This post is late. The snow I am speaking of is the snowmageddon everyone in Seattle was talking about in January. I’m north of there a couple of hours and we got a week off of work and school, and then Friday night that week the rain came and we haven’t seen snow since!

I am thrilled to say I finished an entire quilt during my snowed in time! I just mentioned this and shared my fabric choices when I posted my first WIP of 2012. I stayed off the computer and really enjoyed sewing and watching tv. I am kind of shocked, in a pleasant way, that I was able to finish this! I thought this would be the quilt along I worked on throughout the year (like last year). I’ve been steadily busy around the house and with my outside the house job so I love that I finished a quilt so fast. I loved being able to take advantage of this time to not read (for school), not have to write, not have to study, and just sewed and quilted! It was awesome.

Since I didn’t have charm packs, I had to cut fabric into squares first. Not a big deal, I own this fringe ruler which made the time go a little faster. A few years ago I learned how to stack fabric and cut four pieces at a time, so that also helps.I decided to chain piece since the process would go quickly.

Chain piecing always looks pretty.

As boring as it can be, squaring up your blocks really does make a difference. Sometimes I skip this step, in this case I did not. And to show how hard it can be for quilters to throw material away, I saved the strings for my Mom who will use them in a landscape quilt she is planning!

I have to admit that along with cutting the fabric, I enjoy the ironing. Everything ends up crisp and neat.

One block!

The quilt!

This is laying outside on my back patio. I used one of the patterns from the original quilt along blog post and I love it. I need to add borders. I wanted to add white but could not fight the white on white print I used anywhere in town, so I grabbed two batiks instead.

Snow Week Quilt – WIP Wednesday is a post from: me being crafty

For the first WIP Wednesday of 2012 – I am working on a few projects!

Here are my fabrics for the older (2010) quilt along I found:

The fabrics are not a charm pack like the author is working with and I’m okay with that. I love these fabrics, but after looking at this picture I realize I should probably replace the two with light backgrounds. I don’t want them blending into the white on white background. I can’t wait to get started on this quilt, I am going to work on cutting everything out and maybe some beginning sewing this weekend.

I haven’t picked out any fabrics for the HST BOM yet, but I am thinking about what I want to use. I have a lot of fabric and it’s not out on shelves so it can be tough to remember what I have. I end up with boxes and bins open all over my sewing room and it becomes a mess that I don’t want to go through, I just want the room clean again! I take this as a sign to clean up the space and have a better system for my fabric. I don’t want it tucked away never to be seen again.

I also commented on Amy’s one week challenge and am working on an oven mitt. I am using the pattern from this blog post and these fabrics, I stitched them last night and will work on cutting them out, etc., throughout the week.

I tried making an oven mitt myself during the holiday break and it went horribly wrong.

That oven mitt, it only fits my kids. This is my lesson on using a pattern. I haven’t even finished it because I was frustrated. Now I think it’s funny and I’ll get the binding on this weekend.

First WIP Wednesday of 2012 is a post from: me being crafty

That blows my mind. I am excited way deep down inside. The excitement will come to the surface the closer I get, or maybe not until I apply for graduation? It’ll happen though. I have to get through these classes, but this has been a long time coming. I can not stress enough the importance of finishing your undergraduate degree in a timely manner! I am so ready to move on with my studies.

I am still working part time and the older kids are currently in basketball. The baby will probably go to daycare an extra day of the week so I can get my schoolwork done and also attend a couple of classes in person (I am taking two classes locally, from NWIC, which I am transferring to UMUC). Once basketball is over, the kids will play soccer. We are starting the semester off by not watching tv, this happened in the fall and the winter break was plenty of time to get caught up on my favorite tv shows. TV is something I can definitely sacrifice.

But I did want to find another quilt along to do this year. Last year I did the postage stamp quilt along, and it was so much work – and so very worth it. I loved making that quilt, even if it took much longer then the initial quilt along. I haven’t finished it beyond the top, but I think I will send it out to be quilted. I found an old quilt along – the Charm Pack Quilt Along that was posted in 2010. The link will take you to the blog posts that are all labeled with that, so start from the bottom and go up. I have my fabrics picked out and cut into squares already. I’ll post a picture on Wednesday for WIP Wednesday’s!

