Hiatus

So, last spring I decided to take on the position of president of the PTA at my sons' school. The job really ramped up in early August, and since then-- I have pretty much found myself with a nearly full-time unpaid job. Crafting fell by the wayside. Like WAY by the wayside. While it just hasn't been in me to blog at all over the last few months, I have managed to make a few things:

A Concord Tee from Cashmerette Designs:

LOVE this design. I've purchased fabric for two more.

A cute, swingy dress from McCall's 6957:

Check out that stripe matching under my arm where no one can see it! But I know it is there. I don't think this is supposed to be a high-low hem (at least, not according to the line drawing), but that's how it ended up, despite the fact that I did a 1.25" swayback adjustment. It's fine though, because I like it.

An unintentionally sexy top from McCall's 6963:

I think the lowness of the drape is a result of the FBA I did. It is definitely a date night kind of top!

Some wizard vests (from Simplicity 8023), robes (from a lovely pattern from the SewingPatternPixie available through Etsy), and wands (no pattern there):

The accessories-- ties, scarves, glasses, Gryffindor patches, white button-down shirts, toad-- were all purchased.

I can't even get over my boys. They are awesome. And they just. keep. growing.

I also managed a few holiday gifts, including some Kismet Trinket Boxes from Sew Sweetness. (LOVE this design!!! These are seriously so fun to make!)

These are all the medium round size, measuring about 4.75" tall. I put little treats in them and gifted them to teachers and friends.

Finally, I also made some maxi-pads and panty-liners of my own design.

I feel like I should note that I do not generally make a habit of giving feminine hygiene products to my friends/family. My sister-in-law specifically requested these. :P

Relative to my usual output and craftiness... the last six months has been a serious dry spell, creativity-wise. PTA has kind of been all-consuming, leaving very little energy for anything else.

So! My new mantra starting a couple of days ago is "Life Balance." I am going to make a conscious effort to be present with my family, make my home a better place to be (cleaner, more organized), while at the same still doing my PTA job and also taking better care of myself by eating better, making time to exercise again (I miss running!), and plan dedicated crafty creative time-- including, hopefully, a little blogging. No problem, right? But, if I am conscious of these things, maybe it will help me to make better choices along the way. We'll see how it goes.

Hope you have had some wonderful holidays and I wish you a joyful start to 2017!

Holiday gifting

I hope you have been having a happy holiday season! It has been a crazy couple of weeks here. How do the holidays manage to slip by so quickly??? I haven't done a lot of crafting lately, but I did manage a couple of things.

Noodlehead Gathered Clutch teacher gift:

Love this pattern!

And another:

I can't seem to stop making them.

Emmeline Apron hostess gift:

Having recently made one of these, this one went together very quickly (even the hand-stitching part!). My only complaint this time around has to do with the fabrics. I initially bought some American Made Brand solid in brick for the accent (straps, ties, etc.). But when I went to prewash it, there was bleeding. So I washed again. And again. After the fifth time (and it was still bleeding), I decided to go get some Kona. I've never had a problem with Kona solids bleeding, but sure enough-- when I went to prewash the Kona burgundy, it bled. And bled. And so on. Gah!

Finally, I took the time to do a little research and learned about Retayne. It is a wash additive that works to set colors and prevent bleeding. I ran to my LQS and picked up a small bottle. I used a couple of teaspoons in a load with both fabrics. After a dry cycle, I washed them both again with just a little detergent. The color catcher came out white. It worked!!!! This stuff is chemical magic! Suffice to say-- after the bleeding stopped, the project went very smoothly. And my friend loved it!

Iron-on transfer sweatshirt:

Big Bear's favorite video game of late is Rogue Legacy. It is an indie game made by a small company. Unfortunately, because they are so small, they don't sell any cool game-related swag. So I created my own and gave it to my son for Christmas. I purchased a plain navy sweatshirt (it was a 50/50 poly/cotton blend), and then used Avery Dark Fabric Iron-On Transfer Sheets to print out the game title logo. I just followed the instructions with the sheets, and it worked great! My only complaint is that the colors in the transfer definitely dimmed and yellowed a bit in the ironing process. But it still looks okay. And he LOVES it. He has been wearing his new sweatshirt every day. Yay!!!

