Making Projects From My Stash

 I found some fabrics in my stash for a three holiday projects.  

I made this tree block with fabric left over from a project last Christmas.  I made it into a pillow cover for a 14" pillow form.

I found this leftover Halloween fabric that I bought last year to wrap daughter's birthday present and I turned this fabric into a pillow cover for a 14" pillow form.  The costumes on the dogs and cats crack me up.

I used scraps to make these cute pumpkin blocks that I will turn into wall hangings.  I found the templates at this link:  Scrappy Pumpkin Tablerunner.  The navy blue one is mine and the turquoise one is for dear daughter.  I place the applique pieces on a 13" square piece of muslin.  I still have to sew down the applique pieces, quilt and bind them.

I used a new tool while making my pillow covers.  I used the Lori Holt Seam Roller.  I like it a lot and I think I will get a lot of use out of it.

After I finish my pumpkins I continue with my scrappy quilt top.  After I finish that quilt top I will start on one of the three quilt tops I have planned.  After I make those four tops, I will start making string blocks again.  I have two big storage boxes of strings that I need to use up.

The Fifth Anniversary

    I started this blog on October 17, 2014 to I can keep track of my crafting projects.  I just recently spent a few hours going back over my old posts to see if I had left anything out.  Nope, it's all there, warts and all.

Here are a few items that I recently completed that I want to show you.

   A proper turquoise ear warmer knit with my original ribbed pattern.

 

  Three new shopping bags made from three yards of home decor fabric.

 

   A couple of crocheted cotton coasters.  The top one was made using Jayda in Stitches YouTube video tutorial.  Link here.

 

    I found some extra fall kitchen towels I bought last year and lots of the black cat fabric in my stash and I made some fall hanging dishtowels and potholders for a friend.

    I made another water bottle carrier.  It's too tall but I don't care.  I was playing with resizing the pattern.

    I also made a lovely find on Amazon.  I found these fun needle threaders.  I love the flowers and the pastel colors.  These came in a pack of 50.  I haven't used any of these yet so I don't know how sturdy they are, but the wire feels like it is secure in the plastic flower.

      No update on the hexagon quilt top.  It's in a state of limbo for a while.  I have been finding all manner of small projects between sewing and knitting to take up my quilting time.  I may not start working on it again until next year.

My Crafting Projects List

In keeping with my efforts to get organized this year.  I'm updating my crafting projects list.  I have been keeping this list ever since I realized that I was buying project materials faster than I was making projects.  This list reminds me that I either have a kit, materials, or the fabric for what is on this list and these items are kitted up with everything I need to make it in a two gallon storage bag with the corresponding number on it from the list.  In the case of the crocheted afghans, all the yarn is in big storage boxes with the unfinished pieces.

Some of these items have been on the list a while but that's because I don't work on the projects in the exact order that they are on the list.  This is a dream list.  I usually just pick whatever grabs my attention and sometimes (most of the time) I start a new project that's not even on the list.

Here is my new and improved crafting projects list.

1.  Piece and quilt pink and orange Grandmother's Flower Garden
2.  Piece and quilt a St. Patrick's Day block for a door decoration
3.  Make vinyl cross stitch project bags
4.  Make photo jewelry with the diamond glaze and bezels
5.  Cross Stitch Witch's Inn
6.  Piece and quilt  Little Red Riding Hood top
7.  Finish the fabric embroidery hoop decorations
8.  Piece and quilt Christmas table runners
9.  Knit dishcloths
10.  Make up zipper pouches with fabric already cut
11.  Finish making your wizard's wand
12.  Crochet angel ornaments with white cotton and silver metallic crochet cotton
13.  Make 10" string blocks with strings and paper towels.
14.  Make snowflake ornaments with clothes pins
15.  Make stuffed Christmas trees to place in small tin pots
16.  Knit Christmas tea pot cozies for the small blue teapot and the large white teapot with pom poms.
17.  Cross stitch Christmas ornaments (kits)
18.  Make Christmas hanging dishtowels
19.  Make candy bag pouches
20.  Knit a pair of socks for me
21.  Crochet the colorful ripple afghan that is started
22.  Crochet the granny square afghan that is started

Deathly Hallows Fabric

This is a project I couldn't share before.  For our trip to Universal and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter I made my daughter and myself a water bottle holder and a small zippered purse out of this fun Deathly Hallows fabric.  I added a wrist strap and a small loop to the zippered purse so we could hook the purse onto a carabiner and attach it to our belt loops.

