Juicy Bits

193: design wall debacle

I suppose the design wall episode wasn't so much a debacle as pretty fruitless.

What I decided to do on my birthday was to make myself a design wall.  Truth be told, I've never really seen the need for them.  I've always just used my floor and it works fine.  But lately I had been envying some sewists with their works in progress sticking up there for a long time while they mull over the design.  Sounded like a cool idea.

So, following the directions here I set out to make a movable design wall.  I wanted it big, but to be 3 separate panels that would fit perfectly into the corner of my studio I had picked out for it.  So I bought the foam insulation but only had one choice of type at my local Home Depot.  It was pink but I didn't see the problem in that.

It was a problem.  I had to add an extra layer of white fabric underneath so the whole thing looked close to white.   Between that and cutting the panels down to size, it ended up taking more than my birthday to complete and wasn't particularly inexpensive.  

Then I brought them upstairs and realized I was totally kidding myself.  I was never going to put these away in their intended corner. Right now they're still set up in the hall area outside my studio and this is 3 months later.  They're not going anywhere...at least not very often.

They are pretty cool and the blocks I have on there now are from my first ever online Bee - The Busy Bees.  It's fun to play around with them and nice to really be able to step back.  But let's be honest, the same effect could have been achieved  by tacking a big piece of batting to the wall whenever I need it.  And it would have saved me a lot of headache.  Live and learn.

Two other notices:

The Modern Mix blog tour is still going strong.  See the list on the last post and don't miss your chance to win a copy and learn some funny stuff about me...

We're finally going to have a New Jersey chapter of The Modern Quilt Guild.  Hoo-ray!  See the fancy new button on my sidebar?? If you're in the area stop by our new blog and find out about how to join in the fun.

192: it starts tomorrow

The blog tour for Modern Mix starts tomorrow!  Hoo-ray!

Now, I know at this point you've probably been to a ton of blog tours, but I promise it will be fun.  You'll find out some interesting stuff about lil' ol' me and have 16 chances to win a copy of the book.  There will also be a free pattern from the book available and at the last stop I'll give some of my Kingdom fabric away. Plus if you don't already read all these blogs, you'll be in for a treat.

So here's the schedule:

10/6/11 - Sew Mama Sew

10/7/11 - Jaybird Quilts

10/8/11 - Blue Nickel Studios

10/9/11 - Handmade by Alissa

10/10/11- Stop Staring and... Start Sewing

10/11/11 - Quilting is My Therapy

10/12/11 - Stitch Magazine Blog

10/13/11 - Oh Fransson

10/14/11 - Gen Q Magazine

10/15/11 - Quilt Dad

10/16/11 - Confessions of a Craft Addict

10/17/11 - Amy's Creative Side

10/18/11 - Pink Chalk Studio

10/19/11 - Connecting Threads Blog

10/20/11 - Keepsake Quilting Blog

10/21/11 - Juicy Bits

And we're off....

JT

 

 

191: places you can stalk me

'cause you know I'm a big celebrity now...

Anyway, this is a bit late, but I will be doing my first book signing tomorrow, Saturday Oct 1st, at 1:00, at Pennington Quilt Work in Pennington NJ.  If you stop by and tell me you're a blog reader I'll be thrilled!

And next week I'll be at The Little Shop, in Haddonfield, NJ Friday Oct. 7th from 4:30-8pm.  They have a cool outdoor art/music/shopping/eating type festival on the first friday of each month.  So weather permitting I'll be hanging out on the sidewalk.  Should be a fun night.  The shops look great...

Finally, if you don't live near me (and most of you don't), please stop by for more details of the blog tour.  You'll have 15 chances to win a free book (one at each stop) and get to know a bit more about me and the book.  It kicks off on Oct 6th so I'll post more details early next week.

Yay!

JT

 

191: I will blog tonight

I've been telling myself that all day, and while it's technically now tomorrow, I'm on it.  Obviously.

