Making New Friends

I can't believe we're almost six weeks into the "new" year already!  It's just been whizzing  right past me.

I've been doing a bit of knitting, though I have yet to finish anything this year.  I've been making progress on several things.  I have also been doing some sewing and quilting, though I haven't got any finished quilts to show yet, either.  The other thing I've been doing is some "smaller" sewing projects.

I finished up this little caddy intended for carrying hand-sewing tools:



Here's what it looks like on the inside:



This was probably started well over ten years ago, and all it needed was the button and the loop added so that it would close!  Yes, I may have a slight case of quilter's/knitter's/crafter's ADD.  The dark fabric in the picture is actually a pretty burgundy/barn red color. 

Then I also made this little zipper bag, which measures about 5.5" x 8.5":



And here's the other side:



The color's off in the photos of this bag, in reality they're pretty, somewhat darker than pastel colors.  This was a little kit I got somewhere, I don't even really remember where.  I'm thinking it was a door prize at a retreat or something, because while it's kinda cute, it isn't something I would have bought.  It was a fun little quick project, though.

Then, I was in the mood to make some stuffies.  First up is Frieda, the free-spirit.  She doesn't like it when I call her a Monster, so let's keep that part just between us, okay?



Frieda really likes to play hide & seek, but since her arms are permanently stitched to her torso, she can't cover her eyes.  So she ends up throwing herself onto the floor face-first so she can't see.  Then she has a hard time getting back up -- again, the arms attached to the torso make it tough for her to find a way to turn over or stand up.  So, she started dancing.  She discovered she really likes to dance, too.  She likes all kinds of dancing, but her favorite is line dancing.  She just has trouble with the clapping...

And finally, I'd love you to meet Owl-livia:



She's made from a panel.  I was at one of my LQSs in January for the Block-of-the-Month session, and they showed the panel, and they had one made up.  Well, I thought it was just too cute to not bring home with me.  And in contrast to my usual tendency, I started and got it finished in pretty short order.  The pattern didn't say to quilt her, except for her wings and feet, but hey, I'm a quilter, it's what I do.  I also thought she could use that extra touch, somehow.  I hadn't done any free-motion quilting on a regular sewing machine in quite a while, and she was a great project to "warm up" with, because I didn't really care if the quilting was wonky or less than "just so," and the uneven stitch length and the places where I lost track of where I was or where I was going just don't matter because, well, she's a stuffy.  It's nice to do those kinds of projects every once in a while, where you can just cut loose and have fun with it.

Frieda's been spending a fair bit of time keeping an eye on our DVD collection lately.  I think she wants to choose what we watch on our next "Movie Night."  Owlivia has settled down on the cutting table, and decided she likes having a front-row seat to my sewing area.  I hope you enjoyed meeting my two new friends.  I'm planning to make some more throughout this year, and I'll be sure to introduce them here, too.

Thanks for stopping by to play.  Come back again soon.

Tuesday's Happenings

Today I'm making a quick trip to Ohio, to check on things and take some shelving units back there, so I can organize my UFOs. I hope to do a little sorting while I'm there, but it's going to be a quick trip, so I don't know for sure what I'll get to.

Here's what I did yesterday -- I cut out the background for the Mariner's Compass I started in class last week, pieced those pieces to the arcs, appliqued the center in place, and got the quilt center made. I also cut the strips for the borders, but haven't yet added them.


And I added the outer borders to my hand-piecing class project. This is now either a finished top, or a center of a medallion quilt, or (most likely) an orphan block that will find its way into an orphan sampler at some point.


The color's still off a bit on that photo -- the outer borders are a hunter green, rather than the charcoal gray that they appear on my monitor.

I was also trying to get some laundry done and get settled yesterday, so that's really all the sewing I did. I did a bit of knitting, but there's not enough progress to really show that yet.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Retreat Progress from Day 1

I'm on a week-long quilting retreat. I arrived Sunday evening, but really just got unloaded, set up, and caught up with everyone else. Oh, and I got myself organized, so I knew where everything was.

