Ok, I am the most sporadic craft blogger ever... but life is busy! Here is a little photo collection of my latest craft endeavors:
Two of my 3 (maybe 4) Teacher's Gift Quilts
For Katey's Teacher
And For Jeremy's -
Ryan's Teacher's Quilt is on tomorrows to do list.
The wall hanging I made for St Pats Day:
An afghan for my recently married brother in law, that I need to get shipped.
ok, lame i know, but for now that is all the time i have! I have 2 more quilt tops to do, all of them to quilt and bind, packages to ship, car tags to renew, military ids to renew, a house to prep for moving, and that doesn't even begin to list it all...did i mention i am crocheting ALL of my kitchen dish rags for the new house? and embroidering ALL of the dish towels? I am crafty-crazy!
oh I almost forgot, I made some pj pants to go on the kids i already made! (lol...)
I know I have been very remiss in my posting. Please forgive. The husband is home on R&R and so blogging has been replaced by family activities! Lots of fun, and many memories. I do have some projects to post, but until I get to that, I want too introduce my fabulous new tool/toy.
As many of you know, my beloved iPod touch has apparently turned State's Evidence against me (my crime = filling it with terribly bad 80s music against it's will). It is now in the Witness Protection Program under deep cover. Or it could be in the bowels of my couch, a random crate of stuff, a cupboard, the trash...any number of places. Suffice it to say, it is so lost that I have nearly abandoned hope. Perhaps moving in a few months will unearth it. I find that moves often reunite me with lost items, sliverware, cat toys, used q-tips, the plastic circles from milk jugs and bug carcasses (in this case, those damn japanese beetles that look like harmless lady bugs).
Anyway, I needed (?) something to get me by until that is all resolved. Something to listen to my itunes, check the email, blog, etc while on the go! My laptop is fully functioning but getting pretty beat up. I don't want to push it over the edge, since it is the main pc for banking, home organization and info storage. I don't want to have to expensively replace it any time soon. I also didn't want to get a new iPod, because if the other one shows up, I don't need two. The kids already have small ones, and Rick has no interest. Weirdo.
So, my low (relatively) budget compromise? This little cutie:
isn't it adorable????
He doesn't have a name yet. The only thing that would have made it better is if it were blue, but hey, that isn't really important. Especially for someone as crafty as me! I feel an idea brewing!
It's a happy quilting day! I finished my purple quilt for Lisa. This is the first quilt I have done independently start to finish. All things considered, it came out pretty well:
A closer look:
Today I made this wall hanging for Valentines Day. It is from a charm pack I grabbed on a quilt store recon last week. I saw a version of this hanging in same store, and just recreated it at home, simplified. The hearts are appliqued (using the term very loosely) with raw edges.
The back, using some scraps:
A close up of my first attempt at free motion quilting. In some areas it is falling apart. It is uneven and messy, but this was a learning project. As long as no one looks closely or touches it, it'll be fine :)
Here is a quilt top I put together today. It is an Amy Butler pattern - "Amy's Lotus Brick Path" and I used my fat eighth sampler of Aqua Terra from Connecting Threads. The pattern doesn't call for borders, but I might do a small border in the binding fabric (I am thinking a chocolate brown) just so I don't lose so much of the outside rows. We shall see.
Here are the promised pics of some of my craftiness for the holidays. I did a few things that aren't on here - monogrammed hankies, holiday and floral embroidered towels, millions more scarves. Little stuffed birds that adorned gifts and could be used as ornaments.
Scarves!
a felted handbag!
quilted heart potholders!
new school bag for the Ryan.
More to come soon...including a new quilt project.
I have recently started watching Dexter via Netflix. I LOVE it. I like crime thriller police procedural serial killer type books, tv and movies. And Dexter is definitely all that and then some. But I really don't want to get into that. What I want to share is this:
These giant rolls of plastic wrap are sitting outside my front door. Either I put them there, and am unaware of it, or my intentions with them, OR someone else did and plans to use it... hoping it isn't Dexter. I swear, I haven't done anything to deserve it!!!
Hi blogosphere. Or blogiverse. Or whatever the world of bloginess is called. It's 2010, which is kinda weird to type and say. But here we are. I have been slow in kicking off the new year of blogging because I have been so busy gathering my thoughts and plans for the year. But now I think I am ready to unveil the deep musings of my crafty little mind.
First off, I apologize for not posting much in the pre-Christmas timeframe. I realized that nearly everything I was crafting was soon to be given as gifts, and many to readers of my blog. So in order to keep some element of surprise in the holiday cheer, I refrained from posting pictures or chat about my holiday crafting.
But now, the year begins, and new craft endeavors abound. So I hereby promise to post some pics of my handiwork soon. I have been crocheting, sewing, and generally crafting up a storm.
My other life tasks for the year 2010 will include house hunting and relocating mid year, which, as orderly and organized as I am (and lets be honest, slightly compulsive) is a huge undertaking. So my time will also be spent on that big project, but hopefully not to the detriment of my hobbies.
I try each year, since turning 30, to learn one new thing. I have learned to knit, quilt (a skill I am still defining, learning and finding my style at), began guitar lessons, and...this year...facing a major life fear - SWIM! I have a wonderful instructor at out on post pool who hasn't let me drown, and is so encouraging. I am not quite competent or confident, but I am at least not terrified. I actually like how I feel after lessons - my body feels great, my mind is calm, and my spirit is exhilarated. It is so deeply gratifying to (PTP) "dive in" and face fears and overcome them. I hope to become a life long swimmer.
I have been under the sewing tutelage of my friend, the Tia, who has unlocked new worlds of fabric, style and creativity to me. I am going to ask her permission to link her blog/shop on this site so I can share her brilliance with you. She is amazing in every crafty way, her quilts, her bags...she is just fabulous. I will show you some of the things I have attempted under her wise sewing guidance in upcoming posts.
I am trying to crochet an afghan a month this year. I have started on one that will be a wedding gift this spring.
I want to read 100 books this year. Now, to be fair, as my list shows already, these will be from all genres. I read craft books, kids books, cookbooks, book club books, thriller series', poetry collections, and they ALL get to count in the list! I have recently been accused of book snobbery, so I am looking to broaden my horizons. Many of my Facebook friendsd have suggested title out of my element, and they are all listed now on my GoodReads list. I am branching out!
It's not like me to write a ton without pics or anything exciting to share, so I will close for now. Suffice it to say, I miss writing and may become a bit more philosophical in my blogging this year. Consider yourself warned. Once my fingers get moving, there is no telling what inner ramblings may escape. After all, my mind is a playground for the absurd!
