Not a One-Craft Girl

Sometimes I wonder exactly why I never seem to finish as many projects as some of my friends. My list on Ravelry of completed projects hasn't been added to in months, and my cheerfully optimistic idea to start on Christmas presents early is still not acted on.

Why can't I get more done?

Gee, it couldn't be due to the sheer number of crafts I try to undertake at one time, could it? Let's see: knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing clothes, cooking and now canning. Oh, and learning a musical instrument.

I'm working on a knitted gift that I will hopefully be able to post about next month (and which actually may be done before the birthday of the person I'm making it for! Shocking, I know). I'm working on a doll quilt for an internet swap (due to be sent out tomorrow-ha!), as well as two virtual quilting bees (it's my month in one of them, so I actually only have one block due this month). And Halloween is quickly approaching, and I just bought fabric and a pattern for Viv's costume. Add that to the fact that I want to make some fall clothes for me & Vivian, and I feel like I am a mess!

I have finally completed something that I can show off, though: Vivian's big girl bed quilt. I started on this several months ago, before she moved out of her crib and into the toddler bed. I finally finished over the weekend, and can make a big check mark next to this item on my to-do list!


Viv loves her new quilt! I love making things for her because she's so appreciative. "My mommy made it for me!" I know this state my not last forever, so I'm taking advantage of it while I can.

I've also been making good strides with canning. I made plum jam with cinnamon -- 6 lbs. resulted in 6 pints of yummy jam. So tasty and easy. I really love doing this, taking advantage of the fact that here in California, we are overwhelmed with an abundance of quality produce.

I just have to come to terms with the fact that I am not a one-craft girl. What's that saying? "Jack of all trades, master of none?" Oh well. I do love mixing up my crafts. I never get bored! So I will continue to work on 18 different projects at one time, but I guess, ultimately, I'm ok with that. It is an awful lot of fun!

Live Piecefully - June

Sometimes I am too ambitious. Sometimes I have grand ideas that will never translate to reality. Sometimes, I just bite off more than I can chew.

But sometimes, sometimes it actually works.

When I joined the Live Piecefully virtual quilting bee a few months ago, my goal was to push my sewing and quilting skills and creativity further. Instead of having to sew and piece and entire quilt of squares at once (and in the same fabric, over and over), the bee gives me the freedom to experiment with new techniques and designs (and fabrics), a little bit at a time.

June is the first month of the bee, and Kat, the bee's organizer, was the first "queen bee" who sent out her chosen fabric to us "worker bees." She chose Tina Given's Treetop Fancy line in a raspberry colorway. It is beautiful fabric, but I was worried that, given the large scale of the print, it would be difficult to piece in an aesthetically pleasing way. I was also worried by the fact that there were no solids to contrast with the beautiful prints.

Kat's choice for her quilt fabric

When I received the fabric, I started playing around with the design. I had volunteered to make two blocks, so had a bit more fabric to play with. I sketched out eight different designs before I picked two that I wanted to focus on.

When I quilt, I really don't work from patterns. I just seem to work best in an improvisational way. But given that this wasn't MY fabric, and there was a finite amount, I really had to be careful! So for my first design -- a modified sunburst-esque look -- I actually sketched my designs out in muslin and cut out the pieces and numbered them so that all the different strips would actually fit together and in the right order.

When it came to finally cutting out my fabric, I was convinced that I had done it wrong and was just making a huge mess. I've never quilted curves, and of course, I had a cut-out circle making up one of the corners. Gah!

But like I stated at the top, sometimes it all just works out.

I'm really happy with how everything turned out. They aren't perfect (the solid pink border on the sunburst square was added because after trimming wonky edges, the quilt square was 3/4" too small), but I think they really show off the beauty of the fabric. The squares are each 12.5" and will eventually be pieced together by Kat with squares made by the other members of the bee. I can't wait to see the finished project!

