............... I dream in fuchsia ...............

My oldest work in progress?

2012-01-28T21:58:00.002-05:00

For some reason, I've been OBSESSED with quilting lately. That, and fabric (looking at it, buying it, arranging it in coordinated piles, etc.) The fabric obsession isn't something new (duh), but I've really been quilting a lot lately. Like every single day for the last few weeks, which is pretty impressive for me.

I can't say that I've gotten a lot done, but I've endeavored to do a little every day, even if it's only for a half-hour or so. The main thing I've been doing is handquilting, and there is a reason you don't see a lot of blogs focused on showing people's handquilting work: it is so very, very slow!

I think it's a good thing my first two quilts were a) bed size and b) hand sewn and handquilted. It's taught me a bit of patience (this was about 15 years ago and before quilt blogs) and I had no clue that it didn't take most people three years or more to finish a quilt! Now that I've gone more the machine route, my patience isn't quite as good as it used to be, but I still enjoy sewing and quilting by hand. In my opinion, it's usually more relaxing than machine sewing.

Anyway, one of the projects that I've dug out of my (very crowded) box of works in progress is my first attempt at my postage stamp quilt. (I'm currently on version 2 - see *** details below.) I started the first version years ago, way back when I first started quilting, around 12-15ish years ago. It's hard to believe it's been that long!

I began by cutting 1.5-inch squares out of the very first fabrics I bought (boy, my taste was interesting) and from scraps my mom had. I started sewing them together by hand with white squares between them. My interest in the project waned and I abandoned it pretty early, and it's been sitting around ever since. (With the second version of the postage stamp quilt, I decided to get rid of the white and just work with all the other fabrics -- so far I like that a lot better.)

It seemed wasteful to just let it sit, so I finally pulled it out of my WIP box a few weeks ago and took it to quilt camp, with the plan to layer it and make it into either a doll quilt or a wallhanging. I decided to handquilt it, and have made a little bit of progress, although it's kind of hard to quilt, since there is so much fabric between the layers due to all the seam allowances (and it wasn't easy to press it very well.) I've just been doing diagonal lines through the white blocks in a rainbow thread. Here's a preview picture:

*** (I first mentioned working on a postage stamp quilt (this was version 2) on my blog back in February 2009! Links to current PSQ project: postage stamp quilt.)

New year, new project

2012-01-23T22:23:00.003-05:00

After ogling the scrappy paintbox quilt featured on Oh, Fransson! for years, I've finally started to make one of my own. Actually I am making two (eek!) of them -- one for myself and one as a graduation gift for my niece.

I started them while at quilt camp last weekend, and so far they have been slow going. I'm trying to use as many scraps as humanly possible, so that is slowing me down a fair bit. With the help of my mom, we sorted through all my strip scraps and pulled out ones that go along with the solid colors that I have. None of them are cut to the right size though, so I am having to do that as I go along.

Here's the pile of 2.5-inch squares I am picking some of my centers from. Ahh, love the rainbows!

And my finished blocks so far. All I've done so far are pinks -- I need to get going! Still, I think it will be great when it's all finished.

Handmade Christmas, part 2

2012-01-22T11:11:00.001-05:00

This post definitely isn't very timely, but seeing how it's posted within one month of Christmas itself, I'll call it a success in my book. :)

Anyway. I made this scarf for my niece, Stephani, as a Christmas/birthday gift. Last year (I think it was), I knitted scarves for my sisters, and my sister Cheryl (Steph's mom) uses hers all the time (yay!). Stephani asked that I make her a red scarf that was similar, so I was glad to. I love anyone that appreciates my handmade gifts!

I wasn't crazy about the yarn that I used -- Lion Brand Homespun -- because it was really splitty to work with, but the finished product turned out really pretty and soft, so that's the important thing. I made the scarf so long, it took almost two complete skeins of yarn! The pattern was just an easy K2, P2 rib, and it turned out plenty squishy but still laid flat.

This marked the end of my Christmas crafting this year. I really wanted to make more, but 2011 was not my best year as far as planning ahead and getting stuff done early. I was working on this project right up until Christmas eve! Next year will be better, I promise!

Finished!

2012-01-19T03:12:00.003-05:00

I was super happy to get this Jungle Baby quilt finished for my friend Elizabeth, who is due to have a boy in a couple of weeks. I gave it to her this week at work and she said she loved it.

These pictures aren't great, but they were the best I could get at work.

I used this Moda Bake Shop pattern for this quilt with a few changes. The original pattern suggested cutting all the pieces from a layer cake, but I just used fabrics I already had in my stash (yay me!). Another change I made was the size of the inner square in each block. The pattern said to cut that piece 3.5 inches, but I cut mine 4 inches, which worked better for the jungle animal fabrics I decided to use. I had these fabrics for quite a while, and fussy cutting them for this quilt worked out so well! I am really happy with how this project turned out.

The quilt got nice and crinkly after I washed it -- perfect! The back is the same striped fabric I used for the binding.

In unrelated news, I am having a bad pain night. :( The pain (which tonight is like stabbing in my left heel - fun!) isn't the worst it's ever been, but it's bad enough that I have been up for like 2.5 hours and not able to fall back asleep. I've taken a couple of painkillers and some Advil and I'm still hurting. Ugh, so frustrating. I really miss the days when I could sleep easily through the night. And be awake and alert all day at work. Sigh.

Preview from quilt camp

2012-01-15T20:45:00.002-05:00

I just returned from quilt camp today (and had a fabulous time) and don't feel like doing a complete rundown of all the projects I worked on, but here's a little preview of the main project I focused on over the weekend. I'm so thankful I was able to go!

Handmade Christmas, part 1

2011-12-29T00:05:00.003-05:00

Once again I tried as much as I could to make homemade gifts for my friends and family this year for Christmas. I don't know if it was that I was lazy, disorganized, busy or waited too long to start, but I was working on stuff up until the early hours of Christmas morning. Ugh! I really, really have to do better next year.

Anyway, I made a couple cool projects this year.

This was my absolute favorite — a Harry Potter made from felt, stuffing, yarn, and embroidery thread for my niece. He turned out so great! Now I totally want to make some more characters.

I had a little trouble getting him sewn together, especially his head. I made up my own pattern and didn't really think about how I was going to attach his head to his body — making the little scarf helped cover up his weird chin seam. And it made him look jaunty.

I also made some knitted dishcloths. I was so rushed with a few of them that I didn't even take photos. Whoops. Here's two that I finished early.

One of my friends has a little girl who often makes little things for me. I try to make her handmade gifts, but I was stumped this year. Inspiration finally struck though, and I ended up with this — a little quilt and pillows for her stuffed animals. The quilt was re-purposed from a quilt-as-you-go project I have been working on for a long time.

Here's the quilt modeled by one of my bears.

And the set with the pillows.

Look familiar?

2011-11-20T09:08:00.001-05:00

I have no clue how many times I've posted about this quilt, but heaven knows I've been working on it FOREVER. Like so long that I'm on my third sewing machine since I started this. I started it with my first machine that died way too young, then had an interim machine that a friend gave me when my first one went kaput. Now I'm on Buster, who so far has proved to be a very trustworthy companion. Knock on wood.

One of the reasons as to why it is taking me so long to finish (other than my obsession with hand quilting all these multicolor circles of different sizes on it) is that the strips aren't sewn together all that great. The tension on my first machine was off and a lot of the strips aren't very secure. So much so that I've been having to go back and hand sew a few of the seams together better so the white stitches are no longer visible.

You can kinda see it in this photo:

Anyway, it's been labor intensive to say the least. But I love it so much. I can't wait until it's finished and on my bed.

Hello again

2011-11-18T23:02:00.003-05:00

There are a few reasons why I don't blog regularly. One involves me being super unproductive, another is that I'm in a serious funk.

Luckily, neither of those is the case recently. :D I've just been busy. And happy. And productive. At least I am most of the time.

This week I finished one of the projects that has been hanging over my head like a cloud, the butterfly baby quilt.

I am so, so glad I kept at it though. All the time I put into it was worth it because it turned out SO good! I really hope my friend Kathy, who paid me to make it for her second daughter, is happy with it. It went in the mail earlier this week.

On to the next unfinished project!

I'm not a morning person

2011-10-05T19:05:00.001-04:00

But every once in a while I'm glad to be up early for work.

Slow and steady

2011-10-04T20:32:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to work on the butterfly quilt, but it has been slow going. I seem to stall out on parts of the process I don't want to do, like cutting strips and whatnot. I really need to get in gear. Really.

Here's a look at the fabrics I'm using for the blocks (which are actually all done, I've stalled on the cutting of the sashing strips.)

Want to know part of the reason why it's so hard for me to get much done? This seems to be a common occurrence around here.

Sigh. Maybe someday I'll get my act together.

I need the distraction ...

2011-09-10T18:29:00.005-04:00

While watching and posting updates of the Purdue and Rice football game today. (It's been a tough game to watch so far.)

This is a custom baby quilt order for my friend, Kathy. It's for her second little girl, Kaitlyn. I made this quilt for her first daughter, Grace, last year.

The current quilt will have a similar layout, but with butterflies instead of flowers. And with a different color scheme, this time using pink, green, white and brown. I've only got about 3.5 more blocks to finish the hand applique on, then can put them together to quilt. I hope it turns out cute!

Backblogged - Winners & Losers

2011-09-09T19:35:00.000-04:00

Walmart. It's always an interesting trip. I found these in the women's section a couple weeks ago. Oh my.

Needless to say, I didn't find any cute clothes there to buy. The trip wasn't a total loss. I found this Peanuts flannel in the fabric section. So cute! I am thinking I will either make pillowcases or some pajama pants or shorts.

I also couldn't pass these up. Yum! I wish Target would stock them.

While at Walmart, I also stopped by the Fashion Bug next store since I had a $10 off anything coupon. I found a couple cute summer shirts on clearance and a pair of cropped jeans. This one is my favorite.

Finished (a few weeks ago)

2011-09-08T18:05:00.000-04:00

I've really been working along on a variety of projects lately, but sadly neglecting my blog. Anyway, here's a look at the entire order of dishcloths I finished a couple weeks ago.

I really had fun making these and have since made two more. And (what is common behavior for me) bought enough cotton yarn for several more. I'm always like "WHEE! So fun! Must knit hundreds of dishcloths, so will buy enough yarn for all of them now!" Then a day later I get distracted by another craft project.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-07T18:11:00.001-04:00

Moving right along

2011-07-15T19:43:00.003-04:00

I've been steadily working on the order of 10 dishcloths I mentioned in my previous post. So far I've made five, and did each of them in a different design. I really hope the woman who is paying me for them doesn't mind them being different, since I think I would certainly go a bit nuts if I had to do them all alike. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

She asked for dishcloths that would go with a tan kitchen, and also said she likes orange and yellow. I've been working with those colors the best that I could, considering I haven't had much luck finding all cotton yarn that is actually tan. I did find one that was beige and darker beige (my personal color nightmare house-wise), so I hoped that was close enough.

Here they are in all their dishwash-y glory.

And I couldn't help but notice, but between these dishcloths and the socks I started recently:

and this fabric stack I bought this week at Michael's:

there seems to be a color scheme developing for the month of July.

Yet another new project

2011-07-08T07:25:00.000-04:00

I seem to have gotten over that slump I was in a couple weeks ago when I didn't feel like working on anything. The bad part of this equation is that I keep wanting to work on new projects instead of something I've already started.

Work on the shawl has been going great, but it's a lot of the same thing. The same colors and stitches, and since it's gotten so big, it takes a long time to even finish a couple rows. So of course it only made sense to start another pair of socks.

I wanted to use one of my own hand-painted skeins, so I pulled out the three that I was most drawn to at the moment.

(The colors in the photo are kind of washed out - all of the yarns are more vibrant in person.) After pondering this decision for quite a while, I decided to go with the yellow, pink and orange one, since it seemed the most summery to me. And I've been wanting a pair of yellow socks.

I started working on this pattern called Waterfall Socks. It's a pretty pattern, but really simple. That was key for me - I didn't really want to start anything that would require much concentration.

I don't think I'll get much of these done in the near future though. I was working on them this week while in the waiting room of my doctor's office, and a woman came by and asked me about them. We talked for a few minutes and she told me she loves knitted dishcloths, but hasn't found any for sale recently. I offered to make her some and turns out she wants 10! I won't get paid a whole lot for them, but it will help me use up some of the cotton yarn I've been stashing and make a few bucks. Works for me! (Ask me if I feel the same way after I've knit those 10 dishcloths.)

Inspiration from weird places part 2

2011-07-07T17:25:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to pay more attention to color schemes and design ideas more in my day-to-day life, because I think this helps me stay creative. I sometimes seem to get into slumps and look to other people and their work for inspiration, but I don't want to depend on that all the time.

