Newest set of potholders.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone has had a good Christmas. Speaking of...I started working on a new pattern for my quilted potholders, called the "Wandering Star" pattern. My mom likes Fall/Autumn colors, so I figured I would raid my stock to see what I could come up with.

IHSW - Otherwise known as, "There and Back Again..."

I signed up for my first International Hermit & Stitch Weekend. It seemed like fun, at first, but soon turned to frustration once I realized that thanks to my not-so-sharp eyes missing two squares/stitches in the filigree at the top of the pattern, the rest of the pattern had become offset, which means only one thing.

I had to rip out/cut out a week's worth of work.

Now, I'm not the fastest cross-stitcher in the world, and am even slower since I'm doing the pattern on stiff Aida cloth on a pillowcase (it's a long-overdue gift for my hubby) so it really won't look like I've gotten anything done in comparison with my last progress posting.

But I was able to almost get caught up, and even got the badger in while I was at it. I think I've learned my lesson - work left to right, and don't try to get the filigree at the top done until it's even with the rest of the pattern.

Here's the picture of how it looks now...

The Harry Potter Pillow Project continues...

Finally got some more done on my pillow project! It's starting to look like an actual pattern now, thank goodness. I finally got a chance to practice French knots for the first time in forever, too...

Look - it's a banner!

I've gotten quite a bit more progress done on my Harry Potter pillow this weekend. The Gryffindor banner is getting recognizable now - just need to get the black letters, eye and nose in, and the red and yellow checker pattern.

Stockings!

My niece has gotten involved in 4H recently...which involves lots of community service, apparently. One of their recent projects is to put together a lot of stockings using donated cloth and stuff. And guess who got tapped to help out!

I can't help it when they ask so nicely...

So here's the end of my most recent project.

For starters, they were all pre-cut into the stocking shape by the 4H leader, so that saved a lot of time/effort. I forgot to take a picture, but my first step was to fold the top of each half of the stockings and sewed a thin hem.

Next, I pulled out the *dun-dun-dunnnnnn*... Bias tape machine! That thing is awesome, I swear.

After cutting some 2" strips of red cloth, I fed it to the bias tape machine, folded the resulting tape in half, and then stitched the longer length into one long bias tape.

Finally, I cut the tape into 4" strips - that should be plenty of tape to form the hanging loop.




 Next - piecing them together. After pairing them together, inside out, I folded over the bias tape so that it formed roughly a 2" loop. I lined it up with the outer seam in between the layers of the stocking, at the rear upper corner. With the sewing machine, I sewed the halves together with roughly a 1/2" to 1" seam depending on the size of the cloth pieces and how the sewing machine was cooperating.





As you can see, here's the finished result.  As with a lot of my recent stuff (I'm still in the learning process after all), they're a little rough, but I think they'll do!

There was a rather...interesting variety of cloth patterns, but hey - I doubt they were going to turn down donations. Hopefully they do the trick and bring some smiles to their recipients!

My first Stitch-A-Long!

So...I'm going to try my first ever Stitch-A-Long - thankfully, there's no time limit...

HAP = Huge A** Project, and that'll be the subject of the SAL. Minimum dimensions required are 300W for the smallest dimension, per the organizer: http://crossedstitches.blogspot.com/2014/11/new-year-sal.html

I have a brand new pattern I hope to try out, so I'll post that once I get a chance to get pictures and all that fun stuff organized!

• Ride the Wind (HAED, by Michele Sayetta, Artwork by Jody Begsma): 350W by 469H for a total of 164150 stitches. In the words of the mighty George Takei...Oh, My!

Goal completed for the weekend.

No picture tonight, but after a week and a half of dealing with hubby's broken leg and the extra chores that come along with it, I finally got some time to sit down and cross stitch some more. Didn't get much done, unfortunately, but progress is progress, even if it's only 62 stitches.

Progress...even if a little.

Made a little bit of progress on my pillow. Not a huge amount, but it's better than nothing...

Goal achieved!

I went into the weekend telling myself that I was going to at least get ONE set of potholders done. Well, here they are. Hope my sister likes them!

Another button flower...

So I've been playing around with some more button flowers, and found an alternative way to do them via YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwK4hxUd07s

As you can see, this one only allowed for four petals, so I'll have to go back and rewatch the video. I did however play around with the chains and the same stitch, and made the petals larger than the original made. I'm liking the results so far - I think I'll play around with this a bit more!

Button flowers!

This is a new project that I found on Facebook. Its a great way to re-purposed buttons as well as use up some extra crochet thread.