When we planned this trip my daughter had announced that she wanted to carry as little as possible into the park so a small purse for cards and water bottle holder would be all she needed.  I worried about how I would do this and decided I could stash stuff in my jean jacket pockets.  Being late November I thought it might be cool enough to wear a jacket in Orlando.

 But two days before we left for our trip, dear daughter decides that she can't possibly travel to the park without a big backpack and all manner of emergency items.  She had decided that she was going to rent a locker for the backpack each day.  She was much happier with this plan and I just wanted us to have as much fun as possible no matter what we had to carry.

The first day we were in the park we bought an small backpack (fanny pack size) because it was way too warm for me to wear my jacket and I needed something to put my cell phone and lip balm in.  We also bought a ticket lanyard, because you have to show your ticket all the time when you go from Universal to Islands of Adventure or to City Walk.  I ended up buying a Slytherin ticket lanyard because I am in Slytherin house and I'm owning it.

Here's a picture of my water bottle holder and purse.

Long Over Due

          I have been afraid to do this and have put it off for the last 6 months. I finally broke down and made a list of all the projects I have materials for. I have 16 projects that I can work on today that I have everything I need to make it.  My project list is a nice mix of sewing, crocheting and knitting projects. Some of these projects are started and some of them are just dreams. Dreams that I have material to make come true.

          Here are the first five things on my list.

         1.    Hexagon Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt. (already started)

         2.    Make tote bags with Hawaii fabric and canvas. (not started)

         3.    Make hanging dish towels with Bake Sale fabric and colorful towels. (not started)

         4.    Secret birthday sewing. (not started)

        5.    Knit hat. (already started)

          I put the hand sewing project at the top of the list. It's been neglected long enough. It's time I dedicate a few hours each week to work on this one.  If I see some progress on it I'll be more inclined to work on it more often.  I'm posting a picture of everything done to this point. I really like this quilt and I want to finish it.

          One project I did not put on my list is one that I do when I have a few minutes watching YouTube videos in the morning before work.  I've been crocheting some colorful thread spool doilies to share with other folks who quilt and sew.  I've been making them up with some beautiful embroidery thread I ordered last month from 123Stitch.com.  When you buy a skein of embroidery thread and it only costs $.52, you don't mind ordering two or three of each color you want.   The color selection on that website is amazing.  I love sharing these bits of color to dress up sewing machines.

            Some of the projects on the list are quick projects that will take a couple of hours from cutting to snipping the last thread.  I like those.  Others will be long term projects.

            List making is good for me.  I use them to stay focused on what I have to work on.  This list is also a great reminder that I don't have to buy any more crafting supplies for a long while.  I won't even need so much as a new card of buttons.  I have a lovely stash of fabric, stabilizers, buttons, zippers, thread, yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks and patterns to make everything I have on my list.   I've been buying fabric, yarn, hooks, and knitting needles like a demon for the past 7 months and I should have everything I need.  The only things I do not have are batting and backing fabric for the two quilt tops on my list, but I won't have the tops finished until next year so there's no rush to get those.

             Now all I need is about 6 months off from work to craft full time.

Cutting Fabric and Sewing It Up

I cut all the squares for the next two quilt tops.  The shorter stack of blue, orange and white is for the Carpenter's Star and the taller stack of purple, blue, green and white is for the pinwheel.  I have no more quilt projects planned.  When these two tops are done, I will have 5 quilts tops ready to finish.  

I was playing with some 10" squares and 2" strips the other day and I created these four blocks. This is an idea for a future quilt, not sure if it will be a two color quilt or not.  They were fun to make and super easy.

2016 - The Year Of The Christmas Tree Wall Hanging

       I just went through pinterest and found nine applique designs for Christmas tree wall hangings that I want to make to decorate my home next Christmas.

     I don't put up a Christmas tree anymore.  I love Christmas trees, the lights and the decorations, but ever since I got the cats 10 years ago I gave up Christmas trees.  I never wanted to find out just what they would do to one.

