Inspiration for Crafting

I finally pulled out the box of jeans and squares I've already cut. Over the last two days I've cut nearly forty more. I've still got a long way to go to get enough for the picnic sized blanket I want. But every bit helps. I'm having a lot of fun cutting out pockets and loops so that they'll "work" when I sew the squares together.

As for the backing, I'm thinking of buying a full size flannel flat sheet and making it that big. The blanket we already have has flannel on the back and I really love the way it feels when I wrap up in the blanket. Now that we're in Tennessee, I'm wondering if it will get cold enough in the winter to wrap up in a denim and flannel blanket! We'll have to wait and see.

Posted by Amber P. at 11:16 PM 2 comments    

Labels: blankets, project ideas, sewing

Well, we are moving tomorrow. The craft room has been boxed up in preparation for our new home. Unfortunately, we are downsizing in a major way and I'm not sure what I'll have access to on a regular basis. As if moving wasn't busy enough, baby #2 is due in just two short weeks. I'm hoping we get rooms put together and the house is in a livable state before she arrives.

With all that said, here are the projects top on my list that I promise I will get to just as soon as I can:

• Regency Dress project: Amy--I'm so sorry I haven't finished it yet. This is my #1 project to complete. I just hope she doesn't outgrow it in the meantime!
• State Fair Challenge Quilt: All I need is to quilt and bind it and it's done. Unfortunately, I only have four weeks until the deadline.
• Quiet Book Make-Along Page #2: I've cut out the pieces and scanned the pattern into the computer. I just need to put it together so I can make adjustments and get it published! By the way, how is page #1 coming? Check out K's comment about her adjustments. Sounds adorable!
• Baby Doll Afghan: This needs to be finished to give to Sammi when Elizabeth arrives. However, it's all boxed up and I'm not sure it'll be uncovered in time. How sad...

Posted by Amber P. at 3:41 PM 1 comments    

Labels: clothing, crochet, explanations, project ideas, quiet books, quilting

My mom recently sent me an email with this free kimono pattern from Habitual. In the email she summed up my feelings about crafting perfectly: "So many projects, so little time."

This is definitely on the list of to-do's once we are settled into our new place and I've recovered from the arrival of the baby (only four more weeks!)

Posted by Amber P. at 4:44 PM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, free pattern, project ideas, sewing, toddler

I finally finished all the squares, sewed them together and put the border on. Whew! I was getting worried that I wouldn't get even that much finished in time. Now I have just 45 days to quilt and bind it so it's ready for entry in the State Fair! Not to mention moving across town and delivering a baby that will happen over the next 5 weeks. Humm, maybe I'm still worried!

Posted by Amber P. at 3:23 PM 0 comments    

Labels: project ideas, quilting, sewing

I found out about this quilt tutorial on homemade by jill and just love the concept and the finished product. Isn't it adorable! I have some fat quarters I really like, but not enough that match to do the quilt. I'm still searching...

In the meantime, I had tons of fun browsing the oh!fransson blog where the quilt tutorial originates. She has a great sense of presentation to her projects. Although, the projects are so beautiful themselves that they would shine anyway!

Posted by Amber P. at 9:45 PM 0 comments    

Labels: baby, blankets, project ideas, quilting, sewing

I found this cute pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's collection of free patterns. It is listed as easy so I think it will stretch my beginning crochet skills to include clothing.

The pattern includes instructions for several sizes (0-6 months, 12-18 months, 2-3 years, 4 years.) I'm thinking of making matching sweaters for my girls for the fall. Now I just have to pick a color...

JoAnn's is having a sale on their baby yarn now. But I think I'll go to the local yarn shop to buy yarn for this project so I can get their help on any parts of the project that may stretch my current skills a little too far.

Now that I've found a new project, it's time to finish that baby blanket...

Posted by Amber P. at 9:47 AM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, crochet, free pattern, project ideas, yarn

Here are the three Evening Star Quilt Block variations in my State Fair Challenge Quilt. The musical fabric is the challenge fabric for the theme "Making Music." At least half of the fat quarter of challenge fabric must be used on the front side of the quilt.

I had to improvise since I cut all my squares only to find that I'd cut them too small. Since I haven't found any more of the challenge fabric, I decided to add another fabric into the mix and have three different blocks instead of just two. Hopefully it will come together nicely with the complementary block (which I also need to resew since it is too small, too!) There's so much to learn about quilting perfectly. If it weren't for a competition, I wouldn't be such a perfectionist! But last time I didn't get a ribbon because of minor little details that all added up to a less-than-perfect quilt. So this time I'm determined to make all my points line up!

Posted by Amber P. at 3:40 PM 1 comments    

Labels: project ideas, quilting, sewing

Here's another project I'm working on. It's a baby blanket with the shell pattern. I bought the yellow yarn a few years ago for another baby blanket for my friend and started this blanket with the leftovers. I ran out and had to buy another skein. Since the last time I bought the yarn, they've changed the look of it a bit! The new yarn is more shiny and smooth. If you look closely you can see where the old yarn stops and the new yarn starts! Oops. That's my lesson in attempting a large project with leftovers!

