Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Mug rugs - Cherry Christmas scraps

Making Christmas stuff continues. I was able to finish 3 mug rugs I shared last week. I used the leftovers from the Lone star.


 There are some pockets on the back so I can put some postcard or Christmas card in.


I don't think I'll be making any more this year so I'm crossing this off my list as finished. I sent the first one I made to one of my bloggie friends. Yvonne commented on my post that she is sending her address for me to send it over. She was joking but I though what if I'll surprise her and asked for her address. I rather sent my stuff to those that appreciate it. She offered little swap between us and here's what I received. Cool hexie mug rug with some owls on top. We are both happy with our exchange as you can read in her post. Don't we just love hexies and owls :-)


I have adjusted my list a bit. Yeah I'm chicken out. I don't think I'll be able to make any more Christmas robin wreaths I planned so I'm fine with the one I made for myself. I also crossed the socks. One pair is OK. Right now I want and NEED to concentrate on the Christmas ornament as it's due on Friday. Also some pillow covers would be nice so I can link them into Cushion for Christmas Blog hop. Click on the picture below to learn more.

Ms Midge


Making Christmas list:
Christmas theme wall hanging DONE
- Christmas ornament for local swap IN PROGRESS
- winter/Christmas theme house pouch
- vinyl pouches as gifts 1 FINISHED
- pillow covers 1 IN PROGRESS
- 241 tote pattern by Noodlehead FABRICS PICKED
- felted jewelry IN PROGRESS
- knitted socks DONE
mug rugs with pocket on the back DONE (MADE 4)
Christmas Robin wreath  DONE

I'm not wasting any scraps out of Cherry Christmas line so I'm using those for my Christmas ornament as well. I'm making little house. Very similar to the one by retromama.



For the pillow cover I decided to try out some cats. I have used the basic block by Elizabeth Hartman. She currently hosts QAL called Catvent. Check it out as her cats are really quite cute.

I wouldn't mind more contrast. 


I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday and Making Christmas. You can also find the links in the side bar of my blog.


Friday, December 6, 2013

B side finished

Last night I was up to something easy. Straight line sewing sounds easy enough. I was expecting the electricity going off as the hurricane Xaver was passing by. So I got ready for bed and sewed in my PJ's. I do live in lower part of the country so it didn't get that bad and I was able to finish the B side. According to the news it didn't reach the speed of hurricane but it still caused some damage. It hit the other countries much harder so I hope everyone is safe and sound. It's still extra windy so there is no way of getting outdoor pictures.

The two sides go really well together. There are few fabrics that don't seem to fit but I'm learning to look at it as a whole. Not picking up on unmatching bits. I kind of tend to put the blues to the bottom.



But it looks just fine the other way round as well. The B side is bigger for the quilting purposes. It's going to the quilting pro and I'll share the outcome once available.


I took a picture of wavy binding I wrote about in my previous post. Not flat at all. Once I add the wood to the bottom with additonal weight it looks fine and have you noticed our wall is all white by now :-) It looks much better. If you missed my advent calendar post, check it out here.


Linking up with TGIFF and Crazy mom quilts.


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Advent calendar


I have shared a bit about my advent calendar already but it deserves more than one pic. So if you ready to explore welcome aboard.


I finished it on Saturday and it wasn't looking too good. The binding was a bit wavy all around. Big disappointment but all my fault. I knew I better hand stitch the binding but I just wanted to try if I can get away with machine binding. I tried to rip off one side and hand stitch but it didn't help. The binding just seems a bit bigger. I should have pulled it tiny bit while stitching on. I didn't feel like binding redo so I just left it. On Sunday my girls were so eager to have their calendar so I just decided we'll have wavy binding and pretend it's all fine. Once we put the wrapped presents/sweets on it stretched and it looks fine. I'm not sure what it look like once all the sweets are eaten but we'll see.

I realized later on that the holes are not really needed. It can be just tied around.
I made the sleeve too big so I had to adjust it.

It's my first wall hanging so I should be a bit wiser next time I make any. I started this kind of advent calendar two years ago for my elder girl but this year I had to make it for both of them. I do not worry about fancy wrapping since the girls just don't care. The best part for them is to cut the string each day and rip off the paper. That's why I don't make any fabric bags. The only thing that bugs me is that we didn't manage to repaint the wall. We took the shelf off and it's not coming back but the painting is visible at the bottom and we really need to repaint it.


I used 3 jelly roll strips from each color. I placed each color in each position right, middle, left so they were evenly distributed. While creating the diamonds I concentrated on the red and it became the main motive. I used this well known tut. I'm making mug rugs from the leftover strips where you can see the color placement (the bottom one should be upside down).


For those mug rugs I'm combining two tuts I seen. I wanted to try some fusible fleese appliqué I seen over at Amy Made That! (you should check out her lovely snowflake pillow) and hexagon mini quilt tut by Modern Handcraft. I love those hexies!

My tiny trial before I attempt larger project.
I'll be adding pockets and binding.
Making Christmas list:
- Christmas theme wall hanging DONE
- Christmas ornaments for local swap
- winter/Christmas theme house pouch
- vinyl pouches as gifts 1 FINISHED
- pillow covers
- 241 tote pattern by Noodlehead FABRICS PICKED
- felted jewelry IN PROGRESS
- knitted socks 1 PAIR FINISHED
- mug rugs with pocket on the back 1 FINISHED and 3 IN PROGRESS
Christmas Robin wreath by Kristy 1 FINISHED

MAKING CHRISTMAS 2013

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Wool on Sundays - socks

When Janine started her Wool on Sundays it made me think about knitting. I used to knit a lot. I pulled out some old magazines. Those are the kind of stuff I used to knit. Mostly for my mom. I'm not sure but I think she doesn't have any of these any more. Well I made those almost 20 year ago. What?!! I'm getting old, lol. These days the wool is pretty expensive and honestly I prefer polar fleece jumpers for my girls and myself. They are so light and easy care counts as well.



I never used English pattern and I don't know the right words to use. I took few pictures along the way while making the socks on two needles. If you experienced knitter it'll give you idea how to make them.


I bought these couple years ago. My original plan was to make hat and scarf for my girl. Yes, she was little and sweet back then. I put them together and got just what I wanted. 







That's it. If you keen on wool hop over to Janine's blog.

November roundup

Time for the roundup. I did pretty well this time around. I finished my project for And Sew On BoM. It's now covering the top part of my bookshelf.


I also made this pretty Christmas robin. Both patterns by Kristy - Quiet Play.


I also managed to finish quilt top based on Broken Herringbone pattern. I call it Summertime Sadness and I nearly finished the B side as well.

My goal for November was a wall hanging which I finished yesterday. It also has a function as advent calendar so I'm glad I made it on time. I needed someone to hold that up for me plus to install it on the wall. I totally forgot to take a picture and post about it so I failed to link up in time. Separate post will follow during the week with more details and info.


Linking up with

Lily's Quilts