may days

I got the first whiff of honeysuckle today. Near the entrance to the park, there was some blooming...smelling sweet and just like summer.

We'll have tons of it blooming in the woods behind (and in front) of our house in the next week or so, and the entire neighborhood will smell heavenly! Of course, that usually means the heat and humidity are not far behind, but what are you gonna do?

I'm doing some projects around the house, as well as working on some new cross stitch designs. I hate to admit it, but the warmer weather is making me want to put my current knitting project aside. It's a sweater, and having it on my lap isn't exactly cool. Maybe I'll switch to a sock or some sadly neglected blanket squares:

I've got 40 or so squares done, but I think I need 100 or more for a lap size blanket. I tend to work on them in spurts, instead of trying to do one or two a week. Maybe that would be a better approach. I'll have to give that some thought.

There's also the quilt project, which is coming right along. Lots and lots of "pancakes" for a cathedral windows quilt:

I had hoped to have this done by now, but as you see...not done. It's at the top of the list of things to finish, so hopefully, I'll press on (ha!) and get it completed by the end of this month.

Perfect projects for warm spring days!

weekending

Sewing away on a new bed quilt....

Stitching away on a cross stitch project....

Knitting away on a shawl and a sweater....

And enjoying a weekend of sunshine! Something we haven't seen in way too long!

seasonal sights

We've decked the halls around here, and we're enjoying plenty of holiday movies, Christmas music, tree watching and eggnog sipping.

I've been bitten by a huge quilting bug, so I'm busy cutting fabrics, patching blocks and sewing. It feels good to visit my old friend, patchwork! I've even broken out the betweens needles and done some hand quilting!

I've got a new cross stitch release coming up, but after that it will "Christmas break" all the way! The new year promises to be very busy, so I'd better enjoy some relaxing days while I can:)

holding my attention

Here are a few things that are holding my attention this week.

Knitting on this very calm and peaceful (yet addictive) sock makes me darn happy:

Still stitching along on this WIP, Little House Neighborhood. Along with this little peek at one of my own designs:

There's even some quilting happening - just a little bit each day, it wears my arms out!

And doing some very summer-y yarn dyeing:

fiber, fiber everywhere

It's been all work and not much play around here the past few weeks, what with preparing for DFW Fiber Fest (which was last weekend) and PLY Away 2 (which is in 2 weeks).  The dye pots are going full tilt, there's fiber and yarn everywhere, and I'm still trying to cram in as much dyeing as possible before we head off to Kansas City.

And really, if you're going to have work stuff laying around all over your home, yarn (and fiber) is a pretty sweet deal.

The thing is...I've got an itch to do some sewing. I'm dreaming of patchwork and paper piecing, new pj's and project bags, not to mention breaking out the embroidery and cross stitch!

Right now, I'm satisfying myself with paper piecing hexagons for this very old WIP. Which started out with a little pouch and grew because making hexagons is very addicting, albeit slow. One day it will be a lap quilt (it's larger than now, about triple the size from this old photo).

But once May is here, there will be a lot of sewing projects started around here. Like this, and this, and even this:)

Summer Sewing

I've been in a bit of a sewing mood lately, and for once, I've actually acted on it.

I'm working on a pile of five inch squares in, of course, neutral colors. I cut up a bunch of squares and then just mix and match randomly to chain piece them. I'm planning a new bed quilt for our guest room, but I also plan to make a lap throw and maybe a new cover for Riley's dog bed. We shall see if I get sick of looking at these squares before then.

If I can keep the sewing mojo going, I'd also like to make some new pillow shams for our bedroom, as well as some potholders for the kitchen. Why can you never find potholders in nice neutral colors? And why do they always seem to come with those oven mitts these days...I don't like those. I guess the answer to those problems is to make my own:)

New Project Bag

After having the fabric cut for (cough) a "few" months...I finally got around to sewing up a new project bag. And I love it!

It's the "What'cha Got" bag by This and That. This is the small version. It was pretty straight forward sewing. You probably should have some experience sewing bags and zippers.