Anyway, when I was doing laundry the other day, I noticed the colors and patterns of these items and really liked how they looked. Orange, green, turquoise, black and white wouldn't normally be a color combination I would use, but I love how it looks here. It would make a great quilt or colors for hand-dyed yarn.

WIP - Shawl update

2011-07-06T21:52:00.003-04:00

I've been working pretty steadily on the knitted shawl I started about two weeks ago. I'm about done with the striped portion and will have to do the border next. I know I will have to block this, but I have no idea how big it will end up or if it will be a good size for me and my mammoth shoulders. I am not really liking the idea of figuring out how to make it larger, so I'll probably just cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Having so many works in progress means I have found a good use for some of those box bags I made! They are a perfect size for this type of project. I keep thinking I will post some of these to sell on etsy, but haven't gotten around to it yet. (Story of my life. I love making stuff to sell, but hate writing the little descriptions for the items on etsy. Must. Get. Motivated.)

Lending a hand. Or a neck.

2011-06-25T00:15:00.004-04:00

I finally finished my latest pair of hand-knit socks - seen here inside this bag and again here when I found them amongst my widely strewn craft projects. They turned out perfect and fit so well! I haven't yet taken a photo of the finished pair, but plan to soon.

Anyway, since I can't seem to go a couple days without starting something new, I am ready to tackle my first knitted shawl. I'm planning to do this one called Cladonia, designed by Kirsten Kapur. I think it is so, so beautiful, but not super dressy, which is perfect for me. I think the stripes make it a bit more casual, but with just enough lace to get your attention.

Before I can really begin though I have to wind my yarn hanks into center-pull balls so they are easier to use. I have a yarn winder, but no swift, so I have found a perfect stand-in.

Martha.

She's the perfect size to hold a hank of yarn, keeping it tangle free while I wind it up. And she is super cuddly and cute as well.

A good match

2011-06-01T22:41:00.004-04:00

During my last trip to quilt camp (in, uh, February), I finished this top after lots of indecisiveness about the layout. I tried a lot of different options and nothing seemed perfect. This was my favorite one, though.

It's made from a layer cake of Santorini by Lila Tueller. I don't usually have the nerve to mix so many large prints together, but I really like this line, especially the fabrics that look like stained glass. Anyway, because the prints were so large, I wanted to make sure to not cut the pieces too small, otherwise I would have lost a lot of the patterns.

Months and months ago I had sewn all the fabrics into half-square triangle blocks, but then it sat around my apartment for a while, because I was perplexed as to how I wanted to lay it out. Then at camp the indecisiveness continued. (For some reason, I agonize over decisions all.the.time. You would think it would be choices about my last quilt or last meal EVER, but no, it's usually not very important stuff.)

I am happy with how it looks, although it seems a bit unbalanced color-wise to me. I am hoping that after I quilt it that it blends together a bit better.

I picked out fabrics for the back and binding last time when I went to Joann Fabrics. I am very satisfied with what I found, because sometimes I find it hard to match the color shades from one line of fabric (usually Moda lines) and the basic fabrics I buy elsewhere. (The green is for the back and the pink is for the binding.)

I'm really looking forward to finishing this!

Stuck

2011-05-30T11:40:00.004-04:00

I was thinking that the reason I haven't been quilting was because I've been so busy doing other crafty things and reading a lot.

Maybe not. I sat out in my living room for like an hour earlier trying to pick a project to work on and NOTHING appealed to me. At least not any projects that are in progress. Many of them are held up in one stage or another (mostly finished tops), and nothing is getting done.

I have SO many projects started that I feel guilty starting another. But when it comes down to starting something new or not quilting at all, I'm torn. I can't keep starting quilt tops and never actually layering and then quilting them. I think the main problem is that I don't have anywhere in my apartment where I can baste or pin quilts. That is a definite challenge. I think I may have to use the tables at work again soon so I can remedy my huge backlog of quilt tops.

Blah

2011-05-26T20:10:00.003-04:00

It's been a blah sort of week. I haven't been feeling well, because out of the blue my left leg has been possessed and hurting like mad. I hate the amount of grumpiness that settles in when I'm in a bad pain phase, similar to the dark cloud that hovers over Eeyore. When I'm feeling like this, I tend to hide out and lay low. I am miserable and don't want to make anyone else miserable by being around me or hearing about how crabby and depressed I am.

It's so easy to see the world as bleak as hell when I am in pain. I know it will be better again soon, but when I'm right in the middle of it it becomes hard to acknowledge that. I just want the pain to stop. I've got quilting and knitting and crocheting and reading to do.

Sunday Stash

2011-05-15T22:56:00.005-04:00

I am still in a holding pattern quilting-wise. I've been reading obsessively (the Hunger Games trilogy - OMG AMAZINGLY GOOD) and doing some more crocheting (I've well into my second forget-me-not, this time in black and white). I have, however, bought some fat quarters that I've been fabric-stalking for quite a while now.
My newest acquisition?

Castle Peeps. Love, love, love.

There were only a few etsy shops that had any of these left, but I was lucky to find one that had three fat quarter sets - one blue, one green and the other red/violet/orange. It was so tough to decide, so I just ordered them all.

It's not really even my colors, or patterns or anything, but I adore it so much. And I've seen so many amazing quilts made from this line that I just had to get some.

I was going to post photos of my favorite print, but I had trouble picking just one! I especially like the top castle print though.

No design has been picked yet, but I've got some ideas floating around in my head. I just need to get to work!

Mastering the zipper

2011-04-21T01:48:00.004-04:00

I've always found the idea of putting in zippers daunting. I was worried about the idea of sewing over the teeth and wasn't really sure how the zipper foot was going to function. I didn't want to break my lovely machine!

After putting it off for so long, I finally bit the bullet and gave it a shot while I was at quilt camp. In January. (I put off writing this post about as long as I put off trying to sew something with a zipper!) Having a built-in group of other people learning how to do zippers and others already knowing how definitely helped me give it a go.

Anyway. At camp in January, there were quite a few projects with zippers, including some really cute box bags. I've seen some really cute ones online and have even seen knitters willing to trade really nice yarn for homemade project bags. And of course the idea of making a few bucks or trading for supplies always sounds like a good idea to me!

And you know what? It wasn't really that awful! I was really careful to read each step of the directions and not jump too far ahead. The biggest issue I had was trying to get my sewing machine to sew evenly over some of the really thick seams. I'm not really sure how to remedy that. I've tried sewing slower and faster and starting the seam right at the thick parts. I still had trouble though. For the next one I make, I may try my old workhorse of a machine, just to see if that does better.

Here's my first one. I love this fabric to death, but for projects like this, it's probably better to use a non-directional print.

(I probably should have taken the picture from the other side, where the letters are right side up. Whoops.)

And a look at the inside. It's fully lined with a pretty orange fabric. This size is great for smallish projects. It has plenty of room for this pair of socks I am working on. (It's even my own dye job!)

I want to make a ton of these. They are so handy and turned out super cute!

Caped crusader

2011-04-18T22:38:00.003-04:00

Can you believe I already finished my forget-me-not cape? It took less than a week from start to finish, and that included learning how to crochet (at least some of the stitches) and having to rip out part of it to start over. I love the speed of crochet.

And here's the finished object:

I love it so, so, so much. Like I'm starting to plan outfits around it, rather than the other way around. Although I also do that some days with socks, too, so that's probably not that telling. :)

Here's a look at it on me, complete with a spotty bathroom mirror. I definitely need to unearth my Windex.

I'm already thinking of my next crochet project, but I seriously want to make another of these. I think one with a black foundation and then alternating black and white ruffles would be adorable. And one in my favorite color fuchsia would be pretty too. Or like a robin's egg/Tiffany blue.

Oh, and after my crying jag during Planet Earth, I had another crying episode last night. During TOY STORY 2. Good heavens, I sure hope it's hormones or something rather than me just becoming more and more sappy.

Because I need another hobby ...

2011-04-12T23:06:00.005-04:00

I spent part of this weekend teaching myself to crochet, mostly because I wanted to make this little cape, called forget-me-not. Because I just wear capes soo often. But it has ruffles, so I couldn't resist.

I had sort of taught myself some crochet stitches a few months ago, but I never started a project. I mostly forgot what little I had learned before, but this project has been pretty easy to start and make progress on with very little teeth gnashing.

I didn't really have any problems making the foundation for the ruffles, but when it came time to add those, I was having trouble figuring out where exactly they were supposed to go. I had an entire row put on before I started questioning whether I had been adding them to the correct side or not. Ugh! So I ripped out all the ruffles and flipped the thing over and started again. I still don't know if I'm putting them in the correct spot. I was hoping to at least get that row finished before I went to bed tonight. I am so excited to get this project finished!

The forget-me-not has been quite a fun project so far (other than the backtracking), since it is so simple and quick. It's been relaxing because it's easy to keep track of the pattern and it's really a treat to not have to stop to check the pattern every few stitches. Now I want to add ruffles to everything!

While working on this tonight I watched two discs of Planet Earth, which I've been getting through Netflix. It's fascinating stuff and gorgeous imagery, but I should know better than to watch nature documentaries. I always end up crying when an animal gets hurt or dies. I know, I know, the whole circle of life thing, yada yada, but I still get upset.

Oh, and I also just finished the book "The Hunger Games" over the weekend. It was so, so good! It is so not like anything I would normally read, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance. Now I am so excited about reading book 2 soon.

Inspiration from weird places part 1

2011-04-05T03:20:00.003-04:00

Lately I've been trying to be a bit more creative in my crafting endeavors, especially trying to find patterns around me that would make cool quilts.

Here's one:

I really like the way the back of this chair looks woven. It would be a cool pattern for a quilt or even a quilting design.

And for the explanation for the plastic chair in my bathtub ... my apartment is small and I don't really have room for this chair that my mom uses when she visits. I always use the tub/shower attached to my bedroom, so this one only gets used when I have company, hence the perfect storage location for my fine furniture.

I'm dyeing again!

2011-03-27T15:47:00.004-04:00

I'm so happy to report that I've got my dyeing mojo back again! It's been months since I've done any yarn dyeing, mostly due to the fact that I only have one skein of undyed yarn left and I am trying to sell some more of what I've made before I buy more.

But then I actually got around to doing what I've been planning to for ages ... start dyeing some of the yarn I've recycled from sweaters. And with as many of the great sweaters I've found at Goodwill, not very many have been white or cream. So I'm trying to get creative.

My first experiment looks awesome! It's the sleeve from a 100 percent wool medium gray sweater. I am using it like a sock blank. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, thinking that maybe the gray was too dark to allow much color to be noticed. It's lovely though ... a heathery rainbow. I have another I dyed very similarly, but it's still pretty wet. I can't wait until this one dries all the way so I can measure the length of the yarn (I also got around to making a homemade niddy-noddy this weekend - it's about time) and then put it into a center-pull cake. And then find a project to make. Yay! The last time I dyed sweater sleeves into sock blanks, I got both socks out of one arm, so I'll be interested to see how this one works out.

p.s. I also found the Ziploc bag that contains my one green rainbow sock and the yarn for the other. I have been looking for it for a while, thinking it was a lost cause.

Feeling blue

2011-03-08T21:36:00.003-05:00

Last week I was lucky enough to get tickets to go see the Blue Man Group on campus. I was very excited about the show, but didn't really know what to expect. All I could think of before hand was this:

Tobias

Sadly, the show did not feature any never-nudes* (at least none that I knew of), but it was really cool to watch. Here's a couple cool shots I got from the show.

*Note: I can't help but throw in Arrested Development references when it comes to the Blue Man Group.

Stashbusting update - February

2011-03-06T22:30:00.003-05:00

I'm now two months into the Stashbusting Contest. I definitely fell off the wagon!

Finishes:
- The top of my Santorini by Lila Tueller layer cake top. I haven't even thought about what I'm doing on the back yet.

In progress:
- Postage stamp quilt
- Polka dot paper pieced quilt
- Wonky log cabin quilt-as-you-go scrap quilt

Purchases:
- Here's where I slipped: At the quilt camp I went to last weekend, it was a Nancy J. quilt shop weekend. It's been the first time I've been to a camp with her shop there -- I loved her fabric selection! So many beautiful brights! And obviously very tempting. Here's what I caved in and purchased.

I have not decided what I'm doing with these yet, but I love this color palette and all the patterns. I can't wait to pick others from my stash to mix with these for a project.

Other fabric in:
- A BUNCH of scraps from people at quilt camp, lots as birthday surprises. I didn't even check the trash cans this time! Here's hoping I get a lot done in March.

Welcome to the zoo!

2011-03-05T02:26:00.003-05:00

Guess who got finished tonight? (OK, it was really around 2 a.m., but close enough!)