A while back I promised to share the results of all serger-sewing-fun I had this summer.  These dresses are my favorite.

One is for Aurora and the other for her best friend who just happened to move half-way around the world this summer.

They are made from recycled t-shirts that I mostly got at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.  A few pieces are old dresses or t-shirts that Aurora used to own and probably had  stain or something on them.  One is even from old PJ pants of mine.

I knew I was going to do very piece-y stuff in bright colors and I found this etsy seller for inspiration.  The patterns are my own, and obviously that took the longest time.  The actual sewing of the dresses is quite quick.

 I got very addicted to shopping at the thrift store.  I went there at least 3 times and spent more than $30 on t-shirts, most of which only cost $.99 each.  You do the math.  I now have big bins of t-shirt scraps to work with.  Luckily I feel pretty certain I'll make more.  She loves the style and wearability of the dress.  I've also made her another and Theo a couple of pieced t-shirts.  I'll try to get pictures of those.  I love Theo's t-shirts because boys clothes often bore me.  And I might want to try some adult sizes, but it's harder to come by big enough pieces.

 

And now I frequent the thrift store on half-off day.  I just can't get over buying Gap jeans for the kids for $.99.  They both now have several pairs of jeans in too big sizes.  I have to scour the racks, but I always find some good stuff.  And I did get quite a few props for her Harry Potter party.  By the way, it's over (thank goodness) and it was a smashing success.  Whenever I have the photos edited, I promise to share.

JT

190: in my hot little hands

Yes, I've got my advance copy of my book.  It's super, fantastic, gorgeous, amazing, incredible, marvelous, brilliant, and just oh-so-pretty.  No, I'm not at all biased.

But really I'm mostly talking about the look and "feel" of it.  I know that the rush of happiness is largely because of the reality of holding a real, live book that I wrote myself.  But, I am feeling so thrilled with how stylish it came out.  It really fits my own aesthetic, right down the matte finish on the cover.

These pix are just a quick preview.  There's much more juicy-goodness inside...

It's available in September, so hurry to your local quilt shop to get a copy!

JT

P.S. See I'm an REAL author. :)

189: Kingdom in da house

Yes, the time has come to blog again.  Over a month is a bit too long, don't you think?  Even with summer as my excuse.

Well, while I've been gone we've checked off quite a few item on that summer to-do list.  Including fireworks, the beach on Cape Cod, and 5 nights of glamping in the beautiful Thousand Islands area of New York.  Great trip.  Beautiful weather (finally, not rained out!), interesting sights, yummy food, and lots of smiles on the kids faces.  This year we tried "hobo eclairs".  Yum!

These pix were taken at the Heritage Museum in Sandwich, MA.  If you are a bit of a hippie mom like me, you MUST visit. They have this new area called Hidden Hollow (below) that it one of the most amazing places for kids I've ever been to.  Everything is wooden and natural (most right from the grounds) and it has art, storytelling, blocks, sand, play house, theater, musical instruments, a tree house, and so much more wholesome goodness for the kids.  It was just MAGICAL and I totally want it in my back yard.

And now Kingdom is hitting the shops.  Woot!

I don't really have a comprehensive list of shops that are carrying it, so if you are one, let me know and I'll add you.  But here are a few places to pick it up:

Hawthorne Threads

Venezie Designs

Sew Mama Sew

You can get the free pattern for the Prairie Glass Squared quilt here.

Before I know it I'll have an advance copy of my book in my hands...eek!

I'd better get back to party prep.  This year, for Theo, it's a puppy party and I've got quite a bit left to do.

JT 

 

188: sweet little piles

I love these sweet little piles.  Oh, if my mess was limited to such beauties.

 

As I mentioned, I've been sewing up a storm with my serger.  These little strip piles are the result of several scrappy dresses and tops I've made for the kids.

