Wednesday, June 13, 2012

New Toy

It's June ... and what better project to photograph than a scarf made out of Noro Kureyon!  Gotta love a hubster who is so accomodating as to dress in wool so you can blog :-)

This is the second of three Noro scarves I am making as Christmas gifts for the sons.  The daughter will be receiving a doubleknit scarf in pink and tan with a silhouette of Marilyn Monroe on each end.  Can't wait to get the last Noro scarf finished so I can start on the doubleknit one.  The stripes, no matter how pretty, are getting a bit monotonous now.


Daughter is also receiving this little guy in a couple weeks.  After the infestation we had in our garage last year, she is obsessed with squirrels.  She even named the "ringleader" of the pack that took up residence Patrick.  So this little overall wearing guy is dubbed Patrick also.

I just love his tail!

Another little critter I completed recently is this bright and cheery zebra.  He is going to the prayer shawl group I am part of.  Little ones don't want shawls, they want toys!  I've cast on a pink elephant for my next offering.  And, the rhinocerous that is included in this pattern pack will be done up in purples.  So far, this zebra is the only item on my "must finish" list that I've completed.

I have been doing some work on the days of the week kitchen towels though.  I've finished 4 of them so far, and am about halfway through the 5th. Another couple of weekends watching back to back episodes on one series or another and they should be finished.



 




I put together a quilt top over Memorial Day weekend.  This was a quick and easy project, but will be put away with some other quilt tops until I've finished quilting 3 others before it gets finished.

I love the fabric patterns and colors.  This is the perfect size to cuddle under while watching TV in the cold months.

And now on to my newest toy and obsession.  I finally bought a loom!  I decided on a 24" Kromski Harp with a stand, and it was delivered this week.  I made all kinds of goofy mistakes trying to get it warped, but I finally got it done.  And, the yarn is a bit too big for the heddle I have so I am fighting with it some.  I'll know better for my next project.  I will continue fighting with it as long as the warp doesn't break.  This is going to be a wrap that will be given to the prayer shawl group.  It was mentioned that we needed some wraps that were more manly, since not only women were in need.  My plaid isn't perfect, but it is definitely manly.  I really like the pattern, and the process.




I see a lot more weaving in my future!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Must Finish Lists

I have trying to be good and not start a ton of new projects, no matter how tempted I am.  My friend Amanda and I are trying to hold each other accountable to our "must finish" lists.  The idea is we have a project in mind that we want to start, and a list of projects we need to finish before we're allowed to start that new one.

Today marks a day that we are able to start a new project.  We've both chosen to start embroidered kitchen towels.  Before I am allowed to start another new project I will need to finish:
  • the embroidered towels (days of the week so there are 7 of them)
  • the crocheted afghan pictured later in this post
  • the quilt I am making for my MIL
  • the Nook cover I am cross stitching
  • a knit zebra for prayer shawl group (little ones don't want shawls!)
 Big list!  But I am determined, and I'm sure Amanda will keep me honest.

On my list is a quilt that I put together last fall and set aside.  Of course now that it's getting warm out I decide it's time to finish it up.  Go figure.

I love the backing fabric I found for this quilt.  It just seemed to fit.

All of the squares are flowers, and quite a few of them are applique.  I definitely need to work on my applique skills. 





I found pieces to a quilt that I had started back around 1998 when we had a little flood in our basement due to the sump pump acting up.  I couldn't believe it when I found them all stuffed into a bag.  I remember cutting out the pieces for this little lap quilt.  I cut some of them wrong and that's why it wound up in a time out.  Several moves and lots more projects and that poor thing was completely forgotten.

Well when we had that little flood, the pieces all got wet so I put them in a lingerie bag, washed, and dried them.  Then they all had to be ironed, the triangles needed to be sewn into squares, and the squares that had been cut the wrong size had to be cut down.  Then I had to remember how to put the dang thing together into the pattern I had intended.  I'm quite pleased with the results.

Now I just need to decide what I want to border and back it with and this little quilt can get added to my next "must finish" list.


The bavarian crochet afghan is coming along nicely.  It seems to take a million hour to finish a round now, but I knew that was going to happen.  I've finished the first repeat of all the colors and think it will be big enough when I've finished the second repeat.  I don't want something huge.  Just big enough to cuddle with on the couch while watching TV.