I also found the HST BOM:

This looks very fun and since it is one block a month, this is easily do-able despite my crazy schedule. I will have to have some down time otherwise I will just be crazy, and not crazy busy. I haven’t picked my fabrics for the HST BOM, but I am going to do so before Wednesday so I’ll share then!

Classes start today and I am working all week because we are implementing a new database program in my office. Here’s to being crazy busy!

QA, BOM, & Being Crazy Busy is a post from: me being crafty

Nothing like some motivation to get a lot of sewing done! Two of my classes ended (I still have one more this semester) and it seemed to open a huge block of time! Add to that my Dad came for a visit and so JW was interested in Grandpa so I was able to nab time here and there to sew and I really finished a lot over the past week and a half.

I posted about my postage stamp quilt a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been working on this since January! I started the quilt along when it was posted but one thing I did was made the mistake of buying yardage for my neutral. For some crazy reason, I thought it would be easier! Ha! After cutting it into strips, I took a break rather then getting started sewing. Once I finished the blocks, the top came together so quickly. This joins my quilt stack now, I don’t have any plans of when I can finish it and I have other projects I want to get done before the holiday season.

I am thinking of quilting in a diagonal, to go against the squares.

I also put together a quick and easy Halloween table runner. This was super simple, I used the fabrics from a previous W.I.P. post and they are all fat quarters. I cut varying widths on the 18″ side of the fat quarter. The one on the top is my original table runner, and the bottom is intended for the back. I wanted to use up the fabric and this way I can have a reversible table runner. I don’t have any plans to quilt it anytime soon, but when I do I want to use glow in the dark thread.

A little hand snuck in the picture! Table pictures are always terrible, so I’m sorry for that. I need to figure out a better way to take pictures, I live in Washington state where it rains a lot so I can’t do many outside pictures in the winter!

A late W.I.P. but it’s still Wednesday where I am!

W.I.P. Wednesday Three is a post from: me being crafty

In the process of looking at all the beautiful projects people are working on through the W.I.P. Wednesday, I found a Sew & Tell Mini Quilt Challenge. Of course, I failed to notice the date at first and once I did, I knew I couldn’t have anything done in time. But I wanted to share how happy I am to have found so many really great quilters to follow online. I’ve been online for years now, primarily in the work at home mom (WAHM) arena. I don’t know why I didn’t find quilty bloggers until now, but I am thrilled that I have! The pictures shared, the numerous really active flickr groups, the challenges, the sewing summit (which I really want to attend next year!) and so much more is active in this community. I am inspired to finish more of the projects I am working on and share them with my new friends.

I didn’t get a mini quilt done, but click the button and see the amazing quilts others finished. I am heading to my sewing room to find fabric to put together a mini quilt this weekend!

Mini Quilt Challenge is a post from: me being crafty

A whole week already! What a sad state my sewing room looks like. Not much has changed actually. I left last Thursday for a conference and didn’t get home until late Sunday night, which really was early Monday morning because it was 1AM. Monday was spent cleaning up and getting ready for Halloween, and vegging – because I was just so tired from the amazing three days I had in Portland, OR, attending the first NIKE N7 Sport Summit. It was a fantastic experience and I am so excited to share what I learned! I’ll do a post here soon, I need to edit my pictures!

And so all that I managed to finish were my kids Halloween costumes.

But I can’t take credit for the hats! I bought them on etsy. I LOVE the blue one, it fits JW perfectly. I have to admit a slight disappointment with the black bird and green pig hats though. They are WAY bigger then my kids heads, bigger then I think they should be anyway, and the yarn that the green one is made of stretches very easily, so it’s totally stretched out already. Despite my slight disappointment, the kids loved them and wore them from the day they arrived and still do. I’m going to throw the pig in the wash and see if the agitation makes the yarn shrink.

Sure the sewing was super easy for the costumes, but I’m glad I got to work on a little something! I’m back now and am going to continue on my postage stamp project this weekend.

W.I.P. Wednesday Two is a post from: me being crafty

I am thrilled to join in my first W.I.P. Wednesday. I always have W.I.P.s (works in progress) and love looking at what others are working on. The majority of my W.I.P.s are quilts or table runners that I need to finish. Once I make a quilt top, I usually fold it and put it away. Since moving into this house (almost two months ago) I decided to have my completed tops in a separate space. For right now, that means a small pile on a short bookcase. This is a huge reminder to me that I need to get these quilted!