I now just need to send these blocks off to Kat and wait until the July "queen bee," Shorty, sends off our next fabric. I think I'm hooked.

To see more of the Live Piecefully quilt blocks made so far, visit our Flickr page.

Riding the wave

I have been on quite the sewing kick lately. My crafty tendencies seem to come in waves -- I'll do nothing but knit for weeks, and then, all of a sudden I have the uncontrollable urge to do something... else. I've got two sweaters under way that I have almost no desire to work on. In the last three weeks, the only knitting I've done is at my weekly SnB.

But sewing is another matter. In the last few weeks, I have been churning out projects right and left. I made the pink hat featured in my Hat Trick post, and last night made a blue version for Viv, complete with a red band and white/red flower (pics to come later).

Here's a top that I made Vivian a couple of days ago, using leftover fabrics from the quilt I'm making for when she graduates to a toddler bed.

A side note about how awesome my daughter is. She seems to understand what it means when I say I'm making something for her. Lately, she comes into my sewing room/closet when I am working and giggles, saying "loud!" She even dragged me to my sewing machine, saying "more loud? I like loud." It makes me feel warm & fuzzy inside when she really seems to enjoy the things I make her (like this top, which she refused to take off, even though I only put it on her to make sure it fit). OK, done with cheesy parent pride.

I'm also doing more quilting, and trying to put more care and precision into my work. Since I really don't work from patterns and instead just improvise, I'm not always careful with the little things that can make a big difference in the appearance of the quilt. These would be tasks like remeasuring all blocks after assembly to make sure they are all the same size (just because they were the same before final piecing doesn't mean they still are), trimming wonky edges, etc.

Here's my latest quilt/blanket that I improvised for Vivian. I originally bought the shaggy minky backing fabric to line Viv's winter coat, but it never gets cold enough to warrant a lined coat here. The fabric was languishing in a bag in my closet until Viv pulled it out. She loved the soft feeling so much she started dragging it around the house. That's when I knew I had to finally make something with it. The quilt does not have a true quilt "sandwich," there is no batting. It's just a pieced quilt top with the minky back. Because of the nap of the minky, I tied the quilt, rather than sewing. I took extra care to make sure the squares lined up and everything fit just so. I'm really happy with how it turned out!

She likes it! She really likes it!

Live Piecefully

Live Piecefully
Originally uploaded by Ripping Out Seams

I have joined my very first virtual quilting bee, Live Piecefully, organized by Kat from Ripping Out Seams. I'm very excited about this, as I always seem to find out about these things after sign ups have closed. I hope this will help me advance my piecing skills and push my creativity. I'm sure I'll be posting about my progress in the bee here over the next year.

Kat is looking for people to fill out Live Piecefully 2, so if you're interested, visit her blog: http://rippingoutseams.blogspot.com/.

It's Not a Habit...It's Cool, I Feel Alive

The new issue of Knitty came out today.

Dear god.

There are some absolutely beautiful patterns that I want to knit right now.

Like Decimal, a light and lacy cardigan that was designed to—gasp!—look beautiful on women of almost any size. The designer even knit a plus-sized sample, modeled by a beautiful lady not afraid to show off her ample assets.

And then there are Topaz (a perfect baby dress for a little girl scheduled to join the family shortly), and Steggie (which Vivian, who loves her DINOS!, would enjoy). Oh, and Pioneer (which I would totally knit if I could overcome my fear of needles smaller than size 8s), and Santeney (which I may knit, but shorten to waist length, instead of tunic length, so as not to emphasize the baby tummy), and Andy (a really nice men's sweater that I can't even talk about knitting since I still haven't finished Richard's Baseball sweater from 2+years ago).

And then there are some beautiful lace and sock patterns that I will never knit (lace because I never have enough uninterrupted time to concentrate on complicated charts, and socks because of that fear of small needles), but I will love to see how other people knit them.

