Wednesday, June 27, 2007

And the countdown for June starts.... NOW!

I can't believe it's the end of June already. Here are the things I need to get done before the end of June: Super Secret Project #1, Amy Butler Placemats and Napkins and hopefully Doll Quilt Swap #2 quilt. It's very do-able. Well, except that I do not have all the fabric for the napkins yet, but oh well. Or thread for topstitching. But who's counting?

I finally figured out what I am going to do for my doll quilt, and I'm super super excited. It will be pretty plain, but I hope that it turns out as well as I'm imagining it and I hope that my partner likes it! Here are the fabrics I chose (all from my stash):
June 27, 2007

Monday, June 25, 2007

Half Moon Bay is cold!

Half Moon Bay was fabulous! It was much colder than I remember... super windy! Just take a look at this tent!!
Windblown tent
But I was able to finish my "Half Moon Bay Quilt" right before we left, so we brought it to the beach and then used it to keep warm around the campfire. Here are some photos from the beach. Chris very nicely obliged with my strange requests....
Front side of Half Moon Bay Quilt Waving
Now this quilt was designed by Monica of Happy Zombie, and is published in the current Quilts N More. Super fun to make, except that I kept messing up! I guess that's what happens when you work on something too long... lets just say that Monica's directions are great, and if you follow them you'll have no problems at all! There are some more shots of the quilt on my flickr site.
Pockets of Half Moon Bay Quilt
I added these to the quilt. They are the pockets from Denyse Schmidt's Day at the Beach Quilt. Great for the beach. We put sand in the pockets so the quilt wouldn't fly away... it worked really well! Well except for when Chris was doing his Karate Kid pose...
Karate Kid #2

Saturday, June 23, 2007

At the finish line

June 22, 2007
I've noticed that I have a photo like this for most of my quilts. I use what I call the cheater method for binding quilts. Instead of making a single fold bias tape and machine sewing it to one side and handsewing the other side down, I use this clover tool to make double fold bias tape and sew it on in one go. This method is thoroughly explained in Modern Quilt Workshop. I think it looks fine, and it is so much quicker! Because it does not take much time to bind the quilt, these photos for me are like the green light to a finished quilt.

Speaking of finished quilts, I finished my half moon bay quilt! Unfortunately, I just finished it, and now we are going on a quick overnight trip to Half Moon Bay. The name of the quilt came from the deadline I set for myself to finish it before we left! I'll take lots of photos of it on the beach.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Indonesian Fabric Run

My parents just went on a whirlwind trip to Indonesia for my aunt's 81st birthday. They got me some fabulous batiks while they were there. I'm super excited for these, and can't wait to make a dress or two out of them.
June 21, 2007
I have been looking through The Crafter's Companion, and there are a couple projects I'm super excited to make. Once my WIP list goes down a little. Here are some examples of the finished projects: tissue box house, fabric basket

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Most Boring Post Ever.

So let me start out by apologizing for the most boring post ever, but I am SO happy with my new bobbin holder. Tada!
June 19, 2007
I didn't get as much sewing done over the weekend as I would have liked, but I am almost done with Super Secret Project #1. Unfortunately because it is a Super Secret Project, I can't show you photos, but let me tell you, it's exciting.

I've received 3 books from Amazon in the past couple of days. Angry Chicken's Bend the Rules Sewing, The Crafter's Companion (finally), and Knit 2 Together. The first two are written by fellow bloggers, and raving reviews are all over the blogosphere. They're as beautiful as everyone says.
June 18, 2007
However the last book, Knit 2 Together, was an iffy one for me. This is the one with Tracy Ullman and Mel Clark in a two person sweater on the front. Anyway, the reason why I got this book was because it was only $3.99 or something ridiculous like that on Amazon. Amazing. So I took the plunge and got it. Let me tell you, the patterns in here are gorgeous (minus the two person sweater). I will definitely be knitting some things from this book. But really, couldn't they have picked a better photo for the cover? Who wants to knit a two person sweater anyway?
Knit 2 Together

Friday, June 15, 2007

Wow! Long time no post!

I've been reminded by a few people that I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, so here goes. I don't have any finished objects, and really, do you want to see my WIPs? Too bad, cause here they are! A couple things have happened in the last couple of weeks. I think the most exciting is the Tea Towel Swap! Here is what I made:
May 31, 2007
Here is what I received:
June 14, 2007
Better photos can be found here and here. Laura was so nice and sent me two (!) tea towels. The one with the rick rack, and she made the one on the right into a super cute banana bread recipe apron. LOVE them.

And here are a couple WIPs (they're really stacking up!):
June 4, 2007
June 11, 2007
Hopefully I will be able to finish something this weekend!!

Friday, June 1, 2007

June Gloom

Well not really in the way I normally think of it. I'm kinda sad that skirt month is over. Plus, my last ditch effort to make another skirt failed. Here it is... I don't think I'm going to finish it. Lets just say I finished 2.5 skirts. (Ick, dirty mirror)
Last skirt for Skirt Month
On a happier note, here is my apron for the In Stitches Sew Along:
Apron Front
And here is my In-Action shot.
Apron In Action
I was going to go bowling with the apron, but my bowling group decided not to go the last two weeks. In more exciting news, I'm planning on getting a polaroid camera!