Two of these quilts are at the top of my priority list. They are for Operation Kid Comfort. I have the batting already and I am sure I have backing, I am striving to get them both done by next weekend.

Another W.I.P. I’d like to share is a postage stamp quilt. This is a quilt along that was published earlier this year over at P.S. I Quilt and I cut the fabric the same week that the quilt along started. And that’s where the similarities end. It was a lot of sewing strips, and then a lot of cutting, and I am still sewing my block together. I divided them into the two groups and just finished one group yesterday. I have a short stack of strips left to sew together, than I can move on to the construction of the quilt. I’ve enjoyed this and really love the fabrics I am using.

And of course since Halloween is right around the corner, here are two projects I’m working on.

I meant here is the fabric for two projects I need to make. Oops. The top fabrics are for a reversible wall hanging and the bottom is for a table runner. I am going to quilt them in glow in the dark thread. I also have fabric for a Halloween quilt, and I am making it a goal to have it done by next year.

I have the best intentions but just wasn’t able to get my Halloween projects done this year! I am going to work on them anyway, over the next couple of weeks and then quit. I don’t have too much sewing I need to do for the holidays so I won’t be behind like I am here.

First W.I.P. Wednesday is a post from: me being crafty

I used six colors, white on white and a print. The colors were either batiks or color on color as well. I used red, green striped, yellow polka dot and orange strips in the backing and also for the binding. (All you quilters – you use the Clover bias tape tool right? This is an awesome product!!!)

I also learned freezer paper applique for this quilt! It is a lot easier then I thought it would be. I’ve never done any applique before so learning this really put my mind at ease.

I did the freezer paper applique technique on the four anchors because she loves anchors. An anchor is her sorority’s symbol, then add to that her husband is in the Navy so it gave her even more reason to like anchors.

You can’t see too closely in the photo, but the four anchors are quilted by outlining each anchor and also outlining the block. The rest of the quilt has a meandering pattern.

Anchor Baby Quilt is a post from: me being crafty

Preparing stencil of spindlewhorl owl

My Mom asked Stan Green, a local artist who designed a spindlewhorl owl for the college’s use, if she and I could use the design in a quilt. He very generously said yes. Several steps went into creating the design for the quilt: getting a large print of the owl, copying it to freezer paper, ironed freezer paper to material and cut out pieces we were going to sew down. Once we got to sewing, we both had to work on just this piece over a few days. It took an hour just to go around the circle!

Before we did the center applique, we worked on the border blocks. You can’t tell in the final pictures, but the center of the blocks is made up of one inch squares – I sewed six strips of brown together, cut into 1 1/2 inch strips, then resewed them together. They ended up looking like a square of basket weaving.

One thing the pictures does not show are the stars we sewed in the center of the four green corner squares. All in all it took about 60-70 hours to complete, and went for $1000 at the live auction. We are very proud of the work that we did and were so happy it raised such a large amount of money for the college!

Finished quilt “The Grandfather”

Quilt for Auction is a post from: me being crafty

Silky and the lines are shiny

A sort of Transformer?

Ocean waves

Varied design w/ Made in Japan on the salvage!

When he finally did send me fabric, he did a good job. I got a HUGE pile of batiks – that have already been stashed in the fat quarter box – as well as these ones pictured and a few others that have already been used. He sent the Transformer-like fabric for Jake, we haven’t used it yet, and Hello Kitty for Alice, designated for a new bag. The batiks are in our fat quarter box to be used whenever, same with these other cuts.

Except for the silks at the top. SO pretty! I’m saving them for the inside of a purse or bag, they aren’t very large pieces. We’ve been saving the salvages for ages now (it’s awesome how quickly these can add up!) and I’m excited to have a made in Japan one. Too cool.

Japanese Fabric is a post from: me being crafty

This is the first star that I made – I made it at home a couple of days before the class so I would know what to do. I ended up taking it out a lot (I can’t even remember how many times) and it is a little bit bumpy or something in the middle, where the points meet. However, this is the first one I made of this color, then I made the red below, then another of this purple one – and the second purple one, wow – it just about all matched up AND lays flat in the middle. I’m amazed I was able to do that because really, the pinning really threw me off. I’m not sure why it took as long to figure out or to catch on to either. This is the first time I’ve ever strip pieced though so I’m very happy.