 

In other news, inspired by some beautiful ones around the blogsphere, I decided to make a big summer to-do list.  Fun to keep us from getting bored or letting the whole summer pass without event.  It is, of course, much longer than this.  We've already checked off at least half a dozen items, though I'm not sure we'll do every single one.

What's on your list this summer?

JT

187: it *might* be OK to judge

You can go ahead and judge my book by it's cover, but maybe only if you like it, OK?  If not, keep in mind there are 16 different projects in it, so I'm sure there's something you'd love.  

 

Anyway, I'm swooning over how it came out.  Gorgeous, huh?  And it went to press last week. EX.CIT.ING.

So, before I know it I'll be holding a copy in my hand.  Yikes!

JT

 

186: sew happy

I am feeling sew happy lately. Just doing a little playing around.  I've been shirking my actual work and making myself more familiar with my serger and coverstitch machine.  It's nice to step back and not be so focused on results and just play around. Seems appropriate for the start of summer.

This block is for my Busy Bee for Kathy Mack at Pink Chalk Fabrics. She sent the great fabrics and asked us to sew what "sew happy" means to us.  Mine is a big stack of fabrics, my machine, and a technique I've never tried before (mini zigzag quilt).

Anyway, I finally drew winners for the two giveaways...

The winner for prize #1 on post #184 (Inspired to Sew etc.) is comment #23 - Mary Beth

The winner for prize #2 on post #184 (Cut the Scraps etc.) is comment #24 - Lori Porten

The winner for prize #1 on post #185 (Fresh Fabric Treats etc.) is comment #44 - Patti

The winner for prize #2 on post #185 (Kona color card etc) is comment #46 - Ona

I'll be emailing the winners to get their addresses.

I have to say the travel suggestions were so fun. I totally could have started a conversation with each of you if only time permitted.  Some of you shared my favorite destinations and some opened my eyes to places I never would have thought of (like Croatia and South Africa).

This block was for Lucinda.  She requested windows and was very open about the fabrics.  I decided I really wanted to do something with perspective and I love the brights on the clothesline with the neutral background.

 

I'm so not a scrappy gal, but I'm getting more of a taste for it lately.  This block was for Penny. Her only direction was go crazy with the scrappy look.  It was lots of fun, but obviously I felt the need to bring some order to it.  I love how this came out and might even tweak the idea to do a quilt for myself.

I hope you're all gearing up for a great summer.  I know I am.  Last year was a total blur of work for the book, so I plan on savoring the juicy details this year.

JT

 

185: spring 2011 quilt market recap part 3

OK so since I might be the very last person to finish posting about Quilt Market, I give you permission to skip ahead to the giveaway...

But if you're looking for more eye candy, enjoy!

Jillily Studio served actual cones of sorbet! How cute is that booth?

I couldn't get over this puppy embroidery by Penguin and Fish.

Tula Pink's new Prince Charming.

I'm loving Summersault by Erin McMorris...

Wrenly by Valorie Wells.

Michelle and Gina at Cloud 9.

Lots of Kokka fun.

Joel Dewberry chatting on the phone in his booth.  Heirloom and the new patterns by his wife might be my favorite things from market.

Moda land was like a country fair.

Sweetwater.

Fig Tree and Co.

I think this is my fav picture from market. This vignette is from the Basic Grey booth, so is the picture below.

Zen Chic had a very distinctive modern aesthetic and won a booth award.

I love this new dress pattern by Sew Serendipity.

Notice the bathrobe in the Indygo Junction booth is made in my Gingko fabric? Sweet!

Quilt Story.

Now for the giveaways:

 

1. A copy of the adorable Moda Bake Shop book, Fresh Fabric Treats, signed by several of the authors, a copy of Fabric Trends, and a mini tote from the Sweet Hot Yams party.

2. A Kona color card, signed copy of Organizing Solutions for Every Quilter, a 1001 peeps notebook and bookmark, and a pack of charm squares.

