pleated purse

I found another use for the wool I bought at the Salvation Army fabric sale a year ago.  This wool purse was made using a the Folklore Bag pattern from One-Yard Wonders.  I used knife pleats instead of a large box pleat (more of an oversight than a calculated decision), but I don't think it made that much of a difference.  The use of black is always a good choice for moms, especially moms of boys, because dirt can hide and stay hidden.

I only had 2/3 of a yard of fabric, so I used some quilting cotton for the inside of the purse.  This is always a fun decision anyway.  I used some Hometown by Sweetwater to make a large pocket on one side and two small elastic top pockets on the other side, perfect for holding two Playtex sippy cups.

This purse is the perfect size to carry a small amount of stuff and still be able to find everything.

wool work skirt {elastic waistband}

 This time last year I bought a ton of fabric an annual Salvation Army fabric sale.  I came home with over 20 yards of fabric for about $60.  Certainly a steal, but it was all wool and polyester blend fabrics that work much better for clothes than for quilting.

So once I heard it was that time of year again, I thought it was high time I actually break into that year-old stash.  I needed a new skirt for work so I decided to a use this woolen; I'm still not sure if the color is more navy or black, but it's definitely gray.  For those of you for fashion inclined than I, I want you to know that I aware that I am one season too late with this garment.  That's really no surprise.

For the most part, I used Simplicity pattern #2698 view I except that I ended up only using 2 pleats on both the front and back instead of 3 after trying it on.  I used knife pleats as the pattern called for, but I stitched them down 5 inches from the top of the waistband.  This took the skirt in a little more but allowed the skirt to flow better on the bottom half.  The real reason I used the pattern was so I could work out the pockets.  I just love the practically of pockets in a skirt.

I also nixed the fitted waistband and added a 3 inch wide elastic waistband in its place.  This was the plan all along.  See, I have this baby bump to work around and the whole point of making a new skirt was to make one that would grow along with me and (hopefully) fit me after October, too.  Beware the addition of elastic, though, especially with thicker fabric.  I have a small bunch in the front part that sticks out a little but wearing a longer shirt takes care of the bulge.

So this skirt is an overall success.  I would make this skirt again, but I would use a fabric that flows better.  At the wrong angle, the skirt makes me look about 4 sizes bigger than I actually am . . . but I suppose that could be the baby bump, too.

petal patch quilt

This quilt is all for me...

or so I tell myself.  My youngest has already claimed this as his own. The good news, though, is that it's too heavy for him to carry around.

Living in a house filled with boys doesn't give me much chance for pinks and pretty flowers.  Not that I was ever really into either of those things, but after you've been surrounded by dirt and weird smells for a while, you start to crave the prettier things.

I picked up a charm pack of Puttin on the Ritz at my local quilt shop because I love the combination of pale pinks, light blues, and soft grays.  For the center and corner blocks, I used the disappearing 9 patch technique but added a little sashing in the middle.  To offset the subtle colors in the charm pack, I added a bold red to the corner blocks and a bright green dot fabric to the center.

On the other blocks, I used scraps to create a petal design.  Once I was happy with the design, I used the first one as a template for the others and just rotated the blocks.  I love the fun and vibrant colors in these petals.  If I was going to make this quilt again, I would use the same type of bold colors on the patchwork blocks to give it even more color.

Deciding on the quilting technique was easy this time.  I knew I wanted to draw attention to the petals using a growing outline design (I outlined the petals over and over again moving further out each time).  Then to mimic the petals, I used a meandering petal design on the patchwork blocks to help them blend into the backgroun and bring even more attention to the petal blocks.

I finished the quilt top with a gorgeous pink flower print border.  I found this at JoAnn's and now I wish I would have bought more.  It's a perfect pink color for me . . . not too bright and not too pink.

For the binding, I chose a gray dot fabric.  I almost when with blue to try to offset the pink and bring out the blues in the quilt, but I am so glad that I changed to gray.  The gray allows the focus to remain on the quilt top and doesn't steal away any attention.  Plus, dots are my favorite print for binding.

This quilt has already nursed me through a terrible ear infection, so it's definitely a keeper.

Here is what happens when you face the wrong way during the photo shoot.  But what a cute little bugger trying to help me hold up the quilt.

This quilt measures 55 inches by 51 inches.



modern boy tumbler quilt

How's this for a modern tumbler quilt?  I love this quilt.  I started making it for friend who had a baby last autumn--just so you know, I'm never on time with handmade gifts and I've accepted that.  Because she's not a really close friend, I decided not to splurge on fabric and use only scraps and other stuff from my stash.  But as I got further into the process, I realized that i. love. this. quilt.  How could I possibly give it up when the colors flow so well together and it brightens every day?

Let me repeat, she's not a really close friend.  During the process of putting this one together, I also read a post that discussed handmade gifts and the appreciation of the recipients.  It would be an incredible tragedy to gift someone with a handmade treasure like this that took so much time and thought only to find that they don't appreciate it nearly as much as you would have if you'd have kept it.  So far, I have only given these kinds of gifts to family and a few close friends who I am certain appreciate the love that I put into the project.

