First Aid Kits

 

 

These made great gifts for friends and family. The first aid supplies I found at Walmart in the travel section. It was just the right amount of stuff for a buck.

 

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Holiday purses

 

 

I made these for mom and I to go to the Christmas Madrigal at Glen Eyrie. They held everything we needed and were fun to go with our dress clothes for the evening.

 

Doesn't mom look great?

 

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Ornaments

Made some fabric and paper ornaments for a tree this year. Had lots of fun experimenting with the paper because I used paint chips.

 

 

 

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Thankful

For lots of things to keep my hands busy and my creative juices engaged and flowing.

Wishing you and yours a fabulous Thanksgiving!

 

 

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And in Knitting - Handwarmers for Many

A few days of cold weather brings out those who usually give handknitting only a cursory glance.

So now I have several sets to make. I wear mine over those magic gloves you can buy for $2. And this year I found the touch screen version for $2 as well. They come in very handy when I am sitting in the car warming it up and want to read on my iPad.

This version of handwarmer is from the pattern Malabrigo Thingie and are being knit out of I Love This Yarn, a soft acrylic which makes them more easily washed and dried.

I like these types of projects because the pattern is easily memorized and it is portable. I can do it at lunch, watching TV and can have a pair done usually in a day or two if I really work at it.

So, on to knitting to keep hands warm. I hope everyone is finding a way to see the silver lining in this cold snap~!

Kansas Quilts

I have made two more lap quilts out of the P.S. I Love You jelly roll pattern I got from Craftsy and the Shenandoah Valley jelly roll by Nancy Gere.

These are destined for my friends in Kansas.

I made them from the baby quilt size which should be perfect for their chairs. It works out nicely that you use the entire jelly roll and get two. And I can get four out of a full size batt. The only difference in these are one has red accent with red flannel backing and the other has blue accent with a denim blue flannel backing; hers and his.

They should be done by the end of the month and ready to mail out to them. I hope they get a lot of use out of them.

I hope everyone is staying cozy and warm during this Polar Invasion~!

Goldilocks and the Tale of the Clutch Purse

You remember Goldilocks and her adventure with the three bears? I have remembered that tale this week as I learn how to do a clutch purse with a glue-in frame.

The frames came from WhileBabyNaps, she has the best frames and supplies for clutches of all sizes and she is in the US; so the shipping is faster. She also has a great pattern that explains how they are assembled and how to use the glue that she swears by.

I purchased frames, glue and the pattern, then I went fabric shopping in my stash for gift bags.

Without giving a lot away, I have only one picture to show you. The Goldilocks reference is because I had to test what was the best combination of fusible fleece and interfacing. The first bag was too soft and the next too stiff. The third attempt came out just right. Now I have the combination and will make some more bags.

A final update will be shared when I get them all done. Have to get back to it if I expect to get them gifted on time.

I hope that everyone is having a great Autumn~!

Fun Little Fabric Project

I found a tutorial online that showed how to do a first aid kit. My plan became to make one for mom for her car and / or purse.

I chose cat fabric and the supplies came from the travel section at the WalMart store. You can buy a little kit in a plastic container for $1. It has the basics and I added some more bandaids to it.

A quick project and very handy for anyone who you need to make a little gift.

The Problem and A Solution

The problem I am having with blogging right now is I feel like I do not have much to say but more it is about I am working on secret gift projects and cannot show them yet. That means I don't have much to blog about.

So the blog languishes while I work along on fun projects.




The solution I have come up with is to work on at least one thing that I can show, talk about, tell all, and reveal as it progresses to completion. And maybe a couple pretty fall pictures thrown in for fun.

So, that will be my plan going forward. And I will do a big reveal on the secret projects after they are gifted.





Today let's just stick with a picture of the finished hat on mom and a fall pic.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous fall~!

Fall Trip and Knitting

Had a very nice fall trip with Mom this year. Saw what was left of the fall colors and visited some areas that I had not seen in and around the Buena Vista area.

While we were there we stopped in at Serendipity and found some more hat yarn. Just finished another Brio Hat for Mom. It is very pretty.

And have another hat/cowl project to start. This one is called the HowlCat, and will be made from some Baaah worsted weight and a skein of fingering weight. I am changing the pattern just a little to add some more interest to the 20+ inch tube project.

