Knitted Newsboy Hat

I bought the pattern for this hat (Hannah Newsboy Hat) on etsy about 2 1/2 months ago. A friend I used to work with at a coffee stand has started her own business creating knitting patterns and knitting hats, mittens, etc. for people. She also recycles yarn and resells it! You should check out her shop, Pepperberry Knits!

I started working on my first hat from this pattern (beanie with scalloped band) a few weeks after purchasing the pattern, but got discouraged after a bad TSA experience. The first time I flew to Virginia with Tom for his job, I got a TSA gal who treated me horribly because I wear an insulin pump. She decided she needed to go through all my bags, testing for explosives. In the process she pulled all 4 needles out of the hat I was working on, and grabbed through the part I'd knitted so far. I took out quite a few rows on the following flight, but didn't pick it up again after that for a couple weeks. I tend to hop around from one project to another rather than just working completely through something. Now it's finished, and I love it!

Christmas Card 2009

Guess what? I'm finally posting an art blog! I know it's been a few months, but I've been working on some larger time-consuming projects. I've spent a few days off and on working on our Christmas cards, and they're finally (all 60!) in the mail! Check it out! My favorite part is the little poof ball on the snow hat.

It's a Card Day!

I got some new stamps last week, and spent Friday evening and some of the day on Saturday making cards, finishing up the last season of Murder She Wrote (tear), and trying not to get dizzy. I made some Christmas cards, some baby cards, and some just for fun cards. Many of them are now listed on etsy! Below are some that I had fun making.

The following 2 cards are my absolute favorites!

Crochet Baby Blanket

About 6 months ago my best friend told me she was pregnant. I knew I wanted to make something special for her, but didn't know how long a crocheted blanket would take, what colors to use (boy or girl?), or even if I could follow a pattern all the way through successfully. I found a pattern I loved in the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet and some super soft recycled cotton yarn at Ben Franklin that looked perfect. I figured I could start the project with sage green, brown, and cream colored yarns, then add either a blue or pink border later.

As I started the project I made several trips to the local yarn store in Bellevue. They helped me learn how to form Tunisian stitches and showed me what a Tunisian needle is. The stitches ended up being easier than I had expected, almost like knitting with just one needle.

About two weeks ago I had all six star sections completed and began reading about stitching the chunks together and learning how to block. I didn't really think that blocking would help my pieces all fit together, but I was so wrong! Due to stretching while I was making them, the pieces were all slightly different lengths. Once I had them all flat on the table, I squirted the edges with water so they would stretch or shrink a little as I needed, then I pinned them all in place to dry.

I finished the blanket the night before the baby shower, perfect timing!

Quilted Pillow Covers

When we got our new-used couches back in the spring, we knew we'd eventually need some throw pillows to jazz them up and to stuff behind one's back while watching a movie. I'd looked at pillows at a few different places and finally decided to just buy uncovered pillows and make something fun to cover them with. A few weeks ago when we were at Ikea I found two 19" square pillows that I thought would be dense enough. They've been hanging around on the couches since then, making me look like an odd decorator, but now they're finished!

I used a couple of ideas I found at Red Pepper Quilts because I decided it would be fun to use some of my fabric scraps. The first pillow cover used strips of fabric cut into 3" x 9" randomly sewn together. I used 1.5" strips of white in between the colors. The second pillow I used sets of 4 pieces of fabric from one color group cut into 1.5" x 4.5" strips. I finished the tops just like a quilt, with batting for stability, then sewed a double sided envelope-style back.

A Batch of Cards

30 cards that is. A little over a week ago I got two orders for thank you cards. One was for 10 cards, the other for 20. It took me a little longer than normal to get through them because I've been sick for the past couple weeks, but at last they are done and in the mail! I took some pictures of the process. Basically, I cut the card paper, stamped the trees and cut them, cut yellow and blue layering paper, added the yellow twine, stamped and cut thanks, layered and cut the blue behind the greeting, and glued them all together!

Baby Shower Invitations

I started working on ideas for these invitations about a month ago. I made a few different "pockets" before I found colors and rubber stamp combinations I liked. I began with a peach/cream/brown combo, but it ended up looking too halloweenish too me. I've decided I really enjoy sewing on cards I make, and it sticks so much better than glue! Once I had the design figured out it took a few days to get them put together and printed. Yay for 32 finished invitations!

