Quilt Progress

I didn't get much time to work on my quilt this weekend due to working yesterday and it being rather warm today.

But, we did take Z out to do a little hiking in St Paul.  Here she is at Hidden Falls.

We also visited the flock of turkeys at the vets home.

Here is my quilt in progress while Z was napping.

As you can zee I haven't made it very far but that is the best part of crafting projects there is no deadline lol.

I also need to hit up Walmart for more thread because I just used all of my second spool and I don't happen to have another one.

Cindy

Quilt Borders

I added 2 more zigzags to my quilt because I felt like it was a little small.

I also figured out how to add a border so it was a little wider and longer as well.

I am very happy with how it is turning out.

I now have my backing fabric and batting laid out and have started to pin it in preparation for my quilting foot to get here from Amazon.  I should have thought to order it sooner but I was too busy buying fabric and making new and exciting things to worry about how I am going to finish one of them lol.

I hope to get this bad boy finished in the next few weeks and get started on my next quilting pattern.

Or I will possibly go back to knitting or weaving we shall see...

Cindy

More Weaving

I am still trying to make houndstooth.

I am attempting this again.

I have chosen Caron Simply Soft in Watermelon and Black.

I warped in 1x1.

My weft is 2x2 and I think that I got it finally!

I am on my 3rd attempt at trying to figure out this pattern and have finally figured it out.  I am so excited to have finally done it.

I am not sure what the next pattern I should try and weave will be I am thinking something simple like gingham lol.

Cindy

Quilt Top

I worked some more on my quilt top today.

I got all the blocks sewn into stripes or should I say zigzags?

I also got the zigzags sewn together so the top is complete without a border.  I think that I am going to do a border to even out my sides as well as to make it a little bigger.  Right now it is 46x54 inches so like the size of a crib blanket.

I just have to figure out how to do that lol.


Cindy

Learning

Today I taught K how to sew.

I had already bought fleece last weekend when the boys were at their dad's house so he just had to pick out what color he wanted.

I showed him how to pin his pattern to his fabric.

He did all of his own cutting.

He pinned his fabric.

After practicing on some scrap fabric he did all of his own stitching.

He even ironed and measured a waistband himself.

To top it all off the even fit when he was done!!!  Not bad for a 15 year old boy sewing for the first time ever.

Now I have to fight with him for my own sewing machine because he is already planning his next project.

So if anyone has any suggestions of sewing projects for a teen boy please let me know.

Cindy

Books

I made the trip out to Half Price Books and got myself some new crafting reading material.

First up is my original passion knitting.  I got Sockupied because everyone knows that I have a thing for socks and sock yarn.  I also got The Best of Knitscene I have always enjoyed their magazine but can't always afford to buy it so I miss a ton of good patterns.

Then I checked out the sewing section and got 4 new books there.  These were either on clearance or marked for beginners specifically so I splurged on them lol.

Right next door to the used book store is Jo-ann Fabrics which was having a huge sale so I just had to stop in lol.

I got the boys fabric to make their pants and a pattern for K to use because I didn't have one for teens yet.

As usual several fat quarters followed me home.  I have been sewing for less than a month now and already have a bin full of fabric.

If anyone knows of something that I cam make with all of these please let me know so I can give it a try.

Cindy

January Beanie Bag

At the end of last week I got my January Beanie Bag from Jimmy Beans Wool.

It is a $10 a month subscription that includes shipping.  Each month is different yarns to try, a cute zippered bag, a pattern, and a something extra.

This month's was a cute shawl pin that is going to go in my give away box because I don't do the shawl thing but my sisters do.

I had to give you a close up of the yarn because that's what this blog is all about lol.

All the yarns are from the Cascade line.

I am not sure what I am going to make with these yet but I am sure that I will come up with something and until then keep knitting.

Cindy

Weaving Again

I am back at the weaving again today.

I strung my loom the other day and today I got a chance to work on my scarf.

I wanted a houndstooth pattern and I thought that I had it figured out this time but no such luck.

I am still happy with the pattern that I made and plan to try for houndstooth again next weekend.

I made this pattern by alternating one strand of each color for the warp and every other row for the weft as well.