The original post is located here: http://www.craftandfun.com/2014/09/riciclo-creativo-bottoni-idee-decorazioni-uncinetto.html#more

It's in Spanish, but there is a link to a tutorial at the bottom of the photos in the tutorial.

They're a little rough, but I'm happy-ish with them. Practice makes perfect after all.

The Harry Potter Pillow Project continues...

Got some more work done on my Harry Potter pillow project on Saturday. It doesn't seem like much, but hey - I have a whole corner!

Newest project: Potholders!

This is the first time I've made a potholder, so please bear with me. The inspiration is a "spinning wheel" pattern using two different sized triangles to form the pattern.

First, I cut 8 squares each of a dark blue cotton quilting fabric and an off white fabric - the same canvas or denim cloth that was used in my roll-up crochet case. The colors went well with the focus fabric. Both smaller pieces were cut into 2 1/2" squares and sewn together along one side, allowing for a 1/4" seam. Next, I cut 8 pieces of the larger focus color cloth - 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" rectangle.

Next, I sewed the rectangle long-ways, attaching it to the squares.

One trick that helped since I needed more of a diamond shape was to angle the quilting ruler at a 90 degree angle along the center seam, again giving a 1/4" seam and trimming along the edges.

So far, it seems to be working. After doing the same to the other side, I'm left with a roughly square-ish diamond, for lack of a better way to call it.

And of course, rinse and repeat for all 8 squares. The goal is to have 8 matching blocks, and four will be used for each potholder. Next, the pieces will need to be arranged into the appropriate pattern - I decided after comparing the two to go with one orientation of the pattern and then to reverse the blue and white triangles.

After sewing the blocks together, here is the result. Next, I had to pull out the bias tape maker, and cut a 2" strip of the primary fabric for the edging.

One of the last steps was to also cut a square of fabric as a backing - in this case, after measuring with the quilting ruler the final size worked out to roughly 7" x 7". I cut one for each potholder. Finally, I stacked the cloth together with the backing facing out, and in between is a layer of thin cotton batting, a layer of Insul-Brite thermal batting, and finally the finished quilt block on top and sewed it together along the edges, and trimmed the excess.

Lastly, the bias tape was sewn around the edge, with a small loop to help finish it. They're not the prettiest things in the world, but this is the first set I've ever made, and I'm happy with how they turned out. As I make more there'll be room for improvement in style and stitching, so we'll see how it goes. We'll need to test them, of course, to see whether or not more batting or thermal batting will be needed in the later potholders, but we'll start with these for now!

New Sewing Project!

So, for one of my newer projects, we have the Crochet Hook roll-up holder. This is one of my first attempts at creating something entirely patternless as a challenge - I figured, this is simple enough, right?

It helps when your sewing machine doesn't go on strike on you. In my defense, I'm new to sewing machines in general and have been puttering through learning how to use my Bernina 1530 (thank you again, Mom and sisters!) bit by bit. There's a lot of stitches and features, and I've had to go through the manuals slowly and surely...when the manuals haven't been misplaced in my last bout of cleaning that is.


On to the project...

I've been using a piece of soft canvas, though it could technically be considered muslin, linen, etc. It's a sturdy, flexible fabric, and looks like it should be fairly easy to clean.

For the edging, I'm using a sort of satiny finish material. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact name for it since it was provided in a box of spare fabric, but it's been fun to work with so far, and is as sturdy as the canvas material. After cutting a 2" wide strip, I turned it into a bias tape maker using my new Simplicity Bias Tape machine. Again, thank you Mom!

Starting with a panel of the canvas, I cut two pieces of approximately 26" x 4 1/4" inches. The fabric is slightly stretchy, so I did cut it slightly longer than I had initially planned to allow for stretching or the sides being uneven. The panel shown is intended to be a sort of top flap, so I sewed the bias tape along the edge to try to give it a little more of a finished look.

Once it was done, here's the finished result. I know it looks a little rough, but hey - I'm new at this!

Next, I took the other piece of 26" x 6" inches fabric, and sewed a strip across one of the long edges. When cutting the fabric earlier, a larger piece was cut, at approximately 26" x 8 1/2". The canvas pieces were lined up and pinned together along the long edge of the pieces. Previously, on this shorter piece, I had marked reference lines for the crochet hook pockets at approximately every 1 inch or so using a washable fabric marker, with the exception of the end, with has a larger pocket that will be intended for a utility pocket.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to completely finish it, but at the very least, it's a start!

Tonight we had a family dinner to celebrate my brother-in-law, my twin and my birthdays. We had a good time at the restaurant, and I came away with some pretty cool stuff from my mother and aunt!