Here’s the red (and purple I suppose) star – this one I don’t think I took out at all and it ended up with nearly every point meeting up and the middle lying flat. I have yet to add the white, but am going to get that done this week. During the quilt class Mom taught, one of my friends used this same material and also copied my pattern – so I figure I’ll finish this and give it to her so she can have a set. Mom already said I’m going to be the star quilt maker in the family since my stuff has matched up so easily and the center lies flat.

The book that Mom has that she uses is the Radiant Star Quilt by Eleanor Burns. We used the four color and just adjusted the size for a 18″ pillow vs a blanket.

Star Pillows is a post from: me being crafty

2. I had a dream our property manager found us a place in Japan and insisted we would love it. He kept saying we would love living “on the economy” (why is this the phrase people use when saying you need to live in town?) and had some crazy, cool 3d model thing to show us. Weird.

3. We finally got passports for Chris and Alice – I’m going to fill out mine today or tomorrow and can’t find Jake’s birth certificate so his will have to wait until we get to Washington and I order a new one! I mean I am ordering a new one and we aren’t doing the paperwork til we get there. I have no idea where his bc went either, I keep fairly good files.

4. We have renters in South Carolina! Yeah yeah, let’s not get into the whole real estate talk and how us owning these houses is crazy. Cause it kind of is, but we are okay. We are doing it right, as far as we can tell. And we have been lucky enough to have renters in; I know others haven’t been as lucky.

5. The weather is really bad on the plains and I’m not sure if we will leave tomorrow afternoon as previously planned. However, is this me doing some avoiding? I’ve already said I don’t want to go back because since I’ve been away, my grieving for my Grandma has been isolated. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live there, I would have been living next door to her empty (but for my cousin) house. As it stands I was figuring we would get there late Friday night, stay for the weekend and then leave Monday morning. Everyone works anyway, and it would just be strange to be there all day with nothing to do, since before the day was spent hanging out with Grandma. I’m pretty much convinced myself that we are staying here, but I haven’t told the hotel yet. The storm seems it’ll be Sat and Sun so maybe we’ll leave Monday? I’m still thinking about it, convinced myself or not.

6. We had lunch on the ship today and gave the guys their secret projects! Here’s the deal – back in January I decided I wanted to make Chris a quilt to take with him. Then I talked to a few other wives who thought it was a good idea too so I said I’d help them with theirs. After a little talking, we decided to make quilts or blankets for all the officers on board (easy cause we only have 11 officers). The married guys got quilts (except two because there wasn’t enough time once we decided what we were doing) and the single guys got fleece tie blankets. My Mom and K’s Mom helped and each made two of the fleece blankets too. I didn’t get pictures of those, but here are others:

Chris’ quilt – this is when I was basting it. I still have to do the binding before it’s finished!

Auburn quilt for Brian – I added a border to this too. And I never want to see the color orange again. LOL

K’s quilt for her husband.

K working on quilting her quilt!

Blurbs & Secret Projects is a post from: me being crafty

So for the updates! K is almost done with hers – two more small steps and she’s finished. L is almost done with hers, she will be done soon though. I’m just about done with one I am making and not nearly as close to being done with another. C came by last week and we made one while she was here and she’s making another at her own house. I have been taking pictures along the way and will share them once we are finished!

We even had my Mom and K’s Mom in on the fun! We figured out who is getting what but still aren’t sure when the giving will happen. For sure it will be by the time I leave, which is coming up very soon.

In other craft news, Shannon and I took a quilt class a couple of weeks ago! It was called Flowing Ribbons and even though I messed up a section of my material, I still really like the pattern. I love the fabrics I picked out! I still need to sew together strips to make another piece of fabric but that will be later – after the secret projects and finished, but really more like after I’m settled somewhere.

Here are some pictures:

This is my quilt. The class teacher had many design boards (pieces of fleece) hung up so each of us could lay our fabric out to see what it would end up looking like. I had more pieces up but they kept falling down. I took a picture because the point of the class was to learn how to sew the curves! So I wanted to make sure I remembered how I wanted it to look (a great tip I am going to remember from now on – take pictures!). This is a project I am either going to make sure it with me while we are traveling (more on that soon!) or have it in a box to be delivered to the house vs the storage unit.

