Let’s see if these show up correctly! These would be the finished quilt top (before I tied it) and one pillowcase I am embroidering.
Project Updates
All I’ve been doing lately is this baby blanket! So I stopped. Well, I tied it together and then stopped. I’m almost done though, just need to finish the binding and that’s it. I can’t wait! I have time because my friend isn’t due until November.
A couple of weeks ago we stopped at one of the craft stores and just walked through. I love doing that, sometimes you find great stuff on clearance or something for the kids or just another craft! I did pick up an embroidery set of pillows that I am working for my daughter! She’s very excited and I’ve let her help out a little bit. I’m so happy she’s taken to crafting and is so interested. She has asked for a sewing machine for her birthday and we are seriously considering it!
She’ll be five in a couple of weeks. And I’ve heard that the small sewing machine that is more for quick fixings may be a good one for her. I need to check it out the next time I’m at the store. Actually, I’m not even sure where to find it!
My digital camera battery died *again* – well of course it dies sometimes, right? But it seems that whenever I need it, that’s when it isn’t working. But I’ll get pictures up soon, the pillows are looking so cute and they even sort of match her curtain!
Baby Quilt Updates
I have completed so much of this blanket! I think people sometimes get intimidated of quilting, but really once everything is cut out, it’s easy from there. I now just need to trim the edges and iron the rest of the border seams and then I can put it together! I’m so excited, I thought this would take a really long time but it seems to have gone by fast.
The first picture is an up close of the blocks before I sewed them together. The second is the finished top.
As usual, bigger pictures can be seen over at Flickr –>
Why I Love Project Spectrum
I have always felt I had an eye for color. Maybe not for picking out my own makeup LOL (I’ve always needed help there!) but for putting color together for a project, beadwork or blanket. I’ve been doing beadwork since I was about 11 years old when my Grandma taught me. She showed me how to use a loom. I fell in love with beadwork and all it entailed – from the actual art of it to the picking out of beads, needles and such. I collected beads for projects I saw in my mind and to this day have a huge collection of seed beads. I’ll use them someday….
But participating in Project Spectrum has brought me back to that time when I was confident in my color choice. I’ve only been a part for a few months now and realize I notice more. At the beginning of each month, I go around my house and look for the specific color, seeing things that have always been there but I never looked at in such a way.
Joining this group has taken me back to a time when I first began crafting. Now I look at an object and think of what I can make or find that will compliment it. Maybe it doens’t need an extra thing next to it, but the idea that one color will automatically make you think of something to make.
I am lucky enough to have a room in our house for my crafts (and my office). I am an avid stamper, sew’er and in general crafter. I found the stencil t-shirts over at angrychicken‘s blog. I know I have found other blogs of inspiration, but there are so many.
Another place I find inspiration is listening to podcasts. There are a lot of crafty podcasts out there and they interview other crafters, do a craft during the show and talk about what they are crafting. One thing I am sort of surprised about it how many people knit! When I went looking for craft blogs, at least half (probably more!) were about knitting! Even the woman who thought of PS ColorSwap was knitting in her mother’s womb. I haven’t tried knitting….yet. I keep checking out these craft blogs though and it is oh so tempting. Just last night I said to myself – maybe I’ll start knitting and I’ll only ever make socks. That could be cool. – can you believe that! Trying to add a new addiction!
A Baby Quilt Years Later
So about five years ago, we were friends with a couple who had a little girl. She was just a few months old when we met. I decided that I wanted to make the little girl a baby quilt and my Mom offered to send me a pattern, as well as pick up a couple extra fabric pieces as she had a lot to spare. She, being a great Mom, also cut the pieces for me.
Five years later, I am finally making that blanket. Laugh all you want! LOL Sadly, we are no longer friends with the original couple, nor are they a couple. But a good friend is pregnant with her second child, and her first daughter. She is so very excited and since we just moved here, I wanted to send something back to her. I am getting a lot done on it and fast, I’m surprised at how quickly this is going actually!
I will post pictures soon, as when I went to take some I found out my camera battery had died. But my Mom must not have been paying attention while cutting because I had some pieces that were enough for a crib blanket, and others that were only for a lap blanket. So I am making a lap blanket and there will be leftover pieces. No biggie, maybe I can do a doll blanket and send the baby her first doll as well.
I haven’t been on here because for the month of July I am taking part in a 30 Day Challenge. It’s a great thing, I am very focused, but that just means I am sort of ignoring other stuff. Like blogging, crafting, reading fun things, etc. I do have another great swap partner (and Elizabeth, I already received my package! I will blog about it soon!) and the good news about project spectrum is that the baby blanket has lots of purple in it. Or some anyway.
More soon, I am trying to get my schedule back on track! I have been staying up WAY late (like 3AM late) and I can’t be doing that anymore. LOL