Bandana Quilt

Everytime I type "Bandana" I see "Banana" even though I'm the one who typed it. So I keep seeing the caption as "Banana Quilt" and then I go to fix it and oh it's not wrong... aaaaand this is a little glimpse into the fun fun mind of Lori...



For a long time I wanted to try making a quilt using bandanas for the top. I kept putting it off but it was always in the back of my mind. When I finally got around to it, I ended up changing my plan quite a bit, using white cotton for sashing - my original plan was for the whole top to be bandanas. Mostly this was because I couldn't find as many different colors as I wanted while staying within a color palette that I liked. Now that it's done, I am quite happy with it.



This is the biggest quilt I've ever made. It's bi-i-i-ig. Queen size (pictured on a double bed). To make the quilt sandwich I had to move all the furniture to the sides and out of the main area of my very small living room. It's backed with a cotton sheet from Ikea which is a little boring, but my goal with the quilt was cheap thrifty quilting so I couldn't justify buying yardage for a queen sized quilt back.

If you look at the picture at the top you can see the quilting started getting a little (a lot) wonky on me. This is due to the fact that I was machine quilting a queen sized quilt on a 40 year old sewing machine on a table that is 3 feet by 2 feet. (that's the reason I'm sticking with and I can't hear you lalalala)



I love the binding. I used scraps from the western shirt I made last June. I had just enough to bind the quilt, which made me so very happy.



Predictably, finishing this quilt has just made me want to make more. I think I need a bigger table first. Or a bigger apartment.

Recycled Denim Quilt Top

The Boy (who, for those of you who don't know me, is not my son) gave me a stack of old jeans that he was going to give to Salvation Army. He thought I might want to make something out of them. He knows me pretty well by now...

As soon as I saw them I pictured a quilt top made from the jeans. At first I had planned to just cut large pieces and sew them together. As I kept looking at the pile I decided to try a more traditional pieced quilt top. I knew I wanted each block to be oversized, so I started cutting 4 1/2 inch wide strips and began piecing them in a Log Cabin block.



I love how it turned out. It's both exactly what I was hoping for and way better than I had expected. I love how each pair of jeans contributed a different shade.

Now I need to work on my arm strength so I can finish it. This thing is H-E-A-V-Y! The finished quilt top is 80" x 80". I'm planning to make a quilt sandwich with a flannel sheet and a plain cotton backing. I think I'll end up tying it rather than attempting to machine quilt it. (see earlier comment re: weight of quilt and lack of arm strength)

Of course I have a The Boy comment about this project. When I was working on the blocks I had a stack of them on my sewing table. I pointed them out to the Boy and told him that's what became of the stack of jeans he had given me. He looked at them and said "Oh cool. What are you making? A dress?"

(he wasn't serious)(I hope)(the image of a majorly patchworked denim dress nearly did me in and I couldn't breathe for a while from the laughing)

Baby gifts

I can finally show off what I made while I was on my mini-vacation. Woo! It was hard b/c the person I wanted to tell was the person it was for and I had to wait. (Why am I still being vague?) My friend Wen Shu is expecting her second girl. We were planning a surprise baby shower for her and her husband (he works with me too) at work so I had to keep quiet until then.



I bought 10 fat quarters in bright "girl" colors and cut 20 squares (don't remember the size). Then I cut and pieced the nine-patch squares using the idea of the "crazy nine-patch" (google produces many many results) but with my cuts not on an angle. I spent way more time than was probably necessary trying to ensure that no row had two of the same square but now that I look at the picture above I can see that I missed a pair. d'oh.



Sashing was from a white cotton sheet (from Ikea: cheap sheet, soft cotton); backing & binding were from a stash of girlie fabrics I acquired for cheap a few years ago. They all washed up really soft and cuddly.



I'm not one for "girlie" colors but I love this little quilt. It washed up nice and crinkly and soft. It was a big hit with Wen Shu and her husband.

But... the real crowd pleasers were to come:


Pattern: Cloth Shoe Pattern from Stardust Shoes. (look around her blog while you're there. Fun tutorials!) The pattern was straight forward and I love the finished shoes. I need to work on my patience for small project sewing however. Clumsiness and small pieces: not a great combo.

When I finished these I sent a pic to my friend out in BC with the subject: "The Most Ridiculously Cute Baby Shoes Ever".

But then I made the next ones and was to revise that title:


(all together now: awwwwwwwww!!!!)
Pattern: Saartje's Bootees (link to pdf)
Yarn: Sock weight leftovers from various projects.
Mods: I stitched the strap ends to the shoe rather than have buttons and button loops.

I know people don't like the seaming on this one but I found the seaming to be really quick (it's a tiny shoe). I love the finished result. So much so that I made another pair:



They won't fit baby for very long I'm sure but they sure are adorable.