Mom gave me a Simplicity Bias Tape Maker, which will come in pretty handy for some quilting projects I have planned - I'll be starting with potholders, to keep it simple, and I've also got plans to make a roll-up crochet hook holder for my friend, CraftySasha.

My aunt and uncle gave me a collapsible "yarn drum", some crochet hooks, knitting needles, and some knitting labels for finished projects.



So, with that, I present my first craft item review!

The yarn drum is designed as a handy travel case, with slits on the top for easy access to stored yarn inside - merely feed the end of the yarn through the holes, and it keeps everything neat and tidy inside.

Pros: The bag has a good amount of storage space on the inside, and I was able to get at least 15-20 yarn balls of various sizes inside. It's tall enough to fit knitting needles without creating bulges or poking out of the top. There is a net storage pouch on the side, which could hold anything from patterns to scissors or anything else you can fit, but it is flush - holding paper is most likely the intended use.

A shoulder strap is included, and clips to rings on the top, side, and/or bottom of the drum - they give three different loops to clip to, so you can connect them however you like. Another plus is an accessory pouch, shown in the picture as laying in the "lid" - it has a clip as well, so it can be attached to the side if there is no room for it inside the drum itself. The pouch has plenty of room for tools, such as scissors, labels, crochet hooks, etc.  

Cons: The open slits in the top of the drum would not make this an ideal long-term storage bag. Depending on where your supplies will be stored, they may need to be put in a sealed container if there are any problems with insects or mice.

Final thoughts - the yarn drum is definitely handy to have if you plan to take your knitting or crocheting projects with you on a road trip, or even just to have around the house. It's set up nicely for easy access to your supplies, and doesn't take up an excessive amount of space.And when you're not using it, it collapses back down for easy storage, making it a very useful item to have on hand.

Oh - and it's purple. Purple is awesome.

Another example of my continuing experiments with Kanzashi. All but the white flowers are made with standard cotton, the leaves are cotton, and the white flower is made from a polyester blend, I believe.

The cord is one of my old kumihimo experiments that I never got around to finishing - the colors went well with my friend's kimono, so I began a conversion using wooden beads that I picked up from Wal-Mart.


In previous projects, I was never really happy with how the leaves turned out - from the top, it looked like a leaf, but from the bottom, it showed the seams and underside of the fabric. I'm a fan of hiding signs that something was made and leaving visible the finished product, so I sort of improvised. Using a simple fold that I've used to created pointed flower petals, I was able to work out that they made an effective leaf if done properly, and it looks a heck of a lot better than the previous ones.

So, this little floral arrangement still needs a little tweaking and fine-tuning at some point, but my friend loved it, which is what counts in the long run!

This is one of my earlier forays into combining Kanzashi - a form of Japanese cloth flower making, I guess you could say - with ribbon flower-making.

The purple flower and leaves are made from cotton quilting fabric - a fat quarter will go a long way depending on the size of the project - while the white flower is a polyester material I rescued from the clearance table at Hancock Fabrics. I suggest at least looking at what they have if you happen to be there, since you can get some nice deals on fabric.

I have found during my attempts to create some pieces for my niece that there is definitely a difference between the fabrics. Some might take a look at the two options and shrug, saying, "Well, cloth is cloth - it should work the same, right?"

It doesn't. As I worked with them more and more, I found that the cotton cloth may not be the most suitable for some of the flowers, especially when making a Kanzashi flower. While the cloth is sturdy and less expensive than some of the heavier fabrics such as the polyester material I used on the white flower or the red cherry blossoms I made as part of another piece for a friend's kimono, some of the required folds might not hold their shapes as well as a heavier fabric. Some of the pointed leaves/petals do form nicely with cotton, but they can be difficult to work into the right shape when you are stringing all of the petals together.

As for some of the "ribbon flowers" that I have experimented with, cotton cloth definitely does allow for more flexibility and malleability, so it might be ideal so long as you remember to take steps to make sure the edges are kept from fraying. Heavier duty fabrics do hold shape well, but they can definitely be a little more difficult to wrangle into shape, and some materials may require a hot iron or lighter of some kind to seal the edges, or else the fabric will fray and try to come apart due to how it's woven. A liquid fray check sealant such as Dritz or Keepsake Fray Check can be used, but be careful of the smell - there are some pretty strong fumes, and if you're working with a lot of material, you may need a fan or other source of ventilation.

Welcome to the blog!

As the title stated, welcome to the blog! I was inspired to do so after a friend pointed out the benefits of having something to distract me from the frustration of unfinished or forgotten about projects - I think we all need a little encouragement sometimes. What better way than to show that progress is in fact being made?!