The Alura Network

(Ok. This page can take a while to completely load up, so now's the time to go view another site in another window, start a heated conversation through AIM, get some coffee, or go to the bathroom. If you're not into that kind of thing, then I even have captions for you to read about my projects. Enjoy.)

This is a picture of the 1st quilt that I have made during its creative process. It turned out to be 8x9 feet big when I finished it. Each square is about 3x3 inches & there are over 70 different fabric designs included. It was originally a quilt for a cabbage patch doll, but my sister never used it, so I made it into a human sized quilt instead.I hope to get a better picture sooner or later. Most of the fabrics were from my grandmother's scraps, & some were from my mom's collection, my collection, & a few from aunt Claudia.

Here are some pillows I sewed. First, I sewed all the itty-bitty pieces together & then I cut large shapes out of them to form a mosaic star for the pillow. The pillows are about 24x24 in. They also make great gifts! This project has retired because I can't find the pattern for the shapes. I got the idea for the general design from a southern quilting book. The mosaic part is what I thought of myself.

Here's a picture of the 2nd quilt that I have ever finished in my life, which was August 1998. I created smaller version of classic designs (ex. the log cabin, the star, etc.), as well as making up my own designs for the squares. Each large square contains 9 smaller squares. This quilt took almost 3 years to finish.

Here's a picture of the 3rd and last quilt that I have finished (or started for that matter). When working on the 2nd quilt, I had 10 squares left over, since midway through the project, I decided to reduce the number to 30, instead of 40, as originally planned. I couldn't let the extra squares go to waste, so I made a 3rd quilt. I completed this quilt 2 years later, in August 2000.

This is the first long-term project that I have ever started. Unfortunately, I think this is one project that will never ever be finished. I began it in 5th grade & it's still not even close to being finished. First, I would get a tiny piece of fabric in the shape of a square, hem it, & then add it to the collection. It gets monotanous after a while.

Yep. I even enjoy making coasters. It's probably one of my more favorite projects. First, I sew a bunch of little scraps together, & then form a square, then add bias tape to the ends. Underneath is some left over fabric that I used for my 2nd quilt. Yep. Got these all over my room. & they make great gifts & stocking stuffers. I like to give away coasters as wedding gifts, as well as for other occasions. I've still got plenty of materials to make more, so if you want one, then just let me know!

More Coasters!



	At some point, I ran out of the fabric that I would use as the back and got some other fabric to use as the backing. Since it wasn't thick enough for the bias tape that I had been using, I had to re-design the coasters a little bit. As a result, I decided to abandon the bias tape all together. As for the trimmings: I was able to obtain them at a reduced price from the Wrights company since I had bought so much bias tape from them in the past. So I designed some coasters with the trimmings as well.

I even like to make coin bags. The one on the left I like to use to store my quarters in & the ones in the pic closest to this text I just made for fun. Good thing about these is that they can easily fit into your pockets!

Hey! It's the heart pillow. I made this pillow for my brother and gave it to him as a wedding gift. It's about 16" x 16" big. I made up the patterns to this as well.

	I made this pillow for Jim (ex-boyfriend) in fall 2002. I also made a matching pillow case cover for myself. I love squares. The squares are about 2"x2".
	I first made pillows with this design for 2 of my best friends, Alexandra and Sandy in spring 2002. I later made a pillow with the same design for myself later that year. This pillow is 24"x24".

Not only can I sew, I can make earrings too. These are brick-stitch earrings. I took a class on how to make them the summer before my 9th grade year. I made just about all of the ones pictured while I was in high school.

In addition to sewing and jewelry, I also work with recycling gift wrap, candy wrappers, and paper to create these origami gift boxes. I really feel bad about throwing out paper, so this is my solution to recycling it all. In order to make the gift boxes thick, I use about 10-30 sheets of regular used paper (that would otherwise be thrown out) per box, depending on the size. After gluing all the sheets together, along with the gift wrap, I then proceed to fold the papers into a box. As a finishing touch, I line the bottoms with cardboard. I started making these boxes when I was in 9th grade.

I don't care if you use these ideas yourself - just as long as you don't make $ off it!

If you want to make $ off of it, then atleast let me know & we can come to some sort of an agreement.