The small things

This weekend was good. Aside from the whole snow thing. Sewing-wise it was good. I managed quite a bit - a halloween costume (not very impressive, but done and super cute, pictures to come after the debut tonight), a bag (which still needs to be photographed), some quilt blocks, and these couple small things that took such little time, but made me feel so much more productive.

First up, I got a new planner. And I love it. It is a really great planner, a momAgenda my plan if you are wondering, that just works wonderfully for me; I love the setup and that is rare in a planner. It just feeds my list making nature. The only problem: it was ugly. I am just not a hot pink/lime kinda girl. It makes my eyes burn a little. But that is the kind of thing you are willing to overlook if the planner is good enough. Still, it needed to be fixed. Here is the before picture, just for reference.

I debated whether I should make a cover like the one I made for my composition book, or try to find something a little more streamlined. In the end streamlined won out and I decided to try some heat 'n bond ultra to just adhere some fabric to the outside. I even got all fancy and put some eyelets on the back and put some elastic through so it will stay closed. Easy peasy. And it looks great. Time will tell how the heat 'n bond will hold up, but I figure if it doesn't work out all year, I can always make a cover later like I was going to initially.

The other thing I knocked off my list is a little fabric try to hold some of our cleaning cloths. We are trying to cut down on the paper towel use around here so we've been using some cloth wipes. They needed a home so I made them one. I used this tutorial from noodlehead and just made it the size I needed for my cloths (roughly 8.5"x8.5" bottom and 2" sides). It was simple to follow. I ended up getting single sided instead of double sided fusible interfacing, but it worked out just fine. I am glad to have it done and it looks much nicer in our kitchen than a pile of cloths :)

And those are a couple of the little things that made the weekend good. Sometimes getting some little things done just makes you feel worlds more productive and somehow it snowballs into being even more productive. And now it is Monday and I have to go to training for work (boo!) and then take a little girl trick-or-treating (yay!!). Happy Halloween!!!

Summer Sampler - Bloggers' Qulit Festival

It's time again for the Bloggers' Quilt Festival hosted by Amy at Amy's Creative Side! It is such a great event twice a year for the quilt bloggers to get together and support each other. I missed the one in the spring (and I don't really know why) but I am ready for this one. I don't have anything new to show at the moment, but I thought I would revisit what is perhaps my proudest quilting accomplishment of the past year: my Summer Sampler Series quilt.

This quilt represents a lot of firsts for me. It is the first quilt along I completed; it was my first paper piecing experience; perhaps most importantly, it was my first free-motion quilting experience. When this sampler came up this summer, I jumped at the chance to follow along and push myself into some new territory. There are just some fantastic blocks in this quilt and it pushed me to really improve my piecing.

To finish it, I opted to sash it in gray so that each block would pop and be framed. I am so proud of each of these blocks, I thought they each needed to shine. I was so scared to quilt this. When I made it I knew I was going to use it to practice free-motion quilting since I had no specific recipient in mind, but when it came down to it I was scared to death I was going to destroy it somehow. But I pushed through and did it (pretty quickly I might add) and it actually came out pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised. It has its imperfections, but overall it looks really nice. And for the first time, I got to experience the crinkly goodness that a freshly washed stippled quilt brings :)

So there you have it. I am happy to be able to share this quilt again. Now go, enjoy all the other quilty eye candy!

Farmer's Wife - Week 15

Happy Friday!! I am glad it's finally Friday. It has felt like a long, unproductive week. I still haven't gotten much done, but I'm slowly going at it. And hopefully this weekend I will actually get some of this crap done and off my craft table. And next week I completely lose Monday and Wednesday and the weekend, so hopefully this weekend is good.

I managed to get 4 blocks this week, so 74 out of 111 done! I appologize in advance about these pictures, they are really crappy thanks to the fact that it has been raining and snowing (yes snowing, in October! What the heck?!?! Not a good sign!!) so I had to deal with inside pictures with no sun. And one is blurry but I couldn't manage to get a clear one. I'll have to retake them when the sun decides to come out again. But for now, here they are

#73 - Rainbow Flowers

I like this one a lot. It is actually really nice, despite what the blurry picture would have you think. I had a hard time figuring out how to incorporate white, but I am happy with deciding to make the lightest color white.

#91 - Strawberry Basket

This one is pretty cool. I switched and made the main design white instead of the lightest color, and I think it was a good move. I am loving the greens right now.

