least now I have something to do to take my mind off of the rain.

Have a Colorful Day!