Meet 7 and 8

Dear Readers -
Please meet 7 and 8. They are the latest Pot Holders I have finished. Do not judge them because their quilting is not even, but by the fact that they are far superior to their predecessors. Their binding is neatly sewn, 8s corners match up perfectly in the center, and they are roughly the same size.

I thought I'd have a lot more done by next weekend, and I still fully intend on having at least a dozen for ppl to chose from when I visit my home town, but 7 and 8 will surely go fast. After all they are thus far the best of the bunch!

New Projects!

So I'm working on a dress and it's not going well, so I'm putting it aside. Can't be frustrated and work on things and expect success.

I've decided to move onto a new project. I want to make this and this. A trip to SR Harris is in my future. Saturday AM if the weather is good I'm going to get the supplies for both of these and try to make them this weekend. I'd like to have the wrap done by Chicago time (end of the month...so excited to see Benson and Andy!!!) since it will be cold and windy and probably snowy (just guessing...Jan in Chicago). The scarf would be great to have by then as well and I'm assuming it will only take an afternoon to whip together since the tutorial is really straight forward. Hopefully Monday I'll have another post about how awesome these tutorials are and my finished projects!

It's Gonna Be A Happy New Year!!!!

I saw a bumper sticker today that said "You are not only measured by what you create but also by what you choose not to destroy." For some reason that inspired me. Of course, now I'm at work, so my inspiration is limited to software implementations, but I might have to take out my sketch pad and jot a few ideas down!

This weekend was pretty productive. I made my NYE dress and it was a success. I also made 6 pot holders! I even patch worked to the top of two! I think I finally figured out the binding. The first 6 aren't all that great, but they are functional pot holders, so they can be used. I'm hoping that by next weekend when I go to see my girlies for Lexi and Peyton's birthdays I'll have about 3 times the amount I have now. The four blockers are turning out better and better. It just takes practice and figuring out some of the little tips myself. I'm no where near being ready to make a full quilt, but maybe a doll quilt is in my future?

So what's up next? I started working on a new dress, but I already hate the fabric, so I'll probably be scrapping the project. I also, as stated above, want to do some more pot holders. So that's my plan.

Not bad for a first try

I finally did it. I finally made a dang pot holder! I've been putting off getting into quilting for over a year. I want to, I'm just really really scared! So last night, with all my supplies around me I stepped in and made a pot holder. I didn't do a patch work top, because I wanted to figure out the mechanics first, but I did made a usable pot holder. Not bad for a first try.

All my materials ready to go.

Quality Inspector making sure all my cuts are straight.

All the pieces ready to sew!

See the front and back!

Sewn together.

And bound. My binding sucks, but it's functional. I'm going to try again after my dress is done and see what I can do! At least I can say I made a pot holder before 2011!

Fabric purchased

I had a successful trip to Mill End last night.

1. I got my fabric for my dress. I'm going to classify the color as Dark Teal. It's really pretty and I think with the right accessories it will be really sharp. Plus I can wear brown or black tights which makes me happy. I don't have to chose! I'm trying to decide what to do with my hair and leaning towards a headband with some red on it to compliment the teal. We shall see what happens! The fabric was 3.00 a yard and I got it half off so $3.00 for that, $1.50 for the elastic and I bought thread which was a few bucks. The pattern is 99 cents, so about $7.00 for a new dress. not too shabby.

2. I got batting for pot holders. I fear pot holders. I fear the fact that there are multiple layers and binding and you have to quilt them. But I'm going to face my fear. I have all the other supplies. I've had the quilting supplies and books for a year and I'm just so scared I haven't done anything. This weekend, I will face the pot holder. My plan - to make some pot holders without the four square top to figure out binding and batting and quilting and all that jazz and then jump into four square tops. I have a whole bin of fabric from my mom to work with. None of my pot holders will match, but they will be functional and sometimes, that is all that matters.

NYE dress

I want to make a dress to wear on NYE. It's Tuesday, NYE is Friday, this might be a problem. But I have Friday off, so we shall see!

The party I go to every year is hosted by some friends of mine from college. They always do it with a dress code suggested as cocktail attire. In past years, they've done black and white as the theme, but this year, we're allowed to punch it up with some color.

I found a great Butterick pattern that I thought would be fun (5523) but they aren't on sale. McCall's patterns are on sale starting Thursday so I'm thinking McCall's 6112, 6026 or 6200. I'm leaning towards 6112. They show it (see above) in an animal print, although I don't think I'll be doing mine in an animal print. I'm going to head to Mill End after work and see if I can get the fabric. Then Thursday I can get the pattern and hopefully when they say Easy McCall's, they mean it! If not, I have some other options in my closet. I just want to start the new year with a new dress. Is that too much to ask?

Another Christmas come and gone...

Christmas is over. I'm not really all that sad about it. I had my fill of family and gifts and giving for a year. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but some ppl get so into the gifts and not the thought behind them or the effort to get/make/wrap them. Luckily for me, my little girlies appreciate things.

I have to share something my dad did this holiday season. Background: Father Redmond is a retired priest that is really good friends with my Grandpa D. He's a really neat guy and my dad and Father have bonded over their love of restoring things. Father had to take some trees down at his property, so he gave dad some of the wood to make a few things for Father's house. Dad knows a guy who makes pens out of wood so Dad gave the guy some wood that is from Father Redmond's property. Below are the pictures of Father and Grandpa Jerry with their new pens. Dad made the box out of the wood and he layered the different types. Both the pen and box were beautiful. I know the gift meant a lot to both Father and Grandpa. My dad is a pretty thoughtful guy.