I am really fighting to not cast on for any new projects right now. I'm working on Doris Chan's Walking After Midnight crocheted skirt, which is coming out beautifully, and which I could probably finish in a week if I could concentrate on it. I'm also working on a modified pinwheel pattern quilt for Vivian.

If I finish crocheting the skirt, I'll give myself permission to cast on for something new—the pride in actually finishing a project will be worth more than the transient rush of casting on something new.

a sneak peek of the Walking After Midnight skirt.

And because I haven't posted it here yet, here is the baby quilt I made for Teresa & Morgen's Baby T., due next month.
I love how the top turned out, but I also love the fabric I used for the backing—a vintage Waverly print that I bought years ago on eBay. I've been saving it for the right project, and I think it works here.
There are so many crafty projects that I want to tackle. I feel like a junkie in need of a fix. Do they have a 12-step program for this?

Yes, I have the attention span of a gnat

I have a serious case of Short Attention Span Theater right now.

As I posted yesterday, I have several projects that I need to finish in less than a month. So why is my brain buzzing with new projects—ones that I patently cannot start until after the holidays?

In an effort to catalog them, and get them out of my system (at least for a month), I'm going to list those ideas here.

1. I've been inspired by this Apartment Therapy post to paint my boring Ikea wardrobe a bright yellow. A couple of months ago, I successfully stripped and painted a Victorian-style side table, so I know I can do it. I think it will help bring even more color and design to my bedroom.

2. My sister Jenny bought me a gift certificate to SuperCrafty! for my birthday and I just used to to buy some Malabrigo Merino Worsted yarn in Sapphire Green. It's so beautiful. I am just itching to cast on for a Liesl sweater for me because I think it would be so yummy in this color.

3. I saw this beautiful letter quilt highlighted on the Spoonflower blog, and I want to make one for Vivian.

4. I'd love to make my winter coat before, you know, winter is over.

5. Every knitter I know is making cowls, which seem to be the must-have accessory this winter. I need one. I've got several skeins of sock yarn that will never be made into socks, no matter how many times I say I'm going to make them, so a cowl would be a good use.

Ok, I think that's it, at least those are the projects that I'm obsessing over right now. Gah!

I must finish gifts for others before starting something for myself.
I must finish gifts for others before starting something for myself.
I must finish gifts for others before starting something for myself.

Weekend Craftavaganza!

I don't know about you, but I had a very productive weekend. It's not often that I get to write that. Most Mondays, I look back fondly on a weekend where the most active thing I did was order pizza. But not this weekend. Oh no. This weekend, I crafted.

Actually, it was a family weekend of crafting. Richard's kickball team, the Awesome Helicopter Ninjas, is beginning its fall season tonight, and and Richard wanted to do something special. He decided that the Ninjas needed and official mascot, along the lines of the San Diego Chicken or the Phillie Phanatic. So, I give you the Naughty Ninja TM.

It's a paper-mache Ninja head! Richard used a beach ball to build the paper-mache and and I think he did a great job. We glued some black fabric inside the mouth (actually for Richard's eyes so he can see out), and we have foam inside to make sure it fits. I can't wait to see action shots of the Naughty Ninja at tonight's game.

Another craft project on the weekend's to-do list was the create a doormat for our apartment. We haven't had one in more than a year. When we moved in, I wanted a really cool mat, like one of these. But I just couldn't bring myself to spend $40 on a doormat. So we made due with a crappy plastic one until it blew away in a storm last year. I didn't know what I wanted to do until I saw this post on Curbly.com which showed how one member created a river rock doormat, inspired by one at Crate & Barrel (and also now available here). So easy!

Richard bought a black rubber doormat from OSH, and I bought a bag of river rock and some rubber cement from Home Depot. Here is a shot of the work in progress:


The rocks I used are smaller than the ones in the Curbly mat, and it took me a bit longer than expected. But I finally finished on Saturday. And here it is in its place of honor:

I had to move the mat out a bit from the door, as it is too tall to pass under the door if it is too close. But it still looks cool, and cost about a grand total of $12!