In addition to the above, I also gave my boys new pillowcases and gifted the "Serenitea Quilt" to my mother-in-law.

The projects were all pretty low-stress (excepting the apron... bleeding fabric stresses me out) and I gave myself plenty of time to get them finished (excepting the apron... finished a couple of hours before the event). (Of course, what kind of holiday would it be if there was no stressed-out crafting going on???) Overall, it was a good season for crafty gift giving!

"Forest Canopy"

Hello! It feels like a long time since I've blogged. As you know, this time of year tends to be on the busy side. We had a wonderful Christmas spent with friends and family (with, of course, much feasting!). I hope you have had a wonderful holiday season as well!

There was a fair amount of handmade gifting this year. I gave my mother-in-law the Blossom Bag I made, and my sister-in-law received the Fringed Hobo Bag. In addition, I made a pair of nifty pajama pants for my husband (more on those later-- I'm still hoping to get some pictures of him actually wearing them!). And, finally, completed just in time for Christmas:


Woo! It took three-and-a-half years, but my Prairie Pinwheels quilt (which has now been officially titled "Forest Canopy") is finally finished. As I technically gave it to my father-in-law two years ago (via an IOYAQ (I Owe You A Quilt) card), it was definitely time. The pattern is from the July/August 2008 issue of McCall's Quilting. It is a large quilt measuring 85 1/2" x 109 1/2" (making it very difficult to take good pictures of it-- so many thanks to my intrepid quilt-holding volunteers!).


Ahhh.... *happy sigh* I just love this pieced back. And I love how well the quilting shows all over.


Quilting it was a slow process. I started by stitching-in-the-ditch to stabilize the layers and then did all of the free-motion work. Since all of my quilting designs were independent motifs, it involved a LOT of starting and stopping. Slooow process.


I did the cream-colored areas first using a King Tut 40/3 variegated thread, "Sands of Time" (#920). I love how the weight of the thread really makes the quilting pop.


Then I completed all of the green areas, including the outside border, using Aurifil Mako Cotton 50/2 (in dark green, #4026). As much as I loved quilting with it, I'm not thrilled with how subtle it is. The lighter weight really blends in with the background and the quilting is nigh invisible. For all of the effort I put into it, I really kind of wish I had used a heavier weight thread that showed a little better.


As it was getting down to the wire, I decided on a machine binding. I'm glad I did! I've had enough practice now that it looks good and I was able to accomplish it in about two-and-a-half hours. I do my machine binding using Red Pepper Quilts' method. It took a little practice, and it maybe isn't as fast as other methods, but I love the finished look (invisible from the front, as a hand-stitched binding would be), it works for me, and it allowed me to finish the quilt in time for gift-giving. (Yay!)


On the label, I repeated the wreath quilting motif I used throughout the center and in the outside border. The motif was designed with the idea of a tree's canopy-- how you stand below and look up and see the outline of the edges of the canopy, and it all looks kind of connected and of one piece with the light filtering through it and putting the canopy itself in shadow... you don't see individual leaves, but rather the outline of it all.


Not only was the quilt completed in time to give it to my father-in-law for Christmas, but it was also kitty approved!

Christmas joy

Christmas was a ton of fun this year. Big Bear hit the mother lode when Santa brought him a train table and some new engines.


In addition to the "official" Thomas engines, he also received a couple of special cars:


The tar wagons are featured in a few of the Thomas stories, and BB includes them in his play a lot. However, there is no actual tar wagon toy in the Thomas collection, so he has been using legos and blocks to stand in for them. My husband found some plain wooden trains and then painted them to create this pair of custom tar wagons. Didn't they turn out awesome? And Big Bear LOVES them!