I haven't picked out a name yet. Truthfully, I'm not even sure if this little elephant is a boy or a girl. You would think I would know, after I spent all that time stitching its hindquarters.

I think my favorite names thus far are Horatio and Violet. Any other ideas?

Anyway, now the elephant and I are headed to bed. I'll try to post more about the pattern, the materials I picked out and why this was a lot more time-consuming than I thought it would be.

A sneak peak

2011-03-04T22:09:00.002-05:00

Just a little sneak peak of what I've been working on this week ...

I cannot wait until this is finished. I just stupidly drank a diet Mountain Dew, so there's a chance I get it done tonight!

One down, one to go

2011-02-10T23:07:00.004-05:00

I started these socks months ago, and just got going on them again a couple nights ago when I got the urge to do some knitting. I finally finished the first sock last night. And they fit perfectly. Yay!

I'm not normally into blue a lot, but I just love these socks so far! It is a pattern called Blackrose and is knitted in KnitPicks Stroll Hand Painted Sock Yarn in Lullaby.

And yes, my feet and ankles look really fat in these pictures. They are fat, but they look worse than normal here because I took these photos after I had sat up all day at work and they swelled up. I'm in one of those kinds of moods where having cankles is one of my lesser problems. I'm such a glutton for punishment right now: watching WE TV is one of the worst things to do when you've just gone through a divorce and are feeling shitty about being single. Way too many happy wedding shows! UGH. Just put me out of my misery already.

Oh, and I do have gnomes on my flannel sheets. They couldn't be any more awesome.

Overdose of cuteness

2011-02-08T19:15:00.001-05:00

Mooky.

OMG. Want.

Stashbusting update - January

2011-02-07T21:11:00.004-05:00

The first month of the Stashbusting Contest has passed pretty uneventfully.

Finishes:
- My "I dream in fuchsia" quilt. I still haven't finished cutting off all the threads yet (ha! there are soo many!) and have not washed it. But it's finished. I don't even have a photo of the completely finished project yet. Must get one soon!

In progress:
- Postage stamp quilt
- Wonky log cabin quilt-as-you-go scrap quilt

Purchases:
- Just that 1.5 yards of Purdue fabric (dang, I was doing so well!)

Other fabric in:
- I won a giveaway from blue elephant stitches! This is one of my new favorite blogs to visit. Great quilts with awesome fabric. And a quilt blog with elephants worked in? Couldn't help but love it. Anyway, here are the eight fat quarters that arrived for me a couple days ago.

Awesome, aren't they? Other than cutting the little 1.5-inch and 2.5-inch blocks for the charm quilt projects, I haven't made a decision on what to make with these. So much fabric, so little time.

Postage stamp progress

2011-02-02T07:28:00.003-05:00

Can I just say that I am thrilled with how this is going so far? It's unbelievably tedious and really slow going, but I think I am going to love it after it's all done.

As mentioned previously, I have really started working in earnest on my postage stamp charm quilt. I really hadn't taken the time to layout any of the finished blocks until last night, and am really loving how this looks. Good lord though, I really need a design wall!

This is nowhere near done. So far, this photo includes almost all my turquoise, orange, black and black & white blocks. I still have more pink, red, purple and yellow blocks to sew. And I haven't even sorted my blues, greens, browns and whites/beiges. I'm thinking this is going to turn out huge.

I'm also still not sure on how to arrange all the blocks. Anyone have any ideas? One of the dilemmas is that the amounts of the colors is really varied. Since it's all scraps, I have a lot more of some colors, like blue and green, than I do others like yellow and orange. I'm open to suggestions!

Where do I come up with this stuff?

2011-01-30T01:49:00.002-05:00

I often find myself knee-deep in insane craft projects. The kind that take infinite patience and require a little bit of delusional behavior. What can I say, I tend to be a glutton for punishment.

Take my postage stamp quilt, for instance. This project has been years in the making. I think the last time I even mentioned it here was back in February of 2009. And at that stage, I had already been working on this quilt for years.

Anyway, I spent all day - and I mean all day, from like 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. with just a few short breaks - sorting through the huge pile of 1.5-inch squares that I've amassed. I am pretty sure that I have now gotten squares cut out of just about every piece of fabric I own and all the scraps I've collected, even those I picked up at quilt camp earlier this month.

Here's a little look at the most recent pile of cut squares:

After I finished catching up on all my cutting, I started the sorting process, which is really overwhelming and can drive anyone into a nightmare of OCD. Basically, I have each color separated into a different Ziploc bag. I then lay out all the squares of one color, trying to keep them arranged from light to dark. And then the hard part: making sure I don't have doubles.

This. Is. Impossible.

I've already found a few fabrics that have made it into more than one block, but there's no way I'm going to tear them apart just to fix that. I hope that after the quilt is together no one will ever notice.

Here's a look at some of the medium red squares.

I got through most of the colors today, but still have a few left to do, including two of the worst - green and blue - just due to the fact that I seem to have more of those colors than any others. I'd really like to get going sewing these blocks together again soon. I am still not sure how I'll lay the quilt out, but I hope to have some design ideas to try out soon.

I have to admit that I am really, really curious about where I'm at collection-wise. It seems like I have a ton of squares since I've been collecting them for years, but since they're only 1.5 inches, I know I'll need a lot to make a decent size quilt.

Backblogged. And Ugh.

2011-01-26T21:40:00.005-05:00

I've been sick this week. And not my normal kind of nerve pain sick, but more of the sipping water and Sprite and trying not to throw up before I make it to the bathroom kind of sick. It's been awful. I'm not sure what caused it - either a virus or food poisoning - but I'm annoyed that shortly before the vomiting commenced, I was eating pizza that I had ordered in. So trying not to tempt fate, there goes a big waste of money. No way in hell am I eating any more of it.

Anyway, I've been home sick. Tuesday was awful. Between bouts of sickness I slept all day, not even having the urge to get online (you can tell I'm feeling miserable when that happens). Today I've been slightly better and have been able to keep liquids down. I just ate my first solid food - a bagel - so I'm hoping I don't get sick again tonight. Today has been filled with lots more sleeping, and I still feel so exhausted. It's been sucky.

One of the bad aspects of being sick is my lack of energy and brain power to work on any projects. Here's a look at something I made earlier this month as a birthday present for my friend, Natalie. It was a lot of fun to put together. It is made out of felt, stuffing, a button shaped like a flower, and embroidery floss.

Ugh. I don't think the bagel was a good idea. My stomach is hurting again. :(

Guess what I'm working on ...

2011-01-17T19:32:00.005-05:00

Hand sewing the binding on this quilt! I know it's probably hard to remember, since the last time I posted about it was in June of 2009!

Here's a sneak peek:

I knew this quilt has been a work in progress for a long time, but that's even longer ago than I thought. Last I had posted about it, I had put it aside after realizing that the fabric I bought for the back was not big enough, so a pieced back was going to be needed. I started the back a while ago, but it got lost in the queue again. More recently - I took it with me when I went to the October quilt camp and had my friends help me layer it and pin baste it so I could get the quilting started.

While at camp, I started quilting it, but didn't make much progress. I had originally planned to quilt it in loops going across the front, but since it was so large, wrestling with it was crazy hard. I tore out the stitches I had tried and started again, this time doing loops in individual blocks, changing the direction of the loops between each block. It was easier to do a block at a time, but it was still a challenge.

I got back from January quilt camp yesterday, and after a full day and then some quilting (!!), it's finished! Now I am hand sewing the binding on, then need to cut a million and a half threads from the top, and then to wash it dry it and it will be done. I can't wait!

This is the largest top I've machine quilted yet, and I am really excited to have a quilt that truly is large enough for my bed. I've been using my dog quilt (which has been done for ages, but I'm such a lazy blogger that I never posted a picture. Oy.) which is big enough to keep me warm, but isn't really big enough for my bed. It's so loud fabric- and pattern-wise it doesn't show dirt, which is awesome.

Anyway, I hope to finish this soon and post pictures! This will be my first finished quilt of 2011, and will be my first positive points for our second stashbusting contest. (I accidentally went into the negative on the way to quilt camp, when Natalie's mom Cherry stopped at a fabric shop on the way and found white Purdue fabric that is really hard to find anymore. So I told her to get me a yard and a half, forgetting my fabric diet. Whoops.)

Struggling Part 2

2010-12-15T20:22:00.003-05:00

I know I mentioned my pain week from hell in the previous post, but here I am again, it's around 8:30 p.m. and I'm in bed in tears again. I'm so frustrated by my situation. My legs and feet are on fire - the skin feels like it is burning, stinging and intermittently being stabbed. Any kind of contact makes the pain worse, even something as minor as my pants moving or a bit of a breeze. And it's not like not doing those things really stops the pain either, no matter what I do it continues.

I've spent the last three-plus days in bed, just trying to suck it up and be hopeful that the pain decreases soon. Usually when I have these bad spells they last for a night or a day or two, but this bad stretch from Sunday night is killing me.

I tried calling the office of my pain management doctor yesterday to let them know that I am doing miserably and that my pain has been so bad that I'm hardly sleeping. It was a frustrating experience. The nurse told me that I can take up to six of my breakthrough pain pills each day. (Definitely not news to me, I've been doing that and I'm still experiencing really bad pain.) And the really (not-so) helpful bit: I can also take Ibuprofen! Because, you know, when the strong narcotics you are on for pain relief are not working, Advil will definitely be able to fix everything. The good news is that I'm on the wait list in case someone cancels their appointment. So there's a possibility that I'll get in to see my doctor sooner than mid-January.

I love my pain management doctor - she is always so helpful and understanding, and seems to really want to help me and get what I'm going through. I know that the nurse can't be expected to "fix" me, but it's frustrating to get told to take Advil. It's not like I've got an achy finger or something. I don't call up there unless I am really, really having trouble coping. I am in pain pretty much every day of my life these days, so I'm used to dealing with an average level of pain. It's just these bad stretches that I can't cope with.

My only other option is to go to the hospital and seek relief there, but I don't want to use that option unless I seriously feel like I am going to die otherwise. I worry that they will think I am just there for pain medication and that I'm overreacting about my pain. When it comes to nerve damage, I don't have a gaping wound that someone can point to and be all "ah, there's the problem." My problem is hidden in the nerves of my back, and unless someone knows my background, they might not see why I am hurting so much.

But I am. And I feel bad complaining to my family and friends. They are all very supportive and worry about me, but it's hard feeling like a burden to everyone and feeling like Debbie Downer. Sometimes I just wish I had someone to sit with me and rub my forehead.

/personal pity party

I hope next time I blog I'll be able to share something fun & crafty.

Struggling

2010-12-14T23:10:00.005-05:00

My pain has been beyond intense this week. I'm barely existing, much less getting anything productive done. I can't remember the last time I've had such a series of bad days like this. I don't know what else to try.

Another count

2010-12-09T05:43:00.004-05:00

This is the second morning this week that I have woken up around 3 a.m. and not been able to get back to sleep. It's supremely annoying.

While I'm up though, I figured I might as well blog. :)

Inspired by my friend Natalie, I finally sat down and made a list of all my finished quilts. Sadly, that number - 26 - is only slightly bigger than my list of current WIPs! And that includes a quilted bag and pillow, because I thought my number was pretty abysmally small and I was trying to make it larger. And as selfish of a quilter as I am, I have given away or sold more than half, so I guess that's not too awful. Not great, but not so bad after all. That number also includes some baby quilts that I've made that I'm not super attached to, so I may try to list those on Etsy or give them as gifts in the future.

It's funny how many projects I almost forgot, especially those quilts that I gave away or don't see everyday. Ooh, I just remembered another one! (The quilt my mom and I made for my nephew Josh for graduation, so that makes 27.) I need to do a better job of keeping track of my projects. It'd be nice to have a record of how long I work on them and pictures of them all. I think I have pictures of most, but they're definitely not organized well.

Ugh. Not looking forward to getting out of bed and ready for work. Heaven knows the lack of sleep will kick in later! This is my last work day of the week though, since I'm taking tomorrow off as a vacation day. I'll be spending the day going to a dentist appointment, taking a trip to Joann Fabrics and quilting furiously trying to finish up some Christmas projects. Wish me luck!

Moving right along ...

2010-12-07T17:26:00.001-05:00

Thankfully, this quilt IS on my list of works in progress! So, so close to being done.

The good and the bad

2010-12-07T05:23:00.004-05:00

The good news is that I finished my first charity quilt! I am so excited to have this project done, because I have wanted to make a charity quilt for ages. This quilt was made for the Downy project, Quilts for Kids, which sends quilts to hospitalized children or kids that are abused. It's a really cool program that sends out fabric to volunteers, who then make a quilt and mail it back.

