It’s a new year and I have the itch to surround myself with new things…starting with my living room. I’m tired of the same old look. So, I decided that the first things to go are the throw pillows. I used fabric scraps that I had laying around the house. The pillows turned out great, and they are husband approved.
Making a stuffed animal is one of my favorite crafty projects. I found this great book and have been stitching my way through. Here is a picture of my latest project. Perfect for the baby shower I’ll be attending tomorrow.
My Mom is one of those people that everyone loves. When we’re together we cant go anywhere without running into someone she knows. They usually rant and rave about how sweet and kind she is. One thing I love about her is that she’s not afraid of anything (except speaking in public), will try anything, and eat just about any type of food. We ran into Bob Riley, the former governor of the state of Alabama, outside the Washington, DC metro and she just went right up to him and introduced herself. I never would have done that! She will also stop a US soldier on the street and thank them for all they’ve done for our country.
I’ve learned so much from my Mom, mostly about how to be a strong woman. But one of my favorite things I learned from her is the Art of Crafting – yes, I am capitalizing those words. When I was young we would sit at the kitchen table and craft. We would color, finger paint, and bake. As my motor skills increased she taught me how to cross stitch and sew. Most recently she’s been trying to teach me how to knit – I failed miserably at crochet so we moved on to knitting. My Mom used to make most of my clothes and Halloween costumes. I had tons of smocked dresses and baby bonnets. One of the most special gifts she ever gave me was a Holly Hobby quilt. I used it as my bedspread for many years as a child. Even now, I use it when I’m watching tv and laying on the couch. By looking at the details, you’ll see the hand stitched quilting around each square. I don’t know how she had the time or patience to applique all the Holly Hobbys onto the quilt.
Recently, my Mom has switched from sewing to to knitting and crochet. She always seems to have a needle and yarn in her hands. Here’s a picture of a blanket she made for me.
My Dad is an amazing man. He’s a fantastic father, provider, friend, and, from my perspective, a great husband, brother, and son as well. On top of all this, he’s a pretty crafty guy. Dad hardly ever sits still unless he’s watching some Alabama football or reading a Louis L’Amour cowboy novel. Although he’s not a carpenter by trade, he loves to piddle around the house and build furniture. During the early years of my parents’ marriage, he built a china cabinet, a dining room hutch, stools made from barrels, and several more pieces that I’m forgetting to mention. Lately, he built two tables for the kitchen and some cabinets for his workshop. At some point, I’ll update this post with pictures of everything I mentioned.
The most special piece my father has ever made was the wedding gift he gave me. My husband and I only had a five-month engagement, so my Dad spent all of those months building a prayer bench for me. He even hand-carved two crucifixes. The workmanship is spectacular!
The “No-Frills” Quilt For Beginner Quilters
I love the look of quilts, but have been too intimidated to try anything more than a T-shirt quilt. But my husband’s birthday is coming up and his ratty, old blanket needs to go. Making a new quilt for him may be the perfect excuse to get rid of that ugly thing. I didn’t have a lot of time to make a quilt, nor did I have the patience to make something elaborate. Let’s face it; he’s probably just going to spill red wine on it anyway. So I set out to make something very simple.
Follow along as I make this easy quilt.
It took several months, but I’m finally finished with The Great Tote Bag Challenge! I now have 9 super cute bags to sell in my Etsy shop and I learned so much in the process. My sewing speed has increased as well. Maybe I’ll try the challenge again on some other patterns, as it seems like that’s the only way i’ll get motivated enough to build up an inventory.
Anyway… check out my progress through this challenge by clicking on my other blog entries here, here, here, and here. If you want to buy these bags but want them in a different color pallet contact me and we’ll see what we can come up with.
The orange color pallet is finished, and I only have three more bags to go in The Great Tote Bag Challenge! If you would like to buy these bags check out my Etsy Shop by clicking the link or the tab above. I made one of these bags for me and I absolutely love it for weekend trips. The fabric is super cute too!
More pictures after the fold.
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Check out this Beginning Handbuilding DVD from Ceramic Arts Daily, he makes it look so easy!
I mentioned before that I’m learning to knit – not that I need another hobby, but I just wanted to learn the tecniques. I finally finished my first two projects but I’m not too sure I like the finished product. Learning to knit from a pattern more complicated than a scarf allowed me to practice several “advanced” tecniques like buttonholes, changing colors, decreasing, and hand sewing the seams. Knitting is a lot of fun in cold weather, but now that it’s hot I can’t seem to get motivated to start another project.
This is such a great idea! I just wish I had come up with it.
Click on the links for sources.
