A portrait

Not too long ago I was looking for new inspiration and to that end I decided to join the Cork Textiles Network (CTN). the organisation offers support to all who have an interest in textiles. They also organise exhibitions and have a regular call for work with a certain theme.
My idea was that not only would I be inspired by the diverse work the members create, but I might get inspired to make textiles within a call for an upcoming exhibition.

Of course it wasn't as easy as all that. I played with ideas when a theme was announced, but in the end I made nothing.

Now CTN exists 20 years this year, with some special celebrations being organised. One of those is an extra large exhibition space being made available at the Dublin Knitting and Stitching show. Of course a call came for work for this exhibition: self portraits, all of the same size, to fill an outside wall of the exhibition space. And it was encouraged that EVERY member participated... This could no longer be ignored.

Soon I set to work, never having made a portrait at all, leave alone a self portrait!
And now, here I am:

Appliqué by hand (face) and machine (hair), and many hand stitches to create the face, the clothes, and the leaves in the background.
I started off with a photograph, and printed it full size in black and white. I indicated the dark areas on my background fabric and stitched away.

Lots and lots of seed stitches in a few different threads created the face. It sounds so simple, but I went back numerous time for a few more stitches before I was pleased... Especially the eyes proved tricky!

A few lines of stitching indicated the top of a shirt, and a cardigan with button detail:

And this is a FINISH for the finishalong, I haven't had a finish in a long, long time!

My Finish-A-Long list for Quarter 2 (link) 
Linking up at the Finish-A-Long quarter 2 link-up, which is now open.Don't forget to link up your own finishes!

Sandra

Link up your Finishes for Q2 of the Finish-A-Long

Can you believe it, we have made it to the end of the second quarter of the 2018 Finish-A-Long and it's time to link up your Q2 finishes.  We hope you have used the past three months to complete a bunch of those UFOs on your lists!

The 2018 FAL has a community of bloggers across the world jointly hosting and this year's hosts are:

• Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA

• Sandra (also Social Media Director) - Studio Sew of Course - Ireland

• Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

• Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA

• Felicity - Felicity Quilts - Canada

• Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA

• Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada

• Lynne - Tinking Along - USA

Before the link up, let's give a huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors:

$50 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

$25 Gift Certificate

2 PDF Patterns

$20 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

3 Six Month Subscr.

$25 Gift Certificate

$25 Gift Certificate

A Minikins Bundle

$50 Gift Certificate

2 PDF Patterns

$30 Gift Certificate

$40 Gift Certificate

For this quarter of the 2018 FAL, we continue tutorial week.  Here is the schedule for this quarter so you can visit them all:

• July 3 - Sandra of Studio Sew of Course

• July 4 - Ella of Throw a Wench in the Works

• July 5 - Felicity of Felicity Quilts
  

The 2018 Quarter 2 link for your finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs - you only need to link on one blog for your finish to appear on all host blogs.

Link-up "Rules":

Add one link for each finish.  If you want to link a round up post of all your finishes, use that link to enter one of your finishes and then link the rest of your finishes separately.  Please, only one link per finish, as your link is an entry into the randomly drawn prize draws. 

Please ensure that the photo (Instagram or Flickr) or blog post you link up contains a link or reference back to your original list so that we can verify your entry (make sure it is from the appropriate quarter, too). On Instagram or Flickr, tag your photos with #2018FALQ2yourname (where yourname is unique to you), this makes it easier for us to match your finishes with your list, which also should have this tag.

Please become part of the FAL community.  Check out the links of others and leave a comment. We all need encouragement so let's applaud each other.  The 2018 FAL Facebook page is HERE and you can follow us on Instagram @finishalong.

Our hosts will also link up their finishes to share in the community but they are not eligible for any of the prizes.

The Q2 Finishes link will stay open from now thru 11 pm, EST, Monday July 9, 2018 - as we are global, you might want to check your time zone to determine your last possible time to link (you can also see how much time is left below the linked up images on the right).  It is best to link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don't miss out.  The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings.  We will post the winners on each host's blog.

