1. Quilt for Renee, 2. Swoon2, 3. mountains, 4. Farmer's Wife quilt top, 5. Untitled Baby Edition, 6. star string quilt finished top, 7. WIP #munchkinland, 8. Arrow Tail Quilt Top, 9. Purplelicious
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Why I Started Knitting
On Sunday we drove back to Wisconsin after a week away visiting family. I was able to spend over a week in Ohio, relaxing, thrifting, and crafting. Work can't always be put on hold, so we stitched up a quilt top in between all the fun. There was lots of good eating, and we managed to get through most of the Harry Potter movies. But, there will be other posts about all the things we were up to. This post is about knitting.
(Marian progress, on Ravelry here)
While I was home, we decided to stop into a little yarn store in Medina called Studio Knit. It was just something to do more than anything else. We were about to leave empty handed when we spotted some really beautiful yarn, Malabrigo Rasta in Azul Profundo. My Mom and I each got a skein and a free pattern to go with it, the Red Rasta Cowl. We went home and knit up our cowls in less than 24 hours. This spurred a week long knitting frenzy. We went out for more yarn and started new projects.
I've never been much of a knitter, and I've tried to get into it more than once. My honey cowl has been half-finished for well over a year and a half. I was never able to gain momentum. Part of the reason is the projects I chose, but part of the reason is timing. Now, more than ever, I need knitting. I need an outlet, a way to relax. For a long time, that outlet was sewing. I'd unwind by stitching up bags, quilts, and garments, just because.
(Finished Twisted Cowl, on Ravelry here)
But now, it feels different. Now, sewing is much more a part of my livelihood than it ever was. Constantly having sewing projects and deadlines for work, makes it hard to feel like doing a lot of sewing for fun. I'm still making things for myself and sewing things just because, but for now, it's not the same. When I sit down to sew something, all I can think about are all the things I should be sewing. Thinking about how I can work a project into a pattern or a blog post.
(Finished Red Rasta Cowl, on Ravelry here)
I've been struggling to find something to fill that void, because I still love to craft, especially to relax. I'm not much for embroidery, and even that can be worked into my sewing. This is where knitting comes into play. I've been knitting again for a week now, and I've started and finished three projects and cast on another last night. It's the perfect relaxing craft because it has nothing to do with fabric or sewing and I can do it while traveling and in front of the tv.
(Finished Hannah Hat, on Ravelry here)
I've been given a lot of amazing opportunities and I'm thankful for that, but it's also been hard. Any change, good or bad, takes adjusting to. That's why now more than ever I need a good way to relax. Don't get me wrong, I still love sewing. There's still nothing better than pulling a finished quilt out of the dryer.
I hope you won't mind the occasional knitting talk around here. I'll be back to chat more about a few of my finished projects soon. I'm hoping to keep right on going, getting closer and closer to my dream knit, a pair of Fiddlehead Mittens.
Thanks for listening, as always!
(Marian progress, on Ravelry here)
While I was home, we decided to stop into a little yarn store in Medina called Studio Knit. It was just something to do more than anything else. We were about to leave empty handed when we spotted some really beautiful yarn, Malabrigo Rasta in Azul Profundo. My Mom and I each got a skein and a free pattern to go with it, the Red Rasta Cowl. We went home and knit up our cowls in less than 24 hours. This spurred a week long knitting frenzy. We went out for more yarn and started new projects.
I've never been much of a knitter, and I've tried to get into it more than once. My honey cowl has been half-finished for well over a year and a half. I was never able to gain momentum. Part of the reason is the projects I chose, but part of the reason is timing. Now, more than ever, I need knitting. I need an outlet, a way to relax. For a long time, that outlet was sewing. I'd unwind by stitching up bags, quilts, and garments, just because.
(Finished Twisted Cowl, on Ravelry here)
But now, it feels different. Now, sewing is much more a part of my livelihood than it ever was. Constantly having sewing projects and deadlines for work, makes it hard to feel like doing a lot of sewing for fun. I'm still making things for myself and sewing things just because, but for now, it's not the same. When I sit down to sew something, all I can think about are all the things I should be sewing. Thinking about how I can work a project into a pattern or a blog post.
(Finished Red Rasta Cowl, on Ravelry here)
I've been struggling to find something to fill that void, because I still love to craft, especially to relax. I'm not much for embroidery, and even that can be worked into my sewing. This is where knitting comes into play. I've been knitting again for a week now, and I've started and finished three projects and cast on another last night. It's the perfect relaxing craft because it has nothing to do with fabric or sewing and I can do it while traveling and in front of the tv.
(Finished Hannah Hat, on Ravelry here)
I've been given a lot of amazing opportunities and I'm thankful for that, but it's also been hard. Any change, good or bad, takes adjusting to. That's why now more than ever I need a good way to relax. Don't get me wrong, I still love sewing. There's still nothing better than pulling a finished quilt out of the dryer.
I hope you won't mind the occasional knitting talk around here. I'll be back to chat more about a few of my finished projects soon. I'm hoping to keep right on going, getting closer and closer to my dream knit, a pair of Fiddlehead Mittens.
Thanks for listening, as always!