My other big project of the weekend was stripping the varnish off of a neo-Victorian occasional table that my dad gave us a while back. The varnish was chipped and had several drink rings, so I'm going to paint it a bright glossy turquoise and place it in our bedroom. I had never stripped furniture before, and while it was messy, it actually wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I used Citri-stripper, which I had seen recommended on Apartment Therapy. I don't have a photo, but believe me that the table is now stripped. I have to put some primer on it (maybe I'll do that tonight after Vivian goes to sleep), and then I'll start painting next weekend.

I've been working on a long-term knitting project that I'm pretty close to finishing, but I'm a little sick o fit right now, so I needed a quick-fix project that would just be something different. Looking through Ravelry, I found just what I needed: a crocheted slouchy beret. It worked up in just a couple of hours (I finished while watching last night's 2nd season premiere of "Mad Men"), and I'm really happy with it.


There is one good reason to look forward to the end of summer: the opportunity to wear all your fun knitted/crocheted items!

And one final craft projected started over the weekend -- a quilt for Baby Marta, daughter of Allison & Iggy, and little sister to Maggie. She was born earlier this month, and I'm beating myself up for not starting this earlier. Oh well. I am loving the very girly fabric I chose, and I can't wait to complete this.


So, all in all, a very productive weekend. Now, if only I could be as productive every weekend!

my crafty eyes are bigger than my... stomach?

I have a very good excuse for not posting in a bajillion days: time seems to slip through my hands. I've worked at two fundraising walks over the last two weekends, written media materials for a press conference this Wednesday, prepped a co-worker for a live radio interview. I've got another event in 2 weeks, and then I'm taking a break.

Despite the fact that my crafting time has shrunk of late, I keep adding to my list of projects to be completed. I keep buying yarn, including full bags of Berroco Love It, Queensland Collection Invito, and South West Trading Co. Bamboo. Great sales that I couldn't pass up, but when the heck am I going to use them? I still haven't made a dint in the yarn I bought at Stitches West. I have started on a vest using the Love It (Classic Elite's Vine Lace Vest), but my eyes are glazing over at the 4x4 ribbing.

There has been another crop of babies in the last few weeks. Please welcome Baby Spencer (born to parents Ryan & Sara), Campbell (daughter of Stephen and Lea, and little sister of James) and Jacob (baby #5 for Ben & Katie!). So the quilting continues! Here is my version of a Stacked Coin Quilt (mostly taken from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, but a bit improvised towards the end):

yes, that is my very messy desk. I told you I was busy.
And yes, that is a mini-fridge under my desk.
I use it so I don't have to keep pumped breast milk in the public fridge in the kitchen.
It just seems more private this way.

Richard picked out the fabrics, as he does for most of my quilting projects (he has a great eye for color). I'm starting on the next one already, an applique quilt - my favorite. Not as complex as the Pumpkin Quilt (still languishing unfinished), but it will hopefully be finished before the baby's 1st birthday.

I just have so many projects that I want to make: a couple of dresses of my own design for Vivian, a few simple tops for me, an Emmeline apron, any one of the several Stitch Diva patterns I have in my collection. And that's not counting those projects started but not finished: my Victoria Bolero, my Crochet Mesh Jacket, my Juliet Sweater (which really just needs to be blocked and have the buttons sewn on).

Grr. Why aren't there enough hours in the day? Why are my crafty eyes bigger than my crafty stomach?

Crazy for quilts

Ok, cheesy title, but I'm drawing a bit of a blank today. Remember that baby train I mentioned that was coming in to the station this month? Well, I'm keeping myself busy by quilting like a mad woman for these families. And last night, I finished my second patchwork quilt!

This one is for Baby Zanzibar, due this month to our friends Ryan & Sara. The pattern is from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, a book I highly recommend. The colors in the photo are a bit muted, making the quilt look like a biohazard sign, which I don't think it does in real life (the yellow is actually more green than orange).