The Nook cover is making progress too.  The width is perfect, but the length is going to be a bit short.  I think I'm going to extend the border and maybe put my name on it to lengthen it some.  With the right lettering that should do the trick.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Quilting

When I was sorting through all my various boxes of craft things, I ran across a box full of the quilts I had made way back when.  All of them are just the tops and have been awaiting quilting for more than ten years!  I really need to get back them finished and put to good use.

I could get them finished quicker if I do my quilting by machine, but I didn't like doing my quilting by machine back when I made these tops.  I decided to make a few potholders to see if I liked machine quilting any better now.

Nope.  Just don't like machine quilting at all.  I need to toughen up those quilting fingers and get to work and face up to the fact that it will be years before all of these tops are quilted.

Even though I didn't care for the machine quilting, and I rushed so my seams don't match and they are all a little "off", I do like the cute potholders I made.  I'll be making more of these since they are so quick and easy to complete.




I finished this easy hanging kitchen towel in just a couple of days.  Used up some Bernat cotton I had in my stash.  Need to remember on the next one that the buttonhole tends to stretch so I need to make it smaller or use a much bigger button.  I'm going to have to stitch up the buttonhole a bit on this one because I like the button I used and don't want to replace it.  A couple of these with some dishcloths and matching potholders would make a great gift.


I really like that I've taken up so many of the crafts I used to do but had given up in lieu of knitting.  I stitched up a couple of cards for Mother's Day and really like how they turned out.  Paul wrote a poem that we've written inside.  Now to pull out some more floss and work up something for Father's Day so nobody feels left out.



I needed something pretty mindless to work on while I watched TV, and the washcloths I had in the bathroom were in dire need of replacing, so I tried out this waffle weave pattern I've had queued for some time.  I really like how it turned out, so now I'll be making a bunch more and getting rid of some of the more ragged looking ones currently in use.


I learned about Bavarian Crochet at this past month's Prayer Shawl group meeting.  One of the ladies there had made a gorgeous afghan for someone as a gift and I knew immediately that I had to make one for myself.  A and I stopped at Michaels on the way home and found the pattern book and bought yarn, even though we both had promised not to start anything new.  A rationalizes that since we learned about it in church it is OK.  LOL

The pattern works up pretty quickly until you get to about round 10, at which time it seems to take endless hours to complete one side.  This photo shows 5 rounds complete, and I have now completed 12.  I love the look of this textured pattern and the colors I chose.  Another in progress photo later in the week.




Monday, May 7, 2012

Happy Projects

Recently, my crafting has been all about the gifting.  More of my projects are going to others than are sticking around for my own use.  It's a nice change :-)

Last summer I crocheted a metric buttload of flower granny squares and made a tote bag out of them.  I think I used the tote twice .... ummm that's a lot of work to just sit around and look pretty.  That project was an -along with my friend A.  She gave up on finishing her bag because she realized she wouldn't use hers any more than I was using mine.  Instead, she chose to turn quite a few of her squares into a crochet hook roll.  I immediately went to work taking my tote apart and made notion bags out of it.  I had plenty of the quilted fabric I used for the lining of the tote left over, so the only supply I needed to buy was zippers to close them up.  I made two different sizes, and made three sets.  Two of the sets were made as special gifts for two special women in my life, and the third I am using myself.












The other gift I finished recently is a baby blanket for my hair stylist.  I fell in love with this pattern when I first saw it back in 2008.  It's the only pattern in the magazine that I even cared for and I bought it, knowing that some day I would have a baby to make it for.


This was a fairly quick project to crochet, but the sewing together of all those little pieces took me the better part of a day to complete!  I love it dearly though, and hope C does too.



Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sewing Room

I've been promising to take and post some photos of my sewing room for an online friend, and finally got around to taking the photos.  Posting them took another week or so *sigh*.  I get so sidetracked playing silly online games and crafting that I forget all about posting to my blog.  I know I say it all the time, but one of these days I'll get better at this blogging business.

Anywho, on to the sewing room photos.  The room is still a work in progress, but all in all it's a nice cozy place to do some sewing.

I don't have a fancy sewing cabinet or table, but I got this nifty corner unit at a reasonable price on sale at Jo Ann's.  When you factor in the fantastic 25% off total order coupon I used, it was a great buy.  Both my sewing machine and serger can be set up for use.  Hey T, I adore the sewing machine cover you made me!


I found creative ideas for displaying favorite cards and such on Pinterest and went to work making them up for my sewing room.  I covered 4 cork boards with 2 different fabrics and got coordinating pushpins for them.  Hung them up in a checkerboard fashion and pinned up some favorite tidbits that make me smile when I'm in there working.