Today is Wen Shu's last day at work before maternity leave. She and I work very closely and I will really miss her. We have gotten to be work-sisters and she is a very dear friend. I can't wait to meet her new little one though!

What I Did on My Mini-Vacation

The last few weeks have been a little stressful at work so I decided to take a couple of days off. My friend/office-mate is going on maternity leave starting March 19. As there are only 2 people who know how to do our job (Wen-Shu and me) it will be a little difficult for me to take a real vacation over the next year so my plan is to take mini-vacations which should give me a break without making it too difficult at work.

Anyway... in photo essay form: here is how I spent my extended weekend/mini-vacation:

-experiment in faux batik dyeing. I first saw this idea on the Craftzine blog last week and obsessed about trying it all week. It works well, but I don't know how practical it would be for a large piece of fabric. (Instructions found here: http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/2008/07/kid-friendly-batik.html) I used a scrap of white cotton and some Rit dye. It washed out a lot (somehow I don't have a pic of the finished product).



-baked bread. Over the past year or so I have been discovering how much I enjoy baking bread. I inherited my Mom's Bosch Universal Machine (not sure if that's the proper name for it). For the last 15 years or so Mom always made her own bread and we all were the happy recipients of it. Since we cleaned out Mom's house in August, her Bosch machine has been in regular use as has her bread recipe.



-sewing a secret project for my friend Wen-Shu's baby. She occasionally visits here (GET BACK TO WORK WEN-SHU!!!)(hahahaha) so I'll only give you a glimpse of the secret. This sewing gave me such a feeling of accomplishment and stress relief, this alone was a vacation for my brain.

(full project details & pictures to come when the gift has been given)

-more baking. Onion studded hamburger buns this time. I used this recipe from Coconut & Lime. These buns are so delicious and sturdy without being tough. I made pulled pork in the slow cooker today (but forgot to take a picture) and these were perfect for pulled pork sandwiches.


I feel sad that my mini-vacation is over now but I am so glad I decided to take the time off. I needed a break. I needed to just sew and bake and read and... breathe. Here's hoping I can continue to breathe when I get back to work.

Moving on: Craft Therapy.

I think I've written before about crafting as a therapeutic measure. When I feel really overwhelmed or stressed focusing on a task that I know I can do or that challenges me seems to give my brain a break and I come away from it feeling refreshed. I know this is not an earth shattering discovery, but I've been thinking about this idea a lot lately.

The weekend clearing out my mom's house was very difficult, as you can imagine. My brother and his wife had pre-sorted a lot of the items so it was just a matter of going through, picking out things to save and deciding what could go to the Salvation Army or what was trash. Being a sentimental pack rat I didn't want to let go of a lot of it. I had given The Boy one task before we went: if he saw me getting bogged down sorting through something he was to get me back on task or make me move on to something else. He did his job well and we got everything done in a day and a half. To say we were exhausted would be extreme understatement.

When I got back to Calgary I was wrung out. I couldn't focus and didn't know what to do. I kept crying and felt unable to process anything. I decided to set up Mom's sewing machine that I brought back with me and play with it.

Using Mom's Singer, which is nearly as old as I am, brought back a flood of happy memories and made me feel so connected to her. I was worried that I would feel maudlin or uncomfortable having her things in my house but I'm so pleased that instead I just feel this happy connection to my Mom and all of my memories of her.



I took her for a test drive last week and made myself a new wallet. I'm not 100% happy with how it turned out (it's a touch too wide and I want a different kind of closure...) but I'm happy that the machine, with its quirks, works.



I used a piece of the strip patchwork I made for the potholders i made a while ago.



I used a tutorial (which I can't find at the moment) for the card section and I added another layer for bills.



This long weekend I started a quilt top using some of my mom's shirts. I won't have enough for a whole top. I plan to use solid cotton squares to make up the rest.



This, too, has been therapeutic, and I'm looking forward to the comfort of a quilt so infused with memories of my Mom. I think she'd approve.

Craft Hope Baby Quilt

I love how this quilt turned out.



I used fusible cotton batting and I love it! I always have trouble with basting (pins or thread) and the fusible batting took away the need for basting. The quilting is less than perfect but I think it looks pretty good considering. I know that i need to start saving up for a better sewing machine. The opening on mine isn't very wide so quilting any size quilt is a challenge.



I backed it with some cotton I got on sale at Walmart a few years ago and bound with cotton from stash. I'm really happy with how it washed and dried. It's got that great slightly crinkly look. I'll get it in the mail tomorrow.

I'm also sending a blanket I wove a while ago for a friend's baby but ended up not sending. I like it and hope it's acceptable for the project.





This project made me think of all the really amazing ways that crafters online join together to do good in this world. We hear of a need or a hurt and we reach for our yarn, needles, fabric stash and thread, searching for ways to provide a small measure of comfort with our craft. We inspire one another and challenge and teach and raise one another up to do more good.