Yesterday, I was pretty happy with what I got done. First, I took out two half-square triangles that were turned 180 degrees the wrong way, which I hadn't noticed until I had the blocks set together with sashing. I hope to get borders on that top yet this week, so I'll show a picture of it then. Then, I got the outer border on this top:

I rarely name my quilts, but this one just had to be called "If You're Not the Lead Dog, the View Never Changes." If you click on the picture to make it larger, you'll probably see why. Yes, I know they're wolves -- but wolves and dogs are all in the canine family, and the expression uses "dog," so that's what I'm going with. This is a largish quilt, at around 74" across. I think it's a bit longer than it is wide, but I didn't measure it so I don't know for sure.

Next, I did a block for a challenge coming up. I still have to quilt and bind it by the first week in November, but the top is finished. I'm calling this one "Big Bang Theory." I have backing and batting with me, but I don't think I'll quilt it this week, because I'm not sure the machine I have with me will handle the thick thread I want to use. But the week is young, so we'll see.


Finally, I took a pile of strips I had, and put together this lap-size-ish top:
I want to put a border on it, so that will have to wait until I get home and check my stash. But I like this, it's bright and happy.

Today I'm adding borders to some tops, and making blocks for a Yellow Brick Road quilt. More from me tomorrow....

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again any time.

Another Project Bag

This is a quick project bag I made recently. It's the size of the piece of fabric I had -- I happened to have a zipper the right length, and some webbing in a color that would work for a tab and a wrist strap/handle.


It's big enough that I can put a pair of socks-in-progress in it, and still tuck some other small things in there as I need to. I think ultimately I may leave this one in my truck with a pair of socks-in-progress, so that if I forget to bring knitting with me somewhere, I'll still have something I can work on.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Socks, a Mug Rug, and Sacks!

I've finished the first 9 pairs of socks for the 26 Pair Plunge on Ravelry. The challenge is to finish 26 pairs of socks in a year, from 1 July 2011 -- 30 June 2012. You can include any socks you had in progress before July 1, as long as they're not completed until on or after July 1. So, as you may recall, I've been working on getting a headstart going on a number of pairs of socks.

here they are:












Then, I participated in a mug rug swap in the Quilters Knitting group on Ravelry. My partner should get her package tomorrow or Monday at the latest. I was late sending out her mug rug, so I also made her a project bag and a tote bag, in the hopes that at least she'll think the package was worth waiting for ;-)

Her mug rug:


The project bag I made her (with one of my projects in it for the picture):

And the tote bag:

Now to get back to sock knitting -- I'm participating in a challenge for the month of August, to finish as many pairs of socks as possible. I've got a lot of in-progress socks to choose from, so I'm taking the opportunity to be inspired by the challenge, and get some things finished.

Thanks for coming by to play. Come back again soon.

Design Wall Monday, 6/6/2011

I have two small things on my design wall, both of which have been there for a while. I haven't done a bit of sewing since I got home from retreat. I'm planning to change all that this week, but for now, here's what I have to show:

These are squares that were cut (according to the pattern instructions) for my blue and green "Sassy Sixteen" quilt, one of the tops I finished at retreat last month. They were supposed to be used to make a pieced border, but I decided that I wanted to do plain borders instead. So then these squares were left, so I put them up on the design wall. I haven't completely decided yet whether to sew them together as-is, or put them in with the rest of my precut scraps. But I'll probably sew them together. Some time.


This is from a class kit from Debby Kratovil, called "Coffee Filter Fans." I made these blocks at retreat last month, though I still need to stitch the fans down to the background squares. I might sew these together into a quilt, but the more I think about it the more I think they may become the basis for a jacket. These were quick and fun to do.


I hope to get some sewing done this week, have some finishes and get something new up on the design wall. Wish me luck! Stop by Judy's blog, to see what other folks have up on their design walls.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon -- and I promise to post more regularly ;-)

Retreat Wrap-Up/Design Wall Monday

I'm home now from retreat, and I was thinking about just how much I got done. Frankly, I'm impressed! I've already shown some of the pictures, and some will be in my Quilter's Accountability (QA) Report post on Wednesday, but here's what I accomplished:

1. Made two hobo bags. pictures are in this post

2. Assembled two quilt tops, added borders, and made the bindings for them. pictures will be in Wednesday's upcoming QA Report post

3. Added the last two border strips to a quilt top I was donating, made bindings for it and another top (already completed) I was also donating, and handed them both off to someone who will take them to the person who's collecting these donated tops. They'll be quilted, and will be for a fundraising event in late Fall. Silly me, I forgot to take pictures of these tops before I handed them off!

