From the Couch

It's a good time of year to curl up on the couch and work on some small projects. My sewing machine hasn't seen much action recently, but I finished another rose star block and my scarf.



There's something refreshing about working with such happy, spring-y fabrics during the blah days of winter. I can see these blocks are going to get addictive!

And here's my finished scarf. I found the pattern on Ravelry; it's the Infinitude Scarf by Jeni Chase (and it's free!).

[warning: poor quality self-portrait below]



As much as I would love to use some luxurious merino/alpaca/silk/cashmere/bamboo blend for every knitting project, those fancy yarns are not in the crafting budget. So I used an acrylic yarn purchased at Michael's. It's Vanna's Choice, and if it's good enough for Vanna, it's good enough for me.

The problem with using acrylic: blocking. I tried to block an acrylic scarf once before and I ended up sort-of/kind-of melting the thing. Bummer. This time I actually did a little research (Google!) and had much better results.



And now I'm off to settle into my favorite corner of the couch for more hand sewing!

A Feature and a Scarf

I'm very excited to say that my Wonky Stars Quilt is featured on Modern Day Quilts today!



I've been pleasantly surprised by all the response to this quilt on Flickr. In the grand scheme of blogdom I know it's not much, but it's a pretty big deal to me! It gives me the warm and fuzzies. ;)

Speaking of warm and fuzzies, I started a new scarf last night (super cheesy segue, I know).



There is no lack of scarfs in my wardrobe, but sometimes you just need a mindless project to work on in front of the tv.

Rose Star Block Party

Through some blog hopping, I stumbled upon selfsewn's blog and saw her beautiful Rose Star blocks. So, so pretty! She's hosting a block party for these blocks and I thought it would be fun to join in! I still haven't finished my last english paper piecing project, but who says I can't start another one? *wink*



Here's my practice block. I'm surprised how quickly it came together with all those little pieces. This block is 8" across. It seems kinda small, so I may increase the size on my next one. I think I may like the look of a solid fabric center hexagon better too.

I drew the pattern in EQ7. I thought I might be able to find the Rose Star pattern in BlockBase; I didn't find exactly what I was looking for but I found something close that gave me a starting point for drawing.



This is block #242 (aka Three Patch) from BlockBase. And it's pretty close to the Rose Star block! So I edited it to the Block Worktable, rotated it 30 degrees (so the middle hexagon would be on a flat edge), and added the needed lines to create the kite patches.



And here it is with some solid colors.



Here's a peak at the back:



I'm excited to make more of these pretty blocks and see the other blocks in block party!

Wonky Stars: Finished!

My first completed project of 2012! Most of the work may have taken place in 2011, but let's not get technical, okay?



This has been a fun project to take my time with. I posted about it here, here, and here. Apparently I have a lot to say about this little quilt!



I love this variegated perle cotton thread. So pretty! I was originally going to use the raspberry color for all the stars, but when I went back to the store to get another skein I saw the blue/green and couldn't resist. I think it adds a nice variation.



I need to find more projects to hand quilt using this thread!

What's Next?

I'm having a hard time settling on my next sewing project. After working on gifts for the last month (among all the other hustle and bustle of the holiday season), I don't know what to do with myself without the pressure of the Christmas deadline.



So, rather than start something new, I decided it was a good time to pick up one of my UFO's and work on my wonky stars quilt. The slower pace of hand quilting is a nice change from the busyness of the holidays.

What I've Been Doing for the Last Month

Christmas always kicks my butt and this year was no exception. So many errands, and shopping, and baking, and merriment to be made! Add a little boy's birthday three days after Christmas, and December is a busy month at our house.

So, here's a recap of the sewing I've done this month:

Christmas Jammies!



You'll notice that this is a different fabric than the jammie pants in the first post. I only bought a "test" amount of fabric the first time around. I wanted to try out a pair of pants first before committing to buying enough fabric for everyone. I went back to Joann's a few days after Thanksgiving (it was still November, mind you!) and they didn't have any of the flannel snowmen fabric left. In fact, they had very little Christmas fabric left at all. Apparently everyone else thinks about their Christmas sewing much, much earlier than I do!



Here we are in all our Christmas morning glory. This fabric certainly wasn't my first choice, but I was left with few options. I don't mind it in the kids' sizes, but the adult versions are a tad blinding.

Redwork Embroidery



A little embroidery piece for the grandma-in-law (she just turned 99!). The pattern is from a magazine called Christmas 365.

Laminated Tote Bag



A simple laminated tote bag for the mom-in-law. After making this apron with laminated cotton, I've been looking for more projects that I can use laminate with. When I saw this fabric I immediately thought of my MIL because she's a big OSU fan and the colors are perfect. It's OSU-esque without having a big Brutus on it.

Quilted Oven Mitt



This may be my favorite gift I made this season- a quilted oven mitt for my mom. It was hard not to keep this for myself! I even had the perfect button in my sewing box for the hanging loop. Being a craft supply hoarder really pays off sometimes!



So that was my month in sewing. Here's to a happy 2012!

ltts sew along: mittens

I knew I didn't have time to make the puppet theater this month for the oliver + s sew along, but I didn't want to break my streak of participating each month, so I made the mittens. I finished one mitten last night and the other one this morning, so at least half the project was completed in November!



A nice quick project with cute results! I made the small size, but they're still a tad big on my 2.5 year old. It was a cheap project too because I used some fleece I already had (although it's not the best quality, so I don't know how well it will hold up in the long run). I used one of my machine's decorative stitches to finish off the cuffs, although I doubt you can see it in the photos.



I used ribbon for the elastic casing instead of bias tape. I have a ton of ribbon, but rarely find myself using it, so it was nice to find a project for it!



Kudos to those that actually made the puppet theater!