Ear Warmers!

Yay! I made ear warmers with the leftover fleece from the scarf for little man. Originally I got the idea from the awesome Delia Creates' ear warmers , but I made mine a little different. I didn't add a closure because the fleece is super stretchy, plus I was a little short on time. I cut out three similarly shaped flowers free handed and hand stitched them on, and I added a little blue fabric covered button to be the center, and to cover up my ugly hand stitches haha. For my first attempt I think it turned out alright. Next time I make them I will take more time to plan out any embellishments I want to add so it looks nicer. But they work! And they're perfect for a yucky/pretty snowy winter day like today.

a mini quilting session

getting approval from the boss on the thread color

Last night my friend Chelsea came over with a quilt that her grandmother had started for her before she passed. She asked me if I would help her finish it.. so I'm really excited and pretty touched that she thought of me, especially with something as special as that. I really had no idea in what state the quilt was in before I saw it, didn't know if the top was pieced, if it was quilted etc. So, it was a pleasant surprise when Chelsea came to see that it was already pieced, and the layers were all basted together, and partially quilted. Sooooo, I will be finishing the quilting up, then binding it, with binding that is already cut by the way. Chelsea was kind enough to take some pictures so I could share on here. =)

taadaaa!

a real sewing space =)

This little guy was on a garbage can, Leave it to me to be excited about that.

Yesterday almost hubby and I went off to Ikea in Philly. I was in search of a sewing table, and we were successful! Also, I don't know if you guys know much about Philly, but almost hubby informed me that the parking and bridge for South St were really close so we decided to go there. It was nice..cold. But it wasn't very crowded and we had dinner and a little random date night so that was awesome.

Okay, back to sewing. Soooo when we got home we (ahem, mostly he) assembled the table and then we re arranged the guest bedroom to accommodate the table.   I really like how it turned out and I'm super excited because now I have a good size workspace and I don't have to clear off the dining room table of all my stuff so we can eat. Yeah, so it's all good.

Oh, also, on a side note...I finished two washcloths the other night. I have enough yarn for at least one more so I'll be doing that probably on Friday.

some progress

I've been doing some thinking about this quilt top of mine..I don't know if I like how it's looking. I think I have to play with it some more. What do you think? It's definitely a simple design, just alternating between white and colored squares. Since I'm a beginner I wanted to do something that isn't overly complicated and just focus on practicing piecing and aligning seams, that kind of thing.
    Well, I decided that I would like to make ear warmers from the leftover fleece. Because they're cute and functional. =)
   I crocheted some more for the blanket. I bought  B-E-A-utiful large plaid wool (which was on sale by the way--awesome possum) which I want to make into a circle skirt. It will be great practice on matching prints and everything else so I'm excited.
Tonight I'm working on crocheting some simple little washcloths so we have extras around the house. I know I could go the easy route and just buy some, but isn't that kind of the point of what we do? You can buy ANYTHING now, I love being more than the purchaser in the process.  I remember the first time I started a crochet project,  a baby blanket for our friends Gary and Jen's baby Gavin. After the first few rows, when it actually started to look like something, I was like WOW! I'm taking this basically string and turning it into something beautiful. It was really a cool feeling. And I get that with everything I make now, so it's nice. Plus I love the feeling of being capable, feeling slightly more resourceful than I was before. yeah. How about you? Why do you do what you do?

My goals for January

I thought I should announce my goals for this month, that way they're not just in my head and I will be accountable somewhere for them =) .

 So here they are: 
1. make something cute for MYSELF using the leftover fleece from the boys scarf I just made.
2. diligently work on the blanket I've been crocheting for my sister for about 6 months now. It probably would have been done already if it weren't for my laziness. I haven't worked on it nearly as much as I should, probably because I somehow turned it into a chore in my head. I need to get away from that and make it fun again. So that is goal 2 1/2. =)

3. to finally stop being scared and make a piece of clothing for myself that I will actually wear. As I announced, this year I'd really like to learn more about sewing and pattern making in general. I really reallllllyy want to make my own clothes. I have been so inspired by so many wonderful sewing blogs, seeing their process and the beautiful garments you all make. I even have 50+ pages in a word document packed full of clothes I"m inspired by or would  like to try to re create. The problem is I have been such a little dummy about it and have so far stuck to making little things for other people. It isn't for lack of fabric, equipment, or otherwise; I'm just being a doofball. SO- I need to get over that and just make something! Even if it's a simple skirt, or refashioning a discarded piece of clothing. I will do it. I will.

4. I would like to make a case to house all of my crochet hooks, yarn needles, scissors for crocheting. I have had these hooks for about a year and have kept them in the plastic package they came in from the store. It works, but isn't very cute or inspiring.

see?? not so cute.

5. last but not least, I want to at least finish piecing the simple quilt top that I started on before the holidays.

I feel like that's a good list, and definitely obtainable. pshh yeah! let's do it.

Yesterday was soooo productive,

So, I accomplished a lot yesterday. We took down and put away Christmas, I did a POOP TON of laundry, cleaned, played, and mended little man's coat. Which by the way I was a little irritated at Old Navy because that coat was only two months old and the Velcro was ripping off of the collar.Oh well, it's fixed now. Kayla took care of it. ha ha.   Then, after little man went to bed, I starting working on that project I mentioned yesterday. I finished it last night and gave it to him this morning. I used Living With Punks great tutorial for a cute boys scarf. This tutorial is very clear, easy to follow and understand, and comes out with an awesome product, so cheers to you! Here's how mine turned out:

He likes it!

trying to seriously display the pocket.. love him!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy new year everybody! I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year.  We had a very low key night on the couch haha. I'm excited to see what 2011 brings. Last year, almost hubby and I were able to buy a house, and I'm so proud of us for what we accomplished. =). A new year is full of possibilities, and I'm really looking forward to all of our new adventures. My goals are to learn much more about sewing and patternmaking, and to lead a healthier lifestyle. What about you?
Here is a preview of what I will be working on tonight after little man goes to bed :

I'll post pics of the finished product. Until then!