Crafting Disappointment

I was going to take the opportunity to share with all of you some of the new things I've made, but I'm just a little too annoyed right now and I would like to vent.

As most of you know, I've been doing a block a month quilt with my Mom and her friends through the Quilter's Cottage quilt shop in Stonewall, MB.  Given my new job, I will be working on the days that we have to turn in our quilt squares from now until the quilt is done in October.  My mom called to inquire to see if she could turn in my squares for me or if we could come on another day.  The owner said that neither option was possible as they went against the rules.  The rules, that she came up with none the less.  My Mom advised her that I would likely not continue on to which she replied it was "not her problem".
I'm not saying to boycott the shop as that is unfair, but I will definitely not be spending my money there anymore.  I love to support local businesses, and I will continue to as there are other quilt shops in outlying communities.  I'm just shocked that a business owner would be so callous, especially her comment about not being accommodating to people experiencing a personal hardship.  That's what convinced me to no longer partake in the quilt a long.

I have a friend that lives in Morden, MB and I will be making my way out there to check out their quilt shop.  It's a lot farther away than Stonewall, but I haven't heard any stories like that from other customers.

I'm just so very disappointed at how this turned out.  I was very excited when this started.  I will make up a quilt of the squares I have and donate it to a local charity so at least something good can come from this.

Okay, vent over!  I feel like sharing now, so here is a shrug I made.  It was originally supposed to be a shirt but I lost the pattern for it.  I attached the sleeves to the bottom and voila!  A lovely shrug for work when spring finally decides to arrive.  Doesn't Roberta look lovely wearing it?

Another New Toy!!

What's the best gift to get a crazy crafting cat lady?  Why, more supplies to be an even bigger crazy crafting cat lady!!

Tomorrow is my birthday, so on Sunday evening, Big D and I had dinner at my parents place with them and my Grandpa.  We had my mom's famous home made pizza and a lovely home made cake.  It was a quiet evening but it was exactly what I wanted.  To celebrate my 28th year, and my obsession for all things sewing and crafting.  I was given this....


*drumroll*

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(Yes....its epic and deserves suspense!)
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TA DA!!!



My very own adjustable dress form!!  I couldn't believe it! I was, and still am, completely awe struck that I finally have my very own!  We decided she must have a name, and a long time friend of mine said it reminded him of a lady Iron Man.  So, with his approval, her name is Roberta! (Robert Downey Jr...get it...get it?!?! Oh come on, I thought it was funny!)

So with Big D on the road the rest of the week after tonight, I should have lots of time to play with her.  I have a dress to finish that I will use her for.  Plus, this way I can hang clothing works in progress on it without them becoming a kitty bed.

Quilting and Refashioning

I'm not going to type a whole lot because its getting late and tomorrow is my first day at my new job.  This have been getting quite slow at MTS, so I picked up a second job at Bison, where Big D is working!  Tomorrow is my first day and I want to be bright and fresh.  That being said, I made some new items for my wardrobe.  I took a rather plain black skirt, shortened it and added a ruffle over the kick pleat.  I also used some left over red wool melton from one of my costumes to make a new scarf.  Not all of my sewing has been clothing related.  I finally finished the nine patch quilt and it has been gifted to my friends who treated Big D and I to a lovely dinner on Saturday night!!

I'll leave you with pictures to enjoy, but not before sharing the inspiration for the scarf here and here, and the skirt ruffles here.  Yes, of course, all of these inspirations were pulled from Pinterest.  Would you not have figured that out by now?

Before.  You can see the pins where I had to close up the front slit.

Re-sized and shortened.

A close up of the ruffle over the kick pleat.

The red felt rose scarf.  I am in love with how it turned out!!

The finished product!

I used packaged binding because I hate making it myself!

The back of the quilt. I love how it turned out!!

Nine Patch Progress...

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are down to the quilt sandwich!

That's right folks, I finished the nine patch quilt top for my friends daughter tonight and have it all sandwiched up for quilting!!  I'm very excited with how this is turning out, especially since it all started from Pinterest. (Yes, I have a problem! I'm fully aware of it and loving every minute of this addiction!)

And now, for the best part!  Pictures of the quilt top and the backing material I picked up on my visit to Fabricland a little while ago.

The quilt top finished, 41" square. I added the center purple block for a little something extra!

Quilt top pinned with the backing fabric.  I thought it was perfect, not only to match the top but for a sweet little girl!

Spring Wardrobe Refashion: Part 1

The reduction in hours at work has resulted in an increase in crafting and sewing at our place.  I managed to almost get two shirt refashions done and a quilt top while I was off for three days.  The second shirt refashion is nearly complete; requiring some binding around the arm holes and it’s done.  For now, I will show you just the simple tank top refashion with a step by step on how I accomplished it.

