crafting

Wow, where has the time gone?  It feels like just yesterday that I was posting the first photo of Jr. and now over 2 months later, I’m preparing for the daunting task of returning to work.

That’s right, my 12-week leave is almost over.  I’m excited, sad and nervous to return but it’s a choice that I have made.  I love what I do and know that my work is appreciated since getting a promotion before going on maternity leave.

It’s such a blessing that we have family close by and that my Mom will be able to watch the little guy for a few weeks before I go back full-time.  The company I work for has a “phase-back” program.  It allows new Mom’s to return to work part-time for four weeks in order to make an easier transition.  It’s a wonderful perk!

Before long, I’m sure that I will be back to my crafty ways.  Mostly making cute kid stuff I’m sure but for now here’s a look at the ever changing little man.

Well, I’m running out of time to make clothing for Jr. but I was able to finish this little sweater today.  It was a pretty quick and easy project that over 1300 others have made over on Ravelry.com. It’s a free pattern and I will definitely be making more in the future.

The yarn is something I’ve had in my stash for a while.  Mom brought it back from England on one of her six trips this year.  Holy cow can you say frequent flier miles!  Anyway, I like how this turned out and can’t wait to put it on the little guy with a pair of cords.  How cute would that look?

Well, it didn’t take long but its done!  YAY.  I spent most of last weekend sandwiching the quilt together.  Since it’s a smaller quilt it didn’t take as long as I thought it would and with the right tools it was a piece of cake.

Quilting in progress

Sandwiching is the process of sewing the top, the soft batting in the middle and the backing all together at once.  Depending on the batting, it can get quite thick so I purchased a recommended walking foot for this project as it really does what the name implies. I was able to purchase one on Ebay from a local seller and it was worth every penny!

My favorite part…the quilt backing

I got some great advice from the women at a local quilt shop called The Quilted Fox

• Room 6 film

.  They were very helpful when selecting the right batting and offering different ways in which to stitch the whole thing together.

Close up of quilt trim also known as binding

In addition to the local advice I found many online resources to help me complete the project but the most helpful was this binding tutorial. I think it could be useful on many projects and not just quilting.

Completed Quilt

All in all, I’m really happy with the results.  As with any project that’s craft related or not, it comes down to doing a little research, following directions, making sure you have the right tools and taking your time.

I’m sure the quilt will come in handy this winter during late night feedings when its time to snuggle up!

Well, I’m not sure how I missed it but I did.  The first post I made to this blog was one year ago last Thursday (July 30th).  Oops! 

Anyway, as I look back (cue the violin solo) I’ve done more than I originally intended.  Well, truth be told, I’m not sure what my goal was when I started out.  I knew I liked to “make stuff” and wanted a place to present it.  So, far I’ve participated in a few organized crafty events, been featured on a couple of popular blogs (craftzine & designsponge) and I’ve discovered many talented people via the blogosphere.  Thanks to all of you that have stopped by in the past year.

I know that my life will change dramatically in the coming year and only for the better.  Who know’s which direction this blog is headed but my goal is to keep creating.  Hopefully I will be able to create some useful tutorials and ideas that will help other crafters as so may have helped me.

Here’s a look back at a handful of projects I’ve worked on this past year. 

1. Craft night at Holly’s - Aka - South City Sweatshop!, 2. Beer Can Hat Revisited, 3. Ruffled Skirt, 4. Rejuvenate your sole(s), 5. Papercutting Project, 6. Holiday coasters-set 3, 7. Completed Button Swap, 8. Sewn spider web card, 9. dHb Buttercup purse, 10. Another Built by Wendy summer top, 11. crochet flower pins, 12. To-Market Purse, 13. Buttoned granny square scarf, 14. cardigan close-up, 15. Cloth Baby Shoes

Seems like I’ve been crafting up a storm lately!  I just can’t stop.  It all started with a simple knitted sweater, which turned into a matching hat.  Since we just found out we’re having a boy I felt the need to whip up these cloth shoes. I love the fabric.  The green in the sweater is really a grass green but the brightness of the shoes stole this shot.  Anyway, all three patterns are free and available to download: Sweater, Hat, and shoes.

Yarn from Knitpicks.com and Japanese cotton frog fabric found on Etsy.com.

It’s seriously out of control.  I’ve started working on a throw that will take some time to knit.  Hopefully, that will slow me down a little but at least it keeps me occupied.

I’m looking forward to working on this super cute scarf project with “the girls.” Yay for Craft night!  Something that’s not baby-related for a change!

Image & Tutorial from Pretty Ditty.

The weather this weekend was perfect!  Although they were calling for rain it never came our way.  On Saturday, after meeting a friend for tea we headed down to Soulard Market.  I haven’t been there in over a year.  I forgot how much fun it is and how cheap the prices are!

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Soulard Market, St. Louis

With our current flailing economy I’m all for supporting local farmers while saving a few bucks.  Along with all our produce finds we couldn’t pass up the mini donut maker.  The chocolate glazed variety was my top pick while Julie chose the powdered version as her #1.  All in all, a fun morning out.

I was able to craft this weekend.  I made a project for Mum which I will share soon and I’m halfway through a knitted sweater project.  I realize its not sweater weather but the yarn is called Summer Tweed so it’s nice and light.  I just hope I can finish it soon so I can move onto something less time consuming.

How do you spend your weekend?

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year and a half since we last saw my brother.  How time flies!  It was great to spend some time together and even though it rained most the weekend my husband and brother were able to play a lot of golf on Saturday.  By a lot of golf I mean 27 holes and that, my friends, is a lot of golf!

Anyway, while the guys were out for a few hours I was able to spend some time on a project that is long overdue.  I bought some fabric during my last visit to Chicago at Ikea with the intention of making some simple envelope style pillow covers and it’s been sitting in my stash ever since. 

I realize this isn’t the most challenging project but it was a project I was finally able to check off my list and that feels good!

Have you been able to check anything off your to-do list lately?

Since starting this little blog last August I’ve been amazed by all the different ways that people have stumble across my little home in blogland.  This outlet has really helped my creative side come back to life! It encourages me to share projects as well as come up with unique ideas of my own that I can then share with others.  Much like when we were kids and we’d run home to show Mom what we made in class.

Thanks to all those that have stopped by, made comments, and entered my little giveaways.  People often ask…”why do you make things then give them away?”  As a relatively new crafter it allows me to improve my skillz while making someone’s day a little brighter!

I continued to be inspired by other bloggers and have goals of creating original tutorials, sharing places and things I’ve found and to hopefully inspire others.The Jewel of the Nile trailer

Vogue Hat pattern

Originally uploaded by dhop76

I’m very fortunate to live about 3 miles from where I work. That is just one of the reasons I really want a scooter! That will be another post but for today I had some time to kill while waiting for the UPS guy so I decided to trace this new hat pattern. I’m going with hat “D” in the top right-hand corner.

Some time ago I tried making a hat but after following instructions it failed miserably! Colleen told me about this pattern and it’s finally time to give it a try!

The fabric I choose is kind of art deco with a small silver pattern on white fabric. With the help of the black grosgrain ribbon it will have that great fedora style I’m going for.  I’ll be sure to post the final product!