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One of the other crafts I do is make Temari balls. I was taught by a friend of mine who lived part of the year in Cyprus (from what I understand it is a popular craft there). Temarikai is a helpful site for anyone who is interested. They are stitched balls and are a traditional Japanese craft. I start with a ball of wool and wind some sewing thread of whatever colour I want the background to be. Then mark out the sections and stitch the pattern. Here are a few photos of temari balls I have made.

Been planning quite an elaborate Christmas present for my mum. She really likes koi carp and I spotted this Kona Bay Japanese print at last year's Festival of Quilts; so I just had to have it. I'd seen something at the show with a similar pr int in; which was banner sha ped with diamond blocks surrounding it. Thought I'd do something similar but I've got a bit of a p enchant for Cathedral block windows. Lynne Edwards has released a new book Cathedral Window Quilts: The Classic Folded Technique and a Wealth of Variations It's a really beautiful book and she goes into detail on all the different ways of making Cathedral Windows plus other types of folded blocks too. What I fo und quite useful was the machine piecing section which I put into practice making the wallhanging. I must say it was a little fiddly at times but think it turned out well. One of the tricky parts for me was the free motion quilting on the picture. I used Perfect Pallete fabric for the main back...