Pillow Puff Quilt

     I have been trying to slip in some quilting on the days I am not watching The Nugget, who by the way has learned to sit up on his own! Albeit only for a few seconds:)

    
     This picture is blurry as he was swaying around a bit, but he is pretty excited about the accomplishment!
     I am working on a quilt I started a while back, before the move. It is made by cutting 4 and 1/2 inch by 8 and 1/2 inch rectangles of cloth. Fold the pieces in half so that good sides are facing in and sew up two and a half sides, leaving an opening. Turn right side out, lightly stuff with fiber fill and sew closed the opening. You end up with a little pillow!

     I am making as many as I can in red white and blue themed fabric from my stash and am using stuffing from my stash as well, all of which were given to me by various friends and family, so its a free project! To make the quilt you just sew the little pillows into strips,

 then sew the strips together, and the finished product will be a warm comforter type quilt that doesn't need to be backed or edged! Easy right?

     Here is what I have done so far. It is going to be a nice warm quilt, perfect for cold winter nights! I don't know if I will keep it or give it as a Christmas gift yet, I need to stop getting emotionally attached to my creations! I hope you Christmas crafters are getting stuck into your work load, time is ticking my friends!

Christmas Crafting!

     Even though I have been very busy taking care of the little Nug, I have still been trying to slip some Christmas crafting in. I get Wednesdays off, so I spent yesterday afternoon getting stuck in to some sewing!

    
     I have been making some rice "socks", as they are lovely to take to bed during the cold Maine winters, not to mention they are a natural way to soothe aches and pains! I almost never go to bed without one, which I put down by my feet:)

 
     I am also sewing up some fabric ornaments, things I have had in my stash for a few years and have always forgotten. While I was in my stash I dug out some other, coordinating fabric, so if I have time I can try and use them up too!

     The fabric with ornament prints are from 78'!  Not sure if I am going to use them on a vintage themed tree or if I will make them into a wreath, we will see, I think I am going to have a candy cane themes Christmas this year:)

     I have managed to knit up 3 pairs of slippers so far, with the 4th almost ready to come of the needles. I am going to try and make as many pairs as I can, and they make a good all 'round gift.
     Pinterest has given me SO many ideas of things to do and make, but I am pretty sure there isn't enough time in the year let alone day, to do as much as I would like! I am excited that Thanksgiving is a little early this year, because that means I can start celebrating Christmas that much sooner! Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Christmas!!!! Are you making any gifts this year? Let me know, I am always looking for new ideas!

Light and breezy simple summer shifts, for steamy summer days!

     Good afternoon friends! What a sunny and beautiful day! I am working on getting some routine housework done, and then working on some sewing. Here in New England it has been a HOT and humid summer so far, and being a cold blooded creature, I need to be creative when it comes to not over heating. I like to wear dresses, and in summer its more of a NEED, since even Capri's can feel too hot! The problem is, being a bit of an "armful" (as my lovely grandfather calls me) it is sometimes difficult to find sundresses that fit me the right way. I don't want anything to "hang out", yet I want to get as much air to my skin as possible. Solution? Make it myself!

    
     I found a plus size jumper pattern a few years ago in a goodwill, and it is perfect for this need. It is easy, quick, and lends itself easily to creativity. I made two of the shorter version in some vintage cotton "sack cloth" two summers ago, and they have been my go-to summer dresses for wearing around the house. I also wear them over my bathing suit when swimming, as like I said, I don't like anything to "hang out", and it is great for this. I decided its time to make up a few more, so that I'll always have one ready to grab on hot mornings. I am making three, and making them all different, taking my own artistic license to the design . I am done two, and working on the last, all done in different materials that were free or very cheep! I'll post a pic of the finished dresses when I have them all done. So ladies, if you, like me, have a hard time finding clothes that are "you" in the stores, don't settle, get a sewin'!

Cozy Bedroom

     My quilt is done! I made up the pillow shams too.

I love the way it came out. There are quite a few mistakes in it, but I'm not fussy. This is only my second full sized quilt. I am very happy I finally got to make something for ME (well, for US) in MY favorite colors:)

     The whole set cost under $20. (the price of the fuzzy blanket I bought as a backing) All of the material I used for the quilt top was from my stash, most was given to me by people who knew I liked to sew.

     Some of the material came from old clothes and sheets that I "recycled". Quite a lot of it is vintage sack cloth  that I was given from my Dad. I LOVE the way it has turned out, and It goes with our new curtains (only $10 a window) very well! My Valentine Rose themed bedroom in coming together quite well, and I am pleased. My hubby said he loves it too. I am very happy he doesnt mind in the least if we have a mostly pink bed:)

Finished!