Another view:
Thinking about it, if you've never changed a newborn's diaper before, you might think it WAS a biohazard...

I'm also working on a quilt Stephen & Lee's baby girl, also due this month. Richard picked out the fabrics, and I'm doing the Stacked Coins quilt, also from LMP&QG. I love how the different techniques of patchwork can make a quilt that looks so complicated, but is actually pretty simple.


More photos as the quilts progress!

Yes, I actually can complete a project

I have been crafty lately, not that you'd know it by reading this blog. I have 2 crochet projects underway (a Craftkitten Bolero and a jacket designed by Amy O'Neill Houck) and a knit shrug that has been languishing.

But here's something that hasn't been languishing: my first patchwork quilt!


It's a Crazy 9-Patch baby quilt for Baby Ava, new daughter of Dr. Dave. I was inspired by Sew Mama Sew!'s Quilt Month back in February, and learned how to do the Crazy 9-Patch by following the fabulous tutorial posted here. A note on my quilting skills - yes, I am a beginner. My lines aren't exactly straight, my squares not all the same size. Oh well. I love it. I think I'm hooked.

Drive By Posting

My office moved locations this week -- a move from a large space where literally everyone except the interns had their own office to one where 2/3 of the staff are now in cubes. Including me. So the posting during work hours will most likely decrease. Grr. I'm not exactly happy about this.

So I don't have much time to write this, but I did want to note that it is officially baby season!
Welcome to Baby Ava (daughter of my fabulous therapist, Dr. Dave), born February 25.
Welcome to Baby Alexandra (daughter of geckogrrl), also born February 25.
Welcome to Babies Little Boy and Little Girl (children of Uccelina), born March 3.

And that's just the start of things! I know of three more babies due next month. Congratulations to all the new parents -- parenthood is the most amazing time of your life.

Understandably, crafting is seriously underway. I don't have photos to share yet, but I was inspired by Sew, Mama, Sew!'s Quilting Month, and started work on a Crazy 9-Patch quilt. I'm excited. It's pretty. And I think I may have been bitten by the quilting bug. Just what I needed, another craft.

And here's something for my fellow crafters: Ever pictured the perfect fabric for a project, only to be unable to find something that was half as good as what was in your head? I just read about a new company that will be printing custom fabric for personal use. They don't seem to be up and running yet, but if you fill out a short survey, you can get on their mailing list to be included in their beta testing. I'm definitely curious, and will post about it when I'm able to test it out.

She knits, she scores!

Yes, once in a while, I actually do more than take pictures of my incredibly cute offspring. Occasionally, I knit. Not that you would know this by reading this blog, but I am actually a pretty crafty person. I just have been very bad about documenting said craftiness lately.

So, what have I been up to? Well, I finished the Cloud Bolero! And here it is, in all its glory:

Sorry for the yellow hue, but I am really happy with how it turned out. I used 2 skeins of Patons Classic Merino Wool in Forest -- a cute little merino wool sweater for a grand total of $12? Not bad! The pattern was super easy -- great TV or SnB knitting -- but the ripples provided enough interest so I didn't get bored.

Before the drive to Tucson last month, I realized that I needed a good, simple project for knitting in the car -- something to keep my hands busy that was basic enough that I could put down at any moment. So I decided on the Montego Bay Scarf from the Summer 2007 issue of Interweave Knits. I'm not a scarf knitter -- I tend to get bored too easily to finish one of the proper length. But the fishnet lace pattern was easy yet nice looking, so I picked up a few balls of stash yarn (DiVe Tiwi from a Yarn lady sale ages ago) and started knitting. Here's how it turned out:

I love it. It's not exactly a warm & snuggly scarf (the yarn has multiple threads: a slub, a cotton and a metallic thread, so it causes a slight itch if wrapped too tightly), but it's perfect for summer.