It's pretty amazing and I'm really glad to be a small part of this community.

Baby quilt top

Have you heard of Craft Hope? It's a project designed to share crafted gifts with those less fortunate around the world. I heard about it through Eren's blog This Vintage Chica. I didn't get it together in time to get a doll made for Project #2, but the stories of what has been made is so great.

Project #3 is blankies, beanies and booties for orphanages in India. I immediately began planning at least one woven blanket and one quilted blanket.

I'm always pretty bad at in progress photos, but I want to show off the quilt top I finished last night.



I found the herringbone directions somewhere on line (can't remember where or find the link) and used up a bunch of scraps from various niece sewing projects. It's 31" x 32" and turned out just how I was hoping. I'm not sure if I should use batting or maybe just a layer of cotton flannel to quilt it. I'll decide soon and try quilting it on my machine. I figure it's small enough that I can manage it in my small sewing space.

Anyone else taking part? What are you making if you are? If you're not, I encourage you to take a look and consider keeping it in mind. The deadline for this project is July 25th so there's not much time left.

Craft Therapy

Ever had a hard day where nothing seemed to go right and you just feel off? I had one today. I feel wrung out and like I want to call in "exhausted" to work tomorrow. So this evening I'm knitting and watching hockey. My wool doesn't argue with me, nor does it vocalize dissent or question my decisions (although sometimes I question my decisions regarding the wool) so it's good therapy for a day like today.

Also good therapy is revisiting my weekend's accomplishments.

Friday evening/Saturday morning:




4oz Sheep Shed brown mix mill ends. I don't know the exact wool blend. I'm really loving this wool. It spun so smoothly and has a really pleasing wooly feel without being overly scratchy. The first strip I pulled from the bag was exactly 4 oz. I had read here and there that sometimes the strips were quite short, so that was a nice surprise. I bought 2 lbs of the brown mix and 2 lbs of the black/grey mix... I'm planning good things for both. I think the brown mix will make a really nice jacket for me. As will the grey....

On-going:




My quilt. I've decided to hand quilt the cross-ways sashings and will work out some handquilting for the blocks. I'm using embroidery floss (which just happens to be exactly the color of the sashings! score!) and taking fairly big stitches, as far as quilting goes. I'm really loving the look of it and it's going fairly quickly, but I'm just enjoying the task and not rushing it.

Saturday:




Margaret Bag (tutorial found on the linked page) from Oh, Fransson!
Fabric: linen panel from Ikea and lined with some cotton from stash
I love this bag. I didn't read the dimensions on the bag before I started so I was a bit surprised at the finished size, but after using it today for work I realize how much I love it. My coworker tried to steal it. (no she didn't, but she really liked it so I watched her really closely all day)(haha)(Hi Wen Shu!)

I would love to make another in a more spring/summery fabric. The pattern/tutorial is very well written and easy to follow and the bag looks so much more tailored than other bags I've made without patterns/tutorials... I assume that is less my skill level and more the pattern, so thanks to Elizabeth for that!

And now, I plan to put down the back of my Hex Jacket (Oh yeah, i need to blog that) and lie down and watch Jack Bauer get out of and then into more trouble. I feel better now, having worked through some therapy, sigh.

Reconstruction Weekend

It's Tuesday already, isn't it? wow. How did that happen? This past weekend unintentionally ended up being a recycle/reconstruct weekend for me and time just sort of flew by.

Saturday

I had big plans of cleaning/organizing on Saturday but those plans went out the window when I came across a 100% wool sweater that was in the pile of clothing The Boy gave me for crafting/recycling.



I love the color and feel of the wool and knew I wanted to make something with it. I started to take it apart and realized that it was machine knit (but with good seams! yay!) from 2 strands of wool.

Now, here is where the "you WHAT?" questions would start from any non-Knitters/non-Crafters... but you won't do that, will you?

So, I didn't want to knit a whole sweater with 2 strands held together, so I decided to try spinning the 2 together, not plying exactly, more just creating a sort of melded yarn single.



This "single" was looking a touch fine for what I wanted, so I also tried plying my "single" back on itself. Now it was too thick.



So, I did what any reasonable Crafter/Knitter/Spinner would do when faced with a men's large 100% wool sweater knit with 2 strands of yarn held together.

I separated the 2 strands and then wound them on my ball winder and then chain (navajo?) plied them to make a 3 ply yarn that turned out to be JUST RIGHT. (about 180 yds/2 1/2 oz)



Much like Goldilocks.

Honestly, it didn't take nearly as long as it sounds like it would. (Although, also honestly, I have only done one sleeve's worth.) I love the feel of the finished yarn. I need to swatch it to be sure but I think it will end up being the perfect yarn. I want to knit the Tangled Yoke Cardigan from Interweave Knits and I think this will end up being just right for it. I hope. cross fingers/knock on wood/etc.