The bad news is that it took me sooooo long to finish the dang thing. Long enough that I got an e-mail from the organizers wondering if I was ever going to send the quilt back. I had good intentions. Really. When I got the kit in the mail, I got started on it right away and was making progress until I realized that some of the pre-cut pieces I had received were cut so wonky that it as impossible to assemble the quilt like it was supposed to be done. And heaven knows that I couldn't find any more of the fairy fabric they had sent me (that I thought was super ugly, but I think that's a personal issue of mine. I'm sure some kid will like it. I hope.). So then it sat. And sat some more.

After I got the e-mail about the delay, I finally pulled the quilt out again and improvised. I found some fabric in my stash that looked OK with the ugly fairies and got going again. I have to admit I like the changes I made, and I'm glad it will be a bit different than the other quilts made with the kits.

If you couldn't guess, the three center blocks with the appliqued hearts are the parts I improvised.

And a close up of the creepy fairies, complete with weird eyes and visible butt cheek.

I so wanted to name the quilt Fairy Lust, or Fairy Butts, but was able to restrain myself and stick to a more kid-friendly name of Fairy Dust. If you decide you'd like to make a quilt for the charity, don't worry ... almost every other fabric I've seen for these kits is much cuter.

I was so glad to get this sent out in the mail yesterday!

Edited to add: Another bad point - This wasn't even on my list of works in progress, so that means I still have 20 projects that I need to finish. Sigh.

I could really use the Count about now ...

2010-11-20T10:25:00.000-05:00

This Count, of course.

Anyway. I was browsing quilt blogs last night and came upon one that had a poll asking readers about how many quilts they had in progress. This spurred me to think about my own backlog of projects and, after making a list, was even surprised by the extent of my WIPs.

Here's a rundown of some of my current projects, including some that are on hold from a really, really long time ago.

- Purdue quilt
- Peanuts quilt
- Zachary's graduation quilt
- Old Red Barn Co. quilt-along v. 1
- Old Red Barn Co. quilt-along v. 2
- Christmas quilt
- Pink, black and white quilt
- Half-square triangle layer cake quilt
- Prism strip quilt
- Novelty stars
- Black and white bee blocks
- Blue and yellow stars
- Four patch quilt I started when I was a kid (my mom was nice enough to put these together into a top for me)
- Postage stamp quilt
- Batik coin quilt
- Polka dot paper-pieced circles
- Wonky log cabin
- Black, white, purple and lime green starred log cabin
- Baby circus quilt (haven't made progress on this for more than five years. Whoops.)
- Odd kids pinwheel quilt (another that is sooo old and stalled out)

To save you from having to count, that's 20. TWENTY. And that's nuts. My quilty friends and I are discussing having another stash-busting contest next year. I think that is an awesome idea, not only to save money but to get some works-in-progress moving forward again!

Do you have a lot of works in progress, or are you one of those enviable quilters that is able to finish a project before starting another one - or five?

Random

2010-11-19T17:20:00.002-05:00

OMG, I really want this. It's from the American Girl store and it's so full of awesome.

OK, so it was more than one block

2010-11-13T09:45:00.001-05:00

Remember my previous urge to do some hand-sewing? Well, it has turned out to be a little more lasting than I had expected.

Since the previous post, I've made two more blocks and have cut out the pieces for another one already. I've decided to use some of my novelty prints that have been sitting around for a while. I love novelty prints, but it's not always easy to work them into other quilts, unless they are for babies/kids or for someone like me that apparently never grew up. It's been fun working with the cute patterns and bright colors. It's definitely my style.

Here are the new blocks:

And the three together:

As much as I'm enjoying these, I have to put them aside for a while. One reason is that my friend's sister has asked me to make her a Purdue quilt, so it's back to black and gold fabric until I get that finished. (And started, but I've already bought some more Purdue fabric and more "gold." I have lots of black around.)

And another project I just finished was a slouchy dark gray beret that I knitted for myself, since it matches my coat and will look OK with just about any scarf I own. Of course, now that the hat is finished, the weather has turned bizarrely warm. Like 80 degrees warm. If I could guarantee the temperature would stay like this, I'd continue with the hat knitting!

Photo Friday

2010-11-12T07:25:00.001-05:00

Did I mention I've been totally engrossed in taking pictures of the fall foliage lately?

I really hope this was on purpose ...

2010-11-11T22:07:00.004-05:00

otherwise I'm really concerned about my neighbors' spelling skills.

Old school

2010-11-01T23:22:00.003-04:00

Did I ever mention that the first two quilts I made - both around queen size - were done entirely by hand? My mom and I worked on the first one together, a Grandmother's Flower Garden, but the second one, a Seven Sisters pattern, was all me. It took FOREVER.

Anyway, I was a die-hard hand-piecer and hand-quilter. After a while, I finally got a sewing machine and started working with it. It was so hard to get used to! I finally did get acclimated, and now do a majority of my piecing and quilting on a sewing machine. I still have a few projects that I decide to hand quilt, but I hadn't hand pieced anything for a long time.

Until tonight. I'm not quite sure where the urge came from, but I was so in the mood to do some hand sewing. I busted out my template plastic, pencil, straight pins, needle and thread.

And here's the result:

I'm not sure if this will be a singular block (potholder, maybe?) or a small quilt or a big quilt, but it was nice to do things the old-fashioned way for a change.

Sunday stash - Super Saturday edition part 2

2010-10-31T18:49:00.002-04:00

Due to my, uh, not-so-impressive restraint at the Rossville fabric store, I had enough fabric from that outing for two versions of Sunday Stash. I probably had enough for a third part, but I'll pretend that wasn't the case. Plus, there's lots more fabric in my stash for future editions.

I LOVE the fabrics in this first group. I'm thinking these colors as inspiration for a future quilt. I'd also love to have a bag with these fabrics, too. It would totally match my wheelchair.

From left (what info I could find): Fusions; Santorini by Lila Tueller; Shadows by Fabric Freedom in London, England; Floragraphix II by Jason Yenter; Floragraphix IV by Jason Yenter)

These two are from Plume by Tula Pink.

More Plume by Tula Pink. Love this line!

The colors in the photo below are really off. The one on the right is a sort of raspberry and white; the other one is a mix of light green, purple, cream & brown. Not sure what line the left one is from, the right is from City Blooms by Kitty Yoshida.

This is from Fandango for Henry Glass & Co. It's brighter in person.

It was mostly a cinch

2010-10-30T23:45:00.000-04:00

Other than watching a really sad football game today, I sewed. And sewed. And sewed. It helped take my mind off all kinds of other things I really didn't want to think about. It wasn't completely successful in that regard, but at least I got some things accomplished, including these two cinch sacks. They are all finished other than adding the ribbon ties, but I think that part will be quick and easy.

I've had a pattern to make these "It's a Cinch Sack" bags forever. A couple months ago I cut out all the fabric I needed to make two of them, but stalled out. I kept putting them off, but had good intentions. After I finally started sewing them, they went together pretty easily. I had some trouble sewing over some of the thicker seams, but I went back over those little problem areas by hand and think they turned out OK.

Sunday stash - Super Saturday edition

2010-10-24T21:33:00.005-04:00

Last weekend I was lucky to have some company, my mom, one of my sisters and her husband. It was so nice to have them here, especially since I have been having a rough time for a while.

On Saturday, they were nice (and patient) enough to take me to a nearby town to visit a local fabric shop. It is one of the few I've been lucky enough to go to lately and it definitely did not disappoint! It also happened to be the day of the Super Saturday sale and I found lots of good bargains and beautiful fabric. My mom, who is an avid quilter but very good about not buying too much fabric (that gene really did not get passed down), and my sister, who is not yet a quilter, both even found some fabric to buy.

Here are some of the ones I picked out.

Did you see the adorable elephants???

I don't have any definite plans yet for any of these, but couldn't pass them up. I will share some of the others soon!

I have no shame

2010-10-22T20:53:00.004-04:00

I was very honored to serve as a guest blogger for I married a Polack yesterday for her regular "Random Thought Thursday" feature. I am sure this honor was bestowed on me for a number of reasons, which most likely include:

a) My huge blog following
b) The fascinating nature of my random thoughts
c) The low, low fee I charge for such requests

Why I was selected, is in no way whatsoever, related to the fact that we've been friends for more than 20 years and that I volunteered.

Because I'm lazy and have no shame, I am counting that post as a post here. If you are a reader other than Natalie (anyone? Bueller?), head over there to read my random thoughts and read her blog. She's awesome!

Sunday stash

2010-10-17T10:35:00.000-04:00

In my opinion, one of the oddities of the quilting world is the challenge in finding good, red fabric. There is a lot of red fabric to be had, but the challenge is in finding a basic, primary shade of red. It's either too pink or too maroon. Too orange or too purple. It's pretty annoying, especially when I am looking for just the right color for a project. This also seems to be an issue with yellow and bright turquoise.

I bought these fat quarters in a little bundle at Joann's a while back. They happen to be a great basic red, so it didn't take much justification to buy them and add them to my stash.

In progress

2010-10-16T02:03:00.007-04:00

In an effort to blog more often (did you notice it hasn't been over a month?), I'm going to try to post more projects that are in progress, rather than waiting until everything is finished. Heck, even if I posted all completed projects rather than posting about every fifth one it would help make my blog more interesting.

So anyway, in honor of Sock Saturday (ha, I love alliteration!), here's a pair of socks that are half-finished. These are Sheri's Posies Socks from the book "Socks From the Toe Up" and are made out of my own hand-painted yarn.

I had to temporarily put these aside because I misplaced my copy of the pattern. I have since started another pair of socks because I was in the mood to knit. And then I promptly found the pattern to these. Oh well. I hope to get back to these shortly and avoid the dreaded SSS (Second Sock Syndrome).

I love knitting socks! And wearing hand-knit socks is so awesome.

To re-skein or not to re-skein ... that is the question

2010-10-14T23:14:00.005-04:00

One of the dilemmas I have faced since starting to dye yarn for my Etsy shop is whether to re-skein - i.e. re-wrap the yarn in a different sized skein - after dyeing. One of the issues is that the yarn sometimes looks a little messy after the dyeing process, since I end up using a mix of foam brushes, squirt bottles and my fingers to get the dye just where I want it in the quantity I want it in. This ends up with some really neat effects, but the yarn sometimes is off-kilter in the skein after it dries, which is sort of annoying.

Some knitters have a preference one way or another, either liking to see the original dyed product (to see how long the color repeats are) or prefer to see the colors all mixed together (so they can get the idea of how the fiber will look knitted up).

So far, I've just been leaving the yarn as is because I like the way it looks after being painted. And it saves me time, which is awesome, because I'm a low-tech kind of re-skeiner, wrapping it around a board in my apartment. Still, I was curious if it would make much of a difference.

One of my favorite skeins was this rainbow-colored beauty.

I had pretty much decided to keep this skein, so I decided to re-skein it, just to see how it would look.

Hmm.

Granted, this picture was taken indoors in not-so-good light, but this yarn definitely loses some of its luster post re-skeining. One of my favorite things about doing one-of-a-kind hand-painted yarns is the variety of tones, shades and color mixes I can achieve. It's kind of hard to notice that when it is re-skeined and twisted all together. I think I'll stick to the original skeins for now, as messy as they might appear.

Because they are prettier.

And quicker. :)

Tilt-a-whirl

2010-10-13T22:09:00.003-04:00

Have I mentioned how much I adore the new tilt shift camera app I have on my iPhone? (Probably not because I hardly ever blog). But oh, how I love this app. It's called TiltShiftGenerator and is so beyond awesome. It has the ability to make even crappy phone pictures look amazing.

Here are a few of my favorite recent shots.

(This last photo is from the garage sale!)

Buried

2010-08-28T01:47:00.004-04:00

I've had a tough week. Or two.

My wheelchair of choice - of the sparkly pinkish/purplish variety - has been out of commission. I ran into a table at work - which I've done hundreds of times with little to no damage - and jarred something in the joystick, rendering it inoperable. Then my backup wheelchair started having issues, with the battery dying much, much quicker than normal. Oy to the vey!

Then one of my teeth started hurting, so I made an appointment to see my dentist. Being a bit lackadaisical in going to the dentist in a while has come back to haunt me. My sore tooth turned out to be two problem teeth, one of which needed a root canal and both needing crowns.

So finally it's Friday. I've been root canalled. Both wheelchairs have been fixed. Sounds like a great night to relax and make something crafty, right?

Not so much. My family is having a garage sale over Labor Day and I'm in the midst of sorting through all my belongings for crap* to sell. And trust me, there's a lot of crap.

It's going to be a long weekend.

*Note: Hippos and gorilla not for sale. They're definitely not considered crap!

I'm in business!