It's the perfect size. I love the colors and fabrics. And I especially love the little see-through window!

I'm definitely going to plan to make a few more. 

Let's just hope that doesn't take years:)

Sewing and Handwork

I have enjoyed doing a bit of handwork lately (It seems to have taken the place of knitting for the moment).  I'm still on the hexagon kick.  I just keep making them, and then stitching them into flowers, and sewing the flowers together :

I figure if I just keep going, I'll have a tablecloth before too long!  In the photo above you can see the little hexagon bag I made a few weeks ago.  I use it to keep my hexagon making supplies in - paper patterns, fabric, thread and scissors.  That way I can take it with me wherever I go.  And of course, I can draw it...

Spring Hexagon Pouch

Well, here is the little finished hexagon pouch I've been working on lately.  I think it's very cute!  Just right for spring.  It's a fairly straightforward construction, and has a nice weight to it, thanks to the quilt batting.  I wish I would've added fabric gussets to each end of the zipper.  But, that leaves something to try next time...

The temperatures are finally starting to climb around here, after a frigid week just before Easter.  It's unusual for me to complain about cold weather, but I'm finally ready for spring to show itself!

Pouches in Progress

Here's where I am with the little hexagon pouch :

I admit I've become slightly addicted to making hexagons.  I keep a stack of them next to my reading chair to work on in odd moments, and they are adding up.  I'm thinking in the back of my head that after this pouch, I'll work on a small quilt or maybe a tablecloth.  

And here's the little handspun pouch :

Yeah, not quite as far...I have at least wound the yarn, though!  (But hey, notice the cool bokeh effect that PicMonkey now has...oooh, pretty!)

A Little Hand Sewing

The coming of Spring always seems to give me an itch to sew.  A little hand sewing is always a good way to slow down and enjoy working small.

I've wanted to make this little pouch

since I bought this magazine last year.  I made the hexagons but never got around to making the pouch.  But I think the time has come.  I may even have a raspberry colored zipper laying around here somewhere!

A Summer Purse

A "Summer" Purse.

Yeah, so maybe I'm a little late out of the gate with this one.  But it is done.  And I do love it (!)...for summer.  Which is almost over (at least I hope).  So, it'll be ready for next year.  I hope I love it as much as next year.  I can be fickle...you never know.  I will try to get some better pics.

Now, what to do about a fall bag? Hmmm....

Summer Purse

I'm still working on my summer purse...I think maybe I should rename it Indian Summer Purse, at the rate I'm going!  I got a little work in on it this past weekend.  But the last two weekends I spent painting 2 rooms in the house, as well as switching the office and my craft studio.  The upside is I now have a bright, cheerful, organized craft studio with great light for taking photographs.  The downside is I didn't get much crafting done during that time.

But, press on, I say!

Once More with Feeling

Another bag...new colors.  Well, actually, the same bag as this pattern.  But different approach.

This one is a little more involved, since I'm strip-piecing the main body front and back pieces, and adding some embroidery and quilting stitches to them.

But, if things turn out like I have it pictured in my mind...I will fall madly in love with this bag.
It's got a whole Sister Golden Hair vibe that I'm loving right now.  And talk about fun to stitch!  I just let myself go wild and free with the embellishments on this bag.  No marking, no measuring, just stitch whatever I want.

The strip-pieced main body pieces, strap pieces , and lining material at the bottom

I'm adding a few more pockets on the outside of the bag, as well as 2 zippered and several divided pockets on the inside.  I just need to get it done before summer is over!

In crochet news, I'm making slow progress on the hexagon blanket.  Slow...but it progresses:

I did keep my promise to myself to sew the motifs together as I go.

What are your summer projects?

Beach Bag AND New Purse

Done and done!  Woo hoo...and in time for the ol' road trip.  