To enter simply leave a comment here by Tues June 14th. I can't think of anything to ask you except I'd love travel destination suggestions.  I've just been toying with where we might want to go in the next few years. I'm open to anywhere in the world, family vacation or just me and the hubby. I like to dream about these things for a long time in advance...

JT

184: spring 2011 quilt market recap part 2

Now for the rest of the quilt market recap, I'm going to try to make it brief. I have a ton of pictures but most have been posted everywhere already.  I'm just going to go in the order I took them and let the pix speak for themselves. I'm mostly just showing the booths since I think you guys care more about that than the people. (maybe I'm wrong?)

But as for my actual experience, what a blast!  It is a crazy experience in general with highs and lows and all that, but really this time around I wasn't too stressed.  I didn't have a booth and had some awesomely talented people helped make samples, so mostly I just hung out with fun people who share my passions.  I talked so much I completely lost my voice on saturday night.  It was only my 3rd time there and I did get to meet tons of twitter friends (do you follow me? You should.) etc. that I hadn't the chance to meet in person before.

So without further ado, Spring Quilt Market 2011, Salt Lake City, Utah:

**HINT: Keep scrolling down if you want in on the giveaways...

 

This was Julie's booth that I got to help set up.

  Julie and I in front of her quilt she made out of my new line Kingdom.

Lizzy House in her posh booth.

I loved meeting Sarah Jane and could get over how adorable that family tree panel is. It has blank spots for you to embroider in the names. So sweet.

Violet Craft and her first line, Peacock Lane.

Sandi's Secret Garden is my favorite of her lines so far, and that's saying lots...

Me and Patty.

Only a couple of picture's of Anna Maria Horner's gorgeous booth.

I only took this one photo of Amy Butler's Organic Soul.

Kona solids on display with amazing quilting by Angela.

Riley Blake land won a ribbon.

It had adorable little alcoves for all the lines.

And Lila Tueller brought in a real tree!

This is terrible picture of Monica and Bari J's quilts. Can you believe I didn't get any pix of Bari's beautiful booth? How can that be? Look elsewhere cause it was great.

Izzy and Ivy with ruffles everywhere!

And for a giveaway I've got two prizes of fun stuff I snagged at market:

1. Where Women Create magazine, signed copy of Inspired to Sew by Bari J, and Bari J and Sis Boom buttons.

2. Quilter's Home magazine, sign copy of Cut the Scraps by Joan Ford, cute embroidery kit from the Sweet Hot Yams, and a charm pack of 30s repros.

To enter leave a comment here and tell me if there is a particular trend in quilting fabrics that you enjoy (i.e. solids, certain colors, large scale prints, different substrates, or whatever you think of).  I will draw a winner in one week on Fri June 10th.

Come back soon for one more giveaway.

JT

183: spring 2011 quilt market recap part 1

First up, we do have a winner from the Kingdom giveaway: Janine Mahan. She works with a program called Dress a Girl Around the World that, as the name implies, sews dresses for girls around the world.  Check it out.

I also decided to pick two more names.  I'm sending each one fat quarter from their favorite and a bag of scraps.  Those winners are: Jo of Sparkly Green Knickers (from my Busy Bees online quilting bee!) and HannahJ of Angel Babies, Paint and Cookies.

Congrats ladies!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

So the start of my quilt market recap will just focus on my little section of the Windham booth.  I want to share it and some of the projects that were made for it.  

Isn't it pretty?

This Sweet Pleat bag is by my good friend Becky Cobb.  It's a smallish tote with a wide adjustable strap, magneic closure, and interior pocket.  You might be seeing a pattern for this popping up soon, but for now, check out her etsy shop, Thread and Wire.  She does lovely custom bags, pillows, bibs, aprons and more.

This quilt,titled Kingdom Courtyards, is by John Adams, aka Quilt Dad.  He's also one of the founders of Fat Quarterly.  I believe you will be seeing this in a magazine later this year?