Brown Bear Quilt

This quilt went together so quickly! I bought half a yard of the animal blocks from the Brown Bear Eric Carle, 4 fat quarters, and 1/2 yard in a two different minky fabrics. I still have enough that I can make a second quilt exactly like this one. I used a pattern from the Summer 2009 edition of Quilts & More. I swapped some of the cotton fabric for minky (an interesting experience) and made 9 blocks instead of 20. This is the first time I've used minky. At first it was frustrating me because it kept stretching, but I added the walking foot and that helped keep everything lined up. At 40" square this will make a perfect baby gift!

The Washington Quilt

The fabric from this quilt came from the 2007 Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop. I started working on the blocks slowly back then, and have gradually added to the stack over the past 2 years. I used some of the patterns from previous shop hops, substituting the fabric from those other years with the Washington themed fabric from 2007. I pulled together enough fabric to fill in the sashing, boarders, backing, and binding from post shop hop sales. This quilt was fun because I had to learn how to do paper piecing, the blanket stitch, and English paper piecing.

Now it's living on the back of our large living room couch. Yes, the kitties tried it out while I was still sewing the binding on. They approve!

Above - English paper piecing

Below - paper piecing

Table & Chairs

Well, I finally finished our dining room table and chairs today! We bought this set from our friends a little over 3 years ago, shortly after moving into our condo and when they were preparing to move to Australia. I'd thought about painting them all white or all red for a few years, then decided I'd like more than just one color. I knew they needed red to tie them in with the rest of our color theme, but was not totally sure what I'd end up picking until they were finished.

Four weeks ago we lined the chairs up to take them out to the Jeep, along with the disassembled table that Tom and Missy took apart, so we could strip the finish at my parents' house. We spent about 5 hours that day trying to get the finish off with a stripping product. It worked well on the table top, but didn't do much more than make a gummy mess on the table legs and chairs. We used a pressure washer to get the gum off, then took them back home for me to work on sanding out in our front yard. I spent about a week sanding, buying more sand paper, dealing with a tendinitis flare-up, and sanding again until the chairs were all smooth and clean.

I decided it would be best to paint the table legs first so we could put the table top back together and use it if we needed it. Next I primed and began painting and finishing the chairs. I had to take a break for most of last week because it got so hot and humid in our condo. I started working on the table top last Friday. I've had so much fun with it!

I used ideas I'd drawn in my sketch book and that I have seen on the walls in the Free People clothing store. I was scared to try it free-hand, but it worked well with the Decocolor paint pens I found! I finished the table top, coated it with a semi-gloss finish, and coated the chairs as well.

What Not to Knit... Seriously

So many of you probably know that I'm a sucker for sock monkeys. I searched "sock monkeys" on google images today in an effort to find cute ideas, and thought I'd share some of the funnier pictures that popped up. They made Tom and I double over laughing, so be warned...

Don't worry. I promise never to make either of these!

Wall Art

I started working on these back in the fall, and pulled them out when I was reorganizing some of the things in my craft closet last week. I used a light table to make my own embroidery patterns, traced them onto some bright scraps of fabric from random fat quarters I had, and used 5 bright colors of embroidery floss to stitch them out. That's the state in which I picked them back up. I found that I had 3 small sized canvas frames and centered and stapled them. I liked the way they looked, but thought they could still use a little more flair. I remembered seeing a pattern in a local quilt store for a flower by Heather Bailey. I'm not sure if it's the same one, but I found some rough instructions on her blog for some cute pop-up flowers. In the sticky, 80+ degree heat we've had the past week, I made 2 flowers and a little bird while watch streaming Netflix directly in front of our fan. I made rough flower and bird sketches and cut them out to use as patterns. To finish the wall hangings off, I pinned the flowers and birds through the canvas, enabling me to rearrange them if I want in the future.

Flower Assembly:

1. Cut 2 flowers from different colors of wool (felt would also work).
2. Bottom layer - Stitch around the edges of one flower with embroidery floss.
3. Top layer - Stitch around the edges, but pull a little tighter so the flower petals stand up and out.
4. Make a small sized yo-yo to layer on the top.
5. Cut various sizes and thicknesses of yarn to create loops or sprigs to layer between the top flower layer and yo-yo.
6. Stitch through all the layers to connect them. You can add buttons, beads, brads, or leave them with just the yo-yo on the top.