So does that justify my selfishness for keeping this one?  Maybe not, but since it was my time and energy, I have complete control over the destination of this quilt.  And since my 3-year-old, who typically couldn't care less about something I've made him, lit up with excitement when he saw this one and asked if he could have it immediately, there is just no better place for this one to go.

When I first became obsessed with modern quilts, I realized that most modern quilters didn't use borders.  That's actually what intrigued me about modern quilting.  But the more I quilt, the more I find myself attracted to quilts with borders.  A border frames the quilt design and, I think, brings more attention to it.  I'm not saying that borders are necessary all of the time--I've seen so many lovely quilts without borders--but I do think I will be using them more often.  A quilt with a border looks more like a photo inside a frame and I really like that look.

For the backing I used this dot fabric from the "Wild Cat Woman" line by Loralie Designs.  It's just greyish fabric with black dots, but once you know what it's called, it certainly does look a little girlish . . . but don't tell the boys.

I quilted this one by first outlining each column of tumblers and then quilting inside each column following the same outline.  I then quilted around the border with a few straight lines on both sides.  I didn't quilt inside the border because I wanted it to pop out of the design.  Very simple as far as quilting methods go.

This quilt measures 36" x 36".
It's just lovely . . . and it will definitely be well appreciated.

a pair of {feminine} slippers

I just love these slippers!  They are so cute and they worked up pretty quickly.  I purchased the crochet pattern from Holland Designs, the same place I purchased the pattern for this hat.

The pattern doesn't call for a color change, but I think they turned out really great.  I just love the yellow and gray color combination (again, I'm probably behind the color trend here since gray and yellow popped up at least a year ago).  Such a nice transition.  And this button strap is super feminine and functional; the slippers really stay put.

I made a couple of other changes to the pattern, too.  I took in the one side of the soles a little in the middle so they would resemble feet better.  What's funny about that, though, is that I reversed the shoes when I added the strap so it's like I'm wearing them on the wrong feet!  But I can't tell at all, so maybe this adjustment was unnecessary.  I also wasn't too excited about single crocheting the sole, so I double crocheted instead to work them up faster.  I love the result.

I may try to add a faux leather sole so the slippers don't wear out so quickly.  I have no experience with hand crocheted slippers, so I'm not really sure how long it would take to wear out the sole.  But I'm not willing to take the chance because I adore these.

I've been thinking that I might need another pair so they won't wear out so quickly . . . I have plenty of other color combinations in mind.

a double wrapped simple cowl

This is a super simple cowl to crochet.  I bought this yarn last month thinking I would make a hat.  But I've been making a lot of hats lately (although I guess none were for me), so I decided to make something else.  This is super bulky acrylic yarn that I got at JoAnn's.  It was one of the bulk packs and it has slubs of yarn for added interest.

I found the tutorial at Crochet In Color.  Liz has several great (free) tutorials.  She calls this the Effortless Cowl and it really lives up to its name.  I was tempted to change it up a little because it's so simple, but I thought that with the added texture of this yarn that any extra details would get lost.

I have the cowl double wrapped around my head in the photos above.  I usually find things that have to be wrapped a little to finicky for my taste, but I decided to give this a try because Liz made hers look amazing!  There is still plenty of room to move my head around and the combination of extra thick yarn and a double layer keeps me nice and warm.  I'm not sure I would wear it to play in the snow with the boys, but it works well for just walking around.

This is how long the cowl is without being wrapped.  It reaches my waist.  Please excuse my weird expression in the photo below.  I was in charge of my own photo shoot here and it looks like I was more concerned that I was pushing the right button.

a boxy yarn pouch

I wanted something that I could use to carry my small crochet projects.  I found this really great tutorial, but I wanted something a little bigger.  This tutorial is good, too, and closer to the size I wanted.  I decided to add this larger strap across the side seams so I could carry the pouch around. 

After a few ripped seams, I figured it out and I'm crazy about the result.  The pouch is a perfect size to fit a skein of yarn and a small project.  All the seams are hidden and the large strap is fun to carry around!

Note: It appears that these pouches were popular back in 2009, that's 3 years ago, because that's when all the tutorials were posted. I'm always several years behind the trend, so if you are looking for the newest trend, you don't want to follow me around.

another brimmed hat {crochet}

Do I really even have to put crochet in the title anymore?  I suppose you can pretty much figure that when I make a hat, it's been crocheted.

This hat was made using Vickie Howell's new Sheep(ish) yarn available at JoAnn's.  I really, really like the look of this yarn.  As with the first brimmed hat I made, I wanted to look for a softer looking yarn, but I needed a manly color.  This yarn is like a gunmetal sort of color, mostly black with a grey/silverish sheen.  The hub agrees that this color is perfect.  The yarn is really soft, too, and it comes in lots of fun colors. 