     I finished putting the binding on the quilt last night. I did the last bit of late night sewing with some Dr Who season 2 while it was raining outside. It was quite cozy:) Today I want to start, and hopefully finish a couple of pillow shams to match. Then I can finally have the joy of making up the bed! It won't be finished yet though,,, oh no! I want to collect some hand embroidered white pillow cases, or embroider some myself. I am also going to look for some crocheted lace trimmed pillowcases at thrift shops and antique stores this summer. I am even going to keep an eye out for some hand embroidered hankies to make into throw pillows. Oh, and also some crocheted doilies too, I have a lovely pattern for beautiful lacy throw pillows using doilies:) I am SO excited! Do you ever get a "vision" of the way you want things to be, and then get a thrill of joy as they start coming together just right? I do so LOVE this! Keeping house, and decorating, and making a cozy nest, that brings so much joy into my life!
     I hope you have something that brings this much happiness to you. I hope, you, like me, get satisfaction from simple things, and working with your hands, and creating loveliness. So often in this world people just go out and buy things, and there is no time or care taken in anything anymore. I think that kind of life leaves so much behind. Our grand and great grandmothers knew the joy and pride in workmanship and artistry that we can only dream of for the most part today. I cannot create some of the things that they used to, though I can do my best to learn as much as I can without a teacher. What I can do though is look for and preserve some little "treasures" of thier work. I might not know the lady who made the item, but I know the feeling that drove her to devote hours into creating something beautiful, and that makes us sisters:)
       So create away, in what ever pallet works best for you. Be it baking, or sewing, or gardening, take comfort that every time you do something the "hard" way the people that came before us are smiling down, knowing that the skills they had are not being lost to "convienence" but remembered with love:)

Quilting Away!

     I was a very busy girl last week! I got my quilt layers together, and pinned (with about 150 safety pins, and 10 now very sore fingers) and have finished about 3/4 of the quilting! A few more hours of sewing and I will have the quilting all done! WOOO HOOO, machine quilting, once I figured out how to do it, is BY FAR so much easier than doing it by hand! When quilting's done I will trim the edges and sew on the trim/binder. I think I want to add some eyelet lace around the edge too. That will need to wait though, our Walmart looks as if a bomb has gone off, and absolutely NOTHING is where it used to be before. They say they are redecorating and making it easier for the costumers, I THINK they just want to trap us for hours, wandering like lost treasure hunters through darkest jungles. I mean golly goodness, I tried finding a seam ripper there the other day, For those of you who dont sew, they are about two and a half inches long, about the size of you average crayon,,,,, did I say something about haystacks,,,, and NEEDLES?! Needless to say, by the time I found it (with near hysterical giggles of joy) I vowed never to set foot in a Walmart again! Well,,,,, being a crafter,,,,, and and seeing as THEY are the only dealer in that OH so addictive good knows as FABRIC,,,,, well, lets just say its a love hate relationship, and leave it at that:)
     So here are a few photo's from last week, see if you can spot my little "helper"

     She just can't wait till (her) its all finished! She wasn't even scared off by the noise of the sewing machine, which is VERY unusual, my cats are scared of EVERYTHING! Well, we take risks for love, and my Battie LOVES mommy-made blankets :)

What I have been doing for the past week and a half,,,

    I have decided. Yup, I have! I made up my mind that I am FINALLY going to try and earn some money with my crafting abilities! I mean, I already spend a good deal of time knitting, and sewing, and making all manner of nifty little things, why not see if I can sell them, and make a little money for our family? Mr Evans approves, so there is nothing to hold me back,,, well, except maybe for my own tendency towards laziness and procrastination. Oh, and I have an annoying habit of starting projects, getting bored, and then starting something else, then something else, till finally I have six things going and I am wondering if it would just be easier to take them all apart and forget I ever mentioned them. (or what usually happens, stuff them into the back of the spare bedrooms closet and bury them under my yarn and cloth stashes)
    Please dont hold any of this against me! I made a point of finishing all my half finished projects before starting  to and build a stock of  things to sell. Well, all except one, a large quilt, that I am hand quilting, and its probably going to take months to finish. So you see, I do eventually get things done, it just happens to take me a tad bit longer than the average person. (insert sheepish smile here)
    So,,, back to my plan, so far I have three aprons, one teddy bear and 2 and a half knit dishcloths made. Here are what they look like,

Two half aprons, front and back view, made with vintage fabric, excuse the pinkish reflection, my camera has special needs, and I am unable to fulfill them. Oh, and the sideways picture, a recent thrift shop find that Mr Evans needs to repair before hanging.

Cute teddy, I am still deciding on whether to add an embroidered nose or not,,,

A full apron, made again with vintage fabric I'll take this moment to admit something to you. I love aprons, all aprons, the girlier, and rufflier the better!!!!

   I'll post more pictures as I make more things. I plan on making tea cozies, pot holders, oven mitts, place mats, and pincushions in the shape of assorted sweets. My creative bones are humming with all this crafty yuminess!
    I had better get back to work now. I have been feeling slow and sleepy today, the sky is grey with very much needed rain. I had better go put the kettle on and get stuck into knitting that dishcloth. After all, they are not known for knitting themselves!