Want to green your gift wrapping? Try furoshiki! About 1300 years ago in Japan, folks started bundling goods and gifts in square cloths, called furoshiki. Over time, wrapping gifts with furoshiki became quite an an art, and the wrapping itself was almost more appreciated than what was inside! These simple fabric wraps are wonderfully versatile, and can be used to conceal and decorate gifts of all shapes and sizes.
Furoshiki are like a gift in themselves—colorful patterned squares that can be used over and over again as practical packages. For basic folding instructions, take a look at these sample furoshiki wraps from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. Looking for a great furoshiki pattern? Check out the napkin patterns in Oh Sew Easy® Table Toppers by Jean Wells & Valori Wells—they’re just perfect for fabric wraps!
Take a photo of your furoshiki-wrapped gifts and share your folding creations with us!
Mary Kay Mouton, author of Flip-Flop Paper Piecing, has done it again. She has used the revolutionary single-foundation technique found in her book to wow the judges and take home another award. Her quilt Flip-Flop Paper Piecing won the First Place ribbon in the Miniature Quilt category at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Mary Kay says once people discover how easy her quilts are to make, she will probably stop winning so many awards.
Hopefully, in another year or so I won’t be able to amaze the judges with my accuracy because everyone will have learned my nifty little Flip-Flop paper piecing tricks and will be able to do the same.
the award-winning Flip-Flop Paper Piecing
I’m so excited about my first book I can hardly stand myself! I have wanted to write this book for a long time, now, and now it is here! I am so pleased to introduce my new release A Passion for Piecing!
I have been quilting since 1991, when I was dragged, kicking and screaming, to the Minnesota Quilt Show by my friend, Jan. She kept telling me I would love quilting. I kept telling her I would never have time! I was still working as a costume designer then. Now, I am retired and do almost nothing else BUT quilt…and design quilts and quilt patterns, teach quilting, design quilting fabric, and now write quilting books. How did she know?
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Award-winning artist and designer Lorraine Torrence travels throughout the United States and Canada, teaching at quilt guilds and conferences, and judging at wearable art and quilt shows. The rest of the time she calls Seattle home. It’s where she and her team work on the two wearable art pattern lines, as well as the quilt pattern line, housed under her company Lorraine Torrence Designs.
We at C&T know her best for her accomplishments as the author of Shifting Perspectives and the co-author (with Jean B. Mills) of Fearless Design for Every Quilter. Visit this Flickr gallery to see a collection of quilt images from Shifting Perspectives.
This week we are giving away a copy of Lorraine’s book Shifting Perspectives as well as a beautiful, Caribbean-inspired mini-quilt pattern from Lorraine Torrence Designs called Sunrise. Two prizes, one lucky winner!
Sunrise pattern
If you want to be in the running for this week’s giveaway blog candy, just visit Lorraine’s online store and leave a comment here or on Facebook telling us the name of your favorite Lorraine Torrence design, and why it is your favorite.
Comments will be closed at 9am PST on Monday 12/7/09 and the winner will be announced later that day!