This is the quilt I designed as the the free pattern to go with the line (available this summer). It's titled Prairie Glass Squared.  

Can I tell you how thrilled I am with how this came out? I just totally dig the Mission-style stained glass feel.  And the colors really pop. The gorgeous quilting, by the talented Angela Walters, echoes the fabric and just blows me away.  

You can see it best here on the back. Speaking of which I think I like the back nearly as much as the front. But if you look at the picture closely you'll notice it's a lesson in making sure you use solids from the same bolt. Ugh. But it was last minute and I had no choice...

This is me and Angela in front of the quilt at market. She's as fun as she is talented and I'm thrilled to have met her in person. She did all the quilts for my book, Modern Mix, and just wait til you see them. And keep your eye out because she'll have her own book out on modern machine quilting with Stash next spring!

These guys are fun little pin cushions made from candle holders.

There are a couple of other projects there, like the banners for a babies' rooms, but I hope they'll be appearing in magazines, so I'll leave them be for now.

I'll be back soon with more giveaways and picture from all the other booths at market.

JT

 

182: a Kingdom giveaway

Well, I'm back from quilt market.  What a blast!  I met so many more amazing people in the industry and reconnected with old friends.  I promise to share all the details and lots of photos soon, but I need a few days to catch my breath.

I'm in drastic need of some catch-up time.  I hate apologizing on here, but I feel terrible that I haven't even replied to all the well wishes I got on the book.  I promise I'll get to it soon...

But, meanwhile, I talked so much while I was gone that I lost my voice and when I got home I promptly got sick.  ugh.  If only I could sleep 24 hours straight.

Anyway, Kingdom was well-received at market.  I know it doesn't hit stores until August, but I'm dying to see what you all make with it. 

But, while I get my act together to show you all about market, I'm giving away one of the first fat quarter packs of the whole collection.  Be among the first to own some!

What I'd like you to do is leave a comment here with your favorite print.  You can refer to this post to see them all. I do realize it's annoying to some people to have to jump through hoops for a giveaway, so if you don't want to, fine.  Just leave any old comment. But I am curious about what your favs are...

Contest closes next Wednesday the 25th.

And check back soon. I have a bunch of other stuff from market to giveway, including books etc, so you don't want to miss out.

JT

 

181: big news

I must say, I kinda feel like this post should be titled "old news", but it is new to you.

So, here it is: I wrote a book!

Yes, past tense.  As in, I'm pretty much done.  I did the bulk of the work last spring/summer (hence, the "old news").  I do feel like I've been a bit of a tease about my news, and that might have been annoying. But, I'll admit it, I kinda liked being in that club where you have secret projects you can't talk about.  And, really, I wasn't allowed to say anything.  Because, if I was, you know I would have been blogging tons of complaints and moaning about how much work it was etc.

And, it was a TON of work.  But I think it's one of those things (like childbirth) where the memory of how hard it was fades and the excitement takes over.  And, I can hardly tell you how proud I am.  I dying to see it acutally done.

The title is:

Modern Mix

16 Sewing Projects that Combine Designer Prints & Solid Fabrics

7 Quilts + Pillows, Bags, & More

It will be published this fall by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T Publishing.  I'm so honored to be in the company of their other awesome authors. And, can I just tell you?  They are a dream to work with. Everyone is so professional and knowledgeable and just really helped me to make it the best I could.

So, yes, it is a project-based sewing book.  Each projects uses both some solid fabrics and some prints.  They're all modern and fun and there is something for every skill level.  My first love has always been quilting, so there are 7 quilts, but since I never can focus on just one thing, there are also bags, pillows, an apron, a tablecloth, and more.  I wish I could show you more than just these sneak peek photos, but for now they're all I've got.  I think the cover is almost final and I promise to show you as soon as I can.  

If you're interested, I'd be happy to share more about the process of writing a book and how this whole thing happened.  Soon... like after I get back from quilt market.