It was such a joy watching him take it all in and then seeing his excitement once he started to play (and he didn't stop... all trains, all day!).


Little Bear was not left out of the fun either. He got some wonderful new toys for his first Christmas, including a big wooden activity cube from Santa and some electronic goodies from the grandparents. It is currently very noisy at our house (why don't those toys have volume controls???), but the boys are having a lot of fun.

I received some wonderful new "toys" as well!


My in-laws gave me some wonderful new crafty books, including Amy Butler's Style Stitches, Pretty Little Potholders by Lark Books, and Jelly Roll Quilts & More by Kimberly Einmo. And then my mom gave me a beautiful fat quarter pack the new Sanctuary collection by Patty Young in the chocolate berry colorway. So lovely!


And look at this wonderful piece of handmade loveliness from the super-talented Evelyn! And it had a cool little seam ripper gadget inside too!


In addition to a fabulous gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop, my husband signed me up for a new block of the month at Shabby Fabrics: The Pincushion Club! It is the coolest thing! Each month I will receive a new pincushion kit. Some of the kits will even have enough to create multiple pincushions. And every month features a different designer. The first kit is supposed to arrive at the end of January. I can't wait!!!

I hope all of you have been having a wonderful holiday season as well!

And the stockings were hung...

I finished Little Bear's Christmas stocking last night (just in the nick of time!).


That big blur at the top is where his name has been fancily machine embroidered. (That makes two uses of the embroidery unit this year! Woo hoo!)

Because I started this blog after I made it, I don't think I've ever shown the stocking I made for Big Bear.



I hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday season. And for those who celebrate it:


Merry Christmas!

Santa came a little early

Last week, my little 2001 Honda Civic died. Poor Pep-Pep's transmission went kaput.

Fortunately, Santa (aka, my glorious husband) made his visit a little early:


...and now I have a swanky new 2011 Subaru Outback. Woo hoo!!!

And since I can't very well have a post with no craftiness, I'll share this:


Mmm... cookies! And my very helpful decorating buddy!

Seriously-- I am a very fortunate girl.

One Thing, One Week Challenge :: 5 So close...

Alas! I had good intentions, but this week's One Thing, One Week Challenge just didn't happen for me.

Between cooking, feasting, best friend visit, and little boys with colds, there just weren't enough hours in the day to accomplish my stated goal (posted in the comments section of the challenge announcement):

Yay for your challenges, Amy! It is going to be a busy week, but I really hope to get a good start on some holiday crafting. Specifically, I want to get a fabric basket made and a mug rug started. Here’s hopin’! :)

What did I accomplish? I chose fabric picked for the basket and mug rug projects I had hoped to complete. I also managed to plan a design for the mug rug and calculate all the measurements required. I even got the pieces cut out. So, I was definitely off to a good start!

Then, last night I got to spend some time in the sewing room...


...and finished a holiday fabric basket! Because it just wouldn't be the holidays if I didn't make at least one of these! For the third consecutive year, I have made use of the fabulous Pink Penguin tutorial. This time I used 2.5" cut squares for the patchwork and then enlarged the other pieces to suit.

I also managed to complete my first mug rug:


I've been seeing these popping up all over blogland over the last couple of months, and decided I needed to give it a try. Using a tutorial from Jennifer of That Girl... That Quilt... as a starting point, I designed this happy holiday mug rug.


Here's an action shot. I love the addition of the pocket. I embellished it with a little embroidered tree and some happy rick-rack. Cute!

These two items are going to packaged up together along with a mug and some tea or hot chocolate mix. I think it is going to be a a fun contribution to the holiday gift exchange I'm attending this weekend.

I may not have finished in time for the challenge, but I sure feel pretty darn successful! Yay!

Thankful

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and we had a wonderful celebration here at home. Family and good friends joined us for a happy feast. Of course once again I was so engrossed in food preparation (and then eating), that I failed to take any pictures. Sigh... But-- I can show you my gravy boat!


