Bits of Bullion Bubble

No, I didn't make this adorable bubble, but I'm going to! I attended a class last Saturday in which Kari Mecca taught how to make all the little flowers and bugs out of bullions.

For most of the class we practiced, practiced and then practiced some more! Here is my doodle cloth with a lot of shapeless bullions, but I did manage a bow, ladybug, heart and a couple of cherries. If you look in the center of the photo, you can see the striped bullions, made with two different colors. Now, I never would have thought of that. I certainly like the effect, but they are a bit tricky to make. You need to really keep the wraps smooth with no twisting.

 I did manage to make a heart on the mint green pique fabric that came with the kit,

and a wonky bee. The stripes don't quite line up as well as they could, but since it actually looks like a bee, it stays. This was my third try at it as it is. I think it will be fun making such long bullions and manipulating them into shapes. She gave us lots of tips, especially stretching the bullion out to keep it loose. Since I usually make bullion roses or other flowers, I tend to make them very tight. This will definitely be a learning experience for me. Every single item on the bubble is different, so I'll take photos and show them to you as I progress. The bubble will be a size 12 month, and my grand niece won't fit into it for another few months, so I do have some time to get it finished.

Kari lives right here in Southern California, so it's pretty easy for us to book her to teach a class for our SAGA groups. She specializes in making children's patterns and clothes that aren't quite as frilly as standard heirloom sewing styles. Here is the link to Kari's website, please visit and check out her patterns and other goodies.

Today is Saturday morning, the men are gone, I have laundry going, music on the stereo, and the day stretching before me. My only companion is the cat, and he just settled down for an eight hour nap in the linen closet. I'll spend some time organizing in the sewing room and putting away all the things I bought at the mini market Kari held. I did some major damage to her inventory! I bought a few of her tools she uses to make flowers, so I will try them out and show you my efforts in a future post.

Have a great weekend!