Sunday

After brunch out with The Boy I came home and was compelled* to start working on a quilt I've had in mind since I first got the bag of clothes from The Boy. I had seen a quilt in a movie that looked like it was made with large sections of mens dress shirts and knew that was what i wanted to do with the shirts in the bag of clothing.

I first deconstructed each of the shirts (3 mens large 100% cotton shirts) and ironed them, squaring the ends and cutting them into the right widths.



I then cut strips from a 100% cotton sheet I had leftover from my duvet cover. I pieced the shirts and strips and cut those strips into 5 foot lengths. Then I sewed the strips together and voila!



It's about 5 feet wide and just over 5 1/2 feet long. Perfect for napping or curling up on the couch.

Now i just need to quilt it. I got impatient yesterday and decided to sew it together so that it's got finished edges already (i.e. not bound... i can't think of the term for what I mean!!) I plan to machine quilt along the long lines and, if i'm patient enough, do some quilting in the blocks as well.

I wonder if anyone would be suspicious if I called in "sick" this afternoon?? not that I would... or would I?

*seriously, COMPELLED. I started pulling the shirts out while I still had my jacket on. I started on this project at 12 noon and, with a brief break for supper, worked until 8 or so in the evening. I kept thinking "just this little bit more" and next thing I knew it was evening. I can't be the only one who ever does this, right?

***ETA: Now I'm thinking about the quilt and seriously considering tying it instead of machine quilting. The material for the "batting" is not very lofty, so I would probably not get the super cool quilting that I love so much, plus it would be faster. But I do so love the graphic look of straight quilting lines... Oh I'm so terrible with decisions!! Any advice? Any strong opinions??

Worthwhile pursuit or Insanity?

First off, I realize it's been a long time since i've posted... I haven't been finishing much of anything and I don't seem to be a very good "in progress" poster. If anyone has been waiting, thanks! Nice to see you!

I've been meaning to tell you about my latest "is she crazy?" project. After seeing the most amazing patchwork skirt on Craftster this past weekend, I realized I should post this. It definitely falls into the endless project/is it worth all that work? category. I've been thinking about that a lot ever since reading about the mocking that Megan experienced. I think I often feel like I need to justify things I make. I mentally rehearse explanations or uses for things I make, whether or not anyone would ever question the validity of the project. I need to stop that. So, in that vein...

I've been admiring Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts for a while now. I realize how much work goes into one, I'm not that crazy, but I've wanted to make one for a while. So...





I played around with layouts...


I think I like this one the best. I'll surround each diamond with a round of cream or white



I'm making headway but this will definitely be a long term project. I don't have any deadline for it. It's just kind of relaxing to baste the edges of the hexagons (i'm just using 2" squares cut from scraps) and hand stitching them together when I have a bunch.

After I decided to make the diamond shapes I had a couple of flowers that were odd balls. That is, I didn't have any more fabric for them and had already sewn them together. So I decided I needed a new pin cushion and sewed the edges together




In other news: I'm trying to decide if I'm going to take part in the Ravelympics. I think, if I do, I'll enter the WIP Wrestling category. I want to try to finish a bunch of things, but most of all I think I'd like to tackle the leftover sock blanket. Anyone else joining up? If so, what category/categories are you entering?

Covering every square inch of my world

Apparently I have some disorder that is causing me to want to cover every square inch of my world in fabric or fiber. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. There probably is some sort of support group for it. Oh yeah, there's Craftster, Ravelry, knit-alongs, sew-alongs, knitting meet-ups, spin-ins... I guess those things are more "enabling groups" than "support groups"... haha

I took a couple of extra days off this past weekend to make a 5 day weekend for Canada Day (July 1, Canada's birthday for those non-Canadians in the crowd). I caught a ride with my brother, sister-in-law and their three toddlers. Yes. You read that right: 3 toddlers. Almost-3-year-old twin boys and a 1-year-old daughter. Love those kids but, wow, they are, um, rambunctious. And loud. And hilarious. They were really good in the vehicle, but, still, three toddlers in an enclosed space is three toddlers in an enclosed space.

(where was I going with this? Oh yeah...)

Every time I drive anywhere for any length of time, or when it's hot in the car, I wish I had a cover for my seatbelt so it won't cut into my neck. I've seen fuzzy animal covers for kids, but hadn't seen one for grown-ups.

so...



The squiggle quilting on one end was a test patch with my quilting/darning foot. It wasn't overly successful. I used scrap fabrics and a scrap of batting, sewed a rectangle and quilted. I used velcro to close and voila...


Next up? TV cozy?

In other news:

I'm this close to being done my Roundabout Leaf Tank from Knitting Nature... I can't wait. I think I'll really love this tank when it's completed.