Lastly, don't forget to start making your Q3 list as the Q3 list link opens on July 10, 2018.

2018 Q2 Finishes Link Up:

An InLinkz Link-up

Sandra

Finish-A-Long Quarter 1 Winners

Today we are celebrating 533 (!!) finished projects in Quarter 1 of the 2018 Finish-A-Long. So many of you are joining in and getting their UFOs or WIPs out of that dark corner, and into the limelight to be shown off as a finish. If you are in need of inspiration go on over and have a look, there were so many great makes. And of course, thanks to our many generous sponsors, we are finishing off the quarter by announcing the lucky winners!!

Without further ado, the winners picked by the Random Number Generator of the 2018 Q1 FAL prizes are:

The Q1 Winner of the $50 Gift Certificate from Fat Quarter Shop goes to  Lynette who blogs at What a Hoot Quilts and she made this stunning wall hanging row quilt for her husband:

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The Q1 Winner of the 3 PDF Patterns from During Quiet Time goes to Helen on IG @archiewonderdog and she finished her "Not Too Big, Not Too Small" bag and isn't it lovely:

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The Q1 Winner of the $25 Gift Certificate from Sew Sisters Quilt Shop goes to Beth on IG @blue_dragonfly5 and she finished this patriotic quilt that will be donated to a veteran:

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The Q1 Winner of the 2 PDF Patterns from Quilting Jet Girl goes to Sophie who blogs at Luna Lovequilts and she made this beautiful quilt she named "Retro":

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The Q1 Winner of the $20 Gift Certificate from Sew Me a Song goes to Kathryn on IG @kathrynjonesquilts and she finished this truly stunning (and very large) quilt:

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The Q1 Winner of the 3 PDF Patterns from Happy Quilting goes to Kristina who blogs at Krissies Kollections and she finished this lovely quilt as you go quilt that taught her a lot of new techniques:

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The Q1 Winner of the 2 PDF Patterns from Charm About You goes to Cath on IG @cumbrianlongarmer and she finished this rainbow Morocco Quilt:

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The Q1 Winners (3) of the 6 Month Subscription to Make Modern Magazine goes to:

1.  Crystal who blogs at Crystal's Creations and she finished this adorable memory bear:

 

2.  Jennet on IG @featherednextstudio and she made this lovely You Are My Sunshine quilt (with minky backing) for her son:

3.  Sarah who blogs at Sarah Goer Quilts and she finished this lovely mini that represents her home town San Jose, California:

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The Q1 Winner of the $25 Gift Certificate from Studio 39 Fabrics goes to Jen who blogs at Branch and Vine Handmade and she finished this beautiful Cosmo bag (pattern by Amy Butler):

 

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 The Q1 Winner of the $25 Gift Certificate from Tartan Kiwi goes to Amber on IG @amberleighcrafts and she finished this whole cloth, minky backed baby quilt:

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The Q1 Winner of the Minikins bundle from Sew Sweetness goes to Christine who blogs at Cat in the Grass and she finished these two lovely pillowcases:

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The Q1 Winner of the $50 Gift Certificate from Mad About Patchwork goes to Terry who blogs at On Going Projects and she finished this extremely useful ID badge:

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The Q1 Winner of the 2 PDF Patterns from Blossom Heart Quilts is Heather and she blogs at Quilting and Beyond and she finished this quilt that showcases the "license plates" she collected from 2015-2017:

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The Q1 Winner of the $30 Gift Certificate from Clover & Violet is Charlene on Flickr (cyanh2o) and she finished these pretty felted mittens:

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The Q1 Winner of the $40 Gift Certificate from Bunny's Designs is Brandy on IG @thirteenquilts and she finished this pretty quilt that had been an UFO for quite a while:

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Congratulations to all the winners!  Thank you for playing along with us in the first quarter, and we hope you continue joining in for the rest of the year. We love to encourage you to finish up all those WIPs and UFOs, and to see what great makes will be finished next time.

Sandra