I've also been doing some sewing (a bit). I made a simple baby quilt for our friends Matt & Candice's new baby boy. I found this fabulous cotton print showing a sketch of a peg board hung with tools: hammers, saws, wrenches, etc. It was done in shades of orange, green & blue, so I alternated squares of the print with squares of those solid colors. It turned out super cute, but of course, I forgot to take a photo before we gave it. I'll try to get one taken with the baby (once we get word that he's been born!).

I started to make the Tank with 3-d Crochet Embellishments from Knitting Lingerie. I made a gauge swatch and everything looked good -- I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Except that by the time I'd knit about 1/2 of the back, I noticed that everything had stretched. And not a little bit. I mean sssstttrrreeettccchhhheeeeddd. If I had kept going, this tank would have had a 52" waist! I know I'm not in pre-pregnancy shape yet, but I'm not that far gone! So that project has been officially frogged, perhaps to be picked up again, perhaps not.

I haven't started on Vivian's Christmas stocking yet (I actually haven't even bought the yarn) because I'm working on a gift or two. I'll post pictures once they are gifted.

And that's all for today's crafty update. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Stuff & Nonsense

Absolutely no rhyme or reason to this post, just an update so you (my faithful readers) don't assume I have fallen into the abyss.

The Awesome Helicopter Ninja Fanclub is officially open for business. You know you want to.

Progress on Pumpkin's quilt is coming along.
Deano has decided that, since Pumpkin isn't here yet, he might as well break it in. The appliques are all sewn on, so now the actual quilting can begin, except that I seem to have misplaced the fabric I cut for the backing. So it's back to the fabric store I go.

Progress on Pumpkin is coming along, too. I'm almost 20 weeks along, and on Wednesday morning, we get to have another ultrasound and hopefully get a gender confirmation. I'm excited, but there is a kernel of fear, too. I just have to concentrate on all the kicks Pumpkin is giving me to keep me upbeat.

Babies & mojo

Please welcome Mark Jerome Goodale, born yesterday afternoon to his parents Melissa & Grant. From the very tired-sounding message we got last night from Grant, both baby and mom are happy & healthy and doing very well. Congratulations! I couldn't be happier for them. They are going to be great parents.

On a completely different topic, I have been feeling like I've lost my crafty mojo. This happened to me in my last pregnancy, too, and I just felt uninspired and unmotivated to knit or crochet at all. So instead of sitting on my butt eating bonbons, I've decided to focus my craftiness on a different skill: I'm going to make Pumpkin a Hawaiian-style baby quilt. Hawaiian quilts are beautiful applique quilts that are designed like those snowflakes you made in grade school, by folding a piece of fabric 3 times and cutting a design out. The design is sewn to another piece of fabric and then the quilting is done in lines that repeat the design of the applique. I'm probably not explaining this well, so here is a photo:
I've made a Hawaiian-style quilt before, for my sister Teresa's wedding. It was for a queen-sized bed. It was my first quilt ever. After finishing it, I said I would never make another one again. Well, now it's been a few years, and I'm ready to try again, albeit with a baby-sized (42"x42") one. But this time, I think I'm going to try to do it all by hand. With Teresa's, I did it all by machine, and since I don't have a quilting machine, I just used my trusty Singer. All the turning was very difficult and I wasn't able to get the degree of precision that I wanted. Hand quilting will take longer, but hopefully, I have another 25-26 weeks to work on it. Hopefully, that will be enough time.

I've already cut out my design, and I'm pretty happy with it. It's based on pumpkins and vines, and now I just have to decide on a color scheme. Hawaiian quilts are traditionally done with a single color applique on a single color background, but I may want to break it a bit by piecing the pumpkins seperately in orange and the majority of the designs (the vines) in green on a white background. That's what I'm leaning to now. I'm actually really excited about this project. And now that I've posted about it here, I can't wuss out.