#15 - Buzzard's Roost

I kinda wish I'd used a print instead of the solid, but it looks good so that's okay. It just sounds so sinister...buzzard's roost.....

#75 - Rosebud

This one is growing on me. I didn't like it at first but I think I'm starting to like it kind of a lot.

And all together:

They are looking so good! I think every week I get a little more excited about seeing them all together in a big snuggly quilt :) I think one of these weeks before thanksgiving I will have to do an extra day of blocks and try to get a bit ahead so I can get this done and have time to put it together and everything as close to the new year as possible. Well, have a good weekend everyone!

WIP Wednesday {10.26.11}

Hm, is this really the last WIP post in October? How crazy! This past week was not my most productive. By far. But I guess I saw that coming. And now I feel like I am organized enough to get a bunch of things done, but I have no time to do it (one nap leave so much less sewing time than two). If I'm lucky I can get a lot done this week. On to the good stuff!

Completed:

Laptop Case 

This one is for me and my new laptop! I love it. I got some AMH innocent crush woodcut daydream cotton sateen for the outside and some green quilters flannel for the lining and put it together in an afternoon. Now I can't wait to go somewhere with my laptop so I can use it. 

Crocheted blanket

I posted about this yesterday and I know it's not sewing, but it is what is making me feel accomplished this week. I love it and so does my little lady :)

Trick-or-treat bag

Cute and simple. Now I just need to get a costume done....

Shirts for the little one
I am going to call this one done. I need to turn the one into a halloween costume, but the shirts themselves are done. I just need to put them on my model and get some pictures.

FWQAL

Love! I am up to 70 blocks now with this 6. 

Still Going:

Ikea Quilt

Waiting for a back. I have a plan, just not the fabric to enact it.

Skill builder sampler
I am behind on this one since my printer had no ink to print the paper piecing templates. But I have them now so this will get done soon hopefully.

New:

Couch Pillow Cover

I started out really excited, but it is taking forever and isn't as much fun as I might have hoped. I can only hope the end result is worth it.  I'll need a second one too, but I don't know what I want it to look like yet.

Embroidery 101

I have been wanting to do this QAL at Clover and Violet since it started over the summer but I didn't have time. Not that I have time now but I don't really care :) I picked out fabric (some pretty central park I found on the quilt shop hop!) so this week I hope to cut it. And I need to get some sort of pearl cotton or embroidery floss or something....I just need to figure out colors and where to get it.

Hubby's Christmas gift
I can't show this, but it is started and is going to take a bit of time so I need it on the list. I am so excited...once I figure out exactly how to pull it off.

And I think that's it. I hope so. I have a couple other quilts planned out in my head, but I'm waiting for the fabric to come out, so that at least gives me some time to get this other stuff done. As always, too many ideas, not enough time! Have a good week everyone!

A little crocheted blanket

Something about the weather cooling down just puts me in the mood to play with yarn :) Generally I love to knit, but since I learned to crochet last spring, I had wanted to make a little blanket for my baby girl. I think it is safe to say she is old enough to have a blanket in her crib at this point, especially a small crocheted one. The first blanket I crocheted was supposed to before that, but it ended up small...and kinda ugly....so I wanted to make another one.

Remember how I am a tiny bit obsessed with pinterest? (my huge collection of pins may give away the fact that it is more than a tiny bit...). Well one day I stumbled upon this picture.

 via Pinterest

And I fell in love. And I had to make one like it. But I {wisely} thought that a big lap afghan would be a bit much and probably never get finished so it seemed like the perfect thing for a crib blanket!

Now, what I liked most was the use of the variegated yarn as kind of a background, so that was what I set out to recreate, but as it turned out, the only yarn I could find that had the multi-colored yarn and the coordinating solids must be what is used in the picture! Which is fine with me because I love those colors, they feel so calm and snuggly!

 As you may have realized, this is only the second thing I have ever crocheted. So it is far from perfect. And instead of an actual pattern, I just used a stitch pattern from the Lion Brand stitchfinder and made it up as I went along.  I had to learn how to single crochet (easy peasy) and figure out the increases/decreases, but it really wasn't bad, probably thanks to years of knitting so I knew roughly what I was looking at. I don't even know how many stitches across it is since I put on a bunch, like 150 maybe, but I had some extra chains left over as I figured out what I was doing. So despite the fact that it is kind of hourglass shaped, I love this thing. I think it is so pretty and will be a perfect little crib blanket for fall. Of course I have my doubts as to whether a blanket will actually get used in said crib, but that's okay.