2010-08-16T22:22:00.006-04:00

As mentioned previously, I've been very into knitting, dyeing and spinning lately. One of my favorite fiber-related things to do is hand-dyeing/hand-painting yarn. Well, as much as I wish it weren't true, I can't knit/crochet fast enough to get through the yarn I've purchased, not to mention the skeins I've been dyeing.

So anyway, I opened a new Etsy shop - little critter knits - with some of the yarns I've done so far.

And on Thursday I made my very first sale! I am so excited. Here is the skein, named Pink Grapefruit, that was purchased.

Here's hoping to more sales in the future!

Confession

2010-07-29T23:49:00.008-04:00

I've been cheating.

On quilting.

I've been on a knitting/dyeing/spinning/crocheting bender. I'm starting to find more pieces of wool than pieces of thread stuck to my clothes. I never thought this would happen.

Can I admit though that I've been enjoying it? Who knew that dyeing yarn, knitting, crocheting and spinning would be so fun? I previously didn't think it could hold a candle to quilting. Taking pieces of fabric, cutting them up and then sewing them back together in glorious patterns and color schemes. And let's not forget the joy of shopping for fabric.

Of course, this was when I only knew how to knit items in squares and rectangles. In the past 12 months I've learned to knit in the round. To make hats, socks, blankets, etc. Now I've even crossed a line I thought I'd never take, and that was to try spinning my own yarn. Now that I think of it, knitting has sort of the same fascination, which is taking something simple and making it into something beautiful. Especially when I can dye my own wool. And again, I'm enjoying the shopping for yarn/fibers. (That seems to be a common thread here.)

I have a TON of photos from the things I've been working on the past few months; this even includes a little quilting. But until I stop feeling so guilty (I just accidentally typed in quilty) and start posting again, I'm going to show off my recent accomplishment: My first handspun yarns! I love, love, love them.

From this (my first attempt):

To this:

From this (second attempt):

To this:

And this is my next bunch of fiber. So pretty! I hope to get it started this weekend.

Sunday stash

2010-04-18T10:25:00.000-04:00

Purchased during a recent trip to Joann's. The fat quarter bundles were 40 percent off. I am trying to be braver and use larger prints with a variety of colors in my projects. I hope these help!

Quilt and sock progress

2010-04-14T22:16:00.004-04:00

Remember this quilt?

Well, I finally went out and bought backing and binding fabric for it. All of the top is made from charm packs from the Wonderland line by Momo. When I bought those, though, I didn't buy any backing fabric. It was kind of hard to find a coordinating fabric that I liked, since the colors are kind of muted, but I picked these up at Joann's. The aqua is for the back, the dark brown w/ polka dots is for the binding.

When I was visiting my parents over Easter, my mom even helped me get it pinned. If only I could motivate myself to get the quilting started.

On the knitting front, I finished a pair of socks! I finished sock two from the pair that I posted about previously. Check out the finished product - definitely cankle friendly!

It was weird how they knitted up. The yarn pooled quite differently from foot to foot.

Left:

And right:

And that is just a small tidbit of my exciting craft adventures. More coming!

She lives!

2010-03-14T00:41:00.004-05:00

So have you ever gone so long without posting to your blog that you're almost embarrassed to post again?

Me neither.

Yeah, so I'm back. Obviously quite a bit of time has passed since my previous post, but I'm not going to dwell on that. I don't feel like going into a long explanation about everything that has happened in the last month (at least not right now), so I'll just post a few random thoughts and then try to do a better post soon.

- MRI and appointment with the neurosurgeon didn't go great, but not horrible. Just more confirmation that I am pretty much broken for life and there isn't anything surgically that can be done to help. The good part of this news is that I'm not getting a lot worse, and therefore don't need another surgery to fix a new problem. Kind of a glass half empty & half full at the same time. I haven't seen my pain management doctor since those appointments, but I have one scheduled on Monday. It will be interesting to see what she suggests for the next step.

- I turned 35. I am old. And feeling old. It's weird to think I am almost twice the age of the college freshmen on campus. No wonder I got called ma'am the other day in the elevator. Egads.

- I got a really cool wall decal at Target today. It's all black and is a leafless tree with lots of birds in it. I really like it and have stuck it on the wall by my bed. I think it's crooked though, so I will have to try to rearrange it tomorrow. I also hope it doesn't give me any nightmares a la "The Birds." That was a creepy movie.

- I am trying to decide if I want look for another place to live. One of the windows in my apartment leaks pretty seriously. It's been leaking for years and I've been complaining about it for years. The apartment management refuses to do what it takes to fix it for good. I said I may not re-up my lease if they don't promise to take care of it, but so far that's not really helping. I've been living here for almost 5 years though and don't really want to move. I like the location & some of the apartment features. It's really hard to find what I need (2 bed & 1.5-2 bath) with a W&D that also is wheelchair accessible. Just because units are on the ground floor doesn't always make them OK for me.

- I am so looking forward to spring! I love springtime.

- I bought an awesome bright-colored big umbrella today at Target! I have a normal-sized one, but when it rains I am always forced to make a decision to keep one half or the other of me dry. Sitting in the rain = more body surface to protect. I got drenched Thursday afternoon when I was out waiting for the bus for about 40 minutes in a downpour. I was putting off getting a new umbrella because I wanted something cute and really didn't want to get a big umbrella that wouldn't fold down. Luckily I found a really pretty golf-size one that collapses to the same size as a regular umbrella. It also has a carrying loop so I can just loop it on the back of my wheelchair and take it with me easily. Nice!

- My mom has been visiting, but is going to leave tomorrow. :( I love my mom - she's the best. It's been nice to have company in the evenings.

- I've been completely yarn obsessed lately. I have been knitting like crazy and have been experimenting with dyeing my own yarn. It's so fun! Right now there are two skeins sitting in the kitchen - one is a big skein of lace weight yarn dyed in reds & pinks that I heated in the crockpot and another is a skein of fingering weight dyed in pink, red, green & blue that I heated up in the microwave. Last weekend I dyed two other skeins. The first was a really ugly worsted weight wool that I ordered on the Internet that REALLY didn't look like it did in the picture! It was cheap though, so that's the only upside.

Here's the before:

During:

After:

That was overdyed with berry blue & grape Kool-Aid and a little bit of sky blue Wilton's food coloring gel. I'm calling if Forest Moss. (Did I ever mention that I'm obsessed with moss?)

Here's the sock yarn (this started with a white superwash wool (with a bit o' nylon):

During:

After:

That one had a lot of different flavors of Kool-Aid, including lemon lime, strawberry watermelon, lemonade, orange and either cherry or fruit punch. I can't remember. I named this colorway Rainbow Sherbet.

- And speaking of dyed yarns, when I went to ball up that green and brown dyed yarn, it tangled to an extreme. It took me FOUR hours to get it untangled and rolled up. It's lucky I didn't throw it in the trash.

- I'm also continuing to push myself to learn more knitting techniques and I am so glad. I made my first sock last week! I decided to look for a pattern I could do in worsted weight because I thought it might be easier & quicker than trying something with uber tiny needles and skinny yarn. Reading the instructions was kind of confusing, but I just jumped in and it started to make sense. Now I just have to make the second one! (It is weird shaped in the photo, but it actually fits pretty normally.)

Early morning rant

2010-02-05T04:21:00.004-05:00

Dear back,

I hate you. It's 4:20 a.m., and I'm wide awake. My feet have been hurting badly for more than 2 hours and my pain medication is really not helping. You are making my life miserable. Give me a break, please.

See, I have this thing called a job that requires me to get up super early and be awake all day. You are really making this difficult, if not impossible, some days.

No love from me,
Christy

Later today I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon to see what, if anything, needs to be done about my back. My MRI results were rather disturbing, I thought. There are disc problems above and below where they did the surgery seven years ago. My pain management doctor said it appears to long-standing damage -- she told me that because of the pain issues I am having, she expected the damage to be more recent. I don't know what to think. Was my first surgery messed up or has my back just continued to get worse since? If it's been getting worse, how? I don't do anything that could cause injury! WTF?

I am so, so scared that I will need another surgery. Maybe it will help. But if something happens and I end up worse, I don't know how I will deal with it. I've been worse -- after the first surgery, I didn't have hardly any sensation from the waist down. I needed help with everything - I couldn't dress myself, roll over, use the bathroom or get in or out of bed by myself. It was the absolute lowest point of my life. I've never been more depressed. I've made quite a bit of progress since, but of course I'm not back to normal. There's the whole wheelchair thing. And of course, the pain is always present.

I'm not sure what's going to happen. Wish me luck.

Wow, what a week! Now what?

2010-01-28T22:58:00.001-05:00

I've had an amazing week so far: two concerts from two of my favorite performers - Owl City and Lady Gaga.

Owl City was in Indianapolis on Sunday and I was soooo happy to be able to go. I spent the evening with my friend Natalie, her exchange student Mia and two of her friends. Despite being pretty sick, Adam was all kinds of awesome. One thing I really enjoyed about the concert was the audience; it seemed like everyone there knew the words to all of his songs and proudly sang along. I love that about his music.

Another great thing about the concert was one of his opening acts: LIGHTS. Oh. My. God. How come it's taken me so long to discover her music? I downloaded almost all of her songs off iTunes on Monday and have been listening to it sooo much.

I haven't been listening to her solely though. Another musical obsession is Lady Gaga. Way back when the tickets for her show went on sale, I liked what I had heard from her, but really didn't know much about her and her music other than she dressed rather bizarrely. Since then though I have downloaded all her stuff on iTunes as well and love just about everything she has done. I find her weirdness fascinating - I don't ever know quite what to expect from her.

Her concert was such a great experience. My friend Amy went with me and we had the best seats! Like the first/secondish row on the left side of the stage. Lady Gaga's show was such a production and it was so fun to be in the middle of the crazy crowd that was so into her music and having a blast. It was a great night for people watching - a ton of people went to the extremes with their outfits. It would have been a perfect night except for the near-toxic levels of dry ice fumes rolling off the stage right at the level of my head. Yuck!

One thing I really admire about Lady Gaga is her self confidence in doing whatever the heck she wants. I can't imagine being able to withstand all the awful and horrible things that are said about her. I wish I was more like her in this regard. My worries about what people think of me and my actions sometimes feels nearly as suffocating as all that damn dry ice.

I'm kind of bummed that both concerts are over. Now what do I have to look forward to?

In a medical update, I had to go in for an MRI on Monday. The experience itself wasn't that bad; I'll have to come back and post about whether I can say the same thing about the results. I should have some kind of news about it Monday when I have another pain management appointment.

So far I've been feeling a bit better with the new medications, but I am so not happy about how much the new prescriptions are costing me. Not sure what I can do about it, but hopefully something. The whole medical money situation - from prescriptions, doctors' appointments, X-rays & MRIs and wheelchair repairs - is depressing as hell. I hate that a really stupid phase of my life is costing me so much. And it will likely to continue along the same path.

And now, for the obligatory quilt photo, is a picture of part of the disappearing nine-patch quilt top that I made at quilt camp. I'm really looking forward to finishing this, but I need to find a fabric for the back of it. It will end up being a lap size quilt.

You might think ...

2010-01-17T20:16:00.004-05:00

... That my lack of posts indicate my lack of quilt- and craftiness lately. Definitely not true! I've been working on all kinds of projects (lots of knitting, especially.

You also might think that after spending the entire weekend at quilt camp that I'd be ready to take a quilting break. Not true either! There's just something about spending a weekend at camp that invigorates my creativity and urge to do more and more.

I am really happy with what I was able to do during my time. While it's not usually my style to be really organized and know exactly what I will do during quilt camp weekends, this time I made it easy on myself. UFOs ONLY! (My secret title was UFO No Mo' - just a tad different from their '60s theme). So challenging to only bring those items, especially when there are like 70 other quilters around with piles of fabric, new patterns and fresh projects. By packing strategically though, it really helped me focus. I only brought supplies needed for already started projects. No extra fabric whatsoever. That was tough! (Although a heck of lot easier to pack.)

My tally during the weekend:
- finished the machine quilting on this quilt. (This photo was taken at a previous weekend at quilt camp!) I was able to get the binding cut and sewn on. Working on hand stitching it to the back now. Yay!

- Was able to sew together version No. 2 of the quilt I made as part of the Old Red Barn Co. quilt-a-long in July. (I just went on a search to find a post about the first top and realized I've never posted about it. Great blogging there, Christy!)

Anyway, back when I decided to do the quilt-a-long, I wanted to use my jelly roll in the Charisma line.

I wanted the fabric to go a long way though, so I added some other fabrics that I found in my stash and a few that I got at Joann's. That, plus I like using a variety of sources and usually prefer to not use fabrics all from the same line. I'm also usually too cheap to buy "designer" fabrics! This gave me enough strips to make two lap-size tops with mostly the same fabrics, but with different color placement. I have two different fabrics for the backs of them and think I will piece the backs to use both kinds on each.