Laundry Bag

Last week Rebecca and I got together to work on cutting our fabric. I got most of the monkey fabric cut out for a crib set, but had to take a brain break and finish later because I forgot to make sure the pattern on the fabric was running the correct direction. I caught myself in time to recover, and ended up refreshing my math skills in the process. I'm using patterns for a crib skirt, fitted sheet, crib bumper, and laundry bag from the book Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones.

I completed the Cheeky Monkey Laundry Bag the other night. I just love all this sock monkey fabric! It was pretty basic and quick to make. It just took a while to iron on all the fusible interfacing, but that's what a television in front of the ironing board streaming BBC productions of Agatha Christie is for, right?! The monkey's head is designed to stick with Velcro to make it easier to wash without reshaping his cute face.

2009 Quilt Shop Hop

The Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop was once again last Wednesday through Sunday. My mom and I visited 13 shops on Wednesday, and another 7 on Thursday. We visited shops in Lynden, Bellingham, Anacortes, Everett, Bellevue, Renton, Des Moines, and some in between.

The shop hop included about 60 stores in the state that created 8.5" blocks from a collection of fabric designed just for this event. Each shop uses 3

pieces of fabric, one of them a coordinate of their choosing that is not part of the collection. We both liked this year's fabric, but weren't crazy about the main flower and butterfly print. One of the first shops we visited (Fourth Corner Quilts in Bellingham) had used the collection and added several bright prints of their choosing, which we loved! We bought a few half yards there to split and make our quilt with.

My favorite shops were:

• Forth Corner Quilts, Bellingham
• The Quilting Loft, Ballard
• Quiltworks Northwest, Bellevue
• Keepsake Cottage Fabrics, Bothell

One of my goals on the shop hop was to find enough sock monkey fabric to make a crib set with. I knew this would be difficult because that line of fabrics came out about 4-5 years ago. I ended up finding enough, picking up different pieces at about 6 different shops. Some of them were even on sale!

I also found the following exciting fabrics!

Paddington Bear & Eric Carle's Brown Bear - The Paddington fabric was half off and perfect for some other Paddington fabrics I've been accumulating slowly for a kids quilt. The Brown Bear fabric will work well for a baby quilt gift.

Anna Maria Horner Flowers - I've had my eye out for this fabric for a while as well. It's from an older line of Anna Maria's fabric, but it will be perfect for the couch throw pillows I'm planning to make!

And lastly, I found some cute patterns!

(Can you believe this is my 50th post?!)

Birthday Birdie Sling

I was given a super cute Amy Butler purse pattern and a gift certificate for fabric for my birthday that I finally had the time to make! It turned out to be pretty easy. I pulled it out on a Sunday afternoon and finished it up the following morning. As always, the cutting (my least favorite part) took the longest.

I made a couple changes to the directions. I used a third fabric for the straps, rather than using the same color as the band around the top of the purse. Also, I added a magnetic snap to the band as a way of closing the top of the bag.

So far this purse has been the best I've made yet. It's deep and has large pockets. My favorite part is that it has one wide strap, rather than 2 narrow ones, which usually make my shoulder and neck hurt. The side is great because there's enough room to toss in a sweater and my knitting.

New Bling

I've had this piece for a necklace for a while, but kept waiting to use it because I was afraid I'd mess up the length of the necklace or something silly like that. My cousin's wedding was this last Saturday, and I knew it would match my dress well, so I ended up stringing it and making earrings to match!

The Icarus Scarf

I've finally finished this crocheted scarf! It turned out to be an easy project that I could carry with me to work on whenever I had a minute or just wanted to enjoy the sun.

The Icarus Scarf pattern came from The Purl Bee. I didn't use the silk yarn she did, but I managed to find some decent (and 75% less expensive) yarn at Hilltop Yarns in Bellevue. I used a size G, 4.00mm hook and it came out great!

Of course my kitties had to involve themselves somehow, so they managed to keep the yarn on the swift for me as I converted it into balls. However, the fast spinning motion made them all squinty.