Stats:
Finished size - about 27" x 40"
Yarn used - Loops & Threads Impeccable in tradewind ombre, grass, aqua, white, and soft taupe
Hook size - H
Pattern - Lion Brand rainbow chevron

I am also adding this to the celebrate color linky over at Stitched in Color.

This Weekend

Hey, guess what! No jury duty this week!! This past weekend, though, I got approximately nothing done. I tried and I felt like I was always working on something, but I have very little to show for it. As in this is all I actually finished this weekend

Cute? Yes. But it also took like 15 minutes, so I still feel like I didn't accomplish much. Part of the reason is that I need to wash a bunch of things before I can get started on them, part is that a couple of things are much more time intensive then anticipated, and part of it is just being overwhelmed and not able to focus myself. You know the feeling, so many things calling for attention that you don't know which way to turn so nothing gets done. It has also been a rough weekend since we officially cut out one nap for the little one and the adjustment has been hard for all of us, but hopefully after this week we will be used to it. Not to mention we are trying to ease into the time change coming up so schedules are all a bit off.

So hopefully this week I am going to refocus and start really tackling things. One thing is a gift for the hubby though so I won't be able to show that, but that's alright. I know what I need to do, I just need to do it. And tomorrow I should have a finished crochet project to show :) The first one I am proud of in fact! This is assuming it survives the wash...

Farmer's wife - week 14

Happy Friday! I am pretty excited for the weekend for no particular reason. I think we will be guest free, so I should get to work on some things. It did occur to me though, that I am supposed to have jury duty next week and if I do, that means pretty much no sewing time. We'll see I guess.

Anyway, back to the farmer's wife. I made 6 blocks this week, bringing me up to 70! Only 41 more blocks to go, can that really be true?!? If I want it done by the end of the year I will have to step it up though. And I think I have a new sashing in mind since I couldn't get the one I was planning to get. I am not sure yet, but I'll decide soon.

Here are this weeks blocks!

#9 - Box

Simple and Lovely.

#70 - Prairie Queen

I don't really get this one. I don't really see a very clear design. But it's nice I suppose

#7 - Birds in the Air

I love this one! It was the perfect block to do in rainbow and it came out great!

#49 - Honeycomb

This looks great with these polka dots. A lot of the ones with super small pieces don't look as good in this fabric, but this is awesome.

#25 - Cups & Saucers

Great pattern! Love it!

#68 - Postage Stamp

I am loving how this came out. I didn't think I was really going to like it, but it's pretty sweet.

And here they are together

Everything is looking good and I am super happy with it. I think my stack of blocks is now taller than my stack of folded fabric for this quilt :) I hope I have enough to get to the end. I am cutting it close, but I think I can make it. There are only a few that I am really almost out of, and that probably means I've used them too much and should use some others anyway. So there you are. I have a project started that I hope to finish this weekend so hopefully that will be up Monday. Have a good weekend everyone!

WIP Wednesday {10.19.11}

Hey guys! Here we are again, ready to see how productive the week actually was! I think I got a good bit done, but I'm feeling pretty scattered right now so I think I need to regroup and figure out what I am doing this week.

Completed:

Voile/flannel scarf 

I had gotten a half yard of this innocent crush voile and I just knew it needed to become a scarf. So I picked up some flannel at a quilt shop this past weekend and voila, a super soft luxurious scarf, and the flannel makes it pretty warm too. I love it. I wanted to make it an infinity scarf, but I think I'll get some knits for that.

Skill Builder Sampler - block 14

I actually really don't like this block much in general, but it gave me a good chance to use some of the decorative stitches on my machine that I'd been wanting to try out but never had a reason to.

FWQAL

Love! I did 4 blocks bringing me to 64 and this is all of them together so far. I am doing black sashing but found out yesterday that the stuff I ordered was not actually in stock (someone beat me to it!) so I am debating what I want to do.

Still Going:

Ikea quilt

I love this quilt top so much! Bright and cheerful! Hopefully this week I will go get a back.

Long Sleeved shirts for the little one

The gray one is done (and too big) and the other just needs the closures put in...I might do snaps since I can't do a button hole for the bottom button because of the fabric being too thick when I fold it back. And I might make one more. The red one will actually be a halloween costume too.

New:
Nothing that is started enough to be a WIP. Just ideas. Lots of ideas. And pretty fabric.