  So next year I will spend some time making small wall hangings featuring appliqued Christmas trees.  I'll be shopping for lots different shades of green fabric, some red fabric for bindings and decorations, muslin for background and backing, small beads, sequins, and maybe some green yarn because I have an idea for a tree that involves crochet.

An Ohio Star Block Decoration And More

     I made this Ohio Star Block to hang somewhere.  This block was a lot of fun to make and I enjoyed stash diving to find the fabrics for it.  I used the instructions in a video by Amanda of 3and3quarters blog.  The link to her video is right here.

    This is a nice big block.  It finishes at 14" x 14".  Later I'll be making a door decoration using three of these blocks and some stash fabrics.  I would love to make a quilt using this block, but I have several quilt projects on my list already, so that will have to wait.

   I have a pile of fabrics on my cutting table waiting to be cut for fabric trees, two will be made with cute Arctic Antics fabric I made my rag quilt from.  See a picture at this post here.   Another tree will be pink for my bedroom made with fat quarters from the Far, Far Away fabric line (see picture below), and one will be made with some miscellaneous blue fat quarters I found (picture below) to make a sewing table decoration.

    Today I picked up some bar mop kitchen towels to make some new hanging dishtowels for DD's kitchen.  I will be using some of my precious Time With Friends by Lynette Anderson fabric (see below) to make the fabric section to create the button holes.  DD asked for gray, maroon, and white fabrics and this is the perfect combination plus she loves dogs and cats.

 

     There are tons of tutorials on line and the last time I made some I used a tutorial that had me make bias binding for ties.  I want to make one with a buttonhole this time, because I just learned how to make buttonholes on my Janome machine and I'd like to get some more experience used that cool foot, plus you don't need all that extra fabric for buttonholes.  Let's face it when I make bias binding, I waste some fabric and I'm not going to waste any of the only yard of this lovely Time With Friends fabric.  Here is the hanging dishtowel tutorial that I will be using for this project.

       

 

I Made Myself Some Cloth Napkins

  I've been spending the last couple of days cutting, ironing, pining, and sewing up some cloth napkins for myself.  I usually buy paper napkins, but I decided to go with cloth now, since I have a lovely supply of 100% cotton.  Fat quarters make a lovely size of napkin, all I had to was cut off the selvedge of the fat quarter, hem it up with the iron and sew the hem down.  I used the tutorial at this blog.  The blogger does a really good job making her napkins and she adds a pretty edging.  I didn't do that.  I just sewed up the hems.  I love the neat mitered corners.  I prepared and sewed up 13 different napkins for myself, some are made from fat quarters, a couple are larger and some are smaller.  They were fun to make and will be very handy in the kitchen.

   Next time I make some of these I'll use real linen and I may even monogram them using my embroidery machine.  Fun stuff.


    I found these cute pre-printed squares in my stash last week and sewed them up.  I had two of the goose and two of the pig and I put the two matching squares together so they are the same on the back and the front.  These will go back in my stash for safekeeping.

   I finished two secret projects for a special birthday which will be revealed when they are gifted.  I've dreamed up one more project that I have plenty of time to finish.

Time To Buy A Bathmat

     I'm going to buy a bathmat from Walmart today.  I will not be finishing the crochet bathmat I planned to make with the the 1" strips of fabric I sewed together to make fabric yarn.  I did a test crochet last night with the ball of yarn I made the other night and I hate it.  I just wanted to let you know that I will not be working on this project anymore and you won't see a picture of the little bit I crocheted last night.  It is completely U G L Y.   I wasted about a week on this sewing/crochet fail and I'm moving on to the items listed below.


1.  Recover the cardinal pillow I made last year with red plaid fabric I bought a couple of weeks ago.

2.  Cut the squares for my Civil War Buckshot pincushion  and order the emery sand.

3.  Make the 4 pillow cases with the yardage of Tanya Whelan fabric I purchased last year.

4.  Iron the muslin and trace the pattern for the hand embroidery, Never Underestimate A Woman
     With A Sewing Machine.   Then pick the colors of floss for the embroidery.

5.  Organize the box holding more projects, fabrics and supplies.

6.  Start the pink fluffy granny square afghan for my bedroom.


 
 

Look! They Match!