Here is Shannon working on a curve with her awesome Janome machine!

Secret Project Update is a post from: me being crafty

We went to Golden Needles & Quilts of Rockport, got on the ferry to go to lunch at the Port Aransas Brewing Company, to Kalico and Keepsakes of Port Aransas, stopped at the hospital to see a friend who just had a baby, to the The Quilt Cottage in Corpus Christi, then finally to the new quilt shop, Heirloom Elegance.We left early in the morning and didn’t get home until dinner time! It was a really long, long day.

Alice & I on the ferry

Golden Needles is a favorite shop – we’ve been there a few times and the shop is very nice. She also has classroom space and depending on the schedules of friends we may rent it for an afternoon for our own get togethers! That may not end up happening but I like that the option is available (and really, I hope it happens at least once!). They had door prizes while we were there but none of us won anything. The free gift they gave was a cute felt pincushion and a fat eighth of fabric, I let Alice pick mine out which she thought I meant it was hers so now she has her own pincushion!

We lucked out on the ferry! We drove up and were second in line for the next ferry to leave – at least 15 minutes, if not a longer wait. But then they waved on the person in front of us and we thought “awesome, we’ll be first!” – only to have them wave us on too! During day one of the shop hop others had talked about the long wait for the ferry due to issues they were having so being able to jump right on was fantastic.

The Port A Brewing Co is a great place to eat! They brew their own beer though we haven’t been back to try any, I’m sure we’ll go before we move.

Kalico and Keepsakes is a small quilt shop and of course I managed to find a few things I loved. She had more fabrics in a line that I have been collecting (collecting is what it has to be, I have no plans for it yet!) and also had a door prize drawing and gave you a fat quarter just for stopping by. I thought it was particularly nice that she let each of the kids grab their own fat quarter!

We stopped to see a friends brand new baby – she was born on Thursday night and we had been getting text message updates throughout day one of shop hopping. It was good to see her but we didn’t stay for too long. I forget (or did I even know?) that kids aren’t allowed in to see babies (and why is that anyway?).

The Quilt Cottage is a regular shop we visit so it was nice to stop in and look at her fabric again. I signed up for a couple of quilt classes at Golden Needles and ended up finding fabric for one of them at the QC! We’ll see if I stick with that fabric in the end. They also gave away door prizes and all of us won something! I won a book, which is awesome, and their free gift for coming in was a pincushion kit. I sewed it together the other day so I’ll share that too.

The last shop, Heirloom Elegance, was having a really great sale on fabric – 25% off *everything*. It was really hard to even be in there with those prices! It was like they read my mind and stocked their shelves with every fabric I’ve ever liked. I bought a few things and wanted to go back the next day (the last day of their sale) but didn’t because I really bought a lot in those two days.

Whew! What was day three of the shop hop turned into a hang out and rest day for me. I sorted my fabric and put it with the rest of my stash or into project bags. It was also a few days into a short time with Chris at work so it was a day to clean up the house a bit before he would get home!

Have you survived my blog post? Have you ever done a shop hop?

Shop Hop Day 2 is a post from: me being crafty

Outside the Quilters Patch

I took along a short list of quilt patterns I was looking for and some fabric because I was looking for fabric to go along with it. I have several quilts in mind that I want to make and figure why not stock up now! Of course that’s the fabric collector in me.

We were lucky enough to all three win a door prize while we were at the Quilters Patch and they also gave out a goodie bag. Oh and a snack room.

Alice & Jake in the snack room at the Quilters Patch

(you can see Jake likes to make a scary face when I take his picture!)

The first day was long but very fun. It was just over an hour to Victoria and the town just looked like such a great place. We’ve talked about going back and having dinner or going shopping there.

Next we headed to Port LaVaca – and I have no pictures to share. They had a lot of fabric that I loved (pictures of fabric soon!) and I bought most of an entire line they have. I also bought a book of patterns there! They had homemade chocolate chip cookies too, which made the kids happy. I ended up finding most of the matching fabric I needed at the Port LaVaca shop too.

The first day was very fun. We ended up having to rush home because Jake had soccer practice, then afterward we all came to the house to eat dinner. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about Day 2 and changed plans!

