Quilt Square Exchange

This year I am participating in the Chelmsford Quilt Guild block exchange. They made this activity geared for beginners because in years past the "exchange" activities intimidated less experienced quilters. Basically, I had to pick a block design, make one block, write up the instructions, and submit it to be passed around from month to month - and in April I will get a bunch of blocks from people.... Meanwhile, I have to make a different block each month for other people. I will post a picture later of the block I have to make this month. I am excited- but we'll see what the ladies do with mine- it might be difficult because the quilts they all make are very "country."

Vintage Skirts

I'm pretty sure someone embellished this skirt with felt birds and leaves, that it wasn't manufactured like this.

I think the print on this is gorgeous. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit as it is- I would be lucky to be able to fit my thigh in the waist part. But I am pretty sure I can alter it to knee-length. The tag says it was "Hand printed in Finland."

Pleated Bag Beauty

Here's a purse from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing Book, "Pleated Bag Beauty." This is the first time I made one, and I am in love with how it came out. It was a somewhat intimidating project at first, but it went really well and I actually didn't make any major mistakes. I am especially pleased with the fabric combination- both prints are butterflies. This is going out to a friend as a very belated birthday present.

Crafting with second-hand items.....

I spent a lot at one estate sale a few weekends ago. There was a lot of fun stuff. This is an old jacket, made of fabrics from Thailand- but it's actually an old Talbot's jacket.
I would also appreciate any ideas on what to make with really cool vintage scarves? Maybe to lie makeup bags? I just couldn't resist the variety of bright and unique prints.
Look at the awesome ugliness of this scarf:

More Finds

This whole set of "fairy tale" dolls was only .50 cents! I couldn't believe it! They're all in really good condition and very adorable! Can you see Red Riding Hood? Jack and Jill? Mary and her lamb? This will be fun to decorate a nursery someday.

A retro cheater quilted panel- I LOVE all the colors!

Finds

$1 for this vintage quilt top. I think it will make a sweet baby blanket. 3 vintage homemade children's aprons:
Granny square afghan (lap-sized).

Thrifty Sewer: The Miser

Amy Karol's book: "Bend the Rules Sewing" explains that there are 4 kinds of crafters: the perfectionist, the artist, the miser, and the speed demon. I've decided I am "the miser." Karol explains,

Can you work miracles reusing fabric? Do you thrift like a demon and have an amazing knack for sensing a yard sale a mile away? Misers can see project potential in cast-off items and can make gifts from pennies. The flip side can be a tendency not to cut enough fabric... If you thrift fabric, often you have little control of the quantity. So you tend to have not quite enough. (Or you are being a miser, and don't want to use it all). Misers will undercut the fabric, making it stretch as far as it can go. But scrimping on seam allowances comes at a price: no matter how clever you are, you cannot make up for not having enough fabric. Attention misers: Stop waiting for the "perfect project," keep your fabric stash in check, and don't buy fabric only because it's on sale. Buy what you love- and use it liberally.

I don't think all of this applies to me, but it is true that I LOVE a good yard sale and often eye the goods in a thrift store with the intention of cutting up the clothing, not wearing it.

So I decided to change my blog up a little, as you may have already guessed based on a few of the most recent posts. Since my full-time job seriously interferes with my life, I don't sew as much as I'd like to. Also, most of the projects I am working on right now are Christmas presents that I need to keep secret till after Dec. 25.... So I am changing things up a bit by posting yard sale finds (related to crafts) and maybe I will do some other different themes- like posting favorite handmade posessions that I didn't make or things I made a while ago- just to keep this thing current. I recently scheduled a ton of posts- and it is kind of fun to check my blog and see a new post that I had scheduled recently.

Anyway- over the past weekend I made these "simple bibs," also from Bend the Rules. I used some of my vintage fabric and applied adhesive ribbon meant for scrapbooking (I hope it washes okay!) I gave them to my friend Lindsay who is going to have a baby boy in about two weeks.

And finally, here's the AWESOMELY groovy quilt top I got for 2 bucks last weekend:

Vintage Bow-Ties

Any ideas on crafty things to do with vintage bow ties? This set was $2. There are probably at least 50 in each of these boxes. Both boxes were $5 each.

