Double Duty Bag

I've had the pattern for the Double Duty Bag from Sew Baby for quite a while. When I saw this Alexander Henry cotton canvas fabric at my local fabric store I immediately knew it would be perfect for this bag. This bag is so easy to make and is completely reversible! It has 6 pockets and is very roomy without being too large. I have someone in mind for this one but I will definitely make one for myself.


Pockets out.


Pockets in.


I LOVE this fabric...it makes me smile. Here's something else that makes me smile. Miss L doing her part while I blog.

Midwest Modern Potholders

I finally got some of Amy Butler's fabric from her new Midwest Modern collection. I really didn't have a project in mind but I really wanted to make something. A small project would be perfect. I decided on the potholders in the Amy Butler In Stitches book. The directions call for the individual pieces to be quilted. I quilted the first one then got lazy. I'm sorry I did because I like the look and feel of the quilted potholder better. They are cheery and bright and almost make me feel like cooking...almost.

Sewing With Beads

A shop carrying yarn and beads opened close to my job about 3 years ago. I like yarn and beads! One of the owners does amazing things with sead beads, beading needle and beading thread. We sat down one day and she showed me how to do the circular peyote stitch. It really is like sewing with beads. I was hooked. I bought some Swarovski ravolis, Swarovski bicone crystals and some matching seed beads. After I made a few, she showed me how to sew them together using a flat even count peyote stitch to make a bracelet. Here it is.

Seeing Pink Elephants

No, it's not what you think...really! I saw the cutest fabric on clearance and decided to make a summer outfit for a friend of my daughter that had a baby girl in December. Here's a picture of the outfit:

I had left over fabric and decided to make the little elephant in Last Minute Quilted-Gifts.

I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out and I can't wait to give it to her. I hope to have a picture soon with baby N donning her new summer sundress!

Happy Birthday Skie!!!

Last year, a very cute, 4 legged bundle joined the family. My daughter and her boyfriend Bob got a puppy. They had just purchased a home and they had the perfect back yard for her. Here is a picture when she was just a few days old.

Here she is sitting on my lap at 2 months old.

Well, today she turns 1. She's very sweet and has a lot of energy and will still sit on your lap if you let her.


Happy Birthday Skie!

Stuck!

I came across this issue of Australian Smocking and Embroidery magazine a few years ago and fell in love with the little outfit on the cover.

I bought some fabric, cut the piece for the smocked insert, pleated it and happily started smocking. The last step was to embroider little boullion roses. This is where the "stuck" comes in. I don't know what my problem is but I get very stressed out making those little buggers. I'm nearly done and I've been working on this project long enough. I'm posting about this so that maybe I can get motivated. This is what I have so far.


I just looked at the date on the magazine...2004! Maybe I should change my title to "Very Very Stuck".

Big Dreams, Little Spindle

I first learned to spin on a top whorl drop spindle. A little clumsy and very slow but I eventually got the hang of it. Here is a picture of my (little) Bosworth spindle.


The "Big Dream" part of my title is that I decided to spin enough yarn on my little spindle to knit the Forrest Canopy Shawl. I began spinning. I'd fill my little spindle up, transfer the singles to my wool winder, carefully remove the wound singles from the wool winder onto my hand, then create a 2 ply yarn...one single coming from the center of the ball and the other from the outer. This was accomplished by spinning the two singles together in the opposite direction that the singles were created on a heavier, slightly larger spindle. I would then transfer the yarn to my niddy noddy to make a skein and then soak my beautiful (but very small) bit of yarn to set the twist. Once dry, I would knit up what I had produced and begin the spinning all over again. Here is a picture of the shawl so far.

Then, last summer I bought my spinning wheel. Wowee. I bought the Kromski Sonata.
I could actually produce enough yarn for a project in a reasonable amount of time. By that I mean less than 5 years. I decided to move my shawl project from the spindle to spinning wheel but guilt set in. Guilt! It's only yarn but I had made this decision to create all the yarn on the spindle and I felt like I was abandoning the cute little thing. My spinning instructor thought that I shouldn't move this project to the wheel because the yarn would be different. Ok. After one more spindle full I caved and am now merrily moving along in the shawl project. I may even get to wear it next winter.