Finding My Knitch

Flutterby Quilt

2010-05-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Quilting for a Cause

2010-05-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

My coworker Mary and I work in a Radiation Oncology Center where we treat cancer patients. Mary does an art therapy session with the patients once a month. So, we came up with idea of started a quilting project with our patients. Every Thursday in the month of May we are having the patients decorate 7 inch squares of white muslin with fabric paint. I bought a jelly roll of batiks in rainbow colors and the patients pick out what strip of fabric they want their squares sashed in. At the end of the month I'm going to quilt it all together! We are going to have it hung on the wall behind the front desk in the lobby of the Radiation Therapy department.

Spring Has Sprung!

2010-04-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

I finished my spring quilt! It's mostly done in Sandi Henderson, sold by Michael Miller fabrics. It measures 52" x 64" and I had my "quilt lady" Kathy quilt it on her long arm. She added some very fun swirls through out. The stitching is done with a light pink cotton thread. I had fun taking pictures of the quilt outside. I think the colors would make a beautiful back ground in pictures. I think the quilt as a whole reminds me of a green grass field with pops of beautiful pink and orange flowers.Here is a close up of the swirls that Kathy stitched into the quilt. I love the light pink thread. So fun!!

Here is a peek at the back of the quilt, a brown background with big orange and pink flowers .

Letter of the Week (C, D, E, F & G)

2010-04-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

I have really slacked this month with posting my Letter of the Week goal. Here are some of the activities Jackson and I did for the month. Along with color pages of a Canoe, Daffodil, Easter Egg and Garden tools, he also colored letters that went along with the weekOne spring weekend we took a Canoe ride at Jackson's Grandparent's lake house.The Daffodil's were in bloom, so how could we NOT make the letter of the week D is for Daffodils! Dandelion's were a strong contender....because they are so much fun to blow into the wind!E was for Easter Egg and Jackson went to his Papa and Mimi's for and Easter Egg hunt with some of his cousin's.

F was for Finger Painting...but I have to find the picture to post of Jackson doing his art!

And G was for Garden...Jackson helped me get the soil ready for the garden. Really Jackson LOVES to dig for worms in the garden!!!

Little Purse

2010-04-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try making this purse for awhile now. It was kind of easy. I sewed it backwards once and had to rip out the stitches. And not that you can tell but I sewed the top on upside down! It made it hard to line up the top seams, but like I said...YOU can't tell!! Live and learn. I think I want to find some sort of felt flower to sew on the front...or to give it a front anyway. I have a few gifts in mind so stay tuned for a few more!!!

B is for Bird House

2010-03-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

Last week was "B is for....Bird house." I got the idea from here http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/backyard-bird-feeder-672532/

We also colored pictures of bird houses and the letter B of course. Jackson got a kick out of seeing the birds actually use the feeder. The holes on the soda bottle are a bit to big, so a lot of the bird seed falls to the ground. I don't think the birds mind to much!!

Sneak Peek Sping Quilt

2010-03-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick look at my Spring Quilt. I am loving the colors. I still have the backing to piece together, but I'll have that done by Tuesday or Wednesday. I think I'm going to have this one professionally quilted!!! Watch out Kathy...I'm going to be calling soon!!!

Next time won't you sing with me....

2010-03-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start doing a Letter a week craft with Jackson.

This week was A is for Aquarium. We did 2 Aquarium projects.

With the first one we mixed blue Jello into a fish bowl and halfway through we put in some gummy fish. (**Actually we forgot to go back and put the fish in, so mommy pushed them down into the Jello before Jackson woke up!**)

And for the second craft we cut out a fish bowl shape from poster board. Then we filled a Ziploc bag with blue gravel and some Easter grass. We had a couple of sheets of googly eyed stickers and Jackson picked out a star fish, an octopus, two seahorses and a few fish to have in his Aquarium. Then we glued the Ziploc bag between the poster board cutouts!

Spring has Sprung!!!

2010-03-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

I went to my favorite fabric store today and bought some very spring like fabric. I am excited to begin this project. I've always wanted to be artsy....but I couldn't draw to save my life. This gives me a way to be artsy and crafty! I drew up a plan on some graph paper of some simple squares and rectangles, and numbered them 1 through 12...the women at the fabric store were shocked that I was trying my own design. They asked me to bring it in when finished...I hope my design in my head turns out just as pretty all pieced together!!!

Turtle Quilt

2010-03-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

I finished the baby quilt for my friends Michele and Wesley's new baby Nicholas. It came out SO good. I have to admit I am quite proud of it. I think the colors came out perfect. The center square, the boarder and the back are all the same turtle print. I stitched in the ditch around all the squares and the tiny inner boarder. I think I might go back and quilt the center square. I'll have to think about it.

I still have yet to finish the quilt I was making for quilting class. I wanted to hurry and finish this since Michele had Nicholas a few weeks early. (Today WAS his due date though!) All I have left on the quilt for class is the binding. I'm surprised at how slow going that is. It took me almost 3 days to hand stitch the binding for Nicholas' quilt.

Just in time for warm weather!

2010-02-23T05:43:00.001-08:00

I've been working on this scarf for quite a while. It was suppose to be a quick knit....boy was I wrong! I started it right after Christmas. I finished it last Thursday night, just in time for the beautiful taste of spring weather this weekend. I had to laugh! I did wear it out on Friday for a bit, but I had to shed it as I was way to warm....but at least I got to sport it once. Maybe we will have another little cold snap and I can wear it before it has to go into hibernation for good!

And here is a close up! I love the colors!!!

2010-01-29T13:50:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post...here are all the Monkey Wrench blocks from quilting class. This week we are suppose to square all our blocks and sew them together. I think it's cool how completely different everyones quilts are turning out.