Pumpkin Decorating Contest

At work each department had to decorate a pumpkin without carving. We did a "V.I.P" (Very Important Pumpkin." It was my idea to add the Papparazzi Pumpkins and I made the cute little felt bushes they were hiding behind- I should've taken a closer picture of them.... We won 3rd place.

Manhattan Purse

This is the purse I made for my mom's birthday which was yesterday. The pattern is called "Manhattan Bag" by Sand Beach Designs, something I picked up in Maine on Nick and I's anniversary trip to Bar Harbor in June. The fabrics are from my finds at Marden's on the same trip. I made a different bag by the same pattern a few weeks ago, but I can't show the picture yet because I am saving it to give to someone for Christmas who reads this blog. The funny thing is that the first one I made came out better and was easier to make than this one; I am stumped because I don't know what I did wrong/different. Stay tuned....

Deerfield Fair 2008

Nick and I went to the Deerfield fair last weekend. Despite the rain we had a great time. We really enjoyed yummy junk food - apple crisp, fudge, candy apples, etc. We watched the "Pig Scramble" - something I've never seen before, even though I have gone to this fair year after year. It's basically when a group of children go into a large fenced-in area with a burlap bag and have 3 minutes to catch a piglet. It was hilarious!

Anyway, one of my favorite parts is the craft exhibition. People of all ages can enter their crafty endeavors to the fair and have them judged and put on display. These are 2 of my favorite quilts:

This Hawaiin applique quilt was made my an 85 year old woman. I thought it was absolutely stunning!

This quilt was made entirely of "yo-yo's" into a patchwork design.


I have made it a goal to enter some of my projects into the fair next year.

Busy!

I am trying to decide if I am going to keep this little guy or give him away..... hmmm.... I saved this pair of socks with the idea of actually making a sock animal for myself, but we'll see. I decided to challenge myself and learn two new skills on this quilt for my friend Muriel's new baby. I actually hand quilted it (never again!) and made a real binding (don't look too close, it didn't come out wonderful). But overall I am pleased with it and happy that I was able to use fabric from my stash to complete the entire blanket.

A few projects

Here's the purse I made about 6 weeks ago with my sister. I gave it to my friend, Noelani, when I went out to UT this last weekend for her wedding reception. At first, her husband thought it might be an apron, then he guessed that it was one of those baby carriers! I really LOVE this fabric- it's Heather Bailey's Peonies in red. I tried to make a book cover for my copy of the monstrous 900+ pages Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell but it came out wrong. So I sized it down for my antique copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I really like the way it came out. I borrowed my mom's serger and did the edges- it took me longer to thread the serger than to make the whole book cover!
More to come soon, I've started to craft almost as much as I visit fabric stores!

A Pillow & a Purse

I am VERY happy with the way this pillow and pillow cover came out. I am in love with the fabric that matches my Christmasy living room (we have a green couch and red chairs- I promise you it is tasteful and not as tacky as it sounds). The pattern came from Emma Hardy's Sewing in No Time Book. It is a GREAT book. The pattern said it should take 1.5 hrs to make, but I took about 4 hours. I was trying to be really careful because over the last week I have managed to royally mess up 3 purses due to my not being careful enough as I worked.
I was proud of how the pillow form came out because I almost bought one, as I had read on one of the crafty blogs that you should buy really nice pillow forms. I found the ones available at Joann's were flimsy and relatively expensive for what you get (it's a square stuffed with polyester stuffing people!)

This is one of the purses I kind of messed up on but I was able to fix it. It's going to my friend Christie in Florida. I am posting this before I send it with the assumption that a 4th year dental student probably doesn't have time to check her dorky friend's craft blog.

I have been working on hand quilting a baby blanket for a few weeks now and I just need to buckle down and get it done! I also have another African themed cross-stitch that is nearing completion! More to come soon.....