Shop Hop Day 1 is a post from: me being crafty

Kids with secret fabric

I finished sewing together the secret fabric! There are eight fabrics and I have eight sets of them. I need to cut and sew and cut and sew and I’m sure cut and sew some more, but here they are. They came in a package with all the fabric I need to make a quilt! I’ll get the pattern name and be sure to post that too. This is the second quilt I’ve made with this pattern and I really like it! It’s fairly quick and easy to put together so I can see myself using it many more times.

Short post today because I’m on day two of south beach and a headache is taking me out.

Secret Project Fabrics is a post from: me being crafty

When my last sewing machine broke my Mom said it was probably just best to buy a new machine if it was the timing since that can’t always be fixed and since it could end up costing a lot. So into Target we walked and off the shelf into the cart the machine went. I didn’t want that again since it broke so quickly. A sewing machine is an investment and one I want to have for many years.

My friend Shannon (see her new quilting blog at angelic quilts!) just bought a Janome 6600 – it is so nice! It is a great machine that is perfect for her because she is what I call a hard core quilter. She had a lot of quilts she was working on for Christmas gifts and several others in progress or that she just wants to make. She even has more fabric then my Mom – which I wasn’t sure was possible.

Secret project on the machine!

I got a Brother 450 at a local sewing center. It is so nice! Everything works on it easily, it comes with tons of stitches and it isn’t as heavy as my last machine. It also came with an extended warranty and the shop will clean it for free during the first year (I think just once, but that’s okay with me!).

I started on the secret project tonight and will keep you posted.

New Sewing Machine is a post from: me being crafty

Chris’ OCS Class

So after a bit of searching to make sure I put the patches on right, I realize he bought the wrong patches! I’d laugh if I knew he wasn’t going to be stressed about it. Okay I did laugh, but he wasn’t here to hear me! I sewed on three of the five and can’t use the other two because they aren’t for his uniform. And we don’t have any that will work. And the store to buy them closed about an hour ago and isn’t open until tomorrow morning.

The patches need to be in a specific spot, sewn on in a specific way. Usually everything is centered (usually because maybe there is one out there that isn’t) above a pocket and sewn with the same color thread as the uniform. I’ve never bought patches anywhere other then the Exchange and for the ones with his name on it, they have a very fast turn around time. There are usually places on base that will sew the patches on for you, for a small fee, and depending on how big the base is you are at this can take anywhere from a day to a week or two or longer. Since it doesn’t take too long I’ve usually sewn Chris’ on every time he needs it done – except when he was at school this spring, then he paid to have it done.

I’m not sure what we’ll do now. Maybe I’ll get to the store first thing when it opens tomorrow then ask if they will do a rush service and sew the patches on for me while I wait. I’ve never done that and I know most are so busy they wouldn’t offer that service.

Oh and for those who are searching how to sew on navy uniform patches, click that link. I had a heck of a time finding a site that would tell me about it until I finally went to wikipedia. I don’t usually rely on wiki for stuff like that so it was surprising to find exactly what I was looking for in moments!

Sewing Military Uniforms is a post from: me being crafty

I’m thinking various blocks surrounding the logos/whatever piece of the shirt I use, plus some other blocks. For some reason I’ve really been loving sparrows lately (did you know Mark has sparrows tattoo’d on his shoulders? Very cool!) and was thinking maybe an embroidered or appliquéd sparrow block? I think I’ll have my Mom help cut the shirts so I will stop wearing them, plus she can help me figure other blocks out.

I’m excited! I’ve been wanting to make a shirt quilt or a quilt made out of clothes for ages now! I have a few things of the kids saved and wanted to make them each a quilt from their clothes too but never did. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that yet, one quilt at a time I think.

Finally a tshirt quilt is a post from: me being crafty

Butterfly pillow cases is a post from: me being crafty

Alice’s Flower Quilt

Jake’s Ocean Quilt

I kind of went crazy with the watermarks, but that’s okay! Aren’t they beautiful? My Mom is so talented!