One of Big D’s soon to be sister-in-law’s has become a pretty good friend of mine.  (Both of his brothers are engaged at the moment). We spent a day at the fabric store a couple weeks ago getting fabric so I can make her and her mom some dresses.  After we got back to her place, we ended up going through some of her old clothes she wasn’t going to wear anymore.  I ended up with two bags of things to alter and refashion for my spring wardrobe.  This is the first of many from that group of clothes she gave me.  Have I mentioned that I L.O.V.E hand-me-downs?

So here’s the initial tank top with a cute little over shirt in matching fabric.  While I love the idea of layers, as you can see, this one is quite dated.  I decided this was the best option to try the flower technique that is ALL over Pinterest.  I did cut a small piece of fabric off the over shirt to make sure the fabric wouldn’t fray.  I only used one half of the front of the shirt, so I have lots of purple fabric for another DIY clothing project.

I cut random flower shapes and sizes, as tracing on this fabric was more time consuming than it was worth.  I also found that it wasn’t really necessary once you started assembling the flowers on the top.

 

I folded the flower twice and put a couple loops through the middle point by hand to pull the center of the flower a bit.  I then picked a random spot on the top and started sewing.  I repeated this step for all the flowers until I felt like I had enough detail.  I kept trying it on periodically to make sure everything was where I wanted it to be.

 

This is a simple hand sewing project that any beginner could do.  It sure was one of my more simple refashions, but really added a little something extra to the top.

 

I will be unveiling the finished product of the second top in the upcoming week, once I finish the arm holes.  For now, here’s a sneak peek of some of the lace detail on the shirt!!

 

 FUR BABY UPDATE:  Meeko and Monte pretty much get along, and have been known to sleep about a foot from the other on the bed when we aren't looking.  We think they will be buddies soon.  Kokanee still thinks he is the scariest thing ever and avoids him at all costs.  On the other hand, she was attempting to get him to play or something as she was half stalking him and jumping around.  The main part is everyone is sharing food/water dishes and the liter box, the rest will come with time!

Back at it again

Wow! Has it really been over a month since my last post?  Not a lot of crafting was completed during that time, but a lot was done.  Big D started school, and at this point only has a week left.  He passed his road test first try and is now fully licensed to drive a big rig.  He'll be off to work on March 4th which I know he is both excited and apprehensive about.

I am taking one step further to solidifying my title as crazy crafting CAT lady.  Big D's Grandma is moving into an assisted living complex and cannot bring her fur babies with her.  We can't take both of them, but we have agreed to take Monte who used to belong to Big D.  He is a 7 year old maine coon and has a lovely disposition.  I know Meeko will get along with him, but Kokanee may be another story.  We'll see how it plays out with two people and three cats in our apartment. (Big D used to have a cat named Chevy, this is Monte and Meeko's middle name is Carlo...do we see a pattern here?)

Our new fur baby, Monte

I finally used my Fabricland gift card from Christmas and happened to go on a day with some killer deals!  They had cotton prints on buy one meter get TWO free.  For once, I didn't go wild for quilting fabric but instead bought enough to make a new outfit for the MLHS. (okay, you got me, it's in preparation for Mississinewa this year!)  I've also started working on the embroidery for my reticule to match my spencer jacket I made a couple months ago.  It's coming along nicely, although I think it's lacking a little something.  If  any of you Regency experts have suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.

OOOH!!! Fabric!!

Embroidery on the reticule

I have done more work on the 9 patch quilt, but nothing really worth mentioning or showing other than its coming along well.

Keeping with the title of my post, I am back at it on a knitting project from 2006-2007 and earlier than that.  My Grandma started a cardigan sweater for my Grandpa back in 1956.  She was the queen of UFO's, so of course the back piece was finished and no more.  Some of the yarn was used years later for socks and now there isn't enough of the original red to complete it.  Her and I had discussed how to go about finishing it with what we had left.  We decided that a sweater vest with a contrasting colour for the front would be the best option and came up with a nice little design.  I haven't worked on it since she passed away.  I pulled out my very neglected yarn bin today while teaching a friend to knit, and decided it was time to get back at it.  I managed to complete 10 rows (two block strips) today and I feel really great about it!

Me and my Grandma back in 2000

The progress so far on the front of the vest.  Please excuse my laptop and over sized sweat pants! lol

Going through my stash, and knowing how many projects I have on the go at any one times makes me wonder, how many UFO's do you have?  

More Nine Patch Progress!