Funny ad I found on Craigs List under the "yard sale" category

I know this has nothing to do with crafts, but I had a good laugh after I came across this ad:

THIS IS A 75 GALLON TANK IN AN ATTRACTIVE CHERRY FINISH CABINET...THERE IS A THREE STAGE FILTER UNDERNEATH...I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE FILTER, ONLY THAT IT KEEPS THE TANK CLEAN...AND IT IS IDEAL FOR SALTWATER TANK SETUPS...I AM MOVING ON 9/2 AND NEED TO SELL THIS TANK...THE FISH...AN INDESTRUCTABLE AGRESSIVE RED DEVIL, COMES WITH (IF YOU WANT HIM) HE EATS EVERYTHING I PUT IN THE TANK...HENCE THE LONLINESS OF HIS EXISTENCE...HE ENJOYS FEEDERS AND PELLETS WITH EQUAL GUSTO...THIS TANK WAS ORIGINALLY FULL OF CICHLIDS AND THIER MANY BABIES...THE RED DEVIL GOT THEM ALL AS HE GREW UP...WE PAID ABOUT 1300.00 FOR THE TANK AND FILTER...I'D LIKE $500.00 FOR IT...AND/OR I'LL PAY YOU $20 TO TAKE THE FISH.

I have a usable craft room, yay!

Here's my sister modeling the bag I helped her make a couple weeks ago. I can't show the one I made yet, because I want it to be a surprise for one of my friends who checks my blog sometimes. I bought the pattern book at JoAnn's- "Gooseberry Patch: Sew Simple, Thoughtful Gifts & Easy Accessories." It took us the bulk of a day to make both bags, which wasn't too bad. After I finish writing this, I am going to start on another because it was a fun bag to make.
The biggest reason why I haven't been posting lately is because I have been really busy cleaning up this:


Can you believe how bad this is? It was really out of control. I have to admit, and you can tell from many of my previous posts, that I've dome more accumulation of crafts than actually doing the crafts and this mess is the end result (combined with trying to cope with a crazy, stress-filled full-time job). But with the gracious help of my hubby, we were able to do this:


The wooden shelving unit is actually on wheels! We got it at a yard sale from a lady who had used it in her yoga studio. It is PERFECT. The shelves behind it are those wire kind that clip together all cube-like. Like this: (the fabric is somewhat color coordinated, ooh, aahhh!)
This is my favorite decorating touch, displaying thread in a little trinket shelf.
And last but not least, I decided to use one of my favorite cats Cheetos (that lives at my parent's house) to show what I won from a quilt shop right after the quilt festival. Emily and I searched out Candelite Quilts (Chelmsford, MA) to find fabric for her bag. Amazingly, I didn't buy anything there, but Emily had the chance to enter a drawing because she purchased her fabric there. And I won! 10 Fat quarters in a yellow/orange/red theme and some snazzy new scissors. I am thrilled and am seriously wanting to sign up fo some of their fall classes.

I think this picture is hysterical, but my husband doesn't get the humor. If you agree with me, you'll really get a kick out of this website: http://www.stuffonmycat.com/

Lowell Quilt Festival

On Thursday of last week, my sister and I went to the Lowell Quilt Festival. Apparently it's held every year and sponsored by the New England Quilt Museum. We had a good time looking at all the artistic creations in the Tsongas arena. I was thrilled to get some fabric I had had an eye on from a website that had sold out. We were also able to go to the Quilt museum and see a portion of Gerald Roy's quilt collections! I thought it was pretty cool that when we got there, we got to join a group that he was leading around. He is quite famous in the quilting world and I found what he had to say about each quilt to be quite interesting.

Here's me in front of a quilted car right in front of the arena.

A lot of the quilts had a "ode to textiles" theme, given that Lowell is famous for it's textile production and history. I was quite amazed at this quilt, if you look closely- you can see that it's made up of clothing tags! Such intricate, detailed work. This photo doesn't do the quilt justice, but I loved the design and "feeling" of this quilt.

They had many "journal" quilts and I thought this one was very cute, and possibly something I could maybe do sometime.
This one was done by a lady inspired by a picture of her grandchild.

I was just amazed at the intricate piecework of this rooster.
We had a great time! I can't wait to go again next year.

My vacation: Part I

I just took a few days off to spend some time with my sister, who is usually out West. We saw Coldplay in Boston on Monday night. It was AWESOME, but I have to say that I think the Foo Fighters give a better show.

More to come on my crafty endeavors over the last few days...........