Grandma’s Quilts is a post from: me being crafty

Here is the squares laid out and then one square already done. I have a large piece of white felt hung up on the wall to layout material – I’m not sure where I read about that tip but it is a great one. The only reason there are pins in the top left row is because I hadn’t ironed down the seams and the fan was on so it kept falling off, otherwise material stays on there so well.
Can you see the spiral? Start at the top left corner and then go! I have extra squares that I took out of the layout and will probably use them as a border of sorts. I’m not sure what I am going to make but I felt so good getting back into sewing. It didn’t take too long to make these two squares and I am hoping to get the other two done today. Mom is coming back next week and I am going to have her help me figure out border material and how to put it together. Since they are 2 inch squares the end result is 1 1/2 inches and then all together that is what, 7 1/2 inches square? That’s not too big. I probably won’t make a blanket but maybe a wall hanging for the craft room? I haven’t decided.
I have these same squares in 1 1/2 inch size but I’m really not sure what to do with them. Maybe I can use them as a border as well?

Quilt Squares is a post from: me being crafty

Because of the layout of the house we turned one of the bedrooms into an office (which really is just a desk since we got the laptop a few months ago) and my sewing/craft/homeschool room. Which is more to say it is a very pretty, nicely organized storage area. I have all of this space available to me and I am not using it the best that I can!

I decided to change that today. I started cleaning off the sewing desk so I could sew a few things. I need to work on a rag quilt that I’ve had the material for, for YEARS…like three or four. I also want to make Alice a few easy dresses for the fall. And I have so many other projects in mind!

So I took all of the baskets and stuff piled on the desk and sorted it out. It was good timing as the electricity picked that moment to go out for about a half hour or so. The kids played checkers and cards while I sorted screws, beads, finished projects and Chris’ uniform items. Once that was done, I had three empty baskets! I’m sure they’ll be used very soon though.

Tomorrow I am going to move my pictures and prints (they are stacked up next to the sewing area) and get the two huge boxes of material out and see what I have. I’m sure I have plenty and could make more then a few dresses. I’m excited! I have a designated area for my stamping and card making and really need to use our space better. We are lucky to have a house this big and I doubt it’ll happen again for a very long time, might as well take advantage while we can!

Of course this helps get the home school stuff situated – it’s just about that time you know.

Organizing and Sewing is a post from: me being crafty

Most of the time Alice or Jake sleeps with him, or he has a special place on Alice’s bookcase. Now there is a gift that she still loves too, Fluffy. She wants to make more but we just haven’t. Maybe we’ll do that this weekend, Fluffy does need a friend.

Sock Puppet is a post from: me being crafty

I’m debating trying to find someone to take a class with me. It would have to be someone who already sews because I think they expect that if you sign up for other then the beginning classes – but I don’t know anyone who does! I’d love to find someone to go with so I could have them to visit with during the class. And yes, seeing all of the older women in the shop does lean that debate to the ‘yes find someone’ side. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to a class or store with my own Mom, but being the youngest in that shop yesterday was a big odd. I know that while sewing is cool, hip and fun in other areas – now if I could just move to one of those areas!

The shop did have a lot of cute projects hung up – lap quilts and a LOT of baby clothes. I’ve told Chris I want to use cloth diapers with this baby and they had cute diaper covers. I have a lot of patterns of kids clothes that I always meant to make – but I never did any of them. I should, Alice could definitely use cute dresses.

Have you ever taken a sewing class? Have you done it alone? I’m not afraid to go by myself, but it would be nice to have a friend with me!

Local Sewing Classes is a post from: me being crafty

Look at my fun, super cool, awesome, so shiny and pretty new sewing machine!!!

Way back in October my sewing machine died. I only found one repair shop in the area though I admit I only looked in the yellow pages. And it was farther into town then I typically go, so I’ve never made it there.

But Chris needed his uniforms fixed and I always sew the patches on. This saves a little bit of money but more importantly, I am MUCH faster then the tailor. Like I can get a uniform done in maybe a half hour, but the tailor always quotes at 10 days to 2 weeks. So we bought the Euro Pro Shark Intelli Sew (from Target! $50 off the regular price!) because it’s been so long, because he needed the uniforms, because I just needed a new one! The other night I got the machine out, read a few pages about the basics and within probably 10-15 minutes I was sewing.

I. Love. This. Machine. Sure I have some of that “this is my new toy and wow it’s so pretty and shiny” going on. And at first I was just floored at how cool it looked LOL and then all the hidden stuff. Case in point, the top:

Everything is hidden away! So the top of the machine is nice and smooth. The bobbin winder works well and the display has a picture of a bobbin being wound when it is working. LOL There is also a list of every stitch available and a graphic to show how to thread the machine.

