Am I Still Having Fun?

This is my daughter Sierra.  Yes, that's her real hair. Sometimes when you allow your children free artistic expression it manifests itself in interesting ways.  If you don't like her hair, give it a few weeks.  It'll change.  Just like the weather.

It's hard to down play the roll Pokemon has played in my children's lives.  3 out of 4 were total Poke Masters.  In fact, Sierra's first word was Pika.  So, when she got her job cleaning at a local card shop, I made her a Pokemon apron to wear.  It's bigger than I planned but at least I know she won't be flashing too much skin while working...

I made Hunter some Pokemon shorts when he was 5 that were so big, he could still wear them when he was 12...  My apparel making skills haven't improved much.

 I also made a new iPad cover.  My other one had holes worn through it. First I made one from a pattern out of some beautiful asian fabric but it TOTALLY did not fit my iPad... And, it was the last of that fabric.

So, on my second try, I used my left over curtain fabric.  Just in case.  Still one of my favorite prints.  The colors make me super happy.

I used some cool new ruffled elastic.  Gonna buy more of that!

 We got a new baby in the family recently.  My brother-in-law and his wife had a little girl.  They live on a horse farm but when I saw Lori Holts' pig pattern, I knew she was getting a pink pig quilt!  Here, piggy, piggy!  Squeel, snort!

I had to do the Out To Pasture (from Lori Holt's Farm Girl book) blocks a few times.  My first attempt was too bold.  So, I've got  almost enough to make a charity quilt.  Maybe with a little sailboat block.

On Labor Day, I got sucked in on all the 50% off bead sales!  It was terrible!  I only went in for felt and came out with 2 new necklaces.  And, a bunch of beads and buttons that didn't work for my Crazy Quilt class.

The owls were originally supposed to be on a thicker tan ribbon.  After breaking 2 needles, I switched to the thin navy.

Now that I've worn it, I realize the thin ribbon accentuates my neck fat rolls.  I will be finding a way to get them on thicker ribbon...

 Cute owls.  A little like Polish Pottery, no?

This was basically ready made.  I attached a couple "chain" units to the medallion.

 Couldn't resist the art nouveau lady.  Haven't worn it.  We'll see.  

   

I've had an epiphany.  I don't like making large quilts anymore.  It just seems like a total chore.  Or maybe, I just need to take a break.  I've had this kaleidoscope quilt in my stash for several years.  During the Great Window Replacement of 2015, I stumbled upon it while I was supposed to be cleaning my studio.  The first picture's color is really bad.  The quilt is yellow, the room is yellow, so what do I expect?  Right?

First of all, I hated cutting the pieces!  Cutting through 8 layers of fabric and being accurate basically sucks.  It was kind of fun sewing them together to see the shapes.  I was SO done after the alternating blocks were finished that I skipped the pieced border all together and slapped on some standard borders. I really don't love this.  I loved the fabric before I started.  And, now I feel like I made something ugly with it.  Sad face.    Didn't mean to be such a Debbie Downer.  I hadn't realized how frustrated I've felt until I typed it all out.  Blogging can be very cathartic.

That being said, I'm going to go do something fun.  Something small, and done by hand.  Honestly, why do all this if it's not fun?

A Stitch in Time, Makes 10 million

It feels like I haven't been doing much lately.  But hand work really does take more time than machine work.  Obviously...

Once I started making these cute little Advent Animals, it's been hard to stop.  Other people in our Facebook group keep saying how quick they stitch up.  Me?  It's two full days per animal.  They're only about 3 x 4 inches big.  Perhaps I'll speed up some as I go.  Seriously, I can appliqué a 12" block in the same amount of time.

I did invest in one of those magnetic chart holders.  SO WORTH THE MONEY.  I've always really sucked at cross stitch because I could never keep my place on a chart.

With my new stand, my pattern stays visible all the time and the magnets can be placed around a section or just under a certain line.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm still screwing up.  Just not as catastrophically as before.

 This hedgehog.  So cute.  I am planning to change background.  I've got enough for 3 more on the oatmeal and then I'm going to change to something darker.  I had to add the outlining on several items because it faded away on the oatmeal.

Most of my time has been taking a Crazy Quilting Class online by Shawkl.com.  It's been a lot of fun and very informative.

She has you do things in stages and then you post a picture on the class blog to show your progress.

Another little hedgehog.

First we pieced the block.  Then she has you do the embroidery work on the seams.  She provides you with templates to help you get the proportion right.   That was difficult for me.  After so many years of taking tiny appliqué stitches, it was really difficult to make the big stitches.

 Then she taught us different ribbon embroidery flowers.  That was my favorite part of the class.

We did 3 different types of roses.  My favorite are the spider web roses.  They were the easiest and I think, the prettiest.  (coral colored, near the center of block)  I thought the Fly Stitch roses (plum) were beautiful but I really struggled with them.  I had to use pliers to get the needle through...

I added the button flowers.  Good old Pinterest.  None of the lace that I bought fit on my project.  So, I guess it'll get used someday.

She showed us how to make the cute little ribbon butterfly.  The butterfly cameo was bought 50% off at Hobby Lobby's Labor Day Sale.  The ONLY thing I bought, that worked out...

French knots in ribbon are rose buds and french knots in thread are, whatever those tall flowers are...

We made ribbon Irises.  Mine look a lot like the angry bitch Iris from Alice in Wonderland.  Or, angry parrots or something.












So, that's all for now folks.  I've got a few more things but I'll let you rest for now.  I just started another class with Shawkl.com.  Next, she's going to show me how to dye my own fabric and ribbons!  Can you feel my excitement?