Dear Julia... hope this keeps you warm!!!

Here is the results of a quilt that was, in hindsite, way beyond my expertise level. Inset seams/LeMoyne Stars, what the hell was I thinking?!?! Well... I was thinking I wanted to make something "perfect" for one of my best friends, i.e. one of HER favorite blocks, doves in the window. So for her daughter's transition to twin bed-dom, I offered to make a quilt for the bed. I'd already made one for the newest addition to their family and since the girls share a room, I wanted to make the quilts match (fabric anyway...) Many google searches later, I found the pattern I wanted to reproduce. However, either the printing off on an inkjet or the actual instructions themselves are off... By enough that it makes a difference in overall size of quilt... Sigh... I even broke out some pythagorean theorem work to try to deduce just how much "off" it was... I settled for making all the diamonds 1/8" bigger to end up w/the 14" blocks. However, I didn't realize the sizing was off until after i'd already cut the squares and triangles?DOH>>> Oh well, after much groaning and complaining (sorry, Erin!!) I have a finished product that I'm actually not totally disappointed with... Just don't look too closely. HA!

Baby Pea Pod

I had the pleasure of creating this little cutie the last couple of weeks.  A friend of mine is due with Bebe #2 in April, and she was wanting this Baby Pea Pod to be made.  She showed me a picture of it that she had found on etsy.com and asked if I would be able to find yarn for it.  After a quick stop at what is becoming my favorite yarn shop, Crazy Girl Yarn Shop in Coralville, IA (thanks, C!), I found the "thick and thin spun" yarn, and then was asked if I would be willing/able to make it.  I thought the pea pod was CUTE, so I said I'd live to give it a go.  It worked up really quickly, and what's more, I learned a cool new technique that allowed me to do the entire thing on circular needs: Magic Loop.

All in all, a fun experience, and I can't wait to give it to my friend for her new baby... and well, I can't wait to meet the new baby either! 

erin

IKEA Fabric Bag

Over Christmas (which was late January for us), my sister-in-law, Claire, and I started discussing purses and bags and got on topic about how Claire was in need of a new one.  I was already perusing the etsy.com site, and ran across a purse made from an awesome IKEA fabric.  The purse on etsy.com was $42, but I knew I could make it a lot cheaper.

 

And, lo and behold, not five days after we discussed the purse, I would be driving through the Twin Cities, home of Minnesota's IKEA store.  Julia, Raven, and I dined at the IKEA cafeteria and then went on a hunt for the fabric.  I was delighted to find it and bought four yards... because I could.  :)  Ha!

The weekend before last, our Pella Area Quilt Guild held a retreat, and this was where I planned to make the purse.  I have experience in making bags and whatnot, but this time I chose to use a pattern, because I have zero confidence with zippers.  After a short time, I learned that I should have trusted my instincts and gone rogue.  But, I kept on with the pattern, and after a multitude of cursing, bang, and at one point, attacking a piece of fabric with scissors (no, literally attacking... it wasn't one of my finer moments), the purse was done.  It took a bit, but I was back to my jovial self a few hours later and was able to laugh about the experience for the rest of the weekend.

 

And, well... I think it turned out really great... so it was worth the effort that went into it.  And next time?  Well, next time I'm going to trust what I already know how to do.

erin

Debbie Bliss Embroidered Kimono

Sorry, this is a repost from my regular blog so I can update this link to Ravelry... In future all fabric craft projects will be dumped on this blogsite.

Ok, here's knitted project 2 completed.  Thank you CANDY for adding the detail work and cleanup, it looks AWESOME! of course it helps there's such an adorable model posing....

 

 

First t-shirt quilt..

Well, I've been on a roll lately.  Must be the change to the management type job at work (which provides NO sense of self-accomplishment) which has caused me to be so ambitious on the homefront lately.  Exhibit A: here is the "running t-shirt" quilt I made w/shirts from college races.  It was pieced and pinned together so long ago that at least 1 of the pins had rusted!  i.e. an unfinished project that was at least 5 years in the making.  This past weekend I took a few hours to myself to quilt in the ditch around each shirt and add a binding, and I'm callin it good!

Finishing Touches

Back in August I started this super secret quilting project and after working on it for the better part of a day and experiencing some real highs from it, I was dealt a blow and sulkily packed it away, hoping I would feel inspired to work on it again someday. Fast forward two months and it was October and our quilt retreat was looming and I decided that not only was I going to dig it back out and work on it again, I was going to FINISH it.

Well, I finished it minus about 20 minutes worth of work that I did tonight... I'm so excited to say that it is done! I completed it over 4 days and 20 minutes tonight. And it's still super secret so this is only a special sneak preview and the rest will be revealed in a few weeks. But, I had to blog tonight because dang, it sure feels good to have another project finished. I just wanted to shout, YAY!

erin

Scarf

Okay... confession. This is the first scarf I've ever finished. I've started quite a few, but none were ever so quick and easy as this one.

