Home Stretch

Don't think I've mentioned this on the blog before, but I am closing the my quilt shop's retail location this Saturday, June 28. (Skip on over to the shop's website and have a look...all internet orders are 30% off.) To make a long story short, I've been busy with the shop, winding things down and tying up loose ends. I may be a little scarce around here for another month or so as I wrap things up at the shop, job hunt, and get moved east a little ways. Never fear, though, I'm still getting some crafting done here and there, and I'll keep you updated.

Now for some eye candy. Our little guild's biannual quilt show was last weekend, and I snapped a few pics. I'm very drawn to the older quilts passed down through the years to the current generation of quilters. These quiltmakers didn't get their panties (or bloomers or whatever) in a twist about perfectly matching fabrics or points. And I love the results.





Sorry, I'm writing this 7 hours after I originally started this post. I'm too lazy to caption these pictures, so just make up your own. It's been a long day, and I'm starting to get a little punchy. Even so, I'm thinking about stopping by the grocery store on my way home and buying a carton of strawberries so I'll have something to eat with my Nutella when I get home. Eh, screw it, I'll just have my Nutella straight up, on a spoon.

No sir, I don't like it.

I was originally inspired to make a granny afghan by this photo (not the softy...the afghan in the background). And then I saw this. I was completely smitten. But then I had second thoughts. After all, where would I put this masterpiece, assuming I ever finished it? A bright red, green, yellow, and blue afghan would definitely stand out in my current home decor. So then I thought that maybe I should try making a granny afghan in a bit more subdued colors. Here's what I came up with for my first square.

It's okay, but I'm not in love. And if I'm going to crochet that many granny squares, I want to be in love with the project. So I think I've decided to just stick with the color scheme I fell in love with. I'll figure out where to put the darn thing when it's finished.

As for the yarn I used in my test square, maybe it would make a nice ripple afghan.

Belated Happy Father's Day, to my dad, and to yours!

On my coffee table...

From the bottom, up:
1) The Summer 2008 issue of Interweave Knits, because I can knit now! I'm so excited! Pics to come...
2) June 2008 BHG. Good recipes (I think I'll actually try a couple), lots of decorating inspiration, and a large article on gardening (surprise, surprise) which I probably should put to good use but probably won't.
3) Encyclopedia of Crochet, checked out from my local library. A pretty good selection of stitches, granny squares, etc., but the projects were a little uninspiring. Probably b/c the book was published in 2002.
4) The Crochet Stitch Bible, recent purchase from Amazon. I don't know if I would necessary call it the crochet bible, but it does contain a lot of stitches, granny squares, edgings, and even some tunisian crochet. This is not a project book. It's a stitch book. It's not all-inclusive, but I'm not sure any book could capture every possible crochet stitch. Definitely a handy reference.
5) Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker, checked out from the library. This is one I may have to buy. It's a decent stitch reference guide, and there are several projects I would like to make from this book. As a matter of fact...
6) ...I've already started one. I'll wait until it's done to show you which one I picked.

Flea Market Finds, Episode 1: The Fabric Menace

Okay, so I mentioned that I'd been to the local flea market. First just let me say that the flea market is a dangerous place for me to visit. I spent entirely too much money. Entirely. I felt the need to "adopt" half of the store. I spent a good hour and a half in there, and when it came to decision time I felt like I was choosing puppies to be saved from euthanization instead of shopping from a multitude of other people's castoffs . However, I'm really happy with what I bought, and like so many other things I want to buy, I have now forgotten about most of what I decided to leave behind.

This is part one of my flea market purchases, "Episode 1", if you will. (Please indulge me the corny Star Wars reference.)

First up is a piece of lightweight Winnie the Pooh fabric hemmed around the edges (it was labeled as a "baby blanket"), and a somewhat wonky quilt block. I'm not sure if the quilt block is salvagable or not as it isn't square and doesn't lay completely flat. That's a project for another day (or year).

And please ignore the wrinkles in anything you see here. I can't be bothered to iron just for pictures. I'll do that when I actually want to use the stuff.

In this photo, from top to bottom:

1. a bunch (haven't counted) of hand-pieced 4-patches.
2. over 3 yards of 36" wide pink gingham, which I am totally stoked about since that's the new Tie One On theme.
3. a large, oval tablecloth. Maybe has a future as a bag.
4. another table cloth, large & oblong. Love the pattern on this one...could end up as a bag also.
5. my favorite piece (from this group, anyway) a hand-embroidered baby quilt top. There are 8 embroidered blocks, set together with plain pink squares. Here is some detail of the blocks:
   

They're just too adorable. I can't decide what to do about this one, but I think I'm going to take it apart and reconstruct a small quilt out of the blocks, squaring things up as I go and probably using a better quality fabric or maybe even some quilt blocks to set it together. And maybe I'll even get ambitious and hand quilt it when I'm finished. I might be getting a little ahead of myself with that one, but it's a thought.

We're forecasted to get some really nasty weather tonight, so if you're reading this from, I don't know, anywhere in the Midwest stay safe. My hubby has requested this for dinner, so I'm going home to fry bacon and either embroider or crochet.

Stay tuned: Flea Market Finds, Episode Two!

Sewing Rule #1

Okay, maybe not #1, but definitely in the top ten:

Don't get in a hurry.

Case in point, my new tote bag.

Looks harmless, doesn't it? And it was... at first. Until I started running out of time and got in a hurry.
Here's the other side of the bag. With a partially attached handle. Why is the handle partially attached, you might ask? Well, I'll tell you. The handle is partially attached because as I was sewing I noticed I was sewing the handle on backwards. You can't tell from the picture, but there is a "right" and "wrong" side to the handles. Probably not a mistake anyone would have noticed, but it would have driven me insane. And I'm insane enough as it is, thankyouverymuch.

So I left the bag and the handle for tomorrow, when I'm in less of a hurry.

Playing

with my new camera.

Lots going on...pics to come now that I have a working camera.