- And finished the top of the disappearing nine-patch that I am making with the four charm packs I bought a while back.

Go me! I hope to download some of the photos I took later this week.

In the meantime, however, I'm joining lots of other quilt bloggers and am going to pretend that I will do a Sunday Stash post every week. The stash isn't the problem at all, it's the me remembering/getting around to do the posts!

This is waiting for the "perfect" pattern. I adore these patterns and colors!

It's a Hoffman Bali Pops in Kiwiberry.

I also, ahem, added a teeny tiny little bit to my stash this weekend. More details on this later. :D

Random list of update-type stuff

2009-12-01T16:55:00.004-05:00

- They performed an autopsy on Shiloh and discovered she had a heart condition. The vet said she probably didn't suffer or anything, so that is good to hear. Daisy is really missing Shiloh though, so they put her on doggie Prozac. I hope she is doing better soon.

- It was part 3 of my dental adventure today, during which I got my permanent crown put on. It wasn't too bad of an experience - definitely less disturbing than getting the temporary one and way less traumatic of the root canal, during which the sedative did NOT work. Yes, you read that right, I was totally alert throughout the whole damn thing. I signed up for dental insurance for next year, so I hope I can go back on the dental offensive rather than defensive.

- Yesterday was my first appointment at the pain management clinic. I was worried about how it was going to go. Luckily for me, the doctor I saw seemed to be very understanding, nice and funny. She wants me to get another EMG on my legs, which is a test where they put pins in your legs to study how the nerves are functioning. I had one while I lived in Texas shortly after the back surgery, and to tell you the truth, it kind of sucked. The doctor wants to compare the old results to the new ones to get a sense of where I'm at and if there is improvement with the nerve restoration. She also gave me a bit stronger of a painkiller to try for the next month. Today has been completely horrible pain-wise though, so I really hope that's not a foreboding sign of things to come. I spent most of the morning at work crying in my office because the pain just wouldn't quit. I hope it's just a bad day. I don't think I can deal with that.

And now that all the crappy stuff is out of the way ...

- I'm going to quilt camp next month! I am so, so excited. I have no idea what I am going to work on, since I am trying hard to get some UFOs finished for the Joy in the New Year Challenge over on Jacquie's blog. I've entered 5 UFOs. I don't know if that is possible for me to finish, but I'm going to try!

- My first finish is the daisy wallhanging I made on commission for a friend of mine in Chicago. I am so happy with how it turned out! I got a lot of applique practice and also did some machine stippling. That was a first, because I've struggled getting the stippling to not look pointy or uneven. It definitely gave me a bit of confidence for my next project. Here are a few photos:

Shiloh

2009-11-23T23:52:00.002-05:00

My super-sweet beagle Shiloh died yesterday. She's been living in Texas with my husband, so I don't get to see much of her or my other dog Daisy. I still love those dogs like crazy though and miss them a lot. We're not sure yet why she died, but they are doing an autopsy to find out. They think it may have been heart-related.

Shiloh cracked me up because she would get so excited that it seemed like her tail was wagging her! Her entire back end would get in on the action when she was happy. She loved playing with Daisy, especially chasing each other around the house. Shiloh also loved her treats and would always chomp hers down right away. Daisy would always want to save hers, but that strategy didn't work too well with Shiloh around.

Daisy and Shiloh were best friends, and it sounds like Daisy is really missing her. I know I will.

Reason 4875 why my life sucks

2009-10-27T19:34:00.003-04:00

Ha. Kind of kidding about the title, but not completely. I'm spending my day tomorrow getting a root canal, hooray! In good news, however, I am going to a sedation dentist, who is giving me something that will hopefully knock me out so I am not aware of what my mouth is undergoing.

Back when I was getting my wisdom teeth removed, (which were impacted, which made the process even more fun) they put me under. For some reason or another, it didn't completely work and I woke up before they were done. It was pretty creepy to be awake during mouth surgery. And not something I especially want to re-enact. I am going to take my iPhone though, and if nothing else, hope to drone out the dental sounds with music, particularly my current obsession, Owl City. The awesome Adam Young (Owl City himself) has even written a song called "Dental Care." How can you not love a musical artist that can write a cool tune about going to the dentist? Exactly!

In craft news, I've been working on a daisy applique quilt that a friend of mine asked (and is paying!) me to make. I just finished all the blocks and now am trying to figure out what fabric to use for the sashing and borders. It's fun to try out new techniques.

I've been slacking on photos (or downloading them at least) since my card reader stopped working. Here are the flower pieces before they were stitched on the background. I love the colors!

And my other current obsession?

I wish it would stay autumn forever!

Hi. My name is Christy and I'm a fabriholic.

2009-09-26T15:11:00.004-04:00

I'm going to Joann Fabrics in less than an hour.

I need a plan.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have plenty of fabric. And thread. And supplies. But that doesn't make it any easier when they have a big sale with lots of coupons. Although heaven knows Joann's makes their coupon periods challenging by letting people only use them on regular price merchandise. And then they put just about everything in the store on sale for a smaller percentage than the coupons are for. Oy.

I'm in the middle of about 15 projects, but that doesn't keep me from brainstorming ideas for my next quilts and crafts. I don't know if it's from a lack of sleep/too much sleep/too much pain medicine, but I am feeling so productive today! If only I could work as fast as I think I can.

Wish me luck!

A new look

2009-08-31T20:25:00.003-04:00

I've decided to change my blog background. I'm not sure yet if I like it, but I've been wanting to give it a bit of a facelift for a while. I'm sure it will grow on me!

It was a busy weekend ... I've been working on a baby quilt for a friend who is expecting a baby ... very soon! So it's been a good thing I got so much accomplished. Now all I have to do is finish hand sewing the binding on and then clip strings. Then the big decision - do I wash it or not? That's a tough one; both options have their positives. What do you normally do for quilts? Or if you're not a quilter, would you prefer to get a more crisp-looking quilt or one that's kind of wrinkly and soft-looking?

Anyway, I've just spent over an hour messing with the blog design. I better get back sewing!

Middle-age angst

2009-08-11T22:43:00.003-04:00

I've been in a bit of a funk lately ... it seems as if it's not one thing it's another. I've also hit a bit of a stage where I'm having a blog identity crisis - is this solely a craft/quilt blog or a life blog, where posts touch on the little life I have outside of quilting/crafting? I just have an urge to post more than just crafty goodness, so feel free to skip the verbiage if you wish!

Anyway, I'm crabby as hell. So many things are such a mess lately! I've been without my wheelchair of choice for over a month after a treacherous ride on the short bus. (And yes, I have enough wheelchairs from which to choose.) Thankfully (finally!), the repair guy is coming to the apartment tomorrow to make the extensive repairs it needs. I can't begin to explain how much I am looking forward to getting my regular wheels back. I can't wait to be back on a more comfortable seat (although after 12 hours, anything is uncomfortable) and no longer fear a dead battery while rolling amok on campus. I am crabby, however, at the thought of having to pay for repairs.

Another crab-inducing issue is the leaky window in my apartment, which spurred a potential move to another apartment. This idea was quickly abandoned after I realized the replacement apartment wasn't Christy-accessible. The idea wasn't abandoned soon enough though, because my mom and I packed up a good portion of my stuff and started moving it across the parking lot. Now my old apartment is full of storage tubs and stacks of stuff while we reorganize everything. Good fun. And it still leaks, although I am now more hopeful than I was before about it getting repaired before the first snowfall. The good part of the story is that as part of the non-move, I've decided to get rid of a bunch of stuff - so much so that I have been able to get rid of the rack of clothes in my living room. Success!

I also haven't been feeling that great, and have a regularly scheduled appointment w/ my doctor on Thursday. I am weighing my options and whether or not I want to seek a referral to see some sort of specialist that can help with the pain issues. I'd also like a decisive answer on what in the heck is up with the weird dark spots on my feet. Not sure if they really hurt or not, but they're not pretty.

Don't get me wrong, life isn't all crap, it's just been a couple of tough weeks. There are some definite bright spots that I look forward to blogging about when I'm not as grumpy, including one of my life's new loves ... Buster!

Meet Buster, my new and lovely sewing machine. It's a gift from my Sweet Baboo (totally stole that from Peanuts - and don't worry, I don't actually call him that) and it's damn awesome so far. The best part of all? You don't need to use a foot pedal to operate it! Yes, you heard me right, no more scorched thighs from holding the foot pedal between my legs when I sew. It's named after Buster Bluth, one of my favorite "Arrested Development" characters. One of his favorite phrases was "hey brother" so it seemed like a good name for a Brother machine.

Plus, here's a teaser of the fabric I am using for one of my WIP. I love, love, love this line of fabrics. I can't wait until my apartment is organized again and I have time to sew and not feel obligated to sort through magazines!

Another finish

2009-07-17T17:53:00.003-04:00

If I was one of those people that purposely spelled words wrong just to make them all start with the same letter, I might have titled this Krazy Kansas Kwilt. I am so NOT one of those people though, so hence the lame (but correctly spelled title).

This was another quilt I made for a friend. She is really into the University of Kansas and dogs, so I combined the two in a wonky log cabin pattern. I really enjoyed making this quilt since it was so random, but it took a really, really long time to make the blocks. Maybe my strips were too thin? Either way, it was nice to not stress about having a perfect 1/4" seam on everything.

The wavy lines I machine quilted turned out really good, I thought. They made the quilt significantly wrinkly but also were pretty easy to do.

Here are a couple pictures. (sorry, the photos always suck!)

Rhymes with purple

2009-06-22T21:13:00.004-04:00

In a continuation of an unusual stream of productivity, I finished another quilt! And almost odder, it was a gift. I'm usually a selfish quilter, not wanting to give up any project that I spent so much time on. Non-quilters may not realize it, but making quilts often includes blood, sweat and tears.

Anyway. It was a gift for my friend Kim and her soon-to-be husband Collin. They are getting married in about a month, but I decided to give her the quilt at her shower.

While I was working on the quilt, it kind of reminded me of purple Kool-Aid, which in turn made me think of Jim Jones. I secretly wanted to name it "Don't Drink the Purple Kool-Aid" but figured that wasn't really the impression I wanted to make. I obviously have quilt naming issues.

I started the project at the last quilt camp and got the top done and started the quilting. Then I realized that the back was puckering and that annoyed the crap out of me. So I got out my trusty seam ripper. Lots of fun tearing all that quilting out.

Natalie helped me re-pin it a couple weeks ago and then I got busy with the machine quilting. I did wavy lines going across and down. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I love the fabrics and color combination!

Can't wait for the wrinkles

2009-06-18T23:24:00.003-04:00

No, not the face kind of wrinkles, the soft wrinkly goodness that comes after sending a just-finished quilt through the washing machine and dryer! It's past 11 now and I just put it in the dryer, so I won't get to see the final product until tomorrow. It's like unwrapping a present. You don't really know what it's going to look like.

I love watching the transformation projects go through, from the pile of fabrics to a soft quilt in the end. It really makes a bit difference even from just quilt top to quilt.

Other than getting the label sewn on the latest project and getting it laundered, I haven't been very productive tonight. The pain in my feet has been bad tonight, but I am trying not to take too much pain medicine. I feel like I am running low this month and I don't want to run out. The pain makes me crazy. And crabby as hell.

Jimmy John's had subs for $1 today during lunch time! I was super psyched, since I am a sucker for any kind of bargain. Not all the sandwiches were that much though, so I branched out from my normal turkey club and got a veggie sandwich. It was so good! It had provolone cheese, avocado, tomato, lettuce, sprouts and cucumber. I definitely plan to order it again.

After that exciting bit of lunch news, here's my latest acquisition that I am thrilled about:

Glitter! I love glitter so much. Mom used to always make us go out in the garage to use glitter when we were working on craft projects because she didn't random bits of glitter all over the house. Me? Not so much. I like glitter in just about situation. When I was a kid, I used to dream about getting a car that was painted with glitter paint, like the kind that is used on speedboats. Wouldn't that be awesome? Hell, my wheelchair du jour has a fuchsia glitter seat back. I love it. It's about as cool as a wheelchair could be, in my opinion. Unless I could get a Snoopy or Hello Kitty themed one, I guess. :D

I'll have quilt photos to post soon. Yay!

Wow, it's so ... big!

2009-06-09T17:55:00.001-04:00

This quilt got a bit out of control with me! I love, love, love it, but man is it huge! I think because the blocks were so large and so quick to put together it turned out larger than I thought. Add in two borders and we're around 75 x 100!

Needless to say, I didn't measure the quilt top before I bought the back and ended up with not quite enough yardage. Now I'm in the middle of make a long strip of black and white blocks to make the backing actually fit. Oy.