JT

 P.S. Holy cow! You can already pre-order it on amazon.  That's my name there, folks.  For real.

180: forest chic treats and sweets

We decided to have another party this winter for no reason other than we really like to bake. The "we" I'm referring to is myself and my youngest sister Deirdre who is conveniently in town to help.  This time around, it wasn't a strictly cookies party like last year. We had cookies, and plenty of them, but also cupcakes, pretzels, brownies, etc.

The look I decided on was lush, forest floor, with a traditional, chic twist.  Does that make any sense? It did in my head anyway.  And I think that's how it came out.

It was very nice to be able to share the work of all the baking. My husband invited like a million people but since it was a holiday weekend, enough people were away and couldn't come that it wasn't too overwhelming.

It was a simple, casual, open-house-type party where you could drop by whenever.  Plenty of Aurora's friends came.  We had one little craft for them to do: decorating rocks with paint pens. So simple, but they loved it and it was appropriate for toddlers to teens.

As far as the decor goes, I designed and printed the labels myself.  The jars are lined with various green print fabrics stabilized with interfacing.  I glad to say I didn't have to buy a single piece of glassware.  The greenery is a combination of fresh and moss.  The invitations can from the $1 bin at Michaels, if you can believe it.  I paid more for postage. :)

JT 

 

179: troop 96

First off, thanx for all your praise of Kingdom. I'm so excited to see what many of you will sew with it, so promise you'll share, OK?  And I promise there will be more posts to come with my projects etc., when I get the fabric.

So, I feel like I have a ton to post about and just no time to get to it.  I will be a tease and tell you I have big, giant, HUGE news coming this month!

One project I haven't shared yet is this banner I made for Aurora's Daisy Scout Troop.  They marched in the a local St. Patrick's day parade with it, but sadly I was in Hawaii and missed it. However, they are supposed to use this for many years to come, so I'm sure I'll get to see it in action.

I hear it was cold, but they had a good time. And the troop just loved the banner.  The girls each added a little decoration to a leaf with their name on it.  Is it bad that I didn't actually want them to contribute? I knew they needed to do something to make it their own, but I wanted to keep it with the fabric leaves.  But I was a good mom and let go of the control (a little anyway). :)

JT

178: introducing...Kingdom

Well, here it is, my second fabric collection.

I don't think it's up on their website yet, but it will be available from Windham Fabrics this spring.  If you have a shop, speak to your rep now to order it.

As the name implies, it is inspired by elements you'd find in and around an imaginary royal kingdom.  I kept with my favorite Art Nouveau influences, but this time it's a bit more playful and bright.

These swatches are not to scale, but they do give you a decent look at the designs and colors.

The prints and color names are as follows, clockwise from top left: Tapestry in Deep Amethyst, Moat in Pewter, Moat in Amethyst, Garden Gems in Deep Amethyst, Tuffet in Opal, Posy in Deep Amethyst, Crowns in Amethyst, Castle Wall in Pewter, and (center) Tuffet in Deep Amethyst.

Clockwise from top left: Moat in Peridot, Moat in Aquamarine, Tapestry in Pewter, Castle Wall in Topaz, Posy in Peridot, Posy in Opal, Crowns in Pewter, Tuffet in Peridot, Garden Gems in Peridot, Moat in Topaz, and (center) Tuffet in Topaz.

And this is a look at the planned free quilt pattern in two colorways.  I still don't have any sample yardage, so you know things might change when I get my hands on actual fabric....

 

Yes, it took me a long time. I was busy with other soon-to-be-named projects, but, can I just say, it is hard to follow-up a first successful collection.  I feel like people have developed their own image of my style and I'm destined to let them down. So here's hoping you all like it!

JT

177: aloha!

I just got back from the trip-of-a-lifetime to Hawaii.  Sigh.  So amazing, yet so...over.  And here I am back in NJ and what does it do on the first full day of spring?  Yup, snow.