Tea has always been a staple in my life. When I lived at home, I don't believe there was a day when a pot of tea was not made in the house. I make it all the time at work but usually forget to at home. Tonight I broke out the loose leaf tea, put on one of my audiobooks, and went to town on the nine patch quilt. It was the most enjoyable evening I've had in a while!

I finished off the blue squares, although they still need to be pressed. I also did one pink square as my guide for the rest. I'm super pleased with how these are turning out! I do need some more purple fabric as I only have 6 varieties instead of the 8 I need. Perhaps I'll pick up some on Saturday when my mom and I turn in our quilt block for the month.

Before the sewing went down, I made dinner and dessert for Big D and me. I used the apron my mom made me for Christmas. I took a shot in the bathroom mirror, a very unflattering one, but the apron is so darn cute! Retro fabric complete with ric rac, and it can be worn with the bib or folded down into a half apron. Best Christmas gift EVER!!

Nine Patch Progress

Rule number one of quilting: measure twice and count to make sure you have the right amount of pieces needed.

No, I have not wasted precious fabric, I have once again bitten off more than I can chew. Seeing as how the Pinterest quilt did not come with instructions, I improvised. Those of you who have known me personally for years can commence shaking your heads now! Either I got a little too cut happy with my new Olfa cutter, or I just wasn't thinking and I have cut enough squares for roughly 6 queen sized quilts. Oops.

Despite that, last night at the sewing night and an hour or so tonight has resulted in nearly 30 completed blocks! I decided to work one colour scheme at a time and speedily put together the rows for each block. I'm guessing about an hour of sewing and pressing tomorrow night will finish off the "blue" blocks. After that, I'm moving onto the pink. With all the surplus blocks, and some good company from an old friend last night, I believe her daughter is in for a treat! Here are a few pictures for you then it's off to bed!

Block a Month Quilt

My parents had a New Years Day shindig at their place today and all of our friends that are taking part in the Block a Month quilt a long were there.  We were instructed to bring our quilt squares so we could compare and I managed to snap some shots of the products so far.  Everyone picked a different colour scheme so it was really neat to see how everyone's are coming together.

Left to right the blocks belong to Diana, my mom, mine, Marcia and Krista.  I tried to do a few panoramic pictures but they didn't turn out too well.  This is the best one, despite everyone's hands in there.  Everyone was ogling the quilt squares, even the menfolk! It will be really neat to see how everyone decides to finish their quilt with sashing and borders.

I cut up the 15 fat quarters, some fabric from my stash, plus some of my fabric from my trip for the nine patch quilt I saw on Pinterest.  A few of the girls from MLHS are getting together for a sewing night.  I've already packed up my sewing machine to head on over and start assembling this bad boy.  I laid out three different colour combinations to hopefully try and recreate the picture.  Here's what I have so far.

I have a ton more squares than I thought I would, so I might see if I have enough for colour themed quilts.  We will see what happens during this creative process!

Happy 2013 to everyone and keep on crafting!

Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy 2013

Well, we survived the end of the world yet again. I don't remember so much hype about a doomsday prophesy since the Y2K thing. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed to wake up and NOT find zombies but I suppose life as we know it is a better option!

I have been absent for some time due to Christmas preparations and working with Big D and his new career move. He is going to be a long haul trucker! We got his Class 1 license, have him enrolled in school for the new year and even found him a job for when school is done. I think this is going to be the best career move for us both as we will be able to afford to buy me more fabric pay off debt and buy a house!

On the quilting side of things, I have done absolutely no more work on my museum quilt, including picking a winner for the name contest. I did, however, finish a quilt for my brothers girlfriend. She was the recipient of the Jump Rope quilt. Her condo is decorated with blue and she has a blue couch too so it seemed fortuitous. I snapped a picture of the two of them snuggling under it on Christmas morning!.

I also got some fabric from Tiny T and Big R. 15 fat quarters of quilting goodness!! Tiny T said she picked the packs at random but they actually work well together and with some of the fabric from my trip.  I even found a wonderful pattern on Pinterest.  The colours are similar to what I have so I thought it would be a neat idea.  Simple yet fun!  You can see a picture of what I hope to accomplish here.

Tiny T's mom got me a new Olfa rotary cutter which is super fancy shmancy! Most of my other Christmas stuff was history or quilting related. Mom and Dad even got me a new ironing board pad and cover so I no longer have to display my hideous one!! Yay!!

The old, ugly ironing board cover...blech!

TA DA!!! New pretty goodness!

My new super heavy duty iron!

The fabric from Big R and Tiny T

 

Same as above but with stash additions to make a new quilt

And now I'm off to work on the museum quilt while we still have the table out. Big D wanted to put it away after our Christmas party but I managed to convince him to leave it out for a while so I could do some sewing! Yay!!!