A couple of weeks ago, I went to a Mom's Night Out with some preschool mamas at a paint-your-own ceramics place. And for the first time ever, I actually had a gravy boat in which to put my gravy. Huzzah!!! Of course I managed to fumble and chip it just a few minutes before filling it with gravy. Doh! But, it is glue-able and now it just fits right in with the rest of my chipped dinnerware. :P

I can also show you our fabulous centerpiece, courtesy of Big Bear:


He made it at preschool. I guess everyone else used pinecones for a base. But he wasn't into those. So he made his with playdough and pumpkinseeds. It is definitely a festive conversation starter!

I truly have much to be thankful for in my life, including my wonderful and amazing family, good friends, the abundant love in our lives, as well as all of the material stuff too (fabric and otherwise). Having a time of year like this, with the idea of thankfulness at the forefront, is a wonderful reminder for me to be grateful for all the good in my life. I just love this season of thanks and giving. And feasting. Gotta love the feasting!

Easter treats!

Last week, the wonderful and talented Carrie P. of A Passion for Applique had a fabulous giveaway-- and I won! Look at all of the lovely treats:


I received the package on Saturday-- just in time for Easter! How gorgeous is that tea towel? Ah, prairie points, how I do love you... And look-- she included some charm squares so I can make even more if I want to! I can tell you, the chocolate didn't last long. And the boy has already laid claim to the cute little bunny (fortunately, she also included the pattern, so I can always make another). I've actually already read through the magazine too. It's a really interesting publication-- it's really geared toward the quilting lifestyle as opposed to being a project-oriented magazine. I'm curious to see how it fares in the marketplace (this is the premiere issue)-- it seems really different from anything else available right now.

On Sunday, we headed to my in-laws' house for some Easter celebration, including an egg hunt!


I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend as well!

St. Patrick's feasting

Ooof! This week has been rough for me. But I'm still here! Hopefully, I'll start feeling more myself again soon and build up some energy to take some more pictures so I can share some crafty goodness. In the meantime, I'll show you this:

Chocolate Guinness Cake!


And, YES, it tastes as good as it looks! I made this for our annual St. Patrick's feast we hosted this past Sunday. Super easy, super yummy. The recipe is from the domestic goddess, Nigella Lawson (though I actually used this one, because I'm lazy metrically challenged). The biggest hurdle in putting it together was in not drinking the rest of the Guinness. But I was a good girl, and didn't even take a taste.

I wish I had a picture of the rest of the feast (which included soda bread, corned beef, colcannon, pan-roasted carrots, festive green fruit salad, and roasted brussels sprouts and horseradish), but I got distracted and didn't manage to get one.

One thing I learned: corning an already corned beef = crazy, overpowering corned beef flavor. But at least it was edible (I was a little concerned we'd be ordering pizza). Next time though, I will definitely make the effort to find a plain brisket to start with (my regular grocery store doesn't carry beef brisket of the non-corned variety).

Another thing I learned: hosting a big ol' feast when 35 weeks pregnant is maybe not such a brilliant plan (and I've been suffering for it these last few days). But, it was still a lot of fun!

Jane Stickle Quilt: J-8

Block number/name: J-8 “Anna’s Anchor”

Date completed: December 10, 2009

Number of pieces: 22

Notes on block: This was a fun block to put together. The melons on this one are a little larger than on J-9, and so seemed much easier to deal with. The block is just bright and happy!

The weather here has been below freezing the last few days. Last night my hands were so cold that I almost took a night off of stitching. I just wanted to hide them under my warm quilt. You’d think that all the stitching and having active hands and fingers would help keep them warm. But no. I put some fingerless gloves on my Christmas wish list. Hopefully, Santa is listening. :)

Speaking of Santa, last night we took a trip to the mall North Pole and paid him a visit:


Yay!

Some treats!

Mother's Day was a few weeks ago now, but I still wanted to share the fabulous treats I received. One was a gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop, and my order arrived just a few days ago.