       My big and little ironing board covers match now.  I covered the little ironing board last month and on Monday night I made the new cover for the big ironing board.  It took me a couple of hours to make it while I watched TV.  It's nice to have matching covers on my ironing boards.  I'm thinking about making matching machine covers for all the sewing machines, but that will have to wait for a little while.

  I've added a couple of quickie projects to my list.  I'm going to make myself a bathmat (pieced quilting cotton quilted to an old towel) and a dishmat, same idea as the bathmat but for the kitchen counter as a place to put wet just washed dishes when my dish drainer is overflowing.

   I also just ordered some yarn to make a big fluffy pink crocheted afghan for my bedroom.  I'm going to use a size N/P crochet hook and a double strand of Red Heart Super Saver making a large granny square.  These afghans work up really quick and are super warm.  I make these a lot when I want to get a big fluffy blanket done in a hurry.

      Here's a picture of the one I made with my scraps last year.

Here's a picture of the one I made for my daughter in a teal color.  This one has a crab stitch border on the edge.  

    I'll be playing with my embroidery machine this weekend.  I have plenty of tear away stabilizer, thread, and bobbins.

Holy Pin Cushions, Batman!

   I'm sure Batman would not find pin cushion patterns as interesting and fun as I do, but I'd like to think Robin would.  

   So, I'm finding more pin cushion projects to make.  Here is the link to a new cute birdie pin cushion pattern.  I'm adding this to my to do list.  

     I've also been thinking about making an Eight Pointed Civil War Buckshot pin cushion for a while.  That pattern link is here.  This has the shape of an octopus to me and is super cute.  I love the history behind it.  I bought a half yard of Civil War reproduction blue fabric this morning for this project but instead of buckshot, I'm planning to use emery sand in it.

  Here's the fabric I bought from the Fat Quarter Shop for this project.  I only need to order my emery sand from Amazon.  

Not So Pretty Potholders and Pretty Ironing Board Cover

     I made some not so pretty potholders to match my blue and yellow kitchen curtains this weekend.  I used scraps of different fabrics for the first set because I thought it would be pretty, but they didn't turn out as cute as I wanted them to.  I made the round set after the square set because I thought they would turn out better.  Not.  All of these potholders are, however, very functional, since I used a layer of 100% cotton batting and a layer of Insulbrite in each one.  The binding is a tad messy on the scrappy potholders and the round ones just curled up after I applied the bias binding.  Crazy potholders.  I also had a chance to crochet a new dishcloth, using up some of the tons of white cotton yarn I accumulated for some project or another that I now be using for new dishcloths for my kitchen.

 

    I made a new cover for my new small ironing board this weekend.  This ironing board came with a very thin muslin cover and a super thin layer of batting under the cover.  The muslin started to stain after two uses.  I sometimes spray my fabric with water to get out the tough wrinkles and the water stained the light beige muslin and that's when I knew I had to re-cover it.  I made a quick cover for the ironing board and I beefed up the inside with one layer of cotton batting and one layer of Insulbrite.  I left the old cover on it and used the ironing board as my pattern (I love this trick, learned on the Internets).  I put my fabric on the floor and turned the ironing board upside down on it and cut around the board giving myself about 4 inches for side coverage and  my elastic casing.  I cut the batting and Insulbrite the exact size of the top of the ironing board with no overhang for a neater look.  I made a casing for my 1/2 inch elastic and threaded the elastic in it.  I put the new cover on the board over the old cover along with the new insulating layers and tightened the elastic, knotting it really well.  That cover is on there to stay, I can't get it off without cutting the elastic.  I love the blue and I love the thickness of it.  It's perfect.

  I  washed some of fabric for my new quilt project.  I'm ironing today.  These are the pinks and greens, the patterns are for the top and the solid pink is the backing fabric.  The white fabric that also goes on the top will be washed today.  I'll start cutting soon.

Patriotic Door Decoration Finish

I finished my red, white, and blue star.  I love it.  It will be perfect for a summer front door decoration.

Tonight I will be piecing squares for my new potholders.  I need new potholders to go with the curtains I made earlier in the summer.

Tomorrow night I will start washing the fabrics for my rosey irish chain quilt I am making for myself.  I picked a variety of Tanya Whelan rose fabrics in pink and green with a pretty white on white rose pattern fabric for the background.  I can't wait to get started.