Stop back later to see what I end up doing with this one.

Until then, happy knitting~!

Yard Sale Quilt Done

The end result of the fabrics that a neighbor destashed to me turned out so cute. It turned out to be about 42 x 58, certainly big enough to use in a favorite TV watching chair or the couch.

I have called it "Yard Sale" and it is ready to gift to her this coming weekend, right on time for the next cold front to arrive.

The name comes from the price tags I discovered on the fabric pieces as I was sorting and deciding what to do with it. The stickers were hand lettered and most had prices of 25 - 35 cents each. No way to be sure how long ago this stash was acquired but my guess is at least 20 years.

I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Quilt Design Boards

Another great idea I happened to come across while cruising the internet. These quilt design boards are easy, inexpensive and cute.

It is explained here on this video with Lori Holt at the Fat Quarter Shop.

The materials are simple to obtain. Here is what I used: foam core board (like you use for posters), leftover jelly roll strips for the outer edge finish, leftover lightweight batting, a glue gun and a dull-bladed rotary cutter.

I got six 10x10 inch squares from the standard size foam core board (20x30). These will work well for 6 inch or 8 inch block designs. I may make a large one - the size of the standard board to work on mini quilt ideas.

Happy crafting to all~!

Another One Begins

A neighbor has been de-stashing her crafting supplies and brought me a bag of fabric and trims to sort through and take what I wanted from it.

In that bag I found some pieces that she had obviously bought to go together in something for her home (I am judging that from the colors). So I decided that she needed a lap quilt to go in her living room and it could be made from the fabrics she had picked out.

This is the picture of the planning stage on how to assemble it.

It will be done using the strips of fabric and then piecing some together with coordinating fabrics I collected to finish it.

This one will be finished and gifted before cold weather arrives (which looks like it could be soon by the way our weather is acting. )

Happy crafting to all~!

Tube Quilting Continued - with Leftovers

How do you quilt leftovers, you ask?

In this case, it was easy. I took the rest of the pieces I cut from the tubes I made for the tablerunner for my neighbor and friend, then I pieced them into four blocks. One block represented a blend of the two color styles from the runner.

Then I placed them into a square design and added some more of the leftover jelly roll strips from the Sweet Pea roll by Kansas Troubles.

The back is from the leftovers of fabric I used in the other one. I will bind this one with the wine color and may quilt the sashing with a wide zigzag pattern.

Its finished measurements will be somewhere around 24-inches. And the majority of the fabric for this project will be used up. What is left I will add to my strip collection.

Tube Quilting - Fun and Fast

It all began with a tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Company and some leftover jelly strips in Sweet Pea by Kansas Troubles.

This tablerunner will be a gift to my neighbor for her table in two weeks for our ladies potluck event.

The pumpkin has already found its way to her home for this fall.

Both projects were fast and fun. I am planning a Christmas version of the tablerunner soon.

Flying Geese - A Sample of the Dimensional One-Seam Method

Mom and I went to the Quilters Above the Clouds Quilt Show in Woodland Park this weekend.


We saw lots a beautiful things there. Visited with folks we know and enjoyed the small show atmosphere.


While we were there a demonstration of the various ways to make flying geese was given. I sat in on it and learned a new way to do them that I just love. It is called the Dimensional one-seam method. I took notes and handled the sample to get a real feel of how it goes together, and I knew if I did not make one as soon as I got home I would forget how it was done.

So, that is exactly what I did. Once I got two of them done and assembled I had to finish it into something. Here are the results. I love the tree effect. Next one will be in greens, maybe with gray as the neutral. On to experiment....

Red Button Adventure

I found this kit (pattern and buttons) at Sew Many Quilts in Bend, Oregon. I had heard of them and wanted to try one. Once I got home I realized that I needed reds a creams to create the piece so I picked them up from my local quilt shop.

The piecing part went quickly, now I am down to the embroidery and hand quilting. It is an adventure in things I had not tried until now.

The pattern is from Red Button Quilt Company called Little Red Three (#503).  They carry a couple others that I am interested in trying. Will wait until this one is done and hung up before I decide on the next.

The buttons are what really fascinated me. They are so tiny and I am not sure how they can make them this small. The ones in this kit are flower shaped. They also make round ones that are 1/8".

