Merry Christmas to All!

 

Wishing you all a wonderful, warm and merry Christmas!

 

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Winter Solstice

 

Pedro is visiting his gramma's "jungle" for the first day of winter. He likes all the foliage.

Happy Winter to All!

 

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Socky Hat

 

Today I cast on a sock weight hat for mom. The pattern is Socky Slouchy Hat, free on Ravelry.

I am using Premier Yarns Wool-Free Sock Yarn in the Vegas Lights colorway.

I am making good progress on it and hope to have it done and blocked for the New Year.

Happy fast knits to all~!

 

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Christmas Table Runner

 

Here is the batch of Christmas table runners that I made for the season.

These are done off the 10-minute table runner idea and are fast and fun to make. They make lovely hostess gifts.

 

 

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Project for next year

 

These are too cute.

They are on my Make list for next year, when I have more time.

Hope your crafting is making you happy~!

 

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See-Through Zippies - Gifted

 

The batch of see-through zippies that I created out of the fabric I purchased from Fringe in Salida.

I blended the eye-popping eyetalian fabrics from the apron and kitchen projects we did earlier this year to finish the bags.

I think they turned out adorable.

They were gifted to my knitting folks as their Teacher's Pet of the Year Award. Each have a different reason to be Teachers pet.

 

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Cute card from the cat

 

I received the cutest card from Pedro for Thanksgiving.

His sweet adopted grandparents mailed it for him from Missouri.

A big thank you to B&J for their help. Pedro kept it a big secret here at home.

 

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Fabric Postcard - Everyone Needs One of These

 

I saw this video tutorial at Crafty Gemini.

With leftover charms from the latest charm school project, I created a holiday postcard. This first one is destined for the quilt shop.

I plan to make some more of these and send them out this year. The first one will be a test through the USPS to myself. I want to see how damaged it gets, I may have to mail them in mini manila envelopes so they get there in good shape. More later on the test results.

This is a fun way to use up scraps. I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.

 

 

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Bus Pass Holder - Successful!

The second attempt of bus passes were successful.

I am sending all three to CatWithCats and she can choose her favorite. Then, hopefully, will pass on the other two to her fellow riders that might need a lift (RAK activity).

Or, she can use them for luggage tags.

I will be making some more of these for luggage tags myself. They are a really cute way to use a favorite piece of fabric.

Happy crafting to all~!

Not Since 1888

Have we had the opportunity to blend turkey day with a menorah. Here is the explanation to the unique phenomenon:

"Thanksgivukkah is a pop-culture portmanteau neologism given to the convergence of the American holiday of Thanksgiving and the first day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Thursday, November 28, 2013. Thursday, November 28 will not fall during Chanukah again until the year 79811."

Wishing you all a wonderful day with family and friends.

Bus Pass Holder - 1st Test Failed

 

In my first attempt to sew with clear vinyl I created a test for a bus pass holder for my friend CatWithCats. It was a failure. The opening for the bus pass was too small.

They will be very cute and I will remake them this evening when I get home. It was a learning experience.

Vinyl is not the easiest thing to sew on/with. I used wax paper to sew on the vinyl and that worked well.

These may make up cute for gift card holders, would not need the hardware on them for that purpose.

 

 

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Hats, Hats and more Hats

 

At the beginning of the fall, I went through my bucket of bulky weights and decided it was time to destash, so I have been knitting hats to donate.

Today I emptied the bucket and saw that I have quite a few, so the plan is to visit Black Forest on Friday and give them to one of the disaster recovery groups to give out to the fire victims.

I still have yarn to knit and will keep these on the needles for days that I need a mindless project to work on.

In the spirit of thanksgiving, I am grateful for yarn and needles and the skill to use them. Knit On!

 

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Charm School 4 - Lots of Pieces, Lots of Fun

I am so glad I learned  my lesson about doing homework before these classes. The pattern for this one includes lots of little pieces and I would not have learned as much if I had waited to start.

So my starting point was laying out the half square triangles pieces where I discovered I needed 16 squares of medium value to make identify the center X better. Glad I had not gotten too far ahead of myself. :-)



By the end of class, I had half of the center square assembled and one point with instruction of how to finish the assemblage of what is, in essence, a nine-patch square.

