Staying Positive

Things I have recently enjoyed:

* A long nap with Nate on a warm & sunny Sunday.
* Picking fresh tomatoes from my garden & having the scent linger on my hands.
* Coming home from a walk with Rufus on a beautiful September evening and brushing the back of my hand over my cheek and finding that it's chilly.

Success!

Quilt #4 is done & I love it! The only injuries I sustained while making this one were a minor cut or two from the handle of my walking foot snapping down on my finger.

Front

Back

Quilt #3

Fabric Depot had all their fabric on sale last weekend so I had couldn't resist going to pick up fabric for my next quilt. I bought a pack of fat quarters in purple hues because it was SO lovely. It's not the best quality fabric, but it was oh so pretty, I couldn't resist! This is probably a quilt I should have started with - SO much easier than the other ones that I've done.

Here's the center of the front of the quilt - I still have a large border to make around these squares:

Completion!

I haven't been blogging my progress on it (since it's been very slow) but I have finally completed a new quilt for our bed - yea!!!! I probably would have had it done sooner, but since these last few days were the first consecutively sunny days in a long while, that got me moving. Here are some pictures of the progress:





I already have my next quilt picked out. Now I just need the money for the fabric!

Lately...

...my 'craftiness' has fizzled.

1st Project of 2010

I made this cute little bubble skirt last month for Elsie's 2nd b-day. I love the fabric!

Here's the outside:

Here's the inside (although, it is reversible, so it could be worn with this on the outside)

More X-mas Crafts

Here are some of the other fun things I made for x-mas gifts:

Wristlets (front):

Back:

Apron for Elsie w/ elastic neck band & velcro strap so she can put it on herself:

Finished Quilt for Andie (front):
Back:

The tension was off in some places, but I really like the way it turned out, so I left it (hopefully that doesn't mean it's going to fall apart!):

And, here's one more (much smaller scale project) that I knit for myself:

T-shirt Making & X-mas Crafting

I took my first t-shirt sewing class last weekend & it was completely frustrating & an absolute bust. Although my lovely, almost brand new sewing machine can perform many tasks...sewing on jersey knit is one thing that it just cannot do. Aside from cutting out my fabric, I completed nothing else in the 2 hrs I was in the class! The lady who was instructing spent quite a bit of time with me trying to troubleshoot, but it was all for naught...I left class with one poorly sewn & puckered shoulder seam. I did a bunch of testing at home - trying different thread, changing needles, changing stitches, anything I could think of, but just couldn't get my machine to work. I did some Internet research, but wasn't able to find anything that I hadn't already tried. Yesterday was the second & last class so I decided to break out my mom's old machine...the 1970's Sears Kenmore...and it worked like a charm! Fortunately, my mom kept the manual so I was able to figure out how to adjust everything. I was such a happy girl! I got caught up to where I should have been at the end of the first class & went to class to finish everything up. So exciting!!! I'm going to have to take my new one in to get it fixed though - I really need to be able to sew on jersey with that thing.

I also realized this weekend that it's almost x-mas. I knew it was coming up, but hadn't realized how soon it was actually going to be here. So, I got started on quilt #2, a x-mas gift for my sis. I have a pattern for this one, so things are going much smoother than they did the first time when I decided to just wing it. Here are some pics:



I also worked on making some vanilla extract - such a great idea!!! It's so expensive to buy a bottle of the real stuff & I seem to go through it pretty quickly, so I made myself a small bottle & made a large bottle for a gift:



I have surprised myself once again by realizing that next weekend is the only one left before x-mas...I still have a few more things to make, so it looks like it's going to be a pretty busy week.

Purse!

Here are some pictures of the purse I finished the other day:

For scale:

Christmas is Coming?!?!

Oh, man, Christmas is coming so quickly. So many things I want to make, and well, just not enough time. If I were a more seasoned crafter it may not be such a problem, but since I feel like I need to make a "test" version of most of the gifts I want to make, it's taking me twice as long.

But, I finished up one of those test projects last night - a very cute purse (pics to follow.) So, I just need to go pick up the fabric for the gift & I can get started on that one. Nana wanted me to knit her a sweater, but I just don't see that getting done in time...I haven't written it off completely as her gift just yet, but I'm thinking that I may embroider some tea towels for her instead. Nate suggested that I embroider a Corvette on them...although this may sound completely silly (since she is 91) but she does have a lovely jean jacket with a rhinestone Corvette on the back. I love that crazy lady!

The Weekender Travel Bag

My bag is done... if I only had a weekend getaway planned! I picked up the pattern & fabric for this bag probably close to 2 months ago & was a little too intimidated by the instructions to start on it. I had cut the fabric a couple of weekends ago when I was really sick & then I didn't do anything with it. I finally decided to just go for it this weekend & start sewing. It's definitely not perfect, but I think it looks nice & will work well for me. Once again, I've learned some things while I was making it, so that's a plus.

I took the pattern & added feet to the bottom of the bag & a couple of pockets to the lining fabric...because I've never had a bag with too many pockets. Here's what it looks like:

Top:

Inside:

Sweater for the Sweetest & Littlest Girl I Know

I finally finished Elsie's sweater! For some reason it took me a lot longer than I figured a teeny tiny sweater should have, but I think it turned out really cute. I just need to block it & then it's ready for her (well, it'll be ready for her to wear pretty soon - it's still a little big):

Fall Veggies

I took a look to see how things are growing in the garden so far this fall & things seem to be coming along nicely...

CARROTS

BROCCOLI

??? (I can't remember what this is since I planted it from seed - beets? spinach? We'll see once it's ready to harvest!)

MUSHROOMS

RED ROMAINE

Puppies Putting Their Bed to Good Use

Love those pups.

Dog (and cat) Bed

Here's the dog bed I whipped up last night:



I love the fabric - I saw it at Ikea awhile ago, and once I figured out a use for it, I was super excited. I also hadn't made any buttonholes with my new sewing machine, so I figured this was a good opportunity to try that out. I used 4 buttons to secure the cover on the back of one of the ends.
Rufus & Sophie love it (while I was sitting on the couch, I was holding it in my lap finishing up a seam & Rufus actually jumped up on the couch & then proceeded to try to get on top of the pillow to lay down.) They're not the only fans though...when I woke up this morning, both Woody & Charlie were snuggled up in the middle of it.

Quilt = Complete

Finally! I'm done w/ the quilt. Done, done, done. Lots o' love (and just as much frustration) went into it. I'm glad Nate convinced me to keep making it, but I'm also glad I decided to just make it a lap quilt instead of a quilt for our bed. Maybe another time. I think I'm done with quilts for awhile. But, I am happy with the way this one turned out:



I couldn't get a very good pic of the back of it, but it's a dark green heathery flannel with orange lines through it:


Next project - dog bed.

The Saturday I Didn't Get Out of My Pajamas

Yes, it's true. On Saturday, I woke-up, cleaned house, picked my quilt up and didn't put it down until I went to bed at 1 am on Sunday. My posture was horrible for the majority of the time I was doing this, so, needless to say, I could barely stand up on Sunday. I made it to yoga last night though, so I'm feeling quite a bit better.

When I was at the fabric store last, I decided not to buy a leather thimble (which was recommended in a book I have) and so I spent the entire time I was quilting, regretting that decision. I made due by wrapping some blue painter's tape around my finger (since that was all that I had near me that would work) and it helped a bit, but my poor fingers are still sore today. Lesson learned.

I quilted all of the squares and just need to do some quilting in between them. Hopefully, I will be done by next week. Here are some pics (Nate wanted some "X" stitches...I don't think they're your normal quilting stitches, but I think they're cute):