Note to self: That measuring thing is kind of helpful.
Note to self 2: How in the world am I going to quilt this?

Armed with a new camera

2009-06-06T21:54:00.003-04:00

Thanks to my sweet husband, I once again have a functioning digital camera! Yay, much excitement on the home (and craft!) front.

I've been busily crafting away and getting much done, including finishing some projects. It's such a great feeling to be able to step back and know that something is finally finished, especially after it's been hanging over my head for a while.

I was so happy to finish the My So-Called Scarf with the beautiful yarn I bought when I was visiting my sister in Illinois. I finished it about 3 or 4 weeks ago, but of course, I'm the laziest blogger ever!

I've loved this pattern for months, but seriously thought it was way beyond my skill level. After I figured out the stitch pattern, it didn't even take that long to make. The yarn was awesome to work with, I just wish I had more of it since I love long scarves. I really couldn't justify buying two skeins though!

While I do not like thinking of cold weather coming back, I'm kinda looking forward to wearing my scarf.

Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-10T19:06:00.000-04:00

Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!

Ooh, a contest for a cool pincushion ring ... I hope I win. :)

Who knew - I had a productive weekend

2009-05-10T18:46:00.004-04:00

So not only did I finish my orange quilt this weekend, but I finished my latest knitting project, a scarf I've been ogling for months.

I bought the yarn, a Noro Taiyo skein, while I was visiting my sister a couple weeks ago. I knew what I wanted to make before I even picked it out, and just hoped there was enough to get a decent length scarf. I could have used another skein just to make it longer, since I am a fan of long scarves, but I couldn't justify spending that much money for a scarf. It was hard enough to shell out the money for one skein, but I adore it so much!

Ugh, I miss my camera so much! In lieu of a real photo, here's links to the scarf pattern and the yarn that I got (and the shop I went to!). It was awesome to get into the yarn shop, since the one here in town has steps. :(

This is a link to the pattern I used, and here is the yarn I bought.

Too bad it's too warm to wear it! Maybe by the time it's cold out again, I'll have figured out how to do a hat or mittens.

Finished - finally

2009-05-09T12:32:00.006-04:00

I am so happy to have finished a project this weekend! It's my bright squares quilt, which is the first bed size quilt I have ever pieced and quilted by machine. It was definitely a struggle at times, but I'm glad I stuck with it. I did free motion quilting and it was really hard at first to keep going even though the quilting looked kinda messy and there were some puckers on the back. Oy.

But I just pulled it out of the dryer - so yummy smelling and warm! - and it looks better. The wrinkling effect make it look less like it has mistakes.

I'm especially happy to join the Spring to Finish 2 challenge on the Tallgrass Prairie Studio blog. I adore Jacquie's work and am excited to have some extra motivation to get some projects done for a change. Makes me feel less guilty to start new ones. (I accidentally typed in quilty there at first, which made me giggle.)

I don't have any new photos since the camera bit the dust, but here's the top after it was put together.

I cut the edges so it ended up being a plain square. Good thing since it shifted a bit while I was quilting it!

Here are some of the fabrics I used in the top:

I based the whole quilt on the fabric below on the left. It's got some gorgeous colors in it. The black pattern on the right is from a fat quarter from Joann's. I wish I could find yardage of it. I love it so much! I would have loved something like that for the back. I was good though, and used something from my stash ... an orange fabric with scattered white dots. It looks OK. I used leftover fabric from my bright strip quilt for the binding. (Notice a trend with the lame quilt names?) :)

Sadness.

2009-05-03T23:12:00.001-04:00

Last weekend was so fun and such an adventure! The bad news, however, is that I broke my digital camera when I was trying to get out my wallet in Urban Outfitters. It is such a bummer. I feel lost without it and my crafting isn't as fun without being to document its stages.

I do have the photos that were on the memory card at least. I hope I get my act together soon and do a real update.

Sigh. Hope I can get a new one soon!

Back in the saddle

2009-03-16T22:51:00.003-04:00

So I got back into the quilting groove a couple weeks ago at the monthly Sunday quilting gathering. I started working on a wonky log cabin quilt I am making for someone as a gift. I was moving along at a decent clip until it happened: I sliced my left index finger open with my rotary cutter. Ouch! There was actual bloodshed over a quilt project -- that was a first. I bandaged up though and kept sewing, but laid off the rotary cutting for the day.

My injury really put me out of commission for a while! Not only did it make my rotary cutting complex worse, but the cut was right where I put my yarn on my left index finger when I knit! I was pretty much not crafting at all there for a week or so.

The Band-aid is finally off, and it's hardly noticeable that I was ever injured, minus a tiny scar. Just what I need - more evidence that I'm accident/injury prone.

I have lived to tell the tale though, and lived to quilt another day. On Saturday I climbed back into the quilting saddle and got back to work on the wonky log cabin, which I am doing in red, yellow, blue, black and white. It's not as gaudy as it sounds, at least I hope not!

After working on it all day Saturday, on and off Sunday and then a couple hours tonight, I am SO close to having the blocks done! I have 36 blocks, and will be cutting them down to 8.5" squares. I am not sure yet if I will do sashing or not ... I'll have to wait and see how they look after I lay them out. (The colors are inspired by a focus fabric, I didn't just pick them randomly.)

In other news, I'm headed back to my parents' house this weekend for my sister's birthday! I am excited since I don't go there too often and there's a couple of fun options this weekend, including a scrapbooking mini-retreat or a big quilt festival/lecture/show/market. Both sound like lots of fun. And possibly a lot of temptation to spend money!

And in other other news ... I got a new job! Not an entirely new job, since our areas are getting reorganized, but still, a lot of newness! I am really excited, since I will be working in the online experience and new media group. It sounds like it will combine a lot of my interests and my experience into one. I hope it all goes well. Our new group is meeting up for the first time tomorrow, so I am looking forward to meeting the other people I'll be working with. I am going to miss a lot of my current coworkers though! We may end up in the same building, but right now that's still up in the air. I will miss going for Den pops with my friends, for sure.

Quilting pile up

2009-02-19T21:51:00.004-05:00

Oy, my pile of unfinished projects is growing rapidly! I have a big stack of UFOs on my spare bed ... probably a good five or six projects that range from almost finished tops to some that are partially hand quilted. This doesn't even take into account all the other quilts that are in progress, with blocks here and there.

Normally I am much better about finishing projects, but with the stashbusting contest last year, I started churning out quilt tops (because I could do those on the machine) and not getting them quilted, since a) I kinda suck at machine quilting and b) hand quilting takes forever and a day.

For the last week or so I have not done any quilting, but have been working on a variety of knitted dish cloths. I know they are a good project for me, since I am FINALLY making myself learn how to do something beyond scarves with a basic knit, purl pattern. So far I made one a heart design, one with a Snoopy design and have started one that has a lacy mock cable design. While these are fun, I don't really get the same sense of accomplishment as I do when I quilt. Sigh.

I know I need to get back on the wagon. My small group of quilting friends is getting together on Sunday ... I definitely have to be back in the groove by then.

Until I actually do some quilting, here's a few inspirational pictures. I heart this quilt so much, and I love, love, love how I'm quilting it. It's just such a pain to do!

Valentine's Day inspiration

2009-02-14T17:18:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I love this holiday ... I love the flowers, the candy, the colors red and pink, the cute cards and all the cheesiness that goes along with it.

After finally finishing the Christmas/Valentine's Day scarf for my sweetie, I've been wanting to try something more challenging than basic scarves. I really have never made anything more complicated and was kind of worried about having to keep track of a pattern and/or counting, since I am a notorious multitasker, usually watching TV, being online and crafting at the same time.

But, I just finished my first project from a pattern - a dishcloth with a heart pattern on it, just in time for the holiday. I was hoping to start some dishcloths earlier in the week, because I thought they would be a good way for me to practice more complicated designs without getting sucked into something that would take forever to make. When I started looking at patterns though, they all suggest all-cotton yarn, of which I don't have. :( I was bummed, but figured I would buy some while at Wal-Mart last night. I bought four skeins there, two in a red, pink and white scheme, two in black, white and gray.

I was able to finish one dishcloth in less than one skein, so they end up being cheap and quick. I think they will look better in a plain color, especially the ones that have designs on them. I did find one skein of plain white cotton, so I'll use that for my next one - a Snoopy design! I was so psyched to find a pattern online and also to find a Woodstock one. I can't wait to try those.

I am so getting ready to take a nap now ... I have the worst headache. Even my scalp hurts when I pull my hair back, and that's a challenge not to do, since I almost always do that.

At Wal-Mart I also found the perfect fabric for a quilt I was thinking about making, so that made me happy. I'm trying to decide on a pattern now.

Update on George and Martha project

2009-02-08T19:08:00.003-05:00

I've been enjoying these so much! I got my second one finished and can't wait to start a third.

And this is the second one. The back story is that George tells Martha that he is a snake charmer. Martha doesn't believe him, so she pulls a stuffed toy snake out of a closet. Needless to say, George wasn't exactly telling the truth. You can see a hint of him at the top of the picture on top of the chandelier.

A test of my patience

2009-02-07T12:42:00.004-05:00

I've been working on a postage stamp quilt for years. I've been cutting 1.5" squares out of any quilting fabric I get my hands on. I've been trying to make it a true charm quilt, where my goal is to use only one square of each fabric. Working on this project is definitely a labor of love; it's taking FOREVER.

I got little bits out of fabric my mom has and cut 1.5" squares out of every piece of fabric I buy. I also am the scrap disposal system of most of my quilting friends. They give me their little odds and ends they don't want anymore ... I love this! It's like Christmas every time I get them. I have so much fun sorting through all the scraps and finding treasures. I've also been known to dig for good stuff through the discards at quilt camp ... some people throw away some really big pieces!

I've been collecting blocks for the longest time, and about 6 months ago I thought I knew exactly how I wanted to put them together. After keeping them separate into large Ziploc baggies by color, I would lay them all out and then try to fish out the multiples I had. After doing this for days, it was very satisfying to put all my pieces into a large bag and mix all the colors together.

I started sewing them together into a pattern that was sort of like an Irish Chain, but then I really wasn't fond of how it was turning out. Plus, I lost a lot of them after the bags of fabric got lost after quilt camp. Ugh. So frustrating!

So I decided to start over. I resorted all the pieces into color groups and then shades of the colors. Now I've been spending time off and on sewing the squares into nine patches that are organized by color. I love how they are turning out so far, but boy, is this a slow process. I now have 97 nine patches done. It sounds like a lot, but really they only finish to 3 inches square, so this is going to take a while.

Here are what a few look like:

I recently got some fresh scraps from some friends and I also am off my fabric buying diet (I don't seem to be that great at diets in any form!), so now I'm cutting again. I'm also cutting 2.5" squares of all the fabrics that are large enough for my friend Natalie. I'm sure she'll finish her quilt before I do!

Another new project

2009-02-02T21:02:00.003-05:00

I've really been in the mood lately to do some embroidery, but I wasn't sure what I was going to work on. I've seen lots of cute patterns out and about, but couldn't find the perfect project. Then I was inspired by my two favorite hippos: George and Martha!

I just laid a piece of muslin over the book and lightly traced with a mechanical pencil.

Here is a photo of the first one. I've now finished two of these, each with a different pattern.

The hardest point has been picking out the pictures! There are so many cute ones, but I don't want the story lines to be lost to people not hip to the George and Martha and the underlying humor.

I have another one done, but haven't gotten photos yet. I think I will try to work these into a quilt top. Maybe a non-perfect log cabin style?

Joining the challenge

2009-02-02T00:21:00.003-05:00

Stephanie at Organized Chaos and my friend Natalie posted a handmade/homemade challenge that I'm excited to participate in. So the way it works... The first five people who respond to this post will receive a gift, made especially for you, by me. The rules and restrictions according to Stephanie:

1. I make no guarantees you will like what I make.
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year - as in sometime in 2009.
4. You will have no clue what it's going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
6. When you receive my homemade/handmade item, you must post a picture of it on your blog.

So you know there's got to be a catch... The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so, and leave a comment telling me they did, win.

Trip to the Children's Museum

2009-01-21T21:56:00.004-05:00

My husband was here last week for a visit. I was so glad to see him! We didn't have a whole lot of time together, but we definitely wanted to get out and do something fun.

I don't get to Indianapolis very often, even thought it's only about an hour away. And when I do go, it's usually with family who have ideas of where they want to go, so I don't often get to pick and choose activities. I really wanted to go somewhere different and fun though, so I suggested we check out the Indianapolis Children's Museum, even though I was kinda worried people would think we were odd for going there childless.

The outing was really fun though, because everything was so interactive and non-stuffy. I also love stuffy museums, like art of all kinds, but my husband doesn't share that sentiment too much.