4. Assembled a quilt top from four stitchery blocks, which have been done for several years at least. pictures will be in Wednesday's upcoming QA Report post

5. Made three sock knitting project bags. pictures are in this post

6. Quilted, bound, and added hanging sleeves to two wall quilts. pictures will be in Wednesday's upcoming QA Report post

7. Made 12 fan blocks, though I still have to applique the fans down to the background blocks. I have border fabrics for these, but I'm thinking about saving them to use as the basis for a new jacket for next winter, so for now I'm going to "live with them" for a while, and see what they say they want to be, quilt or jacket.


8. Finished applying the fabrics to the sweatshirt base for my mother's jacket, zigzagged around the pieces on both sleeves, and started the zigzagging on the jacket front. pictures when it's closer to finished, as right now it doesn't really look like much

9. Squared up a set of 16 stitchery blocks, and started thinking about the design of the quilt they'll become. picture of the blocks, and the fabrics for the quilt, are in this post


If I hadn't had to leave retreat, and essentially lost 2 days of sewing time, I'd probably have finished the fan blocks, gotten them set into a top (if that's what I'd decided to do with them), started setting together the stitchery blocks, and finished my mother's jacket. Who knows what else I might have done, as well? It was a fun and relaxing time, and also productive. I can hardly wait for the next one!

Check out Judy's blog, and see what's on other folks' design walls. Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Sock Project Bags

Last night I was playing around a bit with some of my decorator fabric samples I was given a while back. If you didn't see that post, you can read it here. I've wanted to use some of them to make some project bags for carrying around a pair of socks in progress. I had some muslin around that I used to line it, and bought the cording at Hancock Fabrics when it was on sale, so I'm out of pocket very little for this, and it's already being put to use, as you can see. This was the first one I made:


And here is the second one, with a few differences in how it went together:


And the third one, from a different sized fabric piece, so the bag turned out a different size:


That pair of socks in progress just had to get into the act, and model with each bag in turn. I have lots of sock projects on the needles, and I have lots more fabric samples to play with, so I'm quite sure that there will be more of these little bags in my future! It sure looks better and is a lot more fun to carry than the gallon ziploc bags I've been using. I still need to fine-tune the design some more, and I really should have added one or two pockets to the inside of these. So as I figure out more of what I'd like in a project bag, I'll make more prototypes. Eventually, I'll no doubt come up with the perfect project bag design. Well, perfect for me, at least. Now I'm going back to my quilting for the rest of retreat.

Thanks for coming by to play. Come back again any time.

Quilter's Accountability Report

Well, this week really hasn't gone as I'd intended, nor as I'd have liked. Here's my list from last week:

1. Quilt and bind Oak Leaves & Reel Nope, not done -- started to quilt it several times, and kept having to stop and rip. Hopefully will get it quilted soon.

2. Quilt and bind Sugar and Spice Nope, not done. Never touched it at all.

3. Quilt and bind Thimbleberries Goose in the Pond Nope, not done. Never touched this one, either.

4. work on mom's jacket Nope, didn't do this either.


I did do a few things while I was at retreat on Sunday night and Monday, before my harrowing trip home. I needed to do something quick and easy, so I made two bags from kits I got on clearance at Hancock Fabrics:



I'll use these as knitting project bags.

I got this top pieced, and brought it home to "shop" in my stash for a border:

I got this center pieced, and brought it home to "shop" in my stash for an inner border, before the triangles of that same kitten toile as the alternate squares. It turns out I don't have anything in my stash the right shade and character -- I had one fabric that was absolutely the right color, but it was a homespun plaid, which didn't seem the thing with toile. Darn, I'll have to go to an actual quilt shop for this one ;-)


And I got this center pieced, but had left the border fabrics for it at home. This picture is just the blocks laid out, because the top's not where I can get a picture right now.