Put up some shelves to display other favorite odds and ends.  I'm going to need to add more since I've filled these up already and haven't found a home for all my stuff.



Finished up a couple of projects in the past week or so.  Now to get photos and hopefully remember to post them :-)

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Busy Busy Busy

It's been awhile since I last posted, and I've been super busy crafting.  I have so many photos piled up, it's going to take a couple posts to show them all off.  No worries though.  That will force me to post again this week, and maybe posting on a regular basis will become more of a habit.

I already posted some photos of my leaf washcloths blocking, but I now have them living in my bathroom on their own little dish.  They hold the wonderful lemongrass soap I bought.  I love the smell of this soap, and the rough cut bars look right at home on these washcloths.


These handmade bars were purchased at The Oil Bar.  If you have one of these stores near you, you should definitely try them out.


I also recently finished the Wingspan shawl I was working on.  I love the way the two Noro sock yarns worked up together.  The striping is so much fun.  I've worn it to work already and got quite a few complimentary comments on it.  It's just the right size to help keep out the spring chill, without being so big it's too warm.





 I've been doing more sewing recently.  It's so nice to have a room where my sewing machine can be set up all the time instead of having to drag everything out when I want to sew something.  Found this little goodie at Sew She Sews.  It's much bigger than I thought it was going to be, but it is working out great with all the embroidery projects I seem to be working on lately.



I just fill it up, tuck it into a tote bag, and away I go.  Sure makes taking embroidery along with you a bit less painful.


Amanda and I started another project yesterday.  I haven't done any plastic canvas for years, but this little box was a lot of fun to make, and it worked up really quickly.  Not sure plastic canvas will make it to the top of my "like to work on" craft list, but this wasn't too bad.





This afternoon, after yoga class, I put the final touches on a little sewing kit I started awhile back.


These are the perfect size to put into a notion bag and slip into my tote to take when I am crafting away from home.  I adore the vintage feel of them.


More project photos to come later in the week.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Photo Crazy

Last night I finished another prayer shawl.  This was a very quick project.  Crocheted Bowtie Pi shawl, a free Ravelry pattern.  I used up 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon sock yarn that was  most recently going to be a skirt, and I have long since forgotten what its original purpose was.  Since I had 3 skeins I don't think it was for socks.  Socks of a short length in Kureyon are yucky enough, I cannot imagine thigh highs made out of the rough stuff.  It did work up into a nice shawl though, and I am fairly pleased with the results of this pattern.





Last night  I met my friend Amanda to exchange our pincushion swap packages.  I've been dying to share the goodies I made for her, but since she peeks into my blog sometimes, I didn't dare!

I've been obsessed with sewing items lately, so the first thing I decided to make for her was a needle book.  All felt with buttonhole stitching around the edges.  Not much could be simpler, and it turned out really cute with the felt flower on the cover.


Next up was a tea wallet made with a pattern found at Wee Folk Art.  Can't wait to make one of these for myself now.  I think I'll applique little teacups on the cover of mine.  Really fun to make and only took an afternoon to make.


This size is perfect to hold 4-8 tea bags.


In keeping with the tea theme, I knitted her a mug cozy and wrapped it around a big yellow mug.  The flowers were fun to make out of buttons from my collection.


Also added a cute quilted potholder made with coordinating owl and feather fabrics.  I have enough of each left to make a matching one for myself.


And lastly, the pincushion.  I saw the cute leaf pins at JoAnn Fabrics and the topiary idea came to me.  The felt flowers in the pot are also pins.  I'm really proud of this, even if my daughter did come home from work and say "What the bleep is that?".  Obviously she is not a seamstress and has no clue what a pincushion should look like lol.



 And now the lovely things I received from Amanda.

She crocheted me 4 washcloths.  I love handmade washcloths!



She also crocheted me a teapot cozy and bought me this cute little teapot.  The coasters are also crocheted. Can you tell we both had tea on the brain during this swap?





The yummiest lavendar soap is encased in the pretty lacy knit soap sack, and there was a cute notepad in my package as well.


And the pincushion!  A great glass jar filled with colorful buttons.


The top is a cross stitched heart that I'm afraid I'll mess up if I poke pins in it lol.


These adorable handmade wooden pins were also included and I love them.  I'm going to have to check out the store she said she got these from to see what other offerings they have.


The swap was a great success and now I can't wait for the next one to start.  Lots of ideas running around in my head for goodies.