My favorite part of the museum was the glass sculpture in the center, which is called Fireworks of Glass, and it's by Dale Chihuly. There are 4,800 pieces, and it took 14 days to install it. I'm fascinated by the glass blowing process. Last year my friend Amy and I went out to a local glass blowing shop and studio. It was so cool because the two were connected, so you could just walk back and see how the pieces were made. They even offer classes, and someday I hope to sign up and learn how to do it. I can't at this stage though, since the studio is out of range for the short bus. Damn not having a car/being able to drive again! :)

Anyway. Sancho and I had a ton of fun posing for goofy photos around the museum. This is my favorite of him:

A dorky one of me doing my polar bear impression:

And one of us later at dinner, a belated celebration of our anniversary on Dec. 29. It's been seven years! A bumpy and eventful seven years, but we're trying to stick it out.

He also surprised me that night with an early Valentine's Day present, which he found when he ran into the grocery store to pick up a few basics for me. I love it!

I miss him a lot already. It sucks that we're geographically challenged right now.

Latest project

2009-01-20T14:10:00.002-05:00

I finally decided on a pattern for my strawberry fields strips. I found this perfect green background fabric at Joann's ... it has tiny dots with a lot of the same colors that were in the batiks.

I cut the strips so they ended up 2.5" by 6.5" and ended up with six columns across and each one has 15 batiks and 15 green blocks going vertically. It ended up being a pretty big lap quilt and I think it will match great with my sofa. I didn't plan it that way, but the coloring is very similar. I still have some of the batik fabric left. I am still tossing up the idea of either a border or use some of them for a pieced back. Decisions, decisions!

Here's the naked couch so you can marvel at the color coordinating! :)

Blog posting detour

2009-01-16T21:12:00.004-05:00

So I know I said I would post more about the glass sculpture and its home in an upcoming post - and I still will - but I've gotten distracted.

Right now? So much fabric, so many options. I don't even know what to work on. I've gotten engrossed in looking for a perfect (or close to perfect) pattern for my recent fabric purchases, but I'm having so much trouble deciding what to do!

I have this set of Hoffman Bali pop batik strips called Strawberry Fields:

This set of Hoffman Bali pop batik strips called Kiwiberry:

And this Moda jelly roll from a line called Charisma:

Oh, and a few things from two recent trips to Joann's. :)

Yes, I know I was on a fabric diet, but I got all the strips during a half-off sale at Fat Quarter Shop before Christmas and Joann's has all its quilting fabric 50 percent off.

And yes, I lost the recent stash busting contest. By a lot.

My day yesterday ...

2009-01-14T14:24:00.001-05:00

included this, which is amazing.

I'll be back later with more details!

An exercise in frustration

2009-01-10T00:10:00.004-05:00

Tonight has been completely annoying.

I was thrilled to get home after work. It was Friday and I had nothing I HAD to do, but had lots of things I wanted to do. I decided to start quilting the top of a baby quilt I am working on for a co-worker, so I set to do that right after I got home. My right foot was starting to really bother me, so I popped a few pain pills and got to work.

The machine quilting started to suck early. My stitches were irregular, my thread kept breaking, and I couldn't keep my seams straight enough for my taste. I tore out the first bit I did, but tried again. Finally, I was in a semi-decent groove and then my sewing machine needle broke. Any quilter worth her salt has extra needles on hand, and I'm pretty sure I do, but I couldn't find them for the life of me. I spent about two hours looking everywhere I could think of - and reach - and still no dice. Meanwhile my foot is still killing me. Imagine a foot cramp in the arch of your foot that returns every minute or two. Good times.

The swearing just kept getting worse and worse. It was a toss-up between whether I was cursing more about my inability to machine quilt and how shitty I was feeling.

And I still couldn't find the bloody needles. I found lots of other stuff I had misplaced, but not the needles.

Oh well. I finally gave up, got a couple of scoops of ice cream, unrolled (and fondled) my new jellyroll and settled in to watch the cheesy Miss America Countdown to the Crown show on TLC. And my foot is finally starting to feel better, thank goodness.

Bring on the carbs

2009-01-08T13:12:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of carbs in just about any form, and I ended up focusing my holiday cooking on two items: one, homemade white bread, which is a Christmas staple in my family, and two, Cinnamon Buns From Heaven, which I've made a couple times before and are amazing.

Christmas Eve marked the first time I ever tried to make bread ... usually my mom or one of my sisters would do the honors. I was excited to try it myself though, since I secretly have this delusion that someday I will magically turn into a super domestic person that bakes their own bread, raises vegetables in a garden and cooks a from-scratch delicious dinner every night. (I'm a long ways from that -- last night I enjoyed chili given to me by my dear friend Amy warmed up in the microwave. Located next to a loaf of store-bought bread. In a kitchen with only canned or frozen vegetables, minus some baby carrots and a bag of lettuce in the fridge.)

Anyway.

I used a recipe from one of my mom's oldest cookbooks ... a Betty Crocker back from the 1950s or so. I love looking at this book, it's got a ton of retro illustrations and tips on hostessing. I was worried about the bread, since the texture of the dough seemed a little off when I was kneading it. My mom told me she doesn't normally use as much flour as the recipe states. Whoops.

After it rose a bit though, it looked fine. I followed the directions and let it rise twice, then we slipped the two loaves into the oven. It was long before we smelled something burning ... one of the loaves had ridden so much it was burning on the roof of the oven. My mom pulled them out, moved the racks and stuffed them back in. Not much harm done.

I smeared the loaf tops with butter after they got out of the oven and then had to wait until Christmas to find out how they were. And they turned out great! I was really happy, since we're all carb-lovers and not having bread would have been a travesty in the house.

Here they are, resting after being baked:

My other baking was the cinnamon rolls. These are, hands down, the best cinnamon rolls I've ever eaten. The recipe is from "The Best American Recipes 2000." This listing on Amazon even includes the recipe.
And here are four of them (the recipe made 18).

Why am I up?

2009-01-07T04:29:00.003-05:00

This has been one of those nights where I randomly wake up in the middle of the nights and then can't fall back asleep. Ugh. I know all the sleep experts suggest getting out of bed and doing something else until you're tired again, but truthfully I can't be bothered. I am way too cozy in bed with my flannel sheets and comforter.

Here's a photo of a project I finished last month for a Christmas ornament exchange we held at a party with coworkers. We exchange ornaments every year and it's always fun.

I made the tiny stars in 2007 and didn't really know what to do with them. They are crazy little, just because I love trying to make tiny stuff.

And here's the back:

This combines a lot of my favorites: stars, polka dots and rick rack. Maybe I'll make one for myself next season! It was fun, didn't take too long and used up a few of my tiny scraps I insist on saving.

Mmm ... fuzzy food!

2009-01-06T07:48:00.004-05:00

I've spent much of the last few months making Christmas presents for my family and friends. Surprisingly, I got just about everything done I had hoped to do, and even on time. One thing I did finish Christmas day, but still, that's pretty close for me.

Anyway, one of the projects I was working on was some felt food. I love making this stuff, but it does take a lot of time since I do it all by hand. I started around Thanksgiving and got some cute stuff done. I didn't take photos of it all -- there was a slice of swiss cheese and a spread of peanut butter -- but here is what I ended up with.

Jelly

Carrot

Bacon

Bread

Fried egg

Broccoli

I was working on these during my trip to my parents' house over Thanksgiving and while I was there, my teenage niece really liked the food. I was trying to think of gifts to make for her and thought there wasn't much she could do with the lifesize food, but I should either go really small, like a keychain size, or really big, like a pillow. I decided to try to go big.

Luckily the non fuzzy-producing fleece was on sale at Joann's when I went there and even found a remnant of cream ... which was half off the half off. Yay! I also bought a bit of tan for the crust.

I traced half a slice of bread on a sheet of 8.5" by 11" paper then pinned that to a fold of the light cream and cut out two like that. I cut some strips of the tan for the crust. Before I put it together, I had to make the face, so I used a smile made out of felt and some safety eyes. Then I assembled it on the sewing machine and stuffed it with an entire bag of stuffing! Fluffy bread!

And here it is:

This was by far the most-appreciated gift this year! Stephani loved it and hardly put it down the entire Christmas visit. That definitely made me happy.

Shiny, fresh new year

2009-01-02T02:20:00.004-05:00

As a rule, I'm not a big fan of new year's resolutions. I take that back, I am a fan of resolutions, just not a big fan of following through on them. It is fun to make all sorts of lofty goals for a new year that is just starting, with the thought that maybe this year, things will be different. I think my optimistic side is decreasing though, and I have come to realize that I'm likely to stay the same old person I've been for the past 33 years.

I do hope to do a few things different this year and experience some new things. My thought: maybe if my resolutions are fun ones - as opposed to the usual "I am going to work out all the time, eat tons of vegetables and get skinny" - there's a better shot at me following through.

Here are some things I want to do this year:

- Watch more movies and less lame TV shows.
- Learn to knit something other than a scarf. Maybe a hat next?
- Try to cook more and try new recipes. So far so good ... I made a pasta with Cajun-spiced shrimp tonight. Considering I didn't have all the ingredients I needed for the sauce, it wasn't too bad.
- Read more books and keep track of what I read.
- Buy a set of oil paints and paint something modern-esque for my bedroom wall.
- Listen to more music.
- Go on a trip somewhere.
- Wear makeup more often (to help make my large collection make more sense). I love buying makeup. I love putting it on. I just don't love putting it on at 6 a.m.
- Add more stuff to my etsy store. Maybe design a cool header or something.
- Not stay up so late on the weekends! (surprise, surprise. I'm yawning like crazy right now.)

Crafting updates

2008-12-18T13:49:00.004-05:00

My quest to have a mostly homemade Christmas continues. I can't believe I only have one week left though! Oh, the stress and angst of it all. :)

Just kidding, I am doing the best I can, and at this point am making things that I hadn't especially planned to, or the things in my head are either easy or stuff I just need to assemble. I just hope I can find all my supplies at home! And yay, I just heard from the short bus that they can take me to Joann's tomorrow after work so I can get a few last minute things for a couple projects I thought of in the last few days.

I'm very excited about most of my projects. I hope all the recipients like them as well!

One of my projects was for a friend of mine at work. Last year, I made a Christmas stocking for a friend of mine that -- I thought -- really needed one! I personalized it with an orange kitty to match her cat, Julius. Here's that one:

My other friend asked me to make her a couple of stockings for her pets, Jersey and Cleopatra. I was going to make her something different as a gift, but this idea was even better, since I knew she'd like it! I saw photos of her pets on Facebook and modeled the stockings after them.

I couldn't find any plain stockings when I went to Hobby Lobby this past time (well, except for like 3-inch ones and 30-inch ones). I did find some small fleece sheets there though in the felt section. They were softer and thicker than the felt, and were cheap too, only like 33 cents a sheet. What a bargain! I already had a bunch of felt, beads and embroidery thread at home, so I was all set.

Here is the one of Jersey, who is a tan and white hound-esque dog:

In the early stages

Done, bottom half

Full stocking

I made a little dangling bone to make the top more interesting

And Cleopatra. She was harder to make because she is calico and I was worried that her face wouldn't show up enough.

And for the top of the kitty one. I had the mouse body and tail put together, complete with eyes, but for some reason it didn't look right. Seriously, it took me forever to realize that the mouse ears were missing ... duh!

These weren't terribly hard to make. Probably the hardest part was getting the calico patterns close to being right, drawing the shape of the stocking (this was more complicated than I thought!) and hand sewing the fleece. It was harder to get the needle through that than the felt.

I gave them to my friend today, so yay, I was happy that she liked them. Off to another project now! :)

I heart appetizers

2008-12-16T22:45:00.003-05:00

I've always been a fan of appetizers ... I love little bits and pieces of food, and would much rather have three bites of 10 foods than 30 bites of one. Variety is the spice of life!

Anyway, to get to my point, I spent part of this afternoon/evening at a work party at my VP's house. Her house was simply gorgeous and decorated really cool, with lots of unique pieces and modern art. But oh, the food! It was awesome. I had a little bit of everything there was and it was all delish. There was a bowl of fruit salad with a bunch of good stuff, cheese, crackers, raw veggies and ranch dip to start with. Then the finger foods came out. They included:

- A pastry with proscuito-wrapped asparagus and filled with spinach artichoke-type filling.
- Mini crab cakes.
- Beef wellington.
- Coconut shrimp
- Chicken satay with a spicy raspberry chipotle sauce.
- Little chocolate cups filled with either cream cheese or chocolate filling, topped with fresh fruit and mint.

Yum. It was really good and the party was fun too.

I'm still working hard on my list of homemade Christmas presents. I'll try to post photos soon.