So, if I choose to live in my memories and these pictures of all the beauty and fair weather, you'll understand, right?

 This trip was an early celebration of our 10 year anniversary.  And, yes, we went alone and left the kids at home (luckily we had both my parents and my sister to stay with them).

Now, you're all aware of the tragedies over in Japan, and some of you may remember that tsunami warnings reached around the pacific, especially Hawaii.  Yes, that was our first night there.  We slept blissfully unaware until the sounds of evacuation sirens and text messages from loved ones woke us around 3 am.  Luckily we were staying uphill from the coast that night, and weren't really in danger.  But that didn't stop me from imagining giant 1000 ft waves sweeping in and carrying us all away.  Freaky, and a great start to the trip.  Thank goodness it was all uphill from there.

We only visited one island during our trip (well, 2 if you count a daytrip): Maui.  Heaven on earth.  We hiked in the Haleakala National Park to the Waimoku Falls and it was the most beautiful hike I've ever been on.  The bamboo knocking above our heads and the wind blew through it was truly mystical.

After, driving around and adventuring for a few days, we decided to settle in and relax.  So we hung out by this amazing pool.  The view and service were both impeccable and since no one under 21 was allowed, it was definitely serene.  And one night as we swam by the edge at sunset we were treated to a show by about 4 whales only about 100 yards away.  Amazing.

I did actually find a little quilt shop while I was there.  Some tropical florals were in order and I loved the hula dancers for a dress for Aurora.

Hopefully you won't all abandon me now because I've bragged too much. If you're still experiencing the winter blues, I feel for you.  I hope we can get away on another extraordinary tropical trip like this again in, say, another 10 years...

 And now that I'm home and back to work, I do have a big reveal of my next fabric collection coming up really soon.  No teaser pictures, but the collection is called Kingdom.

Aloha! 

JT

176: this and that

I'm back with a couple more little projects.

This first project was a hannukah gift for my brother-in-law's family.  It's a challah cover.  Basically it's a mini quilt the size of a large napkin.  I didn't put batting in the middle because I wanted it to have more drape so I just used a a layer of muslin instead. And as you can see I didn't bind it...I did the sew-around-the-edges-and-flip-right-side-out method.

The characters read "shabbat" if I did it correctly. I don't read hebrew.  It's made of linen and scraps of print fabrics (all from my scrap bin!). 

I quilted it with double straight lines inside the linen. The characters are raw-edge applique.

This one, I didn't make.  My sister did.  Isn't it the cutest? She gave it to my Aurora for christmas. It's a bag, and I think the pattern was in Crochet Today.

Did I tell you I finally started a craft night?  I mean, really.  Finally.  So now once a month I get to get together with some lovely ladies and chat and craft.  Fun! and hopefully productive too...

JT

 

 

175: I've been busy...

making stuff!

Sometimes I feel like I'm not getting anything done, but the fact of the matter is I really have been making a lot lately.  Mostly because I've been taking up small, easy-to-finish, just-for-fun projects.  yay!

These little cuties were my Valentine's gifts for the kids.

Theo got a little crochet elephant.  The tutorial can be found here. This was my first attempt at amigurumi.  Not too hard, but more time consuming than you would think.  The only problem I found with this pattern is the trunk just kind sticks straight out.  You have to bend and shape as best you can to make it look cute and curved.

Aurora's gift was my first felt food.  Every year I think I'm going to make her some precious felt sweets. I only got as far as one slice. I don't get people who can make a whole cake. This took me way too long. And please be kind and ignore my obvious, uneven stitching. I think I was supposed to use a ladder stitch and I did, but perhaps I have to make them VERY close together. However, that would add hours to the construction... And I don't like how light it is stuffed with poyfil. Is there some kind of heavier fill I could use? I did add some barley in the bottom for weight. I do know there are plastic equivalents I could buy and I will next time, just so it doesn't appeal to mice. :)

What have you been making lately?

JT