There are like a million fee that this came with. Okay, not a million, maybe 12? 17? I don’t remember. I don’t even know what more then half of them are for! I only ever used the regular all-purpose foot (or maybe the walking one?) on my old machine. This compartment also has the tools that come with the machine – screwdriver, little brush, a few extra bobbins, etc.

Now this is cool. See that red? That’s a package of needles that I bought and they are in the secret compartment! Or at least I think it is a secret. LOL And over to the left, see that box? That is … I think it’s another foot of some kind. Anyway, it came stashed in that other compartment! How cool is that! And last but not least, see that indent that looks like a thumb? You can lift up the top compartment and there is another stash of stuff under that! It had another bobbin (three or four came with it) plus the thing that holds the thread (wow, don’t you love my technical wording?) in place on the top of the machine.

The led display is very cool. The light near the needle is very bright and florscent and reflective. Also the foot that it came with (all purpose? walking? Sheesh, I really should learn the terms!) isn’t exactly like the foot on my old machine so it took me a bit to get used to. I just mean – you know when you are sewing, and you can see down the foot to the needle, and that helps you keep everything lined up? This one has a that – but also has a small what looks like a ball of metal – it’s attached and supposed to be there, but I don’t know what else to compare it to – and that ball is what the needle is lined up with.

But the sewing – wow. Fast and easy. Maybe my old machine was just slowly breaking but this one was so great. And it has the fun feature of having a start/stop button! I used that for half of it and then the foot pedal for the other half of the sewing. You can set the speed so that was nice.

Ah, so cool! I really like this machine and can’t wait to figure out when I will start my block a day so I can use it more often.

Sew Excited! is a post from: me being crafty

In keeping with the great stuff I’ve missed while not paying attention to craft blogs, over at Booga J, she’s started doing a quilt block a day. What a great idea! I love that she is following the thinking that 21 days of doing something forms a habit. I’ve always been told that and admit to rarely following along. But this, this I could do!

I’m thinking I may start this in February sometime and send some fabric to my Mom so we could quilt along side each other. Or maybe I’ll wait until she comes to visit. She is planning on staying for three weeks and we could get a lot of quilting done in that time. Decisions, decisions!

Quilting is a post from: me being crafty

See that grey piece of material stuck in the needle? That’s my pincushion from the pincushion challenge. I can’t get the needle up in order to get the material out, no matter what I try.

But I finally got out the phone book and called a repair shop – the only one listed in the book! They are only open until 5PM and I wasn’t able to get to it today. Hopefully tomorrow – and hopefully it won’t be very costly. I was – still am! – hoping to make the kids halloween costumes and we really don’t have much time left.

Sewing Machine Update is a post from: me being crafty

I finished the baby blanket I was making. The last time I talked about it, I needed to do all of the edging. Well my friend emailed over the weekend and said she was going to pack her hospital bag because she’s been having braxton hicks contractions. She isn’t due for I think six more weeks, but the body is obviously gearing up!

And there is it! I am so happy with how it turned out. I did one edge on Tuesday night and the other three on Wednesday night. After I washed and dried it, there it is!

Close up of one of the corners – I always have such a hard time with mitering the corners. Three of them were easy this time around but one gave me heck. I had to put it down, walk away, and then go back and finish. I have to say I am glad that I put the blanket away for a little while – I don’t think I could have finished the edging in a day and a night if I were working on it right after putting it all together.

I’m mailing it off either tomorrow or Monday – I’ll let you know what she says!

The Blanket Is Done! is a post from: me being crafty

I love this material – the colors go perfect with each other and they are bright and vibrant. I think it is a wall hanging? Just according to the pattern I found with it and if I remember right, my Mom and I bought the material together as we were both going to make one. I think this will be next on my sewing list of to-dos ~ after a few doll pillows and blankets my daughter has requested.

Really, it’s the cutting that always slows me down. I admit I’ve usually had my Mom around to help me with the cutting of material – or she does it for me and mails it to me. I’m spoiled like that. But now that we are across the counry from each other, at least I’m finally doing all of these projects I was supposed to do!

I even found material for a skirt for my daughter. I know it was for a skirt, now to just find the pattern for that.

A *new* sewing project is a post from: me being crafty