I'm very pleased with how the purse turned out.  I knew it would be cute...yes.  But I didn't know how comfortable it would be to carry!  It fits just right under your arm and lays against your hip so you hardly know it's there.  I love it.  I won't have to fiddle with keeping the straps on my shoulder!  One other modification I didn't mention is that I folded the straps in half and stitched them together for about 8" at the top of the strap.  You can see a picture below here:

It's easy to access and holds a lot. (I tend to carry stuff...ahem.  Any crafters out there identifying?)  I'm happy with the pocket additions I made, because I'm a "place for everything and everything in it's place" kind-of-girl.  So happy, happy there.

The tall body makes it feel pretty secure also.  I don't have the feeling that things will come tumbling out if it lands wrong or flops down on a bed.  The large pocket holds a magazine or two (above it's got maps for the trip) and there's a second layer to that pocket that holds a notepad and receipts.

So...beach, here we come!

Beach Bag - Modifying a Pattern

My beach purse is almost done, and I thought I'd talk a little about the modifications I made to the pattern.  It seems I almost always made some kind of modification to anything I make.  If you're like me, that's part of the attraction of crafting and making...adding your own touches and unique ideas to an item!

First off, it doesn't mean that the pattern "as written" isn't good, or great, even.  Definitely not in this case, as this pattern is wonderfully written, very clear and looks great with no changes.

Usually, I just have something buzzing about in my head, and it ends up being a little different that what I'm using as my base pattern.  In this case, for instance:

The pattern calls for:                                      I'm doing this instead:
Machine stitched quilting lines                      Hand stitched running stitch with perle cotton
No outside pockets                                           One small outside pocket with binding
One inside pocket                                             Three inside pockets (1 zipper, 1 large, and 1 with 6 "slots")

All of these are small modifications, which are the best kind to my mind.  If I wanted to change the shape of the bag, say, or the way the handles are made, I'd be better off choosing another pattern or designing one of my own.  That's how some of the best designs happen!

The rest of the pattern is completed as written, except I am leaving off the handle tie.
All in all, I'm loving this bag, and will probably be making it again!

Summer Bag

Something about going on vacation always makes me want to sew a new bag.  I seem to do it every time.  Usually, we take our vacations in the fall.  But this year, we're actually heading to Florida in July.  I can hardly believe we're going to the beach in July...but we are.  Jimmy's parents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, and this is what they wanted.

So a summery bag is in order.  And I'm using a pattern I picked up last year, but haven't had a chance to sew up yet.  The Pinafore Bag by Me and My Sister Designs.  So far, I'm loving it.  Cute?  Check.  Roomy?  Check.  Modifiable (is that a word)?  Double-check.

I'm adding several details to this one, but I'm just getting started.

On an unrelated note, I picked up this magazine the other day.  I haven't bought a crochet magazine in a few years.  I think maybe this is a new season of crochet love for me.

Crochet = Summer

For some strange reason, I always think of crochet as a summer thing.  Or at least, a warm weather thing.  Maybe it's because I usually make cotton dishcloths and washcloths in crochet.  And it seems fast...really fast compared to knitting.  Boom, bam...a few yarn overs and pull the yarn through...and you've got a potholder at the very least.  Zoom!  Perfect for a quick summer project.

My knitting mojo has left me now that hot weather is here.  This usually happens every year, but it happened earlier than usual this year.  (Maybe because we had no real winter, and spring was just a "blink" and onto H.O.T.)

So, I've dug out the crochet hooks and I'm playing with the cotton yarn.  I like cotton yarn.  I know a lot of people don't like knitting with it, but I don't mind.  Again, that could be because handling wool in June in Arkansas is not.fun.

I playing with a hexagon shape...I'd like to make a small throw to coordinate with this quilt:

I made this quilt several years ago...and it's still one of my favorites.  It's a small lap size and we use it all the time.  I hand quilted the circles in the middle of each square, but then I machine quilted in the ditch around all the large squares and diamonds.  Then I used perle cotton to quilt a line around the border.  It was fun to do!  This was one of those times when I had a vision in my head of what I wanted the quilt to look like and it came out exactly like my vision.  Exactly.

I love it when that happens.