This blanket has been a lot of fun, but I can only work on it when my little one is sleeping. Otherwise she tries to play with the part that's already done which is difficult since it's still attached to the part I'm crocheting now!

Posted by Amber P. at 2:20 PM 2 comments    

Labels: blankets, crochet, project ideas, yarn

Here's part of what I've done so far for the matching dresses for Sammi and the baby. This is the top of the baby's dress. It comes from the Itty Bitty Baby Dress pattern from Made By Rae. I'm attempting to enlarge it to fit Sammi, too. I sewed the top part together and then tried it on her. It's a bit big. But, since I have no idea how much she'll grow in the next four months, I'm going to hold off on fixing it until later in the summer. In the meantime, I'll finish the baby dress and try it on Sammi's doll.

Posted by Amber P. at 2:06 PM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, project ideas, sewing

Here are the flowers I've done so far. I came across this adorable idea on stardust shoes' blog and got the pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's compilation of free patterns. Joanna's idea was to make a bunch of the flowers and then sew them together in an afghan shape (instead of a scarf as the pattern directs). I thought that would be perfect for Sammi's baby doll blanket. I chose yarn from the collection I've acquired over the years. The colors are not that attractive, but I thought they would make a bright blanket for her baby.

The individual flowers are really quick to crotchet up. I do a bunch of centers in one color and then go back and do the flower part with the different colors. It seems like I can make huge progress in a short amount of time. That's my kind of project! Sammi likes them because she can take a flower and walk around with it. With the yellow blanket, she tries to pull on what I've already done, but she can't do anything with it since it's still attached to what I'm doing. We both get a little frustrated about that. I've decided to save the yellow blanket for times when Sammi is asleep!

Posted by Amber P. at 2:32 PM 2 comments    

Labels: baby, blankets, crochet, project ideas, yarn

I've wanted to make a denim blanket for years. I started saving jeans only to realize that I don't wear jeans! It was taking forever! Then I mentioned to my mom about wanting to make the blanket and she produced the largest box of jeans ever! I think there are enough jeans to make a few blankets. So now that I was armed with jeans, I just needed to find some company to help me through this long project.

My friend Melody came over last week and we started cutting out the squares for our denim blankets. We gathered all of our materials, pulled out our brand-new Gingher scissors, my newly replaced rotary cutter and mat and then looked at each other! The first cut is always the hardest.

But we finally braved the unknown and cut up our jeans. At the end of the day I had 80 5" squares. Only 270 left to go! So far I've just cut up the legs of the jeans. My next brave cut will be to tackle pockets. Thank goodness for new scissors (Thanks Brent for the Christmas present!!) because that denim is some pretty thick stuff. I can't wait to start sewing strips together and see the pattern form...

I strongly recommend using a rotary cutter for this or any quilting project because it went two to three times faster using the rotary cutter to make strips from the jeans and then cut the strips to squares. As of this post I have over a hundred squares and I did tackle those scary pockets. I think they will turn out pretty cute!

Posted by Amber P. at 2:21 PM 2 comments    

Labels: blankets, explanations, project ideas, sewing

I made a matching headband to go with the shoes that are for my friend. I made up the pattern for the headband basing the size on the elastic width I had and the average circumference of newborns' heads. It needs some tweaking, but I'll post a tutorial for it after I make it more easily workable.

I was worried about the bow. I had great visions for it in my mind's eye, but I was not certain I could get it to work out in reality. But, in fact, I like it! The stitching is a little rough, but I'm not that great a seamstress. That's one skill I'm hoping to improve this year.

Posted by Amber P. at 12:06 AM 0 comments    

Labels: accessories, baby, gift ideas, project ideas, sewing

I found a pattern for adorable shoes from my favorite and new favorites blogs. Jill, from my favorite blog, has made several pair of these shoes and I was finally inspired to check out the original source at stardustshoes.

The green and blue shoes are a sneak peak at the fabric I'm using to make matching dresses for the baby and Sammi. The red and blue shoes are for a friend of mine who is also having a baby girl.

A little about the fabrics: The fabric used in the red shoes I've had for years, almost two decades! I have loved it and thus used it sparingly. I thought it was the perfect pattern for these baby shoes. The green and blue fabric I bought shortly after I was married. I bought it with a pattern for a skirt. I thought it would be a fun project. Before I got around to it, however, I found out I was pregnant. Since I knew I would grow out of it soon and I had no idea what size I'd be after having a baby, it was packed away in my box marked, seriously, "unfinished projects." I pulled it out last fall when I decided to make a purse for my then-18-month-old daughter for Christmas. I'm excited for her to have a matching dress!

There must be something about being pregnant because I have become an ultra-creative wanna-be! Other projects also in the works include a crocheted baby blanket, a denim picnic blanket and a baby doll afghan for Sammi's baby. I'll post pictures as these projects mature!

Posted by Amber P. at 3:12 PM 1 comments    

Labels: baby, gift ideas, project ideas, sewing, shoes