My goal is to have the top completed, or be to the point of final questions by Black Friday. Then, while all the other shoppers are crowding somewhere else, I can go to the quilt shop and ask my last questions.

It is a fun design and good practice for matching points. And it looks like I will be able to do this one start to finish on my own machine.

Project notes: Pattern - Little Bites Chip, combined fabric from two charm packs - Sweet Pea by Kansas Troubles and Little Seasonal Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings, background and backing and binding is all from Kansas Troubles.

Tote Bag is Complete

I finished the Jelly Roll Tote and love it. It finished out about 23 by 22, is big enough to fit a project box and more in.

I added a water bottle holster to the lining and two carbiner loops. These items keep me organized and neat.

This is a fun way to use up strips of fabric. Next time I do this I will try combining different width size of strips to give it more interest.

Project notes: this was done with Sweet Pea by Kansas Troubles and the video tutorial Three Totes from One Jelly Roll by Missouri Star Quilting Company. The pattern is also in Quilting Quickly Winter 2013 edition.

Yes, I Still Cook

My cooking is still mostly for others so I can try recipes I think look interesting. This post is about just that.

I found this great recipe at The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) blog and wanted to share it with my monthly potluck group.

It is called Crash Potatoes and they were yummy with meatloaf. The blog post that goes along with the recipe contains the recipe as well as a great story about her boys. I hope you enjoy.

Jelly Roll Tote

I got very excited when I received an email from Missouri Star Quilt Company regarding a tutorial with pattern idea for three totes from a jelly roll. These are the strips I chose from Sweet Pea by Kansas Troubles.

Needless to say, I have gotten the top of the bag done, just waiting for another hour or so of free time to do the handles and lining.

This one showed me that I will need to use a medium weight batting for the next ones, this on is a little flimsy. I was using up some lightweight batting that I had a leftover pieces.

It will make a great shopping bag or to take projects to quilting/knitting classes.

Charm School Update

This weekend is has been short bouts of squaring up the 112 squares needed to make the star in the
Little Bites - Chip project that I will be doing at class this week. My first impression is I won't be making a lot of this kind of project with my current time schedule.

Once I have all these trimmed up, I have to lay them out in the center square and determine their placement then I am ready to sew. Hopefully I will get to that point before Friday.

Hope everyone is having a great week~!

Kennel Liners Delivered

It was a beautiful day on the eastern plains today when I went out to the National Mill Dog Rescue facility to deliver the kennel liners.

One eager volunteer gave me a whirlwind tour and explained that most of the dogs had been picked up this morning to be fostered as the facility was getting ready for 80 more dogs that were being brought in from rescue attempts in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas.

It boggles the mind that people run these kind of doggie sweatshops to get puppies. So sad the state of humanity.

The folks with this rescue are doing some amazing things to rescue dogs of all breeds and try to help them find some normalcy for the rest of their days. If you would like to learn more, click here.

Charm School 4 - Homework

The last charm school of the year is the Friday before Thanksgiving. It is one that has lots of little pieces so I got my supplies and consulted with the instructor on how much homework I could do.

The pattern we are using is from Miss Rosie Quilts called Little Bites Chip. I am using a blend of two charm packs - Sweet Pea by Kansas Troubles Quilters and Seasonal Little Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings; both by Moda.

The prework I can do includes chain piecing 50+ pieces together to make the half square triangles (the picture shows all chain pieced and ready to cut them apart). I got a new tool that helps speed up the chain piecing cut aparts.

Once they are cut apart I can square them up and lay them out to get ready to sew the center block. I know that a three hour class is not enough time to get to the point section and that is where I will need to understand the construction part. So I will be there when I walk in the door in about two weeks.

More later when I have another good picture to show. Happy sewing to all!

Happy Veteran's Day

Thank you for your service to our country and for our protection.

Break for Beading Class

While I was meeting with my craft coach a couple weeks ago, we wondered into the White Rabbit Beads shop in Old Colorado to find red beads to use for eyes for the bats she was needle felting.

There was a bracelet in the store that caught our eye and the owner told us she was giving a class on how to make them.

So we signed up for the class and another of my co-workers joined us. It was a fun evening of playing with beads and incorporated sewing skills so it was not too far out of the range of things I know how to do.