Some time ago there was a yarn shop in Marion, IA, and it was going out of business. Friend Chrissy and I did our part to buy up some of the stock that was greatly discounted. This is a scarf from one of two balls of a delicious orange-y red (or reddish orange) yarn that is made in Granada. I would need a translator to tell you what it's made of though I have a good idea. (It's mostly synthetic...) It is amazingly soft and feels great against the skin.

Christmas present? Probably so. :)

Off to work on another two Christmas gifts (quilted) and then off to bed... it's been a fun night! :)

erin

Success!

It's amazing how much more quickly one can knit when using the correct size needles with the correct weight of yarn.  Here is Raven in her new and much more comfortable hat... this one only took about three or four hours to make.  Go, me!  :)

Sock buddy ... someday the sock will come?

Ok, I really really REALLY need to stop letting Bella look over my shoulder when skimming craft books for ideas/inspiration.  She invariably hones in on an item that I absolutely MUST MAKE HER TODAY!  Here is a case where I actually managed to complete the item she wanted so badly, since it measures a whopping 3 inches.  Found it in Knitted Socks by Anna Tillman.  No brown yarn, so we have a blue sock buddy (and of course Bella wants the matching one done tomorrow and oh a set for Ivy... and...)

Back in the Saddle

Suffice it to say, I have not pieced or quilted much of anything for months now. I have a lot of projects in mine... projects put together in baggies with books and fabric... quilts designed... stuffed animals I love... I have the inspiration, but I have severely been lacking the motivation.

I don't know when or how it happened. In February I went to our guild retreat, and I had a grand time there working on things. However, I worked on a few things I didn't WANT to work on, and that kind of took the fun out of it for part of the weekend. And, when I came home again, life picked back up and my tub of retreat items is STILL unpacked. (Yes, I realize it is July now.)

So... I was excited but concerned when my pastor's wife asked me in May if I would be willing to put together a quilt for her. I loved the idea of it, and knew I WANTED to do it... but I have had a serious problem really finding my "groove" at home since I have become a mother. Something else is always more important (seemingly), and my craftiness goes by the wayside. However, I told her I wanted to do it, and she said she would go buy "it". I thought "it" was the pattern w/ a piece of fabric, and then I would be "in charge" of going and picking out fabrics for her, running them by her, etc. But no... "it" was... the pattern, the focus fabric, coordinating fabrics, batting, AND backing... the whole kit and kaboodle! Wow!

This wonderful bag of goodies sat on the guest bed and then on my quilting table for about a month and a week. June was busy for us... a funeral, vacation, and all sorts of other activities, and quite frankly, I was very fearful of even finding the time to get started on this quilt, and I told her it might be a while.

But, lo and behold, my mother-in-law happened into my life this week by way of an email asking if she could visit Julia, and suddenly I was left with TONS of free time. I mean, TONS. I wasn't looking for it. I certainly didn't ask for it. And, had it been any other week or weekend or anything at all... if I hadn't figured a way to clear our schedule so that Julia could be home from daycare, I'm not sure that it all would have worked this way... but, imagine my surprise when Thursday afternoon rolled around, Julia and Buscha (grandma) were out of the house, my house projects for the day were done... and I didn't know what else to do!

So, I spent about an hour and a half cleaning up my quilting area, and then I pulled out The Pastor's Wife's Quilt. And, an hour and a half later, I had all of the pieces cut out (it is a wall hanging). And... later that night, I started piecing.
And then, something delicious happened last night. After Julia went to bed, I sat down and told myself that I could finish the entire top before I went to bed.

Sure enough, I went to bed with a big smile on my face and a renewed joy for my favorite hobby... a hobby that quite frankly, I had actually considered giving up and clearing out of my life simply so that staring at it day after day didn't lead to depression.

Wouldn't you know, by way of a visitor and time to do whatever I wanted, I found myself drawn back to doing one of my favorite things. And here's the kicker... really, I didn't spend THAT much time working on it while Julia was awake. Truthfully, it would have been very easy to cut out the quilt during her nap on Thursday. And, all of the rest of the piecing I did while she was asleep. So who said I didn't have time for my hobby? Who said I couldn't make room for it?

My spirit is renewed and I am feeling excited about my hobby again. Other projects are calling my name and I am ready to respond! I have this quilt top to quilt now, but I have a plan for it. And, I have a few other projects that I am feeling really motivated to work on... so I am excited to dig into those! YAY!

In other words... I'm back in the saddle again. :)

Here's a few pictures of the top:







erin