Monday, August 19, 2013
1 Million Pillowcase Challenge
Have you heard about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge hosted by American Patchwork & Quilting? With our help they're trying to get 1 million handmade pillowcases donated to charity for children in need! And they've already passed the half-million mark!
So, this summer there was a contest to choose your favorite APQ Pillowcase Pattern. The winning pattern was #32 Train Pillowcase. We were invited to make a pillowcase using that pattern!
(There are 35 pillowcase patterns available for free on the American Patchwork & Quilt website, here!)
Here is my pillowcase! I decided to use only one of the applique pieces included in the pattern, a square piece. I used the Sweetish Turquoise print from Nordika for the body of the pillow, and Pure Elements Honey and Tender Green for the cuff.
I don't have a lot of experience with applique, but using Aurifil 50wt thread made it go really smoothly. I used #2024.
This was a really fun, quick sew, and I hope this pillowcase puts a smile on someone's face! I'll be donating it to the local Conkerr Cancer chapter to benefit American Family Children's Hospital here in Madison. I can see the hospital from our apartment, which is pretty cool. Would you spare an afternoon to make a pillowcase too?
Make a Pillowcase. Make a Difference.
Here's how you can help:
1. Find a participating shop.
2. Make a case (or several!)
3. Be sure your donation counts! Update our online pillowcase counter by
logging in here and adding your number, or send an email to millionpillowcases@meredith.com and we'll add your number to our tally!
Click here to find out more.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Favorites
1. DSC_8713, 2. Low volume plus quilt....., 3. Rachel's Quilt 2013, 4. Postmodern WIP, 5. WIP: Shattered Nordika, 6. bright cross front full, 7. Quilt for Boston, 8. chicopee closeup, 9. More Aura I
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Favorites
1. Cascade complete, 2. Briar Rose Churn Dash, 3. Spectrum Baby Quilt, 4. Spoonflower Charity Quilts-23, 5. Indian Summer Quilts made by the SMQG, 6. Tumbling Logs Quilt, 7. Garnets and Gold Quilt Top, 8. butterfly quilt, 9. nurture circle June 2013
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
A Day at the State Fair
This past weekend my friend Lei and I went on a little trip! We drove out to Milwaukee for the Wisconsin State Fair! I had never been to a state fair and knew when we moved here that I wanted to make it out at least once. We had such a great time! It's only a little over an hour from Madison, so the drive wasn't bad either.
The weather was awesome, and we didn't even get sunburned, despite being there for 6.5 hours! We were putting it on about every hour though, it was hot!
We went for the big 44 tickets, but we still couldn't manage to win any games. We were going for these giant (seriously, they were like 2 ft tall!) Minion stuffed animals, but no luck! Not sure where we would have put one anyways!
We spent a lot of time visiting all the rabbits in the "Small Animal Palace" barn! So many sweet, cute bunnies! There were a bunch that looked like George!
There were snuggling goats!
And goats wearing coats!
We also saw a pony, lots of sheep, pigs, and pet a horse and a cow!
We ate all the food, including a famous Wisconsin State Fair treat, the Cream Puff!
There was a little shop inside the sheep barn where they had Wisconsin yarns and knitted goods. I couldn't help picking up this Psalm 23 Farm Yarn. It's wool/mohair and the sheep and goats are raised in Kiel, WI. It's so soft!
The very best part of the fair was the piglet race! It was so ridiculously cute, I had to catch it on video. They were racing for cookies, haha! (You can find the video on YouTube here, if it doesn't work above)
It was nice to get out of town for the day and just enjoy a fun day with a friend. I had never been to a state fair before, so that was interesting too! I'd like to go to the Ohio State Fair at some point! Have you ever been to a state fair?
Back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!
The weather was awesome, and we didn't even get sunburned, despite being there for 6.5 hours! We were putting it on about every hour though, it was hot!
We went for the big 44 tickets, but we still couldn't manage to win any games. We were going for these giant (seriously, they were like 2 ft tall!) Minion stuffed animals, but no luck! Not sure where we would have put one anyways!
We spent a lot of time visiting all the rabbits in the "Small Animal Palace" barn! So many sweet, cute bunnies! There were a bunch that looked like George!
There were snuggling goats!
And goats wearing coats!
We also saw a pony, lots of sheep, pigs, and pet a horse and a cow!
We ate all the food, including a famous Wisconsin State Fair treat, the Cream Puff!
There was a little shop inside the sheep barn where they had Wisconsin yarns and knitted goods. I couldn't help picking up this Psalm 23 Farm Yarn. It's wool/mohair and the sheep and goats are raised in Kiel, WI. It's so soft!
The very best part of the fair was the piglet race! It was so ridiculously cute, I had to catch it on video. They were racing for cookies, haha! (You can find the video on YouTube here, if it doesn't work above)
It was nice to get out of town for the day and just enjoy a fun day with a friend. I had never been to a state fair before, so that was interesting too! I'd like to go to the Ohio State Fair at some point! Have you ever been to a state fair?
Back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!
Friday, August 2, 2013
Favorites
1. Pillow for my daughter, 2. flying geese front, 3. Ocean Waves, 4. blush quilt top, 5. A hand-pieced quilt, 6. Purple, Blue, Green Quilt, 7. Kristin's star mini, 8. Jasper's quilt, 9. IMG_6353
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!