Not too bad I suppose. We'll see what I can mange this week. I guess it depends partly on whether we have more guests this weekend, which is currently up in the air. I have a feeling I am going to end up with a lot of WIPs and few finishes for a while, but who knows, maybe I'll find more little things to keep me feeling productive.

A finished quilt top

Life is feeling really crazy right now and I'm not sure why. It was a good weekend of friends and quilt shops, but another weekend of not much sewing. I did manage to get my Ikea quilt top done last week and I love it. I know I say that about just about everything, but it is so true! I love it! So much that I am considering making another since I have enough fabric. But I should probably finish this one first.

When I bought this fabric last fall, I had the idea of making a tumbler quilt. I had seen a tutorial and really wanted to try it. More recently I also wanted to make a cross quilt. I couldn't make up my mind so at one point I decided to put the two together. And while I questioned my decision at some points in the process, now that it is together, I can't even tell you how much I really love this.

I totally want to keep it even though I'll probably end up selling it or gifting it or something. I need to go find a back, and I am thinking an orange print. I have the binding all picked out too. I can't wait to get it together although I guess we'll see when I find a backing. I am thinking if I make another it will emphasize the blue/lime green instead of the red/orange. I think it would be fun to see how that changes it. See you tomorrow for the WIP round up! Hopefully that will remind me that I was actually pretty productive!

Farmer's Wife - Week 13

Happy Friday!! I am glad the weekend is here! This week I managed another 4 blocks bringing me up to 64 out of 111. The other big event of the week is that I ordered my sashing!!! I had been debating and I think I mentioned before that I love the Black and White Quatrefoils by Michael Miller, but I was hesitant not seeing it in person. But, I went to fabric.com the other day and they had just the amount I needed left, said it was non-reorderable, and it was on sale for 30% off so I took that as a sign and ordered it :) We'll see when I get it how I feel, but right now I'm just excited. In honor of that, I made up a grid of my blocks so far and put it on a black background to get a feel for it and I think it's going to be amazing.

Moving on to the blocks!

#12 - Broken Sugar Bowl

This was nice and simple and came out really well.

#33 - Farmer's Puzzle

It took me a while to notice that the one part of the cross doesn't line up, but now that I did it bothers me. I just can't decide how much. But other than that I really like this block. 

#45 - Grape Basket

I don't really understand the whole basket block thing, but this did come out nicely. I am liking my green blocks a lot recently.

#57 - Morning

I am pretty happy with this one. This is the same design as block 100 (weathervane) but the colors are laid out slightly differently. 

Here are these 4

And here is the grid I made up.

It bothers me that they aren't on point like they will be in the end, but I am not worried about that right now. The point is that the black really makes the colors pop. The corner stones will be white as well as the triangles around the edge and I am still figuring out the borders. And I am thinking solid black binding.

So there it is. I am so excited and I love it more every week. 10 more blocks until I reach 2/3 done! Have a lovely weekend everyone!

WIP Wednesday {10.12.11}

Hey guess what?!?! It's Wednesday again. And October is pretty much half over. And that blows my mind.

But anyway, it was a pretty good week, I got a bunch of things done/worked on and got to hang out with my sista this past weekend :) And this weekend is looking good too, not nearly as nice weather-wise, but I am going quilt shop hopping! I am pretty stinking excited, let me tell you. Of course I am also excited to work on some more FW blocks today, so I think I'm fairly easy to please. On to the list!

Completed:

Swoon (!!!)

Yay! It's finally done! I am so glad to have this one off the list

Embroidery pouch

This was made with the FW block I won from Melinda, and boy do I love it!

Skill Builder Sampler - block 13

My favorite so far and one that I have been wanting to try for ages

FWQAL

I'm up to 60 blocks! I love that green one so much!

Still Going:

Ikea quilt

I got the center of the top done and I am planning to add some borders. Hopefully I'll get to that this week so I can at least have the top done

Long sleeved shirts for the little one
The fabric is all washed and ready to be cut into. Tomorrow maybe!

SBS, FWQAL

New: nada. I am going to finish some of this before I decide what's next. Or, I'm going to go to a bunch of quilt shops and get things for a bunch of projects and get too excited to wait. Whichever.

So that is the list for this week. Saturday we are hoping to hit 5-6 of the local quilt shops and I will hopefully have a pile of pretty things by the end :) It looks to be a good time, I just hope I can show a bit of self control! Hope everyone is having a good week!