I also worked on our trip blankets for a bit but, didn't finish another one yet so no pics to share possibly tomorrow.

I will share the sketches that G and I made in my sketching book today.  I used bits of paper to cover up the kid's names but other than that this is what we sketch lol.  We don't do well without a prompt.

Cindy

Triangles

I worked more on my sewing project today.

I actually have all of my 84 orange squares done and all 84 red squares as well.

I even seamed them together.

 G was my helper and helped me cut them apart again.

Now I just have to decide on my final pattern and finish putting together the top.

We are thinking zig-zags but G has no clue what we are making anyway.

I don't think that they look too bad for our first attempt but it is not done yet either.  We still have tons more time to screw it up lol.

Tomorrow I am going to weave some more and I got my January Jimmy Beans Beanie Bag in the mail on Friday that I have yet to open so if you are curious whats in it this month stay tuned.

Cindy

D's Trip blanket

I have officially finished the first of 5 blankets worth of trip blankets from 2015.

We added 25 squares this year to his blanket bringing his total to 84 blocks.

The pattern used is Sock Yarn Blanket by Shelly Kang and it is free on her blog here.  I have done all of mine with sock yarn and size 3 needles.

I just have Z's block to knit to finish up the rest of them and after that tons* of seaming.  I hope to past another one soon.

Tomorrow is Friday so I plan to work on a long time ufo.  As for this weekend I plan to try some more sewing and weaving.

As always I am open to trying my hand at just about any craft pattern you suggest.

Cindy

Squares

Today is NoTechTuesday at our house.  NoTechTuesday is when you can't do anything that uses electronics so no 3DS, no TV, no tablets, No phones, and no computers until the kids go to bed at 8.

So what did we do with no electronics? 

We cut squares.

Lots and lots of squares.

We also played with the scraps lol.

We talked as a family and made dinner together which was homemade chicken noodle soup and dumplings.

G and I even hung out and chatted while we knitted together.

I mostly helped him and made zero progress on my knitting but that's what family time is all about.

Knitting Blocks

This week I am back to working on catching up on our trip blankets.

Orange for G's birthday.

Green from when we had everyone over to make Christmas cookies.

Yellow from Z's birthday.  Yes, I know I am short one because I haven't made that one yet.

Ok, in the pics I only have 4 pictured because D's is an attach as you go pattern and the rest still need to be seamed.  Keep an eye out because as I finish them to the end of 2015 I will be posting pics both on here and on my Ravelry page.  I only have 6 more blocks then I start the dreaded seaming.

I have the one more yellow block to make and then it is this color for Christmas 2015 which will complete our blankets for the year.

I have changed my organizing plans for this year due to lack of time motivation.  The book that I have calls for 10 or so goals a week but, that just wont work for me so I am making them one a day.

Jan 1, get atleast 7 hours of sleep a night (I do this most nights)
Jan 2 write a To Do list (easier said than done but I am trying)
Jan 3 start a journal (a blog is a journal right?)
Jan 4 limit TV (I cut cable a year ago and don't regret it yet)

Tomorrows goal is to take a 2-3 minute break 2-3 times a day.  Back when I smoked this was easy to do but now I have no clue if I can even stand still for the 2-3 minutes lol.

Weaving

I was back on the loom again today.  I was planning to make a hounds tooth pattern which was supposed to look something like this.

I figured that I needed to so a 2x2 stripe sequence.  I warped my loom to make a scarf.

I got it all warped and ready to go.

But, when I started weaving it didn't take me long at all that I wasn't getting the results that I was hoping for.

I was making gingham not houndstooth.  I was disappointed but I continued on because it still looked ok.

So I wove and wove and wove some more.

In the end I got a cool looking scarf that is a wee bit long as in over 7 feet long but I had fun and I get to say yes it is a cool looking scarf and I made it myself.

I also made a Star Wars bag for K because he wanted one.

I am not sure what I will make next but you can bet that I am going to try for houndstooth again and this time I know where I went wrong.

As always if you know of any knitting, weaving, or sewing patterns that I could try don't hesitate to let me know.  I am always looking to try a new craft project.

Cindy