The reds are used are a mix of civil war and random reds and creams that went together and did not fight with each other. Until next time - I craft so I don't unravel~!

Oregon Diverse - Home Again

What I brought home - on to new projects:

Something for a wall hanging with orcas.

These lighthouses are so fun. Another wall hanging I think.

Two ideas for country quilts, these could do camping one summer.

Fun things for a future project. Loved the witch. And the Valori Wells Trinity quilt is made from leftover strips of which I have plenty.

This was a gift from one of my travel mates. I will try to get this one done for this Halloween.

Oregon Diverse - Special Report - Gossamer Yarns in Bend

I saved this as a special post because yarn shops were scarce in our travels around the state.

At one point we decided that Portland housed all the yarn shops so they could hog the fiber tourism.

We found Gossamer Yarns in Bend to be a fabulous shop with great staff, a fun bathroom with cool wallpaper and the best bike in town.

And the largest selection of Lamb's Pride Brown Sheep yarn I have ever seen.

The big find was the Freia yarn that was featured for a super cute sweater that one of my traveling partners wanted to knit but could not get the yarn because it was so popular. I even bought a skein for a shawl cowl that I will show you more about later.

Oregon Diverse - Part Two

The focus of the trip was the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, OR. This show was started 39 years ago by Jean Wells, the owner of the Stitching Post. What impressed me the most was the fact that the entire town participates in this show. There were over 500 volunteers involved in the preparation, execution and clean up.

Then picture above is about 6:30 a.m. the morning of the show as we were finding the breakfast. Look how quiet the main street looks...just wait.

The fun began with the firefights hanging the quilts on the end of the Stitchin Post. The crowed gasped as they "nailed" the quilts to the building. Really, nails.



This is a sunset from the house we stayed out about 7 miles north of town. Those are the three peaks called the Sisters.

 

We had the pleasure of visiting the Panorama Alpaca Ranch east of Sisters for lunch and a chance to go in the pasture with the new babies. This year they had seven total, the one closest is the only girl born this year.

 

And there were quilts everywhere. Over 1400 were hung for the show. Some of those were in businesses and stayed up all month. The rest were outside for just that day. They even have a Quilt Rescue crew that are tasked with taking them all down fast in case it rains. They told us that last year it did and all the outdoor quilts were down in 30 minutes, that is impressive.

The street above was about noon time. The numbers for the day neared 20,000 visitors. It was amazing how many tour buses were parked on the outskirts of town.

 

I love this crazy log cabin effect. It is one of the scrap ideas I brought home to try.

And the Portland Airport. The fun is over and it is time to go home.
We had lots of fun.

Oregon Diverse - Part One

A trip, that the planning has taken over six months to realize, is finally here. Off the group goes to Oregon to see everything they can from coastal delights to the finale at the 39th Annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

This is the first part of the trip that includes: lavender, alpacas, the hunt for yarn shops, coastal sites and wonders, cool and foggy weather, whale sightings, cheese, plus lots of giggles and making new friends.

This lavender farm is WillaKenzie Lavender and has acres of lavender and alpacas, located about halfway between Portland and Lincoln City on the coast.

 

It took a couple days to get this sunset from our house on the coast but it was worth it.

Everyone got their own traveling pillowcase, fashioned from their favorite colors, and a special souvenir lavender sachet bag.

Coastal pictures from the southern day trip to Florence in search of clam chowder, quilt shops and yarn shops. We did some whale spotting at Devil's Punchbowl and were successful just no pictures because they were too far out.

On our northern day trip we were excited to finally find a yarn shop however it was closed on that day. Only thing to do was gaze through the window and wish we could see what a Tsunami Hat was all about.

A picture from the Tillamook Cheese Factory, a smaller operation than I thought it would be. Then we learned that the real work factory was in Eastern Oregon. It was fun to learn the history of the cheesemaking and have samples and shop in the gift shop.

All in all a great first half of our trip. We did visit three very nice quilt shops: Quilter's Cove in Newport, Wenz-Daze in Florence and Jane's Fabric Patch in Tillamook. For yarn shops we only got into A Yarn for All Seasons in Newport; all others were either closed for good or just the day we were looking for them. So elusive the yarn fibers.