So for next week, here's my list of intentions:

1. Finish piecing Max & Miss Kitty top.

2. Add borders to blue and green quilt top.

3. Add borders to red and brown quilt top.

4. Work on Mom's jacket, and finish it if possible.

5. Quilt and bind Crazy Stained Glass.

6. Quilt and bind Diadem.

I'm planning to head back to my retreat today, as soon as the dealer has the new tire on the remanufactured rim, and I can be on the road. I will be there until Sunday after lunch, so I hope to make some good progress on this list. Wish me luck! Check out Bari's blog, to see how others have done with their lists.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again any time.

More Beading....

Since I got my beading stuff out some time back to fix a couple pairs of earrings that had come off their fishhook wires, I've been wanting to do some more beading. I did a bit the other day, when I made those watches, but I was still wanting to play in the beads some more. The night before last, I was up much later than I should be, and started going through some beads looking for something. I can't recall now what I was looking for, but I never did find it. I did, however, make some new stuff.

First, here's a pair of earrings from these fun, sort of stained-glass tropical fish charms:

More fish, but these are enamel on sterling:

Hugs and kisses for my ears:


A variation on the theme, hearts but no hugs or kisses ;-)


And finally, this pair, which needed nothing but these amazing glass beads. I just love these:




Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Just For Fun Sewing

This is a pattern/kit I've had for a few years now. I know I got it from a Brother sewing machine dealer at a show I was at -- probably the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo, and probably in Cleveland, Ohio, but I'm not positive as to the location, and have no idea about the year. I'm thinking it may have been as long ago as 2005, since the copyright on the pattern (from Quiltmaker magazine) is 2004. Anyhow, they were giving out these kits, which contained the pattern, fabric, Insul-Bright and Warm & Natural batting, and even a small spool of thread, at this machine dealer's booth. I thought that was really generous, and I've always intended to make it up, but hadn't gotten there. So I finally did it. They intended you to back and bind with the blue background fabric, too, but I figured if I put plain muslin on the back (and bound one with something else), I could make two potholders! One for me, and maybe one for a giftie. I still need to add rings or binding loops to them for hanging.



Then, I've been playing around with some small pieces of some hand-dyed fabrics that I was given way back some time in the mid to late 1990s. I never knew what to do with them, and then recently saw a tutorial on someone's blog (and I'm so sorry that I can't remember whose) for mug mats. She made hers somewhat large, they were 9 or 10 inches square, which was a bit big for me, so I decreased the sizes of the pieces and included fewer squares. I just wanted it as more of a coaster, not a snack mat. Anyhow, I started playing around, and this is what I've ended up with. A fun little thing to play with, when I wanted to sew but didn't want to think too much. These are for our house, but I've also made and already gifted several others.


And as a variation on the theme, I made this slightly larger one, which is about 9" square. Larger than the (about 6" square) mug mats, but smaller than a placemat. I'm planning to use this one when I have a bowl of soup or a small plate with a sandwich or salad that I'm eating at the computer. I just love the teal fabric in the background of this one.


Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again any time.

Finished socks

Sunday afternoon, I finished this pair of socks. DH wore them to work on Sunday night. He says they fit great, and he's really happy to have them.


The yarn is Sockaholic from Knitters Brewing Company, and the colorway is called "Dirty Martini." It's a nice colorway, and I like the sort of spiral-y, stripey effect I got.

I've recently cast on about four more pairs of socks, so I have lots of mindless knitting available for waiting room time, and all those other sitting-around times. That's so much more portable than quilting, since I do all my quilting stuff by machine.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again any time.

Mystery Quilt time

Every New Year's Eve, the Fabricaholics Anonymous Yahoo group does a mystery together, which is designed by Ann Smith. I believe there are some other groups who also do the same mystery, though I don't remember what they are for sure. The 2008 one is one of my about-to-be-completed UFOs. I didn't do the 2009 mystery with the group, but liked the design so well I cut out and started (barely!) two of them. This year, I'm planning to sew along with the group.



Here are the fabrics I'll be using:








I'd planned to get my cutting done more than a week ago, but life got in the way. I'll do it today, and be ready to go on Friday. When the top is finished I'll post a picture, since it probably won't get quilted right away.


Thanks for stopping by. Come back again any time.

Self-Proclaimed Queen of UFOs