I started this hat using the same Cheri Hat pattern that I used for this hat, but part way through I abondoned this pattern for my own.  This hat is for the hub (although he declined my invitation for a photo shoot).  When he saw the first brimmed hat that I made, he asked if I could make one for him.  The pattern doesn't give adjustments for adult sizes so I had to improvise.  I originally increased for 7 rounds in double crochet, but that proved to be too big to I pulled out a round.  Even 6 increase rounds was too big, but I got too far before I realized it.  I corrected the hat a little in the back by decreasing a few stitches and it's not noticable, but I should have done a few more decreases.  Next time, I will increase only 5 rounds in double crochet because don't forget that hats are supposed to stretch a little.

I also couldn't get the brim to look right using the pattern I had.  I tried 5 different ways of adding the brim, but I ultimately settled on this youtube demonstration by bobwilson.  I really like her videos.  They are modern designs and she does a really great job of explaining all the steps in all of her demonstrations.  I'm still not convinced the brim looks exactly as it should, but it's much better than what I started with.  I even had to try this one 3 different times to get it to look like this.  I'm not sure if blocking it will give it just the right look or not, but it's worth a try.  I will just have to keep working the idea until I find something that makes it look just right.


ps.  I just picked up the Holiday 2011 issue of KnitSimple at the library and Vickie Howell is on the cover.  In her interview, she explains how her mother tried to teach her to knit when she was younger but she hated it.  She says she favored crochet and it wasn't until she was in her twenties that she learned to appreciate knitting.  If I just learned to crochet a month ago and favor crochet over knitting now, I should learn to appreciate knitting by the time I'm 50.

a baby hat with a mod brim {crochet}

My sister's friend, whom I also know from school, just had a baby in July and my sister wanted something to give to the baby for her first Christmas.  Because it's rare that I can make something for a little girl, I jumped at the chance.  I decided to splurge on some 80% baby alpaca wool and 20% silk from Debbie Bliss because the pattern I had in mind was just a plain brimmed hat.  I thought some really good yarn in a really fun color would make it less plain.  I used almost the entire 50g skein of color 25010 for this 6 month sized hat.

This yarn is so soft!  I just kept feeling the hat after I crocheted it.  And I really do think this wool helped give the hat a really feminine look.  I used a free pattern that I found on Ravelry; it's called the Cheri Hat.  I really like the pattern exactly how it is and I will definitely use it again for a baby hat, but sample hats in the pattern used cotton yarn.  Although very practical for kids, cotton yarn just doesn't have the same look as wool.  Luckily, I think my slurge paid off because my hat turned out looking softer than the sample.

Sorry, no baby to use in the photo shoot.

Also, it's amazing how colors can look different in different types of light.  I don't think the hat was quite this pink


Other Notes:  I read somewhere once that acrylic yarn is easier to learn with than any other type of yarn.  I don't usually buy into this stuff, especially if as a beginner you knew that you wanted to use merino wool all the time then why wouldn't you teach yourself using merino wool.  But when I crocheted with this stuff, particularly when I made a mistake and had to correct it, I really realized the difference they were talking about.  Acrylic yarn is easy to pull out; this alpaca and silk yarn is not.  It sticks together better and is difficult to tear, which I guess is a good thing if you are not trying to fix your mistakes.  If I would have used this as my first yarn, I would have been completely frustrated and probably never moved past my first hat.  But now that I know, I will first be more careful with my stitches and second be more patient with my corrections.

a cross quilt for the neighbors

After all that crocheting, I have a new quilt to show.  This one I made for my wonderful neighbors who are always so sweet to the boys.  We spent a little time getting to know them and they are by far the best and most welcoming neighbors we've ever had (and we've had a lot of neighbors).  I hope to spend more time getting to know them in the coming years.

Because quilts take so much time, I looked for something new to try that didn't involve me calculating a lot of math.  I'm not typically opposed to that (math is my all time favorite subject) but I knew it would take much longer if I had to do that part too.  So I basically just did exactly what Sew Katie Did quilted here in her cross quilt.  I even decided to use the same type of quilting she used in her quilt because that is another part of the process that takes me a while.  I used light blue thread to quilt this, so it's a little hard to see.

I cut the pieces a little differently, too.  In addition to all those squares, I used some rectangles so I wouldn't divide up the larger prints.  Katie had a link to this tutorial here by her friend Meaghan, so I used Meaghan's tutorial to cut my pieces.

I found all of these prints at JoAnn's, and many of them are of them are by DS Quilts including this backing.  I used just this print for the back.

I chose to bind the quilt in red to pull out the red from the backing as well as a few of the prints on the front.  I really like how the red pops, especially against this green.

This was my second attempt at machine binding.  I usually enjoy hand binding, but in the interest of time, I utilized my machine.  It took about a quarter of the time.  With this second attempt, I researched how to do it first and it really worked out well.  I used the method described by Red Pepper Quilts, but I think Crazy Mom Quilts has a good one, too, that's just slightly different.