The only plan I have thus far is for the beautiful April Cornell charm pack ("Nostalgia"). I'm going to use that for (yet another!) baby quilt. I'm not sure what will become of the rest, but it's exciting to have some new fabrics to play with!

Then, taking me completely by surprise, my mother-in-law gave me a beautiful necklace.


She designs and creates jewelery, and this necklace is a gorgeous example of her work. And it is so me! She sells some of her work to friends and has participated in a few craft shows, but I keep telling her she needs to open an etsy store. She is so talented, it blows me away.

I am so grateful to have such a loving and supportive family. Thank you for a wonderful mother's day and for all of the love and appreciation you give me all year long!

Celebrating Christmas 2008 (for the last time!)

Tonight my parents came over for our much belated Christmas celebration. We had a simple dinner of Saucy Italian-Style Chicken Thighs (super simple and tasty), pasta, salad (romaine, strawberries, cucumber, cashews, and a berry vinaigrette), and bread. Dessert was homemade oatmeal cookies (from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook) (they are insanely tasty, by the way) with some vanilla ice cream.

In addition to sharing the meal, we also exchanged gifts-- which means I can finally show off the rest of my handmade gifts, including this pirate pillowcase I made for my brother:


But, the handmade gifts I was most proud of went to my mom and mother-in-law (the grandmas!). I put together little photo albums of my son. I created a page for each month (plus a few more, because the albums each had 16 pages). Here's a sampling:


I used the scrapbooking software, Storybook Creator Plus, from Creative Memories, to create the pages. Since the albums I was using were 2.5" x 3.5" (not a standard size), I used a 5" x 7" template and divided it into four sections. Once I got my photos, I cut the sheets apart to get four separate photos, stuck them in the albums, and--voilà!-- they were done. The software made building these pages super simple, and it was so fun! I was never really drawn to traditional scrapbooking (though I have made one book with the help of my friend, C), but I am seriously loving digital scrapbooking! (Just so you know, I don't have any affiliation with Creative Memories-- I'm just a very happy customer.) I'm really looking forward to creating new pages as time goes by, to help keep the grandmas' little mini-albums fresh.

It's really nice to finally be done with the 2008 holidays. Now I can really start planning/preparing for 2009!

More gifty goodness!

Yesterday I got to hang out with my best friend (henceforth, she shall be called Duck). Woo hoo! I only get to see Duck once or twice a year as she is currently living in California. So it's a big deal to be able to spend time with her in person. We had lunch with some of her other Seattle-area friends, and then dinner with our college roommate (it was such fun to see her, too!). And, of course, we also did some exchanging of gifts.

My gift to her was a little collection of comfy stuff. It included a pair of pajama pants using McCall's 5010.


This is the same pattern I used earlier this year to make a pair for myself. I made a couple of changes this time around though. I made a size Large, left the length as is, and then used about 15" of elastic in the waistband instead of the 23" called for. The fit at the waist-area (the pants sit just below the natural waist) is much better now—not nearly so loosey-goosey. Hopefully, she'll be happy with the fit too.

I also bought a t-shirt and then used my machine embroidery attachment and some leftover fabric to customize it:


I'm really happy with the final result. I was not so happy with the 2.5 hours it took me to do get there. But, as I've not used my embroidery attachment for nearly a year, I kind of had a learning curve to get back into the swing of things. It also took me three practice runs before I was happy with my adjustments to the size and colors.


The embroidery is from Designs by JuJu. This design is included in the set, More Fun Patches Applique.

Another component of the gift was a mix CD.


I didn't have any jewel cases, so I created a protective sleeve using some more leftover pajama pants fabric.

Finally, I included a pair of purchased slipper socks (because keeping toes warm is always important in the quest for comfort). Overall, she seemed really happy with the gift. Yay!

Then I opened my gift from her...


...a fabulous knitted blanket! She said she used 5 strands of yarn and size 50(!) needles. It is super thick and snuggly and I love it (as do my cats!). Thank you, Duck!!