Crafty catch up!

The past month I have been busy with  quilting and crocheting projects! I finished my quilt block, a purse, fingerless gloves and our honeymoon album digitally! Today, I bought more yarn and supplies for a Halloween project to work on this month!

This block is for September and Nancy chose Nonesuch. It is a paper pieced block and has many variations by turning the smaller squares.



This is my version of the Nonesuch. Love all the color!

I have the pattern for this month's block called Corn and Beans. It also has many color and block variations...so I am having a hard time deciding on the layout. I think I will work on it some tomorrow.



I have had this crochet bag pattern for a while after finding it on Pinterest. (Have you been to Pinterest...if not it is addicting but oh my, there are so many amazing ideas, DIY, recipes, and more!!!) Here is the link from Pinterest, then on this gal's blog there is a link for the pattern from Ravelry. Look at both because there are examples of different purses made with the pattern.

http://sandra-cherryheart.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/eclectic-grannie.html

The pattern is a little hard to follow. I deciphered as I crocheted and did some ripping out, but finally got the basic idea. I used up yarn from my stash that I had collected on two different yarn hops. I finished it in a week and there are so many color options that I definitely plan on making more!



A large granny square turns into a open and versatile handbag!

 

The inside...fun lining! I chose a Batik fabric in similar colors to the yarn. I need to work on a better technique for sewing in the lining but it is okay for my first one.



Fingerless gloves have been on my Yarn Bucket List for a while. I found a simple pattern and used new fun yarn from Plum Bazaar and whipped these out! Which I am wearing right now cus it is cold in our house!

Red fuzzy, warm fingerless gloves!

The pattern is on Lionbrand.com....

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80703AD.html?noImages=0

Crocheted in the round all the way up, they are fairly easy and again, the yarn variations are endless. I am going to make more pairs and I want to try adding the "flip top" to make it a mitten!

I have one more DIY project that I did this week (with help), but that is over on my family/personal blog!

 http://lostinthewoods-erin.blogspot.com/

Sun Bonnet Sue

Sun Bonnet Sue was our July quilt block. The fun of this group quilt project is that we are using techniques and block patterns we might not normally try.


Nancy's choice this month and  her completed block.



Here is my Sun Bonnet Sue!

 I had never appliqued or worked with Wonderunder iron-on stuff so, I was a little intimidated by this block. I wanted to use the black since that is my focal or background fabric, but trying to decide on her dress and hat color was the hard part. I like the way she turned out and I am still trying to think of something to embellish her block with, but I can always do that later! This weekend is the club meeting and we get our 4th block design!

New Quilt Project

I am working to finish the first two quilts I made in time for the Lyon County Fair. They have been quilted with the backing and batting, but now I just have to finish the binding....which I have no idea how to do!!

In the meantime, my quilt group has started another project!! A 12x12 block is designed or chosen by one of us each month. Then, we will each complete that 12x12 block with the fabric we have selected. This is the second month and there are 11 of us...so this will be a long project and a large quilt when completed.

I purchased my fabric at Sarah's in Lawrence and here in town at Prairie Pieces. I chose a background fabric of Black with Coral/Red, Wild Circles, Lime Green, Sky Blue, and a Purple. Each block won't contain every fabric so, it has been fun to sketch out with my grid paper and color pencils how I want my block to look.

Here are my first two blocks completed.



World's Fair Puzzle Block



  

Almost all of the World's Fair Puzzle blocks from our meeting in June. Same pattern but it is amazing how different all the blocks turned out!

Four Winds Quilt Block

I always wait until the last minute! I have been sewing all day and tomorrow is our next group meeting. We will show off our Four Winds blocks and get to see the next month's block! Can't wait!



Mystery Quilt Completed!

A short time back, I posted about a new quilt project my little group was starting....well it is finally finished!
I should have finished a few weeks ago, but had Lily's 6th Birthday Party to attend instead of my quilt group! I missed out on seeing all the other ladies' quilts, but I hope to see them next month.
  
First, we cut out all the individual squares. Then, each month, received a new set of directions on how to sew them together. It was a fun project! The completed quilt is 40 x 40. I think I will have it quilted and hang in my future craft room!

We are starting our 3rd group project next month....each of us will design a 12x12 quilt block to share with the group. Our finished quilts will have one of each of the member's designs. Looking forward to more quilting and learning new sewing skills!

Cloth Wipes!

I wanted to make some new wipes up for this babe.  I've got some that I made when Alex was born but we still use those on both the boys when they go, so it will be nice to have two sets handy.  Plus, I already had the material, so its not like I actually had to spend money on this project!  (Well, I guess I spent the money sometime last year, but since it was so long ago, it doesn't seem like I spent anything...ya know?)

I've been procrastinating on doing the whole project - mainly because my sewing machine is cheap and the thread gets all boogery quite often.  No fun.  (One of the main reasons I bought a ring sling instead of making my own - I just couldn't handle the stress of constantly re-threading while working on such a big project!)  So, little by little, I've been getting the wipes done.  One night I cut out some of the flannel material.  Tonight, I matched some of those squares up w/ the terry cloth.  I pinned and cut about 10-12 wipes, and got about 6 sewn.  I've still got quite a bit to finish up but I like that I'm able to at least hold some of the finished product. 

All of my project tools and materials.  Big terry cloth laid out on the table, w/ the flannel on the left, measuring/cutting tools, then the cut/pinned wipes waiting to be sewn, with the completed wipes bottom right.

I sewed 3 wrong sides together then flipped it inside out and sewed the 4th side.  They aren't perfect and they aren't too pretty but they'll get the job done!

I'm currently looking up info on putting our wipes in a wipe warmer.  I want to keep these warm for his little tooshie but don't want to burn the wipes, or grow bacteria in them.  From what I've read, it seems pretty simple.

A New Dress Inspiration

365 days. 365 items of clothing. 365 dollars And then she blogs about it.

That is what Marissa has been doing for almost the last year and I have been following her since sometime this summer. New Dress a Day is the blog and Marissa challenged herself to make a new dress every day for a year. She transforms the many muumuus’ and other thrift store/ flea market $1 finds. Most of the time she had her seem ripper out and has to hem and take in her dresses but other times she uses safety pins and packing tape!

Even though she is near the end of her 1 year journey take a look back at all she has done. Read about her inspiration and you may be inspired yourself. If you are like me, there just certain things about the clothes that I have in my closet that are just not quite right. Why not change them? All I need now is sewing machine. Oh Honey, guess what I want for Christmas.