Monkey Wrench

2010-01-24T07:05:00.000-08:00

This weeks assignment it to make all my Monkey Wrench blocks. I will be working on those today as well as taking on another project! I'm going to make a baby blanket for my friend Michele's baby. Baby Nicholas will be here in 6 weeks or so, hopefully I can get the quilt finished by then. I have 5 weeks left in class, and I will be playing catch up with the Nicholas' quilt today. Yes, I'm going to attempt to make 2 quilts at the same time!! And they are totally different!!! The second quilt is going to be in a "Courthouse Step" pattern.

Here are the fabric's for my Michele's baby quilt....

Knitting Projects

2010-01-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

Here is my first cable hat!! They were a lot easier than I thought. I ended the hat a little to quickly because it came out a tad small. So, it's a hat for Jackson! I'm really bad at figuring out when to start shaping. The instructions said to start at 5 inches....well, that didn't work out so well! Plus I'm a tight knitter, I don't think that helps at all. The hat in my profile picture was made by my friend Kellie's "sizzor", Colleen. Her hat has a nice loose knit. Maybe I need to try a bigger gage needle.....yeah! More to buy!!!

I'm also knitting a fabulous scarf. Maybe for me...maybe for someone special! Who knows. The yarn changes colors about every 2 rows. I cast on 25 stitches and I'm doing it in a stockinette stitch. I tried a seed stitch, but it looked to busy with all the color changes. I know I chose a boring stitch, but the yarn is SO pretty!!! The yarn is by Noro Iro and I love it!!

Quilting Class (week 2)

2010-01-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

For last weeks home work we cut our fabric into 3 1/2 strips. This was pretty easy with the rotary blade. I think I had them all finished in about 30 minutes. I cut them up last Sunday when it was to cold to do anything other than sit by the fire and watch movies.

This week we learned how to use our 1/4 inch foot to make a 1/4 inch seam. I think I'm a little generous with my seam because my final block is a bit short. The instructor says as long as I'm consistent, it should all work out. We shall see!!!

So this weeks homework is to sew all the strips together and cut them into more strips and then sew them together to make 3x3 blocks.

Here is everyone's blocks on the felt wall.

Quilting 101

2010-01-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

This is the sample of what I will have made by the end of my 8 week quilting class.

These are the colors I choose.

Refrencing the above quilt:

The light blue on top will be the white squares.

The teal blue will be the pink squares.

The dark brown with dots will be black inner squares

The floral print will be the outer black boarder.

Just a little scarf!

2010-01-03T18:59:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

They Holidays are FINALLY past us! Phew! Now I can get back to sewing and knitting without feeling like I'm under the gun. I've been working on this scarf since just before Christmas. I was teaching some friends to knit one night over wine and picked up this scane to use to teach with. I HAVE been meaning to make this scarf for some time. I'd already made the hat to match a while back for Lisa, a woman I work with, So here it is!!!!

Birds of a Feather

2009-12-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

I have a flock of birds to stuff and piece together before Christmas. Twenty eight birds and fifty six wings!! That seems a bit overwhelming doesn't it??? I also have baking to do and my second Apron to sew together. Thank goodness my shopping is done...oh! The wrapping! I forgot about having to wrap all the gifts!!! I wish Santa would loan me an elf or two this week!!

Oh, and here is the Apron I made for Jackson's sitter Joan.

I think it came out pretty cool!!!

Little Birds

2009-12-13T06:52:00.000-08:00

We went to a Christmas party this weekend where the kiddo's got to decorate cookies and the adults had an ornament exchange. I made these cute little birds as our contribution! I think they turned out pretty nice! They took a little longer to make than I'd anticipated...3 hours! (and I was putting the final stitches in on the car ride to the party!!) But so well worth it. And I'm especially glad my friend Michele was the recipient of these little birds. And I have plenty of fabric left to make some more to give as gifts. Oh joy! Another project with 12 days left until Christmas....

Holiday

2009-12-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

Oh YES! Another new toy....my Canon Camera. I am still learning all the features of this fun gadget too! Poor Andy! I've gone and taken the fun out of Christmas by buying myself two BIG gifts right before the holiday's. BUT....but I wanted to make gifts for others and be able to use the camera (somewhat) before Christmas morning. I can't miss out on any memories!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Projects

2009-12-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

I'm starting on some fun Christmas gift projects! I went to Hancock Fabric today and picked up some pretty material. I want to make aprons for my MIL and Jackson's sitter Joan. This will be my first attempt at following an actual sewing pattern! I can't wait to get started! They are a bit retro...I left the fabric store just about as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning!!!

Another project I've begun, is to recreate some dish towels like my Grandmother Gross made. The one I have might be 20 years old. I'll have to check with my mother on that! My fist one turned out pretty nice, and it was easy on top of that!! I have five more to make before Christmas. Plus the aprons!! But I'll devote an entire afternoon of Jackson napping to start on those!!!

My grand mother's dish towel is the red one...

Finding My Knitch....

2009-12-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

So....I'm blogging! Or I'm going to try to. I've taken up a few crafty hobbies this year. Knitting and Sewing. I want to learn and get better. I wanted a place to show off my projects and brag about my progress.

Mary, one of the women I work with, taught me to knit. I made a few hats and a couple of scarves so far. Here is the first project. I loved the colors, but it turned out really skinny and I only knew the knit stitch at the time.

My SIL taught me how to make a pretty basic baby blanket. She made me a couple when I had my son, and she showed me how and I got addicted! Now I want to REALLY learn to quilt. Here are some of the baby blankets I've made for friends and family...

These are in the wrong order...my first is at the bottom. I made this one for my friends Steve and Stephanie's new baby boy Gage. The middle was my second blanket that I made for my mom's lake house. And the top blanket I made for a woman I work with who is adopting a baby girl from China.