The one pictured is not quite finished and is meant for my mom's birthday next week. I have to get going on the last 40 beads (bracelet takes 250 beads (4mm) and makes up to about 30 inches long to wrap 4-5 times around your wrist).

Happy crafting to all!

41 Kennel Liners for Donation

This project I did for a co-worker who has been cleaning out her aunt's house. Both she and her aunt are critter people so I thought this was the best use of the flannels and polar fleece that she brought me.
The co-worker is writing up the donation note in memory of her aunt and will deliver them this week to whichever animal rescue/shelter she has decided on.

Pedro offered his help by holding down the ones to be sewn while watching the finished pile grow next to him.

Mat for Cat

No, not Pedro; I did this one for my friend CatWithCats.

I got to meet up with her recently for lunch and a visit to the quilt shop, Sewceity, in Castle Rock.

This mat was made from the scraps of the sashed placemat test I blogged about earlier this fall. 

She can use this one at work if she likes; it adds that homey touch to your desk space, or at home.

Our visit to Sewciety netted a treasure trove of fine fabric choices for her, she blogged about them and her upcoming mystery quilt challenge led by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.

Happy end of fall to you all~!

Modern quilting ideas

In the recent months I have become excited about the modern look of quilts that use traditional blocks that tweaked to achieve a fresh, new look.

I just got to read through the new book The Modern Quilting Bee Block Party that tells about virtual block party's. It has some great ideas and the gals that were involved have good blogs.

So, I have added some of this blogs to my blogroll under Sewing Inspiration for anyone interested. I love the look of the wonky blocks especially and have plans to use up some of my scraps to make a bed runner out of at least four different ones.

Note: the picture is borrowed from wombatquilts.com - it is a great representation of what I am playing with. Thank you.

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Halloween

 

This year was fun treats, cute mug rug, and watched Hotel Transylvania with my neighbor.

The cute broom critters are hiding a Tootsie Pop, clever paper crafting from another neighbor.

All in all, a fun end to October.

 

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More small accomplishments

 

I just finished what had turned into a year long project that began as a simple test of a bag pattern.

The next step is to get it mailed to the intended recipient.

These little bags are cash and carry by Terri Atkinson with the little wallet she also designed. Too cute in these fabrics.

Now, on to larger projects that need finishing before the end of November.

 

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MIA - have returned

It looks like I have been missing for nearly a month. I was not stolen by aliens or picked up as a prize for a sheik, or run over by a herd of reindeer, just been so busy my eyeballs hurt.

 

I have worked on zippies. And I have worked on free motion for fall mug rugs. There was lots of decluttering and sorting and reducing of all manner of things in my household. At one point Pedro was afraid he might be next, I told him NEVER!

And I have either taught or hosted or took a class every Saturday for the last two months. And this is all in my non-working time.

The monster mat is a tray liner for mom to use to serve dad his meals. I thought she could use something bright and fun to make her smile.

All and all it has been a fun fall. I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving break.

I will try to do better blogging. It is nice to have it portable.

 

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Happy Monday!

 

Today I had the pleasure of driving to Denver to deliver contracts to the state.

Since I had to go to lunch somewhere I opted to find and try Cake Crumbs in the historic Park Hill district.

It was a day of beautiful weather, yummy veggie sliders lunch and cupcakes to bring home. So glad I had the opportunity to find a little adventure today.

 

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Finishing Charm School #2

Finally, I am getting to the finish work on this piece.

I love how it looks, tried just a raw edge applique technique with an echo quilting around the area. I think it looks okay for my first attempt at this.

It will be a gift later this year but not going to tell you for who, that will spoil the surpise.

I see you all now going - oh, I hope it is for me! Time will tell. :-)

Sharkado and Applique

 

Some of you know that I am a huge shark fan, no, not the sharks on ice, the real live swimming creatures. And, with that said, a huge fan of shark movies. For me it started with Jaws and has continued from there.

 

Last night I got to see new cult movie, Sharknado from. The Sy Sfy channel. It was wonderfully horrible bad, a true B-rate movie. However, the premise is great and the story line is acceptable. I don't need to own it, but it was great to see it.

While I was getting ready to watch it I was ironing on the applique sections of my Charm School 2 project.now I am ready to stitch and quilt this piece. I hope it's recipient truly enjoys it.

 

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