Oh, man!  I pieced a mini quilt (9" x 6") that was pretty intricate for its size.  My husband really liked all the twin and queen-size quilts I'd made over the years.  He asked me to show him how to hand quilt, so I gave him this.  He laboriously hand stitched around these little intersections, THEN he did the binding by hand, too!  We were so thrilled to have done this project together.  For Valentine's Day, we wrapped it up and gave it to my dad's wife.  Her daughter had made a quilted wall hanging, so we just KNEW she'd appreciate all the effort, blah blah blah.  The next time we visited her, she placed it on the table next to me and put a mug of coffee on it!  She was using it as a coaster!!! AAAARRRRGH!  (Pirate Grief).

Incredible!  I have to say, I love that you shared your idea so generously.  I love this site!! A local artist makes beautiful furniture, lamp shades and garments, but refuses all requests to explain how she makes any of it.  She's afraid others will make poorer quality versions and undersell her at craft fairs.  I certainly understand my friend's point, but it makes me appreciate your openness even more.  It's clear your lamp took hours of meticulous attention to detail.  Thanks for sharing!  I can't wait to make one for myself from family vacation shots - and I'll NEVER sell it!

This is absolutely stunning!  I'm inspired!

I used to mainly quilt, make clothes and mosaics.  Then I learned to knit socks, which I love because they are small portable projects.  If you have a sock project in a ziplock bag, pop it into your purse and you can complete a couple rounds while you stand in line waiting for the bank teller to call your name!  I used to actually feel disappointed when I got to the head of a line.  Last week I finished a "Seventyopoly" collage project for my mom's 70th birthday.  I pasted family pictures on all the different properties (like my sister in a parade). I named the properties after places we lived and visited.   I put pictures of each family member on the money.  I'm a $10 and my sister's a $20., for example.  The Chance and Community Chest cards have silly family inside jokes and memories (like, "your dog Greta runs away and is found at the neighbor's eating an ice cream cone, lose 1 turn.")  It turned out well, and I made a huge copy at Kinko's and am going to frame my copy.